The Role Of A Revenue Manager

The role of a revenue manager today isn’t just about crunching the numbers – it’s a 360 degree cycle of profit making through innovation

- Madhulika Dash

Every hotel room not sold, is dead – in 1980s, this was single, most important reason that led to the inception of a specialised segment we today call revenue management. The expectation from revenue managers was simple and straight: They had to generate incremental revenues using the basic principles of supply and demand economics in a tactical manner. But not for long. With travellers looking for more than just the frills of a luxurious bed and bathroom and the hugely tricky social media as the ticking bomb, the role has changed. The revenue manager's role has expanded to include more areas of focus and work area and is far more complex. Saket Gupta, VP, sales & marketing, Mars Enterprises, Vijayan Gangadharan, GM, Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Serviced Apartments, Pune, Ashish Vohra, founder & CEO, jüSTa Hotels & Resorts, Kunal Gujral, VP, sales & marketing, Resort Rio, Goa, Jai Kishan, GM, Novotel Kolkata Hotel & Residences, Sanjay Nagalia, COO, IDeaS Revenue Solutions and Avinash Lodha, CEO, RezNext Global Solutions talk about the changing rules of revenue management – and the road ahead.

How has the revenue management role changed over a period of time? 

Saket Gupta: Earlier revenue management was all about maintaining a balance between your corporate, walk-ins, travel agents and hotel website bookings; today it is more about creative negotiation, better liaisoning and effective OTA collaboration, especially since now OTAs contribute significantly towards the revenue. In a market where everyone is trying to increase their share, it is extremely important to keep a check on rate parity. Revenue managers need to be well-versed with marketing as well.