Many large property chains apply rigorous mathematical processes to optimize room pricing and revenue, but experienced revenue managers are quick to explain that the most profitable revenue management processes are created at the intersection of people and technology.
Scott Marble, director of individual travel at Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado, operated by Benchmark Hospitality, said, “Our business mix is always changing. This means we are continually refining our pricing strategy to track with demand fluctuations from our corporate, leisure and military segments. Since each segment has a different value to the property, we proactively decide on the most profitable segment mix to maximize revenue, and then use our Maestro property management hotel software (PMS) to implement our strategy. After our team decides on optimum rates and the occupancy cutoff for each segment, it is a one-button process to implement our strategy across all market segments in Maestro.”
Marble noted that demand is constantly shifting so the property’s rate strategy must be adjusted often. “When we see the house begin to fill quickly, we can increase our revenue potential by using Maestro to adjust rates by any dollar amount for any segment. We can also increase or decrease segment thresholds by 20 rooms, 20 percent, or close out entire segments from one screen. The system is a great revenue management tool.”
The management team at the 129-room Chateau Cartier Relais Hotel and Conference Center near Ottawa also balances leading-edge yield management technology with human judgment to maximize revenue. “Our managers and sales team hold a yield meeting every Tuesday to optimize rates based on forecasted segment demand with an eye on local events, comp set and other factors,” said Jason Levesque, the property’s front office manager. “We use our Maestro PMS hotel management system to implement our rate strategies. At 75 percent occupancy, the system automatically changes room pricing according to the optimized prices we set. As other benchmarks occur, the system adjusts rates again to always maximize revenue.”
Levesque has seen a huge jump in his Internet reservations. “We picked up 5,000 room nights this year from the Internet alone, which was a jump of 12 percent.” Chateau Cartier uses the Maestro PMS system to optimize rates for its Internet reservations which are linked to the hotel’s unified revenue management strategy.
Hotel group operators are also leveraging multiproperty revenue management technology to drive optimized rate strategies across entire portfolios. “Our three hotels use a single-database system from Maestro that fully integrates our Maestro Yield module with our two-way GDS reservation connectivity,” said Lisa Jane Gibson, director of revenue management for Vintage Hotels. “This enables each property to sell rooms for all properties with the same centrally controlled optimized rates. We push the identical rates out to our Internet channels, which gives our guests confidence that the rates we offer them will not be undercut elsewhere. Maestro automation reduces the labor involved to maintain rates for our hotels because I can manage rates from a single location.” Gibson also noted that since Vintage Hotels utilizes a single database system platform it can sell out to the last room from any channel without being concerned about overselling.
“Developing a proactive revenue management strategy is essential to this objective, automating the implementation of our strategy is what makes it work,” Gibson said.
NORTHWIND-Maestro PMS is continuing to deliver its suite of Web Connection enhancements that enable users to increase revenue and productivity and empower managers and staff. The full rollout of Maestro’s Web Connection suite will be completed in 1Q 08. The expanded online features provide corporate bookers and leisure guests with greater freedom to customize their experience, and gives operators a 360-degree view of each guest for more effective marketing programs.
The Maestro Suite is comprised of over 20 integrated modules including front office (PMS), accounts receivable, analytics and business intelligence tools, sales and catering, multiproperty management, condo owner management with owner Web functionality, timeshare owner management with owner Web functionality, spa and activities management, club membership management, yield management, golf course management, CRM, central reservation office, corporate enterprise management, GDS two-way XML connectivity or integration, ResEze Web Booking Engine, work order maintenance, fine dining and retail POS, table reservations with Web Booking, concierge and guest experience management.