At every property revenue managers have to make pricing decisions that are crucial in maintaining a healthy bottom line, so it makes sense to use the best available tools for the job.
One of the most important – and potentially onerous – daily tasks for a revenue manager is keeping on top of competitors’ prices. That’s where rate shopping tools come in.
A good rate shopper helps you respond to your competitors’ prices and other factors, using quality data to provide actionable insights that allow you to boost hotel performance with minimal fuss.
With so many potential benefits, it’s no wonder that rate shoppers have become an essential tool for hoteliers. Here are some features to look for when choosing one for your property or properties.
1. Freshness of data
Some rate shoppers only provide periodic reports, but the prices displayed need to be recent to be relevant. Analysing fresh data during instantaneous “live shops” means that you will see the latest live rates, allowing you to be a leader not a follower in pricing decisions and allowing for greater agility compared to your compset.
2. Shopping across distribution channels
These days there are so many distribution channels in the matrix that checking each one manually is almost impossible. Sign up for a rate shopper that can gather data from OTAs both large and small, as well as regional channels such as Ctrip in China and Rakuten in Japan. Another priority is Brand.com – your hotel’s own site – where revenue managers strive to maintain their lowest rate, and the growing importance of metasearch means that maximising the channels you monitor is a must too.
3. Top quality data
Comparing a wide range of channels is only one way of spotting a good rate shopper. Another is to focus on data purity, including features such as automated integrity control and advanced anomaly detection that make sure data is accurate, complete and reliable. After all, you can’t make good decisions based on large quantities of bad quality data.
4. Rate details
Digging down into the details of a particular rate is essential if you want to compare apples to apples. After all, many hotels offer extras such as free breakfast or in-room Wi-Fi to drive business to higher rates, or include tax in their quote, and your rate shopper needs to be able to make a fair comparison.
5. Parity monitoring
Controlling distribution costs is hugely important, and a rate shopper that monitors parity for your hotel will help you to do so more easily. By tracking parity issues, you can easily see which OTA is undercutting your prices and quickly decide on a course of action.
