Transitioning from short stay tourism to the mid-term housing market for a sustainable rental income

Aug 13, 2020 | COVID-19, Revenue Management

Transitioning from short stay tourism to the mid-term housing market for a sustainable rental income

The short-term rental market, with guests staying anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, has enjoyed an explosion in demand followed by an influx of investors over the last few years. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 outbreak has caused any excitement for a good summer season to evaporate. At the same time longer term projections for the short-stay market are also under threat by the implementation of restrictive legislation in many of the most popular destinations around the world. Instead, investors might be better off setting their sights on the mid-term rental market, exchanging high, but volatile income for sustainable, predictable cash flows that enable growth.

When demand plummets overnight

The world had seen travel restrictions before, without any real long-term consequences. But then, countries like Italy started quarantining entire regions of the country and major companies started sending their workforce to work from home. For short-term accommodation providers, what was supposed to be a record summer full of travelers, tourists and weekend wanderers, turned into a market that ground to a halt almost completely over the weekend. Google Trends shows us that the interest in the world’s biggest bed-and-breakfast site decreased by over 75% in a matter of weeks. Worst of all, nobody really knows when the Corona crisis will be over or, perhaps more importantly, if things will even go back to the way they were before the virus?

“Google Trends shows us that the interest in the world’s biggest bed-and-breakfast site decreased by over 75% in a matter of weeks.”

“Nobody knows when the Corona Crisis will be over, nor if things will even go back to normal.”

When the rules of the game change while playing

At the same time, the short-term rental market is facing local threats that could impact the long-term viability of the global short stay market. Where acquiring and renovating properties was well worth the investment due to virtually nonexistent short-term rental regulations and premium prices to meet the demand, this will no longer be the case in the near future. In many countries, the already volatile housing markets of popular cities were further disrupted by the arrival of a large number of short-term providers. As a result, governments and municipalities all across Europe have passed or are drafting legislation to regulate the short stay market. These measures range from requiring special permits, capping short stay rentals at a max of 60 days a year, setting up quotas for popular neighborhoods and even include contractual constraints. For many providers, this means a large chunk of their projected income is no longer guaranteed.

“Many short-term providers just like you are looking for an alternative.”

With both the long and short-term results of the market under pressure, it’s not strange that many short-term providers are looking for an alternative. Thankfully, there is no need to jump ship. Instead, a shift in strategy in order to meet the needs of your local housing market could mean a relatively painless solution.

Shifting gears

While demand for the international short stay market has collapsed, housing markets across Europe are still buckling under demand from locals, international students and highly educated expat workers. Rental prices have been steadily rising for years, but still the supply cannot meet all the demand.

While your target audience is different than before, they are still hungry for ready-to-go rooms, studios or apartments close to their work or studies. The hard-working tenants that will stay with you for anything from a semester to a year are also willing to pay extra for the services you already provide to the city hopping weekend crowd. International students or expats often arrive on Saturday and start work on Monday. This means they are happy to pay extra for the fully equipped kitchen, the weekly cleaning service, high speed internet and included Netflix account that allows them to simply unpack their bags and focus on settling in.

What’s different is that you’re exchanging weekend guests for longer term, contracted tenants. For you, this means less frequent mutations and stable long-term income through monthly payments. At the same time, you avoid the risk of being stuck with a tenant for years on end by focusing on the mid-term rental market. All in all, this keeps your business agile, able to respond to changes in demand and seasonality without your cash flow running dry over the weekend.

“… give yourself the stability to focus on the growth of your rental business.”

At the same time, these longer-term tenancies allow you to scope a more robust projection of your future rental income. You have plenty of time to find new tenants and you know exactly how much your home will earn you in the coming months. This gives you the stability to focus on the growth of your rental business and makes it easier to secure the additional funding to realize that growth. After all, your now stable rental income counts towards securing a loan for your next properties. Over time, your business will grow into something more and more passive and sustainable for the long term.

