WEBINAR- 2013

Review Pro Webinar- with Chris Anderson from Cornell University, Victoria and Fernando, Global Revenue Manager from Melia Hotels International

1. I found a few points which were new and interesting for me: 

* Firstly, I found the idea of GRI, as a key barometer a very interesting idea. I did not know that it was a measurement used to track a hotel's performance against its key competitors.

* I also found the travelocity study very fruitful. Comparing the last 25 hotels a consumer visits before making its choice, seems like a logical thing for a hotelier to do, but apparently is not done that often. I found it very interesting how Chris explains how the probability of a customer to pick a hotel is quantified and calculated to increase the odd ratio of the customer picking a specific hotel.

* I also did not realize the power the UGC had in determining the price a hotel gives its rooms. I knew that it influences demand, however had underestimated its pricing power. The value of a hotel perceived by a consumer gives out a pricing signal, which needs to be interpreted by a hotelier. I found that aspect very interesting

2. The relationship between QGI and revenue gains: 

At the beginning of the Webinar, Chris Anderson explained thoroughly and in a simple manner, that following customer reviews is very important, because if a hotel can increase positive customer reviews by 1%, this can increase the demand for the hotel by 13.5%- a large increase. Furthermore, this 1% increase in customer reviews can also lead to a 1% increase in RevPAR. Because there is a 13.5% increase in demand, this subsequently creates a potential for the hotel to increase its pricing power. This improves the overall performance of a hotel.

3. Person/position in the hotel responsible for analysis of pricing changes based on quality index changes:

As was mentioned by Victoria and Fernando, revenue management as a position still exists, however the person in charge, must be adapted. Victoria mentions that 20 years ago, we were in 1.0 RM, where the job was easy, as there was no transparency at all. Today, she mentions that we have moved to 3.0 RM, where there is hyper transparency  make it very difficult, hence the need for an adapted manager. She states that the current RM manager, must be a combination of the marketing department ( to create demand), the sales department (to capture the demand) and the revenue management department (to manage the demand). Fernando adds that in 2013, the person in charge of RM must be more strategic and analytic and should be integrated with the executive committee.

4. New quality measurements:

The Quality Penetration Index- a measure of how the hotel is performing against the hotels' online reputation. This measurement was created approximately 2 years ago by Melia Hotels International. It allows hotels to create opportunities to increase volume or their AVR. Fernando says that if a hotel has a high QPI, they should not focus on increasing their volume, but rather their AVR.

At the end of the Webinar, it was also mentioned that that ReviewPro is developing this year a new, and equivalent index to the QPI, known as the Competitive Quality Index, to measure guest reviews performance.

5. Is ORM the RM maximization of the future:

I think it is. As was mentioned in the beginning by Chris Anderson, online activities have grown at an incredible rate and continue growing endlessly. Because of these online activities provided by both the consumer and hotels, a hotel has the potential of determining the prices they will allocate based on guest reviews, or how to influence the probability that a customer will pick their hotel. All these elements are created by the 'online world' which was practically existent 10 years ago. This has created a change in the 'old fashioned' way RM was looked upon, leaving room for innovation and creativity and making it even more competitive for hotels. By embracing advances in technology and adapting to the old RM techniques, a hotelier can maximize its revenue.