Demand Management

[Excerpt] More than ever before, you and your operation need expertise in demand management, which involves strategies and tactics to encourage your guests to book your hotel or restaurant by dynamically managing demand to optimize revenue while securing customer relationships for the long term. What that means is that you and your managers must constantly oversee and adjust your operation\u27s use of distribution channels to reach target customer segments; build on and enhance existing customer relationships; and take effective revenue management actions to achieve an objective balance of near-term profitability and long-term viability. This chapter explains the rapid evolution of demand management in the hospitality industry. I review the many changes in distribution—most of them driven by the rise of the Internet—that have placed the burden of demand management squarely on your shoulders as a chain staff member, regional chain manager, or manager of a local property. At the moment, demand management in most hotels and restaurants is being handled by different positions in different organizations. If you are handling demand management, your title may be marketing manager, revenue manager, or sales manager (or you may have all of those responsibilities with a different title). If more than one person in your operation has demand management responsibility, they may not report to the same boss or even coordinate activities with the same staff group. With the background and strategies presented in this chapter, your firm should move toward a program of integrated demand management, using all distribution and media channels. With an integrated demand management program, you and your managers will make integrated decisions about pricing, promotion, distribution channel management, and customer relationship management (CRM)