Tired of inventory waste chewing through your budget?
I’m going to show you hotel owners how to stop stock shrinkage and start saving with real-world systems to control your hotel supply costs.

Running an independent hotel is like juggling flaming pineapples. One slip, and you’re burned. Nowhere is that more obvious than your inventory. Done well, it’s invisible. Done poorly? You’re haemorrhaging money on linen, loo rolls, and lemon wedges.

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Let’s talk about inventory management tricks that don’t just save you money—they save your sanity.

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Stop Treating Supplies Like a Buffet

Here’s the truth: if staff can grab as much as they want, they will. Not because they’re careless—but because no one’s keeping track.

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Install a check-in/check-out system. Whether you’re tracking minibar restocks or spare duvets, accountability reduces “shrinkage.” That’s the polite term for “where the heck did it all go?”

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Pro tip: Use coloured bins or labels for quick visual cues. Red = reorder. Green = stocked. Orange = warning.

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Count it Backwards—Literally

Ever noticed how stocktakes only happen when you run out of everything? Flip that.

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Set your par levels (the minimum amount you need to operate) and reverse engineer your ordering from there. This avoids both shortages and dead stock (hello, expired condiments).

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Example: If your soap dispenser uses 10 bottles a week, and you order monthly, your par is 40. Set a reorder trigger at 15. Easy math, even if you hated maths.

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The “Tuesday Audit” Trick

Here’s a cheeky one: every Tuesday, have your front desk manager audit one unexpected item. Could be coasters. Could be coffee stirrers. The point? Keeps staff on their toes and prevents casual overuse.

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This also reveals patterns. You’ll quickly spot if one room always “loses” bathrobes. Or if a night shift team thinks the guest kitchen is an open buffet.

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Bundle and Slash

Buy in bulk—but smartly. Too many hotel owners grab wholesale deals like it’s a Black Friday riot. The result? A storage closet full of unused shampoo sachets and expired snacks.

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Work with vendors who’ll bundle slow movers with fast ones. You want 1,000 pillowcases? Great. Ask for 200 matching duvet covers thrown in at cost.

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And yes, negotiate. If your supplier says no, remind them your neighbour’s hotel just switched to a new linen company.

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Track Usage Per Room, Not Per Week

This one’s gold. Instead of tracking weekly usage, track per occupied room.

Why? Because occupancy fluctuates. Ten occupied rooms using 20 towels is normal. Ten rooms using 60? That’s a towel party. And that party’s costing you hundreds.

Switch to “usage per occupied room” tracking, and you’ll spot waste fast.

Go Digital—But Not Overboard

Yes, there are apps. Yes, they’re useful. But don’t fall for shiny dashboard syndrome.

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Pick one system that integrates with your PMS. That’s it. You want automation, not complication.

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Top picks: RoomRaccoon, Hotelogix, or just a solid Google Sheets setup with conditional formatting. Simple works—if you actually use it.

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Train Like You Mean It

Staff don’t waste inventory on purpose. They’re busy. They’re human. And sometimes they don’t know what things cost.

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Add a 10-minute inventory chat to your monthly staff meetings. Highlight items that are costing you most. Show them real numbers.

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When people realise that overpouring wine by 20ml costs the hotel $3,000 a year? Suddenly, they pour perfectly.

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Still winging it with spreadsheets and second guesses?

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There’s a better way.

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“Your Independent Hotel Blueprint” download lays it all out—seven clear steps from dream to done.

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Grab it now. Free. Field-tested. Owner-approved.

You can find a link in the show notes.

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Do you know your most wasted item last month?

Let me know in the comments.

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Your Key Takeaways

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In Conclusion

Inventory management isn’t sexy. But it’s quietly heroic. Done right, it frees up cash you didn’t know you had. It cuts stress, prevents stockouts, and makes your hotel look effortlessly polished.

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The best part? These tricks don’t need fancy tech or corporate budgets. Just consistency, curiosity, and the courage to ask, “Where’s it all going?”

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Want to go deeper? You’ll find more systems like this in “The Hotel Owner’s Roadmap: Start, Manage, & Grow” Course—real strategies for real hoteliers.