A recent post on LinkedIn went viral with over 5k views and heated debate in the comments section, discussing whether or not revenue management skills should be required to hold a hotel manager position.
This forces us to ask the question of a solid understanding of pricing strategy and the competitive environment is still actually relevant to a hotel manager?
As an automated revenue management software that promotes a hands-off approach to RM of course we’re biased, but for the sake of discussion, we will present both sides.
Revenue management skill is a “must-have” for Hotel Managers
Yes, definitively Revenue Management skills should be mandatory to get a hotel manager position because they are key to increase your daily average rate, revenue per available room, and gross operating profit… and that’s what a hotel owner asks their hotel manager isn’t it?
Revenue Management is the beginning and the end of any and all management policies, not only for hotels but for any company that wants to be always well positioned in the market. Hospitality was one of the first early adopters in the world to adhere to this management science.
Yes, it is very important that the General Manager (GM) and Director of Sales (DOS) understand revenue management. The need to truly understand what maximizing revenue means. Not all RevPAR is equal when it comes to maximizing profits. The needs to truly know and understand what it truly means to have the right customer at the right time at the right price.
RM Skills are not needed as hotel General Manager
Is it useful for a GM to have Revenue Management skills? Sure. But, from talking to clients, looking at posts and blogs, and chatting with people in the industry, we think that it is first and foremost important for the GM to be a hospitality expert – i.e., to know how to provide the best experience to the hotel’s guests.
In almost all markets revenue management is a daily task and in many markets, this task is performed multiple times a day. GMs with heavy workloads cannot do fair justice to this important task alone.
More than anything, hotel managers need to be people managers. If you know how to keep your team motivated and help them grow, they can accomplish anything.
It is nice to have hotel managers with some degree of understanding of revenue management and the revenue management realities we face today.
In a world of hospitality tech and automated processes,’ they can leave the day-to-day operations of revenue management to their revenue management software and use Pricepoint’s “snapshot” feature to understand the big picture.
As we approach the end of lockdown and the re-opening of hotels it is now more important than ever for hotels to look in-depth at how they manage their revenue opportunities. At the unique place we find ourselves in within the hospitality industry it is not the time to test out newly acquired RM skills or try a new pricing strategy.
Hotels need automated data-driven decisions at a moment’s notice that are backed by a track record of positive returns, all of that and more is possible with Pricepoint.