Finding a new home for your business

Even though your properties are ready for a transition, you are still entering a new rental market. You’ll be dealing with different legislation, new target audiences and the market’s own quirks and pitfalls. Where short stay platforms are king in getting your place booked for the weekend, you now need a different strategy to convince potential tenants to come live at your place for months on end.

“Roughly 60% Tenants on HousingAnywhere book their stay for a period of 3-6 months.“

As a housing platform, HousingAnywhere has over a decade of experience in matching landlords with the right tenant time and time again. Roughly 60% Tenants on our platform book their stay for a period of 3-6 months. Before, guests might have booked blindly, but for longer term tenants, communication is now key. For example, tenants will reach out to you, introduce themselves and ask questions. Initially making it more time consuming than a blind booking but making it much easier to find the right match for your place. This might seem strange at first but getting to know a prospective tenant will save you time and effort in the long run by preventing friction, damage or rental arrears. Additionally, bookings now give you peace of mind for months on end, instead of having you hustle to get your accommodations booked every weekend.

Pricing your place is also a different ballgame, as you need to adapt to new kinds of seasonality and different pricing strategies based on location, quality, and property type. HousingAnywhere helps landlords navigate these changes, using data to predict the optimal pricing strategy in their neighborhood, using the RentRadar tool. The platform also includes a Rent Index data report so landlords are also kept up to date with the latest trends in the European market.

You might also be interested in reading:

Booking.com Recovery Toolkit
Guest communication tools: why guest engagement is important?
Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part II
Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part I

Pickup Alerts

Aug 7, 2020 | Price Optimizer Update

Pickup Alerts

Following the Pickup Overview module, we released a Pickup Alert functionality so that you can receive real-time alerts when there is a pickup, based on certain configurable rules.

Thanks to this alert – You can quickly examine the development of demand and booking behavior for future stay dates.

Create an alert from the tab Config > Pickup Alerts and specify the email address you want to receive the alert. For more on the alert rules and how to set it up, please contact your Key Account Manager.

Total on Pickup Overview

Small improvement to the Pickup Overview table that includes a ‘Total’ column. Powered with the new Pickup Alert functionality, this table will help you better analyze and verify pickup information as soon as you receive an alert.

If you have any questions or problem using new functions, please contact po-support@yieldplanet.com.

You might also be interested in previous Price Optimizer Updates:

Children Prices in CRS
New Event Source
More Improvements
Pickup Overview

Booking.com Recovery Toolkit

Aug 6, 2020 | COVID-19, Revenue Management

Booking.com Recovery Toolkit

The COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges both for society and our industry. It is clear that the unconventional approach is more important than ever before to tackle the far-reaching effects of Coronavirus pandemics.

Booking.com has gathered market insights, tools, and advice from experts to help hoteliers and accommodation managers work through these difficult times. The company recognizes three stages of recovery:

Lockdown with extremely limited travel activity
Recovery characterized by slowly rebounding of domestic travel
Extended recovery described a gradual increase in international flights and travel

The bad news is that as of the end of July 2020 around 7% of all countries are still in the lockdown phase, but the good one that 20% of countries benefit from the extended recovery stage.

Depending on the recovery stage and market conditions Booking.com has prepared a recovery action plan for all properties focused on 4 pillars:

Reducing workload by e.q. informing potential guests on Health and Safety standards so that travelers can find extensive hygiene, food, and distancing measures the top of a property page or letting properties to modify reservation stay dates with no restrictions.
Offering flexibility by allowing guests to book in advance with flexibility and with the possibility to cancel up to 24 hours before check-in or encouraging partners to allow children in their property to attract family travelers
Setting up a sustainable rate plan by offering travelers a variety of rates and policies that can attract potential customers like for example using occupancy-based pricing, mobile rates or setting up family rooms and pricing
Securing bookings by boosting visibility and ranking high on Booking.com’s search pages which can be achieved via joining Genius or Preferred Programme

YieldPlanet cheerfully supports all recovery plans prepared for hoteliers and accommodation managers. All recovery suggestions can be found and processed in YieldPlanet Channel Manager Opportunities section:

The recovery toolkit by Booking.com consists of 25 selected options, please check them either in YieldPlanet Channel Manager Opportunities or directly at Booking.com extranet.

