10 sections to include in your hotel business plan

9. Strategic plan
Hoteliers must be strategic in optimizing occupancy rates across seasons to maintain revenue. As part of your strategic plan, identify how you will manage:

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  Pricing – what room types will you offer, and how will the pricing vary?
  
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  How will you maintain consistent occupancy throughout the high and low seasons? Will you adapt your pricing and marketing strategies?
  
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  How will you conduct revenue management? What type of rules/alerts will you use to adjust rates? Will you use technology to help with revenue management?
  
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  What will your online reputation management strategy be? How will you collect and respond to online reviews?
  
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  What will your distribution mix look like? How will you drive reservations across a variety of channels?
  

10. Financial plan
Your financial projections are the most challenging but arguably the most important part of your hotel business plan. In this section, you should include the following:

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  Start-up costs – how much money will you need from lenders to operate your hotel? Consider business licenses, furniture, down payments, etc.
  
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  Operating costs – how much money will you need to keep your business running? Consider staffing costs, guest acquisition costs, mortgage payments, utilities, SaaS payments, etc.
  
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  Income statement – what will your revenue, expenses, and profit be over the first 3-5 years of business?
  
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  Cash flow projections – how will cash flow in and out of your business? Show what capital investment you’ll need to start.
  
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  Balance sheet – identify your assets, liabilities, and equity.