Why Hotel Staff Training Makes or Breaks Guest Experience

"You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression." 

And in hospitality this first impression is often made by someone who has just been hired.

 
In this episode of the Talking Hospitality podcast, Mauricio Schuler emphasizes the critical importance of hotel staff training and onboarding in enhancing guest satisfaction and operational efficiency. 

He discusses the high turnover rates in the hospitality industry and how effective training can significantly improve employee retention and performance.

The episode introduces the STAY onboarding framework, which provides a structured approach to training new hires, ensuring they are well-prepared and integrated into the hotel culture. 

Mauricio highlights the need for continuous learning and development within hotel teams to foster a positive guest experience.

Listen now and start the conversation to change the bottom line through humanizing your services.

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Schulering: Evolving Hospitality through Learning.

Transcript

Mauricio (00:03.042)
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. And in hospitality that impression is often made by someone who has just been hired.

Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of the Talking Hospitality Podcast where we help independent hoteliers like you design better staff experiences because we know happy teams create happy guests. I'm Mauricio Schuler, founder of Schulering Hub and today I'm flying solo to talk about something that impacts your hotel.

more than marketing, more than tech, and even more than your breakfast buffet. Hotel staff training. In this episode, we will explore why hotel training is critical link to guest satisfaction, how poor on board can silently damage your reputation and revenue,

What makes onboarding and training programs effective in independent hotels? How the Schulering hub STAY onboarding framework support hotel employee development. So if you're onboarding your first from desk agent or if you're onboard with 50th room attendant today.

Stay with me. Let's dive in!

Mauricio (01:39.48)
But let's start with some numbers because stats are so impactful when it comes to onboarding. The turnover in hospitality is in between 70 to 80 % annually, the highest of any industry.

The cost to replace hire is in between 20 to 30 % of their annual salary. So, per operations, saving around 5,500 euros per hire. And it can be up to 200 % for some managers and executives. And when it comes to structural onboarding, it can give you retention boost of 82%.

The productive increase is 70 % and they are 69 % more likely to STAY for at least 3 years and I will put the link for all these stats on the notes. But most importantly, let's get something very straight here. If your employees are untrained, your guests will feel it. It's a poor service, slow check-ins, it's inconsistent.

Little mistakes that can lead to bad reviews. Nine times out of ten, it's not that you hire someone bad. It's a good person, you know, who was never set up to succeed in your hotel.

Hotels that invest in structured hotel staff training see improvements in guest satisfaction, in team performance and in employee retention. This is especially true in independent and boutique hotels where every guest interaction is amplified because it's so close to each other.

Mauricio (03:36.332)
So here is why onboarding and ongoing training are essential for hotel operations. One, training builds confidence and confidence builds guest trust. As you know, a confident staff member welcomes guests with clarity. know what to say. They are warm and they have assurance.

they don't guess things, they just know it and the guests can feel that.

Two, training improves communication and service quality. Soft skills like empathy, active listening, and problem solving. They must be taught. are not, people are not born with all these skills, especially in fast-paced hotel environments. So we need to train soft skills for success.

and three, operational efficiency comes from knowing what to do. Training ensures staff follows the hotel standards, the SOPs, handle check-ins smoothly and resolve issues quickly, all of which affects the hotel guest satisfaction. Four, it is a strategy against turnover.

One of the best ways to reduce hotel staff turnover is by training them well and showing that you are investing in them, you are investing in their growth. So if you're wondering why hotel staff training is important, the answer is very simple.

Mauricio (05:33.482)
It touches every part of the guest experience and business results. This is exactly why we created Schulering Hub. We wanted to have an online platform to help independent hoteliers to succeed. And...

We know most small hotels don't have a HR team or time to build custom onboarding materials for them. With our STAY onboarding framework, you can structure and simplify the process. And today, I will give that framework to you so you can start applying your hotel right now.

STAY stands for S for standards, T for trust, A for assimilation, and Y as your row. Let's break each part down and you can already apply this today. Let's get in! So, S for standards.

Since this is the foundation, you need to set the clear expectations around the policies, the hygiene, the emergency procedures, GDPR and time off protocols. This creates structure and avoids any legal or reputational risks to your work. And T for trust. Trust is normally earned when employees are well prepared.

Onboarding takes, on average, three to six months. So have a training plan ready. Do high skills and competence needs assessment to prioritize what's the weaker areas of this new hire so you can improve them first. And make it easy for your new hire to learn the tasks by offering training that includes visual standards,

Mauricio (07:48.852)
photos, videos, interactive modules and real-world examples. Even those unspoken, common sense things new hires often miss.

it's for a simulation and this is all about culture. New hires should feel that they belong from before they run. So you should send a welcoming email two weeks before they start to explain the induction day and first week. Also introduce the company standards and policies so during the induction day the new hire has more time to tour the property, the department area, meet the team, have a little party, you

they can feed a full duck.

Facebook group we suggest pairing them with a work buddy trained to answer the questions introduce them to the Hotel culture it's all about making them feel that they are part of the team part of a mission and not just another employee So send them to be part of something and a pro tip here if you offer a digital platform, a digital tailor platform for your hotel you can also track your new hire engagement like if

about their personality, right? Do they learn on their own or do they need someone to coach them closely in the beginning? Also, you can offer badges, certificates for each step that is concluded there. So they get recognized by the Air Force and the recognition goes a long way when it comes to turnover.

Mauricio (09:28.478)
and why it comes from your role. From day one, employees should understand what success looks like. KPIs, learning goals, and feedback loops are built into onboarding processes. A pro tip here again. You can develop a mentorship program with a trusted senior staff helping them grow professionally, not only for the position.

Nowadays there are even mentorship platforms pairing staff and mentors. And if you are interested, I'll comment here and I will get them into our podcast in the next episode. Just comment here, mentorship. Now a no shame plug here. We designed Schulering Hub to be a full service hospitality onboarding software.

You need a hotel training. If you need a hotel training checklist, onboarding templates, or an LMS for small hotels, like a learning management system, it's all there. A click away. Our clients use it to reduce onboarding time, improve employee performance, and create a consistent experience across departments. So if you think...

Look, your tech stack matters and matters a lot, mainly today. Your design of your hotel really matters as well. But at the end of the day, your people are your product. When you train well, guests feel it. They trust, they return, they recommend. And when you don't, they walk out with a bad memory.

and you never even may know why.

Mauricio (11:27.678)
If you are wondering how to onboard new hotel staff or looking for hospitality onboarding best practices, take a breath. You don't have to do it alone. Chilling is your partner. From our Red Mate modules to our Hotel Elements system, you will get a simple, effective solution to improve guest satisfaction.

So you can visit our website www.shulering.com, S-C-H-U-L-E-R-I-N-G.com, or here commit STAY, S-T-A-Y, to get our free STAY framework checklist, or book a free employer brain audit. We are offering 10 this month. And learn.

where you stand when it comes to what people think about you. Because behind every great hotel is a team that was built north out. And hospitality starts before the EOA. Thanks for tuning in, everyone.

listening to the Talking Hospitality podcast. If you like this podcast, please share this episode with a fellow hotelier and let's raise the bar together. Until next time, I'm Modus Oshile. Bye.