You might also be interested in reading:

Guest communication tools: why guest engagement is important?
Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part II
Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part I
Rate management in the peak season with YieldPlanet’s Channel Manager

Children Prices in CRS

Jul 22, 2020 | Price Optimizer Update

Children Prices in CRS

For hotels that mainly work with families and small groups, it is essential to be able to outline rates and prices for children.

The Quoting Screen a.k.a CRS now makes it possible to define children’s prices in an absolutely flexible way, thanks to an intuitive interface that allows you to manage children’s capacity, discounts and rates even more simply.

→ How do I configure children’s prices in CRS?

You will find a new ‘Children Pricing’ tab in CRS > Configuration.

The first step in configuring children’s prices is to define the different age groups of the children.

For example, a hotel can have 3 age groups:

Infants from 0 to 2 years;
Children from 3 to 12 years old;
Teens from 13 to 19 years old.

Indicating accurately the different age groups allows you to segment the price even more scrupulously, so as to better define your sales strategy.

The second step is defining formulas to set children’s prices. The ways in which prices for children can be defined are mainly 3:

A fixed price regardless of the prices set for the adult;
A fixed discount always compared to the price of adult 1.
A percentage discount on the price that adult 1 would have paid;

In some situations, there may be a need for the child’s price to be calculated starting from a reference price (that of adult 1), while in other cases it is not.
For this reason, we’ve made it flexible to set prices both in an absolute (fixed) and in a relative (variable) manner.

→ How do I configure children’s capacity for my rooms?

Navigate to ‘Room Types’ tab in CRS > Configuration.

For each room type you can modify the total room capacity (Total Pax), maximum number of children and maximum number of baby cots. Room capacity for adults cannot be modified here as it is imported from your PMS/Channel Manager.

Total room capacity is limited by the sum of Adults Max, Children Max and Cot Max values.

Once you have finished children’s prices configuration — you may go to the CRS home page and make your selection with the number of adults, followed by number of children. You must then select the age of each child.

Finally, CRS will display the rooms where it is possible to accommodate the adults and children with the total price of your selection.

More Improvements in CRS

Clicking on the active rate plan on-screen opens a dropdown list of all rate plans. Select another rate plan directly from this list for faster access
Select the rate plan package on the right panel by clicking on its title. This would enable that rate plan on the main screen
Close the left panel by clicking anywhere on the main screen, not just the “<” button
Hovering over a rate plan title will show its full package description

As usual, should you have any questions or problems using new features, please contact
po-support@yieldplanet.com.

You might also be interested in reading:

New Event Source
More Improvements
Pickup Overview
Your quoting screen — now clearer than ever

Webinar: Guest communication and interaction

Jun 10, 2020 | Events

Webinar: Guest communication and interaction

We invited the experts from various fields of the hotel industry to find out what we can all do to prepare for recovery, how to adapt business to new circumstances, encourage guests to book now and optimize the offer for local guests.

Below you will find a link to the webinar recording of the webinar series ‘How to prepare your property for the summer season after the COVID-19 outbreak’, which we conducted together with GuestJoy, Bookboost and hotelinking on the topic: ‘Guest communication and interaction’.

From this webinar you will learn:

How to best interact with guests before arrival
Which practices are the best for interactions with your guest
How guest communication is different for direct bookers than OTA’s

WATCH THE WEBINAR

You might also be interested in reading:

Guest communication tools: why guest engagement is important?
Reopening Hospitality in a COVID World
Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part II
Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part I

Guest communication tools: why guest engagement is important?

May 28, 2020 | COVID-19, Hotelier Academy

Guest communication tools: why guest engagement is important?

Guest engagement has never been so important, as we move forward through the next couple of years travelers will look for peace of mind when planning their trips. Hotels need to clearly communicate cleanliness and hygiene policies, and be accessible to guests throughout the guest journey.

