The hospitality industry is known as a difficult industry to succeed in. Restaurants and bed and breakfasts, for example, are estimated to have failure rates of between 20 to 30% in the first three years. The reason why the industry in general is so hard to thrive in is that the people who judge it are generally using some of their free time and disposable income to engage in what they hope will be a pleasurable activity. Thus, they can be rather unforgiving when it does not meet their standards, and simply leave. The key to success is to understand what makes the industry tick, and create effective strategies with this information.
Finding success in the hospitality industry
The hospitality industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that encompasses hotels, restaurants and bars, cinemas, amusement parks and transportation. One of the first things an entrepreneur venturing into this industry should do, is carry out diligent research on the segment they wish to enter.
Maintaining a focus on the customer is extremely important if you want to achieve success, since customers are at the very heart of this industry. Marketing campaigns should be conducted to promote the product or service you aim to provide, targeted at a clear group of individuals who can be expected to discern the value to be added from the intended product or service. Beyond this, how the establishment treats its customers once they come is crucial. Thus, reliability and quality of service have to be top-notch. To achieve this, product quality and employee welfare must be given due attention.
Marketing campaigns will however not work on their own, if the product on offer is not of good enough quality, is not engaging enough or innovative enough. Getting this part right will go a long way towards creating a strong foundation from which to build the business. Often, a good product can itself create enough buzz that will see the establishment generate impressive new business, while maintaining healthy levels of returning business.
When it comes to quality of service, you must be ready to invest in good employees. This is because the hospitality industry is customer facing, so the people who meet them must be properly trained and motivated. Many customers can attest that, at times, the reason they go back to a restaurant or hotel would be the excellent and courteous service they received there.
Don’t forget about supplemental facilities. Adding things that can make customers’ and clients’ life easier during their visit means a lot more than you might imagine.
Stephen Wynn: a successful hospitality businessman
Stephen Wynn is a very successful American casino resort developer and operator, with resorts in and outside America. Having started in the 1970s, he has been instrumental in shaping the casino building industry through the decades. He is responsible for turning around the Golden Nugget casino, as well as building the fabulous and opulent Mirage, Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas megaresorts in Las Vegas. He has also built casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as well as on the island of Macau, a Chinese territory.
The success he has had, especially with the Las Vegas establishments, in terms of the enormous wealth they have managed to generate, their status as luxury destinations for the very rich, and the way they have served as models for other casinos built after them, is a testament to what vision and attention to detail can achieve in this tricky industry.
The hospitality industry is not an easy one to crack. However, as long as you have a great product and team, are willing to market it effectively, and have carried out sufficient prior research, you can find success in the industry.