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An enhanced iHotelier® and IDeaS integration enables hoteliers to automatically deliver best available rate (BAR) based on guest length of stay to more effectively manage average daily rate (ADR).
While the global hospitality industry continues to experience significant business impact from COVID-19, shifting market demand has some hoteliers transitioning from crisis management to longer-term recovery strategies. Today, hoteliers are seeing increased competition for bookings as a result of shifting consumer behaviors, changes in the competitive landscape, and new challenges presented by technology-savvy distribution partners such as OTAs. In this unprecedented time, hoteliers need to rethink their message and pricing position to ensure they are gaining their fair share of direct bookings.
As pressure to capture more demand increases, hoteliers must consider all factors that can contribute to a hotel’s revenue contribution. While simply reducing rates for a more competitive price can seem like a logical tactic in the face of greater competition, it can do more harm than good to overall revenue strategy.
“Significantly reducing ADR offers some short-term gains, but it can take twice as long to recover and return to normal rates. This approach can be detrimental to overall revenue strategy,” says Curtis Brewer, SVP, Guest Management, Reservations, Website, and Video solutions, Amadeus. “Our goal is to provide hoteliers with the most effective tools to manage their rates as they implement their recovery strategies. By offering flexible pricing based on a guest’s length of stay, hotels can incentivize guests to book extended accommodations and ultimately drive more revenue for the business.”
Industry experts also agree that hoteliers should resist the urge to simply lower rates and instead explore alternate ways of delivering value to guests. “Don’t tank your price and assume that will drive demand,” says Cristina Polo, HSMAI Advisory Board member, EMEA. “Think beyond your room price as the sole driver of your pricing strategy. Work closely with sales and marketing to expand your pricing strategy to include new packages or offerings that align with new traveler expectations.”
Providing guests with a more attractive rate based on their length of stay is one approach hoteliers can implement to ensure they can manage their revenue strategy while meeting customer expectations. According to Joseph Martino, chief business development officer at IDeaS, “Providing a better rate based on length of stay has a dual benefit for the hotelier. It allows them to deliver a potentially more attractive booking to the guest, while also enabling the hotelier to maintain ADR. This functionality can be especially beneficial for properties looking to attract a wider range of guest types and segments by offering the right price to the right person.”
Understanding that hoteliers need access to as many resources as possible when building their recovery strategies, Amadeus and IDeaS recently partnered to deliver an enhanced integration that enables more effective revenue management and demand generation. With this new “Best Available Rate by Length of Stay” capability, the systems automatically adjust the best available rate presented to a guest based on the length of stay they enter, delivering a completely flexible best available rate that is monitored and altered by the system on the back-end without the need for further input from hoteliers.
Brewer comments, “This integration provides hotels with the ability to optimize pricing strategies. They can hold ADR for shorter stays, while giving a better rate for a longer stay, without forcing hoteliers to merchandise a discount. It’s an easy ‘set-and-forget’ tactic that frees hoteliers up to optimize revenue in other ways.”
Martino adds, “We’re committed to leading the hotel industry through recovery by supporting operational efficiency and intelligent decision-making. In partnership with Amadeus, this new best available rate by length of stay functionality delivers our mutual clients an additional tool to succeed in these trying times.”
The full best available rate by length of stay functionality will be live in October, with more exciting partnership news to come on Amadeus’ and IDeaS’ ongoing efforts to support hospitality recovery.
Explore additional crisis management and recovery resources in Amadeus’ dedicated recovery portal and IDeaS’ hotel industry support hub to discover new ways to support your evolving recovery strategies.
