This will give you a precise idea of the hotel you’d like to open. There are:
Do you want to open a branded hotel (Accor, Best Western, Holiday Inn, etc.) or on the contrary, open an independent hotel? Any why not open a hotel-restaurant or a hotel in a foreign country?
Same thing about the atmosphere you want your hotel to have. Will the hotel have a label or not?
Now we’re done, you’ve decided on the structure your hotel will have. It’s a good beginning, but now we must look at the other aspects you cannot neglect.
Now it’s time to write your hotel’s business plan. A business plan is a detailed document with two goals:
A hotel’s business plan schematically has two important parts:
There are many rules and regulations to comply with when you want to create a hotel; here are a few of them.
No special degrees are needed to open a hotel, though most hotel owners have had specific training to ensure the sustainability of their projects.
This means that deciding on your hotel’s legal structure is a crucial step, as this decision, among others of course, will impact the governance of your company, your responsibility towards its debts in the case of bankruptcy, your social regime as its manager, and the way it will be taxed.
Deciding to open your hotel abroad or in some protected zones (Zone for the Protection of Architectural, Urban, and Landscape Heritage or ZPPAUP) is also a source of supplementary and specific regulatory constraints. Make sure that you take this into account right from the very beginning of your project.
The friendliness and professional conduct of the hotel’s employees is another key aspect that you can never neglect, as it strongly impacts the success of your hotel. Human resource needs will depend on the size of your hotel and services it will be providing.
Minimizing the importance of the human factor in a hotel project would be a serious mistake, even more so if your project is not backed by a hotel chain. Major hotel chains have strict standards and enjoy a reputation that will ensure the success of a project. In the opposite case, training your teams, motivating them, their experience and the quality of your management will be the keys to services that your guests will expect, as well as what you yourself are also expecting.In a nutshell, knowing who to hire and how to motivate your personnel are aspects that are as important as those that will follow.
A hotel’s market study must include extensive research on the current trends in the industry, a detailed analysis of the economic competition, as well as a study of the potential client base.
You must be informed about the economic environment in the market in the country where you want to open your hotel.For information, France remains the world’s top tourist destination. In 2016, the hospitality industry suffered because of the terrorist attacks. The two regions which attract the largest number of tourists, Ile-de-France and the French Riviera, where particularly impacted.
This is also a sector which is in the midst of change with a large “uberization” level:I’m sure you’ve understood that being prepared is the most important aspect. Creation of a hotel must be methodical and include all the dimensions mentioned above to allow you to have a project that is completely viable. But don’t forget, that above all, creating your hotel must be a pleasure. Don’t forget this creative aspect. Your project must be unique. It highlights the values you have, and you are the one and only person who can give it the trend you’re looking for.
With the expertise of Professor V. Lacrampe-Camus, twenty - four years of experience in the hospitality industry (Accor). Article written by Capucine Daubech.