Labor Management in the Hospitality Industry continued
Labor Management Principles and Processes
Let’s start by defining the essential features and attributes of labor management for the hospitality industry. Labor management can be viewed as a six step process which must be completed on a weekly basis.
 These six steps must be incorporated into a business’ LMS in order to effectively manage labor. While each part is distinct, each is part of an integrated whole.
Forecasting
At its most basic level, labor management forecasting is predicting weekly business volumes at the property level. Most managers have basic information about how much
business is expected next week (it will be busy, average, or slow). Some have precise predictions based on records they have kept and spreadsheets they have used to calculate projections. Virtually all hotels forecast rooms and many forecast food covers (though fewer do so by meal period).
This is an important step because it allows the manager to better plan and schedule the resources that will be needed for the upcoming week. Not having an accurate forecast can lead to either too much labor or not enough labor to provide the expected level of service to the guests. The two key components are:
- Forecasting all key business volumes
- Reviewing forecast accuracy
Forecasting Key Business Volumes
Most hotels forecast occupied rooms. Occupied rooms are a key driver of labor for many positions throughout the hotel. Beyond occupied rooms, it is important to forecast other key business volumes across the hotel.
The following criteria are the minimum that should be forecast at each hotel:
- Occupied rooms
- Arrivals/departures
- Breakfast/lunch/dinner/overnight covers for all food outlets
- Banquet covers
- Available guests
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