For any property owner, managing prices is a tricky business, you need a lot of data to help you do it, but at the end of the day, the final decision is up to you. There’s both an art and a science to setting rates, and chances are, you rely on a little of both.
To start, there are so many factors to consider. You have to take into account your competitors’ rates, your occupancy, your reservation history, local events, and your unique business strategy. Where does all that data come from?
For many of you, it arrives on paper: lots of paper. You obtain reports that you must study before you set prices. There’s the science. You take all of the contributing factors, stack them up against each other, and plan your rates.
For most hoteliers, however, it isn’t all science. After considering the data, you also weigh your personal experience and history. The data informs your decisions, but it doesn’t make your decisions for you.
And that’s how it should be. You need to retain control. Given this, the idea of automating your rate management might be unsettling. Why turn over the reins to someone else, or to a software program, for that matter?
The Case for Technology
Well, for one thing, it saves you time. If you don’t have software to help, setting rates can take up a good portion of your day. Sometimes, you’re a small business owner doing it on your own. Other times, someone on your staff is dedicated to rate management. Either way, it’s time-consuming. Of course, the effort is worth it. Setting the correct price is vital to your business; you aren’t going to skimp on it.
Just imagine, though, that you could automate most of the process. What usually takes hours might take only minutes. Plus, there’s a good likelihood your prices will be more accurate, and therefore, improve your bottom line.
Most of all, rate management software still gives you control when you want it. Do you use GPS to get directions? Complicated algorithms work behind the scenes to give you suggestions about which route to take. But other factors arise. Let’s say the GPS tells you to go a certain way, but you happen to know that making a left turn at that intersection is difficult at rush hour. Therefore, you adjust your route, so that you can turn left when you have a traffic light to help.
Yes, you can follow the GPS blindly. Sometimes that’s what you need to do, for efficiency’s sake. But you stay in control. At any time, you can pause the directions, change them, pull over and review the map, or the like.
Using technology to give you rate recommendations is similar. You still have the final say over your prices. You know your property, your guests, your competitors, and your strategy best. The art will always be there. It’s the science that you can automate, and that will make your job easier.
About Irene Keliher
Irene Keliher helps create compelling new content for the blog, eBooks, website and more. When she's not using her wordsmith skills at BookingSuite, she teaches and writes fiction and nonfiction.
www.suite.booking.com
