The rapid pace in which hotels have been constructed and opened in the Maldives over recent years is leading many in the industry to question whether these properties are adequately prepared for the challenges they face in optimising their revenue potential. This is especially apparent in the face of strong competition from the existing properties, in addition to the well-resourced and established global hotel chains.
Many hotels across the region struggle to reach their optimal revenue potential due to the poor pre-opening preparation and a lack of in-depth pricing strategies to address varying market demand and conditions. It is no longer enough to build a great property, ensure the rooms are nicely decorated and have staff in place to service potential guests. An integral component to the pre-opening process should be considering the optimisation of room type configuration, as well as the implementation and integration of revenue management technologies with the hotel’s IT infrastructure and platforms.
There are many areas that must be covered throughout the pre-opening phase of an independent hotel, ranging from establishing market segment revenue and sales strategies, undertaking comprehensive competitor evaluation, pricing research, pricing processing and forward planning of market demand cycles. It is also important that properties follow a structured, standardized approach to pre-opening to ensure consistent and effective results from day one.
Hotels under development should consider addressing their pre-opening processes in two stages to allow for a mixture of onsite training and strategy preparation. The strategy setting process (in which pre-opening revenue, marketing processes and actions are developed) should be undertaken a minimum of six months before a hotel has their soft open. It should ideally consist of:
- Strategic hotel analysis that includes a study of the micro market and overall economic factors that could affect the hotel’s performance.
- Finalised competitor analysis, including competitor value and benefits positioning.
- Set pricing structures based on market conditions and hotel positioning.
