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A New Year's Resolution? Automate Pricing Strategies to Embrace
the Changing Face of the Booking Process


By Jean Francois Mourier 
December 27, 2011

Social media, interconnectivity, consumer review sites – these have all become game changers in the booking process for hoteliers. No new insights there, but with less than two weeks to go before we hit 2012, what “new” advice can I give to revenue managers to stay ahead and above the comfort curve?  Let’s start with implementing intelligent, automated and dynamic pricing strategies to manage and preempt the evolving and sometimes unpredictable habits of consumers - starting on January 1st. 
 
While this is not a new concept, it’s still one that some revenue managers evade or put off for another year.  But with the calendar counting down, there are fewer excuses left, so let’s take a look at some challenges and their resolutions for the coming year.
 
What, When, Why, How?
It’s difficult to get a handle on exactly what motivates consumers to book both where and when.  Is it mainly price points, brand loyalty, reviews from the media or trusted Web sites – or a combination of all three?
 
This interconnectivity can often leave revenue managers with an exhausted perspective of what’s working and what isn’t. With platforms in the playing field like social media, mobile apps, online travel agencies, and myriad travel deal sites– not only are consumers flooded with options for data, revenue managers need intelligent solutions to assist.
 
Latest industry reporting supports this trend.  According to a recent Travelport study, 25 percent of leisure and 26 percent of business travelers researched their travel on OTAs, which is only going to continue to grow in 2012 as meta-search engines like Kayak and Google Hotel Finder expand customer touch points and drive traffic back to OTAs.
 
It’s Not Always About Price
It’s no secret consumers want value in a tight economy. But, what’s even more vital is perceived value – consumers want to feel confident with their booking decision.  Like myself, industry experts realize that a room rate isn’t the only qualifying factor here in a what-when-why-how decision-making process . They may want to feel confident with a decision to book a particular hotel, not only based on rate but the inclusion of amenities, customer service and other intangibles.
 
So the booking rate equation becomes more complicated. Add in business traveler group discounts, package deals, special incentives or online travel providers, and the equation becomes even more challenging.  Even more challenging still is understanding consumer behaviors and motivations, past, present and future.  Analyzing data of this complexity is, well, complex.  By utilizing automated pricing strategies, however, hoteliers and their key team can dig far deeper into the data without guesswork or relying on historical information only.
 
Mobile, Mobile Everywhere
Based on what’s happening in the retail and airline industries, where the mobile channel has become the buying and booking tool of choice, mobile will be very big business in 2012. Hoteliers, it’s time to get onboard with mobile.  Google projects that 8 percent of mobile users will be booking travel from their smartphones by 2012. Automated pricing systems can preempt the quick changes in technology. As booking windows continue to shrink, being not only receptive to mobile booking but also preemptive to rate strategy will be key to increasing occupancy rates.

And then there is consumer engagement. Facebook, Twitter, other social media outlets and e-commerce generates buzz:  travelers share their experiences, both favorable and unfavorable, and this is proven to be a growing trend. But revenue managers already have a lot on their administrative plate. Maintaining high occupancy rates while maximizing profits is most important; however, other variables such as guests writing about travel experiences or special offers on mobile apps can have considerable impact on demand, and bookings. This level of access, powered by interconnectivity, breeds a level of openness and transparency not often seen in the hotel industry. But, with automated systems in place, this can create a new pathway for hoteliers, revenue managers and other executives to get a grasp and, importantly, keep a grasp on increasing occupancy, revenue and customer satisfaction - because that is ultimately what matters most.
 
Clearly, consumer behavior is not stagnant, it’s somewhat of an organic being –twisted and turned and influenced by environmental factors. Pricing rooms is a combination of intuition, sales trends, economic fluctuations, and increasingly new variables such as mobile apps and social media. Using automated pricing strategies will help hoteliers navigate through these variables using technology.  As we embark on a new year, 2012 presents exciting changes for hoteliers.
 
Think and visualize bigger by grouping together market segments, tracking inventory, integrating customer information, and improving the platform for your hotel’s operation.  Build your property loyalty, embrace technologies and include automated pricing strategies that in turn will support mobile bookings, maximize revenues and fill rooms.
 
Isn’t that a better way to see in the New Year?


