FM in HoReCa. How to manage facility management processes in the areas of restaurant and hotel industry

HoReCa is a fairly dynamic segment of the Ukrainian market. Like any other industry, the catering and hotel industry has a number of features that must be considered when managing and operating a real estate object.

Let’s start with the indicators of the domestic market. 2018 was very successful for the hotel and restaurant business in Ukraine. For 3 quarters of last year, the sales figure amounted to UAH 21,545.1 million. this is almost the same as for the entire 2017 – 23761.1.

Analysts attribute this growth primarily to the activation of the Ukrainian hotel market. The increase in the flow of tourists due to a number of sports and cultural events, and the entry of the low-cost airlines to the market made Ukraine more attractive for tourists. According to market experts, only Kiev for the 3 quarters of last year was visited by more than 850,000 tourists, which helped to achieve an average hotel occupancy rate of 52.4%.

The restaurant business also shows stable growth after the stagnation of 2014-2015. This segment is distinguished by a variety of conceptual formats, high quality cuisine and service at fairly low prices by European standards. There is also a high level of competition. At the end of 2017, there were 11,000 catering establishments of various formats in the 6 largest Ukrainian cities, with 4,500 accounted for Kiev.

If we transfer these indicators to the sphere of Management Facility, then in the current conditions, resource optimization and high quality services play a primary role. In addition, traditionally for such types of businesses, compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards plays a crucial role.

The main services for HorReCa are cleaning, maintenance, security, integrated facilitation management and partly catering.

Cleaning

Clean rooms in compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards are a priority when working with the hospitality industry. The peculiarity of the cleaning here are the different appointments of the premises and, accordingly, the different types of cleaning for each zone. For example, toilets here need to be cleaned not once or twice a day, but strictly according to the schedule, the time between cleanings can be as short as 15 minutes, for establishments with a large flow of visitors such as fast food. The kitchen zone is a separate story, where before a change or after it it is necessary to thoroughly clean all surfaces and to do a general cleaning every few days with special means. Cleaning hotel rooms involves a number of unique works, including changing bed linen, changing towels, etc.

Maintenance.  

The proper operation of equipment and all systems is extremely important for HoReCa, for example, according to Ukrainian legislation, when a water supply fails, the catering establishment should be closed until the water supply is fully resumed. Needless to say, without electricity, appropriate temperature, and a certain quality of air, hotels and restaurants will also not be able to work. Therefore, it is extremely important to have preventive or planned maintenance, which minimizes the risks of possible accidents and breakdowns.

Security.  

Security is practically the first people that a client encounters when entering a hotel or restaurant. Therefore, a neat appearance, courteous manner of speech, friendliness and willingness to help the necessary skills to work in this area. An important role is also played by the technical equipment of the premises. It is difficult to keep track of everything that happens on all floors of the building. Surveillance cameras greatly facilitate the work of the security service and not only detect illegal actions, but also help to prove the adequacy of the security actions in case of conflict situations, for example, with drunk visitors.

Integrated Facility Management  

In the field of hospitality, the most profitable type of cooperation with an outsourcing company is integrated facility management. Performing the full range of services associated with the operation of the property in close cooperation with the customer creates a unique experience for guests and significantly optimizes resources for a restaurant or hotel. In addition, for the top management such a symbiosis frees up a very valuable resource – time, for solving the most important issues related to the main type of activity.

Catering

Not always in hotels (especially small hotels) there is a kitchen. Sometimes it is more profitable to organize catering to provide guests and staff with food. Here it can come to the aid of precisely the company that has experience in catering. For the organization of banquets or receptions or other public events that may occur less frequently, learning and keeping your own staff may also be an unprofitable decision. Such one-time services are also provided by professional building service companies.

In conclusion, we note that the HoReCa sphere is very sensitive to the quality of services, the external and internal appearance of the building, and the coherence of the work of the staff. One mistake can cost significant material losses and critical customer churn. Therefore, deciding to work with a company facilitates, first of all, to pay attention to the reliability and professionalism of the future partner, and not to the lowest price on the market.