It’s often said the U.S. hotel industry is a street-corner business. With that point of view, it may not take much for a hotel operator to panic and set off a price war on your block.
The industry fell victim to mindless discounting in the days immediately after 9/11 and during the depth of the Great Recession.
Today’s hotel owners and operators like to think they’re smarter than that.
Over the past decade, revenue management – the science of smart pricing – has become a standard practice.
At the same time, technology providers have created automated programs that help properties determine the right price for the right guest at the right time. And hotels have a long list of online channels where they can advertise rate and convert browsers to bookers.
As the industry begins to see a slowdown in business performance, Lodging Leaders explores how hoteliers should be pricing now and in the near future.
We interview several specialists and technology innovators who focus on nothing but revenue management for hotels.
They share what to do if a hotel in your market starts to discounts rates; how to use online booking channels to generate more business; how far out to plan your revenue strategy; and what tactics to deploy to optimize profit.
Resources and Links
The Hunter Hotel Investment Conference will be the industry’s first large event to be held during the coronavirus pandemic. The Atlanta event will be a hybrid format of in-person and virtual access, also an industry first. Lee Hunter, chairman of the conference, knows the level of expectation is high among other conference planners as well as industry professionals eager to network after more than a yearlong hiatus. Episode 316 of Lodging Leaders podcast features Hunter as he tells what it takes to re-launch the industry’s conference circuit amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The coronavirus crisis has dramatically altered the traditional competitive set most hotels use to benchmark their business performance. During the pandemic, properties have reduced services; they’ve closed either permanently or temporarily; or they’ve transitioned to alternative uses by contracting out to essential travelers or social agencies in search of housing. Episode 315 explores the genesis of the hotel industry comp set and how the COVID-19 outbreak has changed the strategic business tool. This report is part of Long Live Lodging’s ongoing coverage of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the hospitality industry.