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Checklist for your next hotel channel manager

A hotel channel manager is a must have for hoteliers today. If you are planning to add or change your existing channel manager, here is a quick checklist of things you need for assessment.

  • That the solution has seamless XML connectivity with multiple online channels to publish live rates and inventory and deliver reservations seamlessly back into the PMS.
  • It has integration with your hotel PMS, RMS, Booking Engine and other technology tools for real-time data transfer between your system and OTAs. If they do not have it, are they flexible enough to develop it for you?
  • It can sync OTA data with hotel system all the time to minimize overbooking and identify mismatches.
  • It can update rates and availability of different room categories for future dates as well.
  • It can automatically inform the user and update the availability to all connected channels for any modification or cancellation happened on any channel.
  • It can allocate different inventory to different online channels or switch off a channel for a certain period if required.
  • It allows users to set restrictions like Minimum length of stay (MLOS), Blackout dates, Closed to Arrival (CTA) and Closed to Departure (CTD), among others, to optimize revenue.
  • It is PCI and GDPR compliant to safeguard digital data of your guests.

Improve your hotel revenue with better room rate and yield management – all from a smart single interface. Take complete control of your revenue and channel management strategy to control distribution costs and drive more direct bookings.

Grow your revenue with the best hotel channel manager!

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

 

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Deep dive into APAC online travel agencies – Part 2

With increasing disposable income and expanding tourism, Asia Pacific has become the fastest-growing regional travel market. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, five of the world’s ten fastest growing tourism cities are in Asia, making it the hot spot for the travel marketers. Propelled by high penetration of mobile, the region has been witnessing double digit growth in online booking, making it a priority region for global OTAs. However, the market is still dominated by local and regional players, even as global OTAs make strategic investments to make inroads.

In our series on Online Travel Channels in APAC, we have looked into major players shaping the digital travel space. In the first article of the series, we have discussed the giants in the region – Agoda, Ctrip and Make My Trip and their secret sauce to success. In this second part, we will be focussing on local players who are dominating the online travel space in their respective regions.

Fliggy

Fliggy (formerly known as AliTrip) – the travel booking site from Alibaba, is an important player in the China focusing on the upmarket segment – particularly the travel aspiring millennials and international travellers. Of the 10 million daily active users on Fliggy, 80 percent are millennials with college degree living on tier-1 and tier-2 cities – giving the platform a unique exposure and reach. Alibaba has also positioned it as a “premium” travel booking site focusing on outbound travel. The site is designed as youthful, refined, geared toward long-haul, leisure, experiential, as well as luxury trips, rather than the usual to short-term or domestic business travel. From its partnership with Marriot group to getting Booking.com to launch a flagship store on its platform, Fliggy has been making a series of strategic partnerships to create a global brand. Leveraging Alibaba’s ecosystem, which is used by 699 million mobile monthly active users, the platform is positioning itself as a travel marketplace covering the 360 degree of travel to provide consumers with better travel products and service experience. This means a traveller with high purchasing power can plan and book their travel on Fliggy, buy additional items necessary for travel from Alibaba owned e-commerce site Taobao while using Alipay for transactions, ensuring a seamless user experience throughout.

Rakuten Travel

Japan’s online leisure/unmanaged business travel market is the second largest in Asia Pacific region. Founded in 2002, Rakuten Travel is one of Japan’s largest online hotel reservation website with over 3.7 million room nights booked per month. The channel receives 5.34 million unique visitors every month. The firm has access to more than 20,000 domestic and 15,000 international hotels and has a presence in South Korea and China. Rakuten Travel, which is the most popular OTA in Japan, is owned by Rakuten Group, which provides more than 70 e-commerce services beyond travel. The group, often compared with Amazon connects services within its ecosystem enabling users to access all services within the system by using a single login ID, and the same loyalty program for a seamless experience. The company has invested heavily into artificial intelligence and big data for understanding changing consumer behavior and effective personalization.

