COVID has hit the global hotel industry hard. But as with every crisis, new opportunities surface. During the financial crisis of 2008/09, we saw Airbnb and Uber emerge.

Many revenue-generating ideas were born over the past year. From staycation and workation to renting out equipment and even offering outsourced services like housekeeping. Hoteliers have been creative in finding ways to keeping their business afloat.

What was born out of a need for survival might lead to a more permanent shift in a hotel's business model.

The idea of non-room revenue is nothing new and even pre-pandemic was something more and more hotels embraced. F&B or MICE revenue management is still in its infancy for the overall industry but terms like Total RevPAR have evolved from buzzword to serious KPI.

Is now the time to look at non-room, ancillary revenue? Where are the opportunities?

Trevor Stuart-Hill
Trevor Stuart-Hill
Founder and president of Revenue Matters

Room revenue is the main profit driver for many properties, so it is natural that the application of revenue management principles started there - but, it shouldn't end there. To determine if revenue management can have an impact in other areas of an operation, property leadership can look for the “big 4 ingredients”: Finite resource availability , Perishability, Market segmentation and Forecasted demand. These four ingredients exist in a number of areas including, marina slips, spa operations, parking, restaurants and meeting space for example. 

Capturing ancillary spend from existing demand, capitalizing on emerging demand segments and catering to the needs of the local and regional markets is vital today – perhaps more than ever. Depending on where the property is in their recovery cycle, specific actions will look different; however, driving total property top-line performance while keeping a close eye on profitability will always be a constant in our industry, no matter what we may face.

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