How technology can help manage rising costs for hoteliers in 2025

2025 is just around the corner, and the hospitality industry is gearing up for a year of big financial changes.

October’s Budget will no doubt have an impact on hoteliers over the coming months; with both minimum wage and employer’s national insurance costs set to rise in April and business rate relief due to be reduced from 75% to 40%.

Alongside the usual winter dry spell as consumers penny pinch after Christmas and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, hotels will have to be savvier than ever to entice customers and keep rising costs down.

Fortunately, there are a plethora of ways to manage this uncertain economic climate, in particular, using technology to streamline your hotel’s operations and make significant time and cost savings.

Here, we explain how.

Boost direct bookings

2024 saw a huge change in the way people book their staycations, with mobile bookings overtaking desktop for the first time ever. With 51% of guests now booking hotels with their mobile phones, a fully optimised and responsive online booking system is essential for hoteliers to snap up those all-important direct bookings alongside OTAs to boost profits.

Zonal’s mobile-friendly, fully intuitive and customisable booking system is tailored to fit a hotel’s unique style and branding whilst working seamlessly regardless of the device a guest is making their booking from . Our portal allows guests to access all of their booking information including pre-orders and added extras to maximise profits even further, without taking commission.

Hotel revenue management

Staying ahead of the competition is key to maximising profits, so being able to anticipate demand for rooms and adjust rates accordingly will be essential for hoteliers in 2025.

Whether it’s a summer heatwave, a highly anticipated music event or a festival in the local area, with Zonal’s revenue management tools, hoteliers can ensure rooms and rates are adjusted appropriately to boost RevPAR.

For in-depth analysis of costs, our real-time reporting software can efficiently analyse past years’ performances to help accurately forecast sales, enabling hotel management to spend or cut costs accordingly throughout the year.

Reduce F&B costs

It’s well-known that food waste is a persistent problem within the hospitality industry, with restaurants and hotels reportedly spending a whopping £2.6 billion on food waste each year.

To enable hoteliers to tackle this, Zonal’s Purchase-to-Pay system alerts kitchen staff when stock is running low and gives real-time recommendations for re-ordering based on individual requirements, saving chefs precious time and streamlining kitchen operations. This process significantly reduces food waste and over-ordering, cutting costs and with an added bonus point for sustainability.

With costs rising across the board, our menu management tool can help you develop accurately costed menus and identify where potential savings could be made – whether it’s tweaking a recipe or exploring alternative suppliers.

Marketing

Getting the word out there to new and existing customers is essential for hoteliers to attract new trade and encourage repeat bookings. However, marketing collateral such as flyers and brochures can be costly and overlooked by large proportions of your target market – no one wants to receive a ‘one-size-fits-all’ marketing email anymore.

It’s been found that customers are 80% more likely to buy from businesses that offer personalised experiences. With this in mind, hyper-personalised emails, tailored to each individual’s experiences and interests, will help hotels develop deeper connections with customers past and present.

Using Zonal’s PMS, hoteliers can send targeted communications to guests to upsell services and extras pre-stay, gain valuable reviews and promote offers to encourage instant bookings.

In summary, despite the rocky forecast that has been predicted for the hospitality industry over the coming months, there is hope for a successful year ahead. Hotel occupancy has reached pre-covid levels for the first time this year and with a little help from a reliable, affordable and powerful PMS, hoteliers can make cuts where necessary, whilst still providing the best possible experience for their guests.