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Santa
Fe, NM – November 2020 / Newsmaker Alert / In
addition to the large human cost that COVID-19 has had on the world, its
effect on the hospitality industry has been unprecedented. Because COVID
has taken more jobs out of the office and further online, companies have
been forced to look at how they can keep their teams united in the virtual
workplace. Having previously written about silos
in the workplace, this article looks at the “new norm” for hotels as
they seek to unite disparate teams seeking to work as one.
“Normalizing”
the New Norm
In
disruptive times, where Zoom and Google Meet have replaced the boardroom
chat, it’s important to stray away from disjointedness and disconnectedness.
Now more than ever, as more employees within the sales, marketing and revenue
departments in hotels are working from home, it’s crucial to keep an eye
on teams that may be growing further apart.
For
hotels, revenue, sales and marketing teams have traditionally worked in
silos as separate entities at hotels. Working separately in the past, building
the brand, maximizing revenue and effecting sales were often seen as distinct
and independent goals.
But
that was then. The same traditional demarcation between the indispensable
teams is not sustainable, especially in a post-COVID world, and ultimately
impacts the modern-day
traveler. Instead, to build more successful campaign results impacting
key dates and conversions, the teams in revenue, sales and marketing must
unite in an industry already beleaguered by low occupancy and falling profits.
Tech to the Rescue
Even
before the pandemic, revenue, sales and marketing have historically worked
in separate streams. This has largely been down to owning separate objectives
rather than providing the same goal.
According
to Allison Ahrens, President of Hospitality
Revenue Solutions, “Revenue managers should incorporate not only their
AI/BI data, but to also use sales BI tools & intelligence to
design strategy. Sales teams don’t look at their tools like a Revenue Manager
would. Sales tools give a forward-looking picture specific to group and
business transient demand. Sales team direct client engagement gives a
personal insight to intelligence. Collectively, you have a holistic formula
and confidence in developing specific sales focuses, strategy and marketing
campaigns. In turn, refining efforts for peak market and hotel demand periods.”
Whereas
revenue managers were concentrating on ramping up occupancy in a market
already struggling, the marketers have their hands busy creating advertising
and promotions to build greater engagement. Throw the sales team into the
mix, aiming to bring in new lines of business, and a disaster is waiting
to happen for hotels trying to navigate their new norm.
What
has been clear, however, is that new technologies will play an important
role in helping hotels streamline their objectives in a post-pandemic world.
For this reason, the Revenue team can drive new collaborative opportunities
by leveraging the power of big data and AI in driving more business for
their hotels. As Mike
Chuma of iDeas Revenue Solutions recently wrote, in light of post-COVID
restructuring, “revenue managers are likely to become more entwined in
every aspect of hotel operations, [including] sales and marketing.”
This
entails that the Revenue Manager will need to actively share their actionable
trends and data for the Director of Sales and Marketing to act on. Although
Sales and Revenue have been previous sources of tensions--where opportunities
brought in by the former are to be signed off by the latter--the Director
of Sales can still play an important role reimagining the hotel’s key objectives.
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Where
can Revenue pitch in when analyzing new business opportunities? After all,
with all the numbers at hand, the leadership in Revenue can give key insights
into where new lines of business can evolve as well as how to develop existing
links.
“Rather
than act as a gatekeeper, Revenue Managers can take advantage of the important
insights they have at their disposal. Whether it be customer behavior or
new technology spend, the Revenue Manager holds all the cards when utilizing
tech to the hotel’s advantage.”
Mitch
Berman, Vice President of Sales, Marketing, & Revenue
Paramount
Hospitality Management
“Hotels
revenue, sales and marketing strategies must be cohesive to optimize revenues”
says Allison Ahrens. “New leadership roles should have a mix of experience
incorporating revenue data, strategy and sales acumen. Hotels that miss
this blend of skill set in their leaders will undermine the success of
hotel revenue optimization. Those that do will avoid conflicting department
strategies that cause revenue loss, not gains.”
