Anders Johansson - 10 Minutes News for Hoteliers - Page 9

6 min

Why a Robot Might Be Your Next Favorite Hotel Receptionist

🤖 Hospitality experts predict that AI and robotics could automate many jobs by 2030. The US hotel industry sees a 100% annual turnover at front desks, leading to inconsistent service and knowledge gaps. Robots could offer 24/7 consistent service, multilingual communication, real-time dynamic room management, and unbiased interaction. They can enhance guest experiences with personalized greetings, efficient check-in, and concierge capabilities, potentially preferred by the upcoming digitally native generations.

15 min

Decoding Hotel Tech: Why Every System Matters for Success

🛏 The article discusses the importance of an integrated digital ecosystem for hotels to enhance growth, profitability, and guest satisfaction. It emphasizes that relying solely on Property Management Systems (PMS) and accounting software is insufficient. The blog post outlines five core technology system categories in the hotel industry: Operational Systems, Sales & Revenue Systems, Planning & Administrative Systems, Guest-Centric Systems, and Business Intelligence Systems. Operational Systems include PMS, Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, and Meetings & Events software, crucial for day-to-day hotel functions. Sales & Revenue Systems like Revenue Management Systems (RMS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, and booking engines drive business by attracting guests and optimizing pricing strategies. Planning & Administrative Systems focus on back-office tasks, financial management, and labor scheduling for efficiency and profitability. Guest-Centric Systems, including mobile apps and guest messaging platforms, aim to improve the guest experience through personalization and convenience. Lastly, Business Intelligence (BI) Systems provide strategic oversight by analyzing data from all other systems to drive informed decision-making. The article underscores the interconnectedness of these technologies and the risks of not leveraging the full technological toolkit available, resulting in lost revenue, efficiency, and guest loyalty opportunities.

8 min

Beyond the Hype: Debunking the Myth of Data Overload in Hospitality

📋 Dr. Tsukanova discusses data anxiety in the hospitality industry, debunking myths about data overload and emphasizing the importance of using relevant data. Key facts include the projection of 175 zettabytes of global data by 2025, millions of daily digital interactions like YouTube uploads, and the distinction between overwhelming global data and manageable, industry-specific data sets. Relevant hospitality data types include guest profiles, booking patterns, occupancy rates, and sentiment analysis. The article refutes the necessity for every professional to become a data scientist, highlighting the existing specialized tools like Property Management Systems (PMS), Revenue Management Systems (RMS), and Business Intelligence (BI) platforms that simplify data interpretation and application. Embracing the right technology and focusing on actionable insights is the proposed strategy to harness data effectively in the hospitality sector.

9 min

Why Your Hotel’s Commercial Team Needs Specialized BI Now to Win

📈 In 2025, hotels face a growing gap between data-savvy operations and outdated methods, impacting revenue, profitability, and market share. Old strategies based on experience are outmatched by data-driven competitors using tools that forecast future demand. Traditional tools like spreadsheets and generic business intelligence (BI) are inefficient and error-prone, failing to grasp hotel-specific nuances such as seasonality and booking patterns. Hotel-Specific Business Intelligence (BI) platforms like Demand Calendar offer integrated, forward-looking insights, end siloed data, enhance decision-making, and improve agility and profitability. These platforms automate data collection from PMS, RMS, CRM, and more, allowing for proactive strategies and competitive advantage in an ever-evolving market. Demand Calendar exemplifies how hotel-specific BI can transform commercial teams from reactive to strategic growth engines.

8 min

Stop Leaving Money on the Table: Upsell Like Airlines to Boost Revenue

📢 Hotels can significantly boost profitability by adopting proactive upselling strategies, potentially increasing total room revenue by 3-7% through front-desk upgrades, and adding 3-8% more revenue from pre-arrival campaigns. Upselling can contribute 5-15% to top-line revenue, and with proper training, coordination, and technology like Demand Calendar, hotels can tap into this revenue stream. Ancillary sales can be raised to double-digit percentages of total hotel revenue with tools, processes, and real-time performance tracking.

