FINANCE Revenue management experts advise investing in technology to facilitate better upselling
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Growth INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY IS HELPING HOTELS TO BOOST REVENUE WITH CHOICE REPORTING “GAME-CHANGING” RESULTS. RUTH HOGAN REPORTS.
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ith international travel slow to return to Australian shores, the hotel industry is looking for ways to leverage the continued boom in domestic travel. According to Tourism Research Australia’s latest figures, in the month of August 2022, domestic travel spend was up 30% to AU$8.1 billion when compared to August 2019. Australian Revenue Management Association (ARMA) Chief Executive, Melissa Kalan, told HM that while there has been great progress, it will be some time before normal business resumes. “Whilst there have been some pleasing results for the broader industry both domestically and across APAC, in particular regional areas, and sectors such as holiday parks and resorts, the predictability with high certainty we previously enjoyed, and with a high degree of confidence, is still not there for the mid to long term,” she said. “Although we remain optimistic, we must remain attentive to global events and changes that may continue to impact consumer demand 74
HM The Business of Accommodation
and purchase behaviour. This places an even greater emphasis on the importance of insights derived from data, employee skill development, and ensuring internal communication lines are actively engaged to share, analyse, assess, and pivot strategies quickly when and where it is needed.” In a bid to yield better results in the current market, some hotels are investing in revenue management systems and market monitoring. Choice Hotels Asia-Pac has introduced a revenue management program over the past 12 months and reports that the results have been “game-changing”. “We’ve seen outstanding returns on investment for hotels across all five Choice Hotel brands,” Choice Hotels Asia-Pac Director of Performance and Revenue Management, Anthony Stanley, told HM. “Owners and general managers are actively engaging with our revenue managers and see them as an integral part of their team. “The results speak for themselves, with revenue managed hotels in Australia outperforming market RevPAR in Q3 this year by almost 45%. In New Zealand, where the market is still in recovery, we’ve seen a significant increase against market in Q3 RevPAR performance of 154%.” Revenue Management has become an essential component of Choice Hotels’ offering, and hotels in the group are rapidly testing and transitioning to these services. “If you’re not taking advantage of the revenue management services on
offer in the market, then you’re leaving revenue on the table,” Stanley said. Choice’s automated revenue management tool, choiceMAX, helps franchisees effectively manage hotel room rates, channels, and inventory. It also integrates with the choiceADVANTAGE property management system and is configured to forecast and make recommendations on rates up to 365 days in advance, optimising pricing multiple times a day.