AI and big data unlock opportunities for hotels to boost their direct revenue and operational efficiency while offering instant, personalized guest experiences. This article will focus on four ways hotels can leverage AI and Big Data to engage customers in the hotel direct booking process and drive their direct sales. 1) Deliver Instant Service With Conversational AI Conversational AI, a
Today things are different. There's a greater variety of more intuitive RMSs that are easy to use for your team and can be set up faster than legacy systems. Thanks to this development, finding an RMS doesn't have to be hard anymore. In the following article, you'll discover how to find the RMS that will help you do just that.
When engaging with online travel agencies (OTAs) in these volatile times, hoteliers must adequately understand the value and costs of all distribution channels. Any relationship weighted in favour of an OTA to the detriment of a hotel’s bottom line needs to be reviewed, and steps should be taken to maximise direct bookings. Hoteliers Should Explore OTA Alternatives For many hoteliers,
Customer behavior is evolving from search to interaction, and mobile is driving this shift. Hotels that rethink their guest communication to meet new and changing behavior will boost their visibility and drive their direct bookings. This article reveals the mobile behavior trends shaping the hospitality industry and how hotels can leverage them to improve their guest experience and increase direct
When you hear the word automation, it may conjure up images of a future where artificial intelligence and robots take over jobs. The reality, however, is much more nuanced. The notion of automation generally remains ossified in this physical, machine-replace-labour frame and is perceived as another step toward automation-led obsolescence. Automation in Everyday Life Discussions about automation all too often
The Brussels-based boutique hotel Made in Louise had a major leg up on many competitors during the pandemic thanks to its advanced tech stack. This helped them get through the corona crisis and make the most of the beginning recovery phase. Martin Duchateau, General Manager and owner of the 48-key Made in Louise hotel, shares how he navigated the pandemic
Hotel owners, developers, asset managers, and other stakeholders charged with successfully launching a new hotel property—in a marketplace that may already be quite competitive—know they’ll need more than attractive features and amenities that entice and cultivate a loyal customer base. As the industry adapts to a post-pandemic world, the team behind a new property also must assess key behind-the-front-desk requirements
The global pandemic has sped up a trend in revenue operations (RevOps) throughout the business world. Forrester recently published a study that found that many companies are moving towards more centralized RevOps. They’ve understood that revenue is more than an outcome and instead of a result of a business process where commercial teams come together to achieve their goals. Comprehensive
The hotel industry employs many unique key performance indicators. ADR (average daily rate), RevPAR (revenue per available room) and Occ% (occupancy) naturally come to mind. These metrics reflect the unique nature of our business, but their existence also drives our attention and actions. Watching your hotel’s KPIs translates into optimizing key activities to influence those KPIs positively. As the old
The revenue management system (RMS) plays a vital role in the modern hotel technology stack, driving greater profitability and efficiency. Still, the demonstrating return on investment (ROI) in a hotel’s revenue management technology investment goes deeper than year-over-year RevPAR uplift measurements. Understand the True Impact of Revenue Technology The additional revenue from properly utilizing revenue management software and strategies directly
All kinds of businesses use upselling to enhance their customer experience and maximize revenue on existing sales. From the McDonald’s server asking, “Do you want fries with that?”, to airlines offering seat upgrades. Upselling provides the opportunity to maximize the value of every customer. Not all upselling efforts are well-received — particularly efforts driven by the sole desire to make
Over the past year, many discussions about revenue management have come up. This raised the debate around the relevance and importance of historical data. And, of course, the corona crisis tested revenue professionals’ trust in automated tools like Revenue Management Systems (RMS). The latter brought many hotels great results despite the pandemic. This article describes how revenue managers can make
Pricing of extended-stay hotels and serviced apartments, also known as ‘aparthotels,’ has traditionally been a challenge for revenue managers as rates can vary drastically depending on the length of stay a guest seeks. However, it is vital hotel groups enhance their approach to pricing for this sector given the revenue opportunities it presents, especially as long-stay traveller demand ramps back
No one can be blamed for prioritising the survival of their business in the past year, which was challenging to a degree no one could have expected. As hospitality gears up to welcome guests again, it's clear that some priorities have shifted permanently. However, there are many, like the journey towards environmentally responsible tourism, that will undoubtedly return as matters
In the mid-90s, when satellite navigation (sat-nav) starting to get popular, the navigation systems based their route recommendation on static data. The result: drivers often didn’t trust the sat nav because the recommended route was not the optimal one. Well, things have changed in the sat-nav landscape. In this article, sat-nav is used as a metaphor for revenue management: going
Whether ditching a subpar revenue management system (RMS) provider for something better or implementing automated revenue tech for the first time—change is hard. But not changing could be disastrous for hotel businesses hoping to remain competitive and run efficiently and profitably in the new industry landscape of 2021 and beyond. Keep reading for tips on navigating the tech change for
Powerful hotel photography invites you to sink into that huge bed, sip from a cocktail or dive into the glistening water of the pool. Although such high-quality images require an investment, they will most definitely positively affect your brand perception, market share, and ultimately your rates and revenue. Selecting the Photographer The choice of photographer is a significant first step.
As a revenue manager, analytics and automation probably aren’t new to you. But recent developments in tech, like predictive analytics, forward-looking data and live insights, take revenue management to a whole new level. Especially in the looming recovery phase, these capabilities can drastically increase your chances of success even with unpredictable markets. Leaving Historical Data Behind Before Covid-19, your historical