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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


Revenue Measurement Is Not Revenue Management

In pricing and revenue management, hedging your bets with a tried-and-true process may actually be riskier than taking a chance on something different. It sounds counterintuitive, but the fact is that the conservative route to pricing practices is costing big hospitality firms millions in revenue, risking their future viability.
http://www.hotelexecutive.com/subscribe/2669/

Integrating e-commerce into a hotel’s overall business strategy

Commerce should be a compliment to every part of a hotel’s operations. All staff members need to be briefed on the advantages of taking a collaborative approach to e-commerce.The front desk staff, for example, needs to understand the correlation of stellar customer service on online guest reviews and the ability of a hotel to sell its products online.
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4052549.html

Online traveler review volume continues to grow

A new report from PhoCusWright reveals that online hotel review volume expanded significantly in 2010, as traveler opinion plays an increasingly powerful role in the online travel search-shop-buy process. PhoCusWright’s Social Media in Travel 2011: Traffic, Activity and Sentiment analyzes nearly 2.9 million online traveler reviews, covering more than 26,000 U.S. properties of 65 top hotel brands.
http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/44789-Online-traveler-review-volume-continues-to-grow

“RM now moving away from overall profitability towards customer centric profitability”

It is critical to understand that the interests of the hotel are the same as protecting your most valuable customers, says Devdutta Banerjee, Regional Director – Revenue Management, India Bangladesh and Nepal, Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
http://www.eyefortravel.com/news/hotels/%E2%80%9Crm-now-moving-away-overall-profitability-towards-customer-centric-profitability%E2%80%9D

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eRevMax Expands its Global Footprint in America, Africa & Asia


eRevMax International, a global software and services house, has announced further expansion of its brands RateTiger and SimpleDistribution. The company has opened sales offices and representations in Australia, South Africa, South America and China.

The new offices will strengthen eRevMax International’s global market leadership in the hospitality and travel industries while enabling the company to enter new markets in Asia Pacific and South America. This will help keeping up with the growing demand of its products as well as its commitment to customers to provide local presence and support.

The two lead product brands, RateTiger and SimpleDistribution, have positioned eRevMax International as a thought leader of online distribution and revenue management. The solutions offer channel management technology and services to enhance hotel’s sales capabilities that have been recognized with the European Seal of e-Excellence for the Marketing of Innovation for the last three years (2009, 2010 & 2011).

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/erevmax-buy-two-more-hospitality-tech-firms-738

http://orientalhospitality.com/erevmax-expands-its-global-footprint-in-asia-america-africa

http://www.htrends.com/article57011ERevMax_Expands_Its_Global_Footprint_in_Asia__America___Africa.html



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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


Defining success in revenue management

The best revenue managers are those who can not only mine the most data but those who can present it in the clearest, simplest way to support agreed-upon organizational goals.
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/6082/Defining-success-in-revenue-management

Corporate Travel Volume Hints at +15% Growth through August

The corporate hotel market saw global bookings increase +8.8% in June, according to data released today from Pegasus Solutions in The Pegasus View. Reinforcing healthy gains made overall in the first half of the year, the growth in business travel bookings could potentially climb to +15% through August, and possibly higher into the third quarter.
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2011_3rd/Jul11_PegasusViewJune.html

Google Launches Hotel Search Tool With Room Price Data

Google has launched Hotel Finder, an experimental search tool, which enables users to define key lodging preferences in hopes of finding the perfect hotel for their travel needs.
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/external/4052400.html

Hotels Must Adapt to Shorter Booking Windows

Meeting planners have limited time to get their jobs done. And, if they can’t find outside space quickly enough, they just may hold their meetings at corporate headquarters. Hotels can keep the business if they’re prepared to help meeting planners hit their deadlines, says Mike Mason, ZEO and founder of Winter Garden, Florida-based, technology startup Zentila.
http://lhonline.com/news/hotels_adapt_shorter_booking_windows_0727/

The Price Is Right – Maybe

Pricing is a powerful and proven strategy for improving profitability, yet few organizations know how to do pricing well. “Pricing and Profitability Management: A Practical Guide for Business Leaders,” a new book released today by Deloitte, helps organizations to better understand and implement effective pricing management.
http://4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=6210

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Golden Tulip Implements ExtraConnect

Pegasus Solutions® and RateTiger Launch Collaborative Solution with One of World’s Largest Hospitality Groups

Louvre Hotels Group, one of the largest hospitality groups in the world, has implemented ExtraConnect, an integrated central reservation and channel management system from industry leaders Pegasus Solutions and RateTiger by eRevMax International. It is the first central reservation system (CRS) to combine the next generation enterprise delivery of Pegasus’ RezView® NG with the powerful channel management capabilities of RateTiger’s leading Channel Management technology.
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Java SE 7 Event in Kolkata

Live demonstration of Java SE7 from the one of the developers himself?? 
 
Can it get better than this?

We, the eRevMax Java User Group, had the opportunity to learn and discuss the new Java SE7 features and functionality ahead of its global official release on 28th July, 2011. Chuk-Munn Lee, from Oracle Singapore, was the speaker at the pre-launch event organized jointly by Oracle and eRevMax.

Udai Singh Solanki, CTO & MD, eRevMax was instrumental in organizing this event and played the perfect host. Chuk did a great presentation and explained the upcoming features and specifications of Java SE7 and answered our never ending questions with a smile.

Chuk proved to be a great orator and was a pleasure to listen to. He seemed to radiate a very positive energy and his affable manners made him the star of the event. Listening about Java never seemed so interesting earlier!

