Preparing for an Economic Recovery -- Trends and Tactics for Hotel Sales and Revenue Managers

There are a few points of light poking through the clouds of economic gloom – the price of oil and gas at the pump is coming down, the housing market is stabilizing in many markets and unemployment, while higher than a year ago, is still at a reasonably low level below 6%.  The tight credit markets are preventing many new hotel development projects from moving forward that would add to additional supply in the medium term.

$139 - 1 Person		$129 for more than one person attending from a hotel or management company

What do these glimmers of a fragile economic recovery mean on the ground at the property level for hotel sales and revenue managers?  “What I am hearing from hotels is that they read the news but want guidance on tactics they can use at their hotels – now,” states Carol Verret.  “If there is a recovery beginning in late Q2 2009, the consensus is that it probably won’t mean a swift return to the ‘boom’ years of 2004-2007.”

This web cast takes a look at the trends and scenarios for 2009 and what hotels can do now to prepare to take advantage of an upturn in the economy.

• Revenue Management.  What is the potential impact of lower oil prices?  What will be the impact of airline capacity cuts?  What does this mean for consumer buying behavior? What impact will this have on hotels’ ability to increase rates and by how much?
• Online Travel Agencies.  The OTAs are posting double digit profit increases.   As these are probably the most expensive of all reservation channels, will the leisure traveler still look for price and value over brand loyalty?  Will the entry of the OTAs into the corporate travel market impact hotels?
• RFPs and Corporate Travel.  If you hold the line on rate, will you be leaving money on the table if an economic recovery occurs?  Negotiating rate and terms such as last room availability – will it really be a ‘buyers market’ in the longer term through the end of ‘09?
• Group Business – Corporate and Leisure.   Will the corporate and association meetings markets return to travel patterns of the past – national meetings, longer stays, less attrition?  Will the social group market come back and begin to look for value and not price?

While there are no hard fast answers, we will look at the trends and explore strategies that will allow hotels to develop tactics for walking the line between being too aggressive versus not aggressive enough.

This web cast should be attended by revenue managers, sales and marketing professionals as well as GMS and anyone else involved in the planning process.

The web cast will take place on August 22 at 1:00pm EST, noon CDT, 11:00 am MDT and 10:00am PDT.  The fee is $139 for a single connection and $129 for two or more connections from the same company.