The startups that could boost your hotel’s profits

Operating a hotel has always been a multifaceted endeavour. As well as providing a bed to sleep in, hoteliers must offer convenient and high grade facilities to make their guests’ experience extra special, in order to oust competitors and stand out from the crowd.

With lots of guests now being seasoned international travellers, and the likes of Airbnb pushing hotels into an ever tighter corner, it’s more important than ever that hotels look beyond what they have traditionally provided, to consider new routes to maximum profits and reliable streams of revenue.

A number of startup companies have recently entered the space to offer just that, helping hotels embrace additional services which allow them to diversify their revenue stream and keep going steady. In this business, a little innovation goes a long way.

1. Stasher

Stasher has had a meteoric rise since it was founded in 2016. In July last year the startup won first place in the 2018 Hotel Jumpstart prize for innovative travel tech startups — and rightly so, as they have brilliantly executed a very simple idea. Stasher is a luggage storage firm which partners with big hotel chains and small businesses in hundreds of destinations worldwide, to provide cost-effective, safe and flexible means by which tourists can store luggage while going about their business.

There’s no size limit or price variable depending on the size or weight of luggage, with flat fees charged per 24 hours and beyond, depending on how long storage is required. Above all, Stasher stands out on account of its quick, convenient mobile service, optimising available technology to bring maximum efficiency and accessibility.

Adding the assistance of Stasher to your hotel could be a great way to add another low maintenance revenue stream, as businesses earn revenue from every bag stored at their venue. Luggage storage is a service most hotels will already offer to guests – but bringing Stasher into the equation means you can bring additional footfall onto your premises, with minimal impact on the day to day running of your hotel.

2. Rocketmiles

Rocketmiles is a service that offers users the chance to gain precious Air Miles from their hotel stays. Travellers can earn themselves thousands of points and miles per night simply by staying in a partner hotel; so long as they book their stay through Rocketmiles. Naturally this can be extremely useful for booking future trips — or even for attracting returning customers — and as such makes the associated hotels even more attractive to those looking for coveted discounted air travel.

Air Miles gained through Rocketmiles aren’t restricted to those who purchase them; they can also be transferred between people, or donated. As they’re highly popular with business travellers and frequent fliers, partnering up with a venture like Rocketmiles can bring your hotel to the attention of entirely new demographics, whilst keeping you on the radar of regular Rocketmiles customers. Ensuring that those who stay at your hotel will profit not only from the perks offered from their stay, but also what they can gain beyond that, is an important factor for hotels to consider. Rocketmiles is the perfect route in.

3. DayBreakHotels

At the core of DayBreakHotels is one central statistic: that 2.5 billion hotel rooms (or 35%) are left unsold per night worldwide. This means hotels are missing out on crucial gains to be had from their available assets, and dictates that the great facilities boasted by top end hotels are also going to waste.

DayBreakHotels exists with the aim of changing that through somewhat non-traditional means. They offer rooms at a range of luxury, boutique and chain hotels during the day rather than at night, creating a ‘daycay’ experience whilst opening up the huge and impressive range of facilities and services to those seeking them at a fraction of the overnight cost.

By offering day-use rooms, and allowing customers to book things like spa access and meeting rooms without being a paying hotel guest, DayBreakHotels brings the hotel experience to entirely new markets. In doing so, the platform enables hotels to take advantage of a profit angle that is currently very much under-utilised. They provide an inventive route forward for hotels seeking to expand their incomings, using existing assets that would otherwise go to waste.

4. Turiocity

Available around the world, Turiocity aims to provide personal and personalised tour services for tourists, showing them the best bits of wherever they happen to be with a local knowledge and flavour. Away from the more generic, well-trodden tour options provided by most, Turiocity is a shows curious tourists the lesser seen areas of the towns and cities they’re exploring, in over 50 destinations globally.

Partnering or forming a link with Turiocity presents a real opportunity for hotels to expand beyond what what would usually be their reach, offering guests options beyond their immediate premises. Partnering with Turiocity means hotels can give a personal edge to guests’ experiences, and show that they’re prepared to go above and beyond to ensure guests not only enjoy their stay at the hotel, but also their time in the city itself.

5. HotelTonight

HotelTonight’s booking system is designed for those working at the proverbial last minute. Rooms can only be booked up to seven days in advance of the check-in date, often at highly discounted rates put forward by the proprietors to ensure the room doesn’t go to waste. While the last ditch nature of the bookings means there’s no guarantee that users will find what they’re hoping to, from the perspective of the hotels, this can be a really useful resource that helps hotels ensure a room doesn’t remain empty overnight — even if that room goes at a discounted rate.

Linking up with HotelTonight is another means of opening up a profit avenue that can be neglected, and although it’s of the more ‘conventional’ variety, as these things go, it’s certainly not one to be sniffed at.