Avi Arya leads a conversation with a Revenue Manager and Front Office Manager about keeping hotel guests coming back. They discuss pricing strategies, occupancy challenges, and why direct human interaction still matters more than you'd think in hospitality.
So Mr. Ramesh, you tell me how today market is changing and so how much is it about price and how much. See, because price sensitivity market, the market defines the price.
Right.
But then like the CEO of Expedia just recently said that if you. If I'm sending you a guest once and next time he's coming to me directly, then next time he should come to you directly. So what is your strategy for retaining.
Fog? I like the sound of.
That'S what is happening. Because every time who is booking through OTAs? So to extending the street through us.
Okay.
So we make sure the extinction will happen through us.
How do you do that?
Through front office.
Okay.
So personal. So there's no software. There's a human being who has to.
Come in only there, you know, for everything. Unfortunately, it's very difficult still that you. You can develop a software. You still need that human intervention. Especially in our industry.
Right?
Yeah.
But if you give an example of that Japanese hotel which is 100% with a robotech, that's. That's different. Yeah, that's a different ball game. We do not know how is it going to.
So tell me like, you know, we had this question in the webinar also that if you know that in the 10 next 15 days. After 15 days your hotel is sitting at 30% occupancy. But right now and your trend shows that your bookings happened in the last 72 hours. But things can change.
Correct.
So would you panic and take on booking at a lower price right now or wait.
No, I'll say the. I'm also the same webinar you told. So if it is hard, zero occupancy on that day. But we have a demand, we have a past data which says we'll get a business on those days. But I'll wait the call because it's a city hotel. We have a three days or two days lead time.
Right.
We'll pick up two days to three days limit.
Right.
So I'll wait for a call. I don't want to go to the lowest price, which is will lead you to the L. The lowest L. So end of the day will not profitable. You're taking a 100% occupancy with 2000 or 1500 rupees. I can hold it for till three days.
Right.
So tell me one risk that revenue managers, you know, take. Because you know, you will go to the GM and you say okay fine, the projections are going to match out. But sometime in your you taking a risk, you know, you're like, okay, I'LL pick it up in the last 72 hours. It might not happen. What are the risks sometimes revenue managers have to take? Because today, yesterday also I was talking to some hoteliers. They said that you have to be. You have to have the guts to say no to some kind of business and say yes, I'm going to go after the yield and profitability. So what are the risks that sometimes revenue managers have to take?
Yeah, that's correct. We have a cuts to say no every time it's not possible to profitable go on profitability. So as a 44 rooms property we cannot take 100% occupancy of growth. We have to open with at least few rooms on online. We'll miss out the few of the customer who's looking at the last moment.
Right.
I'll say. I'll say front office. Also we don't want to sold out. We don't want to sold out in any condition. I'll miss out one person who's traveling to my city. I'll lose out my visibility. So 100% I'll not take.
Okay.
Say profitable. Also I'll say we'll take up to 50% is okay.
We will try and make a very healthy rift bar situation.
Kind of.
That's what. So g. Do you plan this every day for the next 30 days or once a week or what's your every day? Every day we in the evening we.
See what's the pickup, how's the train.
And then we take a proper day and then next.
But not necessarily that we have to change our decision every day.
Understood.
Yeah, we just go through how is it going? If it's as per historical regard and if we see we are on target.
Right.
Then there is no need to tinker too many things.
Right.
We will try and see one or two dates.
Right.
I said from last three days we have been almost quite heavily booked like 95%. Right. But next two, three days we are low so we will not change so much. We'll see how it goes because I'm.
Sure it will pick up.
Okay.
And when it comes to your reservation, Steve and your phone calls and you know people call it the reception because your hotel is very well known and centrally located when people call.
So you.
There is a. There is a mechanism to keep checking how these people are responding as they're getting, you know, a certain number of calls converted and all.
Yes.
Okay.
After we tied up with the Internet mobile, we have a chat system, right? That's right. So we check how much is the conversion happening how much she's converting.
Right.
And most of the calls coming at reception are repeat guests.
Right, right.
And they would call, as I said earlier, they would call and ask for that specific person or they'll call back after some time. That's amazing.
Yeah, that's amazing.
That's amazing. Right? That's what I like about so you.
Know, what I like about what you just said was that human beings are still relevant in this industry, you know, and you have to work hard, meet each and every guest, create that personal relationship. You can't put 10 softwares and say.
My, I do data analytics only. And it worked because of that.
No.
Yes, that's important.
Yeah.
So you need human beings to make relationships every day so that customers can come back to you. See, that's the thing that most of the hotel. It's like I always say, it's like going to the gym. You go to the gym, you tell people, these are the five exercises you have to do. You have to take care of your diet. 90 people don't do it. And then they keep complaining. Can you give me a pill or can you give me a belt? I wear on this and I lose.
Weight.
But there is no sonar belt and shortcut in doing anything.
Okay, great.
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