The Week, That Was – April 2018 Week 1

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry partnerships, market performance and some general updates. Read on!!

eRevMax completes 2-way integration with Brazilian PMS provider Check-in
Interface to facilitate seamless real-time rate, availability and reservation data transfer between hotels and online sales channels

http://www.erevmax.com/ratetiger-news/ratetiger-news-archive/apr2018-erevmax-2way-integration-brazilian-pms.html

 The $28 billion opportunity for hotels
Ancillary bookings represent a significant opportunity for hotels to add revenue while increasing guest engagement. The airline industry adopted the practice of cross-selling and up-selling trip extras more than a decade ago with impactful results.  How can hotels do the same and best complete their guests’ travel experience by offering products beyond hotel rooms?

https://www.tnooz.com/article/the-28-billion-opportunity-for-hotels/

The Smart GM’s Checklist for Hotel Marketing

A smart, easy place for every GM to start is understanding the four traditional pillars of marketing that directly drive the success of your hotel.

https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4087765.html

Business travelers are eager to purchase more from hotels
Business travelers are more loyal than leisure travelers: 59% of business travelers belong to one or more hotel loyalty programs.
A new white paper commissioned by iSeatz, a technology company providing ancillary booking solutions, titled Business Traveler and their Demand for Ancillary Services, researched by Phocuswright, shows that business travelers are interested in purchasing more than just rooms from hotels.

http://hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/business_travelers_are_eager_to_purchase_more_from_hotels

European visitors to GCC to increase 17% by 2020Arrivals from Europe to the GCC will increase 17% over the period 2018 to 2020, driven by extra flights, routes, competitive fares, and the rising number of mid-market hotels throughout the region, according to the latest data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market 2018, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 22-25.
https://www.eturbonews.com/181749/european-visitors-to-gcc-to-increase-17-by-2020

Meet us at
ATM Dubai, from 22 – 25 April 2018 to see how we can assist you – marketing@erevmax.com

Thanks and have a good day!

Yatra.com & Travelguru.com complete XML integration with eRevMax

Leading Indian online travel agencies, Yatra.com and Travelguru.com have integrated with eRevMax to offer XMLconnectivity to their growing base of hotel customers. Following a two-way XML interface certification with eRevMax to leverage its RateTiger and Connect enterprise distribution services, Yatra and Travelguru.com join a growing list of certified distributors; part of the eRevMax Channel Ecosystem.

“Our integration with eRevMax will help our hotel partners to update rates and inventories in our sales channels in real-time, enabling us to bring the best offers to our customers.” said Arun P Ajayan, Key Account Manager, Travelguru.com. From now the two online travel agencies will be able to gain access to broader products and more inventories, improve booking conversion and increase revenues as part of its growth plans across the Asia Pacific region. Yatra is the second largest online travel services provider in India. Travelguru has the country’s largest hotel network with over 9000 domestic and 300,000 worldwide properties.


Read the full story here

Jumbo Tours reports 21% increase in online bookings

Leading B2B International wholesaler Jumbo Tours has enhanced its distribution technologies following a two-way direct XML integration with eRevMax for its brands Jumbonline and Jumbobeds. “Thanks to the direct connectivity, many more hotels have migrated to the XML. Since we completed our 2-way XML connection, the bookings in eRevMax distributed properties have increased by over 21%. As a result we have achieved a huge improvement in our sales and distribution targets.” said Franco Bracotto, eBusiness Director of Jumbo Tours Group.

The improved data flow now offers better room package promotion planning and distribution on Jumbonline and Jumbobeds. Hotels can leverage Jumbo Tours for improving market reach as the travel site offers services to tour operators from around the world and has a turnover forecast of over 1,800,000 passengers for 2013 with its brands Jumbonline and Jumbobeds.

Read full story here

HotelTravel.com Connects to eRevMax Channel Ecosystem

HotelTravel.com, a worldwide leader in online hotel reservations and part of MakeMyTrip Limited (NASDAQ: MMYT) has integrated with eRevMax, the leading provider of hotel online distribution solutions. Through this integration accommodation providers will now be able to make immediate ARI updates and receive bookings generated on HotelTravel.com through eRevMax solutions directly into their property management systems.

“This integration will help our hotel partners to further reduce their time to market while automating booking delivery directly into their PMS. In addition, the improved visibility to eRevMax’s hotel customers offers us the opportunity to tap new supply partners thereby increasing our inventory count.” said Neil D’Souza, Chief Operations Officer, HotelTravel.com.

The company underwent a two-way XML interface certification. This will provide HotelTravel.com direct connection to the leading hotel PMS and CRS, thereby enhancing its product proposition to potential hotel clients.