Traveloka

Traveloka, one of late entrants in the market and founded by three friends in Indonesia, is one of the biggest success stories in the online travel space in South Asia.  The channel which offers flights, hotels, trains, tours & activities, transfers and packages is present in Southeast Asia’s six primary markets — Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. With the introduction of PayLater, an online credit system without the need for a credit card, Traveloka is poised to make further inroads into the region where relatively low penetration of credit / debit card has remained a hindrance to online payment. The channel is also actively pushing into the lifestyle category and has recently rolled out a discovery platform featuring restaurant and wellness activities. The Traveloka mobile app has been downloaded more than 30 million times, making it the most popular travel booking app in the region. With Expedia’s investment into the channel making it the first billion-dollar start-up in Indonesia, the company has been adding more products and services including bundles to mobile applications to make it a one-stop-shop for customers to book and redeem travel themselves.

As hoteliers, are you ready to tap into the Asia Pacific market? Are you managing these channels well and keeping them automatically updated with rates and availability on a regular basis?

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

 

 

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The Week, That Was – July 2019 Week 2

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 perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

eRevMax awarded ‘Preferred Partner’ certification by HRS

Leading online travel technology expert eRevMax has been recognised as a Preferred Partner by HRS under its newly launched certification programme.

https://bit.ly/2LcerkL

RateTiger expands in Mauritius with Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels

Mauritian luxury hotel chain Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels have implemented RateTiger Connect by eRevMax for managing online distribution effectively across multiple OTAs and get reservations delivered directly into its PMS. The hotel group aims to scale their online business over the next few years with the help of seamless distribution technologies customised and integrated for the group by the hotel connectivity leader.

https://bit.ly/2YrkiW1

How metasearch became the most important marketing channel in travel

When, back in 2013, we started to see Trivago and TripAdvisor adverts offering the possibility of comparing hotel prices, nobody imaged the success they would achieve over the course of the years. This was especially so when Google jumped on the bandwagon with Google Hotel Ads. Today, nearly three-quarters of travelers are believed to use metasearch engines in their search process.

https://www.phocuswire.com/Metasearch-travel-marketing-channel-growing

CWT Research Reveals 71% of Business Travelers Embrace Innovation

Research by CWT, the B2B4E travel management platform, shows that 71% of global business travelers embrace travel innovation. Travelers from the Americas and Asia Pacific are more likely to favor it, with 75% and 71% respectively. Europeans, on the other hand, are warier of the changes – 7% of them stating a reluctance to embrace travel innovation versus 5% of Asia Pacific and 3% of Americas travelers.

https://bit.ly/30yrfWi

Deep dive into APAC online travel agencies – Part 1

Online travel booking is booming in Asia. With over US$386.4 billion in gross travel bookings, APAC has long been the largest regional travel market. Is your hotel connected to the right OTAs? In Part 1 of our Deep dive into the #APAC online booking space series, we cover the regional biggies Ctrip.com Agoda MakeMyTrip .

Connect with us to know more – https://lnkd.in/ed5ka3C

 How the hotel industry has adapted to GDPR

Because it was clear that the GDPR would apply to European hotels, European hoteliers are much further ahead in being compliant with the data privacy law. The U.S. hotel industry has been a mixed bag, with many companies conducting an analysis to determine whether they would need to comply with the GDPR.

http://hotelnewsnow.com/articles/297113/How-the-hotel-industry-has-adapted-to-GDPR

Expedia Partner Solutions gets an API upgrade

One major enhancement is the introduction of Value-Add-Promotions, through which travel partners can increase traveler loyalty. EPS’s travel partners can now reward travelers with additional benefits, from free show tickets to 10% off food and drink, with the introduction of Value-Add Promotions on more than 17,000 properties.

https://bit.ly/2LOjyXB

Is your hotel too reliant on third-parties?

Acquiring new types of guests can be difficult, time-consuming and expensive. OTAs can help target new segments of travelers for you – but should hotels rely on those relationships?

Access the Video – https://bit.ly/2SbFiOz

Adobe: How travelers move from research to buy using digital channels in 2019

In fact, 80% of airline sales are made on a desktop, while 46% of research occurs via smartphone. Additionally, 74% of hotel rooms are booked on desktop, while 47% of research happens via smartphone.

https://cmo.cm/32jQTiZ

Chinese tourism in UK up by 133%

A new travel trends study by TripAdvisor reveals that travelers from China are on the rise, and show no sign of slowing when it comes to visiting the UK. The study examines the fastest growing inbound markets for the UK, based on traveler interest in UK destinations on the world’s largest travel site, as well as looking at the ratings given to hotels, restaurants, and attractions by travelers and guests.

