Source1 Purchasing will be having Bill Maher and Jim Northcutt represent the company at the Lodging Conference this year. It will be held on September 24th-27th at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, AZ.

For over 20 years, high-powered hotel owners and executives from all over the world have attended this event. Last year about 1,800 individuals attended this event and the five previous shows before that were sold out!

Bill & Jim are excited to participate in this event, and are looking forward to making new connections!

So, if you are attending the event this year and want information about the hospitality industry’s most innovative GPO platform, let us know!

#TheLodgingConference #GPOPlatform

It’s imperative that hotels have an effective water management plan in place. Not only is important to protect this natural resource, excess water use can also be detrimental to your operating budget. Water conservation in hotels can be tricky, but many have found creative ways to decrease daily water usage. For example, enlisting guests’ help in water reduction efforts by asking them to do things like reuse towels can be very helpful in reducing a hotel’s day to day water use. However, it is outside of your hotel where the most water waste can occur.

Outdoor green spaces on a hotel property can be huge drains on your monthly water budget. Landscaping, swimming pools, and onsite golf-courses require an immense amount of water to maintain. For that reason, hotels must be very diligent about their water management plan when it comes to these outdoor areas. It’s easy for your maintenance team to unknowingly use more water than necessary without a proper water conservation and management plan in place.

Water Management for Landscaping

The truth is, landscaping is very important to your hotel’s image. Beautiful outdoor green spaces have a huge effect on a guest’s impression of your establishment. Lush landscaping can increase your property’s value in the eyes of your customers. The challenge for property managers comes in finding a balance between maintaining the aesthetic of their green spaces while conserving water.

An effective water maintenance plan should include a strategic irrigation schedule that changes season by season, as well as regular inspection of any sprinklers, pumps, and other irrigation equipment. Being proactive about spotting problems before they become too large can go a long way in avoiding water waste.

Get Professional Help

Enlisting the help of a water management professional can be extremely beneficial for a hotel. A qualified service provider will be able to conduct a thorough audit of your outdoor water usage. From there, they can offer you some water saving solutions such as water recycling, rainwater collection, and more. Further, they will be able to pinpoint any leaks or other sources of water waste that are cutting into your water budget.

Source1 Purchasing has a comprehensive network of service providers that can help you with hotel water management and other areas of property maintenance. In addition, we can save you upwards of 9% on all of your other hospitality supply needs including food, linens, cleaning supplies, and more. Contact us today for a free market basket.

Success in the hospitality industry is all about cultivating relationships. It isn’t enough to simply get a guest to walk through your doors. You want to provide them with such a great experience that they can’t wait to book their next visit. In order for hotels and resorts to build strong, long-term relationships with their customers, they must constantly look for opportunities to add value to their guests’ experience. Paying special attention to even the smallest details can help improve customer satisfaction and increase repeat business.

Building Guest Relationships

Reliability

If you study the most successful hospitality brands, you will see that they are all very committed to consistency. Guests like to know that they can count on consistent service, pricing, and amenities when they book their favorite hotel. Being able to rely on a hotel for a consistently positive experience makes booking their stay a stress-free experience for your loyal customers.

Personized Experience

Any good relationship is a two-way street. You’ve taken steps to help your guests get to know you. In turn, you should take the time to get to know your guests. Put systems in place to record guests’ preferences so you can offer them a more personalized experience during future stays. This is where even the smallest boutique hotel can compete with a large chain. The importance of experience often surpasses facilities when it comes to customer satisfaction.

Avoid Complacency

Even if you’re incredibly committed to creating a great customer experience, there will always be room for improvement. You can embrace innovation without moving away from your brand’s identity that your customers already know and trust. Therefore, try to look for small ways you can enhance your repeat guest’s experience like upgraded linens or exciting new menu choices. If you can make a repeat guest feel like they’re getting more for their money with each stay, you will have a customer for life.

