Five common mistakes that revenue managers make

Written by Anders Johansson | 25 April 2019

Mistake number 1: Lack of internal communication and understanding

Communication and collaboration within the commercial team is inadequate. The sales, marketing and booking department, and sometimes even the hotel's CEO, do not know or do not understand the revenue management strategy. This creates uncertainty throughout the organization, so as a revenue manager, it has a great responsibility to continuously involve and communicate the strategy and the tactical measures.

Make sure that other functions within the hotel are included on the train so that they both understand and are involved in the strategy for revenue management and the tactical measures being taken. Through increased internal communication about the strategy, understanding of staff throughout the hotel is achieved.

Mistake number 2: Too little time is
devoted to the strategy work

Almost all time is spent on tactical pricing, ie. on putting price up / down and opening and closing price codes, which means that there is no time left for the strategic and structural pricing.

Set aside time also for strategic and structural pricing. It is at least as crucial for a successful result as the tactical one.

Mistake number 3: Inadequate data base

A strong pick-up does not automatically mean that the price should rise and a weak pick-up does not mean the reverse either.

Pick-up analysis at the segment level is something that is not completely unusual for it to be careless or not. Inadequate data, including Regarding the segments, revenue manager risks risking price decisions on incorrect grounds.

Make sure you have accurate data for your decisions so that you do not make a wrong decision based on incorrect grounds.

Mistake number 4: Lack of documentation leads to vulnerability

The pricing strategy and guidelines are not documented so that the entire commercial team has access to them.

Like the first point above, one cannot stress the importance of internal communication and how important it is to involve more in the strategic work with revenue management. It is therefore very important to document price strategies and guidelines so that the entire commercial team can have access to them - this reduces the vulnerability and the risk that the information disappears if the hotel revenue manager, for example, should quit.

Mistake number 5: Don't see the trees
for the forest

The responsibility of a revenue manager includes a great many different tasks and involves many figures and many different activities. It is very easy, as a revenue manager, not to see the forest for all the trees and to put their energy and time on the wrong data and on tasks that do not contribute to the hotel revenue as much as others ie. The priority is not based on what can give the most money.

Think about which tasks can generate the most revenue and focus on them. Do you make the old tasks the same tasks that you have always done? Is there perhaps reason to review what you are putting your time on? Simply avoid spending time on the wrong things and save both time and money.

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