This viewpoint was created by
Scott Dahl, Program Director, Master’s Degree in Hospitality Strategy and Digital Transformation at Les Roches Global Hospitality Education
A Post-Crisis Top-3 Revenue Management Action PlanThe global hospitality industry has been through every perceivable calamity over the past decades: earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, major floods, terrorist attracts like 9/11, SARS, global recessions, epidemics and pandemics like SARS, MERSA, ZIKA, swine flu and now COVID-19.
After each crisis the industry came roaring back and I believe it will recover very quickly after the current COVID-19 crisis and prosper like never before.
Naturally, each region and destination has had and will have its own decline and rebound curves as far as hotel occupancy, ADRs and RevPARs are concerned. Recovery post COVID-19 will also be unique to each region, destination and property and will greatly depend on a) the underlying economic conditions in each region and destination, b) the preparedness of each property for the post-crisis period, and c) the lingering impact of short term tactics employed in each market during the crisis.
This down time of low hotel occupancies or property closures is the perfect time for POST-CRISIS planning, revenue optimization action plan development, product and marketing campaign ideations.
The question to the Revenue Management community is, which specific action-items SHOULD be included in a hotelier's Post-Crisis Top Three Revenue Management Action Plan? In addition, please suggest one creative, OUTSIDE-THE BOX idea... something we may not have seen yet in revenue management. Just an idea... big or small.
Timothy WiersmaPrincipal | Revenue Generation, LLC.
As a revenue manager, it is important to keep close tabs on pace data and more specifically where the pace is coming from. The demand may not be from the traditional channels as business and group travel may be further delayed in the recovery. I would also ensure you look for opportunities in your backyard. Perhaps there is an extended stay package you can put in place for those that have been exposed and want to ensure they do not expose their family. Finally, having keep your eye on pricing and channel production. You can get creative with value add or packaging without dramatically dropping your overall ADR.
As far as out-of-the-box thinking it will be important to work closely with the marketing and sales folks in identifying specific customer segments that will be more likely to come back sooner, then put action plans in place to ensure you attract those customers. Example: When it is safe, I would imagine there will be plenty of pent up demand for families wanting to reunite. Creating a "safe" reunion package would be an attractive option to have in your arsenal.
