What you don't know about integrations across revenue and marketing can hurt your near-term P&L and overall business growth.
Integration is more than a software buzzword; it’s vital for hoteliers looking to maximize revenue throughout the customer lifecycle. From gaining visibility in a Google-dominated landscape to stepping up CRM targeting, a seamless revenue optimization product suite provides key advantages in finding new customers, driving direct bookings and growing both overall revenue and revenue per booking.
The shift from siloed systems to integrated solutions not only expands capabilities for each part of the find/book/grow equation; it also creates new opportunities with synergistic data flows. The future success of hotels relies on operating as a true commercial organization, fostering seamless relationships in technology and between departments to maximize profitability for their business.
In this exclusive interview with Hotel Investment Today, Michael Bennett, president and chief marketing officer at Cendyn, delves into breakthrough capabilities of new tools such as their company’s Revenue Growth Package and how they can help hoteliers unlock the revenue potential of today’s digital economy.
Here, he pinpoints best-practice strategies to create revenue optimization worthy of the name.
1. Master the pockets of opportunity in a highly complex booking environment.
The driving factor: Growing demand has led to an increasingly fragmented booking landscape (which also rattled OTAs enough to hit record marketing spends last year)'
What hoteliers need to know: “When we talk about impact, people tend to think of Booking.com and Expedia as the major drivers,” said Bennett. “However, while they may lead in conversions, Google's role has quadrupled in impact and influence when it comes to how people research travel and their destinations.
In fact, 90% of bookings originate on Google, putting search engine visibility at the top of the to-do list for conversions, he explained. AI-driven marketing can create look-alike audiences (groups with similar demographic and behavioral attributes to existing customers) across platforms such as Google and Meta, improving targeting and maximizing marketing and advertising spend.
“This strategy has become smarter, faster and more accessible for hotels of all sizes, not just those with large budgets,” said Bennett.
2. Uncover revenue potential hidden within the booking process.
The driving factor: Owners, investors and developers looking at asset performance need to look beyond direct room bookings and capitalize on how to dig deeper for upselling and conversion opportunities.
What hoteliers need to know: Software has moved beyond simply cross-checking rates. It now layers intel from competitors, third-party sites and consumer demand with messaging and configurable offers for a full suite of strategies to maximize bookings and revenue per guest. Meeting or undercutting OTA pricing is digital marketing 101 – from Google visibility to avoiding what Bennett estimates as a 36% drop in conversions if the direct booking rate isn’t the best.
Technology solutions such as Cendyn turn an essential step – every guest has to book their stay somewhere – into a built-in platform for targeting new and existing customers.
Tailored marketing captures prospects and uses a sense of urgency to drive conversions within existing ad spend. Displaying OTA pricing, messaging, time-bound taglines and strike-through pricing translates to a 56% higher conversion rate on average, according to Bennett. Add-ons and upgrades can also drive bookings. So can integrating loyalty programs into the booking engine, helping encourage return bookings.
“Engaging in paid media and marketing will help find new guests, but hotels also need to work on driving loyalty from existing ones,” said Bennett. Hoteliers can leverage features such as configurable loyalty rewards and personalized offers to enhance relationships with already-engaged guests.
3. Upgrade data to drive customer acquisition and loyalty.
The driving factor: Finding demand to match hotels and brands with potential guests requires a level of personalization and targeting only possible with extensive, accessible data.
What hoteliers need to know: “First-party data isn't just nice to have; it's essential for hoteliers moving forward. It’s one of the most significant competitive advantages that a hotel possesses," said Bennett. "Shifting a hotelier’s mindset towards database growth and data hygiene is the best way for hotels to stay competitive and reduce reliance on OTAs.”
Hoteliers will need to ensure that not only do they capture and manage as many data points as possible, but that all data is collected accurately and in accordance with regional regulations (such as GDPR). Integrated platforms such as Cendyn’s rely on extensive data from multiple sources; Cendyn’s CRM alone pulls from its booking engine, PMS, stay data and more.
First party data….is one of the most significant competitive advantages a hotel possesses.”
Michael Bennett
That information holds the keys to lowering customer acquisition costs and maximizing channel performance. CRM targeting capabilities enable Cendyn to tailor marketing for new and repeat guests across channels from email to WhatsApp.
Vital stats hoteliers need to know
With so much data available, it can be daunting for hoteliers to evaluate revenue optimization offers and, once one is put in place, tracking the increasingly sophisticated reporting on results. Bennett recommended focusing on these key metrics to evaluate current or potential solutions:
● Cost of commission per booking
● Growth in revenue
● Size, value and growth of direct bookings
● Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
● Conversion rates, open rate, and click-through rates
He added that an integrated approach simplifies understanding of cost per channel and longer-term distribution and marketing strategy.
“Connecting the dots and coupling first-party data with the right marketing and media strategies allows hoteliers to find new guests, drive them to book and grow revenue,” he said.
Mary Scoviak is custom and design content director at Hotel Investment Today.
The views and opinions expressed in this content do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel Investment Today or Northstar Travel Group and its affiliated companies.