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Supranational Hotels Selects eRevMax as Preferred Supplier

Supranational Hotels, one of the biggest hotel consortia globally, has chosen RateTiger as its preferred hotel online channel management partner. The property will be using Channel Manager, a fully integrated e-distribution platform with smart channel connectivity, market intelligence and revenue management capabilities.


Cho Wong, Managing Director of Supranational Hotels, said: “This agreement is based on recognising the RateTiger Channel Manager and Rate Shopper products are amongst the best available in the market for hoteliers who want to retain control of their rates and availability being marketed and sold through various booking channels Wong said the products were ideal for hoteliers who want to retain control of rates and availability being both marketed and sold through various booking channels.”


Read the full story here. 

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LifeClass Hotels doubles direct booking with RateTiger

Slovenia-based LifeClass Hotels has successfully utilized the Billboard Effect to increase direct bookings by over 100% with the help of RateTiger, the integrated channel manager, pricing data and guest review monitoring tool.

“RateTiger has certainly made it easy for us to set rates and update all the sales channels very quickly.” said Alen Milosevic, Revenue Manager, LifeClass Hotels & Spa. The 4/5 Star hotel group of six properties has been able to introduce a substantial expansion of its product offerings from one room rate plan for four room types to 16 rate plans for 6 to 7 room types. With the help of RateTiger review the property has been able to monitor guest review on various social channels like TripAdvisor, Facebook yelp etc. this has resulted in 30% revenue growth in 2012.

To read the full story, click here.

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Qatar GM Debate 2013

Hotelier Middle East conducted the third annual Qatar GM Debate that took place in April at the Grand Hyatt Doha. The team managed to get an impressive lineup of top industry speakers to discuss current happenings in the market including the concern over influx of new rooms in a market already struggling with low demand.

The first session from TRI Consulting focused on exclusive market data from their latest research which brought forth the raw numbers that will be shaping Qatar’s hospitality industry through to 2014. The hard facts and figures set the tone for the rest of the event and it led to very focused and meaningful discussions between speakers and attendees. 

The interactive workshops offered significant insights on Delivering Ancillary Revenue and Best Practices of Revenue Management. The panel discussions covered a wide range of topics including how to deliver value through innovative product packages without discounting and leveraging potential of hotel F&B outlets.

Our workshop on Revenue Management & Online Distribution focused on how hoteliers can optimize online bookings. One in six travelers in Middle East today prefers to book online. They visit over 17 websites and check reviews before finalizing accommodation. With the range of choices they get across these channels, it makes it even more important for hoteliers to be visible at every touch point to capture customer’s interest. 

However, more channels mean more updates. The respite comes in the form of automated distribution system – a channel manager helps hotels to collect and access the multitude of data in their systems to analyze rates, market pricing trends, competitor selling activities, historical and trend information to achieve the best possible room rates from the most desired guests. 

We explained the case of Dedeman Istanbul in Turkey. One of the early users of internet sales channels, they wanted to use a system that would make online channel management easier and also allow access to regular rate  reports  to  see  how  other  hotels were pricing rooms and managing roomtypes and packages. Two years ago, they had installed our rate shopping and channel management tool in their property. The results were immediate and long lasting. Dedeman has since increased revenues by over 20%. 

The presentation was interspersed with suggestions and ideas on how to drive direct online bookings and through examples we tried explaining how hotels can optimize product value across online distribution channels.

Another important aspect is the direct competition that the region faces with Dubai – which attracts a major chunk of foreign tourists. Qatar needs to develop an effective tourism campaign to gain more traction and attract the eye of travelers. This is where the role of online distribution comes in – Qatar hoteliers need to leverage the opportunities presented through the internet to reach out far and wide to newer markets and grow its market share – slowly but surely.

With over 220 hotel GMs in attendance, the event was well received and the venue buzzed with lively discussions and animated chatter. The Qatar GM Debate was a not-to-be-missed event, and a great opportunity for everyone to come together to discuss issues that really matter to the industry.


Hisham Diab is Sales Manager – South Africa at eRevMax and has extensive experience in the hospitality industry – having worked with brands like Golden Tulip, Starwood Hotels and Emaar Hospitality Group. He can be reached at hishamd@erevmax.com

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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


GHOTEL hotel & living selects RateTiger for smart online room distribution

German hospitality group GHOTEL hotel & living has selected RateTiger’s industry leading Channel Manager to maximise its distribution reach for its unique accommodation offerings by updating distribution channels efficiently in real-time.
http://www.eglobaltravelmedia.com.au/z-more/technology-more/ghotel-hotel-living-selects-ratetiger-for-smart-online-room-distribution.html

The Future of Hotel Marketing: Social Media Synopsis
Hotel chains that are open to 24/7 online social communications with their fan base can sense the power of a free flowing exchange of ideas, and capitalize on a low-cost marketing channel solution. Communication with customer base via social media channels is now expected as standard, whether these platforms are utilized to shape brand image, facilitate user-generated content or compliment a targeted pay-per-click campaign, social media is vital to the success of a hotel property.
http://hotelexecutive.com/business_review/3441/the-future-of-hotel-marketing-social-media-synopsis

Data transformation key for revenue managers

As more data becomes available, revenue managers must be able to filter and make sense of only the best information in order to achieve their goals, sources said during a Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) webinar. “Some people may say that we’re drowning in data, but I think it’s more accurate to say that we’re drowning in information,” said Kevin Coleman, partner and COO at Intelligent Hospitality, a hotel business intelligence company that provides reporting and analytics for hotel sales, marketing and revenue management.
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/10263/Data-transformation-key-for-revenue-managers

