Blog Posts
Purchasing groups for the hospitality industry provide the same buying power and a wider range of options to all hotel operators. This is good news and beneficial for operator of smaller operations. You can maintain quality while experiencing greater savings. That’s one sure way to enhance guest satisfaction.
If you’re an hotelier or general manager of a smaller operation, you are typically responsible for everything at your property, including the never-ending search for best costs on all your supplies. It is nearly impossible to compete with large operations that qualify for volume discounts
The time and resources you devote to procuring food, beverages and supplies doesn’t always translate into savings. Consider a different approach for the way to handle your hotel purchasing needs.
As you begin to learn about hospitality industry purchasing groups, the benefits will quickly stand out. By participating with a GPO, you have access to the price stability that pre-negotiated national contracts offer. Next step? Learn how the purchasing group functions in order to get the most from your partnership. Is there a fee? Is there a long term contract?
There are many different activities and methodologies in procurement. Those new to managing an operation may focus on buying or obtaining products. Over time, the value of purchasing, a broader concept becomes the focus to meet the requirements of brand, its reputation and the role that each product plays in delivering on the larger promise of your operation.
While small- to mid-sized operators have historically functioned as buyers, there is a growing sophistication. As in the past, to keep prices under control, the model required hoteliers to make many sacrifices in brand quality and consistency. Those sacrifices ultimately influenced the guest experience and satisfaction. Today, hoteliers are looking for smarter purchasing solutions to protect the brand.
You don’t have to sacrifice quality to provide the best value. By joining a purchasing group, you will benefit from standards-based purchasing and also qualify for even more savings by accessing national, pre-negotiated contracts. Over time, this has become the methodology of choice for hotel operators. Typically, with over 6,000 products, hoteliers don’t alter the product, just the price they pay in large part due to the national contract pricing
Deviated contracts offer a set price directly from manufacturer to buyer. This type of model is seven times more impactful and illustrates that the manufacturer wants to earn your business and build a relationship with your operation.
You can access greater tiers of savings with purchasing groups. Source1 Purchasing participants benefit from access to industry trends, national contracts on the products hoteliers have come to trust and an understanding of the requirements of hotel brands.
