As the first green shoots of recovery start to take form on our monthly Pulse Report, we catch up with five Duettos, all experienced in the field of revenue management, to ask what their predictions are for 2021 and beyond.
From agile strategies to focusing on local and exploiting your database, these revenue experts share their top tips for what could boost your revenue in the year ahead:
Look Local
Look at your drive market. People don’t want to fly – they don’t feel safe. Focus on the guests that are in a 500-mile radius from your hotel. They can do day trips to your resort, or stay a night or two, then go home. Consider their total spend, including ancillary revenue from F&B and gaming.
The hotels that have a database of local guests need to use this, targeting those very limited marketing dollars where they are most likely to convert. There is pent-up demand and it is going to be very focused on close proximity to your hotel. Those targeting locals will be the most successful and the fastest to recover.
Nevin Reed, Vice President, Casino Services
Break Down Silos
Just like any business, every hotel needs to pay more attention to profitability rather than just top line room revenue, and for that to happen we need to see increased adoption rates of revenue management technology.
In addition, within hotels, there needs to be further breaking down of silos and the building of better synergies between departments.
Bring these together – technology and teamwork – and you will see success.
Ira Vouk, Director of Product Data and Analytics
Turn Data Into Knowledge
Technology is rapidly changing the hotel pricing function. However, automation does not replace the knowledge and analytical skills that commercial revenue management and sales staff need to succeed. The revenue function will evolve into ‘Revenue Management 2.0’ and with this the field will track people with a wider range of skills than ever before with an emphasis shift to critical thinking. Therefore, hotel commercial strategy focused platforms will be challenged to provide a collaborative venue to turn data into knowledge and knowledge into hotel asset profit.
Lloyd Biddle, Director of Enterprise Solutions
Focus On Transient Business
First, the human element of revenue isn’t gone. There is light at the end of the tunnel for those that have been furloughed and these revenue professionals will be back.
Revenue is often viewed as the back seat of sales but the reality of the business mix is that there’s not as much corporate and there’s not as much group business out there today, so the focus is on transient business. And this is where the role of the Director of Revenue Management comes into play.
Gary Glodowski, Director of Customer Success for the Americas
Stay Agile
If the last 12 months have taught us anything it is to expect the unexpected. Make sure that you are agile in your strategy, and in your technology. Demand is volatile, customers are unsure and their decisions are ever-changing.
Now is the time to build up your tech stack so that, when demand increases, you are equipped to deal with each and every subtle change.
David Goodman, Director of Sales for UK & Ireland and Nordics
This post originally appeared on the Duetto website and is reproduced with their permission.
