Part 1 of 4

Modern Revenue Managers Bid Adieu to Traditional Revenue Managers

The progression of the hospitality industry has transformed the revenue management as a central discipline in the hotel. Hotels of today are striving hard to gain more profitability by implementing the latest revenue management strategies and technologies which involve much more than just inventory and hotel price optimisation.

The role of revenue managers today, has amplified substantially to include a variety of other important tasks including online marketing, social media and online reputation management, channel management and the focus on TRM (Total Revenue Management) just to name a few. Consequently, the revenue manager of today is required to wear multiple hats at the same time and possess more skills than ever before to succeed in this challenging and dynamic role.

What we see today from cutting-edge revenue management leaders is the development and implementation of inventive marketing strategies focused on attracting guests from different key segments. A systematic approach is being followed for the development of targeted propositions across the hotel’s website, distribution channels, e-marketing and offline channels. Most certainly, this leads to smarter and more profitable revenue generation, but must be implemented and executed carefully, including cross functions of the hotel as well as carefully consider the bigger distribution landscape.

Social media and Online Reputation Management for hotels is also at the forefront of the revenue management role, having a noteworthy impact on the hotel ADR. Hotel revenue managers have delved deep down in the role by ensuring continuous engagement with the audience on all platforms in the form of creative posts, contests, and other activities. All kind of reviews and recommendations posted on these platforms should be actively looked into by the revenue manager and taken into consideration when creating the value proposition for potential guests.

This is why the need for a reliable Online Reputation management tool is so important. Revenue management leaders must work closely with operations to ensure that guest expectations are met, guest feedback in being handled correctly and continuous improvements are being made to achieve an optimal guest sentiment score.

The hotel revenue managers of today are busy performing numerous roles – talking to guests, determining innovative pricing strategies, analysing competition performance and trends, identifying new markets and ways to drive more business, managing the digital presence of the hotel, driving online distribution, and a lot more with the broader objective of TRM or total revenue management.

In this highly connected age, technology has reshaped consumer behavior and revenue experts are seen adopting a more holistic approach to their strategies.

To summarise, revenue management is a well-defined success story, which will continue to thrive and expand in the future. The modern revenue manager seems to have come a long way in today’s technology-driven environment and still continues to move ahead.

As the practice of revenue management continues to integrate with the key functions of the hotel, the need for a thorough understanding of the market landscape becomes crucial for these multi-functional experts. The job continues to become more dynamic, revenue managers!

Considering the above, is the title Revenue Manager even relevant anymore? Should the title of this role change to reflect the job to something more accurate like Director of Hotel Strategy? What are your thoughts?

Stay tuned to this space for out next blog on “Moving The Technology Way… Are You Ready?”