Consumers expect immediacy, whether it’s quick search and book options, or response to their enquiries and in-stay questions, or dealing with cancellations – hotels have to deliver a higher level of service in ever decreasing profit margins and reduced people resources. Hotels will need to use their staff smartly to make sure guests are serviced and hotel operations are seamless. Technology is providing the solutions while improving opportunities for the hotel all within the confines of social distancing and heightened health anxieties.

Guest messaging solutions give the additional boost hotels need to secure bookings, manage online check in, and provide guest services digitally – especially when there is less people interaction. This not only protects staff and guests but gives the opportunity to reach guests instantly.

Hotels can own guest communications

With the rise of social media, the way to communicate and engage with guests has changed radically. People have moved from email and phone to social media apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS. Instant messaging has given way to a generation of travellers who want information quickly and efficiently without being bombarded with lengthy email messages, or having their inboxes inundated with irrelevant offers.

Millennials and younger generations prefer texting rather than calling because it is less intrusive and time consuming. Hotels need to look towards SMS and messaging apps where 75% of consumers are OK with receiving SMS from brands (according to Techjury). This gives you the chance to be direct and relevant.

Hotels should engage with guests on the messaging platforms they are using. Guest messaging platforms provide a central inbox for all consumer messaging channels, so your staff only need to manage one inbox. Preset answers and automated replies is saving hotels a huge amount of time on repetitive enquiries.

Making Upsells work for your hotel

Upselling is a great opportunity for hotels to maximize revenue from occupancy and increase RevPAR, upselling potentially makes up 10% – 20% of hotel guests’ total spend (Hospitalitynet).

The front desk has become the first personal touch point upon arrival, making the front desk prime for more sales responsibilities. In the short-medium term this will need to change, social distancing will mean less people contact – yet how do hotels keep open communication channels with their guests?

Traditional ways of upselling through the front desk or emails are no longer effective. According to PhocusWire, marketing campaigns only have an average open rate of 16.1%, click-through-rate of 2%, and conversion rate of 0.3%, which is very low.

SMS and messaging apps have opened a new door for hotels. Upselling by direct messaging has a much higher open rate of nearly 99% (Adobe Blog), response rate is 209% higher than phone or email (techjury), read within 3 minutes, and we have seen a conversion rate of 10% according to one of our own case studies.

Precise Targeting: Message the Right Guests at the Right Time

A real case: Jorplace Beach Hotel which has selected BookBoost as their guest communication tool

Maika, the Operations Manager of Jorplace Beach Hostel was struggling to increase ancillary revenues. Guests are very budget-conscious, seeming unwilling to spend on extra services, not even when they needed it.

To tackle this problem, Maika launched a campaign precisely targeting specific guests with relevant messages; for example, scheduling an invitation for a ‘late check-out’ at exactly the moment these guests are having such a good time to inspire them to act on this offer.

With a conversion rate of 10%, guests purchased the late check-out. Moreover, 87.5% of all late check-out sales resulted from using Bookboost’s messaging services. It turns out that guests are more than willing to pay for more, you just need to pick the right audience and communicate the right message to them.

In a time when staff numbers will be at an all time low, hotels need to be as efficient, yet responsive as ever.

One of YieldPlanet’s partners Bookboost wants to make it easy for you and your teams to address all customer enquiries in the most lean and efficient way possible. Bookboost Guest Messaging is offering all YieldPlanet customers its Web Messenger and Unified Inbox for FREE! All you need to do to get Bookboost Guest Messaging products totally for free is just sign up, using a special code “freeforme”. Take advantage of the special offer until 30th June 2020.

You might also be interested in reading:

Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part II
Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part I
Rate management in the peak season with YieldPlanet’s Channel Manager
Price management: the key when selecting hotel technology

Facebook Lives’ Statistics 27.05.2020

May 28, 2020 | COVID-19

Facebook Lives’ Statistics 27.05.2020

Hotels are opening, restrictions are slowly being lifted and the number of reservations are increasing. It only means one thing – it’s high time for action! Now we are observing an increase of reservations which we process in our Channel Manager. We have decided to share this data with you because we believe it might help you to make better business decisions. Every Wednesday, during a morning cup of coffee, we will share new data, briefly discuss it and suggest actions to take in this period of time.

