Getting Cheaper on Expenses

Modern hospitality has to use various ways to reduce expenses without affecting the Client, and I believe that the following will "light up the spark again" guaranteed:

1.-Plan ahead, you cant drive a business like a headless chicken, you need to focus on "getting back to basics" to project the future, but beware, you can't do this on your own, there's a team involved and it's one of the most precious resources you have, you have always tree major elements that need attention:
+Client satisfaction (comments and mouth to mouth advertisement campaign).
+Owners satisfaction (financials).
+Staff satisfaction (if you have a well motivated team, service will surface on its own).

2.-Walk troughs, if you don't know what is going on on your floors, you won't be able to transform and to cut down expenses (this comment goes mostly to Controllers and GM's).

3.-Get your executives to work the floor (it may sound strong), but if the executive team works as one, great things can happen, it's a task, would the Customer be waiting for a Sales Director or the Chief Engineer or even the GM to greet them while checking in and WALK THEM to their room??? that will be for sure a pleasant surprise for the Client, it will give them a sense of team effort, concern and warm hospitality (this gets translated into mouth to mouth marketing allowing you to reduce marketing expenses).

4.-Use a sustainable way of thinking, it's cheaper to get local ingredients, materials and resources. Just think about it, Guests are looking for local experiences, why don't deliver it to them?

5.-Cross training, why does a Maid or a Waiter have to concern on other departments activities? Because every action a department performs will for sure affect other departments operation and expenses (remember that a Restaurant or Hotel is like a big family and everything you do comes around).

6.-Use your vendors, be on top of them for the best quality at the best price, negotiate, build a relationship with them, as businesses are made among people and not companies (companies are the pure result of it).

7.-Enhance seasonality, you will buy better quality at the best all year round costs, be present at local events, boards and associations, you will demonstrate that your hotel or restaurant is present and open for new deals (this reduces travelling expenses).

8.-Turn around your inventory, I can guarantee that your warehouse is full with "long time no see" elements that will allow you to reduce cost, effectiveness, plus you will have more space for the important materials that will add value to your Client.

9.-Energy is one of the most common sadly misunderstood expense, don't look at the meter, look over from where is leaking (burning stoves all day long, water faucet open for defrosting beef (it should have been taken out from the freezer yesterday but somebody forgot it), aim the sprinklers directly to the plants, not the pathways, turn computers and printers off while not in use, don't turn all light when waiters are setting their tables, turn them on for your Clients (those are the ones that pay for it), don't wash your pots and pans with extra super water pressure (I'm sure that with a nice scrub and the correct detergent will do the magic), use the nature elements, open up the windows if a nice breeze is blowing, if it rains, you can take advantage of it to clean halls and some floors and can refresh the landscape without further effort.

10.-Get everybody involved, by having your staff with their feet on the ground, you will be getting ideas from where you thought you couldn't get any.