A Call to Arms: How to Shift Market Share from the OTAs to the Hotel Website

 
This year, the hospitality industry is in for a lot of pain. OTA dependency continues to plague the hospitality industry, despite gains in the past three years and positive trends in all three industry indicators. This isn’t new. What’s new is the pain to the bottom line inflicted by the fat commission checks hoteliers are now paying Expedia and other OTAs, due to the widespread adoption of Expedia”s and Booking.com”s agency model in the U.S.
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/column/global/154000392/4060290.html  

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Hotwire completes two-way XML integration with RateTiger

Hotwire.com, a leading discount travel site, has been incorporated into eRevMax’s Channel Eco-System following certification of a two-way XML interface with RateTiger and eRevMax Connect services for hotels. The XML integration will enhance the communication performance between the channel manager and extranet that will allow hotel users to take greater advantage of selling distressed inventory.
Reservations generated by Hotwire can be delivered through RateTiger and eRevMax Connect into the hotel’s property management system. This will significantly reduce time to update reservation data while ensuring all customer data is entered accurately. Moreover, seamless online booking connectivity will enable hotels to process rate and inventory updates through RateTiger’s XML interface transferring data in real-time, while also receiving reservation data from Hotwire bookings.


For more, click here

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JJW Hotels subscribes to RateTiger channel manager to increase online bookings

JJW hotels has selected RateTiger by eRevMax as the channel manager of choice across 23 of its European hotels.The hotel chain will be able to update rates and inventory at property level through RateTiger’s vast distribution network, whilst simultaneously optimising the performance of available inventory from connected channels.
“We require a reliable solution that will meet our demands for price shopping as well as channel management. Having seen the success RateTiger has brought to other hotels with their streamlined approach to revenue management, we’re sure that our new partnership with them will increase revenue, as well as the customer’s booking experience,” said Guy Marwood Finance Director for JJW Hotels & Resorts.

The hotels will benefit from eRevMax’s recently released RateTiger RTSuite 3.0; this latest version comes complete with a new user interface and integrated channel management functionality, and is designed to maximize usability and effectiveness.

For more, read here.
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BW Belgium Achieves 5% Revenue Growth in 2012

Hospitality Solutions has reported 5% growth in revenue for Best Western Belgium with a slight increase in direct online sales for the regional property portfolio. The Group which is using RTSuite in its 25 properties has achieved this growth by using RateTiger channel manager and pricing reports, to improve benchmarking and visibility of prices and packages across third party sales channels (OTAs), while systematically improving operational efficiencies for the revenue management team.

“By implementing a quality standard in strategy and technology we can homogenize the sales environment for hotels to make it easier for all staff members to understand. RateTiger, for example, will allow any member of staff to simply Close-Out the hotel across all sales channels should it become fully-booked. This control ensures we maintain good relationships with OTAs.” said Michael Thiry, Distribution Manager.
The key strategy for Hospitality Solutions was to draw reservations from OTAs towards the direct brand website of the member property. In 2012 OTAs achieved a minimum revenue increase of just 1.02%, compared to the 5% increase in overall revenue performance. 
    Full story on erevmax.com
     
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    Tianguis Turistico 2012

    I had the pleasure of attending Tianguis Turístico this year which is considered Mexico’s largest tourism trade show. Previously held in Acapulco for the last 36 years, this year the Mexican Ministry of Tourism decided to organize the event in Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta in order to promote different regions of the country.

    Tianguis Turístico is an ideal platform to promote Mexico’s vacation destinations to a very specific local and international market, with the purpose of developing destination tourism and related products and services for the tourism sector.
    With over 300 hotels participating, it was good to see discussions revolving around pricing trends and revenue management. With Mexico seeing an increase of 5.5% in inbound tourism, hoteliers are targeting more OTAs and have started realizing the importance of using a channel manager.

    Kudos to the organizing committee at Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta for their excellent teamwork in successfully promoting and executing Tianguis Turístico. It was a well organized event which provided terrific exposure to the region as well as great value to attendees and exhibitors alike. 

    I look forward to Tianguis Turistico Mexico 2013 at a new destination.

    Sheila Martinez Sotelo is Sales Manager – Mexico & USA at eRevMax and is responsible for sale of RateTiger products in the region. She can be reached at sheilas@ratetiger.com
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    Le Salon HBS

    I was in Avignon on 13th & 14th March 2012 to attend a tradeshow organized by HBS dedicated only to hoteliers. Le Salon HBS is a platform that allows hoteliers to come together and look for commercial solutions to improve sales, occupancy, RevPAR or how to simply manage marketing online and offline. This is a unique opportunity for them to meet other players including online travel agencies, web solution providers, aggregators, channel managers, GDS companies and technology providers among others.

    With a good mix of hoteliers, students and suppliers, the discussions revolved around topics like yield management, marketing and social media. With the continuous evolution of online bookings, hoteliers from tier two cities are also starting to acknowledge the need for revenue and channel management solutions. I witnessed this growing awareness as many hoteliers and consultants flocked to the RateTiger stand to know more about our solutions and how it helps.



    HBS invited us to deliver a presentation on “How to Maximize Online Revenue?” which I conducted to a receptive audience. Le Salon is the first of its kind event in France and the feedback we received is very encouraging. Moreover, it is a great platform to establish new relations and to track business with existing partners. I look forward to other such interesting events from the HBS stall.

    Well done Team HBS!!

    Stefan Casimir is Sales Manager – France at eRevMax and is responsible for sale of RateTiger products in the region. He can be reached at stefanc@ratetiger.com