News for the Hospitality Executive |
FT LAUDERDALE – November 2, 2010: Group and
meeting quotes include
many components beyond mere room rates. Prices for group space,
catering, AV
equipment, internet and comps and discounts all roll up into the
overall price
quoted. How important is it to know your competitors’ rates for those non-room items? Don Bundock, CEO of Quality Track International says; “In order to competitively price groups and meetings it is critical to understand all the items that go into a quotation. We have seen cases where a property had an excellent, well positioned quote, but blew it by adding in $800 a day for an LCD projector. For a small meeting of 20-25 people that increased the per person rate by $40.” Quality Track International, through its group rate shopping service GroupMetrix, analyzed more than 3,000 group proposals received over the past few months to identify how often the property with the lowest room rate also had the lowest priced bid overall. In each competitive set, the ranking of the property with the lowest room rate was compared to that property’s ranking based on the overall price quoted. The cost of rooms is usually the biggest single line item cost for a meeting, so it would be expected that the lowest room price would almost always result in the best overall price. The lowest room rate resulted in the most competitive bid 67% of the time. However that leaves one-third of the lowest-priced room bids being beaten by a competitor quoting a higher room rate. Knowing a competitors’ complete rate information is critical when designing a successful competitive pricing strategy. GroupMetrix CompSet Group Rate Reports include all the rate components that factor into a group or meeting quotation:
Customer Price Resistance: Real customers do not accept the first rate offered. Real customers “push back” on pricing and so do GroupMetrix shoppers. Armed with highly believable shopping identities, GroupMetrix shoppers are able to effectively offer price-resistance and discover the true rates that competitors are offering. The rates offered in response to the price-resistance, and the amount by which the rates are dropped, provide valuable insight into competitor’s rates and pricing strategy. The rate reports include the initial set of rates offered plus any rate reductions resulting from the rate-resistance. Click here to view a sample GroupMetrix rate report - Sample Report The GroupMetrix service includes 2 rate shops per month on each of 4 competitors, for a total of 8 rate shops. Each rate shop is price challenged, creating an additional set of 8 rates. The total cost is $129 per month, which is only $8 for each set of rates. Click here to view a short online presentation - Online Presentation For additional information click here – GroupMetrix FAQ About Quality Track International, Inc.: Quality Track International, established in 1998, is a leading worldwide provider of a full range of mystery shopping services and PCI compliant call center monitoring to the hospitality industry. GroupMetrix is a service provided by Quality Track International. For more information contact: Mr. Donald Bundock, CEO, Quality Track International, Inc., at (416) 693-5426 or by email at [email protected] |
Contact:
Quality Track International Head Office: 3389 Sheridan Street #10 Hollywood, Florida 33021 Telephone: (954) 432-2998 |