revenue management thesis - mario takao roma momma
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An Exploratory Study of Revenue Management and
Hotel Distribution Practices in Coastal Hotels
Located in São Sebastião, Brazil
Mario Takao Roma Momma
M.Sc. in Hospitality Management
2016
An Exploratory Study of Revenue Management and
Hotel Distribution Practices in Coastal Hotels
Located in São Sebastião, Brazil
Mario Takao Roma Momma
A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
M.Sc. in Hospitality Management
Presented to the School of Hospitality and Tourism
Dublin Institute of Technology
Cathal Brugha Street
Submitted to: Dr Deirdre Quinn
25th February, 2016
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DECLARATION
I certify that this thesis which I now submit for examination for the award of MSc in
Hospitality Management, is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the
work of others, save and to the extent that such work has been cited and
acknowledged within the text of my work.
This thesis was prepared according to the regulation of the Dublin Institute of
Technology and has not been submitted in whole or in part for an award in any
Institute or University.
The institute has permission to keep, to lend or to copy this thesis in whole or in part
on condition that any such use of the material of the dissertation by duty
acknowledged.
Signed: _________________________________ Date: _________________
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and express my sincere thanks to
some people.
Firstly I would like to thank DIT for giving me the opportunity to study here, meet
lovely people, make good friends and acquire knowledge. This was a fantastic
experience and could have not been better!
Secondly, Dr. Deirdre Quinn, my supervisor, whom above all had the patience to read
my endless chapters. Your wisdom, advices and positivism were absolutely vital for
the completion of this dissertation. The lessons I learned from you was that writing
less means more. You made me complete this without a single second of stress, thank
you!
Jennifer McMahon, you were also a huge part of this! Thank you so much for all your
support, patience and love. You made me stand up again when I fell! I will be
eternally thankful for that. Unfortunately, things in life do not always happen as we
planned.
How could I possibly be motivated at all without you, May May and Gi Gi? More
than knowledge I gained friends that I will care for the rest of my life! With you I
learnt to listen and the importance of having someone that wants to listen to you.
Amongst other things, of course! Working as a group was just a small detail, the
pleasure of getting things done with zero stress and loads of fun is the key thing!
Thank you! #wolfpackforever
Mary thank you so much for your help proofreading my thesis. Without you it would
be very hard to understand the way I think by reading what I write. Typos are a small
problem now as Google and Microsoft do that for you. The problem is a Portuguese
speaker writing academically in English. A sentence that makes perfect sense to me,
may make no sense to other people.
Lastly my Mom, Dr. Laura Silvia de Lima Roma whom is someone really special in
heaven because she deserved more than any person I have ever met. Well, words are
not enough but I am here because of you! Wherever you are right now I know you are
proud and happy with this achievement. I so wish you were here in person though for
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my graduation! I cannot just say thank you, it is too small. I exist because of you!
One of the lessons I learned from you is that whatever belongs to us is somewhere out
there, waiting for us. No need to rush, no need to worry about it. At some point in life,
we will find it. And this masters is proof of that! Love you Mom!
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ABSTRACT
This dissertation explored how Revenue Management (RM) core activities (or
tactics), including distribution, are being implemented in coastal hotels. The region of
São Sebastião, Brazil is the place where the hotels are being studied. The objectives of
this research were firstly to critically review the literature related to RM and its core
activities and to examine how RM and distribution tactics are being implemented in
costal hotels in the region studied. Also, the author sought to identify relevant
challenges and opportunities when applying RM in coastal hotels. The literature
review critically analyzed the main RM activities and their applicability within coastal
hotels in general. In order to collect the primary data, a qualitative methodology was
followed and semi-structure interviews were held in situ. A total of fourteen
interviews were conducted. Ethical concerns and validity were acknowledged. A
major limitation of this dissertation was the word count, which restricted the level of
detail of findings presented in the thesis. The most important findings of the study
were that general managers (GMs) and owners in the region studied did not
understand RM holistically but they all implemented RM and distribution tactics,
adapted to the particularities of the region, without knowing they belonged to the RM
umbrella. There were also findings related to pricing. Most GMs and owners applied
differential pricing, some applied dynamic pricing, almost none of them applied cost
based pricing. The reasons for adjusting pricing were related to seasonality, method of
payment, loyalty status, location and proximity to the arrival date. Cancellation
policies were very flexible and they rarely helped the hotel to increase revenue.
Overbooking was seen as a very negative RM tactic however, there were indications
that the region is suitable for overbooking. In terms of distribution the region is very
dependent on one single Online Travel Agent (OTA). The challenges were discussed
in terms of seasonality, weather forecast and general challenges related to developing
countries. A few opportunities could be identified for instance targeting weddings to
increase revenue during low and medium seasons. Other opportunities were related to
education, loyalty programmes and distribution.