Join us on our Facebook live every Wednesday at 10:00 AM CET!
Every week we will talk about:

– which channels are worth your special attention during prices setting
– when you should start adjusting prices and preparing your property
– which kind of traffic it is: local or global?

Find short summary from our last session on May 27:

Data Source

– 743 properties from Poland (n=743) – all property types included

New reservations weekly: all YieldPlanet clients (from 5th week)

– steady grow but still far from the reference level from January/February

New reservations weekly: all YieldPlanet clients (from 5th week)

– clear demand division on weeks 25, 35, 44

– since week 18 some demand on May and June

– July and August started to grow only since the last 2 weeks – still a lot of uncertainty

– September still too far to have any visible demand, October-December beyond the interest

– mostly short booking windows (last-minute reservations)

New reservation weekly: chosen countries

– trends are similar across all the countries with some little differences depending on the local defrosting strategy applied

New reservation weekly: selected Regions

– in Poland, the dynamic of growth is similar across all the regions but still way below the previous level

Total number of new reservations: distribution (res. from weeks 12-21)

– distribution is very uneven, only selected properties received hundreds of reservations over the last 9 weeks (after the lock-down)

– median is only 17 so half of the properties didn’t even receive 2 online reservations per week

Arrival month for new reservations weekly: Poland

– in Poland, the majority of reservations are made for May during the last 3 weeks – mostly last-minute bookings

– June is coming so the demand for this month arises

– July and August grow slow but steady

– other months clearly beyond the interest

Channels share weekly: Poland (hotels with BEs)

Poland: channels share: only properties with BE connected via YieldPlanet Channel Manager

– OTAs are having a strong 80% of the share for online reservations

– ~20% of direct bookings during the last 4 weeks (which is better than in Jan/Feb) but the share is slowly falling

– neglectable share of other channel types (wholesalers and tour operators)

Booker country share weekly: Poland (b.com declarative data)

Poland: only b.com reservations and declarative residency data

– the share of local cookers has grown during the last 5 weeks to 90% and clearly shows that Polish guests should be the most important for any offerings and marketing

Booker country share weekly: Poland (various channels)

Poland: all online channels

– confirmation of the above

Please, share your opinion with us and question you have, and suggest what data we should show next week.
Follow us on Facebook not to miss anything, see you there!

Summary:

– the demand is still on the very low level but it’s clearly growing in all countries and regions

– bookers remain mostly local and are still cautious, therefore booking last minute

Tips:

– focus on offering for June but start looking in July and August

– make sure the direct offer is always the best (rate imparity, USPs communication and good website flow – are key points)

– start advertising your property, especially on the existing customer base

– open and control rates for as long as possible since the demand is unpredictable (don’t miss the chance!)

– control any pick-ups carefully and react accordingly

– implement automation tools so they save your time and take care of most of the points above (POS)

If you want to watch a full Facebook Live, you can do it here.

Reopening Hospitality in a COVID World

May 26, 2020 | COVID-19

Reopening Hospitality in a COVID World

Text by Marina Yoveva, Exploreist

Tourism has undoubtedly been changed by the Coronavirus. Whether you are in Rome or South Florida, the normal flow of late-winter and spring tourism has almost completely ceased. As countries began to reopen, the hotel industry is starting to open their doors as well giving us access to some of the best travel destinations in the world. How do major world countries’ hospitality industry plan to emerge from Covid? Read on to discover how these countries plan on having a healthy and safe summer, with tourism included.

Spain COVID-19 Response:

Spain is known for its warm culture, beautiful beaches, and fascinating cultural attractions. Unfortunately, the country has suffered greatly from high Coronavirus-related deaths. Spain began to reopen on May 4th after a stringent lockdown. The country’s reopening process is mapped out in four stages, and is anticipated to move into a “Nueva Normalidad” by June 22nd. This includes the reopening of Spain’s hotels, whose new guidelines will include sanitation measures and limits on public areas. Spain’s economy heavily relies on tourism, with some 14.3% of Spain’s annual GDP coming from it (World Travel & Tourism Council). Yet striking a balance between profit and safety is at the core of Spain’s success.

