Looking to write a hotel business plan? Here is a guide.
The travel and hospitality industry is one with enormous benefits for the daring entrepreneur. It’s daring in the sense that it isn’t easy to set up a thriving operation at least not without an important tool such as a business plan.
If you wish to start a hotel business, you’ll need to ensure that the right structures are put in place.
HOTEL BUSINESS PLAN SAMPLE
Without a plan, your hotel business idea will only be a pipe dream.
To help you out, we’ve provided a template to pattern your plan. A hotel business plan should follow a set of procedures that guarantee its efficacy as an implementable document.
It Unfolds in a Definite Way
A hotel business plan isn’t written haphazardly. It must follow a defined process.
Here, we’re referring to the key components every business plan should have. These sections include the executive summary, the company description, and the products & services sections.
Equally important are other components such as the market analysis section, strategy & implementation, organization & management team as well as the financial plan & projections sections.
Each of these components highlights key aspects of your hotel business.
i. Executive Summary
When anyone picks up your hotel business plan document, the first section they find is the executive summary section. While it’s so arranged, the executive summary is actually written last.
This is aimed at capturing key aspects of your business plan.
As the name implies, the executive summary captures the essence of your plan. It’s a summary of what’s contained in the plan. It makes it easier for your audience (investors etc) to understand the ideas contained within your plan.
This section should not be more than a few pages. That should be around 3 to 5 pages max. So, what are the contents of the executive summary?
Your business name & location, products & services, mission & vision statements as well as the purpose of the plan are discussed here.
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Business Name & Location
What name is your hotel going to be known by and where will it be located?
This is a great way to introduce your business to readers. Before thinking about writing a plan, a name should be ready for your business idea.
The location of your business is central to hotel profitability. Provide information relating to its location and every other related aspect.
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Products & Services
There are lots of services within the hospitality industry. Which of them do you wish to offer? As a service-based business, ensure you include all relevant information about what you intend to offer.
You’ll need to have conducted a great deal of research before providing this information.
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Mission & Vision Statements
Every good hotel business plan has a mission and vision statement.
These are central to achieving set goals and objectives. The mission statement is usually action-oriented. It highlights the purpose of your hotel business. This statement should summarize what you do and why you do such.
Simply put, the vision statement conveys your aspirations for your hotel business. It also points to the path towards the attainment of the business’s future growth.
The vision statement should offer a broader view of goals to be achieved.
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Purpose of the Plan
Not much goes on without a purpose.
As a matter of fact, there’s hardly any deliberation action without it. Given this, your hotel business plan must have one. What’s the purpose of writing the plan?
Whatever it is, having it clearly written helps maintain your focus.
ii. Company Description
In this section, your hotel business will need to be fully described.
Here, you want to explain who you are, your operations as well as state your goals. The description should include the legal structure your hotel business will take as well as its brief history.
What are the demands you seek to meet?
You will also need to include information touching on services, products, customers as well as suppliers. Have a summary of company growth as well. The aspects of company growth to include are market and financial highlights.
Lastly, have a summary of short and long-term goals.
iii. Services & Products
What services are you selling?
Figuring out what such services are and how they impact your clients is a good way to approach the subject. There should be a detailed description of services on offer in addition to further coverage on the market role of such services.
How do your services compare with those of your competitors?
Are there ongoing research and development activities that could lead to the creation of new products in the nearest future?
iv. Market Analysis
An analysis of the hotel industry based on thorough market research reveals your in-depth understanding of the business idea.
Areas to cover in your analysis include having a sketched target customer segment with other details such as size and demographics.
Have a description of the hotel industry and also provide an outlook with supporting data where necessary. The inclusion of historical, current, and projected marketing data will help come up with the best marketing strategy.
Also, identifying your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses is a great addition.
v. Strategy & Implementation
All devised strategies for sales and marketing will be useless without a blueprint for their implantation. As such, you’ll need to have an explanation of how your hotel business will be sold to clients.
Include details on cost, pricing, and promotions. Also, explain how your hotel will operate.
vi. Organization & Management Team
This section seeks to identify the key management team as well as the roles performed or how they’re organized.
Include an organizational chart with key departments fully described. The owners of such hotels will have to be included with names, percentage ownership and level of involvement added.
A profile of your management team consisting of names, positions, and key responsibilities is added.
vii. Financial Plan & Projections
The financial plan & projections section concludes the plan with an elaborate financial statement containing historical financial data.
Other details to be included are a brief analysis of financial data and realistic prospective financial information. Here, the help of a financial expert such as a professional accountant is needed.
This hotel Business Plan covers all the key sections that mustn’t be skipped when writing yours.
You’ll need to include all relevant information relating to your business within this document to ensure a good job is done.