Working with OTAs: for better or for worse?

A study by Peter O’Connor, Professor of Strategy at the University of South Australia Business School, aims to clarify the OTA question by empirically investigating the added value of OTA participation for hotel properties and its impact on bottom-line profitability. Unlike previous studies, which have for the most part used a conceptual, theoretical or even speculative perspective, this study makes use of comprehensive, multi-year, financial data to empirically establish whether, on balance, the benefits of OTA participation for a hotel property outweigh the (financial and other) costs. The results help to clarify whether it is worthwhile to work with online intermediaries in addition to making the economic and administrative effort to drive direct online sales. Read the Industry report.. For Academics, the full research paper is available:  Abdullah, S., Van Cauwenberge, P., Vander Bauwhede, H. and O’Connor, P. (2022), "The indirect distribution dilemma: assessing the financial impact of participation in Booking.com for hotels", Tourism Review, https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-03-2020-0101 [vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1623814375005{margin-bottom: 0px...

COVID Best Practices that are here to stay!

16th June 2021 Jackie Douglas, President, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) Marketing Advisory Board in Australia & Asia Pacific spent time recently discussing the top issues facing hotels and the professionals leading sales and marketing efforts. Surprisingly, the issues themselves have changed since our last “scouting” exercise conducted in November 2020 and the context has shifted to the “new abnormal.” In November, we talked a lot about functional changes in the organisation.  The teams were focussing on things like automation, digitization, cleaning data, rethinking who our customers are, developing “out of the box” creative partnerships with goods/services we never would have thought of previously and the need to shorten the lead-time to launch campaigns when the COVID restrictions are changing day-to-day. In November 2020, the consensus was that the pandemic had forced us to focus on efficiencies and measuring performance to enable us to use our budget more wisely.   We are not duplicating work and we’re much better at sharing skills across functional areas. There was also a hint of what was to come in regards...

Opportunities for the post-pandemic Guest

There is no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global hotel industry.  It has led to the loss of millions of jobs and billions of dollars, not to mention the countless business trips and vacations that were disrupted. But the pandemic presents opportunities as well; but only if we can properly harness the changing consumer behavior once the recovery begins. First, we must examine where we are currently, and how we got here.  Around the turn of the new millennium, the first on-line travel agencies (OTAs) began to make their appearance; Expedia Group and Travelocity began in 1996, Booking Holdings began in 1997, and Orbitz began in 2001. Since then, OTAs have come to dominate the landscape when it comes to searching for, and booking, lodging.   About half of travellers under the age of 55 prefer to book hotel accommodations through metasearch or OTAs.  This migration to intermediary channels has led to two trends that have threatened hotel revenues and reduced the effectiveness of revenue management practices.  Those trends...

LISTEN: Food & Beverage Revenue Management with Professor Sherri Kimes

Professor Kimes is considered to be one of the top thought-leaders and experts in Revenue Management in the world. Sherri has been working in Revenue Management since 1988 and has had the privilege of helping to educate some of the top leaders in Revenue Management. In this podcast, Matthew Stephens from eHotelier discusses the following topics with Prof Kimes: How room revenue management impacts F&B revenue management and how the two should work together. How F&B revenue management can positively impact the customer experience. How General Managers might approach F&B revenue management. The importance of managing conference and banqueting space in the overall F&B revenue management process. The importance of F&B revenue management to leisure resorts, such as ski resorts, golf resorts and cruise lines. How to revenue manage leased F&B outlets. The principles of F&B revenue management, including market segmentation, forecasting, pricing and distribution channel management. The importance of F&B revenue management to hotel owners in the optimization of the asset. 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[mk_image heading_title="Come and Sherri Kimes speak at the ROC Conference on the 9th June" src="https://38sxsi12keb34fkkey3q8km2-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2022/05/1_4_sherri_topic_lkn.jpeg"...

New Global Distribution Advisory Board

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has created a new Global Distribution Advisory Board. The board monitors the landscape of hotel distribution and identifies ways that HSMAI can better serve the discipline. It is made up of volunteer leaders from around the industry, representing each of HSMAI’s regions: Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East. “It’s a blue-ribbon list of distribution executives from around the globe,” said Robert Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “Just as sales, marketing, and revenue optimization are, distribution is being pulled into new and evolving commercial strategy organizations inside hotel companies. They all have a place at the ‘HSMAI table’ so we have four solid legs working together.” This advisory board will connect members with common interests across geographic boundaries, guide HSMAI’s strategic direction as it relates to distribution, and focus on where distribution connects with the other three commercial functions. HSMAI Global Distribution Advisory Board Brij Bhushan Chachra, CRME, Vice President of Revenue Management & Distribution, Taj Hotels & Palaces, IHCL TATA Group Paolo Federico, Senior Vice President of Revenue Management & Distribution, Jumeirah Hotels Sarah Fults, Vice President of Distribution, MGM Resorts...

Cendyn Hospitality Cloud Launches

The first applications available on the Cendyn Hospitality Cloud are Starling customer data platform (CDP) and Cendyn’s website content management system (CMS) Tuesday, April 5, 2022 – Boca Raton, FL – Cendyn, a catalyst for digital transformation in the hospitality industry, is excited to announce the launch of the new Cendyn Hospitality Cloud, including the release of the platform’s first applications, an industry-leading website content management system (CMS) powered by Cendyn’s customer data platform (CDP), Starling. At a time when hoteliers must do more with less, hotels are embracing rapid digitization and automation of products and services to keep up with ever-evolving consumer expectations. The challenges are especially acute in eCommerce as hotels confront major shifts in travel from business to leisure, the ongoing struggle to gain direct bookings, and the ability to target new types of guests in a competitive market with evolving stay preferences. The Cendyn Hospitality Cloud is an integrated, cloud-based platform that empowers revenue, eCommerce, distribution, marketing, and sales teams with a single source of truth. The platform offers a unified view of every guest and a system of record for rates and reservations. Combining these critical data...