France COVID-19 Response:

France has an international tourism market that piques in the summer. France headed into “deconfinement” on May 11th. The initial phase included the reopening of schools and shops. The second phase is scheduled to begin on June 1st. This tentative stage allows for a partial reopening of bars, restaurants, hotels, museums, and cultural activities. The hotel industry may not open doors until mid-June, and the hospitality industry in France has been lobbying for tax exemption in 2020. Passengers arriving from a non-Schengen Member State are not currently allowed to enter France. With little time to recover for the high tourism season, it is anticipated the hospitality industry in France will continue to suffer.

Germany COVID-19 Response:

Germany’s methodical approach to the Coronavirus has paid off, with one of the lowest death rates in Europe. The nation has already begun its reopening process of shops, but will continue its ban on worldwide travel until June 14th. The hospitality industry reopened in a trial period starting from May 9th to May 22nd. Germans hope to travel domestically this summer, as well as to neighboring countries that have receding Coronavirus rates. All openings come with the understanding that if things escalate again, an “emergency brake” will be applied.

US COVID-19 Response:

US citizens continue to live day by day as the hefty Coronavirus death toll continues. A three-part plan has been proposed by the national government. Still the ultimate power is with the state governments. The majority of states had been getting set to reopen by mid-May or the end of May. Many hotels have already begun reopening, although occupancy rates are low, hovering around 5 to 10%. The US Travel Association has issued new guidelines called “Travel in the New Normal.” Aimed at making travelers comfortable enough to begin traveling again, it lays out best practices for the industry. With the highest death rate in the world, the US hopes to curtail an impending second wave.

Argentina COVID-19 Response:

Argentina’s economy has been devastated by the Coronavirus. Still, Argentina continues to ban any commercial airline sales until September 1, 2020. This restriction is one of the toughest in all of the Americas. Keeping a tight lockdown on borders is the country’s proactive response to curbing a second wave. Argentina is known for a vibrant cultural life, including the birthplace of tango. However, international tourism—for now—will have to wait.

China COVID-19 Response:

China has made innovative steps in reopening after the pandemic. China has implemented a health-pass system that allows one to leave their house only if they have a “green” bill of health. A person who is “red” must undergo a 14-day quarantine. The bill of health is linked to phone and passport numbers. Strict sanitization and social distancing in restaurants has created a “new norm” in China, however, there has been activity within the hotel industry. China saw a 50% usage of hotels in May, which was a drastic difference from February 9%, reports USA Today. Additionally, those coming from abroad to the city are required a two-week quarantine.

Switzerland COVID-19 Response:

Switzerland surprised citizens by reopening bars, restaurants, and gyms on May 11th—ahead of the planned time. Hotels in Switzerland were never closed, to try and maintain normalcy as much as possible. Switzerland will continue to practice a mix of social distancing, strict sanitation measures, and tracking. Switzerland is still figuring out how to reopen important borders with France, Germany, and Italy. Though the US Embassy in Switzerland noted “an easing of restrictions began May 11th,” how the situation will look in future is still to be defined.

Poland COVID-19 Response:

Poland also began an earlier reopening process in mid-April with reopening forests, public parks, and revised restrictions on small shops. May 4th marked the reopening of hotels, museums, and shopping centers. Additionally, Poland’s political system is in limbo, as the scheduled presidential election on May 10th has been pushed to sometime in June. With the incumbent president, Andrzej Duda, up for reelection, Poland holding a successful election will not only affect Poland but also set a precedent for the American election in November. Though Poland’s borders opened on May 3rd, the alien entry remains forbidden.

Czech Republic COVID-19 Response:

Czech Republic has been one of the most restricted countries in Europe during the Coronavirus. These tough measures have paid off with an early reopening, which began in late April. Libraries, small shops, and universities have already been reopened. Hotels are scheduled to reopen on May 25th. In-bound university students and EU business travel will also be allowed. Outbound travel is also reopening for citizens, with the caveat that upon return travelers must test negative or enter a two-week quarantine. Similar to other EU countries, the progression of reopening will be on a two-week basis.

