SiteMinder, the global hotel industry’s leading guest acquisition platform, has unveiled ‘Insights’, a set of smart monitoring and reporting capabilities that usher hotels into the Intelligence era—the new era of distribution. The capabilities are native to users of the channel management, direct booking and pricing intelligence features within SiteMinder’s platform, to provide hoteliers a single place to access clear and actionable data on their local market, business performance and guests.
The unveiling of SiteMinder Insights follows the company’s 2019 study on the biggest concerns of hoteliers around the world. Among the most common concerns were:
- Delivering to the increasing expectations of guests (71 percent agreed)
- Forecasting and managing demand amid the rise of last-minute bookings (62 percent agreed)
- Rethinking sales and marketing strategies, including pricing, because of Airbnb (58 percent agreed).
When asked to nominate their key drivers for investing in technology, hotelier participants cited better management of room rates and pricing, less time spent on admin and more on guests, and more proactivity about increased local competition as three of their top five reasons.
Nouvo City Hotel, near Bangkok’s popular Khao San Road, is among the early adopters of SiteMinder Insights. Using it alongside the channel management feature within SiteMinder’s platform, the boutique property in Bangkok has increased revenue and reduced time spent cross-checking rates. Adam Phadungslip, Resident Manager and Director of Sales & Marketing, says, “We needed a way to more efficiently check our competitors’ rates, as our online travel agency (OTA) production was beginning to grow. It made sense to go with SiteMinder,
a platform that could automatically shop for rates and allow us to make smart pricing decisions. These are essential tools that many hotels like us benefit from. It allowed us to create more dynamic rates and this has led to an increase in revenue.”
“In spite of increasing technology to support hotels, many are still challenged with responding to dynamic rates and changing consumer expectations that demand both personalisation and the best prices,” says Inga Latham, Chief Product Officer at SiteMinder. “The pervasive trend of bargain hunting is both rewarding and rewarded behaviour among consumers. That behaviour is ultimately driving the continued growth of last-minute bookings and pressuring hoteliers to discount if they want to compete.
“Guest knowledge is power. The entire concept of distribution has evolved, from a transactional way to manage room rates and availability, to a smart, data-driven strategy that reaches guests at all stages of their individual journey—and helps them to make decisions. SiteMinder Insights allows hotels to be smarter about their sales and marketing strategies while maintaining the integrity of their brand.”
