distribution channel

Infor Announces New Solution for Hoteliers to Simplify Pricing

Infor | June 17, 2019

Infor Hospitality Price Optimizer to Help Increase Profits for Individual Hotels and Chains of Any Size NEW YORK – June 17, 2019 – Infor, a leading provider of industry-specific cloud applications, today announced the launch of Infor Hospitality Price Optimizer (HPO), to be generally available this summer. Infor HPO is a comprehensive, built-for-the-cloud solution that delivers pricing decisions for hoteliers. The application considers the pricing process from the guest’s point of view, including what sources a guest looks at, and compares, to make a booking. Infor HPO will help hoteliers make better decisions more quickly, confident...

Hotel Expiration Dates: Fact or Fiction?

Vertical Booking USA | May 22, 2019

By Mark Lewis-Brown, CEO & President at Vertical Booking USA Expiration dates: they're super common in some industries – they are regularly seen on consumer-packaged goods, food and drinks, medicine, etc. – but the idea of an expiration date isn't often applied to the hotel industry. But, in my opinion, it should be. Here's a little known/rarely considered fact: an empty room is an expired one. Just like with milk or medication, hotels' rooms also have expiration dates, after which the empty room becomes a liability, rather than an asset. Think about it… like milk, a hotel room is a perishable product; unfortunate...

Hotel Budget Season: Design Your Most Profitable Channel Mix Strategy in 2019

Kristi White | October 16, 2018

By Kristi White, VP, Sales Engineering at The Rainmaker Group Travel customers have an unprecedented number of options to shop and book hotels, with new competitors constantly jumping into the distribution channel pool. Determining what inventory to sell through which channels has become a critical component in operating a profitable hotel. The industry is seeing online travel agencies (OTAs) with market values higher than many hotel brands and commissions rising at twice the rate of revenue growth.1 Despite these intimidating numbers, intermediary distribution channels should not be looked upon with enmity, but rather as key players in...

Latin American Giant TOTVS Signs on as SiteMinder’s 250th PMS Connectivity Partner

SiteMinder | September 25, 2018

Dallas, USA – The largest enterprise technology company in Latin America, TOTVS, has entered into a partnership with SiteMinder to become the 250th property management system (PMS) provider that will connect into SiteMinder's market-leading hotel guest acquisition platform. The partnership, which comes one day ahead of the ABAV Expo in São Paulo, will allow the 2,500 hotel users of TOTVS's PMS – CMNet – to enhance and automate the distribution of their rooms to the vast sales channels that are available through SiteMinder's platform. SiteMinder's channel network includes more than 350 of the world's top-performi...

Why You Should Be Listening to What Your Voice Agents Are Saying Right Now to Potential Guests

Doug Kennedy | September 24, 2018

By Doug Kennedy As I often say in my conference presentations and training sessions, voice reservations is the forgotten distribution channel, at least at most hotels these days. Too many marketing and distribution execs buy-in to stereotypes such as "Millennials only book online and never want to talk with humans…" and "The only ones who still call are elderly and don't know how to work a computer..." On the surface, the numbers might even support this as web booking continue to grow while voice bookings decline. However, many of those who book online started out by first calling the hotel; others call after booking but prior to...

Of Battlegrounds, New Channels and the Need for the Right Strategy

Vera Lye | August 21, 2018

By Vera Lye Over a couple of beautiful winter days Down Under, hotel practitioners gathered at the Sydney Exhibition Centre at the No Vacancy Accommodation Expo 2018 to listen to experts discuss changing trends and challenges faced by the industry. In such company, a discussion about the battlefield with new soldiers will inevitably ensue. This time was no different. The hospitality distribution chain was once again described as a "battleground" – a fight for customers and for ownership of those customers. A panel, entitled "Airbnb vs. hotels vs. OTAs," looking at the upsides and the downsides of the distribution landscape, starte...

Understanding the True Cost of Distribution: Are You Leaving Money on the Table by Ignoring Your Direct Channel?

Gautam Lulla | May 16, 2018

By Gautam Lulla Hotels can make the biggest impact to their bottom line with an optimized direct channel. But a recent white paper by HEDNA found most independent properties are underinvesting and undervaluing this crucial part of their business. In "Hotel Distribution Data Management And Analysis," HEDNA discovered that just 48% of independents look closely at cost of distribution. Independents were also the least likely to use analytics to make decisions about distribution (67% relied on them), compared to chains (81%) and management companies (72%). Overall, the paper revealed something crucial: a lot of hotels just aren't focused on...

How Much Does It Cost To Generate A Voice Reservations Inquiry? How Much Are You Investing In Properly Following-Up?

Doug Kennedy | March 5, 2018

By Doug Kennedy Despite that there is more information for guests to view online than ever before in the history of the lodging industry, the phones continue to ring in reservations offices and at the front desk. Simultaneously, hoteliers continue to increase direct bookings. Hardly a day goes by that I don't see another article on this topic, yet when I click on them the discussion is almost always on website bookings; rarely do I see a mention of voice as a distribution channel. If you are truly committed to increasing direct voice bookings, read on. A first step that I always do with my consulting clients and also with participants i...