Behind the Numbers

When I first started managing wages in hospitality, I thought it would be straightforward. After all, I’d been managing operations back in Cuba, but that was a completely different world.

In Cuba, people didn’t work for money, because, honestly, there wasn’t much to earn. Changing jobs wasn’t easy, so you learned to make the best of where you were and to do things right from the very beginning. That way, you could free up time for the things that truly mattered, the things that helped your family get by.

So when I came to the U.S. and started managing wages in hotels, I assumed it was all about cutting hours and reducing overtime.

Wrong...

I learned very quickly that labor management is not just numbers, it’s about people, processes, and creating balance between efficiency and quality service.

1. The Wake-Up Call

In my early days, I’d look at labor reports, scratch my head, and think:
"Why are these numbers so high? Let’s cut hours and flip everything upside down."

The result? A complete disaster.

• Sky high turnover.

• I was drowning in constant hiring and training, with endless training costs.

• My days turned into 12 hour marathons, seven days a week.

One day, after a particularly brutal week, a friend told me something that stuck:

“Adrian, you’re an engineer. You’re trying to fix people like they’re a process. Focus on your team - the numbers will follow.”

At that point, I had nothing to lose, my way wasn’t working, so, I listened.

2. The Human Side of Labor Management

Here’s what I learned after all the trial and error: people drive the numbers. A motivated team is more valuable than any efficiency spreadsheet.

I started holding quick, upbeat meetings where we laughed, stretched, and connected. I asked for input on process changes, and actually listened. The ideas my team shared were things I’d never see just by looking at numbers.

I began to understand the unplanned daily situations they faced in their personal lives, and I stopped taking those moments as personal attacks.

Suddenly, things started to shift:

• Tasks were done faster and with better quality.

• Morale skyrocketed.

• Turnover dropped.

• And for the first time, I wasn’t drowning.

That shift, treating wages not just as a cost but as an investment in people and guest experience, changed everything.

3. Get Your Hands Dirty

I’m an engineer at heart; I learn by doing, not just observing.

I cleaned rooms, hauled laundry, checked in every angry guest (this was my standing rule - “call me, I’ll handle them”), and even dealt with New Year’s Day “aftermath” in the bathrooms (don’t ask).

One day, I set up a fun competition, one that became a tradition, to see who could clean a room the fastest while still meeting quality standards. My name ended up on the leaderboard, and my team couldn’t believe it. Suddenly, even new hires were training harder just to beat me.

And here’s the truth: managers who stay behind the desk fail to truly understand their operations.

Processes designed from the office often fail in the real world because they’re not grounded in reality. If you don’t know the work inside and out, you can’t coach your team properly, and worst of all, you lose their trust.

Be the manager your team seeks out for answers, because they know you’ve done it, and you’ve done it right.

4. Build and Master Your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

In engineering, when we design equipment, we test it ourselves, tweak it, and recalibrate it over time. Your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) should follow the same principle.

Once you’ve mastered every process in your department:

• Review every SOP in your hotel. I can assure you they’re outdated and include information that doesn’t even belong to your hotel.

• Rewrite them with your team.

• Remove unnecessary steps that waste time or energy.

• Spell out every acronym.

• Make them clear enough that an eight-year-old could follow them.

Remember, efficiency doesn’t mean overloading people, it’s about working smarter and staying consistent. It starts with better training, well structured processes, and making sure the right people are in the right place at the right time.

From my engineer’s perspective, small details make a big difference: the height, angle, and positioning of tools; keeping frequently used items within easy reach; eliminating unnecessary steps; and reducing wasted time. Every single step in a process should have a purpose, even something as simple as using elevator wait time for quick tasks.

These adjustments may seem minor, but together they reduce strain, prevent repetitive stress, and ultimately boost efficiency in a sustainable way.

Finally, create a “Bible” of operations that’s easy for everyone to access. This simple step gives you peace of mind and frees up your time. When someone has a question about how to do something, just point them to the folder, no need to repeat yourself a hundred times.

Use your daily meetings to make this a habit: pick one standard a day, quiz the team on it, and enjoy the laughs when you hear their creative (and sometimes crazy) answers before guiding them to the right process. Over time, that folder becomes the bible of your operations, the single source of truth that keeps everyone aligned and consistent.

5. Let Data Lead: Cost per Occupied Room (CPOR) Is King

Now that your team’s morale is high, turnover is low, every process in your department is running smoothly, and your “Bible of Standards” hangs proudly on your office door, it’s time to start tracking your numbers.

There are plenty of metrics a Rooms Department Manager can watch:

• Average Daily Rate (ADR)

• Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR)

• Gross Operating Profit per Available Room (GOPPAR)

• Productivity per Housekeeper

• Occupancy

• Hours per Occupied Room (HPOR)

• Percentage of Revenue

They all have their place. But when it comes to managing wages, my clear winner is Cost per Occupied Room (CPOR).

Many managers swear by Hours per Occupied Room. I understand the logic, but in my experience, that metric works best when your team is fragmented - where front desk agents, housekeepers, housepersons, and laundry staff work strictly within their roles.

My team, on the other hand, became a cohesive, happy unit. Without me even asking, front desk agents would run food and amenities, housepersons would help clean rooms, and laundry staff pitched in so the whole team could finish together. Once you reach that level of teamwork, tracking hours per position accurately becomes impossible, and honestly, not very meaningful.

I’ve met teams that worked even better than mine, and yet they still felt forced to justify “overages” in certain positions because of this metric. It was sad and frustrating to watch their perfectly balanced department wages get criticized by upper management because of a technicality they did not know how to read and explain.

Another common metric is wages as a percentage of revenue. And while I get the premise, the relationship between revenue and wages isn’t fixed. A strong sales strategy can drive revenue in a way that flows more profit to the bottom line, making wages a smaller percentage of revenue. On the flip side, a weak sales strategy might hit the room-nights goal but deliver poor flow-through, leaving wages looking inflated compared to revenue.

That’s why I stand by Cost Per Occupied Room as the king of wage metrics in the Rooms Department. The formula is simple:

CPOR = Total Wages (or other expense) ÷ Number of Occupied Rooms

Tracking Cost Per Occupied Room gave me insights I couldn’t ignore:

• I could spot dips in productivity early and address them before they spiraled.

• I could forecast wages accurately, making budgeting and scheduling smarter.

• I could defend my decisions with data, turning subjective discussions with upper management into objective conversations.

Cost Per Occupied Room turned what used to feel like guesswork into informed, confident decision-making, and that’s the power of letting data lead.

Why I'm Sharing This

Controlling wages in the room department is one of the toughest challenges in hotel operations, but when you get it right, it’s also one of the most rewarding. Believe me, once you truly understand what drives your labor costs and how to manage them, you’ll find yourself operating at a level that outpaces most managers in the industry.

I’m sharing my journey because I know how it feels to be buried under labor reports and squeezed by pressure from every direction. But with the right tools, strategies, and mindset, you can build a system where both your team and your budget thrive.

Remember my five rules for success in regards to wages:

1. Happy team, happy life

2. Learn how to do it, and do it right

3. Standardize everything

4. Track your numbers

5. Repeat

Master these, and you won’t just control wages, you’ll lead your team and your department with confidence and clarity.

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Until next time—keep making things work better.