Constant changes in procurement these days in any industry requires a high degree of agility if an organization wants to stay competitive. In hospitality and hotel management, guest preferences force hotel procurement departments to stay abreast of multiple trends at once. Not keeping pace can only spell bad news for your hotel(s) and impact them in a variety of ways, namely revenue. Here are three challenges hotels are up against and how procurement teams can help.
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1. Sustainability
The demand for environmentally friendly services is more than ever. Consumers increasingly expect companies to actively seek sustainable solutions to help protect the environment. Green initiatives that strive to reduce water consumption, energy, and waste must be a priority for hotel management companies to stay competitive.
Your procurement department is on the front lines. It is up to them to source products and services that meet these new standards, whether it be more efficient toilets or energy efficient vending machines. Purchasing managers must continue to educate themselves on new ways to achieve the sustainability goals through proper sourcing.
2. Personalization
Personalization refers to creating authentic and memorable experiences that are specific to each guest. For example, perhaps a guest stayed at one of your hotels in San Fransisco and, upon checking in, they request a list of local restaurants and have a specific interest in steak houses in the area. Then, six months later, the same guest travels to New York and decided to stay in one of your hotels again. You could have a list of the best steak houses waiting for him or her in their room. Procurement's role here would be sourcing the right technology that allows you to store guest information so you can better understand them.
3. Design Trends
If you work in procurement for hospitality, you've no doubt dealt with sourcing design elements for hotels. New trends such as mixed materials and metal are of interest to many designers. What becomes challenging is sourcing suppliers that can provide non-traditional materials a designer chooses. It's important for hotel procurement teams to stay ahead on these trends and be more strategic about their sourcing process.
