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BAHA: Revenue Management Breakfast Workshop

The Hospitality Revenue Management Community of BAHA organized an open workshop on 4th March 2011 at the Mint Hotel Tower of London.

The aim of this breakfast workshop was to bring together Revenue Managers and those connected to it, to discuss and debate current industry challenges in a way that was lively and participative, yet still challenging and educational.

One of the major challenges facing Revenue Management is the future ‘pipeline’ of talent. Hence the community invited a selection of RM students to give them a chance to interact with current professionals, build relationships with potential employers and gain valuable insight into the realities of the role.

There were 5 workshops held in parallel sessions, namely Long Term Impact of Price Slashing, Customer Relationship Tactics, Total Revenue Management, Centralization of RM and Market Segmentation. My colleague Stefan and I took part in the Total Revenue Management workshop and found it really interesting and worthwhile. We had a great discussion and stressed upon how selling efficiently online can help Revenue Managers achieve targets. We found the event to be a good opportunity to meet industry peers and like all BAHA initiatives, it was well organized.


Sunaina Jagtiani is Sales Manager – UK at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She is based out of London and can be reached at sunainaj@ratetiger.com

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BTL

The 23rd edition of Bolsa de Turismo Lisboa (BTL) took place from 23rd to 27th February 2011 after having been postponed from January. The change in dates proved to be a good decision by the organizers as this year’s event saw over 74,000 visitors and around 990 exhibitors, a big jump from all previous editions.

The organizers of BTL were overwhelmed with the response and said, “This year’s success strengthens the position of BTL as a business platform of reference for both professionals (9% increase in national professional credential) and for the public seeking a chance to meet in one place. BTL is today the largest and most comprehensive international tourism fair to be held in Portugal. The date change has proved correct in the areas of internationalization and strategic marketing of package tours for the general public, which corresponded with a great turnout.”

The hotel industry in Portugal is experiencing falling occupancy and RevPar, reason why hoteliers and revenue managers were keen to find ways to boost revenues. We spoke to many hoteliers and helped them with their concerns and queries. I personally consider BTL to be a productive event as I had the opportunity to organize 28 one-on-one meetings with hoteliers and local OTAs to show them the benefits of channel management products. The local media too was interested in meeting with us to gain more information about our products and services.

I have been attending this event for the last four years and I see a growing change in the Portuguese hotel market. Hoteliers now understand the need for a channel manager and are maturing to the concept of online distribution. They are aware of the benefits and ROI they can derive if they leverage the right technologies properly.


Pilar Sanchez Aita is Sales Manager – Spain & Portugal at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She is based out of Madrid and can be reached at pilara@ratetiger.com

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Florida Huddle

Organized at the Daytona Beach from 23 – 25 January, Florida Huddle turned out to be a great event for us.

The event focuses completely on buyer-supplier meetings and is a good platform to meet prospective buyers and close deals. This year’s event saw a turnout of over 350 people which is very good for an event of this size.

The discussions revolved around the hoteliers’ concern over the extremely low ADR in Orlando while Miami and other south coastal areas witness an improvement in performance and rates. More than 200 hoteliers were present and all were eager to find out the best way to take prices up again.

RateTiger’s major advantage this year was our stand’s location in the VIP lounge, receiving a lot of visitor traffic. Jonathan and I managed to meet a lot of attendees to whom we showcased RateTiger and its suite of premium online channel management tools.

From the business perspective, presence at Florida Huddle is always lucrative as it allows decision makers from the buyer and supplier sides to meet directly and cut deals. RateTiger signed many new contracts at the event therefore very successful.

Siobhain McArdle is Sales Manager for south eastern states of USA at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She is based out of Florida and can be reached at siobhainm@ratetiger.com
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FITUR 2011

With the recovering markets, we were excited to see how major trade events in Spain would open. The first major event of the year – FITUR 2011 hosted a total of 10,500 exhibitors from 166 countries and regions in January. It showcased a good representation of hospitality companies and technology providers while the increase in visitor turnover reached 200,000.

Her Majesty Queen Sofia inaugurated the 31st edition of FITUR. This official opening by the Royal family once again proves their unconditional support for the tradeshow and, in general, for the Spanish tourism sector.