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Unity in the
Virtual Workplace
How
well do your teams understand one and other? For example, does your sales
or marketing team know about demand as well as the revenue team does? On
the other hand, what marketing strategies are the revenue or sales team
aware of?
These
might be important questions for departments to ask of each other. If the
answer is “very little” or “not a whole lot”, the hotel might want to take
the opportunity to cross-train the departments so that they have a more
intimate knowledge of how each team works towards their objectives. It
remains the case that the most important way to bring revenue, sales and
marketing together is to recognize what assets each team has that they
can offer each other in providing guests the most meaningful travel experiences.
In
2018, CCO
Wendy Stevens of First Hospitality Group used the example of how providing
the Revenue management team with social media data would encourage them
to factor customer sentiment into how aggressively they can price their
rates. “There is growing recognition across the industry that is bringing
meaningful value in inter-departmental cross-training,” Stevens went on
to say.
According
to Allison Ahrens, this type of collaboration is what can make the difference.
“Revenue, sales and marketing must work holistically to achieve a stronger
foundation in today’s travel environment.”
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Maintaining Communication
when Working from Home
As
the future of work changes, Revenue, Sales and Marketing must avoid operating
independently from one another or they can risk jeopardizing the overall
ambitions of the hotel. Communication can be the most critical way to bring
the disparate teams together. And an organization that prioritizes communication
can best serve their underlying goals.
But
with more options to connect online, so too are there opportunities to
miscommunicate. Although the days of meeting in-person and water-cooler
may not be part of the new norm, making sure that close social ties remain
at the hotel will be essential for your customer.
“Focus
on the ties that bind your people together,” said a recent
report by McKinsey when predicting many businesses would have hybrid
remote/on-site workforce. “Pay heed to core aspects of your own leadership
and that of your broader group of leaders and managers.”
At
a time where we’re more connected virtually, this might require leaders
to communicate more, not less. Weekly participation in revenue meetings
and one-off meetings for special campaigns where teams can touch base will
be crucial in maintaining these ties between departments. Meetings, even
if occurring online, may also have to increase in frequency to ensure that
Sales, Revenue or Marketing teams feel as they are being heard.
Pro-Tip
According
to Mitch Berman at Paramount Hospitality Management, “Whether it be over
Slack or your own company intranet, regular communication is key to ensuring
your different departments stay on message and on brand, as well as making
sure everyone feels good to be part of the same team. This functional communication
filters down to how to speak to your guests as well.”
The
next couple of years are likely to bring more uncertainty to hotels looking
to navigate the new norm in hospitality. However, by embracing new technological
tools, Revenue Managers can take the lead in providing the Marketing and
Sales teams with actionable insights that can drive more business to the
hotel.
It
will also be important for these teams to share their knowledge across
teams to ensure that collaboration also relies on collective wisdom. Which
is why, above all, at a time when teams are likely to be disrupted by the
new norm of teams working from home, communication between the departments
remains all-important in remaining a cohesive unit.
This
is one in a series
of essays by John Smallwood, CEO of Travel Outlook Premium Reservations
Call Center about voice reservations, the second most profitable revenue
channel.
About
Travel Outlook Hotel Reservation Call Center Services
In
addition to the unique use of world-class call center technology, Travel
Outlook is the only call center certified by Kennedy Training Network,
the hotel industry’s best source for sales training and guest service excellence.
Its luxury call team is tested by Forbes and Kennedy each month. Travel
Outlook’s clients include many of the world’s finest hotels and resorts.
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About
Hospitality Revenue Solutions
Hospitality
Revenue Solutions offers a holistic look at hospitality; from ownership
to line level associate, we have experience on all levels of the hotel
& resort industry. Our task force teams present strategic plans of
development to ensure your organization meets its goals.
View
Original Source (PDF
file)
Media
Contact:
Raul
Vega
LEVEL
5 Hospitality
www.LEVEL5hospitality.com
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