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Table of Contents
Declaration ................................................................................................................ i
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. ii
Abstract ................................................................................................................... iv
Glossary of Abbreviations ....................................................................................... x
Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................... 1
1.1 RESEARCH RATIONALE ................................................................................. 1
1.2 APPLICABILITY OF REVENUE MANAGEMENT IN COASTAL SMALL AND
MEDIUM HOTELS .......................................................................................... 2
1.3 THE FUTURE OF REVENUE MANAGEMENT .................................................... 3
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION ................................................................................... 3
1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ................................................................................ 4
1.6 CHAPTERS OUTLINE ...................................................................................... 4
1.7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 5
Chapter Two: Literature Review ........................................................................... 6
2.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 6
2.1.1 RM DEFINITION ............................................................................................ 6
2.1.2 WHAT ABOUT RM IN OTHER CONTEXTS? ..................................................... 7
2.1.3 THE ROAD MAP ............................................................................................. 8
2.2 THE RM PROCESS ......................................................................................... 8
2.3 RM CORE ACTIVITIES................................................................................... 9
2.3.1 FORECASTING.............................................................................................. 10
WHY FORECAST? .......................................................................................... 10
WHERE TO START FROM? .............................................................................. 10
A GAP WITHIN THE FORECASTING RESEARCH ................................................ 10
2.3.2 PRICING ....................................................................................................... 11
VARIABLES TO CONSIDER ............................................................................. 11
COST-BASED PRICING VERSUS WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY (WTP) ........................ 12
2.3.3 DIFFERENTIAL PRICING .............................................................................. 13
HOW TO APPLY DIFFERENTIAL PRICING? ....................................................... 14
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2.3.4 DYNAMIC PRICING ...................................................................................... 15
2.4 CAPACITY MANAGEMENT ........................................................................... 16
2.4.1 OVERBOOK AS AN ALTERNATIVE ................................................................ 16
THE VALUE OF OVERBOOKING ...................................................................... 17
2.5 TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS ...................................... 17
2.5.1 DEALING WITH ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCIES ................................................ 18
2.6 RM IN COASTAL HOTELS ............................................................................ 18
2.6.1 COASTAL HOTELS’ GUEST SEGMENTATION ................................................ 19
2.6.2 WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR COASTAL HOTELS ........................................... 20
2.6.3 PRICING COASTAL HOTEL’S ROOM ............................................................ 20
2.7 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 20
Chapter Three: Methodology ............................................................................... 23
3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 23
3.2 SECONDARY DATA ....................................................................................... 24
3.3 METHODOLOGY AND METHOD JUSTIFICATION ........................................... 24
3.3.1 PHILOSOPHY OF THIS RESEARCH: INTERPRETIVIST .................................... 24
3.4 RESEARCH DESIGN ...................................................................................... 25
3.4.1 SAMPLING.................................................................................................... 25
3.4.2 LOCATION OF THE INTERVIEWS .................................................................. 26
3.4.3 INSTRUMENT TO COLLECT THE DATA: RESEARCH PROTOCOL ................... 26
3.4.4 THE COLLECTION OF THE PRIMARY DATA ................................................. 27
3.4.5 RESEARCH METHOD.................................................................................... 27
3.4.6 THE INTERVIEW PROCESS ........................................................................... 27
3.5 ANALYSIS .................................................................................................... 28
3.6 ETHICAL CONCERNS ................................................................................... 29
3.7 VALIDITY ..................................................................................................... 30
3.8 LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................... 30
3.9 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 31
Chapter Four: Findings ....................................................................................... 32
4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 32
4.2 REVENUE MANAGEMENT AWARENESS ........................................................ 32
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4.3 SEASONALITY IN THE CONTEXT OF COASTAL HOTELS IN THE REGION OF
SÃO SEBASTIÃO ........................................................................................... 33
4.4 REVENUE MANAGEMENT TACTICS FOR COASTAL HOTELS ........................ 35
4.4.1 REVENUE MANAGEMENT TACTICS FOR COASTAL HOTELS DURING LOW AND
MEDIUM SEASONS ....................................................................................... 35
WEDDINGS ................................................................................................... 35
4.4.2 REVENUE MANAGEMENT TACTICS FOR LOW, MEDIUM AND HIGH SEASONS
.................................................................................................................... 36
THE COLLECTION, INTERPRETATION AND USAGE OF HISTORICAL DATA ......... 36
FORECASTING ............................................................................................... 37
PRICING ........................................................................................................ 38
DIFFERENTIAL PRICING ................................................................................. 39
OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING PRICING ........................................................ 40
DYNAMIC PRICE ........................................................................................... 41
CANCELLATION POLICIES .............................................................................. 42
4.4.3 REVENUE MANAGEMENT TACTICS FOR THE HIGH SEASON ........................ 43
OVERBOOKING ............................................................................................. 43
4.5 DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................................. 44
4.6 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 46
Chapter Five: Discussion ...................................................................................... 47
5.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 47
5.2 OBJECTIVE TWO - EXAMINE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT COASTAL HOTEL
MANAGERS FROM SÃO SEBASTIÃO, BRAZIL WITH REGARD TO REVENUE
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ........................................................................... 48
5.2.1 REVENUE MANAGEMENT AWARENESS ........................................................ 48
5.3 OBJECTIVE THREE - EXAMINE THE MAIN REVENUE MANAGEMENT TACTICS
APPLIED IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY IN THE CONTEXT OF COASTAL HOTELS
LOCATED IN SÃO SEBASTIÃO, BRAZIL ......................................................... 49
5.3.1 THE COLLECTION, INTERPRETATION AND USAGE OF HOTEL HISTORICAL
DATA ........................................................................................................... 49
5.3.2 FORECASTING.............................................................................................. 50
5.3.3 PRICING ....................................................................................................... 51
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5.3.4 DIFFERENTIAL PRICING .............................................................................. 51
5.3.5 DYNAMIC PRICING ...................................................................................... 53
5.3.6 CANCELLATION POLICIES ........................................................................... 53
5.3.7 OVERBOOKING ............................................................................................ 54
5.4 OBJECTIVE FOUR - EXAMINE HOW ROOMS ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED IN
COASTAL HOTELS IN SÃO SEBASTIÃO, BRAZIL ............................................ 55
5.5 OBJECTIVE FIVE – IDENTIFY THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WHEN
APPLYING REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION TACTICS IN COASTAL
HOTELS IN SÃO SEBASTIÃO, BRAZIL ............................................................ 56
5.5.1 CHALLENGES ............................................................................................... 56
SEASONALITY IN THE CONTEXT OF COASTAL HOTELS .................................... 56
5.5.2 OPPORTUNITIES........................................................................................... 57
WEDDINGS – AN OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE REVENUE DURING THE LOW
SEASON ........................................................................................................ 57
A FORMAL LOYALTY PROGRAM .................................................................... 58
Chapter Six: Conclusion ....................................................................................... 60
6.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 60
6.1.1 OBJECTIVE ONE - CRITICALLY REVIEW THE LITERATURE SURROUNDING
REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND ROOM DISTRIBUTION PRACTICES WITHIN
COASTAL HOTELS ........................................................................................ 60
6.1.2 OBJECTIVE TWO - EXAMINE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT COASTAL HOTELS’
MANAGERS FROM SÃO SEBASTIÃO, BRAZIL HAVE REGARDING REVENUE
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ........................................................................... 61
6.1.3 OBJECTIVE THREE – EXAMINE THE MAIN REVENUE MANAGEMENT TACTICS
APPLIED IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY IN THE CONTEXT OF COASTAL HOTELS
LOCATED IN SÃO SEBASTIÃO, BRAZIL ......................................................... 61
6.1.4 OBJECTIVE FOUR – EXAMINE HOW ROOMS ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED IN
COASTAL HOTELS IN SÃO SEBASTIÃO, BRAZIL ............................................ 63
6.1.5 OBJECTIVE FIVE – IDENTIFY THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WHEN
APPLYING REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION TACTICS IN COASTAL
HOTELS IN SÃO SEBASTIÃO, BRAZIL ............................................................ 63
CHALLENGES ................................................................................................ 63
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OPPORTUNITIES ............................................................................................ 64
6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................... 66
6.3 STATEMENT OF CONTRIBUTION TO THE LITERATURE ................................ 67
6.4 OVERALL CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 67
Reference List ........................................................................................................ 69
APPENDIX 1 – Research Protocol in English and Portuguese ........................... 78
APPENDIX 2 – Fully Transcribed Interview in English ..................................... 89
APPENDIX 3 – Fully Transcribed Interview in Portuguese ............................. 109
APPENDIX 4 – Analysis Themes ........................................................................ 132
APPENDIX 5 – Introduction email in English and Portuguese ........................ 133
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GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS
RM Revenue Management
SMH Small and Medium Hotel
OTA Online Travel Agency
GM General Manager
WTP Willingness to Pay
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
This research project explores the application of RM and distribution tactics within a
very specific context: small and medium hotels (SMHs) located in the coastal region
of São Sebastião, Brazil. Through a literature review and findings from empirical
research the author aims to provide insights for hoteliers in terms of how RM and
distribution tactics can maximize revenue of SMHs located in the coast of a
developing country. Moreover, the author wishes to identify opportunities to improve
their revenue management, distribution practices and the respective challenges.
