High school leavers interested in pursuing hospitality careers should understand the fundamentals of revenue management in hotels when pursuing a career in hotel management.

A successful revenue management strategy is crucial in the hotel management industry, encompassing strategies and techniques to optimize every hotel revenue opportunity. 

While providing an excellent guest experience is always essential, hotel revenue management aims to sell a room at the right price and time – alongside the right value-adding services –

to maximize income from every guest. This guide takes an in-depth look at the different aspects of hotel revenue management and which hospitality degrees can help you succeed in this dynamic field.

Introduction to hotel revenue management

Robert Cross, a management consultant, introduced revenue management concepts in the 1970s for the airline industry, before adapting them later for the hospitality industry.

He defined hotel revenue management as: “Selling the right room, to the right client, at the right moment, for the right price, through the right distribution channel, with the best cost efficiency.”

Hotel revenue management continues to evolve thanks to changing consumer demands and new technologies. Technology can now analyze and predict behaviors to maximize room availability

and pricing, aiming to increase occupancy rates, revenue, and profitability. It also considers market trends and seasonality while managing inventory and distribution channels to support revenue growth.

But there are several challenges facing revenue management in the hotel industry, most notably in luxury management, where revenue must be balanced with high-end services and guest satisfaction.

What is hotel revenue management?

Revenue management analyzes occupancy rates, demand patterns, and market trends to develop pricing strategies to attract customers for optimal profitability.

It also involves effective inventory management, such as monitoring room availability, managing room types, and determining hotel guests’ optimal length of stay.

An effective hotel revenue management pricing strategy considers market demand, analyzing competition pricing, and adjusting room rates to maximize occupancy, revenue and profit.

Revenue management in hotels requires a deep understanding of consumer behaviors, industry trends, and competition. By harnessing data-driven strategies, hotels can maximize revenue with

high occupancy and guest satisfaction.

Fundamentals of revenue management

Maskot/Maskot via Getty Images

Understanding the fundamentals of hotel revenue management is essential to succeed in what is an intensively competitive industry. The fundamentals of revenue management include:

• Understanding demand by analyzing market trends and historical data to predict demand
• Setting prices for hotel rooms based on supply and demand
• Managing inventory by allocating rooms across different distribution channels, such as direct booking and online travel channels, and setting minimum lengths of stay
• Forecasting demand and adjusting prices accordingly
• Continuously evaluating and adjusting strategies based on changing consumer behavior and market conditions

Understanding hotel revenue streams

For effective revenue management, hotel managers must optimize income streams to maximize profitability. Hotel revenue is made up of several streams, such as:

• Renting hotel rooms
• Food and beverage services
• Renting event spaces for meetings, conferences, and weddings
• Amenities such as parking and spa treatments

Revenue management is not the same as profit and yield management. While revenue is the total income a hotel generates, profit is the amount remaining after costs are deducted.

Yield is the revenue a hotel generates per guest or available room by adjusting pricing and availability based on demand.

Key metrics for revenue management in hotels

Several key metrics are utilized for hotel revenue management to measure performance, identify trends, monitor competition, evaluate marketing campaigns and make informed decisions to maximize revenue, including the following.

Average daily rate (ADR)

ADR is the average price per room, calculated by dividing the total room revenue by the total number of rooms sold. While it affects a hotel’s revenue and profitability, ADR can be adjusted using demand and availability to set prices.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR)

RevPAR is calculated by multiplying the ADR by the occupancy rate. This metric measures pricing and occupancy to provide managers with a comprehensive picture of financial performance.

Occupancy rate

Occupancy rate measures the percentage of rooms occupied over a specific period, typically a day or month. This metric helps determine the best pricing strategies to attract customers.

Revenue per occupied room (RevPOR)

RevPOR provides a more detailed picture of a hotel’s financial performance. It’s calculated by dividing the total revenue from occupied rooms by the number of occupied rooms.

RevPOR provides valuable insight into the average revenue generated per occupied room and helps identify areas for improvement.

Gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR)

GOPPAR measures the total gross operating profit from all available rooms alongside the hotel’s other revenue streams.

It gives managers insight into the profitability of the entire operation and a more comprehensive measurement of a hotel’s financial performance than other metrics.

Forecasting and demand management

EMS-FORSTER-PRODUCTIONS/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Forecasting involves analyzing historical data and market trends and using this to predict future market demand for hotel rooms and services. Demand management refers to monitoring demand and making appropriate adjustments in response to maximize revenue.

Importance of demand forecasting

Demand forecasting helps hotels identify peak and off-peak periods, adjust pricing strategies, and make informed decisions to maximize profitability.

Effective demand forecasting involves using data to understand consumer behavior, competition, and trends.

Techniques for demand forecasting

There are several techniques hotels can utilize with demand forecasting to help them predict guest numbers. Here are some common techniques for demand forecasting.

• Time series analysis: Analyzing historical data to identify trends in demand over time.
• Regression analysis: Studying the relationships between demand and pricing, seasonality and marketing strategies, and economic conditions.
• Market research: Using surveys and other data-gathering strategies on customer preferences and behaviors.
• Competitive analysis: Evaluating competitor performance and market trends.
• Social media analysis: Analyzing social activity to identify trends.

Capacity management

Capacity management means maximizing a hotel’s resources. It analyzes historical data on occupancy rates and demand patterns, adjusting prices to match demand.

It helps managers optimize personnel levels to ensure sufficient staff during busy seasons and cost control during quieter periods.

Overbooking strategies

With overbooking strategies, hotels book more rooms than they have available on the assumption that some guests will cancel or not arrive.

