Phoenix, AZ (November 22, 2002)  � Urging independent hotels, resorts and boutiques to revolutionize their revenue management practices to compete in today�s unchartered territories, maverick hotel consultant, marketer and trainer Renie Cavallari, founder and �Director of Inspiration� of Aspire Marketing, says there are many ways to drive new revenues. �For hotels to succeed in the present market conditions, they must ask new questions to uncover new solutions,� says Cavallari. But it will take adjusting to new market forces such as Internet travel websites, complex distribution channels and new customer buying patterns.

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�Many hotels have allowed the Internet to take control of their hotel pricing strategies and it must be the other way around for them to succeed,� stresses Cavallari. �Hotels are dumping inventory and eroding their pricing integrity,� she declares. 

Currently, pricing has become so random that hotels� customers find a variety of prices for the same room in various locations from the hotel�s website to internet travel sites, such as travelocity.com, or expedia.com.  When pricing is random vs. strategic, hotels end up displacing revenues instead of driving them. 

Ways to Increase Revenues ASAP

To maximize revenues, hotels should consider offering their best price through their own reservations office and website.  Instead of relying on internet wholesalers or travel portals, Cavallari recommends that hotels should, �participate in every sales channel you can, but be strategic and use smart revenue management approaches to ensure that you are not displacing revenues or increasing your cost of sales.�
From general manager down the line, all hotel employees should embrace a �revenue-consciousness� towards driving RevPAR (revenue per available room). Revenue management should not something that happens every Thursday at 2 p.m.  For a hotel to maximize its RevPAR  it must start with:

1. Keeping a comprehensive and consistent approach to revenue management and maximization.
2. Making revenue management a daily practice, vs. weekly. 
3. Developing day-to-day integrated pricing strategies. 
4. Encouraging customers to buy directly from the hotel or its website and be sure that the hotel has a strong position on website search engines.

Aspire�s research has found that customers don�t shop like they used to. More than ever before, customers are using the Internet to shop. If they call the hotel directly, they are calling for one of two reasons: to see if the hotel is offering a better price than what they have found online, or to get an understanding of the hotel.

Most hotels need to consider a different approach to how they are pricing, insists Cavallari.  �In the past, customers could find the best prices everywhere other than the hotel itself.  That has to change,� she explains.  �It�s crucial that the customer know they won�t be offered a better price elsewhere. Pricing must have integrity, support the hotel�s positioning, and reflect demand and market realities.� 

In addition, pricing must be strategic. For example, traditionally, hotels sold their rooms by offering the highest priced room first. In today�s marketplace, hotels must set pricing daily and offer their best available price (their lowest price) first to the customer. Simultaneously, hotels must also sell �the experience� with every call to ensure that the customer knows what makes this property unique from other hotels.  Once they convert the reservation, then hotels should up-sell to maximize revenues. 

Says Cavallari, �You must have a strong reservation sales selling process and team in place.  It doesn�t matter if you have one person selling or 10, conversion is king. Understand that customers are buying an experience and want to receive value for the price they pay. If you just sell a hotel room then you are putting yourself in a rate-only competition.�

About Aspire Marketing: 
Aspire Marketing is a leading provider of revenue improvement tools and services to the hospitality industry. Through a variety of innovative resources, Aspire works with each business from its heart and soul to help companies strategically capitalize on their unique business opportunities. Committed to inspiring people, Aspire specializes in tools that maximize market share and revenues, re-energize sales, and drive powerful results.  Founded in 1995, Aspire Marketing has headquarters in Phoenix, AZ, with a network of hi-impact professionals across the country.
Aspire Marketing offers its clients' innovative resources to find competitive advantages and drive revenues. To learn more please contact Aspire Marketing at 480-481-7888 or www.aspiremarketing.com.