Revenue management at an airport hotel can be a lot like air-traffic control. More than it does at other hotels, the weather can cause wild fluctuations in bookings. And sudden flight cancellations might mean a run on rooms, so inventory needs to be set aside.
“For airport hotels, short-term demand can change quite a bit, so managing your inventory has to be done very carefully and with a lot of thought,” said Andre Martin, area GM for both the 378-room Crowne Plaza Atlanta Airport Hotel and 190-room Holiday Inn Atlanta Airport South property. “The weather alone can change the pattern of room bookings very quickly.”
At Martin’s properties, for instance, revenue managers try to build a base of advance bookings, but this is a balancing act, since the hotels have airline contracts for a fixed number of rooms bought by carriers to accommodate distressed passengers and crew when flights are cancelled. This airline business is sizable, and could account for up to 25 rooms a night at the Crowne Plaza and up to 15 rooms a night at the Holiday Inn.
Martin said a good relationship with online travel agencies is also very important for an airport hotel.
Sarah Major-Bourgeois, director of distribution for Quebec City-based Groupe Germain Hotels, said the company’s two airport properties—the 169-room Alt Hotel Halifax Airport and the 153-room Alt Hotel Toronto Airport—sometimes have to close rooms to the OTAs.
“We will close all of our rooms to OTAs when there are distressed situations (for stranded travelers), so that we can have full control over our inventory,” she said. “It is certainly more challenging to do successful revenue management at airport hotels, but we all have to try our best and deal with the unexpected.”
Promotions, F&B and Groups
One strategy at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Airport and Holiday Inn Atlanta Airport South for generating business that is not contracted by the airlines is to offer year-round park-and-fly promotions, which allow guests staying at the hotels for even one night to park their cars there for up to seven nights.
