Though there has been continual evolution over the last two decades in the way hoteliers monetize the power of data to make pricing and strategy decisions, one constant remained: The dependence on historical data. Then along came COVID-19 and its impact on travel created historical comparisons that were so distorted that they were meaningless in the old decision-making process.
But the worst is behind us, travel is returning and many markets are already performing at or above their 2019 pre-pandemic level. A lot has happened. Revenue Managers who survived the last two years, mostly by trial and error, have emerged much stronger. Top revenue management system providers have adjusted their algorithms. The traditional year-over-year comparison has been replaced by more flexible models, including the widespread use of 2019 as a baseline for performance. And much more.
So now that the smoke has cleared and most agree a «new normal» is here, what are the key tools and processes that should be standard in every hotelier’s post-pandemic revenue optimization toolbox?
Having acess to good RMS tech is key. It’s not only that (as Scott mentions) the best RMS tools have changed their algorithms. More and more revenue tech is including machine learning and AI to their toolkit, which enables the software to learn on the go, and adjust the offered rates according to current demand.
And that is key: Not to focus that much on historical data, but focus on the current ever-changing scenario. Just because Sept 21 was good does not mean this year it will be similar. Not being able to maximize your rates according to the current pick up data (done on the spot and automated) will make a huge dent on the optimization of your rates and inventory.
Besides the RMS, a good whole ecosystem of tools must be present: Rate Shopper, meta-search optimization, etc… must be part of the package too.
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