Managing a serviced accommodation business involves multiple aspects including managing bookings, receiving guests, and coordinating housekeeping and maintenance, among other things. It can be very tedious and challenging to perform these tasks manually especially while growing or scaling the business. Automation, on the other hand, presents an opportunity to effectively automate the entire serviced accommodation business processes. In this guide, we will examine tools and techniques that will assist you in optimizing and automating your serviced accommodation business saving time improving guest experience, and increasing your business’s profitability.
Why Automate Your Serviced Accommodation Business?
When it comes to the serviced accommodation business, it is even more vital that the business delivers exceptional services that set it apart from the competition. At the core of running a serviced accommodation business, automation allows you to operate at the top of the game and always deliver services according to the client’s expectations without straining employees. It always goes with overcoming human mistakes, increasing efficiency, and all the concentration directed toward customer satisfaction and developing the business further.
Here’s how automation can benefit your serviced accommodation business:
- Improved Efficiency: Automation smoothens tasks and processes so that you can handle bookings, communication, and operations without breaking a sweat.
- Cost Savings: Automation decreases the amount of manual work required, which lowers employment costs and streamlines the company’s profitability.
- Better Guest Experience: Every guest is guaranteed an experience that is made consistent through automated check-in, scheduled messages, and service reminders.
- Scalability: Cannoning the increase of manpower, automation allows you to scale while being manageable at the same time.
Step 1: Automate Booking Management
It is beyond doubt that proper booking management is paramount for the business’s reputation and success in Serviced Accommodation Business. Automation allows management of various booking systems, consolidation of availability, and prevention of double bookings with ease.
Tools to Automate Booking Management
- Channel Managers: Tools such as Guesty and Tokeet will automatically update and match all of the bookings made via various channels so the calendar gets updated automatically and is accurate each time.
- Automated Reservation Updates: Smoobu is one such website when one books a room on it, availability and reservations are updated without the need to manually update it, so you do not concern yourself with the idea of overbooking yourself.
- Direct Booking Websites: Direct works, like Lodgify, enable creating a website for direct booking of your serviced accommodation business.
Step 2: Streamline Guest Communication
It is crucial to have the guests informed from the time the reservation is confirmed to the moment they leave the facility. You can automate guest communication and still manage to avoid excessive interaction with the guests.
Automated Guest Communication Tips:
- Automated Templates: Create bookings, instructional emails, and feedback requests. Hostfully and Automate your BNB allow for modification of templates.
- Automated Messaging Replies: When using Aiyourbnb and Host tools, it is possible to automate responses to questions and check-in procedures.
- Personalization: Such automated systems make it easy to customize automated emails to include recommendations and welcome, and explain what the guests should expect when they arrive.
Step 3: Managing Tasks and Automation of HouseKeeping
Cleaning and maintenance should always be done now and then to ensure that the property attains the set cleanliness levels. Scheduled cleaning and maintenance in an automated form can help in the ease and assessment of operations.
Housekeeping and Maintenance Tools:
- Task Management Automatively: TurnoverBnB is a tool that enables you to efficiently assign different cleaning tasks to various cleaners depending on the guest’s check-out times. This is efficient because once a unit has been vacated, the system already informs the cleaner without any need for follow-up.
- Syncing Up for Housekeeping: The tools used in cleaning housekeeping are also connected to the booking platforms so that when guests check out, cleaning is done, which is chronologically scheduled.
- Maintenance Alerts: There is certain specialized property management software (PMS), that has the capability of monitoring the check-in and out activities of a certain property and sending out notifications for repairs before they become so severe you are unable to do anything about it
Step 4: Automated Pricing Models
Offering lower prices gives you a competitive edge to secure bookings. If you run several automated pricing strategies for your properties, you are able to increase your rates for certain occasions which may include occupancy, season, and how competitive the market is.
Automated Pricing Algorithms:
- Dynamic Pricing Software: With the use of price strategy technology, companies such as PriceLabs or “Beyond Pricing”, can make company rate changes without company interference or oversight and make decisions that are in tune with the market regarding rate pricing
- Seasonal Pricing: Seasonal rates should be established as part of the pricing policies aimed at peak performance in terms of occupancy and profit generation. The purpose of these changes is to make it possible for the serviced accommodation company to compete throughout the year.
- Booking Patterns: By utilizing data from automated pricing tools, users can focus on periods during the year with increased demand for products and services which automatically updates the booked rooms, at the same time helping raise demand.
Step 5: Automate Check-In and Check-Out Procedures
Automation software will help you with the check-in and check-out process.
Providing guests with the option for contactless, efficient check-in and check-out is a smart move as it helps to improve services while easing the physical workload. These processes are automated and ensure that there is little to no contact during check-in or check-out.
Means of Automating the Check-In and Check-Out Procedures:
- Smart Locks and Keyless Entry: Incorporate smart locks or keypads where guests can enter the property using a code. The code can be a verification that activates at check-in and does not offer any access thereafter.
- Messages with Self-Check-In Instructions: Inform guests of access codes, Wi-Fi details, and the rules of the property before their arrival through automated messages containing check-in details.
- Automated Security Alerts: Most smart locks are designed with monitoring features that will notify you when something out of the normal occurs thus offering more security to your guests and the property.
Step 6: Financial and Revenue Management Automation
Tracking income collection from payments as well as expenses is too much work without automation in place. With financial automation tools, various aspects of finance such as income tracking, payment handling, and tax management become a walk in the park.
Tools that help with Financial Processes Automation:
- Automated Payment Processing: Payment systems like Stripe or PayPal interface with the booking system to transfer funds without manual issuance of invoices such systems are quite beneficial.
- Expense Tracking: Real-time expense monitoring, invoicing, and revenue management offered by such platforms as QuickBooks or Xero assist the management of the business financials.
- Automated Financial Reporting: Most PMSs include an interactive management report component that allows business monitoring, analysis of various indicators and simply planning further development.
Step 7: Leverage AI for Property Management and Analytics
A new generation of AI-based her-places platforms is actively claiming the niche of the serviced accommodation business by improving tools for communication with guests, monitoring performance, and data prediction.
AI-Based Solutions:
- Predictive Analytics: Aiyourbnb is a booking platform providing predictive analytics based on AI technology to assist landlords in making marketing and pricing strategies more efficient.
- Chatbot for Guests: AI-based chatbots are able to timely and adequately answer guests’ most frequently asked questions and inquiries and do so around the clock. This provides improvement in guest satisfaction and saves time.
- Performance Indicators: Certain PMS programs inform owners and operators through AI of the level of occupancy, preferences of guests, and the performance of competitors.
Choosing the Right Tools to Automate Serviced Accommodation Business
It is important to consider the peculiarities of the properties, the target market, and the style of operations in general. Ease of use, integration with other tools, cost, and scalability are also critical aspects to look into when making a choice.
Conclusion
Using these automation techniques will allow you to optimize day-to-day activities, enhance productivity as well as improve the level of the overall customer experience. Automating serviced accommodation business tasks is not only beneficial for saving time; it also leads to cost savings, an increase in guest satisfaction level, and the ability to scale the Serviced Accommodation Business without increasing staff. There is no doubt that adopting automation is a game changer for any business as it directs your focus towards what matters the most, providing a great experience to your guests and expanding your business vision.
