Hotel revenue managementPricing without fear

What’s inside

1. 01The fear is personal: why owner-operators misprice their own hotel→

   Owner-operators are emotionally close to their hotel, so they often underprice it and feel every rate change in their own income. Boersma's answer is small, tested steps that build the trust to go further. Tim Boersma, Room Price Genie

2. 02Occupancy first, ADR second: let demand show when the rate can move→

   For independent hotels, Ensel uses occupancy as the test and ADR as the lever: once a room type sells, its rate moves up in small steps. He avoids OTA promotions and urges owners to start forecasting, however roughly. Rogier Ensel, RevGen

3. 03Look past one number: comp sets, submarkets and the guest behind the data→

   Collazo of STR warns against judging a hotel on one number. Put results in the context of the submarket, new supply and your mix, then find out who your guests are and why they come. Isaac J. Collazo, STR (Smith Travel Research)

4. 04Reservations is a sales desk: sell the right room at a rate that fits the brand→

   Ahmed hires reservations agents for their selling skills and judges occupancy only alongside rate, because filling a hotel is easy. The rate also has to match the brand. Moustafa Ahmed, Banyan Tree Dubai

5. 05Revenue beyond the bed: ancillary income when room rates are stretched→

   When room rates cannot rise much further, Torres looks at what else a guest can buy. Hotels earn far less from ancillary revenue than airlines, and closing the gap takes training, technology and incentives. Pablo Torres

6. 06Open the black box: skills, tools and career paths for commercial teams→

   Revenue management has moved from a board of green and red lights to predictive tools, yet many people still see it as a black box. Hicks, who leads HSMAI, argues for broad education and clear paths into commercial roles. Brian Hicks, HSMAI

The cases behind it

• The Pricing Mindset Shift Holding Hotels BackTim Boersma, Room Price Genie
• Occupancy first, ADR second: revenue management for independentsRogier Ensel, RevGen
• Smith Travel Research: Unlocking Hotel Data PowerIsaac J. Collazo, STR (Smith Travel Research)
• Reservations is your sales engineMoustafa Ahmed, Banyan Tree Dubai
• The untapped potential of ancillary revenue in hotelsPablo Torres
• The playbook for hotel and career growthBrian Hicks, HSMAI
• Pricing strategy, revenue teams, and where AI actually helps

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