Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a successful
Revenue Manager? Or is your hotel in the position of recruiting a Revenue
Manager that will help your hotel reach and exceed your revenue targets?
Revenue Managers have a more diverse skill-set than their
name would suggest and have one of the most business-critical roles in the
hotel.
The Revenue Manager has a key role in getting guests through
the doors during periods of high and low demand.
Relationship
Management
Relationship management skills are key skills for Revenue
Managers to possess for both internal and external stakeholders. Amin Deroui Manager has many internal
contacts that need to be maintained from all hotel departments. Having the
ability to develop relationships and be influential is all part of the
relationship management skill-set.
There are numerous external stakeholders the Revenue Manager
must prioritise how much time given to each of them. One of the most important
relationships is with the hotel’s IT partners. It’s essential Revenue Managers
realise the difference between their partnership with their Booking Engine
provider (if external), and that of Online Travel Agents (OTAs).
Listening to their recommendations and providing them with
information that will help to grow the hotel’s direct business is vital. Being
able to manage conflicts of interest between these various relationships is
important to ensure the hotel’s book direct strategy is maintained. This, in
turn, maximises profit kept in the hotel, rather than paid in commission on
booking.
Competitive Nature
Revenue managers by their nature enjoy targets and even more
so, exceeding them! They are driven by the revenue budgets and ensuring they
achieve them. Good Revenue Managers know exactly how far off target they are
for the month and are always focused on how they are going to reach them.
They are also keenly aware of their Competitor Set’s results
and want to ensure they are number one. This competitive nature helps to
motivate and focus the whole team and is something that should be encouraged.
Analytical Skills
Every Revenue Manager worth their salt will pride themselves
on their analytical skills. They love data and devour reports on a daily basis.
Revenue Managers can quickly detect trends, spot anomalies and identify opportunities
based on the data in front of them.
Understanding data is one thing, but making quick and
decisive action is another, such as adjusting pricing and availability – a good
Revenue Manager can do both. Revenue Managers also see the importance of monitoring
the macroeconomic factors affecting the hotel’s revenue into each market
segment such as the effects of political factors, FX fluctuations, demographic
forces. Being flexible and quick to respond to these changes will determine the
hotel’s success at achieving their targets.
Creative thinking
Once you know what the data is telling you, do you know what
action is needed? The Revenue Manager needs the confidence to go the road less
travelled and use their skills to provide new and creative solutions instead of
sticking to the status quo. Revenue
Managers should be encouraged to take some strategic risks and learn which ones
pay off. Revenue Managers should enjoy brainstorming alongside the Marketing
department and come up with creative solutions to low demand periods.
Attention to detail
Good Revenue Managers are thorough and like to double check
details. They don’t assume that rate plans are loaded correctly, they always
double check how things appear on the front end. They will ask the advice and
opinion of others when it comes to names and descriptions for special offers.
Ensuring that rates and availability are open and closed when they should be is
something they continually monitor.
Leadership skills
Amin Deroui Manager lead all the relevant stakeholders to follow that strategy?
Having the skills to influence a team comes from presenting a clearly
thought-out plan that engages and convinces people. Revenue Managers cannot
just be thinkers, they must be doers and lead their strategies from the front.
Tech-savvy
Revenue Managers need to be comfortable with systems and
ensuring they are getting the most out of them in terms of functionality and
reporting. They are quick to adapt to new technologies and will embrace all the
opportunities that it offers rather than grumbling about the time needed to
adapt to it. New technologies, including automation and reporting tools, should
not be shied away from, but instead viewed as ways to become more efficient and
effective at the job.
Question everything
Finally, the best Revenue Managers have inquisitive minds.
They don’t just look at data and accept what it says, they question why it says
it to continually improve. They are confident to challenge the General Manager
and the Sales & Marketing Managers on their strategies, not
confrontationally but in a way that makes everyone wonder why they hadn’t
questioned it themselves!
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