Even before the 2020 pandemic, the revenue management discipline in hospitality has had its ups and downs and with the rise of revenue management systems and a lack of real advancements, these processes have been long due for some change.

Here are some of ways revenue management has changed this year:

Analysis of day-to-day bookings

Historically, hotel leaders had a clearer idea of their booking trends. Almost all bookings are currently happening inside of a 30-day window, making it difficult (if not impossible) to forecast occupancy.

For most hotels, short-term bookings are now made within a couple of days. The only way to combat this is to track new incoming leads and formulate a strategy as you begin to see consistencies. The hospitality industry has never experienced anything quite like this, so using new data can help hoteliers better predict market shifts.

Cross-functional teams

For practically all hotels, team members have been forced to adapt to “the new normal.” General managers mopped floors, sales directors manned the front desk, and revenue managers cleaned rooms. Leaders had all hands on deck for months. The worst is behind us – people have returned to work, but the general principle remains. We no longer work in silos. To spot new opportunities, revenue and marketing leaders will have to collaborate. The key to getting out of this crisis is to rely on multi-departmental collaboration, especially when you’re short-staffed.

Automation

The last thing revenue leaders need is an overload of new tasks due to budget cuts. When the opportunity to automate arises, take it. Find ways to relieve overworked leaders of unnecessary manual processes, so more focus can be put on strategy. The truth is, right now everyone is focused on short-term strategy and discovering immediate revenue opportunities; it’s easy to forget about the lasting impact these campaigns will have.

Total profit > RevPAR

Consider the total revenue that your hotel is bringing in. Obviously, you can’t write off RevPAR or any other performance metric off completely as you want to continue to analyze bookings. Regulations have made it impossible to maintain previous standards.

Depending on your local regulations, your property may be required to maintain vacancy for a few days after a guest departs. You may also be restricted in how many guests are permitted to book a floor or be dealing with additional cleaning costs. Measure your total costs first. This will provide a clearer picture of your properties financial outlook because it takes into account staffing cuts and meeting-space revenue.

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