Distribution is directly related to RM because every distribution channel has an
associated cost that affects the room rates. Pricing is the most important tactic of
revenue management. Therefore, managing the channels impacts on RM pricing
tactics and that is why distribution is being integrated in the research (Kimes, 2010;
Guillet & Mohammed, 2015).
1.1 Research Rationale
The origin of this research project was based on the RM literature that demonstrated
that the vast majority of research was conducted in the context of Asia, Europe and
North America. No attention seemed to be given to hotels in South America.
Moreover, it is clear how powerful RM tactics can be, and this is one of the author’s
reason to investigate this topic. For instance, because of effective RM tactics
American Airlines had a profit of US$1.4 billion, the Marriott hotel chain increased
its profit to approximately US$35 million and Hertz Car Rental’s profits were
increased by approximately five percent (Smith, Leimkuhler, & Darrow, 1992;
Geraghty & Johnson, 1997 as cited in Guadix, Cortés, Onieva & Muñuzuri , 2011;
Cross, 1997).
In addition, the author managed to find a research gap that combines the application
of RM and distribution tactics in SMHs located in a coastal region of a developing
country.
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1.2 Applicability of Revenue Management in Coastal Small and
Medium Hotels
The RM concept is very broad. Cross (1997) and Talluri & Van Ryzin (2005) argue
that RM is all about generating as much revenue as possible from a specific customer
segment by finding optimal levels of supply to match a given demand.
Authors also argue that RM is applicable in hotels because they have:
(i) high perishable inventory
(ii) fixed capacity
(iii) low variable costs
(iv) high fixed costs
(v) sell a service to a volatile demand in markets where customers have the option
to book in advance
(Kimes, 2000; Ng, 2008; Ivanov & Zhechev, 2012; Legohérel, Poutier & Fyall, 2013;
Guillet & Mohammed, 2015).
Hence, it is plausible to say that RM is applicable in any type of hotel despite its size
or location.
However, Ivanov & Zhechev (2012) and Guillet & Mohammed (2015) have
demonstrated that most research on hotel RM was concentrated within Asia, Europe
and North America and the majority of research followed a quantitative methodology.
Also, Morrison & Thomas (1999) argue that researchers often treated the management
of small hospitality businesses with less priority and had a wrong understanding of
their reality.
Therefore, the author believes that the application of RM must be researched from a
fresh perspective. For instance, developing countries face significant challenges
related to their economy, politics and local community involvement (Brohman, 1996).
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Therefore the author aims to explore how this context affects the applicability of RM
and distribution tactics.
1.3 The Future of Revenue Management
As Kimes (2010) suggests, the future of RM is technologically driven. Also, social
networking and mobile technology are the future of hotel distribution. Furthermore,
management teams will need to have excellent analytical and communication skills in
order to transform computer insights into successful managerial decisions.
Large city hotels seem to have resources to invest in technology and to hire skillful
management teams. It is implied then that these hotels can survive the future. What
about SMHs? More specifically, what about coastal SMHs in developing countries?
Can they survive the future and if so, how can they continue to survive?
The rationale of this dissertation is to give a new perspective that has not yet been
given: explore the RM and distribution tactics in South America using a qualitative
method. Also, to be even more specific and in contrast with what has been researched,
the author wishes to investigate a particular hotel category: coastal hotels.
1.4 Research Question
Based on the research rationale previously explained the research question of this
dissertation is:
How are managers of coastal small and medium hotels in the region of São Sebastião,
Brazil are dealing with RM and distribution practices?
In order to guide the research project towards answering the research question several
objectives were established.
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1.5 Research Objectives
Critically review the literature in the field of hotel distribution and RM and its
application in coastal hotels.
Examine the knowledge that coastal hotels’ managers from São Sebastião, São
Paulo State, Brazil have with regard to RM practices.
Examine the main RM tactics applied in the hotel industry in the context of
coastal hotels located in São Sebastião, Brazil.
Examine how rooms are being distributed in coastal hotels from São
Sebastião, Brazil.
Identify the challenges and opportunities when applying RM and distribution
tactics in coastal hotels in São Sebastião, Brazil.
1.6 Chapters Outline
In the second chapter the literature is critically reviewed and the research topic to be
empirically studied is defined. Also, the hotel RM and distribution core activities
discussed in this dissertation are defined, namely: forecasting, pricing, differential
pricing, dynamic pricing, cancellation policies, overbooking and technology-driven
distribution channels.
In chapter 3 the author describes and defends the methodology and the method used to
collect the primary data. Also, the author gives an overview of how the fieldwork
evolved. The sampling technique used, the limitations involved and the ethical
concerns are also presented.
Chapter 4 presents the findings of the fieldwork. Interviews were analyzed based on a
set of themes and sub-themes established. A total of fourteen interviews were
analyzed and several quotes used to support the findings.
In chapter 5, the key findings are presented and discussed according to each objective.
These findings are discussed along with the scholars’ arguments presented in the
literature review.
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Finally in chapter 6, according to the objectives defined previously the author arrives
at conclusions which summarise the key findings of the research. Also in this chapter,
the author explains the contribution of the research and directly answers the research
question.
