1-minute video on location at luxury resort The Millcroft Inn & Spa:
Lisa Jane Gibson explains the benefits of yield management with two-way GDS.
More Info on Vintage Hotel’s Yield Management: Customer Story
Innovator: Ms. Lisa Jane Gibson, director of revenue management, Vintage Hotels
Where she innovated: At five luxury destination resort properties, three with spas, in the Niagara-on-the-Lake region and Caledon area of Ontario, Canada.
What she innovated: First, we developed a proactive revenue management strategy incorporating pre-sale of outlet revenues (spa, food and beverage), and then automated its implementation using a single-image database for all five properties with two-way GDS connectivity.
Quote: “In the luxury segment, discounting is not the answer. It is about experience; guests want to get something they do not have at home. Our five properties use a single-database system that fully-integrates the PMS, sales and catering, spa and revenue management modules with our two-way GDS reservation connectivity.
“Two-way GDS connectivity ensures exposure and rate parity across all GDS venues; it also provides time and labor savings. With five hotels, the time it would take to us ensure all avenues are posting the same rates and availability would be staggering; with two-way GDS connectivity, I am able to make necessary adjustments in the PMS only, and be confident the changes are received across all channels.
“This also gives our guests confidence that the rates we offer will not be undercut elsewhere because each property is able to sell rooms for all properties with the same centrally-controlled optimized rates.” -Lisa Jane Gibson
Who helped: Vintage Hotels’ vice president of finance, four general managers, director of sales, vice president of operations and the professional team at NORTHWIND-Maestro PMS. We used their single-database system and fully integrated yield module with Vintage Hotels’ two-way GDS reservation connectivity.
Can you innovate too? Yes! In three simple steps:
- Develop a revenue management strategy, if you do not already have one.
- Maximize exposure across reservation distribution channels.
- Develop a strategy to increase extra or “other revenues” across all pre-sales channels.
This article first appeared on our website in March 2009 to help hotel operators improve profitability. NORTHWIND Maestro PMS is a long-term client of Softscribe Inc. If you are a hotel operator, how have you leveraged yield management with the GDSes?
