Revenue Management

🏅 In Paris, for the 2024 Summer Olympics, hoteliers and Airbnb hosts slashed rates due to lower-than-expected demand. Hotel rates, although still above average for July/August, decreased significantly with three-star hotels dropping from €523 to €282 and four-star from €738 to €430 over nine months. Bookings during the Olympics are up, but occupancy rates linger below 70%, only exceeding that for four days of the Games.

🌍 Asia Pacific's travel market is expected to reach $689.5 billion by 2030, with a 6% CAGR from 2019-2030. Luxury travel is significant, with 68% of Southeast Asian travelers planning to spend more in the next year. Indians lead with 89% planning increased travel spend, favoring travel within Asia Pacific. An average of six leisure trips is expected in the next 12 months, with Australia being the top destination (46%). Fine dining influences 81% of HNW individuals' hotel choices. India is predicted to be the third-largest domestic and fifth-largest outbound market by 2027. Hilton's DoubleTree has surpassed 100 hotels in Asia Pacific, with 80 more planned. Radisson Hotel Group has added 10 new properties in India, reaching over 180 hotels in operation or development.

📌 Hotels face challenges with manual OTA reconciliation, risking revenue loss through billing discrepancies, which are tedious to correct and could impact profitability. Automation offers cost savings by minimizing errors, enhancing revenue with accurate commission tracking, and improving productivity by streamlining processes. The shift to automated reconciliation can save hotels thousands of dollars, increasing operational efficiency and financial performance. Vimal Patel, the article's author, is a hospitality industry expert and founder of INNRLY.

🏕 Minor Hotels rebrands Peace Resort Samui to NH Collection Samui, the first NH Collection in Thailand, opening January 1, 2025. The resort, founded by the Pupaiboon family in 1977, is located on Bophut Beach, Koh Samui, 400m from Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort, featuring 122 rooms including deluxe rooms, bungalows, and villas, some with private pools and beach access. Amenities include an all-day restaurant, lounge, fitness, water sports, kids’ area, retail shop, and event spaces. Curator Hotel & Resort Collection adds four U.S. properties including 73-key Quirk Richmond, 109-room Albert Hotel, The Ozarker Lodge, and 510-room Ascent on Main. Hotel Anna & Bel will open on August 7 in Philadelphia with 50 rooms, a restaurant, pool courtyard, wellness facilities, fitness center, and Caletta bar. ENVI Lodges opens ENVI Sisini Serengeti in Tanzania with 11 luxury tents/villas and plans two more properties by 2025.

📱 Franco Grasso's first job in hospitality was in Rome, September 1981, as a luggage porter at a 4-star hotel. He started his company, Revenue Team by Franco Grasso, after realizing the need for market-driven pricing in hotel revenue management around 2000. By 2005, his methods led to success in 3000 ventures, and in 2006, he published Italy's first revenue management book, "Hotel Revenue Management," which became a bestseller. Grasso's firm is now the largest hotel revenue management consulting entity in Europe.

📌 Belgium-based Otamiser, the first online travel agency (OTA) ranking management platform, secures $3 million in its inaugural funding round led by Pitchdrive VC. The investment fuels expansion to 1,000 hotels and 100,000 short-term rentals globally. Otamiser, founded in 2022, boasts €1.8 million in annual recurring revenue and a team of 32, all achieved without prior external funding. The platform aids clients in elevating OTA rankings, driving an average occupancy increase of 11% and profit surge of 24%. The raise will also spawn new AI tools and grow the commercial team.

📌 Otamiser, the world's first OTA ranking management platform, raised $3 million USD in its first funding round, led by Pitchdrive VC. The capital will help expand their services to 1,000 hotels and 100,000 short-term rentals globally. 76 hoteliers and PMCs with over 10,000 units in nine countries already use Otamiser which, since 2022, reached an ARR of €1.8 million ($1.9 million USD) and grew to 32 employees. Otamiser's clients see an 11% increase in occupancy and a 24% rise in profits on average. Key figures include CEO Bart-Jan Leyts and other co-founders. The raise will enhance data-driven tools and launch a new AI product for Airbnb operators.