Re:How Hotel Reservations Work
by mattmanser on Sunday January 27, 2013 @08:32AM
(#5124168)
I thought this too at first, but my sister used to work in hotels, this is by and large wrong. Almost any price is better than none. Especially if you're out in the sticks and they'll buy dinner.
Think about it a little more. Electricity & heat will mostly be on anyway. Complementaries are bought in massive bulk and are almost worthless. They'd have the same number of staff on if the hotel was 80% or 100% anyway. Depending on the size of the hotel maybe you might have to hire one more minimum wage worker.
Hiring the room for a fairly nominal amount would cover all those costs. Upsell them one product, such as a meal, and you've got profit.
You have to remember the majority of the costs are fixed when calculating the cost per guest in a hotel.
Think about it a little more. Electricity & heat will mostly be on anyway. Complementaries are bought in massive bulk and are almost worthless. They'd have the same number of staff on if the hotel was 80% or 100% anyway. Depending on the size of the hotel maybe you might have to hire one more minimum wage worker.
Hiring the room for a fairly nominal amount would cover all those costs. Upsell them one product, such as a meal, and you've got profit.
You have to remember the majority of the costs are fixed when calculating the cost per guest in a hotel.