With all of us participants bombarding him with questions, Chuk almost missed his flight. But not before Udai has presented him a nice ethnic Bengal memorabilia. There was something for us too. We got to take home Java branded T-shirts sent by Oracle especially for the event.

Swarnadeep Mondol is Sr. Software Engineer at eRevMax. He is based out of Kolkata, India and can be reached at swarnadeepm@erevmax.com


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HITEC 2011

This year’s edition of HITEC, the world’s largest hospitality technology exposition and conference, took place in Austin, Texas. We attended the four day event and made the most of it. Having had our stand in one of the main sections helped us meet a lot of people.

HITEC is a combination of hospitality technology education, led by industry peers and experts, and a trade show showcasing the latest hospitality technology products and services.

The event offers us a B2B platform that introduces us to new contacts for our various product lines. This is our chance to present our powerful back-end tools for vendors and large hotel chains, RTCorp and RTConnect, though it amazes me how much of the industry is playing catch-up with new business revenue models through the internet.

Tradeshows like these provide us an opportunity to see how customers and the industry in general perceive RateTiger. We always get to hear good reviews and appreciation, which further encourages us to innovate and develop new features and products to serve the sector better.

Gerard Carrie is VP Sales – Americas at eRevMax. He is based out of Florida, USA and can be reached at gerardc@ratetiger.com

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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution

Sydney flat, Perth hot and Cairns in trouble – STR Report

The latest STR Global statistics for the six months to June 2011 reveal that Sydney remains flat, Perth is the hot market and Cairns is in trouble as a strong Australian Dollar continues to significantly affect the hotel industry.
http://www.hotelmanagement.com.au/2011/07/18/anzphic-sydney-flat-perth-hot-and-cairns-in-trouble/
Abu Dhabi hotels continue strong performance
Abu Dhabi’s hotels and hotel apartments continued their strong performance in the first five months of this year with increases in guest numbers, guest nights, occupancy, revenue and length-of-stay, according to the latest figures released by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).
http://www.hotelmanagement.com.au/2011/07/04/abu-dhabi-hotels-continue-strong-performance/
Hotwire Reveals Hotel Rate Report for July 2011
Hotwire.com®, a leading discount travel site, today announced the results of the July 2011 Hotwire® Hotel Rate Report. The report features the top five cities in North America where hotel rates have dropped the most and the top five cities where rates have experienced the biggest price increases. While one report guides customers to the destinations that will maximize their travel dollars, the other highlights places where using Hotwire to save money is even more essential.
http://ahla.hsyndicate.com/news/4052199.html
3 keys to revenue management success
Demand is back and so is rate. STR reported an increase in all three key performance metrics for the first quarter of 2011: “The industry’s occupancy increased 5.7 percent to 54.9 percent, average daily rate rose 3.1 percent to US$99.37, and revenue per available room was up 9.0 percent to US$54.56.”
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/5981/3-keys-to-revenue-management-success
OTA debate stresses better channel management
What’s the topic that never ceases to pack a room or stir up emotion? The role of online travel agencies in hotel room distribution. Such was the case during a breakout session Tuesday at the New York University International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference that aimed to address the influence and implications of these intermediaries. But at the (literal) end of the day, panelists agreed that it has always been up to the hotel owner to choose how to get business.
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/5702/OTA-debate-stresses-better-channel-management

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Hoteliers ‘up their game’ through SimpleDistribution

Australian hoteliers can now improve the management of online bookings and better target global travel markets with the arrival of integrated rate shopping, channel management and hotel and flight booking engine provider SimpleDistribution.

SimpleDistribution will remove the complexities of selling online and enhance visibility, exposure and revenue from the Internet. Before processing rate and availability updates, hotels can price shop theirs and competitors’ rates to assess optimal product prices for excellent positions across Online Travel Agents. The web-based channel manager simultaneously and in real-time updates the hotel’s selected multiple sales channels and roomtypes with rates, restrictions and room availability.


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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


Small Independent and Boutique Hotels – Online Marketing and Strategic Revenue Management Levels the Playing Field!

There is no online marketing and revenue management potential without the GDS. Customer buying habits dictate that there has to be that connectivity to make a reservation and receive confirmations online instantly.
http://www.wiredhotelier.com/news/154000473/4052123.html

Understanding the ‘Micro-Tripper’ Trend

The Micro-Tripper—short-term, purely spontaneous travel enabled by the flash-sale, group buying, and private-travel sale start-ups, the new leisure travel market segment is on the rise. The new social e-commerce travel companies are not intruding upon the OTA’s business but are, in essence, capturing an undiscovered new segment of the travel market that I call the “spontaneous micro-tripper”.
http://www.eyefortravel.com/news/europe/understanding-micro-tripper-trend

Indian hotel industry expected to touch Rs 230 billion by 2015: Cygnus Business Consulting and Research

The Indian hotel industry is expected to reach Rs 230 billion by 2015 with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.2 per cent, according to a report published by Cygnus Business Consulting and Research entitled, ‘Industry Insight- Indian Hotel Industry.’
http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com/detailNews.aspx?aid=11176&sid=41

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RateTiger nominated for Business Traveler Innovation Award

RateTiger’s, RTCorp, has been recognised by the travel industry just one year after launching in the market. The rate shopping technology has been nominated for the Business Traveler Innovation Award within the Travel Management category.

RTCorp helps monitor hotel rates in the public market in both real-time and via scheduled reports. The technology sends automated alerts that filters hotel-pricing data into exception information and delivers it to the appropriate manager to action.

This helps corporate buyers, travel websites and hotel companies monitor violations or discrepancies in room rates while providing intelligent rate shopping data to better understand the market.