1.7 Conclusion
Hotels are capacity-constrained firms that offer a perishable product. Revenue
management is managerial tactics that balance supply and demand by managing
customer uncertainties and applying optimal prices. When successfully applied, RM
maximizes the hotel total revenue. This has not been investigated extensively in South
America and most research followed a quantitative methodology and this is why the
author has chosen to study coastal hotels in South America following a qualitative
methodology. To holistically understand RM and hotel distribution, as well as the
particularities of coastal hotels, the literature on these topics is critically reviewed in
the next chapter.
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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter the concept of RM will be defined and reviewed. In addition
management tactics or core activities that encompass RM will be examined. After
discussing RM the author will establish RM in the context of coastal hotels as this is
the main purpose of this research project. Finally, the chapter will conclude by
examining the applicability and suitability of RM within coastal hotels.
2.1.1 RM Definition
According to Cross (1997) and Talluri & Van Ryzin (2005), RM thinking exists since
the commencement of commerce itself. Nowadays, the desire to generate revenue
from a given segment is subject to the same variables that existed eight thousand
years ago. Since its first appearance which occurred during the final years of the
seventies, through the North American aviation industry, RM has evolved. What
makes it different today from the past is it has been become more strategic in nature
and technology has become the main RM driver (Kimes, 2011).
A substantial number of authors define revenue management. Ivanov & Zhechev
(2012) and Guillet & Mohammed (2015) critically reviewed a substantial number of
research papers that studied RM and its core activities. Therefore, the most common
definition used amongst the majority of RM authors is that RM is about selling the
right product at the right price, at the right time to the right customer. Legohérel,
Poutier & Fyall (2013) affirm that hotels have both high perishable inventory and
fixed capacity whereas Cross (1997, pp. 131-32) argues that RM is ‘the application of
disciplined tactics that predict consumer behaviour at the micro-market level and
optimise product availability and price, to maximise revenue growth.’
Cross’s (1997) definition reflects the field of work of a revenue manager, which are
the main RM areas that this chapter will address. In terms of “disciplined tactics”, this
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chapter analyses the main RM tactics used by managers as follows; the word
“predict” refers to the exercise of forecasting; “micro-market” means the different
customer segments that a hotel can target; “optimize product availability” is the way
that room stock is managed and distributed; in terms of “price”. This chapter
addresses the pricing process, differential pricing and dynamic pricing; and as a result
of the combination of these tactics, revenue is maximised.
Nevertheless, changes such as cancellations, no-shows, walk-ins, length of stay,
competitors’ movements and seasonality influence the level of complexity of the
process of applying RM tactics to the hotel industry (Bobb & Veral, 2008).
2.1.2 What about RM in other Contexts?
A significant amount of research has been undertaken in respect of the core activities
of RM currently applied in the hotel industry. These include: customer segmentation,
pricing, forecasting, overbooking, room allocation and channel management (Ivanov
& Zhechev, 2012; Guillet & Mohammed, 2015). However, RM does not seem to have
been reviewed or examined in different contexts. For instance, much research has
been undertaken in the area of large hotel chains in developed and stable countries
(Guillet & Mohammed, 2015) but the opposite research scenario seems to be a little
neglected. Lee-Ross & Johns (1997) concluded that in spite of a significant
managerial “cultural” elements being exercised by small and medium hotel’s (SMH)
managers, RM can still be effective. These “cultural” elements of SMH such as the
“hands-on” managerial style, the lack of overbooking policies and displacement of
profit maximisation, do not impede on the success of RM in small and medium
enterprises (SMEs). Nonetheless managers must understand that RM cannot be more
important than basic managerial elements. It requires better communication between
departments and that RM highly depends on skillful, motivated and talented
employees.
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In particular the coastal hotels category also seems to be in need of new research
studies in terms of RM as only few authors were identified in this area. These types of
hotels have very specific characteristics such as very unstable demand due to
seasonality and very specific customer needs (Ekonomou, Neofitou & Matsiori, 2014;
Modica, Landis & Pavan, 2009). This category of hotel could be practically sold out
during summer and vacation periods but reach significant low levels of occupancy
during colder seasons of the year. Sometimes in countries where winter is not
necessarily cold, seasonality not only varies according the time of the year but also
according to the weather and the day of the week (Getz & Nilsson, 2004). However,
having said that, the application of RM in small and medium coastal hotels is the area
of research of this paper and is therefore evaluated in detail.
2.1.3 The Road Map
With the aim of serving as a basis for an empirical research, this literature review
focuses on critically approaching the general understanding of RM and its
applications to coastal hotels. Hence, it is relevant to initially discuss the core
activities of RM and then deliberate on the application of RM in coastal hotels given
their unique characteristics (Ekonomou et al., 2014; Modica et al., 2009)
2.2 The RM Process
RM is a process that follows a few phases and encompasses managerial activities that
can be called RM tactics. The starting point is to set goals in terms of RM
performance measurements for a determined period of the year. These include:
occupancy
revenue per available room (RevPar)
total revenue per available room (TotRevPar)
total revenue per available square foot (TotRevPASF)
gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) and
average daily rate (ADR)
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Next, it is important to collect and analyse historical data in terms of booking patterns,
cancellations, walk-ins, denials and length of stay divided by customer segments.
Seasonality and competition should also be considered. With all this data compiled,
the next phase is to forecast demand, occupancy or revenue.
Therefore, decisions in terms of pricing, capacity control (including overbooking) and
distribution are made for a particular customer segment, for a particular day and for a
specific length of stay (LOS).
Practical examples of the RM process and the implementation of RM core activities
are identified through research conducted by several scholars such as Guadix, Cortés,
Onieva & Muñuzuri (2010, 2011), Ivanov & Zhechev (2012), Guillet & Mohammed
(2015), Vinod (2004), Lieberman (2003), Kimes (2011), Pullman & Rogers (2010),
Shy (2008) and Elbanna, Eid & Kamel (2015).
2.3 RM Core Activities
RM activities are an important element of the RM process. They are part of the
decision-making and implementation phases of the RM process. As Vinod (2004)
argues, revenue managers use registered historical data in order to forecast different
customer segments and occupancy levels, adjust to seasonality and competitors’
actions. Their final goal is to:
(i) set optimal prices in relation to demand
(ii) control room allocation and
(iii) apply overbooking polices
Ivanov & Zhechev (2012) and Guillet & Mohammed (2015) demonstrate how these
RM activities have been extensively studied amongst researchers. Therefore, the
subsequent paragraphs will discuss the following RM activities:
forecasting
pricing
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capacity management and overbooking and
room distribution
2.3.1 Forecasting
Why Forecast?