During the FITURTECH conference, the discussions focused mostly on topics like online sector, web 2.0, innovative technologies, social networking and video marketing among others. Further hoteliers were also keen to discuss about the market conditions as well as means and ways to improve the Average Room Rate.

We represented RateTiger at the event and had various meetings pre-arranged at our stand. We also attracted a lot of general visitors which gave us an opportunity to showcase the main product line RTSuite and at the same time highlight new tools like RTReview and other additional modules.

It was a well-planned event and we look forward to many more editions of this wonderful event.

Catch all the action at RateTiger stand here in these pictures.


Pilar Sanchez Aita and Cristina Hernandez are Sales Managers at eRevMax and are responsible for sale of RateTiger products in Portugal and Spain. Reach them on pilara@ratetiger.com and cristinas@ratetiger.com respectively.
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Sales and Marketing Online, November 2010

The Sales and Marketing Online was a one-day conference in Warsaw, Poland organized on 16th November 2010. With various sessions focused on online distribution, there were speakers from across the industry including the likes of Daniel Łukaszewicz – HOOBI, Alexander Ryll – Avvio, Jakob Riegger – TrustYou, Brendan May – IdeaS as well as Keith Povah – RateTiger.

RateTiger was invited to present in the Plenum session on “Channel Management” and the presentation title was “How does online distribution help improve Yield Management strategies”. Keith gave interesting examples on how our client hoteliers have leveraged online channel management strategies to increase occupancy and revenue.  The presentation by Brendan from Ideas was also very well received and he mentioned how their partnership with RateTiger brings added value to hoteliers.

Over 55 delegates comprising hotel owners, Revenue Managers, Managing Directors and Sales Managers attended the event. The delegates received us very well due to the relevant content of our presentation. We were also invited to conduct a workshop on RTSuite products which was a great success.

The organizers Concept Media conducted a survey and found that 26 hotels out of 55 attending hoteliers wanted to learn more about RTSuite products and RateTiger. Overall it was a great event which provided us with good networking opportunity especially with small to medium sized groups.

Aldona Kaczmarczyk
Sales Manager, Poland

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Hoteliers’ Connect: Bangalore

Earlier this month, I got an opportunity to host leading Bangalore hoteliers at an evening event organized by RateTiger. The idea was to provide a social platform for hoteliers to connect over cocktails while sharing vignettes of their channel management experiences.

With 25 hoteliers present, it was a cozy get-together with every member being very warm and forthcoming with their strategies, suggestions, challenges and queries. Some of our client hoteliers were present too and were happy to share their experience of new channel management modules that they have been using in RateTiger.

As the evening wore on, everyone embarked on a stimulating discussion on revenue strategies. It turned out to be a productive day for them, they also realized that they have not really interacted earlier and many had met their counterparts from other hotels for the first time. They just knew and viewed each other as competitors and not as industry peers. I was so glad to have modified their outlook and they were appreciative of our effort for having hosted such an interesting meet.

Chancery Pavilion was the chosen venue for the evening and being a RateTiger user they were happy to be part of this event. I look forward to doing similar events in other Indian and Asian cities so as to help Revenue Managers meet up outside work and share their valuable experiences with each other. And with our technology, I am sure we can further help revenue managers achieve increased online sales and optimize revenue.

Sudhir Ghildiyal is Sales Manager – Asia Pacific at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. He is based out of India and can be reached at  sudhirg@erevmax.com

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RateTiger – Paradores Training Day

It was a successful day of training with Paradores after a long road of joint collaboration. The training was organized jointly with Juan Manuel Merino and Javier Blanco from Paradores and Nuria Bermejo, Key Account Manager RateTiger with me coordinating the session.

Over 70 people attended the session at Parador de Alcala de Henares on September 13, 2010, eager to learn and start using our tools. Optimism filled the room with full support to incorporate it as they have the certainty that RateTiger provides an opportunity to manage their online sales and obtain privileged information to reinforce the strategy of online growth to Paradores group.

Paradores de Turismo is a publicly funded limited company with eight decades of history and which currently manages more than 90 hotel establishments thanks to the work performed on a daily basis by its thousands of employees. Many Paradores properties are located in nature reserves and in historic buildings, such as castles, palaces, convents and monasteries. 
  