Keep in Touch

Even if a repeat guest only travels once a year, it’s still very important to keep in constant contact with them. Company newsletters are a great way to keep past guests up-to-date on what’s happening at your hotel. Remember, your past guests are often your best advertisers.

Consistent guest experiences are essential to building trust with your guests, and great customer experiences start with a stable supply chain. Make sure that your hotel is sourcing your hospitality supplies at the best prices. Source1 Purchasing can help you save more than 9% on all of your hospitality needs. Contact us for a free supply chain analysis.

The purchasing manager plays a vital role in the success of any hotel. A stable supply chain affects everything from customer satisfaction to the overall profitability of a hotel. For that reason, it’s incredibly important that hotels fill this role with the right person. Your purchasing manager should possess a good mix of experience and skills that are central to their position.

Qualities of a Great Purchasing Manager

Experienced

When hiring a purchasing manager for your hotel, you should strive to find a candidate that has past experience working in hotel supply procurement. Many hotels will hire someone who has done purchasing for a business outside of the hospitality industry. However, the intricacies of hospitality procurement require someone who is familiar with hotels and the way they operate.

Analytical

A purchasing manager must be very analytical and possess the ability to think on their feet. At the core of their position, a purchasing manager must ensure that their hotel has all the supplies needed for daily operations. They must also project how demands for certain supplies will fluctuate throughout the year. In addition, a purchasing manager is responsible for managing a large portion of their hotel’s budget. However, they must be able to make purchasing decisions that are not solely based on price alone. There are times when it’s best to choose quality over quantity.

Trend Spotter

Seasoned hospitality purchasing managers are typically able to spot emerging trends in the hotel industry. This is especially true when it comes to food and beverage programs. When a particular item is gaining popularity among hotel customers, such as Greek yogurt or “Grab and Go” food items, a savvy purchasing manager will discover these trends and make these items available to their hotel guests.

Integrity

The entire team should be filled with people of great integrity; however, this is especially true when it comes to your purchasing manager. It is not uncommon for suppliers to try to woo purchasing managers with gifts and other incentives in an effort to get them to buy their products. However, a purchasing manager must be able to resist these temptations and make decisions based on what is best for their hotel.

Partnership Building

Relationships play an important role in a successful purchasing program. A purchasing manager must be good at forming strategic partnerships with the right suppliers. Source1 Purchasing can give your purchasing manager the tools they need to form these relationships and stabilize your supply chain. Contact Source1 Purchasing today to learn about our strategic supplier program.

Airbnb and other short-term rental websites have been big disruptors in the hospitality industry. Many millennial travelers have come to prefer this alternative style of lodging for its value and convenience. Hotels risk the chance of losing valuable market share to short-term rentals if they don’t find ways to regain the favor of young consumers. So how can hotels compete with Airbnb? In order to complete with Airbnb hotels must do two things. First, understand what makes short-term rentals so attractive and second, highlight the benefits of choosing a hotel.

Focus On Community

Travelers are typically attracted to short-term rentals because they are less expensive than a traditional hotel. In addition, guests feel they offer a more authentic experience while they’re visiting a new city. Young travelers are looking to experience a city more as a local than as a tourist. To get the attention of these consumers, hotels should try to present themselves as an extension of their community. Local restaurant concepts are a great way to attract neighborhood residents to a hotel. A hotel restaurant or bar frequented by locals helps guests feel like they’re part of an authentic neighborhood experience. Meanwhile, guests can still enjoy the comforts that come with staying at a hotel.

Highlight Amenities

A hotel’s staff is its most valuable asset when it comes to completing with Airbnb. When marketing to millennials, hotels should highlight the service and amenities Airbnb can’t offer. On-site recreation, dining options, and round-the-clock service are all benefits that short-term rentals simply can’t offer. Hotels can also provide guests with a far more secure stay than Airbnb. There is no risk of being faced with an unscrupulous host when guests choose to stay at a hotel. Meanwhile, there are plenty of documented cases of Airbnb stays that have gone wrong due to bad hosts and misrepresented properties.

