With emerging technologies impacting on all industries, find out the skills you need to advance your hospitality management career.

Digital disruption and big data are changing the way managers should operate and the skills they need. The collection and utilisation of data to optimise operations is vital for Australian hospitality businesses seeking a competitive edge, making data analysis an important skill for all hospitality managers.

Inventory management

Room inventory management is a major consideration for any hotel. An effective strategy should identify the various channels needed to maximise bookings during different times of the year, while also minimising the costs of attaining those bookings.

Data can also help to see which types of guests use which channels. From this, managers can segment their listings appropriately to reduce costs.To build an intelligent strategy, hospitality managers need to be able to analyse relevant data to form reasonable forecasts and segment target markets. By recognising patterns in demand, managers can distribute room inventory across different channels. For example, busier travel periods may mean more rooms should be listed on booking websites, when having a similar level of inventory with distribution partners during quiet months could be costly.

Optimising menu and staffing

Restaurants and hotel kitchens can benefit hugely from sales breakdowns. Using analytics tools, managers can learn what menu items are performing and what trends are impacting sales.

They can then remove or develop low performing menu items, change descriptions to be more appealing, or adjust kitchen stock levels to meet demand. Trends can also be discerned to address staffing requirements and performance. This allows managers to roster the highest-performing staff during busier periods, find promotion opportunities or identify overstaffing.

Digital marketing

As industries shift to online marketing, hospitality management roles are expanding to include tracking the performance of these strategies.

Tapping into data insights from social media apps or distribution websites allows managers to understand how consumers are finding the business, how many are engaging with the brand online and what percentage of people are converting to genuine customers. After identifying strong channels, managers can work to strengthen weak channels or nurture existing audiences and loyalties. In larger businesses, a marketing team may be employed to cover this, but awareness of the process is nonetheless important for senior managers.

Understanding data and applying it to hospitality management requires industry-specific training. To gain real-world, practical skills in hospitality management, apply for a Le Cordon Bleu hospitality management programme today.


CRICOS 02380M / RTO 4959