Most hotels still price rooms like it’s 1999.
Excel spreadsheets pulled together last-minute.
Rates adjusted by gut feel.
Discounts thrown out to boost occupancy.
I see it more often that you can imagine, and I believe it’s not because revenue managers/hoteliers aren’t skilled.
It’s because they’re stuck in outdated systems that haven’t kept up with how fast the industry is moving. And let’s be honest, many don’t know what they don’t know. To put things in perspective, some hotels don’t even realise what revenue management is.
Here’s the reality:
➡️ We don’t have a data problem: we have too much of it
➡️ AI and RMS tools aren’t a bonus: they are the starting line nowadays
➡️ Guests don’t care about your ADR and your targets: they care about value
In my opinion, revenue management needs to evolve (I sound like a broken record at this point.. but this is true and some hotels are leaving so much money on the table because of this)
Not just to be faster or more efficient, but to be more strategic… experimental.
The best revenue managers I’ve worked with aren’t just number crunchers.
They’re storytellers. They’re collaborators. They ask smart questions and think long-term.
They use the right tools to automate the busy repetive work (thanks AI and ML!), so they can focus on what really matters:
→ Aligning with marketing and operations
→ Understanding guest behaviour
→ Driving profit and TRevPAR, not just occupancy
And let’s be real, many hotels that still run on gut feel will lose to the ones that run on insight and strategies.
So I’m curious
Are you still making pricing decisions based on instinct?
Or are you leaning into the tools that help you play the long game?
#RevenueManagement #HotelTech #HospitalityLeadership #HotelStrategy #DataDriven #AIinHospitality
