How to Make Internal Communications Simplified for Hotels

Low employee engagement. High turnover. Inconsistent guest experiences. With dependence on dispersed, mobile workforces, the hotel industry is easily susceptible to these less-than-desirable outcomes. There’s a common denominator that directly impacts every element of a hotel’s performance: internal communications.

When you make internal communications an intentional strategy, rather than an ad hoc approach, your hotel operations will flip those downward trends. This means including every employee in hotel communications. Connecting to your workforce through an employee app lets them know they, and their work, are important to the success of the company. That triggers a spike in employee engagement which makes your team more productive, and dedicated to delivering a stellar guest experience.

Still not sure why you need to prioritize internal communications? In 2019, mere months before the pandemic upended the world, 82% of the hospitality industry was planning on investing in tech for their frontline workers. Now, as we inch closer to recovery, companies are accelerating their digital transformation and looking at mobile-first collaboration platforms to create a fully-connected workforce. If your hotel doesn’t keep up, your competitors will experience the ROIs of superior internal communications and the benefits that go along with it.

Moving forward, hotels need to have a fully connected workforce to avoid the common pitfalls of pre-pandemic days. The best way to do this? With a mobile collaboration platform.

The Turnover Problem Plaguing Hotels

Before the pandemic, hospitality had a notoriously high 70% turnover rate, one of the highest of any industry. It’s an expensive problem to have.

1. It costs companies up to 20% of an hourly worker’s annual salary to recruit and train a new employee.
2. Employees are 450% more likely to jump ship when a company doesn’t embrace technology.
3. Millennials are the largest workforce right now, and they’re highly mobile. 70% said they would consider leaving a company that lacked fast technology.

Deskless employees are often excluded from internal communication, which contributes to a lack of commitment to their employer. As hotels begin to rebuild their workforces, they have an opportunity to leverage digital tools to attract talent that’s here to stay. Connecting with them through an employee app establishes a bond between a hotel and its workforce which creates a sense of loyalty. In fact, 88% of hotel employees have said they feel more informed with Beekeeper.

When hotel employees are recognized and included, they are less likely to leave to find that job satisfaction someplace else. In fact, properties with 300 employees save $100,000 on turnover costs with Beekeeper.

Implementing a digital internal communications solution can change these high turnover trends in your hotel by building a relationship with your workforce. 1 Hotels, with two New York City properties and one in Miami, saw their turnover drop to 39%, almost half of the industry norm, when they connected their workforce through the Beekeeper employee app.

A Disengaged Workforce is Expensive for Your Hotel

There are many avoidable hotel operation expenses directly linked to employee engagement, including retention, productivity, guest experience and bookings. Overall, only a third of employees feel truly engaged in their work. That number plummets to 13% for frontline workers.

Here’s the good news. It’s a costly problem with an easy solution. An employee app creates a two-way internal communications system that supports an inclusive culture, gives every employee a voice, and more meaning to their work. In fact, 97% of employees were more proud to work for their hotel after they started using Beekeeper.

Streamlined, inclusive internal communications increases employee engagement, and your hotel will experience results like:

• 24% lower turnover
• Reducing absenteeism by 41%
• 10% better guest satisfaction
• 17% higher productivity
• 21% higher profitability

The Hard Costs of Miscommunication

Traditional hotel employee communication methods have relied on in-person meetings or easily-missed bulletin board messages. It’s like playing a game of telephone with hundreds of people. Communication is only effective when it makes it to your intended audience. Miscommunication means information slips through the cracks and tasks are not completed leading to inefficient hotel operations that will have a negative impact on the guest experience.

Secure, real-time communication delivered with an operational communication platform ensures uninterrupted workflows for smoother hotel operations. In fact, over 80% of a hotel’s staff is reached immediately with Beekeeper. To further reduce the chance of miscommunication, look for features like inline translation so employees can send and receive messages in their preferred language.

It’s time to recognize the importance of internal communications in creating a competitive brand for employees and guests. Your hotel will never be the same – it will be better.

Want to improve your hotel operations for a more engaged workforce and a better guest experience? Download our “Hospitality Industry Trends for 2021” eBook.