Business
Hotel Business Review
techniques, we are using a revenue software known as EZRMS, which reads and understands the various trends that are currently playing in the market and assists us with future forecasts relating to rooms. OTA’s (Online Travel Agents) insights which provide us with a rate shipping tool, Social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin which improve visibility and our own brand website are a few examples of technology that help assess our revenue management as well as increase visibility. “The impact of revenue management is not immediately evident and measurable. However, the pricing of a hotel’s products does significantly impact guest’s perceptions and expectations. Direct pricing of a luxury hotel brand’s offerings creates a reputation for the brand based on its attributes and lineage. It is important the pricing of rooms and F&B at a hotel is set as per the clientele it is looking to attract. Guests must be notified and educated that room rates tend to vary based on demand and at the same time, hotels must ensure to keep a consistency in their pricing to assure guests of their brand credibility. Dilpreet Kaur avers, “There are many tools available in market today to aid Revenue Management which helps in budgeting, forecasting, comp-set analysis and more. It helps predicts the consumer behavior and optimize product profitability and focus on volume business. “Brand image of the hotel also gives an opportunity to maximize in revenue. Branding not only drives the customers to the website but also compete more strongly against competitors on OTAs. Brand enables you to control your online presence with help of the content and the reviews given by the customers.” Vinay Singh revealed, “Hotels invest big in their revenue management software. These significant investments mean it’s extremely important to recognize that the revenue management technology brings unrivalled advantages to a hotel’s business. With technology systems continually improving, redesigning and updating workflow, it’s become increasingly challenging for users to keep up with all of the ‘newness’. The few advantages of technological advancements nowadays are remote accessibility, optimal pricing, online reputation insights, powerful analytics etc. On the technology front the continuous improvement also results in more data being collected, analyzed and leveraged to drive sustainable income growth. Majority of the hotels worldwide have subscribed to various intelligence reports. Our property,
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Without revenue management the positioning and brand value come to doubt.”
Future of Revenue Management
Nitesh Rana Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet – Mumbai, Marriott Executive Apartments, heavily depends on STR reports, Hoteligence and TravelClick etc. to understand data analytics and effectively focus on improving and enhancing our revenue management. “As far as branding is concerned, it plays a crucial role in any industry. Stronger the brand recognition, more are chances of garnering business opportunities; in turn assisting the growth in revenue management. As revenue management evolves with the industry and the world around it, revenue managers need to stay on top of their game by paying close attention to new trends as they arise. To achieve the crucial revenue-management goal of optimizing profits by managing the availability and price for hotels, one must have an in-depth understanding of the digital-distribution and traceability mechanisms for those services, all within a well-defined strategy to create a positive impact for the brand. “Few elements that have direct impact on the revenue and distribution is price parity, online reputation management, loyalty based pricing, advances in group bookings, personalisation to drive direct bookings etc. The rate and demand strategy brought to the table by revenue management, in tandem with the creative edge offered by marketing, can lend the competitive advantage that makes all the difference between success and failure. Hence to be a top performer in today’s competitive hospitality landscape, revenue management and marketing must play a leading role in the hotel strategy.” Nitesh adds, “The wide use of RMS like IDEAS have made revenue management accessible to small hotels also. The latest technology which is currently under development is the introduction of Artificial intelligence to revenue management. “Revenue Management has a direct effect on branding because of the core marketing concept of STP. We are the custodian of STP.
There has been a trend of elevating the role of revenue management in the hotel industry. Several hotels are seeking analytical overview and strategic knowledge to make key decisions. Revenue managers are increasingly participating in executives committees with a similar status as that of directors of marketing and sales departments. Many hotels are now not having a revenue manager but a director of revenue management. So what is the future of revenue management and managers? Vinay Singh states, “The revenue profession in the hotel industry has grown up: there are revenue analysts, revenue managers, directors of revenue, even vice presidents and other executives which makes it fair to say that the revenue profession is emerging as a champion of progress and a key to profitable growth in businesses that understand how mission-critical it is to drive revenue. Revenue professionals will use the understanding of the potential upside of meaningful consumer insights, faster and better analytics, constant connectivity and responsiveness without forgetting that the fundamentals of hospitality never change. The future of Revenue Management is exciting and it is unfolding at a rate that was unimaginable a decade ago.” Sucheta declares, “In the coming years, revenue management will further benefit from the technological advancements in the field. The on-board focus on customer engagement and bookings on digital platforms will see a continued surge. As revenue managers explore newer avenues to increase profitability, hotels will benefit as guests from all over the world are connected and aware of the available amenities and on-going offers.” Jagdish Singh affirms, “The future of Revenue Management is likely to be more than total revenue management or lightning fast market report generation or individualised room rate adjustment on the fly. If the fine balance between human strategy formulation, decision making and the application of artificial intelligence is found, good things are likely to happen.” Dilpreet Kaur sums it up thus: “Future of Revenue management is very promising as without that it will be difficult to imagine optimizing the Hotel’s revenue. And as the revenue management evolves with the industry and the world around it, the Revenue Managers need to stay on top of the game paying close attention to changing trends.” n