Hey guys, I found the training manual I used for my hostel, which I believe was one of the key ingredients that helped me scale my operations and save a lot of time daily. It had several benefits, which I’ll list now. I also want to mention that I’ll be sharing the entire table of contents from that manual so you can copy, paste, and apply it to your own business. In this video, I’m going to review some parts to explain what I included, why it was there, and how you can use it for your own business.
So, for the benefits:
The first one addresses training. Training was something that used to consume a lot of my time, not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because I had a high turnover rate. If you’re dealing with turnover, a training manual can help solve that issue. With the manual, the information is delivered to staff from day one, so they can read it and start applying it immediately. This means that from day one, they have all the information they need to be good employees and do what’s required of them. The only thing left is for them to practice. They can practice with their peers or with you, but it’s much easier to deliver a good lesson when someone has read about it beforehand. The training manual helped with communication and accelerated the training process.
The second benefit of the training manual was quality. Since I was writing it, I could set the expectations I had for my team and establish the standards of service we wanted to provide to our customers. For example, if I explained how to handle a customer check-in, I would detail exactly how to do it. This helped the staff understand how to serve customers according to my style, based on my standards and expectations. So, I didn’t need to verbally instruct them; it was all written in the guide.
The third benefit was that it served as a reference for anyone on the team. It was like a Bible or code of conduct and could be used as documentation. For example, if someone forgot a supplier’s phone number or needed to know how to use a particular tool or process, they could refer to the manual. It was a 16-page document, so I didn’t expect my employees to memorize it from day one, or even after a year, because I was constantly updating it. As we introduced new tools or processes, I added that information to the manual. Even senior team members needed to refer to it regularly, and that was good because it’s where everything should be.
Now, I want to move on to what was inside that training manual, and of course, the table of contents.
I. The Definition of [Your Business]
A. Where travelers can find out about [Your Business]?
1. Booking platforms (business has to pay)
2. Directly through us! (wild and free)
B. Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
C. The Storytelling
D. Facilities and Services
1. Understand how our booking works
2. Common areas
3. The bedrooms
4. Staff areas
5. Reception services (extra)
E. The business policies
F. The guests
1. Different profiles
2. Special discounts and treats
II. Where to Find the Documents, Information, and Tools?
A. Google Drive
B. Cloudbeds
C. Green phone, Smartphone, and Computer
D. Red Book
E. Green folder for accounting
F. Blue folder for activity tracking
G. Where inside [Your Business]?
1. The reception area
2. The kitchen and pool table
3. Cabinets of floors 2 and 4
4. Supply room, floor 4
III. The Internal Organization
A. The contacts of [Your Business]
B. Processes for each task
C. Team members and their responsibilities
D. Sales training
E. Frequently Asked Questions from Guests
The first part was about defining my hostel and brand. I explained a lot of things related to what customers can see and learn about our place. The staff needed to understand how I introduced the hostel, what people were saying in reviews, and more. I also covered our unique selling proposition, our story, and how to tell it if someone asked how the hostel was created. The idea was for them to embrace the story and share it with our customers. I also explained how operations work, including a tour of the house, the tools we used, the policies, the types of guests we welcomed, how to handle difficult cases, how to give discounts if necessary, and more.
The second part covered where things were located, in terms of documents, information, and tools. We had several tools like computers, phones, and software. We stored things in different areas, like folders in Google Drive, so I explained all that and the logic behind it. When a newcomer joined, they had direct access to our entire setup, which helped them navigate the place.
The last section covered internal organization, including all the contacts and information we had at the hostel, mainly for the receptionist to know where to contact suppliers if we ran out of something. I also outlined the processes for each task, which I refined daily, and the responsibilities of each team member. This didn’t change often, but sometimes it had to, for example, if we built a new rooftop and needed to adjust the cleaning tasks accordingly. I also included training for sales of our various services, which was important because, as you expand your business and introduce new services, your staff needs to know how to sell them. Sales training was a big part of the manual. Finally, there was a FAQ section, used mainly for answering guests’ questions, and I had a dedicated document for that as well as for the sales training.
I hope this video was helpful and that you found an interesting tool to use to scale your own operations and save yourself some time so you can focus on growth and have more time for other, more valuable tasks in your business. Again, the table of contents of that training manual is in the description. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments, and I’ll answer them as much as I can. If I can share anything useful, I will, so don’t hesitate. I’ll see you in the next video tomorrow, guys.
