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Unexpected Findings from Our Hospitality Revenue Management Report, Part 2 of 3

EDITOR’S NOTE: In part two of a three-part series, we share our thoughts on what we learned from our 2019 Revenue Management Trends in Hospitality report.

Revenue Analytics recently released a research report on Revenue Management Trends in Hospitality, incorporating the findings from our survey of close to 1,000 senior hospitality execs across North America and our own original industry research.

Our goal? To better understand where the industry is going, where companies are investing, and what Hospitality insiders think is coming next.

As we mentioned in part one of this series, the changes in supply growth and advances in automation have created industry hiccups we didn’t entirely expect to see.

In part two, let’s dive deeper into industry waters, looking into the dangers of a one-size-fits-all approach and into the search for a cure-all Revenue Management System.

One Size Fits None

A big trend we continue to see in Hospitality is consolidation within the industry. While this trend itself is not surprising, it is interesting to note the acceleration of this practice. In 2018 alone we saw 18 major hotel mergers—up from 12 the year before and 10 the year before that.

The problem? With consolidation come chains that now have a broader spectrum of chain scales within their normal set of brands.

“It’s time we start thinking about how to build out a flexible Revenue Management solution that has specialized capabilities catered to different types of hotels.”

In a recently featured article from Hotel Executive, The Biggest Mistake Hotels Chains Make Following Merger & Acquisition, we point out the inefficiencies in operating “as is” and the potentially more problematic, one-size-fits-all approach.

Why does it matter? At the bare minimum, chains are now responsible for a broader set of needs across several different hotel types.

So now, we’re seeing these midscale hoteliers with numerous properties using a single piece of technology to solve all the problems of all the properties across all the chain scales that are under that same hotel company umbrella. 

But what we really need is something more tailored to the needs of each type of hotel—something more intuitive.

It’s time we start thinking about how to build out a flexible Revenue Management solution that has specialized capabilities catered to different types of hotels but that doesn’t come part and parcel within the extraneous, and potentially confusing, pieces of the solution.

Fit for Purpose. Fit for the Win

Even with smaller chains, this trend reverberates as we continually overhear, “Well, I’m a resort property, so RM doesn’t work for me,” or “I’m on an island, pricing is different here.” So, why are we continuing to focus on one-size-fits all solutions in these situations? 

Maybe it’s coming under the microscope because of the mergers and advancing technology. Either way, this challenge remains—find and leverage a platform that gives you the ability to scale across all the different brands while still differentiating based on the individual business problems that exist within a specific chain scale.

So, let’s consider integration capabilities. You could buy several different Revenue Management solutions, install them across your different brands, and try to solve the individual problems.

But the chances are very, very slim that those platforms speak to each other, inform a cluster or a consolidated center, or even provoke corporate-level understanding of enterprise-level forecasting.

Therefore, you’re still underserving what the true need is—a platform-based RMS that is not only flexible enough to meet the needs of individual hotel types but can also provide service up and down the organization—reaching clusters, consolidated centers, and corporate team members simultaneously.

So, hoteliers should continue seeking solutions that are able to serve individual hotels while also remaining flexible enough to serve the chains, themselves, on a larger scale.

Between the one-size-fits-all approach and the search to find an RMS that’s up to snuff, there’s a lot on the minds of today’s hospitality leaders. To stay up to date on all the issues, download our entire Revenue Management Trends in Hospitality report.

Have questions?Let’s grab some time to chat.

Tess McGoldrick

Tess McGoldrick is a Senior Vice President at Revenue Analytics. In this role, she leads cross-functional project teams to develop high-impact products that provide organic revenue growth for her clients.


Tess McGoldrick is a Senior Vice President at Revenue Analytics. In this role, she leads cross-functional project teams to develop high-impact products that provide organic revenue growth for her clients.

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