#21 HIC NEWS OF THE WEEK

Happy Monday, Dear Readers! 🌟

As the new week unfolds, we’re here to kickstart your Monday morning with a dose of inspiration and insights. Remember, Mondays are not just the start of another workweek; they’re an opportunity to set the tone for success and growth.

As the week ahead holds a treasure trove of topics for you to explore, we’ve got quite the lineup in store:

🌐 GauVendi Takes Another Step Towards an Open, Feature-Based Inventory Platform – Discover how GauVendi is shaping the future of inventory platforms.

🛏️ New Approaches to Room Allocation or Which Room Gets Assigned to Which Guest? – Dive into the fascinating world of room allocation strategies.

🏨 Booking.com Genius “free room upgrade” and “free breakfast”: once again the OTA wins and you lose – Uncover the dynamics of OTA strategies and what it means for your business.

💼 Montcalm leverages Cendyn’s SEO services and achieves 42% organic YOY revenue – Learn from the success story of Montcalm and Cendyn’s SEO collaboration.

🤖 Technology: replacing people or finding people? – Delve into the evolving role of technology in the workforce.

So, grab your favorite Monday morning brew, take a deep breath, and get ready to explore these exciting topics with us. Let’s conquer this week together! 💪✨

Happy week!
Laura and Jess

Booking.com Genius “free room upgrade” and “free breakfast”: once again the OTA wins and you lose.

– by Mirai

In the quest for visibility, hotels often turn to OTAs (Online Travel Agencies), but not all visibility boosters are as effective as they seem. Booking.com offers two enticing programs, “free room upgrade” and “free breakfast,” but are they worth it? Here’s a quick overview:

Key Takeaways:

These programs are available to Genius 2 and 3 members or those with five stays in two years.

Booking.com promotes them as ways to boost your property and attract high-value guests.
You pay standard commissions, and there can be additional financial costs if you receive virtual credit card payments.
You can limit the programs’ impact with daily room upgrade caps, booking windows, and blackout dates, but few hotels actually use these restrictions.
Room upgrades are limited to your cheapest or best-selling room types.
Key questions to ask are about incremental revenue and cannibalization. Can you measure the extra income from these programs, and how many guests who would have booked anyway are getting free upgrades or breakfasts?
Booking.com lacks transparent reporting on these matters, making it challenging for hoteliers to make informed decisions.
The programs may also hurt your direct channel, as Booking.com can undercut you on prices, potentially diverting loyal guests to their platform.

Read the full article here.

New Approaches to Room Allocation or Which Room Gets Assigned to Which Guest?

– by Gauvendi

In the hotel industry, room allocation has traditionally been a manual process, but is it still the most effective approach in today’s changing landscape? This article explores the challenges and potential solutions for optimizing room assignments.

Key Takeaways:

Manual room allocation is time-consuming, especially for larger properties, and often requires adjustments due to changing occupancy and demand.
Skilled employees can allocate rooms effectively, but there is a shortage of such personnel, leading to increased costs and inefficiencies.
Various criteria, such as guest preferences, room categories, and occupancy, need to be considered for effective room allocation.
The article suggests that detailed room inventory and artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionize room assignment by making it intelligent, automated, and dynamic.
AI-based room assignment can save time, reduce costs, and better accommodate guest preferences, ultimately maximizing revenue.

Read the full article here.

GauVendi Takes Another Step Towards an Open, Feature-Based Inventory Platform.

– by Gauvendi

GauVendi, known for its innovative AI-driven booking experience, is expanding its inventory management approach to create an open, feature-based inventory platform. This evolution allows accommodation businesses and technology providers to streamline sales, distribution, operations, and marketing without undergoing major system overhauls.

CEO Markus Müller states, “We aim to offer every operator the opportunity to distribute their inventory in a scalable manner, much like it was previously only possible through personal sales – and all of it fully automated.” GauVendi’s open API interface enables technology providers to sell customizable inventory through their platforms seamlessly, acting as an additional layer in their tech stack.

Key Takeaways:

GauVendi is transforming inventory management with an open, feature-based platform.
Accommodation businesses can benefit from highly automated processes without system overhauls.
The platform offers a unique feature-based language and dynamic product management system.
AI recommendations enhance the guest experience and optimize room assignments.
The new data structure enables advanced automation and intelligent room assignments.
Personalization is crucial in today’s hospitality industry, and GauVendi addresses this need effectively.

Read the full article here.

Montcalm Boosts Organic Revenue by 42% with Cendyn’s SEO Services.

– by Cendyn

In a bid to reduce expenses associated with OTA (Online Travel Agency) commissions, the Montcalm Group turned to Cendyn with the aim of driving organic web traffic and maximizing revenue. Their primary objective was to establish their official website as the go-to booking platform and create an online booking system that was not only user-friendly but also offered opportunities for upselling and cross-selling, providing a seamless direct booking experience.

Cendyn’s solution involved a strategic SEO approach that highlighted the Montcalm Group’s luxurious accommodations, exceptional restaurant options, and spa offerings. They achieved this by crafting engaging hotel descriptions, creating informative travel guides, and showcasing local attractions on the website and blog. Through these efforts, they sought to build deeper trust and loyalty with their target audience.

Furthermore, Cendyn collaborated with influencers as part of the SEO content strategy, securing valuable backlinks that enhanced the brand’s authority and attracted valuable traffic. Additionally, Cendyn’s optimization efforts, including Google My Business and local directories, improved visibility in local search results, drawing the attention of potential new guests.

The comprehensive strategy implemented by Cendyn resulted in significant achievements for the Montcalm Group between July 2022 and June 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year:

Growth in Organic Sessions: 11%
Growth in Organic Revenue: 42%
Growth in Average Order Value: 17%
Growth in Organic Traffic from Blog: 9%

Read the full article here.

Technology: replacing people or finding people?

– by MyCruiting

Automation in hotels is a trend that is becoming more and more prominent and brings us new ideas but also challenges every day.
We can now no longer imagine all channels without self-check-ins, food vending machines and a digital guest journey.
We use technology to combat the “skills shortage” by replacing more and more jobs with technology.
But 2023 and also 2024 is not the year when technology replaces our need for humanity, closeness and human interaction.
As hoteliers, we should ask ourselves how we want to shape our future. Certainly with the guest at the centre, but also with other human components. Hotels need people, otherwise they are accommodation solutions.
Hotels lose employees and do not find new blood, because our future cannot be managed with an 8-year-old system – and yes, that is “not old”, but in the digital world it is virtually the stone age. Employees go to companies that are modern in technology, because they understand what added value a good system landscape has for their work and also their peace of mind.

The great “side effect”: our employees finally have time again for what we all love so much about hospitality: interpersonal interaction!
And that contributes to peace of mind and especially to the loyalty of employees to our companies. People build an emotional bond and can also take the time to care for their colleagues, build a bond and thus also commit to an employer and workplace in the long term.
We don’t retain employees only with a 4-day week or a job bike. We have to do more to create a real bond with the company. And then it won’t be so difficult to recruit new staff!

Here you get to MyCruiting.

#21 HIC NEWS OF THE WEEK

Booking.com Genius “free room upgrade” and “free breakfast”: once again the OTA wins and you lose.

New Approaches to Room Allocation or Which Room Gets Assigned to Which Guest?

GauVendi Takes Another Step Towards an Open, Feature-Based Inventory Platform.

Montcalm Boosts Organic Revenue by 42% with Cendyn’s SEO Services.

Technology: replacing people or finding people?

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