https://www.traveldailymedia.com/chinese-tourist-in-uk-up-by-133-tripadvisor/

How hotels can attract more summer tourists

With more sunshine, warmer weather, and opportunities for outdoor fun, a lot of hotels are gearing themselves up to welcome an influx of guests this summer. Of course, summer is also the season when competition between hoteliers really heats up. To help your hotel drive more bookings, here are our top tips to put the sizzle in your summer marketing campaigns.

https://bit.ly/2GaLscI

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

 

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7 Steps to Increase Repeat Business for Your Hotels by 200%

Having loyal customers is one of the most essential steps to ensure the success of hotels. Today, travelers can choose from many options in the hotel industry – leading to intense competition between hotel owners. Thus, as a hotel property owner, you have to try various strategies to transform new visitors into repeat customers and keep your present guest list intact as well.

Strive to make the best ‘first impressions’

With a great first impression, you can make a wonderful lasting impression. When you have a new customer coming into your property, you have to try various ways to transform them into loyalty card members. Offer a valuable loyalty program, which can be useful to guests who come in. Track the requirements and preferences of guests, have a smooth check-in process and strive to communicate well online and offer impeccable services.

Exploit Technology

Use mobile apps, keyless entries, online confirmation, self check-in and other technologies to make the booking process smoother. Avoid keeping customers waiting.

Lend a personal touch

The modern age is all about personalization, and you should try to store guest record in your hotel management software in order to provide present and new guests with a personalized service. You can find unique ways to encourage customers to book your property for the following visits.

Offer Hotel Loyalty Programs of value

In customer loyalty programs, hotel loyalty cards play a vital role. When you manage to be successful in registering new customers into your loyalty programs, it should act as a strong foundation for your business in making guests your long-term customers.

Get immediate feedback

Negative reviews arise due to the fact that guests do not always find ways to express their dissatisfaction with your services. You can avoid negative reviews for your business by seeking constant feedback from customers. Hand out a small questionnaire or send SMS etc to know whether the guests are satisfied with the room service, if they want a custom menu etc. When you ask the right questions, you can get the right answers and improve your services to enjoy repeat business.

Give Incentives

Move over complimentary breakfast, and offer complimentary trip to attractions nearby. Have the option for flexible timings for check-in, and provide new visitors with direct bookings.

Make guests your first priority

Start even before they check in, and connect with them through every stage of their association with your hotel. Address all their needs personally, and find out whether they need any special assistance.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

 

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10 Tips for Hotels to Improve Operational Productivity by 60%

Here’s a quick guide for hotel owners looking to improve business ROI. Check out the top 10 tips to see how you can increase your property’s operational efficiency by 60%.

It can be quite an ordeal to run hotels, especially small hotel businesses which have limited staff but various functions to manage. You may be looking to improve the operational productivity to boost your hotel revenue, but don’t know how. Here are 10 tips that can help you boost the productivity of your hotel operations by as much as 60%.

Invest in technology

Adopt useful hotel management software systems, such as PMS (Property Management System), rate shopping and channel management tools, which can help streamline online distribution and reservation management process for you. These can save time by automating various daily operations.

Track your customer service performance

Try to evaluate how fast you can address the issues and requests of your guests. With good customer service, you can resolve issues efficiently and quickly.

Associate the actions of your hotel staff to its overall performance

You must show to your staff that all that they do each day has a big impact on the efficiency, productivity and revenue of the hotel. When the workers feel important, they get motivated to perform even better.

Encourage communication

Establish an email message group, set an open-door policy and hold regular meetings to promote staff-to-staff and staff-to-management communication, for better team cohesion.

Use Accounts Payable (AP) automation

It takes a lot of time to process invoices, and you can save this by automating your AP (accounts payable) processes. It can offer the best ROI for hotels of any size.

Offer incentives

Incentives are natural motivators for employees in any organization, and it inspires them to work hard and earn it.

Move to a cloud-based system

Shift to SaaS based system which allows you to manage your solutions from anywhere, anytime. The increase in mobility will help you manage operations efficiently, serve guests better and boost your overall productivity. Back-office operations can be handled more efficiently.

Go paperless

You can obviously improve productivity by reducing the number of hours you go through your papers. Go paperless, and digitize every document in a computer and storing them on the Cloud.

Reduce the work load

Find out which tasks take the longest to be completed, and outsource the same. If possible, you might even consider eliminating them completely.

