Tools and technology can go a long way toward helping your hospitality business meet its revenue potential, but that’s not all that matters for organizations looking to chart a course to commercial success.
When evaluating processes and technologies, simply knowing you need to make a change is just a start. Figuring out the best way to make it happen often requires specialized experience, expertise, and dedicated time availability that’s not always available to internal teams.
Hospitality business consulting services can help your organization fill these gaps by providing access to a team well-versed in change management, key technologies, and industry leading revenue management practices.
Could your organization benefit from consulting expertise? We’ve asked IDeaS principal industry consultant Peter Gal to share what he and the consulting services team can do to help your hospitality organization, what you can expect, and more. 
Why IDeaS Hospitality Consulting Services? A Q&A with Peter Gal
QUESTION: What are some of the most common revenue management challenges you see? How can our consulting services help clients overcome these typical hurdles?
ANSWER:
Much of our work focuses on elevating the people and process elements of their organization to ensure that they’re making the most of the technology available to them. We know it takes a certain level of revenue management knowledge and overall buy-in from their organization for ideal outcomes, and we help bridge the gap.
We work with a wide range of client organizations, with projects coming in from individual hotels or small groups all the way up to assisting large brand names with change management. With that comes a wide range of problems to solve. For those getting up to speed with revenue management best practices, we can help with foundational guidance for things like developing business processes, refining pricing structures, business segmentation, group businesses strategy, and more. Others may be looking for help with competitive positioning and data practices, organizational reporting and developing effective measurement KPIs.
Of course, there are also clients with unique circumstances that may not fit neatly into any of these topics. We’re always happy to hear more about a new challenge, come up with solutions and ultimately set our clients up for long-term success.
QUESTION: What skills or experiences can clients expect to draw from the consulting team?
ANSWER:
It’s not going to come as a surprise, but first and foremost, our team at IDeaS has an unparalleled knowledge of our technologies and how to maximize the value clients get from them. We also do a great job as project facilitators and help to ensure the right internal resources are activated for optimal outcomes.
Another area our clients can draw from is our team’s depth and breadth of revenue management experience and expertise. We work directly with many of the world’s most successful revenue management teams, and consequently we know what works, where organizations tend to stumble, and how to position our clients for success with best practices and more. None of this is easy to figure out on your own, and I know many of our clients value this experience as it validates that what they’re doing is on the right track.
I also believe our specific domain knowledge helps ensure clients walk away from an engagement with a clear set of actionable next steps, instead of high-level recommendations that may leave clients with more questions than answers when it comes to accomplishing them—something that can happen with generalist outside firms that don’t live and breathe hospitality revenue management.
QUESTION: What does the typical start-up process look like for a new consulting client?
ANSWER:
This will depend on the scope of the engagement. For relatively straightforward opportunities like helping a smaller hotel group with revenue management staff upskilling, we can conduct an introductory discovery call, develop a proposal, and get the project underway in short order. That said, we also work with clients on the other end of the size spectrum and that will influence the scope and length of the engagement—there’s going to be significantly more discovery time needed to help roll out a new RMS and best practices across an international brand’s portfolio.
Ultimately, if you think there’s something we could help your organization with, the best first step is to have an informal chat with us. There we’ll ask about your strategy, key initiatives, main goals and try to understand your challenges better. We then can align on what the next best steps are.
QUESTION: How does IDeaS Consulting differentiate its approach by tailoring solutions to each client’s specific needs and challenges?
ANSWER:
Many of the challenges we solve for clients may sound roughly the same at a high level, but the details surrounding these challenges are certainly not uniform. We strive to capture this differentiating information during the discovery process so we can adjust our approach and make sure clients are provided tangible next steps—and know how to accomplish them.
It’s worth noting around 50% of our projects are custom projects – meaning that the scope of the project is identified together with our clients to make sure that we are covering all the areas where work is needed. For example, an IDeaS client recently came to us asking for advice around putting together a technological roadmap, along with upskilling their revenue organization. During our discussions, a need for a user configuration audit was also identified —so we started working together to include a 2-phase audit to our proposal to ensure they have everything they need to be successful.
QUESTION: What do you enjoy most about working with hospitality clients?
ANSWER:
The number one factor for me is seeing how our projects make a major impact at the organizations that we are working with – seeing their success gives me an immense feeling of professional satisfaction.
Another thing that can’t be overlooked—hospitality people are a great bunch. Getting to know them better personally and having interesting and fun conversations during our engagements is the icing on the cake.
QUESTION: What trends in hospitality revenue management are you most excited about right now, and how do they impact your work?
ANSWER:
There are two trends or developments I’m really invested in. First, is seeing how AI is applied in revenue management, particularly in how it could transform the way we interact with revenue management tools—imagine having a “conversation” with an AI RMS agent about revenue opportunities in the next 90 days.
The second development that is top of mind is how hotels respond to room revenue pressures. With many properties putting a much sharper focus on ancillary revenue streams, I think IDeaS is well-positioned to help hotels better capitalize on their Meetings and Events capacity with the Function Space and SmartSpace solutions. At many properties there’s room for revenue growth and better space utilization, and we’re certainly looking forward to helping more clients refine their M&E strategies in the coming year.
QUESTION: If you could give one piece of advice to someone just starting out in revenue management, what would it be?
ANSWER:
Set aside time every day for learning and broadening your perspective. As for myself, the best time for this is at the start of the day: before checking emails or engaging in the day-to-day activities, I spend 15-60 minutes learning and upskilling myself in new areas. This is something I picked up from a highly-recommended read, Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. I’m a big believer of the need to prioritize those Quadrant II “Important, but Not Urgent” activities like Iearning. It’s not always easy to find the time for that, but I think it’s time very well spent and can pave the way to personal and professional growth.
Your partners in hotel revenue success
The journey to positively transforming your organization’s revenue management practices doesn’t have to be daunting. With the right tools, people, and support in place you can achieve spectacular results.
Need a little help? Our expert consulting services provide tailored revenue management solutions that help hotels optimize pricing, inventory, and distribution strategies. By leveraging our deep industry knowledge and cutting-edge tools, we’ll guide you towards maximizing your revenue potential while minimizing the risks associated with fluctuating market conditions.
If you’re ready to learn more, visit the Consulting Services page or connect with the team today!