Sweden COVID-19 Response:

Sweden’s all-around approach to combating the Coronavirus was unique, leaving looser restrictions and no formal lockdown. Hotels, primary schools, restaurants, bars, and hair salons remained open during the height of the pandemic. Hence, the country’s reopening process is much softer. However, international travel remains under strict lockdown. Hotels in Sweden may see local visitors, looking to have a staycation. Sweden’s relaxed approach has yielded a high death rate per capita, and Sweden seems to be learning its lesson on the spot.

Case By Case, Day By Day

The moment-to-moment nature of the Coronavirus has created a situation where all plans are changeable. Though May has marked a turning of the page for reopening many countries worldwide, every reopening comes with the potential to reclose if Coronavirus resurges. Though many countries do not yet have open borders, the summer will be a telling time as to just what is possible as far as travel and tourism go.

You might also be interested in reading:

New Event Source

May 20, 2020 | Price Optimizer Update

New Event Source

New Event Source 📅

We launched a new Events tool which makes it simple and quick for you to track and follow events/holidays from your key source markets.

How does this help?

The events calendar will help your hotel identify demand generators easily and adjust the pricing accordingly to the demand that is generated by specific events happening in your cities. Whether it is a company conference, a trade show, a music festival, a sporting event – all of these events can be tracked based on the automatically generated suggestions or by manually entering specific hotel events.

◾️Fully Redesigned ◾️Easy Imports ◾️Eventful & iCal Integration

Your front end staff might recognize why some dates are unexpectedly well booked! Not just that, they could advise guests on that fun weekend street parade in town 🎉 or that the guests might want to consider a quiet room to the backyard 🏡

To add/subscribe/delete a calendar, go on the “Calendars” tab.

Calendars can be added via different sources:

Eventful – Eventful is an online calendar and events discovery service having a large directory of events. Use the Eventful source to automatically download a calendar of events at a specified venue
iCal (URL) – Calendar programs allow you to export what is called an iCalendar (.ics or iCal) feed URL. Use the iCal URL to import events
iCal (File) – Import events with an iCal file. These iCal URLs and files are commonly found on tourism or events websites
Manual – Manually add a calendar

When you have completed the events list, these events appear in:

Price Optimizer > Dashboard Calendar

Price Optimizer > Price Control

Price Optimizer > Price Report

CRS (Quoting Screen)

This tool has the possibility to integrate several hotels or a hotel group. In the future version, Events with an ‘Impact value’ could change forecast if requested by the hotel.

Please get in contact with your account manager to enable this feature. For other questions or problems using new features, please contact po-support@yieldplanet.com

Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part II

May 14, 2020 | COVID-19, Revenue Management

Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part II

While COVID-19 has brought the hospitality industry to a standstill, at YieldPlanet we believe that by providing our clients with the right advice we will win this battle together. Therefore our team of experienced and certified revenue managers has prepared a list of the tips and recommendations of what you can do to start getting ready for the market bounce back already today and outpace your competitors. Check out the first part of this anticrisis list here [LINK] and keep learning!

1. Local market.

When the situation starts to improve, and life starts getting back to normal, movements between countries and cities still will remain difficult during some period. The domestic travel most probably will be increased in comparison to previous years.

Check your reviews
Local people have a bigger choice, so an excellent online reputation will be your pros. Answer to your reviews – the feedback is important. Let people know about all the services you offer and keep staying in touch.

Local people area
Review the most popular channels and forums that local people use when they are looking for plans for the weekend. Check the integration list, to find channels local people use. Every area has its leaders. Think about how you can improve your offer for local people (packages, promotions) and try to find the best platforms to present yourself there.

Review your competition
You can start by checking your competitors: packages, prices, promotions. Use additional value to complete your offer, give to your guests a bit more than others (welcome drink, discount for the dinner at the hotel restaurant, free parking, possible late check out etc.). To be updated with the latest news you can follow your competition at social media and see what they offer, analyse their offers and improve yours.