Get insightful reports

Create a hierarchical structure, where every team leader report into the General Manager who in turn gets a bird’s eye view into the entire operations and can thus provide insightful inputs for the hotel owner.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

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12 Tips for Hotel to Improve Operational Productivity by 60%

Here’s a quick guide for the hotel owners looking forward for better ROI to run through this better and get to know the top 12 tips for operational efficiency by 60%.

It can be quite an ordeal to run hotels, especially small hotel businesses which have small number of staffs but many functions to manage. You have to improve the operational productivity of your hotel if you are serious about boosting your revenues. Here are 12 tips that can let you boost the productivity of your hotel operations by as much as 60%.

Improve your technologies

Adopt latest hotel management software systems, such as PMS (Property Management System) and channel manager, which can help streamline the check-out and check-in process for you. These can save time by automating various daily operations.

Track your customer service performance

Try to evaluate how fast you can address the issues and requests of your guests. With a good customer service, you can resolve issues efficiently and quickly.

Associate the actions of your hotel staffs to its overall performance

You have to show to your staffs that all that they do each day has a big impact on the efficiency, productivity and revenues of the hotel. When the workers feel important, they can improve their service.

Encourage communication

Establish an email message group, set an open-door policy and hold regular meetings to promote staff-staff and staff-management communication, and boost communication.

Use AP (Accounts Payable) automation

It takes a lot of time to process invoices, and you can save this by automating your AP (accounts payable) processes. It can offer the best ROI for hotels of any size.

Offer incentives

Incentives can be natural motivators for your hotel staffs, and inspire them to work better and perform every task better.

Move to a cloud-based system

Shift to SaaS based system which allows you to manage your solutions from anytime, anywhere. The increase in mobility will help you manage operations efficiently, serve guests better and boost your overall productivity. Back-office operations can be handled more efficiently.

Go paperless

You can obviously improve productivity by reducing the number of hours you go through your papers. Go paperless, and digitize every document in a computer and storing them on the Cloud.

Reduce the work load

Find out which tasks take the longest to be completed, and outsource the same. If possible, you might even consider eliminating them completely.

Use a Hotel Management System

It can let you enter invoices, track customer data, handle bookings and more with ease.

Get insightful reports

Create a hierarchical structure, where every team leader can report to you.

Automate operations

Whether it comes to managing bookings and housekeeping or handling guest reviews, automation can make things much easier.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

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The Week, That Was – February 2019 Week 4

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 perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

HospitalityUnited.Club announces its signature Cocktails & Conversation event in Berlin

HospitalityUnited.Club, a consortium of travel technology companies, brings back its classic Cocktails & Conversation event to Berlin in March. The Club will be hosting an exclusive evening for hoteliers on 7th March 2019, in partnership with Cendyn, Fornova, Hotelbeds, LiveOS, RateTiger, Roiback and Sojern.

https://bit.ly/2XdYEEG

Expedia announces Certified Technology Partner Program

Expedia Partner Solutions (EPS) has launched its Certified Technology Partner Program, an elite program for EPS’ top technology partners from around the world.

https://bit.ly/2GVY09e

Experimenting with the future of business travel: three hypotheses

There are three clear hypotheses that the business travel industry should be experimenting with to be truly customer-centric in the future.

https://www.egencia.com/public/us/experimenting-with-the-future-of-business-travel-three-hypotheses

Growing travelling population shaping the future of the hospitality world

Demographics and growing economies are changing the shape of future travelers in the world. What factors is the future of hospitality looking to deal with? Within the next decade, the number of households making at least US$ 100,000 annually will increase by 30 million, with one out of three of these households located in emerging markets.

https://www.hotelmarketing.com/articles/growing-travelling-population-shaping-the-future-of-the-hospitality-world

Distributed ledger technology can bring rate parity to hotel distribution

The last few years have seen a steady rise in the impact of rate parity and onward distribution issues on hotelier’s bottom line.

 https://www.phocuswire.com/Distributed-ledgers-rate-parity-hotel-distribution

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

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The Week, That Was – February 2019 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 perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

eRevMax completes integration with Portugal based Newhotel PMS

Hotel connectivity solution provider eRevMax has completed 2-way integration with Newhotel Software, a global hospitality technology company headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal. Mutual hotel customers can leverage this integration to update rate and availability to third party online booking sites whenever they are updated in the property management system and receive reservations from OTAs.

https://www.erevmax.com/ratetiger-news/ratetiger-news-archive/jan2019-erevmax-completes-integration-portugal-based-newhotel-pms.html

2019: Time to relook at your Hotel Cancellation Policies

For a long time, hotel industry has been fairly flexible with the cancellation policies. However, with the popularity of meta-search sites, even after booking, consumers now keep track of room rates. Whenever there is a drop in the room rates of the booked hotel or it’s competing properties, guests often cancel their existing reservations and rebook.

