HotelsMag July-August 2020 | Page 54

SALES & MARKETING

REVENUE

RESTART

REVENUE MANAGERS GRAPPLE WITH NEW STRATEGIES AROUND DEMAND DRIVERS , ACCURATE FORECASTING AND THE COSTS OF BRAND AFFILIATION .
Contributed BY MEGAN ROWE

AS TRAVEL DEMAND creeps back , revenue managers are obsessing over the best way to optimize properties ’ performance in an era of uncertainty . Survival , experts say , means sketching out an organized game plan but leaving room for contingencies . Where to begin ? “ We ’ re not just resuming , we ’ re restarting ,” says Sarah Bartlett , senior vice president of revenue and distribution at HotelAVE . “ You have to think of this as a restart — a lot has changed .”

Also key : “ Alignment — between sales , marketing , revenue management and operations — so everyone has a very clear picture of what success looks like ,” says Trevor Stuart-Hill , president of Revenue Matters , which develops revenue strategies for clients . “ They need to be working together in a cohesive fashion . What do we need to do strategically to get the financial outcome we ’ re looking for ? Often that piece is missing .”
STUDY THE DETAILS The new way of working will force many hotels to shed old ways of thinking and once-reliable demand drivers . That sprawling luxury resort in a secondary market that once lived on big corporate groups ? It might be chasing small social meetings and leisure business , at least for the short term .
“ You need to forensically get into the details , understand the market you ’ re focused on , who is traveling , what that travel looks like and what the demand drivers are in a particular market ,” says Michael Doyle , managing partner and executive vice president of CHMWarnick . Doing that can channel sales and marketing efforts toward likely travelers .
Because food and beverage , bars , gyms and spas may not be open , Bartlett observes , many full-service hotels will look a lot like select-service hotels , but with less competitive rates . “ Hotels will have to figure out how to set themselves apart — there are no more swim lanes ,” she adds .
But selling a hotel on its own merits can be a challenge when it ’ s not fully up and running . “ When you have a hotel that can ’ t serve food and beverages and doesn ’ t have a fitness facility open , basically you ’ re selling the ability to just get away ,” Doyle says .
Operators have learned from past crises that discounting is not the answer ; value and location are , and value looks different today .
“ Hotels can provide value by creating and instilling confidence in their

WE ’ RE BEING REACTIVE IN A POSITIVE WAY TO HOW THINGS ARE CHANGING . IT ’ S INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT , BUT THE BEST THING TO DO IS BE PREPARED .

MONICA XUEREB , CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER , LOEWS HOTELS
52 hotelsmag . com July / August 2020