When Revenue Managers Rule The World...

When Revenue Managers Rule The World...

I am often asked what the 'next big thing' will be in hospitality and will speaking on that very topic at Digital DNA in November.  The answer are things that we already know...

• Data will be key - not big data but relevant data
• Understanding our guests and anticipating their needs
• Training our teams to deliver much better experiences (something often over-looked)
• Personalisation of our guests booking journey - every step of the way
• A shift in who we feel currently dominate the internet space - watch out for Google HPA
• Less reliance on meta-sites as customers realise they are being mislead and poorly marketed to

I could go on, but as Revenue Management is very close to my heart, I honestly feel that the biggest change in our industry will be recognising how important Revenue Managers are to every part of our business.I feel that there will be a shift and it is long overdue.  Soon the days of keeping our Revenue Managers in a darkened room, drowning in spreadsheets will be over.  At the moment, we move someone from Reservations or Reception and we give them the wonderful title of Revenue Manager, often with no training or support at all.  We feel that as they know about moving rates, they will do a good job in revenue (and of course this is often true), but this is too important a role not to invest in training and of course systems. And by the way, Revenue Management is not just about moving rates. Revenue Managers understand business and they understand strategy - if they are trained properly and if they have the right tools to do the job.And the tools are automation. Revenue needs automation and as more and more hotels see the benefit of automating the whole decision process, whether that be on forecasting or rate changes, you would think that perhaps the role of the Revenue Manager would become obsolete - quite the contrary in fact.With automation, we will remove the spreadsheet overload. We will remove the manual data entry and lengthy pick-up reports.  At the moment these poor revenue managers get let out of their offices maybe once a week or even once a month.  They sit in Management meetings with a sea of paperwork - those days are over.With automation, Revenue Managers will be empowered!  Automation will allow Revenue Managers to become Strategy Managers.  With good and relevant data at their fingertips, Revenue Managers will become leaders of your business - perhaps even THE leader of your business.Automation will allow Revenue Managers to have a wider view on all parts of the property.  The days of sales and marketing or events and your restaurant teams working in silos will be over.  Your Revenue Manager will be empowered and have visibility on all areas and will understand where and when the profit can be made.Imagine one central point of decision making that had profitability at the centre of all their decision making?  Imagine one person who could be relied upon to make good revenue decisions, not based on feeling or a stab in the dark, but actual data - facts and figures.  Someone who understands your trends and patterns; who understand cost of sale as well as profitability.  Imagine that person being the central point of decision making?  Doesn't that make sense?Today we need to be training our Revenue Managers to be thought leaders.  Revenue Managers should have a voice and they need to be heard.If you are lucky enough to have a good Revenue Manager, then train them. Give them the tools they need to do their job properly.  Invest in them.  Allow them access to all parts of your business and trust them to tell your whole team which business they should be taking and which they should be turning away - empower them! Allow them to have a central role in your Management Meetings and train them to be thought leaders.There is already a shift in some of the more forward thinking hospitality companies.  They see the future and they hear it coming.  They are allowing their Revenue Managers to control their business and this is only ever perceived as a positive shift.As a huge Jurassic Park fan (yes, I am openly admitting my addiction), there were days when T-Rex ruled the world - watch out Spielburg as your next big blockbuster might be 'Revenue Managers Rule the World!'(and for all things revenue, please just ask@rightrevenue.wpengine.com)