Bridging the Industry

By , Director, Industry Consulting

 

Consulting Services answers recent client questions about hotel revenue management

Digna Martinez Kolar, IDeaS director, industry consulting, recaps hotel revenue management best practices for total revenue performance.


Two of the year’s biggest events, HITEC and ROC, are currently underway in Houston, and hoteliers at these shows want to know more about how they can realize total revenue performance for their property.

Total revenue performance continues to be a priority for most hotel organizations, and revenue management plays a key role in achieving it. When revenue management is practiced as a continued process and supported by the right balance of people, processes and tools, profit breakthroughs become possible.

Many revenue managers are familiar with the revenue cycle and follow the continued process as a part of their day-to-day—collecting and analyzing data, preparing a forecast, deciding on pricing and inventory strategies and monitoring the results of their decisions. Some processes are more sophisticated and include other areas such as demand optimization, distribution and customer service. Whether simplistic or sophisticated, the revenue cycle requires that each area is well understood to attain the right balance between people, processes and tools.

As you strive to improve revenue management practices, a closer look at your tools and technology is essential. What works and what can be upgraded is a common discussion. At the end of the day, with all the advanced technology available and the rate at which it changes, there seems to always be a better option out there. Fortunately, tools and technology can be upgraded more easily and faster compared to the effort it takes to upgrade people’s knowledge and understanding as well as modify processes or ways of doing things.

In most organizations, the time and effort to align people and processes is underestimated and rarely evaluated prior or post any technology upgrades. Thus, when thinking about total revenue performance, first make sure to evaluate if the three pillars of people, processes and tools are aligned, and plan on the actions needed to maintain that alignment going forward.

Total revenue performance is possible for your property. Just keep in mind that modifying your business’s ways of doing things may take more effort than expected as, by nature, most human beings don’t like change.

Thanks for reading this post, and if you happen to be in Houston this week, be sure to stop by and visit IDeaS at both HITEC and ROC.


 

Hey, don’t leave now—the fun is just beginning. Here are more industry insights making the rounds this week:

Digna Martinez Kolar
Director, Industry Consulting

Before joining the IDeaS global team in 2011, Digna spent 11 years in leadership roles at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). With deep expertise in the deployment and structuring of pricing and revenue management processes, Digna helps clients build sustainable revenue management cultures in multicultural environments. Digna holds an MBA in Hospitality Management from IMHI, a joint program of Cornell University and ESSEC.

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