Audits in the Hospitality Industry
Hotels & Hospitality
The hotel industry is one of the most competitive industries in which there is not much room for errors or omissions. In such a demanding environment, meeting the highest standards and regular inspection are more of a necessity than an option.
The pandemic has made the hotelo industry even mre difficult. Many did not or will not survive the ordeal, and almost all companies are still struggling with the effects of lockdowns. It is estimated that it will take at least few more years to return to the pre-pandemic state, granted no other unforeseen events occur during this time.
Additionally hotel and catering industry is a subject to many advanced regulations imposed by national institutions, inlcuding health and safety regulations, labor law and food safety regulations. Lately, ecology regulations and sustainable development have become another requirement. The companies are being pressured to adopt enviromentally friendly practices, reduce waste and carbon footprint. Satisfying these requirements can be costly and needs drastic changes in company operations.
Basically: the easy times are over and hoteliers have to learn to face new challenges.
It is therefore all the more important to gain advantage over the competition, for example by maintaining high standards of hotel guest service. One of the tools to achieve and maintain high-quality services is a well-thought-out, planned and rigorously enforced audit process, preferably using modern online and mobile tools such as Action Audit.
EXAMPLES OF AUDIT AREAS IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
Hotel/accomodation - the main audit area is of course the hotel/accomodation part of the buisness. These audits cover e.g. reception, building surroundings, guest and conference rooms and recreational parts. Hotel rooms and surroundings are checked for cleanliness and technical condition. The audit also covers work quality and technical department of technical department, ground floor service floor service.
Gastronomy - another audit area is gastronomy part of the business. It consists of restaurants, breakfast buffet, other food points (e.g. cafes, bars or grills) and room serivce. The auditor will check restaurant offer, gastronomy standards and quality of service.
SPA & Wellness - if there's a SPA & Wellness zone in the hotel, it becomes the next audit area. Here, like in the other areas, the audits test the range of services, their quality, and the cleanliness of the zone. Additionally, the auditor can evaluate the planning of the treatment (methods, dates, schedules).
Every area - the above areas have some common audit parts. In each of them the auditor checks safety, quality and speed of service, the knowledge and readiness of the staff, cleaniness, as well as interpersonal and sales skills.
AUDITS AND INSPECTION IN HOTELS
The goal of the audits and inspections is to find and identify potential causes, that could have a nagative impact on the whole organization. Finding these causes can lead to continuous improvement of the service - raising its quality and efficency, as well as eliminating any problems or dangers. Additionally In addition, audits have a positive impact on hotel management processes and control systems that aim to reduce or eliminate risk. All this leads to increased customer satisfaction with the services, which should be the most important thing for the hotel management.
Safety audit - one of the basic and most important types of audit. During this audit, the following are checked, among others: evacuation routes, monitoring, lighting, protection, emergency power supply, and elements related to fire protection. The aim of such audits is to maintain the highest standards regarding the safety of both guests and hotel employees.
Service quality audit - the level of service quality determines how the hotel will be assessed and whether it will be willingly visited by guests/customers, and therefore whether the company will develop. The service quality audit includes, among others: reception work, condition of rooms, quality of hotel service, catering outlets, and SPA & Wellness areas. Regularly auditing the quality of services will help not only maintain standards, but also constantly improve this quality, so that the hotel becomes an increasingly better place for people using its services.
ISO 14001 / ESG - standards such as ISO 14001 and ESG define the operation of an organization (e.g. a hotel) in terms of impact/care for the environment, social responsibility (relations with employees or partners), as well as corporate governance (norms and principles defining company management). Audits regarding these standards allow you to obtain or maintain appropriate certificates, which proves the high standard of a given hotel.
Customer satisfaction survey - these are tests/audits that best show whether the hotel is operating properly. After all, a hotel's success can be measured by the number of guests satisfied with its services. Such audits concern, among others: reservations (direct and indirect), first impressions, room impressions, evaluation of the gastronomy and all amenities. One way to measure customer satisfaction is a "visit a mystery client".
Action Audit FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
Although Action Audit has its origins in the manufacturing industry, its advanced and universal functions also work very well in the hotel industry. The combination of an online platform for managing and creating reports with a mobile application for auditors and people responsible for post-audit corrective actions means that the system will perfectly improve the currently operating audit process in the hotel, thus contributing to the improvement of the quality of services provided, safety and guest satisfaction.
You may find the following features available in Action Audit particularly helpful:
Push notifications about assigned audits
Scheduled and on-demand audits (ad-hoc)
Adding photos and descriptions of nonconformities
Preview of previous audit results
Key benefits of using Action Audit in the manufacturing industry
Overall improvement of the quality of the auditing process - transparent scheduling, advanced configuration options, automatic assigning of auditors and addressing of corrective actions, combined with accurate real time reports, result in an overall improvement in the quality, transparency and reliability of the audit process.
Time saving - the information obtained from the current users of the application shows that they achieve between 60 and 80 percent savings on time they previously spent on servicing the auditing process.
Greater team involvement - having a tool with which auditors can carry out an audit from a computer, a tablet or a phone, and people responsible for corrective actions have access to comprehensive information about any inconsistencies, the involvement of the entire staff is increased and the effectiveness of interdepartmental cooperation is improved.
Secondary benefits - Having a properly planned and rigorously enforced system of auditing, it is impossible not to mention a number of secondary benefits, including: improved product quality, fewer complaints, improved key production indicators and increased customer satisfaction.
How to run Action Audit in 3 steps?
Step 1
Click on the link below and fill out a short form in which we will ask you to present a few basic parameters regarding audits in your company.
Step 2
One of our specialists will contact you to arrange an online meeting to see how Action Audit will work in your organization.
Step 3
Based on the information from the form and the meeting, we will prepare an Action Audit especially for you and make it available for free testing for 30, 45 or even 60 days!