NATIONAL REPORT— As more hotels embrace revenue management, software vendors are working to improve their offerings. Additionally, new companies are emerging to aid owners in maximizing their use of these new technology tools. The Elise Group specializes in consulting with hotels on revenue management issues. “As the hotel business was picking up hoteliers were questioning the best way to position rates,” said Dennis Pendergast, managing director for the Greenwood Village, CO-based company. “Technology, software and PMS’ will only get you so far…At any moment there are six to eight channels in a hotel that can drive revenue and to manage those effectively takes experience. We help show hoteliers where they need to focus: sales, their website, etc.” In the way of software solutions, many companies are introducing a number of tools to help address total revenue management. Minneapolis-based Integrated Decisions and Systems Inc. (IDeaS) is enhancing its Revenue Optimization program. The company will be debuting its new Learning System, an in-depth training program that can be customized to meet individual needs. “It is essential that you have good training so that everyone understands the pricing strategy,” said Linda Hatfield, vp, product management for IDeaS. The company has also expanded its group pricing system to include more detailed information. “The market for meetings is exploding right now,” said Hatfield. “The core of the program is the ability to forecast group business and occupancy patterns and recognize them as they change.” Also addressing group pricing is Rockville, MD-based Manugistics. “We’ve been expanding beyond the transient business of revenue management to focus on the acquisition of data from group pricing and promotions…we want to assist hotels in managing every dollar coming into the property from groups, the spa and other ancillary revenue,” said Graham Young, senior vp, business development, who stressed the importance of streamlining all revenue information into a centralized area. In the future, Young predicted software will be more personalized by “incorporating client information for customer choice modeling. We’re already starting to integrate with CRM platforms. It’s a step towards recognizing the individual customer and understanding their choices to better provide for them.” Capitalizing on website bookings is St. Petersburg, FL-based REZlink. The company, which caters to mostly independent hotels, provides seamless access between a property’s booking engine and CRS, allowing it to easily manage rates and inventory. “It’s a single point of entry,” said Roman Aluisy, director of business development. “Hotels can deal with just one company in a one-step process.”
