The pressure to streamline processes is at an all-time high as both event agencies and hotels try to accommodate more volume with fewer resources in 2025. This article outlines the trends Onyx CenterSource is observing in our conversations with professionals on both sides.
The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic left the hospitality industry reeling, with significant losses in employment and the rising cost of staff creating bottlenecks in recovery efforts despite improvements in revenue*. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, hotels are still struggling to hire new staff despite “paying near-historic average wages and offering more benefits and flexibility than ever before.” Meanwhile, group bookings from business events are surging past pre-pandemic levels**.
This uptick in activity underscores a critical question for event planning agencies and their hotel partners: As you plan your budget for 2025, how can you ensure your team is resilient and prepared for sustained growth? Here are some key takeaways and trends from Onyx CenterSource’s conversations with professionals across the industry.
The Value of Incremental Automation
We hear from customers that automation is a priority but translating it from a buzzword to a practical solution requires some perspective. The key is to focus on progress over perfection. There’s a common misconception that automation is an all-or-nothing game. However, if 100% of your current process is manual, as an example, then a process improvement that halves your labor gets you 50% of the way toward your goal.
Making incremental improvements ensures your organization starts realizing gains sooner than later. For example, if your hotel sales team still prints out the « commission package » detailing commissions for finance stakeholders to authorize, the simple act of using technology (such as GroupPay by Onyx CenterSource) to securely share that information for approval – even if not through a fully-integrated API – still delivers efficiencies and sustainability results in one step.
A Broader Approach to Stakeholder Management
Selecting a solution to help drive automation is just the first step. Organizations also must ensure the change they’re putting in place will be positively embraced and utilized by all parties. How to best do this? By bringing key stakeholders along and making them feel part of the change.
While decision-making-by-committee can often hinder progress, we’ve observed a growing recognition that establishing a new payment system requires input from a broad group of stakeholders, including an organization’s technology, finance, operations and sales teams. Taking stock of their needs, challenges and functional must-haves from the beginning makes solution sourcing a collaborative process.
Platforms like GroupPay help drive successful change by providing robust change management support, fostering clear and continuous communication between internal and external stakeholders to ensure seamless alignment of operational goals and maximize adoption.
More Comprehensive Processes
At the end of the day, automations should make work easier. While learning a new process can be daunting, especially within a team that already feels stretched, many organizations are recognizing the value of long-term efficiency gains and are putting in the necessary effort now to lay a strong foundation for the future.
A comprehensive solution enables teams to dispense with other, more complex processes that might involve multiple tools. With GroupPay implemented, for example, the payment process can likely be managed by one or two sales team administrators supported by a well-documented finance process – rather than a host of stakeholders managing several disparate systems (a point-of-sale solution, a payment tracking system, compliance and regulations, etc.).
Tools like this also represent a manageable way to establish an end-to-end payment process where there is no formal system in place.
« With the right technology and data platforms in place, GroupPay can be easily implemented without much effort from the hotel teams, and it requires little interaction or setup as we scale. » – Dan Stephenson, Regional Process Owner/Director, Hyatt Shared Service Center
Contact the GroupPay team or visit our website to learn more about how to set a strong foundation for growth in 2025.
