When you weigh the effects of direct bookings’ revenue against the cost and hassle of third party bookings, it’s easy to get frustrated. Paying between 15-30% of our room revenues to someone other than our owners seems crazy when, with a few easy steps you can wean some of your guests off the OTA bottle and teach them to book directly with your GSRs or on your website. Putting A Go…
You’re in an owner’s review meeting, and your hotel owner asks, “Why did our comp set beat us? What did they have that we didn’t have?”. What do you respond? Continually saying “I don’t know” is not star behavior. We must be great “star analyzers” of STR (Smith Travel Research) reports, and hotel GMs and sales managers must keep track of what’s going on in our communities, areas, and in competitive…
I have, on many occasions, cautioned a hotel about starting rates too high. (If you know me well you know that this precautionary advise pains me because I never want to lower rates – LOL.) My rationale is that it is too hard to lower rates once you realize that you might have over estimated the demand. What happens to those proactive customers who have booked the higher rates? If…
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2013 and the beginning of a new year of revenue generating, cost savings, and staff training. As we move forward it is increasingly important that we continuously train our front desk sales persons. I attend many revenue calls each week, and EVERY GM and Sales Manager reinforces that their GSRs don’t let any walk-in guest leave the hotel without converting them to a paying customer….
No – sorry….. not that kind of bar! Although, it probably is 5:00 somewhere….. and, I am a little thirsty – LOL. Best Available Rate…. yes, that kind of BAR! Are we just using this rate category as a base to build all other rates, or are we in fact strategizing in our revenue management and sales/marketing plans to get consumers to actually buy BAR rate? What are the advantages…
It is every hotel’s nightmare. Revenue managers stay up night’s scratching their heads wondering whether or not they are advising their clients to do the right thing. Yes – I am referring to the ‘800 pound gorilla” in everyone’s back office! The opaque channels. I like a deal just as much as any consumer. I use coupons, I shop for deals, I purchase things on Living Social and Groupon. But…
Bob Weiser sent me an article today. It really made me think about a subject that I have often thought about, yet never had the nerve to really dig deep into… and furthermore, even think these ideas out loud for fear of being thought stark, raving mad. (I’ve copied the entire article below for those of you who want to read it.) The article addresses the psycho-analysis of hotel pricing…
Finding the rate groove. What is the rate range by market segment that generates demand for your hotel? You know it when you see reservations pace increase. The rate groove is not only in relation to the comp set rates but the value the consumer finds in the rate. Leisure this year is expected to remain strong despite high gas prices as the unemployment rate ticks down, allowing rate to…