The best Revenue Managers can raise RevPAR 3 – 7 % and have enormous impact on the bottom line. Actually the title Revenue Manager does not do justice to the role as it is not an “accounting” role but a specialised analytical discipline. I like to think RM is either in your DNA or not, you either love it or know pretty quickly that it is not for you. Yet at times it is still quite an under valued and misunderstood area of a hotel’s operation if it even exists at all.
The role of Revenue Manager can be a lonely walk at times however if you are up for the challenge the satisfaction from these positions can be enormous. Seeing the impact on the operations bottom line from successful strategies deployed is very rewarding. The hotel industry with it’s fixed capacity allows for real & visible measurement of tactics deployed unlike the Airline Industry where aircraft size can change last minute totally out of your control.
The job description and responsibilities vary from chain to chain as do value in corporate structure but regardless of the property nearly all Revenue Management Managers perform multifunctional roles that extend far beyond optimising demand and accurate forecasting.
Some of the key strengths of the role are –
Technology – adverse with sophisticated RM systems and a strong analytical drive to question past and future actions
Relationship Skills – Managing people and building relationships
Creative & Innovative Thinking
Effective Sales Ability – not sales people by profession a large part of their role is to “sell” recommendations to other key internal stakeholders
Property Management Experience – Important to understand the unique characteristics if each hotel’s market segments
Solid Communication Skills – Excellent communicators, listeners and presenters