If you were going to build a Rocket and a Launch Pad, most people with common sense would hire a rocket scientist. If you were going to build a Petro-Chemical Plant, one might want to consider hiring a petro chemical plant consultant. But if you want to build a Hotel, just take some wild guesses and start digging.
Everywhere I turn these days, I come across projects under frenetic development but being built fundamentally wrong. I find huge developments that are costing hundreds of millions where there are no experts, no specialists just learners. If they were driving a car, they would be required to put an L sign on the bumper and have an instructor sitting next to them, or a parent. But to design and build a hotel, all you need is a cheque book, some confidence, a crane and some cement.
Everywhere, I am finding landowners, plantation owners, residential architects, former politicians, government employees, petro-chemical engineers, construction executives, all with the complete conviction that a hotel is just 'rooms and stuff'. All with the conviction that having stayed in a few hotels and eaten in many restaurants, they know the business.
Even when the bankers call us in, there seems to be reticence or a hesitancy to listen. In fact in many cases, there is no capacity to listen at all. The excitement of entering a new, glamourous, profitable industry is so compelling, why let anyone get in my way.
Here are my Top Ten Biggest Mistakes made by today's hotel and resort developers.
- My land is priceless and the right size for a hotel, therefore I will build a successful hotel on it.
- I have travelled the world and stayed in the best hotels and I know what the public wants.
- In my country, labour is cheap, therefore I can build a hotel cheaply.
- I know a builder who has built a hotel. He can build me one too.
- I will build a beautiful hotel and the big hotel chains will want to buy it from me.
- Busy restaurants make big money....therefore big restaurants are best.
- Hotels make huge amounts of money from 'day one'.
- The local architect will be fine. He will also handle the Interior Design, with my wife.
- The kitchen design will be done by the chef.
- One tennis court will do!
Here are some other simple anecdotes.
- At a project in Jerusalem in my first week providing Technical Services, savings reached US$9 million. Fees for two-three years were less than $500,000.
- At a project in China, after saving $4.6 million in a Technical Services contract, the client stopped paying after two months believing that the written plan could be executed without me. The client returned in a panic 6 months later.
- In a project in Africa, a poorly planned kitchen cost 30%-40% more than necessary and will require $1 -2 million more in annual operating costs. They saved the kitchen planning fees of $75,000!
- In a project in Cuba, a key system was purchased by a technocrat on vacation that went rusty in one year.
- In a project in Saudi Arabia, the complete telephone system had to be thrown out and replaced before the hotel opened.
- In a huge hotel in Canada, the room service area for a 1200 room convention hotel was forgotten.
Think carefully before digging. If in doubt, contact the [email protected]
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