While some hoteliers may sit back and wait for things to “return to normal,” the smartest owners and operators understand that the hospitality landscape has shifted – that new consumer behavior and new demand drivers have forced us to adapt our thinking. To set themselves up for success in this new normal, hoteliers must evolve their post-pandemic strategies to meet new industry trends. Over the short term, our business mix will lean heavily toward leisure travelers. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start planning now for a return of business travel, meetings and events.

Simultaneously, hoteliers must be able to step back from day-to-day strategic planning and understand how the pandemic has created long-lasting change. For instance, guests are more receptive today to digital experiences. A self-service mentality has permeated many aspects of travel and the hotel industry is playing catch-up in many ways. In addition, today’s travelers are looking for accommodations that provide an experience rather than just a place to rest their head.

While we keep a close eye on the bottom line, finding new ways to drive revenue in the current environment is critical.

So, what are the most important post-pandemic changes that have forced hoteliers to adapt? And how exactly can hoteliers turn these new demand drivers into increased revenue?

In a new special report by Hotel Recovery and in partnership with SHR and StayNTouch, experts outline nine post-pandemic revenue generating ideas, each with a step-by-step process for getting started. Find an overview below, and read the full steps toward driving more post-pandemic revenue here.

1. Take a refreshed look at your channel mix. It’s important for hoteliers to understand which channels drive incremental demand as opposed to channels that are cannibalizing their own direct traffic. It’s also important to understand which channels have the highest cost of acquisition and factor these costs into decisions around where to place your inventory.

2. Welcome old and new travelers with a modern booking engine experience. When a booking engine knows more about the guest, including their website activity, it can serve a more relevant offer.

3. Shifting demand requires dynamic forecasts and pricing strategies. For the remainder of 2021, revenue teams will not be able to look back at how their hotel performed in 2020 as an indicator of demand or pricing strategy. Instead, they can compare month-over-month or even week-over-week historical data to see how their hotel is trending.

4. Refresh your segmentation strategy. As a hotelier, it’s critical to know as much as you possibly can about who is traveling and who is booking your hotel – not only today but for the next year, at least.

5. Begin your journey to personalization. One of the most impactful ways to drive more revenue and make the biggest impact on your guests is by personalizing their experiences all along their journey, from marketing to booking, all the way through their entire time on your property, and then following up once the guest has checked out.

6. Introduce day use and hourly rate functionality. A PMS equipped with day use and hourly rate functionality allows hotels to redefine how they sell rooms.

7. Leverage mobile automation and self-service for ancillary revenue. Hotels are increasingly looking to put the control in their guests hands to choose their guest journey and capitalize on their impulse buying tendencies.

8. Monetize early check-ins and late checkouts. With the right PMS, hotels can engage with guests prior to their stay regarding expected time of arrival.

9. Ensure your systems are integrated and sharing data. There are a number of components that should be deeply integrated with the PMS that help a hotelier store and action data to drive the most revenue.

For a step-by-step process on how to implement each of these steps, visit www.hotelrecovery2020.com/9revenuetips/.

Jason Freed
CLE Content