Considering adopting a revenue management system (RMS) for your hotel business? It’s vital to make sure you do the research and get the knowledge you need to ensure that you’re choosing the right revenue management solution for you.

Here are five important questions to ask RMS vendors before you buy, and three KPIs you should focus on.

This blog is an extract from the Hotel Tech Report RMS Buyer’s Guide, sponsored by Duetto. Download your FREE copy of this report here: The Ultimate Guide to Revenue Management Systems.

#1 Can the software price room types, segments, and channels independently of each other?

An RMS should allow hoteliers to flex their rates and discounts independently based on demand. Using an Open Pricing methodology, hoteliers are able to yield each segment, channel, and room type independently and in real-time.

#2 Will the RMS integrate with my PMS, CRS, CRM, and booking engine?

An RMS won’t work properly unless it is connected with a two-way integration to the PMS, meaning the system can pull rates and availability, analyze the data and then return a recommended rate to the PMS. Without a connection to the CRM, rates will not factor in loyalty or past purchase behavior.

#3 What kind of data shapes the pricing algorithm?

All revenue management systems will pull in historical data, plus factor in pace and pick up, but advanced systems are able to react quickly to changes in market conditions with real-time pricing data, such as website activity, competitive rates, and reputation scores.

#4 Will I need a dedicated staff to operate the system?

Modern RMS technology will automate much of the process, but most still require acceptance of the recommended rates. Users can override the rate recommendations should they know something about the market that the system doesn’t.

#5 Does the software provide forecasting by segment and room type?

To price appropriately, hoteliers must understand the supply and demand dynamic of each segment and room type independently, rather than making blanket statements that apply to the entire hotel.

What success metrics (KPIs) should you focus on?

RevPAR. Revenue management software is designed to find your hotel’s optimal business mix, balancing occupancy and ADR to ultimately drive revenue per available room (RevPAR).

Profit. More importantly, a modern revenue management system will place an emphasis on net revenue per available room, or RevPAR after operating costs like labor and acquisition costs are deducted. It’s critically important for hoteliers to focus on bottom-line profitability (gross operating profit per available room - GOPPAR)) as well as top line revenue.

RevPAR index. Perhaps the most important metric, RevPAR Index measures a hotel’s revenue versus its defined competitors in the market. This metric is sometimes also referred to as the Revenue Generation Index (RGI). If every hotel in the market sees revenue increases, RevPAR Index will show a hotel how its revenue has changed in comparison with the comp set. Duetto users on average see year-over-year RevPAR Index growth of 6.5%.

Naturally, we think Duetto is the best RMS on the market. But don’t take our word for it. We were voted the #1 revenue management system (RMS) in the 2022 HotelTechAwards, a user-based awards system that rewards based on customer feedback, integration compatibility, organizational health, partner network strength, and customer support quality.

Find out more about selecting your next RMS in HotelTechReport’s The Ultimate Guide to Revenue Management Systems. Download for free today.

About Duetto

Duetto delivers a suite of SaaS cloud-native applications for hospitality businesses to optimize every booking opportunity for greater revenue impact. The unique combination of hospitality experience and technology leadership drives Duetto to look for innovative solutions to industry challenges. The software as a service platform allows hotels, casinos, and resorts to leverage real-time dynamic data sources and actionable insights into pricing and demand across the enterprise.

More than 6,000 hotel and casino resort properties in more than 60 countries have partnered to use Duetto's applications, which include GameChanger for pricing, ScoreBoard for intelligent reporting, and BlockBuster for contracted-business optimization.

Duetto was named the world's #1 revenue management system in 2022, 2023, and 2024 in the HotelTechAwards.

For more information, please visit https://www.duettocloud.com/.

Sarah McCay Tams
Director of Marketing Communications

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