Current Impacts on Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management in Greater

China

Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversitySchool of Hotel and Tourism Management

&HSMAI Greater China Chapter

1

Whatever It Was That Got You Where You Are Today Is NOT Sufficient To Keep You There

Presentation

• Question asked• Background for study

– Thought Leaders Study 2009– Development of questions

• Survey method & participants• Top 5 impacts by discipline

– Comparison to Thought Leaders Study

• What didn’t make it• Putting you to work

– How should we address the impacts

• Summary

Question Asked

“Now that more than 2 years have passed since the onset of the global financial crisis, what do you feel are the key impacts it has had on (sales, marketing or revenue management) in the hospitality industry within the Greater China region?”

Thought Leaders Survey 2009• Impacts of economic downturn

– Sales & Sales Management, Marketing and Revenue Management

– Generate Top 5 Impacts in each discipline• Delphi Method

– Multiple Rounds (3)• Panelist - 37• Roundtable discussion

Property/Corporate Impacts

• Development of questions– Top 5 impacts by discipline from

Thought Leaders– Industry publication trends

• Discipline Specific Impacts– Sales and Sales Management (13

items)–Marketing (25 items)– Revenue Management (27 items)

Survey Method

• HSMAI Members distributed through senior level sales, marketing and revenue management executives to the property level– Global chains– Mainland China domestic hotel groups– Independents

• Online survey

Total Participants – 140

• Location– Mainland (85%)– HK (13%)– Taiwan (2%)

• Function area– Sales (43%)– Marketing (38%)– RM (13%)– Others (6%)

• Organization Level– Corporate office

(13%)– Regional office

(10%)– Property level (77%)

• Type of hotel– Global chain (71%)– Mainland domestic (25%)– Independent (4%)

• Experience– Less than 2 years (11%)– 2-5 years (19%)– 6-10 years (17%)– 11-15 years (17%)– More than 15 years (34%)

• Position– GM (2%)– DOS or DOM (28%)– DRM (2%)– Sales Manager ( 19%)– RM ( 10%)– Marketing Manager (11%)– Other (27%)

Results of Top 5 Impacts

Sales and Sales ManagementThought Leaders Impact

1. Hire for attitude and train for skills

2. Understand that relationship/lead selling is often more successful than cold calling

3. Sales team has to be more focused on closing the deal and should be fast in hunting for new business/prospects

4. Keeping the sales team motivated

5. Helping the sales team to focus on closing business

Property/Corporate Level Impact

1. Keeping the sales team motivated

2. Sales team has to be more focused on closing the deal and should be fast in hunting for new business/prospects

3. Training to help sales team members negotiate with confidence

4. Update of market information, tactics, and strategies for all markets as the focus and to follow up on meeting every customer’s needs

5. Understand that relationship/lead selling is often more successful than cold calling

Analysis of Results

• Motivation is #1• Information and training

emphasis• Didn’t indicate need for support

in closing

Question to Contemplate

• Does motivation mean the same thing to Thought Leaders as it does to property level manager?

• What do you train? Closing? Negotiation?

Thought Leaders Roundtable Action Feedback

• Training leadership of sales is key• Know individuals and motivate to their

goals• Relationship selling closes the deal• Need sales training to close the gaps in

skills

MarketingThought Leaders Impact

1. Clearly knowing the target market[s] is essential and to tailor the product/campaign to that

2. Greater use of CRM to enhance loyalty and customer retention

3. Competitive pricing strategy

4. Customer retention is most critical; do not compromise on standard and services just because guests are paying 'promotional or TA rate'

5. Creating a strong and unique marketing message

Property/Corporate Level Impact

1. Customer retention is most critical; do not compromise on standard and services just because guests are paying 'promotional or TA rate'

2. Clearly knowing the target market[s] is essential and to tailor the product/campaign to that

3. Creating a strong and unique marketing message

4. Competition and cooperation will become fierce and imperative among destinations within Greater China

5. Hotel marketing will be more focused on chasing Mainland Chinese customers, because Mainland China has generated tremendous volumes of domestic, inbound and outbound tourism activities

Analysis of Results

• More emphasis on the Mainland China and the resulting competitiveness

• Knowing market and having strong, unique message in common for both

Question to Contemplate

Does tailoring market to Mainland and the resulting competitiveness mean a need for a pricing strategy?

Thought Leaders RoundtableAction Feedback

• Customer retention key to convince owners of need to provide same levels of service

• Marketing initiatives depend on GM support

• Look at expectations versus perceptions of guest not just satisfaction

• Need tools to know customers in each channel

Revenue ManagementThought Leaders Impact

1. Though the focus has shifted to “closing the deal now” or “taking it first then yield later”, revenue management can contribute greatly to a hotel’s positioning through pricing

2. Forecasting becomes critical to effectively staff and manage costs in a downturn

3. Revenue Management is very important when it comes to selecting the right piece of business that will contribute positively to the hotel bottom line

4. Focus on total revenue management across all revenue streams as owners and management concentrate on bottom line

5. Effective distribution in emerging market (e.g., China , India)

Property/Corporate Level Impact1. Future revenue managers will

principally need analytical skills. A formal RM education and negotiation skills would also be useful

2. RevPAR continues to be the most relevant way of measuring RM efficacy

3. OTA’s cannot be ignored, but need to be managed just like any other source of business

4. Dynamic pricing would be the most effective way of increasing RevPAR

5. Technology will play a strong role in future developments within RM

Analysis of Results

• Everything is different• Skills and technology needed• Distribution and dynamic pricing

are keys• RevPAR is the measurement• Thought leaders more focused

on recognition of RM and forecasting

Question to ContemplateWhat skills & technology does revenue

management have to work with? Forecasting?

Is RevPAR the benchmark for making distribution and dynamic pricing decisions?

Is property thinking too narrow

Overall Differences by Category• By Function

– Marketing more important than Sales• Sales team has to be more focused on closing the deal and should

be fast in hunting for new business/prospects*– Revenue Management more important than either Sales or

Marketing• Dynamic pricing would be the most effective way of increasing

RevPAR• Forecasting becomes critical to effectively staff and manage costs

in a downturn*• The revenue management function will become more central to

hotel operations, and will quite likely be a separate department that is under the general manager’s supervision**

• Hiring and training a qualified RM will be the prime challenge facing revenue management **

• By Level of Responsibility– Regional office more important than property on sales

impacts• Keeping the sales team motivated• Training to help sales team members negotiate with confidence• Helping the sales team to focus on closing business*

– No difference between corporate and either level* Thought Leaders Top 5* *Neither Top 5

Thought Leaders RoundtableAction Feedback

• Understand enterprise value/lifetime value of customer with new technologies

• VP of revenue generation?

What Didn’t Make the List• Sales

– Stop giving away room upgrades– Serious price war amongst competitors

• Marketing– Business travel will recover from the recent

recession but business class/executive floors may face changes

– Richer, older and going somewhere - demographic changes will alter Western and Asian travel

• Revenue Management– Hotels will be working with fewer third party

intermediaries– The out-sourcing of hotel revenue management

will increase

Summary• Rightness is the Theme– Right approach to selling/training– Right information– Right customer - Mainland– Right price– Right message– Right tools and technology

• Treat RM with respect• Right person in regional office?

What Do You Think?

• How do we address these impacts?

• What actions to address issues in each discipline?

Thank You

Xie Xie

谢谢！