Creating procedures that guide action without killing ownership
Standard Operating Procedures divide opinion across the industry.
Some teams view SOPs as rigid rulebooks, while others treat them as loose guidelines. Leaders debate length, level of detail, and whether system steps belong in the document at all. These questions matter, yet the answers depend on what you are trying to build.
Designing SOPs for a single hotel differs greatly from building SOPs for a brand. A hotel can rely on local habits and experienced people. A brand must rely on structure. Consistency allows guests to enjoy a reliable experience and helps colleagues understand what they must do and what they can decide for themselves. Well-built SOPs remove uncertainty, reduce friction between departments, and speed up onboarding and daily operations.
At their core, SOPs answer three simple questions:
- What needs to be done
- How it should be done
- Where flexibility is allowed
The real challenge lies in deciding how much detail is right.
Detailed SOPs: Strengths and Trade-Offs
Detailed SOPs map each step of a process, often including system actions, decision points, and handoffs between teams. This approach gives new colleagues a clear path and helps pre-opening teams start with confidence.
Benefits include:
- Clear guidance for new hires and large teams
- Strong consistency across shifts and properties
- Less reliance on tribal knowledge
- Easier auditing and quality control
- Better alignment with brand, safety, and compliance standards
When a brand scales, detailed SOPs become a shared operating language. They ensure that what designers imagine at the center becomes what teams deliver on the property.
Short or Concept-Led SOPs: A Different Approach
Shorter SOPs focus on intent, principles, and outcomes rather than step-by-step actions. This style works well for experienced teams and creative environments.
Benefits include:
- Faster to read and easier to absorb
- Encouragement of judgment and ownership
- Flexibility when locations differ
- Room for personality in service delivery
However, this approach relies heavily on training and leadership presence. Without strong support, interpretation drifts quickly, and brands lose consistency.
Brand Thinking vs Hotel Thinking
For brands, SOPs do more than describe tasks. They align entire organizations.
A strong framework sets the baseline for what must remain consistent everywhere and what local teams can adapt. It draws clear boundaries, so colleagues make confident decisions without seeking approval for every action.
This clarity empowers people. Teams perform better when they understand both the standard and the freedom within it.
A ZOGO Example: One Brand, Many Properties
During a multi-property lifestyle brand project, each hotel operated its own guest recovery procedures. The brand wanted a unified approach, yet locations differed in size, staffing, and technology. Writing one rigid SOP would have ignored those realities.
In operational workshops, the teams mapped real scenarios from each property. They identified the steps that had to remain identical, such as empathy language and compensation limits, and the steps that could flex, such as who owned follow-up or which tools captured feedback.
The final SOP set a common promise while allowing local workflow. New properties launched faster, audits became simpler, and guest satisfaction scores rose because teams finally spoke the same language.
SOPs Are No Longer Just Paper
The way teams access SOPs has changed dramatically.
Platforms such as Teammate by Perpetual Labs place procedures on a colleague’s phone in real time and in their preferred language. This shift transforms SOPs from static documents into daily tools.
Searchable, visual, and translated SOPs support colleagues in the moment. They reinforce learning, improve confidence, and reduce errors without slowing service.
The Real Power of SOPs
Strong SOPs do not exist to control people. They exist to create clarity.
They protect the brand promise, support colleagues, and deliver consistency without removing individuality. When organizations design them well, teams stop guessing what to do and start focusing on how to do it brilliantly.
That is the moment SOPs stop feeling like paperwork and start driving real operational advantage.
Discussion Questions
- Where do your current SOPs create confidence for teams, and where do they create hesitation or over-reliance on approval?
- Which processes truly require step-by-step detail, and which would benefit from principle-led guidance instead?
- How do new colleagues currently learn your standards, and what role do SOPs play compared with training and leadership?
- If a guest experienced the same situation in two of your hotels, would the response feel consistent or depend on who was on shift?
- Are your SOPs easy to access in the moment of service, or do they live in places colleagues rarely visit?
Ready to Look at Your Own SOPs Differently?
Take one process your teams struggle with most and read the SOP from a colleague’s perspective. Ask whether it guides action, allows judgment, and reflects how work happens today. If the document creates more questions than clarity, it is time to rethink the approach.
Strong SOPs grow out of real operations, not templates. Start small, involve the people who deliver the experience, and design procedures that help them succeed in the moment of service. That is where brand intent finally becomes guest reality.
