Marketing has never been so necessary. A changed landscape means the need for a new plan, a new marketing plan.
When life is good and the tills are ringing, it’s all too easy to get lazy. Lazy people get unfit. Unfit people can’t run and when a storm blows we need to be able to sprint, be flexible and adapt to the new conditions.
This is not a note on recession; this is about marketing after a recession. There is a difference.
It's A Tall Order Opening A New Hotel | By Terence Ronson
Opening a new hotel is no joke. In theory, every effort should be made so no stone is left unturned to ensure operations from front and back of the house are flawless. In practice, perfection is difficult to achieve but a reasonable semblance of it should not be a difficult task. With strong brand and a solid reputation in the hospitality industry, I had high expectations of the newly opened Ritz Carlton Pu Dong, Shanghai. I was sadly disappointed. On checking-in, there before me unfolded a series of events which I can only describe as a unlikely comedy of errors.
It's my understanding it is common practice to have a simulation process in place - a soft opening period to perform general snagging. These are the times when each department goes through its paces, to make sure all are in order before welcoming the real paying guests. During this phase, quirks are fixed, potential problems are anticipated, and ironed out.
When customers perceived hotel revenue management practices to be fair, they are more likely to be satisfied with the hotel and are more likely to return to that hotel in the future. This survey of 815 people examined the effects of three factors on the respondents’ assessment of the fairness of hotel rate policies.
This worksheet analyzes and compares revenues derived from your brand or local website with the GDS third party travel sites. This comparison will identify trends and market opportunities on a monthly basis.
Competitive Shopping of Online Services is an excellent way to be able to assess the proper positioning of your rates, changes in the market and trends that may be emerging over certain periods of time.
Did you know that nearly 55 percent of all credit card fraud occurs in the hospitality industry?1
To combat payment card fraud, the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standard Council created the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). PCI DSS was designed to reduce risk and prevent problems related to the misuse of cardholder data. Under this standard, all merchants accepting payment in the forms of credit and/or debit (i.e., “payment”) cards must adopt a series of very specific and detailed security measures to protect sensitive customer credit and debit account information. Most merchants were given notice and a period of time to prepare their organizations and secure their systems. That grace period ended in the autumn of 2007.
Revenue management is a vehicle to help hotels to become aware of the rooms they sell, the rates at which they sell, and the pace at which they sell. It is a way hotels can become pro-active in the selling process, rather than simply posting rates and waiting for them to be sold.
Revenue management has become a somewhat controversial buzzword in our industry. As with many common terms, revenue management seems to have various definitions depending upon whom one asks. Since its inception in the early 80’s, thousands of hotels and just about every airline have used revenue management successfully. In straightforward terms, revenue management is a technique to optimize income r evenue from a fixed, but perishable inventory. The challenge is to sell the right rooms to the right customer at the right time for the right price.
Guest Columnist Neil Salerno provides another insightful look at internet and online marketing. The relationship between revenue management and electronic sales is obvious. Utilizing all forms of electronic sales can create that base of business which will allow you to get better rates from call-ins and walk-ins. Reach-out and take advantage of opportunity.
One of the reasons that people own hotels is for the potential of profitability, both operationally and the longer term increase in the asset value. Like many industries, the lodging segment of the hospitality industry has its cycles. The global market place has been adding different dimensions with increasing competition and changing dynamics in bothsupply additions and demand options. This resource examines 13 specific strategies that are aimed at improving revenues and monitoring expenses. Examples of international currency are included with each strategy.
Business travelers are anticipating an increase in corporate travel for 2011 -- a welcomed boost in customer demand for the hospitality and travel sectors -- according to a new survey from Deloitte.
NOW is the time to strategically track demand and plan to meet this demand with both availability, improved guest satisfaction and justifiably higher rates
In straightforward terms, revenue management is a technique to optimize income r evenue from a fixed, but perishable inventory. The challenge is to sell the right rooms to the right customer at the right time for the right price.
