GRAMMATICAS CONSULTING LTD
Briefing Note
By Dominic Grammaticas FCA
July 2026
In my last post, I wrote about variable costs and the importance of tracking them in real time during high season. This week, the other side of the equation: your fixed cost base.
In aviation, an engine that runs too lean will splutter. An engine that runs too rich sends unburnt fuel out of the exhaust. Both are bad. The same principle applies to the fixed cost base of your business.
Run it too lean and key managers are overworked and overstressed. You risk churn or burnout of key personnel and you certainly do not have the bandwidth to handle a crisis or a disruption.
Run it too rich and margin bleeds away invisibly. Roles that have accumulated over time without review. Subscriptions and contracts that renew automatically. Overheads that made sense three years ago but no longer reflect how the business actually operates. The money is there in the budget, it goes out every month, and nobody questions it because it has always been there.
The question for every CEO is simple: do you actually know what your fixed costs are, and are they right-sized for the business you are running today?
Not last year’s business. Not the business you are planning to build. The one you are running right now. Are your fixed costs sufficient to give you the resilience you need when things go wrong, without carrying flab that quietly erodes the margin your revenue team has worked hard to generate?
This is a balance that must be struck, and it requires regular, honest review. Not a one-off cost-cutting exercise driven by a crisis, but a disciplined annual process that asks whether every fixed commitment is still earning its place.
High season revenues will not last forever. The surplus you build now is the buffer that carries you through the quieter months. Make sure your fixed cost base is not silently consuming it, but can handle whatever it needs to.
If you would like a fresh pair of eyes on your cost structure, Grammaticas Consulting Ltd can help. We work with safari operators and tourism businesses to build the financial clarity that turns good revenue into real, lasting profitability, whilst preserving operational resilience.
Dominic Grammaticas FCA
Managing Director, Grammaticas Consulting Ltd