For full story, click here

Cityzenbooking certified for eRevMax Channel Eco-System for seamless connectivity

Cityzenbooking, a leading online sales channel dedicated to serviced apartments, has become an eRevMax certified channel following the creation of a two-way XML interface.


“Our partnership with eRevMax provides properties with an easy to use interface to manage rates and allotments distributed through our sales channel. Subscribers of RateTiger & Connect can now make their position on Cityzenbooking.com more profitable through this instant access and seeing as and when bookings are processed.” said Jean-François Rame, CEO, Cityzenbooking.


The enhanced connectivity will help serviced-apartment providers update inventory availability and room rates in real-time. Through this integration Cityzenbooking has become a Certified channel within the eRevMax Channel Eco-System to deliver properties better and more sophisticated channel connections for room revenue and distribution strategies.

Read the full story here.

New hotel online sales techniques forcing offline agents “Go Fishing”


Hotel revenue managers are driving the advancement of sophisticated fishing techniques that are forcing the closure of traditional travel agents. Littered across South Africa are small high street businesses shutting shop plastered with “Gone Fishing”.


These travel agents made a grave mistake; they were fishing in the wrong pools. The fish had moved to newer waters, challenging the hotelier to find new ways to bring bookings. Hoteliers began fishing themselves. Hotels have had to understand how travel shoppers think, how they behave and how to sell direct to secure the best specimen, at the best price, from the right location.

Pre-2000
Pre-2000 hotel sales derived from the traditional ground travel agent, sales teams were outsourcing new business.

TODAY
Hotel operators have hundreds of OTAs (Online Travel Agents) to choose from. This choice offered both traditional as well as specialist OTAs. This brought forth the Revenue Manager!

Now selling is much like the Airline model. The fuller the plane, the higher the price! Then the global recession forced hotel operators to drop prices to create demand. Five star properties clawed into the four star market, the four stars worked its way into the three star market, etc. Sales strategies collapsed. Average rates plummeted, making it very difficult for the industry to reestablish the pre-recession rates.

New fishing techniques by “revenue managers”

If you ask me – they go fishing every single day! Revenue Management is now – know where to fish, what bait to use, and react to the weather. Follow these principles and your baskets will get fuller, giving a mixed bag of fish of different values. The heavier the specimen, the more it’s worth.

Revenue management is all about understanding and selling the right room, to the right person, at the right time, for the right price. Very much like our rule in hotel operations, pertaining to service delivery – do the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, for the right reason, the first time.

Airlines fish well. Seats that are sold on the same day of the flight have secured maximum revenue. It is not uncommon for two people, sat next to each other on the same flight, to have paid completely different prices. Airlines look at the purpose of travel and the flexibility of their potential passengers. A business traveler has less flexibility than that of holidaymakers. A person planning a holiday plan their trips in advance; a business traveler travels mostly on short notice, with very little lead time. Airlines also offer short-term specials to reward existing clients, attract new clients and fill as many of the empty seats as possible, during a time-specific promotion.

FISHING PONDS – here is where you find the fish, the more fish the higher the volume
You need a source for your fish, so you need ponds, rivers or seas. Consider the type of fish you want and the value each fish will bring from the different ponds, understand the volume of fish available to calculate the demand. Do you need a net or a single rod? Therefore select and subscribe to a portfolio of at least ten OTAs, which should cover your consumer bases across several different demographic and geographic areas/markets. This practice is crucial to stimulating and creating demand.

Having selected the right ponds that will bring the right type of fish for your hotel, you can now promote your presence. And in this case it’s good to have as many ponds (online distribution channels) as possible.

One fish caught is one fish you would not have had. One room sold is one room that you would never have sold.

FISH BAIT – what you use to attract the fish, the bigger the fish the higher profit available

Drop your bait in the wrong place and you may not get the type of fish you want. Therefore the location of your hotel plays a crucial part in selling and marketing the property appropriately. Highlight the main events and attractions surrounding your property and make this information prominent to all searching travelers. Emphasize the facilities you have to offer including those in your immediate surroundings. Understand where your customer-base comes from and where they go after their stay, this information will open other doors of opportunity to sell the right package.

The right bait is also essential, are your fish actually interested in what you’re offering? What are you presenting them with?  Managing your content on all online distribution channels is vital. Consistency is key! Always select a portfolio of pictures which is used on your brand website, promote the same on the OTA sites – never load different pictures on different sites as this creates confusion and displays untidiness! Your write-up about your property, rooms and facilities should be the same and consistent across all channels of distribution. Never forget content is marketing and marketing builds reputation, the consumer’s purchase decisions are based on reputation. 

REELING FISH IN the act to secure the fish on dry land

The right bait in the right pool with the right fish, once they bite its time to get them in fast before they let go. There is one key way to achieve this – Pricing your product in line with the current market conditions. Pricing should be seasonal and highly focused on adjusting rates during the troughs and peaks within the seasons.