One of the aspects that has endured in time and which characterizes Paradores de Turismo is its mission –
“Paradores is a tourism policy instrument which projects the image of modernity and quality of our tourism abroad and which contributes to the territorial integration, to the recovery and maintenance of Historical and Artistic Heritage and to the conservation and enjoyment of natural areas, all the while functioning as a driving force behind the set of revitalizing actions in areas with reduced tourism or economic activity.”



A corporation with just one shareholder, the Spanish state, Paradores de Turismo is also an instrument of the government’s tourism policy, as well as a leading company in the Spanish tourism sector which obtains important benefits which nourish the public objectives for which this company was created.


Pilar Sanchez Aita is Sales Manager – Spain & Portugal at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She is based out of Spain and can be reached at pilara@ratetiger.com

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Tiger’s Supremacy Evokes Fear!

Someone has fallen prey to the Tiger’s stealth, with their recent attempt to rattle the Tiger’s cage falling flat. Our Tiger’s growl is enough to scare them away!

The Tiger is indigenous to the global hospitality jungle and is considered the king by one and all. In a poll conducted by Animal Planet, the largest of the big cats was voted the world’s favorite animal. 

It’s fierce and commanding rate attention ensures weaker predators are kept at bay. Smart hoteliers know that premium products deliver the right results. You cannot be cheap in offering Rate Parity as it is only one of many parameters. 

The Tiger takes a noble and discerning approach to help his streak of hotel cubs maximize revenues in the growing e-marketplace. 

This Tiger is your weapon to guest booking survival.

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HSMA Pricing & Distribution Day 2010

Hilton Frankfurt witnessed an interesting event on 14th June when the HSMA Pricing & Distribution Day 2010 took off. The forum aimed to inform members about the latest developments, trends and innovations in hotel pricing and distribution.

I was happy with the structure of this full day event as it allowed members to attend sessions that were relevant for them. The day started off with the welcome address by HSMA Germany chief, which was followed by key note sessions on Market view: Cycles of hotel prices and the impact of the VAT reduction and Hotel vision – future requirements of the hotel industry.

The rest of the event was neatly segregated into three parallel sessions – Pricing, Revenue Management and Distribution. Each session had three topics with expert speakers.

I attended the Distribution forum which started off with CRM Reloaded presented by Anton Hell, CEO hit-CONSULT GmbH. This was followed by a session on Tour operators – Ideas and proposals for pricing contracts with broadcasters, by Peter Neuschel, MD, Agency Neuschel GmbH. The session concluded with a presentation by RateTiger CEO Sascha Hausmann on Channel Management – Yes or no? The session went off really well with many older hoteliers becoming interested in channel management and requesting further details on our solutions.

The day could not have been better with me getting a chance to liaise directly with many hoteliers, revenue managers as well as sales and marketing heads. We received some good reviews about our products and our interactions helped increase the industry’s awareness about the developments and upgradation in RateTiger solutions.

Ulf Guldi is Sales Manager – Germany at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. He is based out of Cologne and can be reached at ulfg@ratetiger.com
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IHA Hotel Congress 2010

The German Hotel Association [Hotelverband Deutschland (IHA)] recently organized its Annual Conference from 9 – 11 June in Adendorf, one of the oldest and most beautiful parts of Germany.

Expert sessions on latest developments in the field of Channel Management, Metasearch and Direct bookings, Web Tourism 3.0, Social Media and Mobile trends had packed audiences. Since channel management was one of the key topics, it gave me an opportunity to present RateTiger as the specialist in the field with solutions ranging from benchmarking, allocation to revenue management. This helped raise the level of awareness about RateTiger among the hoteliers present. Listeners became prospects and prospects converted to customers.

The IHA-Get-Together and the Gala evening were culinary delights which fostered networking in a relaxed atmosphere. I really enjoyed attending this well planned event and with good key note speakers and relevant topics, the value of this event increased manifold. With over 150 hoteliers, it was definitely an event worth attending.

Ulf Guldi is Sales Manager – Germany at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. He is based out of Cologne and can be reached at ulfg@ratetiger.com