Find Ways to Add Value

One of the biggest draws of a short-term rental is pricing. Hotels can attract first time guests with promotional pricing, but it’s important to also lay the foundation to gain that customer’s repeat business. Providing an excellent customer experience is a great start, however, price will likely still be a factor when that guest is ready to book another hotel. Loyalty programs that offer preferred pricing and other incentives are a great way to keep guests coming back for years to come.

Great customer experiences start with a stable supply chain. Contact Source1 Purchasing to learn about their strategic supplier program.

Pictured above at Feeding South Florida, Boynton Beach FL (left to right): Ben Ryder, Emma Ryder, Gabriela Diaz, Larry Lombardo, Lina Ryder, Gabriela Gil, Becky Magaw, Peter Mole, Georgette Cartagena.

Source1 Purchasing team members volunteered, once again, for Feeding South Florida!

The Feeding Florida state network provided almost 200 million pounds of food last year alone. Additionally, they are the leading domestic hunger-relief organization committed to transforming lives in South Florida communities.

The organization provides immediate access to nutritious food, leading hunger and poverty advocacy efforts, and innovative programming and education.

This past Saturday June 30th, the Source1 Purchasing team dedicated their morning to sort and package food and non-food items. With great efforts, the pallets provided were cleared in a matter of 3 hours, proving there is strength in numbers.

Along with other volunteers, Source1 Purchasing volunteers salvaged 3,993 lbs. of items out of the 6,731 lbs. donated to the organization by local residents and grocery stores.

The items salvaged will provide an amazing 3,611 meals in our South Florida community.

These efforts are yet another way our team shows core value #5: “Unity is Strength,” and what better way to do it for the benefit of our community.

Follow this initiative by using #SummerHungerEndsHere on social media.

For ways on how you can contribute to our South Florida community through Feeding South Florida, please visit: feedingsouthflorida.org

Many hotels have committed to reducing their impact on the environment. Striving for “greener” business practices in not only good for the planet, it can also translate to increased profits for a hotel. Here are four simple ways hotels can improve sustainability in the hospitality industry.

Enlist Guests Help

Consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious and are actively looking to support businesses whose values mirror their own. For that reason, hotels should look to enlist their guests to help in their conversation efforts. A good example is asking guests to maximize their towel and linen usage. Encouraging guests to re-use bath towels during their stay has become a common practice in the hotel industry. Hotels can dramatically reduce their water and energy consumption by cutting down on the amount of laundry that needs to be processed daily.

Sustainability Through Maintenance

Hotels lose a great deal of money to water and energy waste each year. A hotel’s maintenance team can play a large roll in reducing these losses. Ensuring that sinks, toilets, and irrigation systems are properly maintained is imperative to keeping water waste at a minimum. Additionally, HVAC systems should be inspected regularly to ensure they are working efficiently to help keep energy expenses down. When it’s time to upgrade items like faucets or light fixtures, hotels should opt for more efficient options. Products like low-flow toilets and LED lighting will help minimize water and energy waste.

Reduce Postconsumer Waste

Part of an operator’s hospitality sustainability efforts should include minimizing landfill contributions. There are many areas where hotels can cut down on the amount of postconsumer waste they generate. First, hotels should perform an audit of their recycling program. Most hotels have systems in place for staff members to recycle glass, paper and plastic products, but there are typically fewer opportunities for guests to do the same. The addition of dedicated recycling receptacles in guest rooms and common areas can help reduce the number of recyclable products that end up in the trash.

Choose Strategic Suppliers

Strategic suppliers can help hotels identify the most environmentally friendly choices for commonly used hospitality supplies. This can include everything from cleaning products to linens and lightbulbs. Hotels should also choose food vendors that can source regional products that require less fuel to deliver. By regularly taking small steps towards becoming more sustainable, hotels can significantly cut down on waste, minimizing their environmental impact while saving money in the process.

Find out how Source1 Purchasing can help you with supplier relationship management while saving you more than 9% on the cost of your hospitality supplies. Request your free Market Basket today.