Revenue Management vs. Hotel Marketing

Against a backdrop of macroeconomic instability, international hotel chains developed a range of revenue management strategies over the past decade, which they referred to as Revenue Management or Yield Management, applying information technology in combination with different pricing strategies. Today, these concepts are widely used throughout the international hospitality industry. Understanding and managing them is important to maximise revenue while satisfying our guests, making our hotel a more competitive business. The economic perspective in tourism and hospitality provides tools to discern the types of choices and decisions made by consumers, private-sector providers and different government bodies. It also provides a framework for identifying the information that needs to be collected and analysed, and how it should be organised, in order to gain a better understanding of tourism markets, develop forecasts and facilitate resource allocation. While applying different prices for different types of guests is a widespread practice in hospitality, geographic segmentation is a very traditional way of grouping demand. If a pricing strategy is not presented appropriately to consumers, it may create a perception of unfairness or inequity that directly affects the company’s image and the sustainable development of the business over time—not only of the hotel, but also of the destination. In this regard, numerous studies show that we all like to receive discounts, but we do not like paying more. Hotels with an internationally established brand can offer a rate that appears reasonable to international guests, according to the level of service quality provided, and offer discounts to the local market, which may not be able to afford international rates. In any case, the price must always be based on the quality of the product/service provided, as this is undoubtedly the best basis on which to defend it. Quality must be measured in terms of guest satisfaction for the business to remain viable in both the short and long term.