Question about goal setting for Innkeeper?

[MichiganInnkeeper]

I have just hired an Innkeeper couple for our soon-to-open resort motel. I have no personal hospitality experience, but we plan to offer monthly bonuses based on met goals in order to motivate. I am looking for ideas on types of specific goals. Obviously the intent of these goals is to reach the objectives of: happy guests that will return, clean rooms, positive reviews, additional revenue, etc.
Thanks in advance and am looking forward to being part of your community!

 

[Generic]

I assume they are going to be paid a reasonable amount and your bonuses are above and beyond... remember that guest satisfaction will reflect on their happiness. You don't want to create Pavlov's dog, because then they go after their perceived goal rather than the goal of everything being clean, neat, and in order.

 

[MichiganInnkeeper]

I assume they are going to be paid a reasonable amount and your bonuses are above and beyond... remember that guest satisfaction will reflect on their happiness. You don't want to create Pavlov's dog, because then they go after their perceived goal rather than the goal of everything being clean, neat, and in order..

Thanks for taking the time to reply! Yes there will be a reasonable base salary plus benefits. We plan to do $300 bonus each month based on attainable goals within their control. We live 2 hours from site and will only be able to visit every few weeks, so we feel this is a good way to both incentivize them and keep reasonable checks on everything. For instance an average 4.5 star rating on google might be a goal for the month, and a "mystery shop guest" who is mostly satisified with their experience are two ideas I had. In my past work experience in customer service, goals and rewards were common I was just wondering if anyone else on the board had done this or had suggestions! Thanks!

 

[gillumhouse]

Most of us are owner/innkeepers. I am and I work for room & board. I do not know if I would do a monthly bonus but quarterly or annual sounds nice. Yes, it makes sense to offer a reason to really work the place as if it was yours (incentive) rather than I get paid whether I do anything ot not.
May everything work out nicely for both you and your innkeepers.

 

[OnTheShore]

Ours is an annual bonus, and it is ultimately based on the financial performance of the business.
Whatever criteria you choose, it should be easy to measure (quantify) and track (e.g., to compare to previous periods or other baselines).

 

[JimBoone]

For me I'm not big into goals (bonus), mostly as I have family that works in retail and I hear so much about impossible goals and spending more time getting yelled at or reporting why a goal was not met that actually selling the product.
The "right" person will achieve because they are that kind of person, the "wrong" person will spend too much time trying to game the system to earn the goal/bonus.
I'm more of the attitude to set your goals with the operator, but rather than a "game" system of a bonus of sorts, pat them on the back for a job well done and reward them as you are able, just without a rigid system. I still have letters that were a pat on the back from 50 years ago, but whatever bonus I received is long gone.

 

[Generic]

I assume they are going to be paid a reasonable amount and your bonuses are above and beyond... remember that guest satisfaction will reflect on their happiness. You don't want to create Pavlov's dog, because then they go after their perceived goal rather than the goal of everything being clean, neat, and in order..

Thanks for taking the time to reply! Yes there will be a reasonable base salary plus benefits. We plan to do $300 bonus each month based on attainable goals within their control. We live 2 hours from site and will only be able to visit every few weeks, so we feel this is a good way to both incentivize them and keep reasonable checks on everything. For instance an average 4.5 star rating on google might be a goal for the month, and a "mystery shop guest" who is mostly satisified with their experience are two ideas I had. In my past work experience in customer service, goals and rewards were common I was just wondering if anyone else on the board had done this or had suggestions! Thanks!
.

Every measurement has it's unintended consequences. For example, the unintended consequence of OTA's affiliate marketing was fake websites and videos to get people to click on the link and book.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

I've gotten some pretty nasty reviews over the years. If you do include reviews in your assessment, it should be somewhat subjective.
Example, I've had bad reviews mention that there is nothing to do in town on a rainy day. that certainly does not reflect on my doing my job. Or, the bathroom is old fashioned. Again, that reflects on the house and the guests perception or expectations. Not on the innkeepers' duties.

