Part 1: Project management hotel pre-opening

Part 1: Project management hotel pre-opening - succesful hotel opening according to the Nübel Hotel GmbH method - Case Health Care Hotel "Das Bad Peterstal" in the Black Forest

hotelberatung | 09 August, 2009 20:17
Project management hotel pre-opening - succesful hotel opening according to the Nübel Hotel GmbH method - Case Health Care Hotel "Das Bad Peterstal" in the Black Forest

The opening of a hotel is always a project. It has the typical characteristics according to DIN 69901 in DIN 1989, page 11:
- Complex, cutting-edge assignement comprising construction, investment and organization
- Written goals
- budgeted financial and staff configuration
- Defined start and end
- Interdisciplinary collaboration of different persons, companies and departments

Therefore a hotel opening without project management would be unconveivable.

Focal points in project management are 3 aims:
1. resulting quality
2. date of hotel opening (end of project)
3. budget project costs

These overall aims are above all subordinate objectives, tasks, solutions and personnel decisions during the whole project. The project manager is responsible for the dates, contents, staff and budget.

The organizational structure of a hotel opening consists of three levels:
1. Initiator
2. Executive committee (approves budgets, takes decisions beyond the project group's competence)
3. The project team with project manager and members of staff

To find the right people and determine hierarchical and managerial authority as well as business relationships are important steps towards a target-oriented hotel opening.

This hotel opening is organized into the phases of prearrangement, implementation, controlling and closing.

To the phase of prearrangement belong:
- the feasibility-study
- the marketing plan including budgets for hotel and restaurant operation
- the permanent alignment with the customer's, architect's or initiator's expectations
- checking information paths and defining particular tasks, competences and responsibilities

By this time it will become clear whether an external pre-opening hotel manager is necessary or not. In the phase of prearrangement the team members (or candidates) will be allocated to one or more tasks/ roles according to their motivation, experience and temporal ressources.

The phase of implementation starts with the day, when the work to reach the first partial result has started. This can be:
- Human resource planning
- Marketing concept
- IT-concept
- Front office concept
- Food &Beverage concept
- Housekeeping concept
- Room design (furniture, fitting colors and materials)
- Controlling concept for hotel operation
- Architect's plan

These are the partial results of phase 1 of a hotel opening. This is also when it is decided about who informs who via which communication path abouth the next dates and results and where assistance can be asked for.

In this phase the project manager's operational compentences will be proven. She or he has to realize whether training is necessary, the team is motivated or not and whether everybody is aware of the in the prearrangement phase established goals, methods, norms and roles.

Parallel to the implementation starts the phase of controlling consisting of:

- the permanent adapting of plans to the actual status
- assessment of leeway for changes
- exact costs, dates, monitoring the quality of the overall aim as well as all subordinate goals and tasks.