Each Friday, the HotelNewsNow.com editorial staff picks the most compelling (or downright gutsy) quote and reader comment from the previous week.
Comment of the week
Though hoteliers can be a rather type-A, ambitious bunch, they must learn that it’s OK to be No. 2 in their respective competitive sets. Some properties are better off in that slot because they might have more positive influence on market metrics there, according to a panel at last month’s ALIS conference in San Diego.
When gauging performance, the important thing to remember is the value associated with certain rooms types—not how many guests you can attract through discounts, said Kristi White, director of revenue optimization at TravelClick. “You have to look at inventory and understand pricing categories. The future of (revenue) management is going to be the individual customer. This is a good time to look at each room type and determine why people are buying a certain room type, then pricing accordingly.”
Commenter Dale Furtwengler agreed:
“One of the most solid pieces of advice I've seen in quite some time. When the price matches the value the customers perceive, revenues and margins go up and buyers have a more enjoyable experience. It's when there is a lack of congruency between price and the marketing claims that buyers get confused. Confusion diminishes the buying experience. That's why transparency in pricing is so essential. … I believe what Ms. White was saying is that hotels can enjoy tremendous profitability by having the highest rates and not being fully occupied. The focus on occupancy rates causes hotels to discount heavily to fill rooms, which both confuses the buyer as to the real value of the room and costs the hotel revenues while labor costs are going up to cover the additional occupancy.”
Are you comfortable with shooting for No. 2 or No. 3 in your competitive set? Join the conversation by commenting on the article, “Does transparency hurt pricing and profit?”
Quote of the week
TripAdvisor is a game changer for hoteliers. Founded in 2000, the site hosts 40 million reviews, 6 million user-generated photos and 20 million subscribers. And yet for all its clout—and the era of transparency it’s ushered in—hoteliers have been slow to adapt to this change.
HotelNewsNow.com’s Stacey Mieyal Higgins sat in on a TripAdvisor panel during the HSMAI Europe’s Revenue Management and Internet Marketing Strategy Conference at the Hilton London Metropole. Of all the news and advice she heard, one comment from Daniel Edward Craig, author and reputation management consultant, summed up the conversation quite succinctly:
“A hotel’s response to a complaint can have more impact than the complaint itself,” he said. Unfortunately, only 7% of negative TripAdvisor reviews receive a response, he added.
