Ideas to improve hotel profitability.

A smart revenue manager is an employee who has taught themselves through endless Googling, coffee and trial and error. This person does not distinguish between large and small hotels, or between chains and independent properties. They took an Excel course in 2001, and that was enough to start building impressive formulas after some excellent Google…

Loading or extending rates in a channel manager can feel like a crossroads or maze, leaving you unsure whether you have done everything correctly. Have you followed every step? Did you miss anything along the way? You are not alone; it has happened to me too. Setting up or extending rates in a channel manager…

What do pull and push mean in hotel distribution? Pull and push are two ways for a hotel and its distribution channels to exchange availability, rates and restrictions. They often come up in technical conversations with distributors and providers, but the difference is simple: it depends on who requests the information and who sends it.…

What does early booking mean for a hotel? Early booking is a discount for guests who book well in advance. The hotel offers a better price to guests who reserve early, usually subject to booking dates, specific stays and certain cancellation conditions. When designed well, it helps generate demand earlier, improve forecasts and reduce reliance…

Loyalty programmes and direct bookings go hand in hand Loyalty programmes and direct sales through a hotel’s own channels go hand in hand. But we must not forget the real goal: encouraging guests to return to our property. Sometimes we focus so much on customer loyalty as a way to increase direct bookings that we…

Balancing the cost of all-inclusive service with guest expectations All-inclusive hotels are constantly balancing the cost of providing the service with a guest’s expectation of not spending another penny during the stay: after all, “it’s all paid for”. In Spain, all-inclusive service has come a long way, but we are still far behind destinations such…