Marketing Strategies to Boost Your Revenue Management Plan

Marketing Strategies to Boost Your Revenue Management Plan

Any hotel that experiences a travelers day-to-day knows that it’s important to have the right focus in revenue management, and to be backed by technology and marketing.

Today´s tourists make a more strategic purchase, analyze the market better and take into account a larger number of channels and offers.

The pressure increases for hoteliers and hotel managers who must keep up with evolving market demands and keep in mind that guest´s booking behavior is directly influenced by price awareness. Furthermore, price awareness determines whether guests will be satisfied, will rebook, and recommend to others.

Joint management between departments becomes increasingly evident since the parameters the traveler has in mind are more complex. 360° marketing strategies require working with merchandising strategies and Revenue Management. Here are a number of marketing strategies that can help you boost your hotel´s revenue management:

1. Involve marketing, merchandising and revenue management departments to strengthen your hotel’s visibility and ability to attract travelers.

Due to varying booking behaviors and price sensitivity, Revenue Managers should work closely with the commercial team to adopt more effective plans to attract travelers with the right price and promotions/deals.

2. The evolution of marketing conditions the strategies and channels we opt for.

As technology continues shaping traveler behavior, hotel managers must take a more holistic approach. In other words, hoteliers must combine the best of traditional marketing with modern marketing. To be competitive, hotels must include decisions from sales and marketing departments in daily, weekly, and monthly meetings.  According to hotelexecutive.com, hotels who have collaborating marketing and revenue management teams have increased their revenue by more than 6%.

3. Marketing as a tool to drive campaigns across all channels of selective distribution.

Hotels can increase their number of bookings by measuring promotion and distribution in their channels, while taking into account the guest acquisition cost of that booking. Two key ingredients for maximizing revenue are accurate pricing and understanding traveler behavior. Mobile devices have become essential elements to booking phases and last minute bookings. According to a study done by Criteo, mobile bookings have increased by 20% and are projected to continue increasing.

4. Bet on promotional campaigns optimized on market segments.

The objective in marketing is to drive demand and cultivate a relationship with the potential customer. The multi-channel user facilitates the task of communicating your hotel´s message, thus improving your budget results. A good strategy is to opt for lower-cost channels since this allows for greater hotel profitability. In the United States, 21% of travelers have used Facebook to search for hotel information. Therefore, it is important for markets, such as the American one, to have a presence in social networks. Hotels can increase the number of direct bookings by offering specific and personalized promotions, as well as offers and authentic experiences through the right channels.

5. By measuring customer responses you can analyze their needs.

One of the virtues of Revenue Managers is their ability to find a happy medium between volume and profitability. A hotel´s ability to measure the information at its disposal and ability to maximize revenue while reducing costs, will allow the hotel to have a stability that will be transmitted to all departments. Something to take into account is the importance of identifying clients who will allow you to be competitive enough, but who are also attracted by your hotel´s services. Furthermore, your ability to adapt to identified patterns and to established solutions will improve your hotel´s competitiveness.

6. Technological solutions become a factor of competitiveness and a key differentiator.

In today´s hospitality world, having access to technological solutions that provide measurable results, combined with the knowledge of everyday reality, makes technology a determining factor for hotels. Finding solutions that allow you to manage rates and inventories 24/7 will improve the efficiency of your product and the response offered to the traveler. In addition, having access to technology allows you to reduce the number of errors, automates tasks and frees time so that teams can address events that require more rigorous analysis and planning.

The joint proposal your hotel must consider becomes clear when these series of strategies are identified. Your hotel´s competitiveness is the sum of a complex product and the right visibility in online and offline environments. Having access to as much information possible about your hotel, as well as a detailed breakdown of market data will lead to successful decision making.