New book will give hoteliers the edge

A new book aimed at guiding hoteliers through the financial pitfalls of the hospitality industry could help prevent new businesses failing.

The Practical Guide to Understanding and Raising Hotel Profitability by Edge Hotel School Vice-Principal Adrian Martin provides advice and support not just to those already running their own hotels, but also to students and those considering a change of career.

It has been described, by Essex Honorary Graduate and former Catey Hotelier of the Year, Harry Murray MBE as “a welcome and easy-to-read book” which “includes industry benchmarks to help measure performance and [which] will give you the tools you need to improve profitability of your business.”

Explaining what inspired him, Adrian said: “This is the book I wish I had when I was in the hotel trade. At the beginning of my career I recall sitting in financial meetings and not really knowing what everyone was talking about, being asked to write a budget but having no idea where to start, and missing targets and having no idea what to do about it.

“With the help of ten years managing a hotel and learning things the hard way, as well as talking to leading industry professionals, this book is written to inform and give advice on how to be more financially knowledgeable and successful in the hotel industry.”

With 15.5% of new businesses in the hospitality sector failing every year – three times higher than the UK average – Adrian’s book is set to be a popular read.

Adrian explained why profitability can be so difficult to achieve in hotels: “The focus is on delivering an amazing service, ensuring the customer has the best possible experience. Because the customer is at the forefront of a hotel every day and gives constant feedback, good or bad, it is a small wonder that the actual purpose of the business is sometimes forgotten and that purpose is to make a profit.”

The Practical Guide to Understanding and Raising Hotel Profitability, published by Routledge, describes in detail the profit and loss document used by hotels, detailing what each part means and giving advice on how to improve the result over time.

It is Adrian’s first published book but probably not his last. He is exploring three research topics, all aimed at improving the customer experience and the success of hoteliers: he’s looking at formulas for predicting what customers will choose to eat in a restaurant, the best locations to start up new hotels, and why people complain in restaurants.