- Collect information on competitors in order to gauge performance and utilize strategies that are working within the industry. This typically starts with evaluating your competitive set on price, product and “market overlap”. Ideally, narrow down the competitive set to a maximum of five competitors whose performance is closely tracked. Outside vendors like STR Global provide daily tracking services if local law does not allow the sharing of information between hotels. Using the RevPar Index as the key measurement for your performance against competitors is the most effective way to monitor their performance.

- Encourage staff to focus on up-selling arriving guests at check-in. This can contribute significantly to your top line (in some cases, in excess of 3%). Also, when higher demand situations occur - identify your VIP’s early and make sure they don’t get “bumped” in an overbooked scenario. At the same time, make sure that staffing levels are adequate for those “spikes” in guest numbers that occur during an upswing. It is important that your hotel doesn’t have too few people to handle all check-in / check out and room turn around activities that help make the hotel experience as smooth and pleasant as possible, contributing to return visits and overall happiness.

- Flexibility in corporate contracts is important. During the financial crisis, hoteliers experienced a big rush to renegotiate rates downwards in the first quarter both as a cost saving measure from clients and a business retaining measure from hotels. As the economy continues to grow, the opposite will be required as stronger demand materializes. However, it is unlikely that corporate accounts will agree to higher rates after being given bargain basement rates. Therefore, sales contracts should be constructed so that either value-adds can be reduced, or “special discounts” discontinued if needed.

Flexibility is also vital when it comes to pricing, along with accuracy. Dynamic pricing has been adopted across the industry. Over the last 12 months, however, many hoteliers have overshot their discounting and are offering rates that are too low in order to garner business. Hotels should try to marginally increase rates and evaluate the impact on volume to best ascertain how much to discount. In many cases hotels will be surprised to find that certain market segments will be price insensitive, and the key is to be prepared to change course when required.