Forecasting is an important phase of the RM process because despite the fact that it is
rarely a hundred percent accurate, it provides managers with strong quantitative
valuable inputs for making decisions instead of having only intuition inputs. The most
common variable to forecast future occupancy levels is to provide an idea of how
busy the hotel will be, allowing managers to effectively allocate relevant resources
and project revenue (Vinod, 2004; Aghazadeh, 2007).
Where to Start From?
As it is implied, the historical data of the hotel is needed in order to forecast
(Schwartz & Cohen, 2004a). In the hotel industry, the data that supports managers
when forecasting is either related to the day the reservation was made or to the actual
day the room was consumed (Weatherford & Kimes, 2003). Depending on the
manager’s objective, forecasts can be done based on various data such as room nights
booked, denials, cancellations, check-ins, check-outs, late check-outs, early departure,
no-shows, walk-ins, occupancy percentage, average LOS, average guests per room,
RevPar and ADR (Weatherford & Kimes; Hayes & Miller, 2011).
A Gap within the Forecasting Research
After reviewing the literature on forecasting it was not clear whether it is applicable
within SMHs. As it is not straightforward to apply forecasting in SMHs (Lee-Ross &
Johns, 1997), Bodea & Fergusson (2014) argue that managers in this situation can
employ a qualitative forecast. Qualitative forecasting is driven by intuition and by the
manager’s own experience, which can also be used in combination with quantitative
forecasting. In addition, Schwartz & Cohen (2004a, 2004b) argue that managers’
experience, gender and forecasting software interface also play an important role
when forecasting. Specific studies empirically testing qualitative, quantitative or a
combination of both forecasting types within small and medium beach hotels could
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provide meaningful insights for managers of this hotel category.
2.3.2 Pricing
According to Guillet & Mohammed (2015), pricing is the area that researchers are
most interested in. A significant number of authors developed and defended various
different pricing approaches and mathematical models to determine an optimal price
(Ivanov, 2014; Shy, 2008; Ivanov & Zhechev, 2012; Kimes, 2010; Aziz et al., 2011;
Guillet & Mohammed, 2015), making the hospitality industry one of the most
sophisticated industries in terms of effective pricing techniques (Skugge, 2011).
Hayes and Miller (2011) and Cleophas, Yeoman, McMahon-Beattie & Veral (2011)
affirm that effectively pricing is the foundation of successful revenue management,
implying that revenue managers must master the different pricing strategies (Kimes,
2010). Moreover, Cross, Higbie & Cross (2009) and Vinod (2004) define accurate
pricing as the most essential RM component because it guarantees a sustainable
competitive advantage for the hotel. It is plausible to argue that pricing is at the heart
of RM because a room’s price assures the hotel market position. Incorrect pricing of a
room can attract the wrong target guest, alter the perception of the hotel’s quality and
position the hotel in a different category (Legohérel, Poutier & Fyall, 2013; Hayes &
Miller, 2011).
Variables to Consider
There are several variables that can help managers to create or add value to prices in
the hotel industry. For instance the types of services provided the room type, the room
view, the time criteria, payment terms, cancellation policies, distribution channels,
and loyalty (Ivanov, 2014). However, Kimes (2010) argues that the key point is to
adopt a marketing approach to pricing and identify the actual characteristics that
different target guests value the most. Therefore pricing is about creating the right
product at the right value by grouping the above variables together. It is suggested
that the delivery of value through a room can take the forms of bundles or packages.
12
Cost-based Pricing versus Willingness-to-Pay (WTP)
It is known within the hospitality industry that cost-based pricing is a common
practice amongst hospitality managers. It is a straightforward pricing philosophy that
involves the total costs related to offering a room to customers plus an added profit.
Therefore, by the end of the sale the hotelier will have paid all the costs and thus
made some profit. Some benefits of this pricing method include:
(a) a very accurate way of pricing
(b) a fair way of charging customers
(c) less risk for the business and
(d) it is a very easy system to apply and teach to others (Bodea & Fergusson,
2014; Shy 2008; Ng, 2008)
This method of pricing may be very effective but despite the above benefits, some
authors state that it is an ineffective pricing approach for hotels (Hayes & Miller,
2011; Verret, 2008).
Alternatively, pricing can be calculated by analysing the customer perspective. It is
argued that the concept of pricing hotel rooms relies on the customer WTP, which
means to price a room based on the maximum rate a customer would be willing to pay
(Bodea & Fergusson, 2014; Skugge, 2011). In addition, according to Hayes & Miller
(2011), the customer’s WTP is directly related to their perception of value implying
that revenue managers should consider the customer’s buying decision process when
pricing. Hayes & Miller (2011) suggests four unique value formulas related to
customer’s perception of value:
buyers’ paying money for a room for themselves
buyers’ paying money for a room for someone else
someone else’s money paying for the buyer’s room and
someone else’s money used for a room for someone else
13
They both seem reasonable explanations and different ways to look at pricing but
Kimes (2010) suggests that in reality room rates are mostly based on competition or in
some cases negotiated with distribution channels. However, it is not straightforward
or cheap to find competitive information about pricing divided by customer segments.
In that case the most reasonable technique is to call competitors or check third-party
online channels to gather information on rates for a particular night or for particular
room types.
2.3.3 Differential Pricing
When a customer is willing to pay more than what is being charged, there is a
consumer surplus, money that the customer technically saved. Differential pricing
allows the capture of this surplus thereby maximising revenue (Hayes & Miller,
2011). Differential pricing is also referred to as segmented pricing, price
differentiation, demand-based pricing or price discrimination. It is the practice of
charging different room rates to different customer segments for the same room or
slightly different versions of it (Ivanov & Zhechev, 2012; Ivanov, 2014; Hayes &
Miller, 2011). Differential pricing is recognised by experienced revenue managers as
more powerful than fixed pricing, however, its application can be very limited and
generate negative results for the hotel as customers may perceive it as unfair (Kimes,
2010; Ng, 2008; McMahon-Beattie, 2011; Lee & Jang, 2013; Matilla & Choi, 2014;
Shy, 2008).
