At a recent regional General Manager's meeting, I was invited to facilitate a discussion on the revenue management process and the GM's role.  There were seven General Managers in the room and we had about as many opinions on the subject.

The opening comments ranged from not quite knowing what the Revenue Manager actually did all day to viewing the Revenue Manager as setting policy on the rates to be quoted by everyone in a position to do so -- with a lot of comments in between.  Some viewed the Revenue Manager as a gatherer of data only and the position as being essentially a part-time function while others viewed the Revenue Manager as critical to the overall revenue strategy of the hotel.

I would hazard a guess that the answer is variable, depending upon the company and the hotel policy.  What was evident in this discussion was that some GMs had a higher comfort level with the Revenue Management process than others. 

The relationship between the sales department of the hotel and the Revenue Manager is another potential area of confusion.  In some situations, Directors of Sales have indicated to me that there was little communication between the two departments. Many times group blocks were sabotaged by a lower rate that the Revenue Manager had offered to the Electronic Distribution Channels, incurring a high attrition rate for groups whose attendees had located that lower rate for the hotel on the Internet and booked out of the block. 

One DOS indicated that her staff had to get approval from the Revenue Manager prior to quoting rates for groups.  It was often difficult for the sales person to explain a lower rate quote for a certain period of time justified by the organization's potential to book more business in an opportunity period, the need for rate consistency within a market segment, or a long standing relationship that the organization had with the hotel. 

How does a GM lead the Revenue Management process to ensure that both the needs of the client and the hotel's revenue objectives are met, not to mention ensure the cohesiveness of the team?
 

Leading the revenue management process is critical to the success of the hotel. It is not about analyzing the data within the spreadsheet but is ultimately about creating value for guests in every market segment without jeopardizing the hotel's revenue goals -- it is that guest value quotient that we often lose site of in the process!

Carol Verret Consulting and Training is a full service company offering consulting, training and other services to the hospitality industry in the areas of sales, marketing, customer service and human resources. Included in their suite of services are programs on Revenue Management, Leadership and Conflict Management. Please direct any feedback directly to Carol Verret at , or by phone (303) 618-4065 or visit the web site, www.carolverret.com.

copyright Carol Verret, 2002-2003 -2004

Carol Verret is President of Carol Verret Consulting and Training, a company offering consulting and training seminars to the hospitality industry in the areas of sales and marketing and customer service.  If you missed attending our live webcasts in the Training Byte Series in 2003, you will be glad to know that we offer each "Training Byte" in PDF format on our web site. We will not be repeating these webcasts in 2004. To order your copy, please visit
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Verret is a twenty-year veteran of the hotel industry. She arrived in Denver in the midst of an economic downturn and quickly established herself as an expert in sales and marketing in hotel turn-around situations, applying her formula for REVPAR improvement. To learn more about Carol Verret, Consulting and Training, visit her web site at http://www.carolverret.com

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