Job Title:
Cluster Director of Revenue Management
Number Of Years Dedicated To This Field Of Work or Lifestyle:
8 years
Category Of Work:
Employment – Paid Work
Country / Area of Work:
France
Industry:
Hospitality/Travel
Type:
Employment
Key Skills For The Job:
Analytical Skills
Leadership skills
Great Communicator
Problem solver
Data Minded
Vital Key Skill:
Creative thinking.
More and more we ask revenue managers a solution to run a business to perfection, by thinking out of the box, where competitors would not think of going.
Show company how your strategies were successful, and how ideas came about!
Your Personal Experience Of Entering This Role:
Higher Education Level, Learnt On The Job.
Tips For Undertaking This Work:
If you want to be a hotel revenue manager or director, you need to be adaptable, and flexible. This job will always challenge you, in a good way.
In terms of experience, a degree in hospitality management or in a business school is required. Or if you have several years of experience in the hotel industry, best is to have experience as reservations manager or front desk .
Everything is possible if you are curious from the start. But be careful, this job is attracting more and more people and is getting very competitive!
Future Progression Or Developments:
Hospitality Management Degree or Business School (with a revenue management option if possible).
You can start straight away with a management training like I did or an internship and then climb the ladder.
Or you can start as Reservations or Operations Manager and diversify yourself into revenue management at a later stage.
Show you interest in revenue management from the start is easier. The market is getting very competitive, but at the same time it is the job of the future as not all companies have started creating a revenue management section in their company. But people know it is on the arising, so the faster you get in there, the easier it will be.
But there are always exceptions! as long as you keep yourself up-to-date with what’s going on. Some people discover this work on the job, as they did not know the existence of this service previously, so the first things to do is ask from cross-training, and get involved!
Another advice, be ready to be challenged and to be under pressure. More and more hotel directors are looking at their revenue managers to recommend strong strategies to better run the business, and you are also accountable for making the best out of an economic situation. So even if the market situation is difficult, you have to beat your competitors, and you will be challenged for this!
What Are The ‘tools of the trade’ Used Daily:
We work a lot with tools and systems. Actually we spend our day in a system which is called ‘revenue management system’ (RMS), this system is there to give you recommendations on your pricing, your forecasting, etc … based on historical trend and complex algorythm. Our second best friend is Excel, to not say our first Best Friend! as it enables us to analyse different case study, and run reports to make better decisions in the future.
A Typical Day’s Duties:
Typical day for a revenue manager:
Check inventory for the next 90 days, how many rooms do we have left to sell in the hotel.
Review our daily forecast – when is the hotel forecasted to be full.
Allocate rooms in our different room types in order to sell all our rooms based on demand
Implement strategies to maximise revenues, and close discounted rates on full days.
Review Pricing for the next 90 days and beyond – do we need to increase/decrease rates based on demand and competitors’ rates?
Respond to Group request which does not fit the strategy of the hotel, and run a displacement analysis.
Lead Sales Strategy Meetings weekly with the director of sales, director of finance, director of operations of the hotel and the General Manager; in order to review strategies for the next months, to optimize revenue.
At a director level where I am now, it’s much more around challenging the revenue managers to make the right decisions. And be a support for them.
Is Travelling A Regularly Part Of This Work:
No
Weekly Working Hours:
Full Time
Type Of Hours Arrangement:
Fixed Working Week
The Best Thing About The Work You Do:
Result driven! and ever-changing!
I work in an environment (Paris market) where things are never the same. You always have to think differently than the previous months/years.
Also the best thing is that you work with a lot of people – you are in the middle of the business, working with event management, reservations team, sales team, operations, finance.
You will never be bored!
Your Least Favorite Thing About The Work You Do:
It can get stressful if you don’t manage to take some distance out of your work. As this is result driven, if you don’t achieve what is expected, you can get under a lot of pressure, and since the revenue manager is the problem-solver, the solution is often on your shoulder!
Any Duties You Hadn’t Anticipated Prior To Undertaking The Work:
A lot of audits.
In order to do your job properly you need to make sure your systems are working properly, so that they can recommend the right things. The way we do it, is by doing regular audits on our systems. The time spent on this can sometimes be too much, when there are a lot of other strategic things to be doing.
The Top Perks Of The Work:
Discounted rates in all our Marriott properties (and soon Starwood since both companies are merging!).
Other Work In The Same Sector:
Plenty of other works are available in the hospitality sector!
You can work at the front desk, in the reservation team, sales team, event management, restaurant, IT, maintenance, rooms! A lot to do in a hotel!