Despite the fact that applying differential pricing can increase revenue, revenue
managers must avoid conflicts with customers (Ivanov, 2014). This is achieved by
explaining the rationale behind the pricing strategy and therefore ensuring they are
satisfied with what they are paying. On one hand, Kimes (2010) supports the design
of different product bundles according to different segments in order to increase the
total value and decrease price perception. However, Ivanov (2014) supports that
prices should be balanced between the guest’s rights and the booking terms. That
means the higher the price the more rights the guest should have in terms of
cancelling or amending bookings. Guests paying in advance, staying longer, using
other hotel’s facilities and loyal guests should be offered benefits. Both authors are
14
defending the same point from different angles such as pricing. Revenue managers
should understand each guest’s characteristics and increase the room’s value through
packaging or bundling techniques. Informing the relationship between guest’s right
and the respective price charged is also very important. In addition, benefits for those
guests that either paid more, paid in advance, or are frequent guests may be given.
How to Apply Differential Pricing?
One challenge that managers can face when applying differential pricing is the
“migration” between segments. The main segments found within the hospitality
industry are:
senior citizens
students
families
frequent customers
members of selected organizations
possessors of coupons
leisure tourists
business travelers
In order to avoid customers from one segment paying the price from a different
segment, price fences must be applied (Ivanov, 2014; Ng, 2008; Matilla & Choi,
2014; Shy, 2008; Guillet, Law & Xiao, 2014; Kimes, 2010; Guillet & Mohammed,
2015). There are several fences to be applied but the key point to successfully
implement them is to make sure that the criterion of the fence is well explained.
Fences should not be hard to enforce and above all be reasonable for guests (Kimes,
2010; Matilla & Choi, 2014).
Kimes (2010) proposes a rate fence based on purchasing specification and Guillet et
al. (2014) have studied rate fences from a customer perspective. It is suggested that
there is a correlation between lower price, refund terms and the requirement of
purchasing a room in advance. In other words, customers should be effectively
15
communicated to about refund conditions and how far in advance the actual purchase
should occur in order to justify the price and its respective restrictions (Guillet et al.,
2014). In cases where a revenue manager considers imposing stringent restrictions on
refund terms or advanced purchases the price offered should be fair and coherent to
justify the inconvenience (Ivanov, 2014; Guillet et al., 2014).
Following the RM process, after forecasting and having understood pricing
techniques, revenue managers must control capacity and separate an adequate number
of rooms for each segment, which is known as capacity management.
2.3.4 Dynamic Pricing
Dynamic pricing has been evolving and has become an area of significant interest for
researchers. This is mainly due to the evolution of technology that facilitates the
updating of prices in real time according to changes in buying patterns and demand
availability (Ng, 2008). The internet has allowed managers to reach a massive
quantity of potential guests and it has become a significant source of information
about demand and buying patterns as guests increasingly buy electronically (Ropero,
2011). It is implied though that the action of dynamically changing the room’s pricing
is based either on demand or on capacity (Ng, 2008). Capacity-based dynamic pricing
largely depends on the usage of sophisticated optimisation models to constantly
update prices based on future demand forecasting of different segments of customers
(Aziz et al., 2011). As mentioned earlier, this research does not aim to deal with
mathematical approaches in detail as this topic would require an entire literature
review of its own (Ropero, 2011). Hence, general applications of dynamic pricing and
current issues are addressed.
Aziz’s et al. (2011) argues that it is not feasible for a regular dynamic automated
program to set prices for large hotels because of the number of variables involved. For
instance, these are some of the variables that would need to be intertwined in order to
have a continuous dynamic price: twenty-five different rates, more or less seven
different LOS, multiplied by three-hundred-and-sixty-five days. However it could
well work for a SMHs but yet it has not been applied in such a context.
16
2.4 Capacity Management
Capacity management is the science of forecasting how much capacity needs to be
reserved for late arrival of high value customers. Revenue managers must then assess
the cost of reserving too few rooms versus the cost of reserving too many for a
specific segment (Bodea & Fergusson, 2014). This guarantees that the hotel inventory
is being used as efficiently as possible and higher revenue is being achieved. It then
implied that a wrong capacity management tactic added with inaccurate overbooking
policies constitutes loss of revenue for the hotel due to unsold units (Legohérel,
Poutier & Fyall, 2013; Pullman & Rodgers, 2009). However, one way of controlling
capacity is to limit the number of rooms that can be sold to a given customer segment
at a given time (Talluri & Van Ryzin, 2005).
During high demand periods when hotels tend to reach maximum capacity, a last
minute cancellation or a no-show could mean loss in revenue. It is argued that having
empty rooms at high demand periods can significantly affect a hotel’s bottom line.
Hence, what can a hotel do to reduce revenue loss due to customer uncertainty
(Legohérel, Poutier & Fyall, 2013; Pullman & Rodgers, 2009)?
2.4.1 Overbook as an Alternative
Overbooking can prevent a hotel from losing room revenue and ancillary sales by
overbooking. Revenue may be lost in the event of cancellations, no shows or
premature checkout (de Oliveira & Ferraz, 2008; Toh & DeKay, 2002). Therefore,
these variables must be forecasted in order to find an optimal overbooking level (Toh
& DeKay, 2002). However, overbooking policies must include the process of
accommodating the guest in another hotel (Karaesmen & van Ryzin, 2004) and the
cost of doing so must be identified. This cost must incorporate intangible costs of
losing the customer’s goodwill and damaging the relationship with the guest (Hwang
& Wen, 2009; Wangenheim & Bayón, 2007; Wang, 2012; Noone & Lee, 2011).
17
The Value of Overbooking
Even though overbooking is suggested to be an unfair RM activity (Wangenheim &
Bayón, 2007) there are enough reasons for practicing overbooking. In order to have
the hotel operating at full occupancy during the high demand periods Toh & Dekay
(2002) argue that overbooking is a must because:
(1) The revenue generated from walk-ins or same day reservations do not
overcome the loss from cancellations, no-shows or premature checkouts.
(2) Credit card pre-reservation fees normally covers only the first night or ten
percent of total reservation.
(3) Premature check-outs penalty fees do not cover the rest of unsold nights.
(4) There is an opportunity to have extra revenue with the collected penalty fees
and still sell the same room.
(5) It guarantees the ancillary revenue from other revenue centers.
It is implied though that there is a possibility of not fully applying penalty fees in the
case of a cancellation or no-show if the guest gets irritated with the situation or the
hotel does not wish to lose the customer’s goodwill. Instead, a smaller penalty fee is
charged and the remaining balance is transferred as a credit towards a new booking,
which can weaken slightly the purpose of overbooking (Toh & Dekay, 2002).