This can be a risky strategy and needs to be approached carefully, as overbooking can lead to dissatisfied customers. Hotels need accurate demand forecasting and cancellation data for this to be effective.

Advanced techniques in revenue management

These are sophisticated strategies and tools for making decisions about pricing and resources. They can include dynamic pricing, segmenting customers, capacity management, forecasting demand, and optimization.

These techniques typically involve machine learning and data analytics to develop advanced models that accurately predict price sensitivities and demand patterns.

Segmentation and pricing strategies

Segmentation and pricing strategies are key to revenue management in hotels, helping hotels maximize room occupancy and revenue in various ways.

• Market segmentation divides the market into smaller groups according to needs and characteristics and tailors pricing and marketing strategies to each segment.
• Dynamic pricing is adjusting room rates in real-time in response to changing demand.
• Length-of-stay controls refer to hotels providing incentives and discounts to guests who stay for a particular number of nights.
• Group pricing and management offer tailored pricing and packages for events such as weddings and conferences.

Distribution channels and channel management

Distribution channels are the networks through which a hotel sells rooms and services. The key types of distribution channels are direct and indirect.

Direct channels sell directly to customers through the hotel’s front desk, call center, or website. Indirect channels use third parties, such as travel agents, wholesalers, and online travel agencies (OTAs), to sell to customers. OTAs provide customers with a convenient platform to search for and book hotels.

There are different ways to manage these channels, such as offering exclusive deals and loyalty programs to those who book directly and optimizing pricing across all channels.

However, different channels competing for the same customers can cause conflict that must manage carefully by setting clear pricing policies and negotiating contracts.

Revenue management tools and technology

shih-wei/[E+ via Getty Images

Revenue management tools and technology include pricing optimization algorithms, data analysis software, and channel management platforms. It can also include customer relationship management (CRM) systems that help hotels collect data on guest behavior and develop tailored marketing and pricing strategies for different customer segments.

Effective revenue management tools and technologies for hotels

Hotel revenue management tools and technologies enable hotels to remain competitive and include the following.

• Property Management Systems (PMS): Hotels can manage bookings, room availability, and pricing across different channels.
• Central Reservation Systems (CRS): These enable hotels to manage reservations and availability across different channels.
• CRM software: Hotels can gather and analyze data on customer preferences and behavior to develop tailored marketing and pricing strategies.
• Revenue Management Systems (RMS): By using algorithms and data analysis, hotels can optimize their pricing and resources in real time.
• Business intelligence and analytics tools: These allow hotels to analyze data on customer behavior, market trends, and competition to inform pricing decisions.

Implementation and best practices

Hotels need to take a holistic approach to effectively implement revenue management practices. They need to understand business goals, the target market, and competitors. Hotels must focus on developing revenue management best practices such as clear pricing strategies, utilizing effective distribution channels, and monitoring key metrics such as ADR and RevPAR to optimize their revenue and remain competitive.

Organizational structure and culture

A strong organizational structure and culture are essential for effective hotel revenue management. Hotels should focus on establishing a revenue management team structure that includes various key stakeholders, such as finance, sales, marketing, and operations.

A hotel’s senior management team has a crucial role in revenue management as one of their key responsibilities is to set strategic direction and ensure this aligns with the hotel’s business values. They must support data-driven decision-making, including analytics to gather and evaluate customer and competitor data. They must also be prepared to invest in new data technology and staff training.

Communication and collaboration

Revenue management requires communication and collaboration across multiple departments within the hotel, including operations, finance, marketing, and sales. Hotel management teams need effective communication channels to share information between teams and departments.

Effective collaboration will help ensure revenue management decisions within the hotel align with business goals. Regular training and meetings will help to support effective communication and collaboration among staff for successful decision-making.

Collaboration between revenue management and sales and marketing

The revenue management team must work closely with sales and marketing departments to ensure pricing, room management, and distribution strategies align with customer demand and the hotel’s business goals. Effective two-way communication between revenue management and operational departments such as maintenance, front desk, and housekeeping is also important. These areas of the hospitality business play an important role in delivering the guest experience in alignment with revenue management decisions.

It’s crucial to establish effective communication channels and implement training. Hotels should also invest in collaboration tools such as messaging apps and project management software to ensure operational staff understand the current revenue management strategies and can work effectively with the revenue management team.

Monitoring and evaluation

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are vital metrics for monitoring and evaluating hotel revenue management performance. Some of the key KPIs for revenue management in hotels include ADR, RevPAR, occupancy rate, and GOPPAR. These KPIs should be regularly evaluated to assess performance and identify areas for improvement.

What are the benefits of studying at a hospitality business school?

Studying at a leading hospitality business school is key to building a successful revenue management career as a revenue management professional. A hotel management school such as Glion offers hospitality programs that will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and practical hands-on experience to excel in revenue hotel management and revenue manager roles. Our bachelor of international business incorporates revenue management and distribution channel management to teach students how to lead a hospitality business and develop critical skills for success.

With our masters in entrepreneurship, students will learn about the key aspects of entrepreneurship, including revenue management and pricing strategy. By combining the study of revenue optimization with the real-world experience gained through hospitality internships, students will understand inventory control, forecasting demand and availability, managing distribution channels, and monitoring pricing strategies.

Conclusion

Effective revenue management is essential to the success of hotels and requires knowledge of the hospitality industry and advanced analytics. This discipline involves demand forecasting, pricing and segmentation, capacity management, and distribution channel management. Hotel revenue management offers a rewarding and challenging hotel revenue management career, providing opportunities to work in a vibrant industry with limitless possibilities for innovation and growth.

Photo credits
Main image: Antonio Saba/Image Sourcevia Getty Images