What is hospitality outsourcing?
Hospitality outsourcing refers to hiring external providers to manage certain services or operations within your hotel. Commonly outsourced functions include housekeeping, IT, customer support, reservations, and even loyalty programs.
By outsourcing, hotels can tap into expertise and technology they may not have in-house. For example, a small boutique property might not be able to offer 24/7 multilingual support - but a specialized call center can. Ultimately, outsourcing is about giving your team more bandwidth to focus on delivering standout guest experiences.
Which hotel services can be outsourced?
There's a wide range of services you can outsource depending on your hotel's size, strategy, and guest expectations. Let's take a look.
Housekeeping
Outsourcing housekeeping can help maintain consistently high standards, especially during peak periods. Cleaning companies bring trained staff, professional-grade products, and the operational scale to manage large turnovers efficiently - often at a lower cost than building an in-house team.
IT
Information technology and infrastructure is another area that's often outsourced. A well-managed IT setup is essential to a hotel's smooth operation, and working with external specialists means issues can be resolved quickly and efficiently. If you're using a cloud-based PMS like Mews, however, much of the traditional IT burden is already reduced - updates, maintenance, and data security are handled by the provider, freeing up your internal team to focus on higher-value tasks.
Customer support
Want to offer 24/7, multilingual guest support without building a round-the-clock team? If you're not in a position to manage this one yourself, outsourcing to a dedicated customer service provider can ensure faster response times, language flexibility, and scalability based on your seasonal demand.
Reservation and booking services
Handling bookings is central to hotel operations. By outsourcing this task - or supplementing it with an automated booking engine - you can free up your front desk team to focus on in-person guest service, while still offering responsive and reliable booking support.
Loyalty programs
Designing and managing loyalty programs can be time-consuming and complex. Specialized providers can help you build a data-driven program that keeps guests coming back - while staying ahead of industry trends and adapting to evolving customer behavior.
Catering
Hosting a large event but don't have the kitchen capacity? Outsourcing catering allows you to meet demand without stretching internal resources or compromising quality - perfect for one-off events or seasonal surges.
What are the advantages of hospitality outsourcing?
Depending on your property's capabilities, outsourcing can offer several strategic benefits:
- Cost efficiency: Instead of hiring, training, and managing full-time staff, you can control costs and scale services up or down as needed. This is especially useful for demand-based functions like housekeeping or call centers.
- Specialized expertise: If it's hard to match this internally, you can work with providers who focus on a single area like IT, security, or loyalty for a deeper level of knowledge and efficiency.
- Improved focus: Freeing your team from operational tasks allows them to concentrate on delivering memorable guest experiences.
- Reduced fixed costs: Outsourcing can shift certain expenses from fixed to variable, improving your financial flexibility and long-term profitability.
Examples of hotel outsourcing
Housekeeping
If your hotel experiences high turnover and requires a large team of housekeepers, outsourcing this service can be a smart move. Instead of hiring in-house staff, you can partner with a company that specializes in hotel cleaning. They can manage daily room cleaning and laundry services, adjusting the number of housekeepers based on your needs. This not only helps reduce staffing costs but also allows your internal team to focus on guest services and other revenue-generating tasks.
Food and beverage
Beyond catering for large groups, hotels can outsource their entire food and beverage offering. For instance, you could collaborate with a local restaurant or caterer to handle breakfast service or in-room dining. This enables you to meet guest expectations without needing a fully staffed kitchen or managing food service operations yourself.
Maintenance
Rather than keeping a full-time maintenance person on staff, many hotels opt to outsource to a specialist company. These providers can quickly address issues like electrical faults or plumbing problems and perform preventative maintenance. With expert support on call, your hotel facilities remain well-maintained without the overhead of managing an in-house team.
IT Services
Your hotel's IT infrastructure - including networks, software, and data security - is critical to day-to-day operations. By outsourcing IT support, you ensure timely software updates, robust network security, and minimal downtime. Specialized IT firms often resolve issues more efficiently than a small in-house team, helping to keep your tech running smoothly.
Security
To provide peace of mind to your guests, it may be necessary to have visible security measures in place. By hiring an external security provider, you can ensure trained professionals are monitoring surveillance systems and responding to incidents. This removes the burden of hiring and training your own team, while still maintaining a safe environment for guests and staff.
Conclusion
We've looked at everything you should know about hotel outsourcing. By understanding the advantages and exploring commonly outsourced areas, your hotel can make informed decisions about when to build internal capabilities and when to turn to external providers. Done right, outsourcing can improve service quality, expand your operational capacity, and boost your bottom line year after year.
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