Forecasting is part science, part art. It is also a key to the successful control of labor costs. Employees are scheduled by applying standards to a forecast of customers, guests, or covers.
Prepare forecast
A forecast then can be developed for each market segment. The existing number of occupied rooms is taken as a base. To this is added or subtracted a forecast of rooms based on the growth, stability, or decline of each segment, the competitors' edge or lack thereof in the marketplace, and the availability of resources to exploit any advantage.
Similar techniques would be appropriate for forecasting restaurant demand.
A 10-day forecast, starting on a Friday, also has advantages. It allows the forecaster to estimate customer counts for employee scheduling during a full pay period. It also allows a preliminary full weekend forecast. This is particularly important because so many hospitality businesses have weekend business that is totally different from what is experienced during the week. It is desirable to update the forecast halfway through, taking into account any new information such as the cancellation of a convention or a prediction of snow.
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