As a hotel manager, one of your core functions is creating strategies focused on revenue maximisation. You need to regularly identify and analyse demand and your key market segments and implement fair pricing strategies that attract guests to your hotel during both high seasons and slower periods. This is the key to consistently maximising the revenue that your hotel generates.

But how can you do this exactly? Which strategies will help you improve your occupancy levels and generate more income for your hotel? What’s the key to success in hotel revenue management?

It’s actually not that difficult. It’s all about understanding which strategies will have the most positive impact on your business and implementing measures that help you create consistent revenue streams.

With this in mind, here are 3 key tactics to help you boost revenue maximisation in your hotel.

Redefine your segmentation

The first vital strategy you need to focus on to ensure effective revenue maximisation is understanding your target market and defining clear segments. Essentially, this is about analysing all your past guest data and creating different profiles for each type of guest that visits your hotel.

What are the demographics of your typical guests? How old are they? Do they visit your hotel for business or tourism? What are their booking habits? Do guests tend to book in advance or confirm reservations at the last minute? Which services do they expect, and which activities do they enjoy in your local area?

In other words, who are they, what are their expectations, and how do they usually behave?

By defining the key demographics of your typical guest and clearly identifying their booking habits and behaviours you can create segmented pricing strategies for each type of guest. For example, you could offer lower rates to business travellers if you know that they are going to pay to use your corporate facilities. Or you could launch promotions to try and attract your most profitable guest segment and create a database of loyal, returning customers. It’s all about understanding who you are trying to target, and what you need to offer in order to get those all-important bookings.

Improve your guest experience

Another vital revenue maximisation strategy is offering the best possible guest experience at each and every touchpoint with your hotel. After all, it doesn’t matter how competitive your pricing is or how many rooms you sell if your guests leave unsatisfied. Your guests need to feel that they are getting value for their money. The happier they are when they leave your hotel, the higher the likelihood that they will come back and recommend you to their friends. Plus, they will feel far more inclined to leave you a positive online review that helps you to build a solid reputation as a quality establishment.

Tips to improve your guest experience

There are many ways to improve the guest experience in your hotel. Here are a few examples:

• First of all, remember that a guest’s experience starts from the moment they make a reservation with you. You should therefore make sure the entire booking process runs as smoothly as possible. Update your website and upload high-quality photographs of your room. Make sure payment processes work as they should and that guests receive a reservation confirmation email as soon as they confirm a booking.
• Get in touch with your guests in advance and ask them about a few of their likes and dislikes. Communicate with them as much as possible during each stage of the guest journey to find out what their likes and dislikes are.
• Deliver great customer service from the moment a guest arrives at your hotel. Is there anything you can do to make their stay more comfortable and enjoyable?
• Once a guest has checked out, send them a guest satisfaction survey, and encourage them to leave a review. Make sure you respond to any feedback and implement measures to improve any issues that might have been raised.
• Make sure you use the right tools and software. For example, you can use revenue management software to streamline your data collection processes so that you have real-time access to all customer feedback and reviews and get a daily reading of what your reputation is like.

Focus on total profitability

Finally, another effective strategy to boost revenue maximisation in your hotel is to focus on total profitability. This means analysing your entire guest journey in order to identify potential new revenue streams. Are there any opportunities to generate revenue that you might be missing out on? Is there anything you can improve to generate more profit for your business?

Our Total Profit Platform has been designed in response to the hospitality industry’s need for more advanced revenue management tools focused on this concept of total profitability. Our solution enables you to optimise beyond a simple revenue per room calculation. Instead, you can focus on creating additional revenue streams at each touchpoint of the guest journey, such as room service, corporate facilities, or spa activities.