London hoteliers cut payroll costs despite minimum wage rise

Hoteliers
in London
have managed to cut the amount of money they spent on their payroll over the
past four years, despite the introduction of the national minimum wage and
higher National Insurance costs, research shows.

A
survey by professional services firm Deloitte reveals that, since a peak of
£12,551 in 2000, payroll costs per bedroom fell by nearly £650 to £11,904 in
2003.

"This
is encouraging… Clearly hoteliers are being proactive at managing this
significant cost element of the business,” said the report.

More
creative methods are being used by hoteliers to control labour costs, rather
than just slashing numbers, Deloitte said.

Common
techniques include the creation of area management roles for functions such as
finance and revenue management, as well as for some general management
positions.

Technology
is also helping to cut costs, with hotels making increasing use of innovations
such as self check-in kiosks to cut the number of check-in staff needed.

By Daniel Thomas

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