2.5 Technology-driven Distribution Channels
Search engines such as Google and Yahoo provide a very favorable environment for
the development of third-party online intermediaries. In terms of channel
management, because of the many different costs per channel, managers should
concentrate time and effort in strategically discovering an effective way to distribute
rooms online. Despite the fact that selling rooms through the hotel’s own channels can
cost less than third parties channels, it is implied that the real challenge is to select the
channels that would really make a difference in the bottom line in terms of
profitability as well as create less conflict (O’Connor, 2003; Myung, Li & Bai, 2009;
Christodoulidou, Brewer, Feinstein & Bai, 2007; Choi & Kimes, 2002).
18
2.5.1 Dealing with Online Travel Agencies
It is necessary for revenue managers to understand what is going on when using an
online travel agencies (OTAs) to book a room. Therefore, a phenomenon worth
discussing is the overdependence on OTAs. It is suggested that the level of hotel’s
dependency on OTAs is directly related to the level of sales contributions attributable
to the OTA (Myung et al., 2009). O’Connor (2003) argues that distributing rooms
should follow a rational strategy in terms of pricing. Rooms should be distributed
mainly through the hotel’s own website.
In an attempt to reduce overdependence on OTAs, hotels should offer lower rates
through their own website, as this would increase website traffic, decrease customer’s
motivations to use OTAs and decrease distribution costs (Thakran & Verma, 2013;
O’Connor, 2003; Ling, Dong, Guo & Liang, 2015). However, offering the lowest rate
on the hotel’s own website was not a common distribution strategy according to
Demirciftci, Cobanoglu, Beldona & Cummings (2010).
Toh, Raven & DeKay (2011) identified additional tactics which steered potential
guests to the hotel’s website: customised offers based on the customer data collected,
retention of premium rooms to be sold through the hotel own website, offering
incentives to those who have booked directly on more than one occasion and above
all, make the hotel’s intangible experience as tangible as possible within its website.
2.6 RM in Coastal Hotels
Hotels situated in coastal areas, where leisure tourists are predominant, very much
depend on the sea and sun tourism. Revenue managers from this category are
exposed to a specific management environment in terms of seasonality, infrastructure
and customers’ needs, expectations and motivations (Ekonomou, Neofitou &
Matsiori, 2014; Modica et al., 2009; ENAP, 2009).
19
2.6.1 Coastal Hotels’ Guest Segmentation
The literature reviews segmentation as part of RM and refers to the business guests as
being a less sensitive segment in terms of price and with a higher WTP (Verret,
2008). On the other hand leisure tourists are very price sensitive since normally they
are paying for a room with their own money to satisfy their own needs (Hayes &
Miller, 2011). Modica et al. (2009) suggest though it is possible to attract different
segments outside of leisure, for instance business and corporate, conference and
meeting as long as the accessibility between the businesses and the coast is not a big
issue. Modica et al. (2009) also refers to local leisure tourists –people that already live
in a considered coastal area but can still visit a nearby beach - as a segment that
should be investigated further as the authors research could not determine this
segment’s characteristics and WTP.
The destination itself also plays an important role in a guest’s perception of value.
ENAP (2009) and Ekonomou et al. (2014) argue that coastal guests also take into
consideration individual beach features such as:
how organised the beach site is
accessibility
sustainability
hospitality
health services
costs and accommodation facilities
Ekonomou et al. (2014) then identified three types of market segment which are
specific to coastal hotels as follows:
(a) cost sensitive
(b) demanding beach users
(c) accommodation oriented visitors
20
Despite the fact that Ekonomou’s et al. (2014) findings were only based in a certain
region of Greece, they were statistically reliable making these segments applicable in
other coastal areas and to serve as the basis for further research.
2.6.2 Willingness-to-Pay for Coastal Hotels
In coastal hotels with high fluctuations related to seasonality, demand based pricing
and quality of service are considered key factors to reach higher levels of occupancy
(Modica et al. 2009). Contrasting these findings, Costa (2013) argues that when
selling a room to a guest that wants to stay in a hotel by the beach, revenue managers
should not only consider the tangible and intangible aspects of the hotel, but the
“outside of the hotel” is significantly as relevant, for instance public areas, beaches,
parks, streets, promenade, etc. In addition to these tangible aspects, intangible aspects
such as how familiar, playful, natural, elitist or reserved the region is, should be
considered when pricing a coastal hotel room. Therefore, these elements all together
have a significant weight on a guest’s WTP but they are invisible and cannot be
quantified.
2.6.3 Pricing Coastal Hotel’s Room
According to Modica et al. (2009) discounted pricing or package offers according to
seasonality are an effective alternative to creating demand from the leisure segment in
coastal hotels. However, Hayes & Miller (2011) state that more importantly than
making efforts to raise occupancy levels, it is important to analyse the inherent
demand of the city as leisure tourists firstly choose the destination and then look for a
hotel. Costa (2013) has identified that revenue managers in hotels located in Ibiza
price their product more based on the accommodation regime and location, and less
based on the intangible elements of the destination or the hotel. It is suggested that
pricing a room with added value through the accommodation regime is a significant
price differentiation strategy to be adopted when hotels in the region offer limited
accommodation regimes (Costa, 2013).
2.7 Conclusion
This literature review had three main goals to:
21
(1) support empirical research
(2) discuss main RM activities,
(3) understand the application of RM within the specific context of coastal hotels.
RM can be seen as a double edged sword. On one hand it is seen as a process that
needs very talented revenue managers that use highly sophisticated software that
analyzes complex data in order to forecast and generate solutions in real time. On the
other hand, it can be seen as a regular way to deal with the supply and demand rule,
by understanding seasonality, price elasticity and managing capacity. It is plausible to
affirm that it is a combination of managing supply and demand, aiming to maximise
revenue, based on different customers’ WTP, which could be less time-consuming
and more accurate with the help of software.
It was demonstrated the steps that comprise the RM process and the main RM
activities that are part of each step. These main activities encompass collecting hotel’s
data, forecasting, pricing, managing capacity and distributing rooms.
Pricing is the most researched RM activity so far (Guillet & Mohammed, 2015;
Skugge, 2011). This literature review explained:
(i) the importance of WTP and cost based pricing
(ii) the appliance of differential and dynamic pricing
Capacity management is also considered a core RM activity. It accommodations the
most profitable mix of customers by denying service for the less profitable ones
(Vinod, 2004). As part of this, overbooking allows revenue maximisation by not
losing sales due to cancellations, no-shows or early departures.
In terms of distribution this paper discussed the role of OTAs in terms of online
pricing, their relationship with hotels and the strategy behind choosing the distribution
22
channels.
