So, you want to be a high-performing hotel revenue manager, but how much should you understand about analytics, and how much can be left to the scientific experts and automated technology solutions? Well, does being a safe, efficient driver really depend on that much technical knowledge of what's under the hood? Sure, you should probably know where to put the gas, but it's the mechanic we trust to effectively diagnose and repair major issues, and there's an entire history of trial-and-error innovations built into your vehicle that make it into the advanced machine you rely on to get from point A to point B. Read on...

Power anomalies don't take a summer vacation. From heat waves to hurricanes, wildfires to monsoons, there is no shortage of disasters waiting to wreak havoc on critical hotel systems between the end of the school year and Labor Day. But with the right approach to power management, hotels can ensure system uptime if disaster strikes, keeping guests protected from the complications of summer blackouts. This article will explore some of summer's greatest threats and offer steps to prepare for power outages that could adversely affect business operations. Read on...

The most effective revenue managers are pros at nuance and experimentation, looking for patterns and trends that inform their strategy. The ideal setup includes technology that automatically analyses local market demand data alongside pricing data, and puts it in a visual, approachable format. But what are the key factors that drive hotel revenue? In this concise article, we review eight or nine themed clusters that can guide your thinking, including: your compset, as part of your pricing strategy and demand analysis; other demand factors; channel management; promotions and discounts; competitor benchmarking; reputation management and rate parity; employee engagement; and digital and metasearch advertising. Read on...

This article introduces a new service recovery method called Stealing Thunder - a proactive strategy to handle service failures which can have a significant impact on customer loyalty and trust. Stealing thunder implies the service provider identifies a service failure first and takes the initiative to report the failure to the customer before the customer has identified the service failure. When proactive service recovery strategies such as stealing thunder are used, there may not be a need to offer monetary compensation to customers following a service failure. Recommendations are provided to managers about incorporating "stealing thunder" in employee training. Read on...