For many hotels, developing effective pricing strategies remains a complex issue for revenue managers. Their goal, ultimately, is to maximize companywide revenue and profits while building strong hotel partner relationships within their marketplace. Beyond the scope of regular revenue management practices such as selecting the correct overbooking, rate restrictions and best available rate, lies the challenge of selecting the correct rates to choose from in the first place. The emergence of rate optimization has made strides to demystify pricing practices and help revenue managers understand the demand characteristics of their products, understand the price sensitivity of demand and design a rate spectrum that is tuned to all these. This allows hoteliers to take full advantage of their business opportunities, ensuring that they are capturing the maximum revenue at all times through an optimized rate spectrum. READ MORE

With guest satisfaction at its highest level in since 2006, what can be learned from the most recent J.D. Power Hotel Guest Satisfaction Survey? Hotel rankings by segment may feel like the essence of the study, but by digging deeper into the results individual hotels can focus on a few key areas, especially when it comes to the next generation of traveler, to improve your guest experience. Act quickly though. The 2015 results are already starting to come in. READ MORE

As unlikely as it seems, with hotel groups focusing on technology to enhance the guest experience, the time will come when the major area of competition is the energetic feel of the guest experience. This change is inevitable because energy is the only unexplored area of hospitality left. This article follows on from Part 1 and states three more scientific principles, which hoteliers must know in order to create an energetic Heart-Based Hospitality guest experience. When applied, the guest experience can be transformed to new levels above 5-Stars. The first hotel group to apply them will have a major advantage. READ MORE

Advances in technology, particularly the ability to send and store data securely “in the cloud”, have changed the way in which all types of business can be conducted, including back-office hotel accounting. One emerging business model being considered and adopted by management companies is the outsourced accounting team, providing an almost immediately tangible return-on-investment and bottom-line savings, along with allowing hotel teams to focus more time on serving their guests. In an age where technology should be making work easier and not harder, it's time to consider seven reasons why outsourcing may be a great option for your hotel portfolio. READ MORE

Winter of 2014 was one of the most severe winters in recent history, with many major cities seeing anywhere from 100 to 300% more snowfall than usual and the “Polar Vortex” keeping the northern half of the United States in record cold temperatures for days at a time. The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts this winter to be another arctic blast with above-average snowfall throughout much of the nation. Weather has proven to be cyclical, and we're in the early stage of a cycle. The severity of the storms the country experienced last year came as a shock to most - especially folks living as far south as Georgia. One of the biggest challenges hotel owners, operators, managers, and other hospitality professionals will face this winter is keeping their properties safe from the snow and ice that comes with each storm. To avoid potential hazardous conditions and to ensure the safety of hotel properties and their guests, it's imperative for hotel professionals to understand the importance of snow and ice management and to have a plan in place. By preparing in advance for winter storms and by following a few simple safety tips, property owners will be able keep their hotel landscapes beautiful and their guests, and employees safe and comfortable. READ MORE

It's an ever-changing world for hotel sales, marketing and revenue management professionals. In 2014 we've seen continued global hotel demand growth and moderate supply growth, but we've also seen a focus on integrating the disciplines of sales, marketing, and revenue management more than ever before. As customer acquisition costs continue to grow and erode hotel profit margins, the science of understanding and optimizing the business derived by channel and managing these and other intermediation costs will be paramount to success. READ MORE

Customer experience design (CSE) is the new black, although mostly viewed as a function of big data and digital marketing. This is misguided: customer experience design is neither new nor a function of the digital world. CSE is very much a part of the organization as a whole and should be directed by the marketing department to ensure that all customers experience the products and services delivered by the organization in the context of the brand. The greater the global understanding of the fundamental importance of understanding how customers experience the organization and what it does for them, the greater the importance of the marketing team to every aspect of the organization: rather than displace marketing, customer experience design is elevating the function. READ MORE

