Handling Hotels with Diverse Client Segments: The Operational Challenge

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The Complexity of Mixed-Segment Hotels

Hotels today cater to a wide variety of guest types, often serving short-stay, mid-stay, and long-stay clients within the same property. Additionally, some hotels branch into niche markets, such as students, extended-stay travelers, or even co-living arrangements. While this diversification expands revenue opportunities, it also creates significant operational challenges.

Even modern PMS struggle to address the complexity of these segments. At best, PMSs rely on features like rate codes or accommodation service to identify guest types. However, this approach lacks the depth needed to streamline operations and prevent costly mistakes.

We have seen that many hotels offer this type of functioning. Today hotels don’t only provide one stayover cleaning each day with a change sheets each 2^nd or 3^rd day (or if they do, maybe they want to skip the change sheets if the cleaning falls on the day before arrival), but the hotels offer cleanings based on rate codes, VIP status, number of nights clients are staying and more. We also see that more hotels would like to offer this type of customization that when used correctly, increases the guest experience and also saves the hotel a lot of costs in terms of cleaning, however, hotels that have tried this implementation have had to use many excel sheet to keep track which clients has the right to which cleaning, mistakes in planning, manual assignment of the cleanings and increased communication between housekeeping and reception that stomps productivity.

Why Is It Tricky to Manage Multiple Client Segments?

Managing multiple client segments is inherently complex for several reasons:

1. Differentiated Cleaning Schedules: Short-stay guests may not receive any cleaning during their visit, mid-stay guests might expect weekly cleanings, and long-stay guests may require even more tailored schedules based on specific sections or floors of the hotel.
2. Damage and Deposit Management: Long-stay clients often require deposits, which may need to be adjusted for potential damages—a process that adds another layer of complexity.
3. Operational Challenges: Each segment comes with its own set of rules, expectations, and entitlements. Failing to adhere to these can result in guest dissatisfaction, operational inefficiencies, and financial losses.
4. Cost of Mistakes: Errors in segmentation—such as providing unnecessary services to short-stay guests or neglecting long-stay clients’ needs—can lead to wasted resources and damage to the hotel’s reputation.

The Need for Customizable Operations

Given these challenges, it is evident that a one-size-fits-all approach cannot work. Hotels require a system that can:

• Clearly define and track the entitlements for each segment.
• Automate cleaning and service schedules based on guest type.
• Streamline deposit management for long-stay clients.
• Reduce the risk of human error by integrating segmentation into daily operations.

Our solution for Operational Efficiency Through Segmentation Tools

At RoomChecking, we provide solutions to help hotels seamlessly manage diverse client segments:

1. Customizable Cleaning Schedules: Our platform enables hotels to automate cleaning schedules for different guest types, ensuring that no segment is overlooked. You can mix different For example:
   • No cleaning: No cleaning by default unless requested or no cleaning for specific segments only, clients with specific rate codes, B2B, students or other type of clients
   • Rate code based cleanings: Weekly cleaning automatically scheduled based on number of nights and/or rate code
   • Number of nights cleanings: Base your cleaning on how log the client is staying, 4-7 nights only each 3^rd day, 10-14 nights each 5 days and so on.
   • Balanced cleanings: Balance one, two or more cleanings over the reservation based on the number of nights. For example, 3-7 nights one cleaning in the middle, 10-14 nights 2 cleanings in the middle of the stay
   • By room, section, floor or building cleaning: Tailored cleaning schedules based on their rate code and/or location in the hotel.
   • Based on PMS note/traces in PMS: Autogenerate cleanings based on what front office has entered in the PMS notes or traces depending on your PMS.
   • Based on products in PMS: Autogenerate cleanings based on items or products added depending on your PMS, for example, client wants a cleaning each Monday, add this as a product or item in the PMS and a cleaning will be autogenerated in our system for that specific day.
   • On demand cleaning only using the same rules as above.

The different type of cleanings can also include specific cleaning times, based on the type of cleaning and size of the room.

• Adaptation of cleaning times per type of cleaning: The different type of cleanings can also include specific cleaning times, based on the type of cleaning and size of the room. A departure clean for a junior room might be 2 credits or 45 minutes, a stayover for a 2 bedroom might be 120 minutes. In short, enter the estimated cleaning time per type of cleaning and room/apartment and you will get the exact estimated cleaning time per day.

• Forecasting abilities: Get a schedule for all the cleanings for the month in order to be able to plan the right amount of staff. Get a forecast of all the cleanings auto generated based on your segments and cleaning rules for the week to better know which days are more or less busy than others to better be able to plan your staff.

• Real time PMS connection: With a real time connection to the PMS the cleanings generated will be updated if the reservations is cancelled, changed or any other modifications are done in real-time.

5. Centralized Guest Data: By integrating guest information into a centralized system, our solution ensures that every department is on the same page. Housekeeping, front desk, and maintenance teams can access relevant details to avoid miscommunication.
6. Segmentation Reporting: With built-in reporting capabilities, hotels can analyze the efficiency of their operations across segments, identifying areas for improvement and cost savings.

Conclusion: Streamlining Multi-Segment Hotel Operations

Hotels serving diverse client segments face unique operational challenges that cannot be addressed by traditional systems alone. With the right tools and processes, however, these challenges can be transformed into opportunities for efficiency and growth.

RoomChecking equips hotels with the means to navigate this complexity, ensuring that every guest receives the right service at the right time, while minimizing operational errors and maximizing satisfaction.