What issues should we pay attention to when talking about hotel outsourcing business?

A certain resort hotel business outsourcing is when an enterprise, with limited internal resources, transfers other non-core businesses to external professional companies to complete in order to better develop its core business capabilities, so as to achieve full utilization External resources, a strategic approach to achieve one's own development. As the hotel industry gradually ends the "vertical integration" organizational model, business outsourcing has become an effective means for the hotel industry to achieve a great stride in business operations.

Business outsourcing can not only reduce hotel operating costs, but also improve the hotel's core competitiveness and optimize resource allocation by "outsourcing" secondary and non-core businesses and focusing only on "strengths"; in addition , allowing outsourcers to participate in the value chain of hotel development can also diversify the risks of hotel investment and operation. Fundamentally speaking, business outsourcing opens up new ideas for hotel development and also provides the possibility for hotels to achieve extraordinary development.

Why should we clarify the core competitiveness of the hotel? This involves the fundamental concept of business outsourcing - if a certain link in the hotel's "value chain" is not the best in the industry, it is not its core competitive advantage, and this activity will not separate us from our customers. , then it should be outsourced to other professional companies. In this way, it is particularly important to determine the core competitiveness of the hotel, because only after determining the core competitiveness can the hotel hand over non-core and secondary business to others to manage, thereby creating its own value more efficiently.

Among the basic businesses of a hotel, production, operation, marketing, and sales are the main projects that create value for the hotel. Production and operation mainly refers to hotel accommodation. The guest room department meets customer needs through excellent room service and creates value by increasing the number of customers; marketing mainly uses publicity to increase the hotel's visibility and build the hotel brand to create value; while the hotel sales department Value is created by selling food and beverages, providing entertainment, etc. Based on the concept that "the core competitiveness of a hotel is what creates value that distinguishes it from other hotels," we know that the two businesses of production and operation and marketing and sales are universal as the core competitiveness of hotels. Of course, universality is not the same as absoluteness. Many hotels do not have these two items as their core competitiveness, or they may have more than these two items. For example, some hotels pay more attention to hotel culture. They sell hotel culture as the hotel's core product to create value. Some hotels outsource catering and only focus on production and operation.

For example, the catering department of the Yi Zhengyuan Hotel in Linyi, Shandong Province, as a place that provides accommodation, training and other commercial services to the public, is one of the important components of the hotel. However, because the catering department has the most complex management in the entire hotel, the factor rate of return is diminishing (the factor rate of return is diminishing). After a certain level, the increase in output brought about by adding one unit of factors will decrease), and the cost and expenses are also the most difficult to control. In addition, the catering industry in today's society is becoming more professional, large-scale and group-oriented, and the pressure of competition is increasing day by day. The food and beverage department has unexpectedly become the hotel's "weakness". Therefore, Yizhengyuan decisively outsourced its catering department to Jinan Shark Fin Emperor Catering Group, a socialized professional catering company, and established Yizhengyuan Bao Chihuang Restaurant, achieving the win-win goal of both parties.

It can be seen from this that the determination of core competitiveness must be based on the actual situation of the hotel as a criterion. Do not follow the trend, nor use theoretical textbooks as a bible.

Secondly, we must choose professional outsourcing companies scientifically and rationally. Outsourcing companies are responsible for the beginning and end of outsourcing activities and are the guarantee for the normal operation of outsourcing activities. A good outsourcing company is the key to the hotel's effective business outsourcing management. Therefore, hotels should consider the selection of outsourcing companies as an important step.

Outsourcing projects are provided to guests as part of the hotel's products. If the project is not completed satisfactorily, it will inevitably destroy the good image established by the hotel among guests and affect the hotel's future development. Therefore, hotels should examine outsourcing companies from all aspects and choose them carefully. The hotel should first consider whether the outsourcing company matches the hotel's brand, grade, organizational culture, etc., and then use various channels to examine the outsourcing company's economic strength, scale level, management capabilities, integrity, technical level and other aspects. Whether the qualifications provide a competitive advantage in the field.

During the inspection phase, the hotel can also set up an evaluation team to evaluate the service price, outsourcing quality, innovation ability of the outsourcing company and corporate compatibility in order to be fair, impartial, objective and comprehensive. The subjective factors of the hotel leadership may also have to be considered, which will also become one of the basis and evaluation criteria for choosing an outsourcing company.

Some hotels consider cost issues and will list outsourcing fees as the primary factor in choosing an outsourcing company. However, if we only start from outsourcing costs or use outsourcing costs as a decisive indicator, the hotel is likely to bear the risk of substandard outsourcing projects. Therefore, the author hereby suggests that when choosing an outsourcing company, hotels should adhere to the principles of comprehensive inspection and objective evaluation in order to make scientific and reasonable judgments.

It is worth mentioning here that while hotels choose outsourcing companies scientifically and rationally, they must also properly handle their relationships with outsourcing companies. In order to ensure the smooth progress of cooperation between the two parties, the hotel and the outsourcing company must realize the sharing of information on outsourcing projects. The main reason for the principal-agent problem is the asymmetry of information between the two parties. Strengthening information exchange can reduce the probability of problems to a certain extent. . In addition, as a client, the hotel can only maximize its own benefits when the outsourcing company's actions maximize the utility. In order for the outsourcing company to take utility-maximizing behavior, the hotel must provide effective incentives. The relationship between the hotel and the outsourcing company is a partnership. Both the benefits and risks are shared. The implementation of effective incentives will contribute to the "win-win" between the hotel and the outsourcing company. The establishment of a stable and long-term alliance between the two parties will also be conducive to mutual understanding and trust, while reducing transaction costs and reducing the opportunistic behavior of outsourcing companies trying to seek additional benefits through illegal operations.

Finally, a contract must be signed to clarify the responsibilities and rights of both parties. Hotels and outsourcing companies have a "principal-agent" relationship, that is, the principal (hotel) selects an agent (outsourcing company) to complete certain tasks. In principal-agent theory, there is a hidden danger called "moral hazard". The problem of "moral hazard" arises after entrustment, that is, the party to the contract only gains access to private information after entering into the contract. This is reflected in the hotel's business outsourcing services. After the hotel signs a contract with the outsourcing company, the outsourcing company begins to perform the contract. The specific behavior of the outsourcing company in the process of executing the contract content becomes his private information. To put it simply, what the hotel gets is the result (regardless of whether it is good or bad). As for whether the outsourcing company strictly followed the conditions in the contract during the period, the hotel does not know. Therefore, the hotel bears certain risks for the results of the outsourcing company's actions, and signing a perfect contract is an effective measure to avoid this risk.

The outsourcing contract must specify the content of the outsourcing service, service quality requirements, work processes, implementation methods, time requirements, etc., especially the corresponding penalties for violations, which has a certain impact on the "moral hazard" issue. It has a great restrictive effect. Only in this way can the effectiveness and orderliness of outsourcing services be achieved. For hotels, a detailed and complete outsourcing contract can not only ensure that the hotel can maximize its rights and interests during the existence of the outsourcing relationship, but also ensure that the outsourcing company's daily operations can be carried out within the constraints of the hotel's rules and regulations. , thereby maintaining the hotel's good image in the minds of guests and promoting the hotel's sustainable development.