The missing link to efficiency
Outsourcing allows hotels to reduce their capital exposure and streamline operations. Richard Bursby and Paul Smith of Taylor Wessing look at the legal aspect of outsourcing.
The benefits of outsourcing can be numerous. By placing the responsibility for specific functions with an outsourced supplier, hotels can reduce their operating costs, streamline their operations and concentrate on their core activities. They can also reduce their capital exposure by taking advantage of a supplier’s existing infrastructure and expertise without having to invest heavily themselves.
Traditionally, outsourcing has focussed on back office functions such as IT, but there is a growing trend for hotels to outsource more prominent functions such as concierge services, catering, marketing, reservation services, loyalty programmes and the operation of gyms and spas. In the current climate, as hotels try to obtain and maximise cost savings, we are likely to see both an increase in this type of activity as well as an increase in existing outsourcing arrangements being reviewed and renegotiated.
Lawyers Richard Bursby
This article first appeared in Hotelier India in July 2009 and is reproduced with the permission of the publisher.
