Hospitality Inventory Management and the Impact on Hotels

When you hear the word hotel what comes to mind? Beds, towels, bathroom accessories, restaurants? What about other items like pool equipment, decorations/artwork/paintings, lobby furniture, housekeeping equipment, business center items, kitchen tools, or the hotel gift shop? There are so many pieces that comprise the efficient running and operation of hotels that guests do not even consider when checking in. But for those who work there, hospitality inventory management is a very big deal behind the scenes.

Hotel management companies have teams of people who need quick and easy access to information about assets across many different locations. Guests want a smooth and drama-free stay. It’s up to the hotel employees to ensure they receive just that while managing the items that give guests that relaxing and welcoming experience.

A sound hospitality inventory management system aids the growth and revenue of a well-run hotel. From the kitchen to housekeeping to the hotel gift shop, hotels have a responsibility to maintain customer satisfaction at all times. When hotel assets are properly tracked and readily available for customers when needed (such as new towels, toiletries or a working lamp), guests will not have to wait for replacements, which increases their overall satisfaction and the likelihood of their return.

What Hospitality Inventory Management Can Do

As stated, there are so many moving parts and pieces that make a hotel run. When something isn’t right, guests notice and they make sure that employees know of their displeasure. Hospitality inventory management tools ensure that hotel staff has a working knowledge about all of the assets and items in a hotel and what their status is at any given time. The software can:

• Track fixed assets such as room furniture, televisions, dining furniture, and more.
• Track IT inventory including laptops, mobile phones, desktops, and other computer-related equipment across 1 or 1,000 locations.
• Provide complete management of hotels, facilities, and all related assets, including making purchase orders, handling work orders, track maintenance schedules, assign tasks to specific users, and more.
• Function as an enterprise service desk. Users can request service or maintenance support for any asset in the system using a mobile app to scan the barcode or QR code attached to the asset. The hotel support team is alerted to new open tickets via an automated email or in-app notification. Then, they can schedule repairs, add notes, photos, and documents to authenticate steps taken. Once the repair or support action is complete, the technician can close the ticket. The software keeps a record of every action performed on any given asset and its history is always accessible.

Dealing with Lost/Misplaced Items and Theft

Misplaced items can be a major drain on a hotel’s finances and productivity. A well-run hotel should be tracking which employee last used an asset such as a vacuum or laptop, but sometimes in the midst of a chaotic day, even the most attentive employee can have a lapse in memory. The financial impact of missing items can become a problem if the items can’t be found or if their going missing is a routine occurrence.

Searching for a misplaced asset is a drain on your hotel staff’s productivity. Instead of performing the duties of their jobs, they have to divert their time and energy to looking for the missing item and finding a replacement to appease hotel guests.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association, which reportedly discovered in 2000 that U.S. hotels alone lost $100 million a year to theft, presumably from both guests and employees.  A 2004 study from Orbitz found 18% of around 2,700 respondents weren’t above stealing towels, 14% admitted to taking ashtrays, and around 2% took bathrobes. And while some hotels may not count consumables like soap and shampoo as stolen (since they’d need to be replaced anyway), the cost of these other items can quickly add up.

When you have an up-to-date record of assets on or off property, it’s easier to keep up with where assets are and they are less likely to be lost. While you can’t help with issues of theft most of the time, you can see which items seem to go missing most frequently and determine if you can get them for a more affordable price to counteract the constant replacements.

One of the easiest ways to keep customers coming back is by providing them an enjoyable -- even memorable -- experience. The more satisfied a guest is with their stay at your hotel, the more likely they are to choose your establishment over a competitor for future accommodation needs. Through proper hospitality inventory management, hotels can ensure they stay up-to-date on all internal and guest-facing operations. When your hotel runs smoothly, guests are more likely to have a positive view of your establishment.

To ensure your revenue management strategy is the best it can be, and your hotel is running as efficiently as possible, consider using Asset Panda’s hotel asset tracking solution. Our cloud-based software is fully customizable to meet the asset needs of any hotel, and since it’s available both in web and mobile format, all of your employees can access information wherever they are. Asset Panda’s mobile app includes a barcode scanner to help you better track and organize your hotel’s assets. Our platform is also capable of integrating with other programs, apps, or software your hotel might already be using, including services such as Google Workspace, ZenDesk, Microsoft Active Directory, and MailChimp.

Click here for a free 14-day trial and see why world-renown brands such as Coast Hotels, Conrad Hotels and Sandals Resorts use Asset Panda for their hospitality inventory management needs.