2.Data

Update your competition set
Monitoring the market situation, don´t forget to keep the list of your competition updated. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and compare all these points with your competitors.
Do some research at your engine using the name of your city, famous sights and conference stages nearby, extra service or good points you have (SPA, terrace view, central location, Eco-friendly etc.). You will find more accommodation options to compare. You can also open popular channels and travel platforms, find your hotel and check similar accommodations, recommended below. Even if you know that some of these recommendations are not your competition, take a look to know what your potential guest could be proposed to.

Analyse the data you have before making changes
Take advantage of the reports you can find in the analytic systems you work with. Examine the data provided by the revenue management system or channel manager to understand your clients better. This will help you work with prices, rate plans and will assist you to optimize your current structure. Data analysis can prompt you unexpected solutions: additional services cost changes, differences between categories, new distribution ideas, promotion ideas etc.
Maybe it’s a good time to finally implement a proper segmentation?

Update your event calendar
Most of the events were cancelled but some of them were rescheduled. Update the calendar and prepare the strategy in advance.

3. Content

Attractive pictures and descriptions
Capture attention, convey the hotel mood, give clear and complete information about the accommodation, compel a sense of confidence that this is what the guests were looking for and let them be happy with their choice. Take as an advantage the time you have now to choose truly “sweet” pictures. Correct your descriptions if needed. Try to provide only necessary information to win every second of the customer’s attention.

Adjust the information at all OTA you are presented
Don´t be afraid to delete old pictures if you have new ones. Use different pictures for each of the different categories you have. The customer has to clearly understand the distinction. Check the information on additional services, taxes and cancellation policy.

Give the priority to your own website
This is not only the hotel face but also the most important booking channel. In times of crisis, lower commission payments will be an absolute help in reducing hotel expenses. Verify translation into different languages, maybe you have time to add a new one, based on the historical data about your guest’s nationality.

Extra tips: Always put yourself in the customer’s shoes. What is she going to look for after the long time of social distancing? What kind of additional services will be mostly appreciated? How does she want to feel? Try to show it from the very first moment.

4. Direct reservations

Website conversion
Check if the booking engine is working properly. (When was the last time you tried to make a reservation at your own property?) Make sure that there are no mistakes in settings and whether the hotel information is clearly stated. Ask your account manager or website support what can be improved to increase the conversion. Check with them the rate plans and cancellation policy information, photos and descriptions of all room categories you have. Look into your promotions and special offers. Think what else you can do to make your customers finish their booking at your webpage? People don’t like to spend a lot of time reading conditions choosing the appropriate option. Help them with their choice, make it user-friendly, simple and logical.

Digital marketing
While under the quarantine your marketing budgets might have been cut, the activity of people on social media has increased. Activity on social media doesn’t cost money if you already have some visual content and a good idea. Think about an attractive promotion with flexible conditions. No need to lower the price too much, but you can include more extra benefits, making your offer more interesting and complete.
Inform your followers about the measures taken due to Covid19 (increased attention to cleaning, taking care of the guests and hotel staff healthy etc.). Actively answer questions the guests might ask. Keep your answers polite and positive to maintain good vibes.

Dealing with cancellations
Try to win back those who have cancelled their bookings recently. Reach out to them and offer them a special rate for the long term stay date – you already got their interest and you can still use it. It can be a direct email for the guest who made a direct reservation or, if still there is a possibility, you can send an email through the OTA chart.
Depending on the additional services you have, you can offer a discount for dinner in the hotel restaurant or free breakfast, a discount for accommodation or a free massage in the SPA.

Customer base
Reaching out to your guests email base is almost free of charge. Write your loyal customers a personal email. They will appreciate your attention and caring. Inform about new packages and promotions you create. Give the special bonus or an extra discount for the first couple of months.

We have a special Price Optimizer Revenue Management System helping program where we offer 3 months for free. Learn more here.

You might also be interested in reading:
Strategies for hotel revenue managers in COVID times: brace your business upfront! Part I
Rate management in the peak season with YieldPlanet’s Channel Manager
Price management: the key when selecting hotel technology

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