Pricing should be kept in parity across the board without undercutting on selected platforms. Understand demand and forecast demand. Subscribe to the newsletters of all major airlines that operate in your city. Know when they advertise special fares into your area and “piggyback” them by promoting your own specials; your competitor is probably doing it already. You will find that when the airlines are in distress, Hotels are in distress. 

FISH WEIGH-IN – to get the best profit for your fish

Each fish now comes with its own associated value and you need to make sure it balances the books. Pay close attention to achieved rates, ADR (average daily rates) and your RevPar (Revenue per available room). Room rates should be set according to these achieved statistics and kept realistic in your market. Know what your competitors are doing.

Sales strategies should be aimed at the customer, their needs and the current market conditions, considering what the achieved rate was for the same period. Budgets are the guidelines set out for us and forms part of the wish list for the year, however it is not and should not be the deciding factor for your sales strategy.

No man enters a fishing competition without trying to figure out what their competitors are doing. Understand what your local market is achieving, and aiming to achieve. Even more is crucial in understanding how to position your rates to create or stimulate demand.

FISH MARKET OPENING HOURS – knowing when to capture the best fish

Fish have routines, they sleep, eat and play, and each specimen has its routine. Knowing when to fish the best fish is essential. Understand your booking window. This type of information is easily obtainable from the different distribution channels. Promote early bird specials instead of last minute deals. Consumers have grown comfortable with this last minute selling technique, making it difficult for the Hotel Operator to stop (as I would refer to it) “chumming” for fish. Last minute deals are not about maximizing revenue; it is all about minimizing revenue.

YOUR FISH BASKET – how you carry your fish

Always know how much space you have left for more fish, and avoid having too many fish. Manage your inventory correctly. Offer different minimum stay and maximum stay promotions. Assign only the minimum required amount of allotments to Agents and Operators and take heed, along with allotments are fixed rates.

DON’T LITTER – telling people not to leave rubbish or belongings behind

Your pools need to remain clean; a visible amount of damage or pollution will keep the fish away. Manage your reputationand invest in all guest feedback you receive. Consumers shop and base their final decisions not only on price, but what people say about your property.

FISH WELL

The Revenue Manager certainly has a daunting task ahead if this is all still managed manually. Updating content, price and availability steals the focus away from strategizing, planning and making real decisions that will maximize your revenue. Begin automating your fishing techniques for the benefit of your business.

Fishermen need the right technology that is flexible to the changing needs of the waters, and that is adaptable to global markets and delivers access to the relevant pools when needed. Hotels need to manage all the aspects of online distribution, analyze the market, calculate rates, monitor rate parity and position, distribute rates and availability to multiple distribution channels and manage all online reviews. Hotels need to be connected to these pools 24/7 to send and receive the market data to make more intuitive pricing and distribution decisions, through a single source.

Fisherman haven’t been able to avoid technology, who have had to invest in depth-sounding and radar technologies to gauge where the fish are, the type and the quality, plus meteorology reports to understand the farming conditions. Therefore neither can hotels avoid systems to report on their market.

Go fish – before you’re Gone Fishing.

Evolution waits for no man Happy Fishing! 

Clinton Du Toit has over 16 years experience in the hotel industry. The former hotel General Manager, with experience in revenue management, as well as hotel sales and marketing  functions likes to educate the market on hotel online distribution. Clinton is based out  Cape Town and is currently working with eRevMax as Sales Manager – South Africa.

You can also bview this article on Tnooz

Hotwire completes two-way XML integration with RateTiger

Hotwire.com, a leading discount travel site, has been incorporated into eRevMax’s Channel Eco-System following certification of a two-way XML interface with RateTiger and eRevMax Connect services for hotels. The XML integration will enhance the communication performance between the channel manager and extranet that will allow hotel users to take greater advantage of selling distressed inventory.
Reservations generated by Hotwire can be delivered through RateTiger and eRevMax Connect into the hotel’s property management system. This will significantly reduce time to update reservation data while ensuring all customer data is entered accurately. Moreover, seamless online booking connectivity will enable hotels to process rate and inventory updates through RateTiger’s XML interface transferring data in real-time, while also receiving reservation data from Hotwire bookings.


For more, click here

JJW Hotels subscribes to RateTiger channel manager to increase online bookings

JJW hotels has selected RateTiger by eRevMax as the channel manager of choice across 23 of its European hotels.The hotel chain will be able to update rates and inventory at property level through RateTiger’s vast distribution network, whilst simultaneously optimising the performance of available inventory from connected channels.
“We require a reliable solution that will meet our demands for price shopping as well as channel management. Having seen the success RateTiger has brought to other hotels with their streamlined approach to revenue management, we’re sure that our new partnership with them will increase revenue, as well as the customer’s booking experience,” said Guy Marwood Finance Director for JJW Hotels & Resorts.