7 min

Stop Being Held Hostage by OTAs: Reclaim Direct Bookings and Profit

🏨 Independent hotels can successfully compete with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) for direct bookings by leveraging technology, marketing, and team alignment. Travelers often start searching for lodging through OTAs like Booking or Expedia, or via Google Maps, and prefer to book directly for better communication and pricing. However, direct booking is hindered by underwhelming hotel websites and complex booking flows. Direct bookings are not "free"; they include costs such as marketing, booking engine fees, and website maintenance. Investing in direct bookings results in a higher lifetime value (LTV) for guests due to the ability to remarket, upsell, and build loyalty. A focus on net profit, rather than revenue, is key, assessing the net revenue per available room (NetRevPAR). Tools like Demand Calendar can help measure Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) across channels, leading to optimized marketing spend and distribution strategies. Practical steps for hoteliers include auditing channels for profitability, improving website user experience and booking processes, leveraging low/no-cost marketing, implementing business intelligence tools, and training staff to focus on profit-oriented goals. Overall, a strategic approach to direct bookings can increase hotel profitability and reduce OTA dependency.

3 min

Hotel GMs: Trapped in ‘Groundhog Day’ or Leading the Future?

🏨 Hotel general managers (GMs) often focus on enhancing guest experiences and ongoing refurbishing but can fall into a "Groundhog Day Syndrome," missing opportunities for deeper exploration and innovation. Curiosity in GMs can drive improvements across operations, leveraging technology, AI, and business intelligence platforms for better guest attraction, experience, and revenue optimization. Lack of curiosity may lead to outdated practices, unoptimized revenue strategies, lost market share, and high staff turnover. Encouraging a culture of curiosity and innovation involves mentorship, learning new skills, and experimenting with new ideas. Embracing curiosity can result in higher profitability and better guest experiences.

10 min

Is Complexity Holding Hotel Revenue Managers Back?

💸 Revenue Managers in hospitality face complexity from data overload, rapid market shifts, and a quest for precision, which can lead to overcomplicated strategies and missed revenue opportunities. They manage multiple data sources, such as PMS and CRS, and experience pressure to deliver quick results while seeking perfect forecasts, causing analysis paralysis. Solutions lie in simplifying strategies, improving data accuracy and accessibility, integrating data, leveraging modern RMS or BI platforms effectively, and fostering cross-departmental collaboration. Demand Calendar aids by automating data collection, offering intuitive data presentation, and enhancing collaboration, enabling Revenue Managers to focus on strategic decisions and actionable insights, thus reducing complexity in revenue management.

8 min

How FDD, ADR, and RevPAD Reveal the True Path to M&E Profit

📈 Hotels traditionally use room occupancy and square footage to measure profitability; however, this can be misleading. New metrics like Full Day Delegate (FDD) and delegate-based data provide a more accurate picture of revenue potential. For example, a hotel's five meeting rooms with a combined comfortable capacity for 180 delegates, available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., have a theoretical maximum of 1,800 delegate hours or 180 FDD. A practical calculation with multiple groups resulted in 52.5 FDD, a more precise occupancy rate than traditional room counting. By focusing on ADR (Average Delegate Rate) and RevPAD (Revenue Per Available Delegate), hotels can better forecast and optimize pricing. The Demand Calendar platform centralizes real-time data for improved decision-making, tracking future delegates, historical performance, profitable segments, and enabling continuous improvement in Meetings & Events management.

7 min

Why a Delegate-Centric Strategy Is the Future of M&E Revenue

📈 Maximizing revenue in hotel meetings and events hinges on focusing on the number of delegates and their spending, not just room occupancy. The collaborative strategy involves Marketing to attract, Sales to convert leads, and Revenue Management to optimize pricing, forecasting, and availability. Key performance indicators (KPIs) include Total Delegates, Revenue per Delegate, and Delegate Revenue Share vs. Competition. Demand Calendar, a Hotel Business Intelligence tool, assists in aligning marketing campaigns, pricing strategies, and operations for profitability. Hotels adopting a delegate-centric approach should focus on delegate numbers, average spending, and integrate analytical tools for informed decision-making.

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