This high cancellation rate especially closer to the arrival has a major impact on the hotel’s revenue management decision where often inflated estimation of potential occupancy level leads to sub-optimal rates and lost revenue.

https://www.erevmax.com/blog/index.php/2019/01/2019-time-to-relook-at-your-hotel-cancellation-policies/

 Hotel sales and marketing trends to watch in 2019

Sales and marketing is a constantly evolving discipline within the hotel industry, and some experts in the field recently shared their takes on what to expect heading into 2019.

http://hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/292059/Hotel-sales-and-marketing-trends-to-watch-in-2019

Corporate hotel loyalty programmes may drive adoption

A recent survey of European business travellers reveals that 43 per cent would be motivated to book a hotel with which their company has a corporate loyalty account if it guaranteed better rates. The research by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) in partnership with Accorhotels found 80 per cent of travel buyers said their company is not enrolled in a corporate hotel loyalty scheme. However, 60 per cent would be interested in joining one for lodging purposes, with 85 per cent saying they find the dedicated room rates offered to travellers appealing.

 https://buyingbusinesstravel.com/news/3129841-corporate-hotel-loyalty-programmes-may-drive-adoption

Guests Demand a 21st Century Stay

Guests expect reliability, ease and security when they activate their mobile room key and unlock the door. Behind that satisfying click, however, is a complex integration of separate technologies and software. Mobile access architecture comprises four parts: 1) the property system, 2) the secure mobile credential and delivery management system, 3) the app and 4) the door lock.

https://www.hotelbusiness.com/guests-demand-a-21st-century-stay-2/

Are hotels on the verge of a parity nightmare?

Booking.com appears to have rolled out its Booking.Basic feature to European hotel listings, six months after it was first spotted on listings for hotels in Asia. Booking.Basic is an accommodation tier that periodically appears on Booking.com’s hotel listings when the rate provided to Booking.com is not the cheapest available online. The rates it offers are nonrefundable and made via a third party that is only revealed to guests after they have paid to book a room.

https://www.phocuswire.com/booking-basic-triptease

Will Chinese technology give hoteliers a fat problem this Year of the Pig?

Technology is a major barrier for hoteliers when dealing with the Chinese market. At the core of the problem is the fact that the technology platforms they are used to using are all entirely different from ours. They can´t access Google, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even WhatsApp.

https://www.travolution.com/articles/110128/will-chinese-technology-give-hoteliers-a-fat-problem-this-year-of-the-pig

Hotelbeds adds price and availability insight to its MaxiRoom hotel extranet

Leading global accommodation wholesaler Hotelbeds revealed new features for MaxiRoom, its free hotel extranet designed to maximise hotel occupancy through its distribution channels.

More than 60,000 out of the 170,000 hoteliers who work with Hotelbeds are connected through either technology platforms or direct integrations, the firm said. That figure has doubled in the last three years

https://www.travolution.com/articles/110116/hotelbeds-adds-price-and-availability-insight-to-its-maxiroom-hotel-extranet

 Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

 

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eRevMax completes integration with Portugal based Newhotel PMS

Hotel connectivity solution provider eRevMax has completed 2-way integration with Newhotel Software, a global hospitality technology company headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal. Mutual hotel customers can leverage this integration to update rate and availability to third party online booking sites whenever they are updated in the property management system and receive reservations from OTAs.

Newhotel Cloud Suite PMS incorporates a wide range of features for full-service hotels, and chains, independent of its size or operation. Known for its user-friendly interface and advanced features, the solution is a popular choice in Europe, South America and Africa, and currently caters to over 3000 properties in more than 50 countries. eRevMax’s distribution solutions are used by over 9000 hotels globally to manage online distribution.

“We’re proud to have eRevMax – RateTiger as our partner as they have become an inevitable option of integration for our clients worldwide. eRevMax offers some of the most innovative and intuitive hospitality e-distribution products in the industry, and our hotel customers can now take advantage of this integration to improve their online visibility and revenue,” said Pedro Matoso, CEO, Newhotel Software.

