You’ve done the hard work. Your hotel is established, respected, and sitting at 100% RGI. You’re getting your fair share of the market. But now, you’re facing a new, more complex challenge: the market is flat for next year. When you can’t just “steal” more occupancy from competitors, where does growth come from?
NB: This is an article from Demand Calendar
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The growth is no longer “out there” – it’s inside your existing operation. The new focus must shift from market share to wallet share. It’s about maximizing the revenue from every guest you’ve already won and running a hyper-efficient operation that lets that revenue flow directly to the bottom line.
But you can’t manage what you can’t measure. In the past, these decisions were made on “gut feeling.” Today, that’s not good enough. To win, you need a central brain for your data – a Hotel Business Intelligence (BI) tool. This tool connects all your systems (PMS, POS, Reviews, etc.) into a single source of truth, helping you make the right decision at every stage of the guest journey.
Here’s how to unlock new revenue and profit using data at every step.
The ATTRACT Stage
The Goal: Shift your focus from attracting all guests to attracting the most profitable guests.
1. To Increase Revenue (Wallet Share):
Don’t just market your rooms; market your experiences to high-value guests. How do you know who your “most profitable guest” is? A BI tool will analyze your guest data and segment it by Total Revenue Per Guest (TRevPAR), not just room rate. You might find that guests who book your “Spa Package” spend 3x more on-site than guests from a specific OTA, even if their room rate is lower. This data tells your marketing team exactly who to target and what to promote.
2. To Improve Productivity (Profit):
This is your #1 profit lever: Focus relentlessly on direct bookings. A BI tool provides a clear dashboard of your channel mix and, most importantly, your cost of acquisition per channel. When you see a direct, visual comparison showing that an OTA booking yields 18% less profit than a direct booking, the business case for shifting your marketing budget becomes simple. The data proves the ROI of your “Book Direct” campaign.
The CAPTURE Stage
The Goal: Convert the “looker” into a “booker” and increase the value of their initial transaction.
1. To Increase Revenue (Wallet Share):
Your booking engine should be a dynamic “a la carte” menu of high-margin add-ons, like early check-in, late check-out, or in-room champagne. How do you know what to offer and at what price? Your BI tool analyzes historical data to find the “sweet spot.” It can answer critical questions like: “What is the conversion rate for a $50 late check-out on a Sunday vs. a $75 one?” or “Are guests more likely to buy a parking add-on or a breakfast add-on?” You stop guessing at pricing and start knowing what your guests will pay.
2. To Improve Productivity (Profit):
A slow or confusing booking engine costs you high-profit direct bookings. By integrating with your web analytics, a BI tool can track your booking engine’s conversion funnel. It will show you exactly where you “lose” customers. Is it on the payment page? The room selection page? This data identifies the exact friction point your IT team needs to fix to improve booking productivity.
Read the full article at Demand Calendar
