How Hotels Can Leverage Channel Management to Increase Profit By Karan Iyer

All hotels across the industry share a common goal – maximizing hotel revenue to be able to maximize profits. But that isn’t possible unless you leverage every booking opportunity. And that’s exactly where the channel management system comes into play.
What is hotel channel management?

Channel management is the process of managing hotel distribution channels and making your property available for booking to not one, but many distribution agents. Channel managers for hotels ensure that the potential guests have access to live availability and rates at all times so that you can sell maximum rooms. 

Here are a few benefits of having a channel manager for your hotel:

• No errors in rate adjustments and inventory updates

• Connection to a wide network of OTA profiles to increase conversions

• No risk of overbooking

• Dynamic pricing to increase bookings even during the off-season

• Tracking of competitors’ room rates available 

• Easy monitoring of room rates and OTA performance

Hotel Distribution Channels that You Need to Leverage 

Every hotel distribution channel has its own importance. Let’s understand each one separately. 

OTAs – OTA stands for an online travel agency. OTAs are third-party travel agents who showcase your OTA profile and get you bookings. A few examples would be Trivago, MakeMyTrip, Expedia.com, HomeAway, Booking.com, etc. 

Travellers today prefer booking online after rate comparison on various OTAs. In fact, as per a survey by Adara, a travel data company, 52% of millennials surveyed said that they prefer booking hotels through OTAs. Therefore, as a hotel manager, you should create an OTA presence of your hotel to increase your reach.  And a channel manager will synchronize your hotel PMS and data with the OTAs to maximize your bookings. 

Direct Channel – A direct channel is your hotel website. A lot of travellers visit the hotel website to make their final decision. Therefore, you must ensure a great user experience to make your website stand out. Moreover, with direct bookings, you will be able to save on commissions. 

Here are a few tips to increase direct bookings:

• Ensure rate parity across all channels but offer discounts on registration on your website.

• Allow flexible cancellations and easy refunds.

• Offer freebies with bookings that may include drinks, spa services, etc. 

• Offer cost-effective packages to encourage direct bookings. 

• Allow subscription to newsletters so that guests can receive promotions and discount details.

Global Distribution System (GDS) – A GDS is somewhere between offline and online channels. It is one of the most far-reaching channels that can target travellers that you may never be able to reach on your own. 

Leverage GDS to attract corporate bookings since it connects you to the world’s most recognized travel agents and companies. Create value-rich deals so that you can encourage these agents to make mass bookings for their clients with you. 

Offline Bookings – Offline bookings should never be overlooked since many travellers still find booking rooms online uncomfortable. Always keep some rooms available for guests who walk indirectly. It will also improve your brand reputation. 

A good hotel channel manager will create a mix of all these channels to ensure that your overall booking rate is maximized, and so is your revenue. Do your research and choose a reliable channel management system for your hotel. 

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Brief about the writer

Karan Iyer is an end-to-end digital marketer and blogger at Aiosell who inherently understands the hotel industry with his hospitality background. Karan knows how to convert the pain points and challenges of the hotel industry into business opportunities, and that’s what he writes about for his readers. He also shares industry trends, insights, and news to help his readers stay up-to-date. 

NEWS | Bihar Tourism cancels all April events amid spike in Covid cases

Bihar Tourism Department has cancelled all events planned for April and is considering revising events planned for May amid the spike in Covid-19 cases, reports Roopa Sopam for Hindustan Times.

As per this year’s calendar released by the department, Patna Sahib Festival, to be held on the occasion of Vaishakhi on April 13, has been cancelled. Later in the month, Vaishali Mahotsav, which was planned for April 25, has also been cancelled. The Department has been hosting the mahotsav for decades to mark birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir.

Besides this, events such as Kundalpur Mahotsav in Nalanda, Lacchuar Mahotsav at Lacchuar in Jamui, Thawe Mahotsav in Gopalganj and Mundeshwari Mahotsav in Bhabua, also scheduled for this month, have been cancelled.

“The events have been cancelled due to the growing Covid threat. No tourism festival will be held in April. The government has already issued guidelines for public functions,” State Tourism Minister Narayan Prasad said.

The Ministry is yet to take a call on events planned for May. Prasad said though there are prescribed precautions to be taken to stop the spread of coronavirus infection, it will be difficult to keep things under control during such public functions.

