We have seen a major shift in the role of revenue management in the lodging industry from a very tactical orientation to one that is much more strategic in focus. What this means for revenue managers is that their job is transitioning from one where they are responsible for opening and closing predefined room rates such that the best combination of occupancy and rate is achieved for any given night, to one that is now much broader in scope. Revenue managers are often expected to contribute to, and provide analyses to support, decisions that are much more strategic in nature such as the development of market share, competitive positioning, new product and service development, and distribution channel management strategy.
At the same time, in this era of “big data”, revenue managers have access to more data than ever before. The decreasing cost of data storage, coupled with increased processing power, also makes it feasible for revenue management systems to handle more data inputs and complexity. At face value, this access to, and the ability to handle, more data sounds very appealing. More data means more informed decisions, right?
via New Data for Revenue Management: Adding Value or Adding Distraction?, by Breffni Noone.