Whether you are starting as a hostel manager or owner, or if you are already in the business for half a decade, there is always something to improve. There is always something you can do better, you can learn. Things, you did not even consider.
Therefore, many events like get-togethers and conferences are popular. It’s the exchange of knowledge, best practice tips.
We collected 11 books that you can read and will push your business into the right direction.
It does not matter if it is a small hostel, a big one, or even a hotel-hostel hybrid.
These books will share insider tips to hostel revenue management, entrepreneurship, team-building, branding and marketing. Some of the books are as well success-stories you will not believe.
We even share with you a book on how its possible to grow your direct bookings for 96%. You may already have started to calculate that number in your head – the revenue growth would be enormous, right?!
Therefore, keep scrolling and get these insider tips you will only find in a book:
1. Revenue Superstar!: The Simple Rules of Hotel Revenue Management
If you are looking for an in-depth guide to the art of hospitality revenue management, this is not it.
In short, what inspired me to write this book was my frustration at not being able to find a simple book that explains revenue management in a way that anybody can understand.
It does not matter whether you are already an experienced revenue manager, just starting out, or someone who just wants to learn more about the profession; regardless of what stage of your revenue management career you are at, you will find valuable, practical ideas in this book that will help you thrive.
2. 100 Tips for Hoteliers: What Every Successful Hotel Professional Needs to Know and Do
3. Without Reservations: How a Family Root Beer Stand Grew into a Global Hotel Company
In Without Reservations, global business leader and hotel industry icon J.W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., shares both the story of and the recipe for the success of Marriott International, one of the world’s leading hotel companies. The company began with one family-run root beer stand and grew over eight decades, through his leadership, into a global corporation that is widely respected for the business it does and the way it does business.
In 1964, on the eve of being named president of the company, Marriott’s father, founder and then-CEO J. Willard Marriott, Sr., tucked a letter in his 32-year-old son’s desk drawer. The letter contained insights and guideposts that proved invaluable as Bill Jr., blazed the trail not only for his company, but for the hospitality industry as well. The letter, printed in this book, provides timeless advice for any person in any business who aims to achieve success. Without Reservations is a compilation of engaging stories that takes the reader behind the scenes as events and decisions unfold.
4. More Direct Bookings: Hotel Marketing Strategies To Significantly Reduce Dependency On The OTAs
96% OF BOOKINGS COMING TO YOU DIRECT – That’s the figure that Adam Hamadache has helped to achieve at The Cranleigh Boutique – where he is the Associate Director.
For over seven years Adam has worked to find the strategies, tools and techniques to drive more direct, zero-commission business to The Cranleigh Boutique and the dozens of hotels he works with around Europe within his hotel marketing agency Wow Guest Hotel Marketing.
More Direct Bookings is the follow up book to the Amazon No.1 Best- Seller Give Your Guest A WOW! in which he shares a practical, step-by- step approach to the proven marketing methods used to successfully drive more direct bookings, and become less dependent on the OTAs.
5. Hotel Ready or Not?: The GM Chronicles
To come right out with it, this is a politically incorrect chronicle of real-life hospitality marketing and operations experiences,— the things they may not tell you in Hospitality Class and you’re wondering; “How the Hell did I get myself into hotels? Am I really sure I want to be a GM?”— (The Heroes of this report.)
6. Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
For the last two years, I’ve interviewed more than 200 world-class performers for my podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show.
The guests range from super celebs (Jamie Foxx, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc.) and athletes (icons of powerlifting, gymnastics, surfing, etc.) to legendary Special Operations commanders and black-market biochemists. For most of my guests, it’s the first time they’ve agreed to a two-to-three-hour interview.
This unusual depth has helped make The Tim Ferriss Show the first business/interview podcast to pass 100 million downloads.
This book contains the distilled tools, tactics, and ‘inside baseball’ you won’t find anywhere else. It also includes new tips from past guests, and life lessons from new ‘guests’ you haven’t met.
7. 23 Anti-Procrastination Habits: How to Stop Being Lazy and Overcome Your Procrastination
8. The Entrepreneur Mind: 100 Essential Beliefs, Characteristics, and Habits of Elite Entrepreneurs
To achieve unimaginable business success and financial wealth—to reach the upper echelons of entrepreneurs, where you’ll find Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sara Blakely of Spanx, Mark Pincus of Zynga, Kevin Plank of Under Armour, and many others—you have to change the way you think. In other words, you must develop the Entrepreneur Mind, a way of thinking that comes from learning the vital lessons of the best entrepreneurs.
In a praiseworthy effort to distill some of the most important lessons of entrepreneurship, Kevin D. Johnson, president of multimillion-dollar company Johnson Media Inc. and a serial entrepreneur for several years, shares the essential beliefs, characteristics, and habits of elite entrepreneurs. Through the conviction of his own personal experiences, which include a life-changing visit to Harvard Business School, and the compelling stories of modern-day business tycoons, Johnson transforms an oftentimes complex topic into a lucid and accessible one.
9. The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future
In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose – and earn a good living.
Still in his early thirties, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth – he’s already visited more than 175 nations – and yet he’s never held a “real job” or earned a regular paycheck. Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back.
There are many others like Chris – those who’ve found ways to opt out of traditional employment and create the time and income to pursue what they find meaningful. Sometimes, achieving that perfect blend of passion and income doesn’t depend on shelving what you currently do. You can start small with your venture, committing little time or money, and wait to take the real plunge when you’re sure it’s successful.
In preparing to write this book, Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (in many cases, $100 or less), and from that group he’s chosen to focus on the 50 most intriguing case studies. In nearly all cases, people with no special skills discovered aspects of their personal passions that could be monetized, and were able to restructure their lives in ways that gave them greater freedom and fulfillment.
10. The 7 Critical Principles of Effective Digital Marketing
11. Rule of Thumb: A Guide to Sustainability for Small Business
Real world and commonly understood examples and experiences help the reader identify strengths which underscore a healthy marketing business plan and mistakes to avoid.
Rules of Thumb throughout create easy to remember and apply fundamental principles and guideposts along the marketing journey.
We hope this list helps you to take your hostel business to the next level.
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