Why your hospitality business needs an operations manual?

Without a proper operations manual, your hotel can’t deliver consistent customer experiences.

You could be the best owner in the world but you cannot be everywhere and at anytime in your business. So your team needs to help you.

But if your team doesn’t do things like you, then you have a problem. Your hostel will not consistently score 5 star reviews.

In this article, I’ll show you how to create the best hospitality operations manual, so that you can achieve consistent customer satisfaction, consistent operations. And your team will know why they work, what they have to do and how to do it your way.

See what’s inside my hostel operations manual

I am Nicolas Thành, former hostel owner of DaBlend Hostel in Saigon and what changed my life as a business owner was the creation and maintenance of an operations manual for my team.

I share everything openly so you can learn from my experience and adapt it for your own business – completely free!

Essential Manual Sections

1. Business Overview: to align the team with clients!

• Your brand story and unique selling points – helps team members understand and communicate your values consistently to guests
• Facilities and services description – ensures every team member can accurately inform guests about what you offer
• Guest policies and procedures – enables unified enforcement of rules and consistent guest experience

2. Resource Organization – Crucial for Knowledge Management

Effective organization of resources ensures your team can quickly find and access what they need, reducing delays and errors. This proved invaluable as the manual served as a central reference point that even senior staff regularly consulted.

• Document storage systems – Creates a standardized filing system so important documents are never lost or misplaced
• Tools and equipment locations – Prevents time waste searching for resources and ensures proper equipment maintenance
• Information access procedures – Maintains security while enabling team members to quickly retrieve needed information

3. Operations Guide – The Heart of Daily Operations

This critical section required frequent reviews and updates to stay aligned with our evolving business needs:

• Important contacts and supplier information – Regularly vetted to maintain strong partnerships and ensure competitive pricing
• Detailed process documentation – Updated whenever we identified efficiency improvements or new guest needs
• Team roles and responsibilities – Refined as our organizational structure evolved and new positions were created
• Sales protocols and FAQs – Continuously optimized based on market changes and guest feedback to maximize revenue and satisfaction

As the owner, I reviewed this section monthly to ensure it reflected our current operations and market demands. This regular maintenance was crucial for maintaining service quality and operational efficiency.

Ready to create your own operations manual?

Download My Template: Get instant access to my complete training and operations manual template – a proven framework that has helped multiple hospitality businesses streamline their operations. Simply enter your email below to receive your copy.

⇒​Need Personal Guidance?

Book a free consultation with me where I’ll help you either create your manual from scratch or review and optimize your existing one.