My last column started by reminding readers that for the last 50 years, the way hotels sell has remained basically unchanged. It went on to discuss attribute-based selling as a major opportunity to better align with the expectations of today’s guests. This week I will continue the theme and highlight some of the many other revenue-enhancing technologies that have emerged in recent years (or are in development now) and that should at least be on the radar of hotels, if not already in their plans.

Most hotels today sell using a model that has changed very little for the last 50 years. The customer selects a room type and maybe a rate plan, an arrival date and number of nights, and confirms a booking. This works fine when all the guest needs, is a bed and shower. But for those looking for more, hotels are leaving money on the table.

Vaccines are on the way and every hotel is eagerly awaiting the day when we can ‘get back to normal’ in terms of seeing a steady flow of new reservations to bolster all-too-depleted business returns. Careful what you wish for, though. There is another scenario we must be cognizant of – that of being drastically understaffed.

SiteMinder’s annual list of the Top 12 hotel booking revenue makers has, over the years, become the undisputed source of information on which distribution channels consumers are gravitating toward and, subsequently, which generate the greatest revenue for hotels around the world.

Most attempts to deploy new technologies at hotels fail. That’s my observation based on 30+ years of exposure to hundreds if not thousands of hotel technology projects. To be sure, some benefits may be gained, and success is often claimed, but in too many cases, when you go back to the original objectives, many were never achieved.