By Denis Sheehan MIH, Publisher, H&C News: Consensus reached on balanced hotel revenue management.
On the 23rd November a group of hoteliers sat down at Coworth Park to discuss hotel revenue management… the art and science of selling the right product, to the right customer, for the right price, through the right channel, at the right time.
How to consistently optimise occupancy and all complimentary components that make up a hotel’s revenue stream.
The current economic climate makes balancing this complex equation even more important as the present macro and micro market conditions are more delicate than most.
The delegate attendees were all seasoned hoteliers who broadly agreed that more emphasis needs to be placed on getting more from what you have. This, like every other aspect of the conversations was reliant upon two key elements, people and technology.
Everyone was using technology to maximise revenue, everyone had the same objective, and everyone agreed that the use of technology was improving their respective bottom line. The discussions centred around strategic and tactical planning, with some ‘case study’ references to personal experience.
There was a general feeling that the vast amounts of data available was not always being used, and that the solution to this was like most things a balancing act, people need to ensure the data is being captured, and then interrogate the data in a way that enables differentiation.
One point emphasised by Anthony Cox FIH, General Manager, Norton Park Hotel, Spa & Manor House was the ‘always on’ benefit of technology. This warrants that data is being gathered, and can be utilised to constantly look for small improvements that collectively make a big difference.
Serena von der Heyde, Owner, Georgian House Hotel looked at the customer journey, from the initial room booking stage through the stay to better understand which elements made customers come back. Like all delegates von der Heyde knew there is more to do, but is seeing the results at her properties as a consequence of working with the HotelPartner team, and the teams use of technology.
The balancing of the people and technology equation was paramount for Kalindi Juneja, CEO, Pride of Britain Hotels. Towards the end of the morning’s dialogue Juneja underlined how important it is in recognising the importance of both, people and technology, to get the balance right. Each requires the other.
As each delegate presented their view of the market and their approach to it, a much wider view was presented by Florian Augustin, Chief Commercial Officer, HotelPartner. Having access to data from 100’s of customers across Europe allowed a holistic view of what people want when booking a hotel to be pictured. This not only helps with collaborative strategic planning and tactical deployment but also product development at HotelPartner.
By the end of the mornings session consensus had been reached, the balancing of the people and technology equation is the way forward, and opportunities abound for improved hotel revenue management.
The delegate attendees were:
Anthony Cox FIH, General Manager, Norton Park Hotel, Spa & Manor House
Florian Augustin, Chief Commercial Officer, HotelPartner
James McComas FIH, General Manager, Champneys Eastwell Manor
Kalindi Juneja, CEO, Pride of Britain Hotels
Nigel Messenger FIH, Director, Castleman
Piers Zangana, Director, Susa Comms
Robert Holland, Managing Director UK, HotelPartner
Robert Richardson FIH, CEO, Institute of Hospitality
Serena von der Heyde, Owner, Georgian House Hotel
Tej Walia FIH, General Manager, Foxhills
Zoe Jenkins, General Manager, Coworth Park
Piers Zangana, Director, Susa Comms
Denis Sheehan, Publisher, H&C News
I would like to say thank you to each and every delegate for their time and input to the event, and to our partner in facilitating this event, HotelPartner.