If you want to reach 80 percent of your global audience, you need to translate your hotel website into 12 or more languages. But website translation is merely one step of many. You have a lot more to consider on the marketing assets front. To establish and build your hotel brand in new markets worldwide, you need to consider tailoring elements as closely as possible to each audience's cultural expectations. These elements include your color schemes, your website, logo and tagline, marketing campaigns and, of course, the very words on the page. Look to expert guidance from localization experts when it comes to adapting each of these aspects to achieve a local feel in new regions and cultures. READ MORE

What is the difference between traditional media and social media? Many in the hospitality industry are asking that very question. It seems like everyday, there's a new revelation in this arena so what's a hotel, motel or resort to do? Public Relations Professional Susan Hartzler explains the difference between traditional media and social media and how they work together. In this article, you will gain a perspective on how to develop a strong marketing campaign that will brand your property on all the necessary platforms the potential guests use. READ MORE

Conventional marketing, within and beyond the hospitality industry, is anything but scientific. Expensive and prone to erroneous conclusions, existing information - about potential guests, and the ways in which to reach them - acts as a veneer of scientific legitimacy, to disguise decidedly unscientific results. There is, however, an alternative to this system: One that uses mobile technology to actively engage consumers, simultaneously transforming marketing into both an adventure (for individuals and families) and a science (for hotel executives). Reproducible by design, and filled with real-time intelligence about how people respond to a powerful incentive (money), hoteliers can now enjoy scientific, measurable data about their respective businesses. READ MORE

Existing forms of encryption are inadequate and far from impenetrable. These vulnerabilities are (or should be) a matter of the highest priority for hotel executives, lest hackers and cyber criminals access private financial data and personal information about individual guests. Discarding the status quo, and through the adoption of a more sophisticated and effective brand of encryption (or enhanced information rights management, E-IRM), hoteliers can guard against the global threats that confront businesses on a daily basis. This opportunity allows hotel executives to be at the forefront of a technological revolution, which protects sensitive materials and works as intended, period. READ MORE

Technology is creating both opportunities and challenges for hotels in the eternal battle to drive conversion, build yield and increase loyalty. Traditionally hotels have sought to do so at the point of purchase or via loyalty programs. But by aiming to connect with travelers at every stage of their journey (even before they know it is a journey), hotels have the opportunity to raise their profile in the decision and get that all important loyalty advantage. However, it's important to understand what consumers needs are at each stage and reflect these in both communication and product innovation. READ MORE

All signs point to continued favorable conditions in the hospitality industry in the foreseeable future. Supply growth is modest compared to prior up-cycles, plus demand is at historical highs, so everything is right with the hospitality world - right? Not quite. Profitability isn't as strong as it could be, neither is average rate. As sure as the sun rises and sets, we will once again experience a downturn. Leveraging the full capabilities that the revenue management discipline offers now can drive incremental short-term profits and help insulate your property when the tide eventually turns. READ MORE

ometimes it's right under your nose—hundreds, perhaps thousands, of additional room nights for your hotel—not from a previously unknown prospect, but from an existing client. It happens over and over: a hotel sales team happily enjoys the repeat business of a major corporate or government account while never considering that they have barely scratched the surface on the account's potential. Countless times I have discovered that a hotel's best clients are also the best clients of one, sometimes several, of the hotel's competitors. So, I learned that my hotel was not getting as much of my best account's business as I had previously believed. READ MORE

As I write this article, I am working with a plethora of hotels and daily being asked to justify distribution. While I work for Travelzoo, (Nasdaq: TZOO) my background is revenue management based as well as hotel distribution through the Online Travel Agency side. I get it and understand where you sit. So without adding bias, I came up with the following points to help them understand where they should focus their strengths based on what they are capable of affording and managing. First, let us define distribution as outlined for commerce in businessdictionary.com: The movement of goods and services from the source through a distribution channel, right up to the final customer, consumer, or user, and the movement of payment in the opposite direction, right up to the original producer or supplier. READ MORE