Anna Ransom
By: Jerome Wise, Vice President, UK & Ireland and Enterprise Clients, Hospitality, Amadeus
At the time of writing, the last thing UK-based hoteliers need is another article from a technology company telling them that technology is the silver bullet, and that all they need to do to get their business back on track is to buy this or that piece of software and bingo! – occupancy will be close to 80%, RevPAR will be ahead of 2019, glowing reviews will be posted on social review sites and forward bookings will be through the roof…
If only that were the case. Fortunately for the UK hospitality industry, not all technology companies are created equally. We know it’s not that simple.
Our approach at Amadeus has always been to position our products and services as an enabler of business improvement, not an improvement in and of itself. We know that our systems need to be interoperable with other providers in the ecosystem and design them accordingly – agile, open, flexible.
Our ability to connect multiple touch points of the traveler journey through data and technology gives us a holistic view of the wider market and a laser-focused view onto an individual hotel’s market conditions.
Demanding times for planning ahead
COVID-19 is likely to continue influencing bigger picture questions around supply and demand for the immediate future. If the government says hotels can’t open, there is no supply. But even when travel is closed down, there is still demand. During the lockdown, people were still searching for travel and visiting web sites, even if a destination was off-limits at the time. Hotel websites saw lots of looking, not much booking.
So, the questions for hoteliers are how can I anticipate demand and how can I be ready to capture it when it comes through?
Price will remain a very strong driver of demand and devising a fit for purpose post-crisis pricing strategy aggregates many of the challenges facing hoteliers today. Historical pricing trends – as well as all historical trends – have been rendered obsolete by the pandemic. Pricing teams will need to devise a new strategy to appeal to loyal guests while welcoming different guests, from different source markets
To read the full article, visit Modern Hospitality.
For more research, insight, and tips to help your property rebuild travel, click here. To read more content for the UK & Ireland, visit our regional page.
