Lessons from a Hotelier
After four years of business planning, two years renovating a historic property and another two and half years operating a hotel, venue and bar…I have learned a thing or two! I’m not saying I know it all. I still learn something weekly, but here are a handful of things I’ve learned along the way. From one hotelier to another, or maybe to just anyone? My hope is you take one helpful thing away from this post.
Always get a second opinion. In general, people aren’t great at their jobs. It’s frustrating. Infuriating at times. (The amount of times I’ve found myself thinking, “What is wrong with people?!”, is comical.) You find someone who is supposed to be an expert in their field and they do it wrong or quote you an absurd amount of money. Get another opinion. You will eventually find someone who is kind, knowledgeable and does honest work. And when you do, make them your bff so they will answer your call promptly the next time you need them. Case in point, our incredible plumber.
Set your policies and don’t bend them - ever - for anyone. It’s hard, especially when you first open…you want all the business you can get! Trust me, I get it. We opened a year in to the pandemic. We were anxious, desperate even to book stays and events. Many times I would bend our original policies to accomodate someone. For example, we’ve always put forth that we are an adult only property. I would occasionally bend it to secure business and it typically always ended poorly. But even if it didn’t end poorly what it did ALWAYS do was crack the door open for the client to see what else they could push. What’s the saying? Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile. It’s a fact, ya’ll.
Pay your staff above average and make sure employees align with your values before hiring. I could write an entire blog post about the ups and downs of hiring. It’s brutal. But when you find the good ones, they are out there, hold on to them. Offer a competitive starting hourly or salary pay, set regular touch base meetings and performance reviews where they are guaranteed pay increases if they perform well. Give perks and benefits when possible. We offer one comp night per quarter to our employees. We just gave some full time employees profit sharing within their respective pillars of the business. It gives them a sense of ownership and dedication to your business. I learned the hard way to be sure you hire people who align with your values. Be clear about what they are and review them in the interview process. Your business is only as good as your employees.
Trust your gut! As cliche as it is, this is probably the best advice I give constantly. We hear it a lot in life, but gosh is it something I didn’t always listen to. Especially when a so called expert in their respective field is telling you one thing but you deep down don’t agree. How could you be wrong? But you’re the only one that truly understands your vision. Also, lets talk about vibes. Do you remember a time when you met someone and instantly had a good feeling about them? You’ve probably experienced a completely reverse situation as well: you interact with someone and you don’t know how to rationally explain it, but something’s off. That happens because people have the innate ability to feel positive and negative energy in other humans. Trust it.
Invest in your housekeeping team. Make sure they are invested! They are hands down your most vital piece of your business. The first team I hired (through a third party) seemed great at first but ended up having red flag after red flag and then quit on me with no notice. It was a less than ideal situation. I was flipping rooms solo for a few days before I could find temporary help, then it took weeks to find a new team. Now, our amazing four person team is incredible and I tell them that nearly everyday!
You eventually have to give up some control and trust others. For your business to grow - and you to stay sane - you have to eventually relinquish some control. It took me some time, and it’s still hard. <I’m type A, enneagram 3.> But as soon as I did I could take a step back and look at the big picture, invest in other areas to really grow different areas or our business and drive profits. I also had a priority to not work as many hours as I did the first four years so I could be more present with our kids. Running a small business and being a Mom are two separate full time jobs. Hiring people and putting trust in them has helped me do a better job at both roles.
Be super clear on your vision, your story and values. From the very inception of the idea that eventually became Heights House, I put a lot of time in to formalizing our vision and values. Guess what? People are more likely to spend their money with businesses if they connect with the people behind it rather than the product itself. That’s what your truly selling. Yes, you need also show up with an incredible experience but it’s a whole package so make sure you prioritize that as well.