Case Study: Ensuring the best tech systems are in place to attract local business

Property

Location: Regional Victoria

Type of Accommodation: Motel   

Number of Rooms: 53

Opportunity

A second-generation, family-owned motel located in a thriving regional centre in Victoria that is well known for its tourism, corporate, and medical-led visitation.

The property is well maintained, offering all the standard amenities guests are seeking in a regional motel: pool, onsite restaurant and bar, car parking, good Wi-Fi, friendly staff, and a great aggregated guest review score.

As a member of their peak tourism industry body, the business was eligible for local council funding for a capped number of hours of independent consultancy work that could be used to identify opportunities within the areas of revenue management, distribution, sales and marketing to be applied within their business, and contributing to its improved profitability.

RevenYou has been retained to deliver this programme with the owner able to select from the areas of revenue management, distribution, sales or marketing or a combination of areas following a one-hour investigative interview to identify their primary and secondary priorities.

During the initial call, it was identified that the client would like to focus their time on their Global Distribution System (GDS) as they felt their corporate market penetration was low when compared to their competitor set. They had identified the opportunity to capture greater market share, however, were unsure how to optimise their current GDS set up to undertake this.

With any remaining time, they asked us to review their Property Management System (PMS) and Channel Manager: paying particular attention to their pricing strategy with the aim of moving to a more dynamic model that gave greater demand flexibility to accommodate the region’s peaks and troughs. In addition, they wanted to take the opportunity to have an independent assessment of their current tech stack undertaken with a view to identify areas for simplification while ensuring a return on investment.

Actions

• Reviewed current GDS ‘European-based supplier:

o   Identified that the consortia programmes’ the motel was currently enrolled in were ‘free / enhanced commission only’ focused on targeting European-based agents and not appropriate for the Australian travel market.

o   Sourced quotes for Australian-focused consortia programmes and made recommendations based on their location, style of business and proven history in the local area.

o   Identified that the key consortia programme for Australian accommodation providers produces upwards of $500k in room night revenue for the motel’s three main competitors in the region. Coordinated the motel’s participation with a 10% discounted rate.

o   Updated the motel’s free Lanyon listing with latest photos, current facilities, and amenities to ensure the property was best placed to receive pricing requests and tenders from potential corporate clients.

• Reviewed the current PMS and Channel Manager combination as the owner was finding the functionality did not meet their needs and wanted to move to a dynamic pricing model with rates derived from a best available rate (BAR) for easier maintenance.

o   Sourced a variety of quotes and demonstrations with the owner electing to stay with their current PMS but move to a new Channel Manager that offered greater flexibility and functionality.

o   Set up the new Channel Manager implementing the preferred dynamic pricing strategy.

o   Created 1:1 mapping in the Channel Manager for greater insights on corporate GDS production.

o   Once on the new Channel Manager, we were able to move the hotel to an Australian-based GDS provider and enrol in a selection of new Consortia Programmes with a proven history for producing in their location.

o   With the set up completed, audited and training completed with the motel’s team, the systems were handed back for their ongoing management.

Outcomes

• The motel is seeing an increased production from corporate clients due to improved visibility from the new consortia programme listings.

• The motel is enjoying a reduction in time required to manage their pricing strategy with rates now derived with a simple dynamic model in play.

Next Steps:

With the above work completed as part of the council grant, it was our recommendation that the motel now direct their focus to reviewing their current sales and marketing activity. By establishing and building relationships with corporate travel agents and bookers they can position their property for inclusion in the 2025 Request for Proposal (RFP) season.