1800 Guest Services Management Guide 1850 Revenue Management

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management A. The Purpose of This Policy The management of room revenue is absolutely one of the most important responsibilities of every hotel general manager and guest services manager. The purpose of the policy is to explain the fundamentals of revenue management (see the definition on the next page). Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management B. Definition of Revenue Management Here is our definition of hotel room revenue management: Revenue management is the process of maximizing room revenue by frequently monitoring and altering the hotel’s guestroom rates, inventory availabilities and rental policies. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management C. Revenue Management Fundamentals Effective revenue management for hotels requires mastering the following: 1. Knowledge of the revenue management policies of the brand MMI 2. Knowledge of our competitors 3. Collection of frequently changing information 4. Knowledge of current reservation trends and historical trends 5. Establishment of revenue management policy 6. Implementation of revenue management policy GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc. Continue →

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management C. Revenue Management Fundamentals (Cont. ) 7. Delegation of authority 8. Monitoring of progress Each is described on the following pages. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management D. Brand MMI Policies Before taking a leadership role in our hotel’s revenue management process, complete all brand training courses on the subject and read all related training and policy materials. Know the limitations of the central reservations system and the property management system’s software program. Meet with Marin Management’s regional manager to learn the Company’s guidelines for best practices for revenue management. Talk with the managers (often called market managers) of the Internet channels (Expedia, Travelocity, etc. ) to learn their policies, programs and procedures. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management E. Knowledge of Competitors Revenue management leadership requires detailed knowledge of our competitors. It is best if you have experienced each of our competitors first-hand as a guest, but that is not enough. You must know their revenue management policies and procedures. You can estimate some of these policies and procedures by regularly monitoring their rates and policies on their central reservation systems and on Internet channels. Also, see MMI’s Competition Management Guide (available on MMI Team Site) for more information about what you need to know about competitors. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management F. Collection of Frequently Changing Information The general manager and/or guest services manager are responsible for collecting information needed for good revenue management decisions. Typically this information includes the current availability and rates for our hotel’s guestrooms for all of the future dates being reviewed and the same for our competitors. Of course, the statistics about our room inventories are available on our various PMS reports. Knowing our room rates for future dates requires a little more detail, however. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management F. Collection of Frequently Changing Information (Cont. ) Before making any changes in rates, availability or reservation policies (such as length-of-stay or closed-toarrival) decisions, have on hand our current rates for all channels for all dates being reviewed. Channels include the central reservation system (CRS) and Internet channels. Know our current group room rates, volume-account rates and special rates, such as government, packages and discounts. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management F. Collection of Frequently Changing Information (Cont. ) Next, you need to have on hand the same information about our competitors. Frequently check their rates as posted on the major Internet channels and their brands’ central reservations systems. Also, call other hotels directly to get rate quotes. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management G. Knowledge of Trends To make sound revenue-management decisions, you need to know reservation trends for our hotel and our competitors for the dates being reviewed, for example: v The likely number of walk-in guests on each day of the week and season v The likely number of reservation cancellations and noshows v The likely number of new reservations from each channel between now and the dates being reviewed v The likely pick-ups for groups scheduled on those dates Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management H. Establishing Revenue-management Policy Because revenue-management practices and policies can become complex, you need to record our practices and procedures in a written format accessible to everyone who works on revenue management. A hotel Revenue Management Guide includes: v A list of our brand’s most noteworthy policies regarding rate management v A list of those allowed to make changes to rates and reservation procedures in the absence of the general manager Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management H. Establishing Revenue-management Policy (Cont. ) v A description of how often we check rates for possible changes v A description of how far into the future we monitor rates and how we select the priority dates to monitor v A description of when and how rates are changed on the central reservations system and the circumstances that cause us to change rates v For each Internet channel, a description of the circumstances and procedures for changing rates, including user identification and pass codes. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management I. Implementing Revenue-management Policy Once policies and procedures have been established and documented for revenue management, you need to have a consistent and frequent implementation program. Usually this means scheduling the tasks described in the policy several times every day. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management J. Delegation of Authority You must delegate to others some revenue-management tasks for times when you are unavailable. In your revenuemanagement policy, identify who else can make rate, availability and policy decisions in your absence and the limits of those decisions. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management K. Monitor Others and Monitor Results When others are making revenue-management decisions, check on the quality of their work and make corrections when needed. Check often on the results of your revenue-management practices and decisions to continue to refine your performance to get the best results. Continue → GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

1800. Guest Services Management Guide 1850. Revenue Management L. Stay Current Unlike many other management responsibilities, the best practices for revenue management change daily. Stay up-todate by doing the following: v Read the revenue management articles on MMI Team Site. v Stay up-to-date on the brand’s latest guidelines and policies for revenue management. v Check with Internet channels on their most current practices, programs and revenue opportunities. End GUEST SERVICES GUIDE (c) Marin Management, Inc.

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