“Even the programme of Union tourism minister Prahlad Singh Patel has been revised due to Covid. He was to visit west Champaran to attend the Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on April 10. Now, the programme has been postponed to May 1,” he said.

In 2020 as well, the state had to cancel a majority of events because of the pandemic. Mukesh Kumar, manager at a hotel run by the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation, said, “Events such as Buddha Purnima, Rajgir Mahotsav and Sonepur fair had to be cancelled.” (Source: Hindustan Times)

THE LAUNDRY ROOMS PLANS EXPANSION OF SHORT-TERM-RENTAL CONCEPT

TORONTO — The Laundry Rooms Inc. has aligned with Urban Reform Realty to source locations across Canada for the continued roll-out of its extended-stay residential-hotel model.

Urban Reform Realty is targeting amenity-rich residential mixed-use building sites in Ontario cities — including Hamilton, London, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton — as well as Montreal, to add to The Laundry Room’s five existing locations, presently under development.

The Laundry Rooms offers a light-touch, guest-management model that allows guests to minimize interactions with staff if they choose, featuring remote check-in, keyless entry, virtual concierge and on-demand housekeeping.

“We could not be happier to be part of The Laundry Rooms’ expansion. They bring true value and an unprecedented experience to multi-residential developers with their unique approach to the ‘new-wave’ of hospitality,” says Bryce Dymond, principal, Urban Reform. “The Laundry Rooms will likely become the cornerstone of mixed-use developments and provide a unique opportunity to landlords seeking alternative options for retail space. They are truly redefining the hotel experience in Canada.”

The Laundry Rooms aims to re-invent the short-term-rental market and is targeting regionally dominant, amenity-rich residential developments with ground-floor retail close to employment, entertainment, educational and health drivers. Walkability and neighborhood character also weigh heavily in the site-selection process.

“We are pleased to partner with Urban Reform given their love of walkable, transit-friendly neighborhoods and their solid experience in unique, mixed-use developments and deep-rooted connections to the landlord community,” says Matthew Opferkuch, CEO of The Laundry Rooms.

Source

BEST PRACTICES | Welcoming New Talent @ Millennium Place Barsha Heights Hotel and Apartments

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Mental Wellness Initiative @ Ramada Plaza Chennai

International Women’s day celebration at Ramada Plaza Chennai Guindy.

Sandeep Bhatnagar Ramada Plaza Chennai & SRM Hotels

Glad to have prominent psychiatrist Gayathri ji speak about Mental wellness and Emcee Sabreena for the funfilled evening for our lady associates.

Ramada Plaza Chennai

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Hyatt Ahemdabad Promotes Small Local Business-Hyatt Loves Local

At InterContinental Jordan, they have started a new way to communicate with guests!

WEBINAR ON " A DAY IN LIFE OF A GENERAL MANAGER " AT SOHM

Rendezvous "Meet & Greet" is an Academia-Industry Virtual series initiated by the School of Hospitality Management aimed at bringing industry and academia closer.
It is essential for both industry professionals and academicians to maintain a healthy network. Rendezvous "Meet & Greet" Series will aid both to stay updated with the current trends and share knowledge mutually beneficial to one another. Budding hoteliers will meet seasoned professionals and will interact and network for their professional development.
Chapter 5 of Rendezvous-Meet & Greet series themed on “A Day in Life of a General Manager” was with Mr Kumud Singh, General Manager, Jaypee Green Golf and Spa Resort, Greater Noida.
Mr Kumud discussed the various avenues of the General Manager's job and gave valuable inputs on Revenue Management, Stress Management and highlighted the Management Training (M.T.) program. It was a fruitful and knowledgeable session for the students.
The session was conceived by Mr. Sumit Pratap and moderated by Ms. Megha Sharma, Assistant Professor-SoHM

GM Of The Day Initiative @ Grand Hyatt Mumbai

CHRIS K. FRANZEN, Area Vice President –  West India & General Manager –  Grand Hyatt Mumbai Hotel & Residences has been running the GM of the Day Initiative for a while now. A best practice from his days in Oman, Qatar and now India. We at hospemag loved it!

Shashank Pathare was assigned to be the ‘General Manager of the Day’ on 18 January 2021.

Below is the initiative in detail.

GM of the Day - January 2021 - Grand Hyatt Mumbai by Prabhjot Bedi on Scribd

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