7 resolutions to online sales success for 2010

• Yield your rates more frequently
  As we see the booking window shrinking more and more, 2010 is the time to take a proactive approach to revenue management. In the past years, historical data was the norm to any revenue management strategic orientations, but only relying on the past to forecast the future has proven to become obsolete, especially this year. Do not throw your historical data away too soon, but instead put more weight into an on-going real time assessment of the market place and scrutinize the way consumers are shopping now online.


• Automate your distribution channels
  This is the internet era, so stop wasting your time with manual updates. Empower your revenue managers with powerful automation tools once and for all. Manual data entries are tedious and filled with errors so consolidate and automate more extranets to increase exposure, visibility and online sales. No more learning complicated websites, let the computers do our mind-numbing work so we can use our brains again.


• Compete wisely
  In an online dynamic and transparent marketplace the traditional 'compset' is not as important as it used to be. New Year resolutions are about adopting new attitudes towards change and innovation, so step up to a larger competitive set because consumers already have done it. They can do it from the comfort of their home with just a few clicks.


• Control your room inventory in real-time
  Beside going green, trends for 2010 will be about web based systems, automation and integration to improve vital efficiencies of all hotel operations. Rather than having numerous systems that do not communicate with each other, look for a consolidated RMS system with room inventory control to provide maximum pricing optimization and flexibility up to the last hours of every day.


• Optimize your hotel page ranking
  As simple logic extracted from Google's success, the higher your hotel will appear on page rank, the more sales you will do. This is not always entirely true because most consumers do not use Google to find hotels. Instead they use the biggest OTA such as Expedia, Booking or Orbitz. This is not to say that a coveted 6 or 7 Google PR will not give your hotels more direct bookings, but this is not enough. Pay special attention to your page positioning rank within the OTA websites because that is where your potential customers are searching.


• Get the most out of your booking window
  Travelers continue to buy airline tickets in advance, but when it comes to hotels it is too easy to cancel and re-book, so why commit when you don't have to? Optimize short term bookings by integrating a revenue management system combined with rate distribution. In shopping for online sales and distribution tools, look for innovative companies that bring unique technology adapted to the reality of today's dynamic online market.
  

About RevPar Guru
RevPar Guru provides hotels around the world with an alternative revenue management software solution, to manage revPAR intelligently and effectively, and deliver maximum profits. RevPar Guru's custom-designed Yield Dynamic Price Engine meets the rapidly changing needs hotels in a demanding business environment - dynamic rate optimization, real-time pricing, integrated internet and extranet yield channel management, and GDS sales distribution, to increase a hotel's revPAR while maintaining rate integrity and automated rate parity. It is the only revenue management solution that automatically optimizes and updates hotel rates across all major consumer travel websites, based on all market variables and in real time, and provides a strategic room inventory control. Once deployed, hotels can boost their occupancy rates and cut their distribution costs dramatically. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, additional information can be found at www.revparguru.com or by calling +1.786.478.3500.


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