 

[Morticia]

I've gotten some pretty nasty reviews over the years. If you do include reviews in your assessment, it should be somewhat subjective.
Example, I've had bad reviews mention that there is nothing to do in town on a rainy day. that certainly does not reflect on my doing my job. Or, the bathroom is old fashioned. Again, that reflects on the house and the guests perception or expectations. Not on the innkeepers' duties..

I've gotten some pretty nasty reviews over the years. If you do include reviews in your assessment, it should be somewhat subjective.
Example, I've had bad reviews mention that there is nothing to do in town on a rainy day. that certainly does not reflect on my doing my job. Or, the bathroom is old fashioned. Again, that reflects on the house and the guests perception or expectations. Not on the innkeepers' duties.

Good points. Even the ones that call me names and say I'm a liar are pretty much in the eyes of the beholder and not in the actual words said to the guest by the innkeeper.

 

[Jcam]

I've gotten some pretty nasty reviews over the years. If you do include reviews in your assessment, it should be somewhat subjective.
Example, I've had bad reviews mention that there is nothing to do in town on a rainy day. that certainly does not reflect on my doing my job. Or, the bathroom is old fashioned. Again, that reflects on the house and the guests perception or expectations. Not on the innkeepers' duties..

we had one that critisied us for the traffic being busier than they expected (drove to skipton this is the A 59 which is the busiest road outside of LONDON!!!!) Duh! I can't control your expectations of traffic sorry!

 

[MichiganInnkeeper]

I've gotten some pretty nasty reviews over the years. If you do include reviews in your assessment, it should be somewhat subjective.
Example, I've had bad reviews mention that there is nothing to do in town on a rainy day. that certainly does not reflect on my doing my job. Or, the bathroom is old fashioned. Again, that reflects on the house and the guests perception or expectations. Not on the innkeepers' duties..

Thankyou, and yes of course. I am a very reasonable person with reasonable expectations, I don't expect perfection. I do expect that the overall average, not individual reviews, but the average star rating will be at least on par with nearby competition.

 

[MichiganInnkeeper]

For me I'm not big into goals (bonus), mostly as I have family that works in retail and I hear so much about impossible goals and spending more time getting yelled at or reporting why a goal was not met that actually selling the product.
The "right" person will achieve because they are that kind of person, the "wrong" person will spend too much time trying to game the system to earn the goal/bonus.
I'm more of the attitude to set your goals with the operator, but rather than a "game" system of a bonus of sorts, pat them on the back for a job well done and reward them as you are able, just without a rigid system. I still have letters that were a pat on the back from 50 years ago, but whatever bonus I received is long gone..

For me I'm not big into goals (bonus), mostly as I have family that works in retail and I hear so much about impossible goals and spending more time getting yelled at or reporting why a goal was not met that actually selling the product.
The "right" person will achieve because they are that kind of person, the "wrong" person will spend too much time trying to game the system to earn the goal/bonus.
I'm more of the attitude to set your goals with the operator, but rather than a "game" system of a bonus of sorts, pat them on the back for a job well done and reward them as you are able, just without a rigid system. I still have letters that were a pat on the back from 50 years ago, but whatever bonus I received is long gone.

Thanks for your input! The innkeeper is very excited about the bonus idea and the base salary is already very decent and a raise from her previous position. So that part is set in stone already. I really am just looking for goal ideas, based on the wealth of knowledge here! To put it another way, what are small things you've implemented that increased your business? Again, we are 2 hours away, and they don't have a ton of management experience, but they do have hospitality experience. We feel that the extra oversight will only be necessary the first year as they get the hang of running their first establishment. We have no intentions of micro-managing but we do want to incentivize great customer service, clean rooms, return guests, upselling packages, etc. Do you guys set goals for yourself on a regular basis? Genuinely curious for ideas on how you all push yourselves.

 

[JimBoone]

For me I'm not big into goals (bonus), mostly as I have family that works in retail and I hear so much about impossible goals and spending more time getting yelled at or reporting why a goal was not met that actually selling the product.
The "right" person will achieve because they are that kind of person, the "wrong" person will spend too much time trying to game the system to earn the goal/bonus.
I'm more of the attitude to set your goals with the operator, but rather than a "game" system of a bonus of sorts, pat them on the back for a job well done and reward them as you are able, just without a rigid system. I still have letters that were a pat on the back from 50 years ago, but whatever bonus I received is long gone..