Jean Francois Mourier is CEO & Founder of RevPar Guru, a company that has developed an alternative type of revenue management and real-time pricing solution (combined with automated online distribution) to help hotels maximize occupancy and increase their profits. The company’s Yield Dynamic Price Engine, an integrated revenue management and pricing solution, adds unprecedented power and real-time adaptability to the pricing process, leaving managers more time to run their hotels. You may reach him through www.revparguru.com or by calling +1.786.478.3500. 
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Contact: 

REVPAR GURU INC. 
786-478- 3500 
www.revparguru.com

 

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Also See: Big Booking Rates Brimming With Holiday Cheer: What the Good News Means For the Hotel Industry / Jean Francois Mourier / December 2011

Demystifying the Magical Pricing Potion / Jean Francois Mourier / November 2011

Getting Into Bed With The Enemy: Like Any Relationship, It Pays To Know Your Partner / Jean Francois Mourier / October 2011

Hotel Revenues on the Rise for 2011 Holiday Season / Jean Francois Mourier / October 2011

Shifting From Manual to Automatic in Revenue Management / Jean Francois Mourier / July 2011

Going with GOPPAR? Not so fast, RevPAR is still the best metric for revenue managers / Jean Francois Mourier / June 2011

Protecting Your Brand from Discounts; The Real Economic Impact of Losing Rate Discipline / Jean Francois Mourier / June 2011

A Tale of Two Strategies; Contrasting boutique and chain hotel revenue management approaches / Jean Francois Mourier / May 2011

The Great Debate: Humans vs. Automated RMS: Their strengths, weaknesses and what responsibilities are best suited for each / Jean Francois Mourier / April 2011

When Every Second Counts: Secrets for making the most out of the new last-minute booking trend / Jean Francois Mourier / April 2011

Rev Up your RevPAR In 4 Different Ways / Jean Francois Mourier / March 2011

Pricing Beyond the Comp Set And other new pricing strategies that really work / Jean Francois Mourier / March 2011

Schooled By Wall Street; Using stock market principles for optimum hotel revenue management / Jean Francois Mourier / February 2011

System Underload; Inefficiencies in RMS Systems are Costing the Industry Dearly / Jean Francois Mourier / February 2011

Revenue Management: Back to Basics: The Importance of Revenue Management Principles / Jean Francois Mourier / January 2011

Revenue Management: Profiting from the Industry’s Growth in 2011 / Jean Francois Mourier / January 2011

Home For the Holidays: Tending to Hotel Operations When Your Revenue Manager is on Vacation / Jean Francois Mourier / December 2010

The World of Revenue Management: Past, Present & Future; Looking back on hotel revenue management in 2010 and what the industry is expecting for 2011 / Jean Francois Mourier / December 2010

All Science, No Guesswork: The Benefits of Algorithms in Hotel Revenue Management / Jean Francois Mourier / November 2010

The Great Debate: Humans vs. Automated RMS: Their strengths, weaknesses and what responsibilities are best suited for each / Jean Francois Mourier / October 2010

Rate Parity vs. Rate Integrity—What is Rate Integrity? / Jean Francois Mourier / October 2010

A New Day For Timeshares; Using automated RM systems for running your timeshare company / Jean Francois Mourier / October 2010

Best Practices in Revenue Management, Part 3; Automation, Channel Management and Decision Making / Jean Francois Mourier / September 2010

Best Practices in Revenue Management, Part 2; Rate discipline, the leveraging of real-time information, and price prediction / Jean Francois Mourier / August 2010

Best Practices in Revenue Management, Part 1; General revenue management and strategic pricing / Jean Francois Mourier / July 2010

The Irresistibility of the Obvious; How a new trend in revenue management and metrics is missing the point / Jean Francois Mourier / July 2010

Pricing Beyond the Compset - And other new pricing strategies that really work / Jean Francois Mourier / June 2010

A Tale of Two Strategies; Contrasting boutique and chain hotel revenue management approaches / Jean Francois Mourier / June 2010

Historical Pricing Is History, Well, Not Exactly; Examining the Role Historical Pricing Should Be Playing in Hotels’ Pricing Strategies / Jean Francois Mourier / May 2010

Tipping Your Cap (Rate) - Why hotel owners need to pay attention to RevPAR / Jean Francois Mourier / April 2010
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