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How independently owned Apex Hotels implements revenue management across its properties


“The focus isn’t on top-line


revenue in isolation” Clinton Campbell


Average room rate £124.99 Occupancy 87% Revpar £108.69 Pre-tax profit £10.3m


We asked Apex Hotels commercial director Clinton Campbell for his views on revenue management across the 10-strong, independently owned, midmarket hotel group.


What is the total revenue management strategy at Apex? We have worked hard to ensure the focus isn’t on top-line revenue in isolation. We have calculated – and understand in detail – the cost of acquisition, so we now manage profit through our distribution landscape and direct marketing efforts. Most revenue and profit comes from our


rooms, so that takes priority. But with the launch of the Apex City of Bath Hotel this year, as well as planned refurbishment works across other hotels, there will be more consideration given to meetings space and leveraging our relationships within that area of the business.


What do you see as best practice in revenue management? There are many people around, and systems available, that claim to be able to do better and more complicated things in terms of revenue management. We’ve removed that need to add complexity and have simplified our approach. Our priority is getting the revenue management


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basics right, so we can focus our time and energy on distribution and direct marketing. We have properties in key cities – London,


Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Bath – where demand is generally high, so we manage that demand rather than trying to create it. If you’re covering the basics well, then you have the ability to react to unplanned events on any scale, from unpredicted cancellations to terror attacks, as well as to capitalise on new trends.


Where does metadata fit into the mix? Meta-search is becoming popular and has a lot of potential for us. Its growing popularity is the reason TripAdvisor is focusing so heavily on pushing it as a channel. We’ve also recently seen Trivago invest heavily in advertising, with Google playing a large part in meta. With a well-defined distribution strategy, you can use meta traffic to your advantage and, even though there is a cost attached to acquiring that business, the guest is still ‘owned’ by the hotel. We capture the data and can interact with them of our own accord.


How many rooms do you think should ideally go on to an OTA site? I would encourage hotels to put as much of their bedstock as they can on OTAs – this is a key factor in determining your ranking on their sites, because they can’t sell what they don’t have. And if you’re going to work with OTAs, it makes sense to give them rooms to sell – and it’s a good idea to focus on upgraded rooms


and suites. The costs will be higher, but the chance of converting those room types is higher through OTA sites. If possible, I would suggest that when demand is extremely high, that availability – apart from suites – is removed from the OTA. However, most contracts don’t permit this. Some guests will remain loyal to using an


OTA when making any bookings because the sites are specifically tuned to convert bookings. By comparison, hotel websites have so much more information that guests will often choose to look at after making a booking, so they better understand all the facilities, local attractions and dining options.


How can operators turn OTA guests into direct bookers? First, clean up your website and make sure it’s mobile-friendly. Then ensure the booking engine is as fast as possible. You must also give guests a reason to return to your hotel before incentivising them to book directly. Last, hoteliers must understand that OTAs now target customer segments other than those seen as transient, so it’s key to work on protecting your own remaining customer segments, to avoid paying commission on them. The corporate market is big business for


Expedia, via Egencia, and on Booking.com through its Genius and Corporate programme. They are looking to facilitate group bookings, and Expedia has successfully entered the MICE space.


Technology Prospectus 2018 | 13


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