For me I'm not big into goals (bonus), mostly as I have family that works in retail and I hear so much about impossible goals and spending more time getting yelled at or reporting why a goal was not met that actually selling the product.
The "right" person will achieve because they are that kind of person, the "wrong" person will spend too much time trying to game the system to earn the goal/bonus.
I'm more of the attitude to set your goals with the operator, but rather than a "game" system of a bonus of sorts, pat them on the back for a job well done and reward them as you are able, just without a rigid system. I still have letters that were a pat on the back from 50 years ago, but whatever bonus I received is long gone.

Thanks for your input! The innkeeper is very excited about the bonus idea and the base salary is already very decent and a raise from her previous position. So that part is set in stone already. I really am just looking for goal ideas, based on the wealth of knowledge here! To put it another way, what are small things you've implemented that increased your business? Again, we are 2 hours away, and they don't have a ton of management experience, but they do have hospitality experience. We feel that the extra oversight will only be necessary the first year as they get the hang of running their first establishment. We have no intentions of micro-managing but we do want to incentivize great customer service, clean rooms, return guests, upselling packages, etc. Do you guys set goals for yourself on a regular basis? Genuinely curious for ideas on how you all push yourselves.
.

We have no intentions of micro-managing but we do want to incentivize great customer service, clean rooms, return guests, upselling packages, etc.
Do you guys set goals for yourself on a regular basis? Genuinely curious for ideas on how you all push yourselves.

You may not find my answers useful as my goals aren’t financial, oh I’m not wealthy, the business needs to pay its way and put a roof over our heads, but I’m here because we enjoy the life.
My goal is for guests to feel welcome, as if they were visiting family, I hope they depart as friends. I want them to find their room exceptionally clean, we clean and ultimately face the guest, my incentive is that I don’t want to fail and have to face them and my failure. An immediate goal/push is working through the property to catch up all my projects at once, while I’m able to do them, at an age where time passes too quickly.
We and the motel are pretty much simple folks so not much in the way of upselling

 

[Morticia]

Setting goals for self. No, I can't say I do set goals for myself.
I don't function well with the reward system. I like to do a job well because it's how I was brought up. But, once there are goals to achieve and ribbons to be won, it all falls apart.
So. When you hire people ascertain if they are the kind of people who respond to winning prizes or if they are the kind of people who do better because they enjoy what they're doing and are left alone to do it.
Also, you'll find that rigidly rewarding a particular activity means you always have to reward that activity. Kind of like giving guests a special treat. If you do it twice in a row, they will expect it the third time, even if the first two times were a surprise.

 

[Tom]

I assume they are going to be paid a reasonable amount and your bonuses are above and beyond... remember that guest satisfaction will reflect on their happiness. You don't want to create Pavlov's dog, because then they go after their perceived goal rather than the goal of everything being clean, neat, and in order..

Thanks for taking the time to reply! Yes there will be a reasonable base salary plus benefits. We plan to do $300 bonus each month based on attainable goals within their control. We live 2 hours from site and will only be able to visit every few weeks, so we feel this is a good way to both incentivize them and keep reasonable checks on everything. For instance an average 4.5 star rating on google might be a goal for the month, and a "mystery shop guest" who is mostly satisified with their experience are two ideas I had. In my past work experience in customer service, goals and rewards were common I was just wondering if anyone else on the board had done this or had suggestions! Thanks!
.

I've done B&B for 9 years only, but a lot of other businesses before that. Very clearly, the more complicated the scheme the less clear, the harder to objectify, and the greater likelihood of hard feelings. My suggestion: make bonus a % of gross sales above a reasonable floor, paid on a quarterly or monthly basis. Easy to compute and completely objective. And really, revenues are the ultimate long term integral of all the little experiences that make the inn successful. Stars, food, marketing, return calls promptly, whatever, are crudely but effectively measured by revenue.