The hotels will benefit from eRevMax’s recently released RateTiger RTSuite 3.0; this latest version comes complete with a new user interface and integrated channel management functionality, and is designed to maximize usability and effectiveness.

For more, read here.

Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


eRevMax Restructures Customer Service To Deliver Product Consultancy

eRevMax International has restructured its customer service to deliver 24/7 technical support and full service product consultancy for revenue managers. Customers of the RateTiger Suite portfolio and RTConnect will benefit from immediate attention on all technical issues relating to product performance and channel connectivity with a ‘Follow the Sun’ approach adopted by the hotel technology specialist.
http://www.hospitalityupgrade.com/_news/showNewsDetail-docID-5809.asp

Individuality is key for proper channel mix

An overall strategy for managing a hotel’s distribution channel mix should include individual plans for each of the channels, according to several industry experts on the topic. Experts said that while revenue management and channel management practices have become more technical over the years, neither of them should be considered rocket science.
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/9081/Individuality-is-key-for-proper-channel-mix

Victory for value: good deals drive bookings for corporate travel

Corporates are getting savvier about the way they choose and procure accommodation, and a key influencer today is value for money. Firms are trying to extract more for their hotel stays by cashing in on value-added incentives.  Recent data released by hotel distribution technology provider Hotelzon has highlighted the growing popularity of five-star hotels with business travelers.
http://www.eyefortravel.com/distribution-strategies/victory-value-good-deals-drive-bookings-corporate-travel

Distribution challenge: how OTAs are making appropriate use of online technology

To ensure the best possible yield for hotel partners, online travel agencies (OTAs) must ensure that they are compatible with most of the key channel management solutions. At the same time they must aim to increase accommodation choices for travellers. The ultimate aim of the OTA is to expand their global coverage to offer a range of properties from ordinary global chains to elite hotel groups and unique, independent hotels around the world.
http://www.eyefortravel.com/mobile-and-technology/distribution-challenge-how-otas-are-making-appropriate-use-online-technology

Infographic:Turning social media reaction into booking action for travel brands

We know the basics – social media allows travel companies to engage with existing and potential customers and can act as an unofficial watchdog of products. But with 61% of travellers apparently referring to some kind of user review and almost a third posting reviews of placed they’ve visited, for example, what can companies do to increase booking conversions as a result of activity on social networks.
http://www.tnooz.com/2012/10/04/news/turning-social-media-reaction-into-booking-action-for-travel-brands-infographic/#FH7CCAC6MYpKpQ7g.99 

Online travelers in Europe visit fewer websites

When it comes to online travel shopping, European consumers are keeping it simple. According to PhoCusWright’s European Consumer Travel Report Third Edition, a Global and European Edition report, online travel shoppers in France, Germany and the U.K. trimmed down the number of websites they visited when shopping for travel in 2012. The percentage of online travel shoppers who used only 1-2 websites to shop for travel products increased within the past year – to 41% in France, 30% in Germany and 37% in the U.K. http://hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/online_travelers_in_europe_visit_fewer_websites

4C Hotels increases direct bookings by 5% managing guest reviews


4C Hotels has seen its brand website bookings increase nearly 5% and its TripAdvisor ranking jump from 465 to 434 in the past six months since installing RTReview, a guest review management tool.

Guest reviews have enabled 4C Hotels to better understand its market position by comparing services, special offers and promotions against competitors and to adjust the revenue strategy accordingly. Prior to the installation of RTReview, by RateTiger, 4C Hotels only monitored its key guest feedback portals including TripAdvisor and Qype. However within weeks the hotel group noticed that its properties were receiving significant feedback across other bookings sites including Holidaycheck, Yelp, Trivago and several other websites previously not monitored. 

“Reviews have helped us to understand more about our guests and to improve our offering to meet their needs’’ said Amber Virani, Sales & Marketing Manager, 4C Hotels. “When we see a negative review, we carry out a proper investigation and respond quickly and efficiently to our guest which has enabled us to get even closer to our guests.”
With so many social channels it was impossible to manually search and manage all review sites. “RTReview has given us a wonderful way to measure our online presence and knowledge of how we can stay ahead of our competitors. It helps us to quickly and easily analyse guest feedback from online reviews so we can understand where there’s a room to improve.  We are now offering more promotions, special offers and implementing more marketing initiatives that seems to be of greater interest to our guests.”
4C Hotels installed RTReview from RateTiger in December 2011 that consolidates all guest feedback into a single interface for better management and is now monitoring over 60 guest review portals including Facebook and Twitter.
Review portals have received a lot of negative press due to the quality of feedback from guests and their potential fraudulent nature, however 4C Hotels proves that proactive management of these portals can deliver revenue and bookings results.