Hotel Revenue Management: Today and Tomorrow

Hotel revenue management needs stronger support from human resources policies, according to this survey of 186 revenue managers. At the same time, respondents to the survey anticipate that revenue management will extend to other areas of the lodging business, including spas and function spaces. The principal human resources issue involves career paths for employees involved in revenue management. At the moment, the route to promotions for revenue managers is not clear. Some may move up from a single hotel to a group or division, but others may simply find employment in another lodging chain to move up. Moreover, many executives pointed to the difficulty of finding qualified revenue managers. With regard to the extension of revenue management to other hospitality areas, respondents commented that an integrated approach will be necessary. Although revenue management is largely viewed as a technical or quantitative process, pricing strategy and competitive tactics have become strong elements in revenue management. In all categories, respondents living in Asia thought revenue management techniques and issues were in greater need of improvement than did the revenue managers in North America. The dichotomy was particularly pronounced regarding human resources issues, but was also noticeable for technical issues, such as forecasting, optimization, and overbooking, as well as pricing and distribution.