Revenue Management

📈 The Travel and Mobility Sector Attractiveness Report spans 2018-2023, analyzing investment priorities in aviation, ground transport, hospitality, and online travel. Highlighting startups that secured funding, it's a tool for industry professionals to strategize for future developments. Full report available for download.

🏨 Wyndham inaugurated ECHO Suites Spartanburg in Spartanburg, S.C., marking its first ECHO Suites location with a 124-room prototype. Announced in 2022, the brand aims at the extended-stay market with around 270 hotels and over 33,000 rooms in development across the U.S. and Canada. The new hotel offers suites with kitchens, free WiFi, smart TVs, EV charging, and amenities like a fitness center and laundry facilities. Driftwood Hospitality entered Kentucky with the $75 million Canopy by Hilton Downtown Louisville, boasting 168 rooms, a historic district location, and completion expected in Q4. It offers 5,100 square feet of meeting space and multiple dining options. Protea Hotels celebrated its 40th anniversary by opening in Angola and South Africa, with locations in Luanda (84 rooms) and Pretoria Hatfield (203 rooms), each offering various dining and leisure facilities. Rotana added the Palma Bay Rotana Resort in New Alamein, Egypt, to its portfolio, now totaling 702 keys within the country, featuring 176 rooms and numerous amenities, as part of a broader 77-hotel operation across regions with a pipeline of 9,830 keys.

📈 The Consumer Price Index dropped 0.1% in June, first decline since 2020, with an annual increase of 3%, nearing the Fed’s 2% target. Food index rose 0.2% in June; food-at-home up 0.1%, food-away-from-home climbed 0.4%. Over 12 months, food-at-home prices increased 1.1%, while restaurant prices jumped 4.1%. Full-service restaurant menu prices rose 0.6% versus limited-service at 0.2% in June. Kalinowski Equity Research predicts full-year 2024 same-store sales growth to be significantly lower than 2023.

💸 Michael McCartan, area VP EMEA at IDeaS, examines revenue management in boutique vs. branded hotels. Boutique hotels have traditionally been hesitant to adopt advanced revenue management solutions. These hotels face a greater impact from revenue strategy errors, with a 20% discount on room rates resulting in a 10% revenue decrease for a 20-room hotel versus a 1% decrease for a 200-room hotel. Advanced revenue management systems (RMS) can help smaller hotels optimize pricing, minimize gap nights, and employ flexible pricing strategies. Larger hotels already benefit from automation in pricing adjustments and inventory management. Embracing RMS can enable boutique hotels to compete effectively, even during off-peak seasons or local demand spikes.

💸 Mission Mars, operator of 32 sites, reported a group revenue of £71.1m in FY23, up from £47.1m in 2022. Albert’s Schloss brand contributed £32.3m, up from £21.6m, while Rudy’s reported £29.3m, up from £16.1m. Albert’s Schloss saw a 6% like-for-like growth; Rudy’s experienced a 24% increase. Both brands outperformed their market segments by 15%. Adjusted EBITDA for FY23 was £8.7m, compared to £5.2m in FY22. Nine new Rudy’s sites and several potential Albert’s Schloss locations are planned. The largest Albert’s Schloss opened in London following an £8m investment.

🌍 Asia Pacific's travel market is expected to reach $689.5 billion by 2030, with a 6% CAGR from 2019-2030. Luxury travel is significant, with 68% of Southeast Asian travelers planning to spend more in the next year. Indians lead with 89% planning increased travel spend, favoring travel within Asia Pacific. An average of six leisure trips is expected in the next 12 months, with Australia being the top destination (46%). Fine dining influences 81% of HNW individuals' hotel choices. India is predicted to be the third-largest domestic and fifth-largest outbound market by 2027. Hilton's DoubleTree has surpassed 100 hotels in Asia Pacific, with 80 more planned. Radisson Hotel Group has added 10 new properties in India, reaching over 180 hotels in operation or development.

📌 Hotels face challenges with manual OTA reconciliation, risking revenue loss through billing discrepancies, which are tedious to correct and could impact profitability. Automation offers cost savings by minimizing errors, enhancing revenue with accurate commission tracking, and improving productivity by streamlining processes. The shift to automated reconciliation can save hotels thousands of dollars, increasing operational efficiency and financial performance. Vimal Patel, the article's author, is a hospitality industry expert and founder of INNRLY.

🏕 Minor Hotels rebrands Peace Resort Samui to NH Collection Samui, the first NH Collection in Thailand, opening January 1, 2025. The resort, founded by the Pupaiboon family in 1977, is located on Bophut Beach, Koh Samui, 400m from Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort, featuring 122 rooms including deluxe rooms, bungalows, and villas, some with private pools and beach access. Amenities include an all-day restaurant, lounge, fitness, water sports, kids’ area, retail shop, and event spaces. Curator Hotel & Resort Collection adds four U.S. properties including 73-key Quirk Richmond, 109-room Albert Hotel, The Ozarker Lodge, and 510-room Ascent on Main. Hotel Anna & Bel will open on August 7 in Philadelphia with 50 rooms, a restaurant, pool courtyard, wellness facilities, fitness center, and Caletta bar. ENVI Lodges opens ENVI Sisini Serengeti in Tanzania with 11 luxury tents/villas and plans two more properties by 2025.

📌 Belgium-based Otamiser, the first online travel agency (OTA) ranking management platform, secures $3 million in its inaugural funding round led by Pitchdrive VC. The investment fuels expansion to 1,000 hotels and 100,000 short-term rentals globally. Otamiser, founded in 2022, boasts €1.8 million in annual recurring revenue and a team of 32, all achieved without prior external funding. The platform aids clients in elevating OTA rankings, driving an average occupancy increase of 11% and profit surge of 24%. The raise will also spawn new AI tools and grow the commercial team.

📌 Otamiser, the world's first OTA ranking management platform, raised $3 million USD in its first funding round, led by Pitchdrive VC. The capital will help expand their services to 1,000 hotels and 100,000 short-term rentals globally. 76 hoteliers and PMCs with over 10,000 units in nine countries already use Otamiser which, since 2022, reached an ARR of €1.8 million ($1.9 million USD) and grew to 32 employees. Otamiser's clients see an 11% increase in occupancy and a 24% rise in profits on average. Key figures include CEO Bart-Jan Leyts and other co-founders. The raise will enhance data-driven tools and launch a new AI product for Airbnb operators.