Hotel Revenue Managers Need to Work Harder to Penetrate the Internet Marketplace

Interacting with your target consumers online is not the same as talking with them face-to-face. This is the reason why hotel revenue managers, and most companies involved in the hospitality industry must work even harder at enhancing end-to-end site experience for their users. Building a strong, long-term relationship with guests requires constant follow-ups, updates, and encouragement. According to research studies conducted by eDigital Research, online travel sites have to go beyond the “wow” aspect and into the real needs and wants of hotel guest to increase hotel profits.

The first eTravel Benchmark revealed that the online travel industry, as a whole, is actually competing with the cutting-edge technologies being used by companies in other industries. Consumers are now expecting consumer service, user-friendliness of the website, and good navigational structure. Failure to meet these requirements will mean that the potential guest might be disappointed in what the yield management strategy of the hotel.

Aside from hotel revenue managers, airlines, restaurants, and cruise websites also need to focus their attention to these findings. It will help them come up with effective hospitality revenue management strategy that will work over the long term. The research, in particular, revealed that most airlines usually have very poor customer service.

There is only one airline, British Airways, which was rated as one of the top 10. Meanwhile, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic did well for email customer support. While customer support problems are not hobbling the hotel industry at this stage, it is crucial to keep it that way. After all, it is actually easier to switch hotels due to the vast range of choices than to switch airlines.

As Derek Eccleston has said, “in a sector whose customers are particularly promiscuous – switching brands for a better deal, looking for recommendations and picking the purchase channel that most suits them at that particular time – failing to perform well across the board is more than a missed opportunity, it is commercial suicide.”