“South America and Africa remain our growth zone, and this strategic partnership with Newhotel, one of the fast growing PMSs in the region, strengthen our offering. A greater number of hotels can now leverage the benefits of our Channel Ecosystem while streamlining their distribution efforts,” said Ashis Saha, SVP – Project Management, eRevMax.

eRevMax offers seamless connectivity with around 400 OTAs & technology providers. The company is developing its connectivity solutions to offer sophisticated real-time revenue management functionality to the hospitality industry. This includes solutions for the independent market and scaling up through the Tier One enterprise hotel groups. eRevMax’s Channel Ecosystem facilitates quality certified connectivity and relationship management services to support complex revenue generation strategies.

For more details, please visit http://www.erevmax.com/ or contact us on marketing@erevmax.com

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2019: Time to relook at your Hotel Cancellation Policies

With ‘Free Cancellation’ almost becoming a norm with major OTAs, high cancellation rate has become a source of major concern for hotels. Cancellation is not at all welcoming for the host, and sometimes for guests as well.

For a long time, hotel industry has been fairly flexible with the cancellation policies. However, with the popularity of meta-search sites, even after booking, consumers now keep track of room rates. Whenever there is a drop in the room rates of the booked hotel or it’s competing properties, guests often cancel their existing reservations and rebook.

This high cancellation rate especially closer to the arrival has a major impact on the hotel’s revenue management decision where often inflated estimation of potential occupancy level leads to sub-optimal rates and lost revenue.

In the last few years, major hotel chains have been relooking at their cancellation policies and developing a strategy to address the changed consumer behaviour. While some hotels have followed the airline way, and introduced non-refundable early-bird rates, some have extended the cancellation cut-off. Empowered with comprehensive reservation data sources, including cancellation information, and analytics, hotels are now making thorough assessment of cancellation cost to hotel’s revenue and fine-tuning their cancellation policies in a strategic way. If you are planning to re-work your cancellation policy, here are some tips you can consider.

Limiting the Cancellation Period

Free cancellation is a major draw, especially on OTAs, to attract potential guests. However leading hotel groups are now extending the cancelling notice period from existing 24 hours cut off to 72 hours. Guests who cancel after that are charged with a penalty which varies from the cost of one night’s stay to total booking amount.

Variable Policy

Many hotels are now adapting to a dual strategy where there is a non-refundable rate and relaxed cancellation policy for premium rates.

Partial Payment for Guarantee

High-demand hotels often charge one night’s stay immediately after booking and debit the rest of the amount closer to the arrival while enforcing a strict no-show / cancellation penalty. While booking, guests are made aware of these finer points and as a result think twice before going for cancellation.

Vouchers instead of refund

Boutique hotels and resorts are now adjusting their cancellation policy in a way where for a last-minute cancellation, instead of a penalty, or refund, they are offering a voucher which the guests can use for a future booking within a stipulated period of time.  It’s often a win-win situation where the hotel gets the revenue and the guests the option to modify their plans.

Loyalty member specific cancellation policy

Some hotel groups with their own loyalty programmes have designed member-exclusive cancellation policies where loyal guests are given the flexibility to cancel their stay at the last minute even as other guests have shorter window. This benefit additionally gives hotels another opportunity to improve their loyalty programme which eventually results in more direct bookings.

No Cancellation

While some hotels do have this policy, in the age of online booking and price-comparison sites, this policy is tending to lose its acceptance.

The choice of cancellation policy depends on the dynamics of the market, hotel size and categories. For a business hotel, it’s is very difficult to implement a strict cancellation policy, whereas high-demand leisure resorts can afford to do so.

For years the hotel industry has been relying on a cookie-cutter approach when it comes to their cancellation policy. It’s time for change. Monitor your reservation sources and identify channels where the cancellations are coming from. Based on their data, hotels need to create cancellation policy terms for each rate-category, plan and channel. An advanced system like RateTiger, for instance, allows restrictions and cancellation policies to be assigned and updated for different rate plans on OTAs. The reservation delivery options immediately notify hotels whenever there is a cancellation, making it easier for them to allocate inventories accordingly.

Invest in a system which helps you to optimally manage your revenue and distribution efforts and save time to focus more on strategy.