Who owns ¶your rates? Rethinking the hotel tech stack for optimal revenue optimization
Cendyn's Kevin Duncan writes that hotels need to take control of rate ownership as booking patterns have shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Successful revenue management requires a complete understanding of search and booking data, which can be achieved by deploying a single interconnected system of Revenue Management System (RMS) and Central Reservation System (CRS).
When it comes to revenue management, every hotelier needs to ask themselves – who owns your rates? This issue of rate ownership has taken center stage, as the pandemic shifted booking patterns for hotels in ways that make it crucial for hoteliers to be in complete control of setting their own rates – and not at the mercy of channel partners.
During the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, customers felt more confident booking directly through the property’s own website. Now that travel has rebounded, another shift has taken place, and booking engines are again neck and neck with channel managers as a top source of bookings. While the GDS’ share is still much lower than it was, that’s expected to grow as business travel recovers.
The Hotel Yearbook 2023 - Annual Edition
As we have embarked on 2023, it is evident that the hotel industry has made a robust recovery from the
pandemic.
Occupancy and pricing have returned to their pre-pandemic levels. However, the future of our
industry is contingent
on how nimble the hospitality sector can be in adapting to ongoing innovation, changing market
conditions, evolving
consumer preferences, new staffing challenges, and sustainability realities. These uncertainties are
the new normal
in an unpredictable world.