Finally, RM was also discussed from SMH perspective in the context of coastal
hotels. Because of seasonality and the very peculiar type of guests, this hotel category
deserves more attention in order to assess how RM activities are applicable and how
successful they can be.
23
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to explain and defend the methodology of the research
and methods chosen to collect the primary data. In addition, ethical concerns, validity
and limitations are presented.
What is the research question and the respective research objectives?
The research question and the research objectives help to pinpoint the research
variables and indicators that need to be studied (Denscombe, 2012). Therefore, the
following is the research question:
How managers of coastal hotels located in the region of São Sebastião, Brazil are
dealing with revenue management and distribution practices?
Also, the research objectives will guide this research towards its final findings and
here they are:
critically review the literature in the field of hotel distribution, revenue
management and its application in coastal hotels
examine the knowledge that coastal hotel managers from São Sebastião, Brazil
have regarding revenue management practices
examine the main revenue management tactics applied in the hotel industry in
the context of coastal hotels located in São Sebastião, Brazil
examine how rooms are being distributed in coastal hotels in São Sebastião,
Brazil
identify the challenges and opportunities when applying revenue management
and distribution tactics in coastal hotels in São Sebastião, Brazil
24
3.2 Secondary Data
Domegan & Fleming (2007) and Saunders & Lewis (2012) explain that secondary
research is the process of collecting existing relevant data that was collected for a
unique purpose.
This research project has investigated academic journals, postgraduate theses, and
textbooks as sources of secondary data. These sources provided this research with
background information to support the collection of the primary data.
Before presenting the research design, the author strongly believes that it is crucial to
have a holistic approach in relation to the field of research methods. According to
Adam & Healy (2000) the philosophical debates on the nature of scientific enquiries
explains the reason why specific methodologies and methods are chosen. The
subsequent paragraphs will explain the philosophy that guided the author’s choice in
relation to the methodology and the methods (Saunders & Lewis, 2012).
3.3 Methodology and Method Justification
3.3.1 Philosophy of this Research: Interpretivist
It is defended by authors, for instance Adam & Healy (2000) and Saunders & Lewis
(2012) that behind the choice of the research design there is a paradigmatic position
that distinguishes researchers between positivists or interpretivists. There are major
differences between a positivist and an interpretivist researcher. The author of this
dissertation has adopted the interpretivist philosophy.
The interpretivist philosophy says that a ‘reality’ must be constructed by a researcher
and the researcher is dependent of the world. This reality is, in a certain way, relative
and specific to a project that takes place in a certain time in a particular place. The
way to do so is to holistically view the results. In this case, the researcher values every
single finding and looks for meanings rather than measurements (Adam & Healy,
2000).
25
Exploratory studies have the purpose of discovering new information and insights that
are not yet well understood or very clear to the researcher. This type of study can lead
to the identification of a new phenomenon or to assess topics from a new point of
view (Creswell, 2014). In addition, according to Erickson (2011), qualitative research
narrates the actions of a particular type of people and what these actions actually
mean to themselves and this is what the author wishes to achieve.
In conclusion, as the philosophy adopted is interpretivist, the author has only a few
options in terms of research purpose, methodology and methods. Hence, the author
conducted a study with an exploratory purpose, with a qualitative methodology and
used semi structured interviews as the method to collect the primary data (Jennings,
2005; Creswell, 2014).
3.4 Research Design
3.4.1 Sampling
The sampling process started with the identification of small and medium costal
hotels in the region of São Sebastião. Since the author did not have the list of the total
population, a non-probabilistic sampling strategy and a mix of respective sampling
techniques were used. The sampling techniques used were purposive, self-selection
and snowball (Dawson, 2009; Saunders & Lewis, 2012; Flick, 2015).
With the help of the internet a list of fifty hotels was compiled. Three months prior to
the author’s trip to Brazil, the author sent an email to each hotel explaining the details
of the research project. The author requested that his e-mail be directed to the most
appropriate person in the hotel who could possibly provide relevant information. Out
of fifty emails, three people answered and no specific appointments were made.
As this purposive sampling technique did not have many responses, the other
techniques were used in combination. The self-selection technique was used as the
author drove around the region looking for small and medium hotels, which is a
purposive technique, and when a relevant hotel was identified, the research project
was presented and the most suitable person to participate was identified.
26
Therefore, the interview was only held when the appropriate person was present at
that moment. Interestingly, no revenue manager position existed, so the sample
population consisted entirely of general managers and owners, as they identified
themselves as the right person to discuss the themes proposed by the author.
A third technique, the snowball sampling technique was also utilized. The author
asked each participant to recommend a friend or a colleague that could possibly
participate. Four interviews were made possible due to the snowball sampling
technique.
A total of seventeen interviews were conducted. Out of seventeen, two needed to be
excluded because of lack of interest of the interviewee that negatively affected the
quality of the information.
3.4.2 Location of the Interviews
The author conducted interviews in locations that put the interviewees at ease and
ensured they were as comfortable as possible. The author felt this would impact on
the quality of the information collected (Saunders & Lewis, 2012). Therefore, to be
more convenient and comfortable for the interviewee the author decided to conduct
the interviews in each interviewee’s hotel.
3.4.3 Instrument to Collect the Data: Research Protocol
This is a document that was brought to all interviews and it contains a variety of
questions divided by themes pre-established by the author, with some respective
probe words, in order to guide the interview (Creswell, 2014). However, the dynamic
of each interview was slightly different, the order of the themes varied. Not all
questions within each theme were asked and the interviews varied according to how
relevant the question was to each interviewee and the natural flow of the interview
(Saunders & Lewis, 2012). A copy of the research protocol in both languages can be
found in Appendix 1.
27
3.4.4 The Collection of the Primary Data
Jennings (2005) defends that in-depth semi-structured interviews are the most
appropriate means of data collection on a qualitative research project. Adam & Healy
(2000), Jennings (2005) and Saunders & Lewis (2012) argue that a field study using
the one-to-one interview method is a plausible decision because it will guarantee the
collection of rich data and provide a deeper understanding of the topic with a relative
small sample.
According to Dawson (2009), a semi-structured interview can be recorded using an
audio recording device. The author used a portable recording device called Zoom to
record all interviews and a clipboard with a printed copy of the research protocol to
take notes.
In terms of budget, the author carefully estimated the total expenses, including return
flights and transfers from Dublin to São Sebastião, accommodation and food, so a
total amount needed was previously identified.
3.4.5 Research Method
Probably the most common type of interviews conducted according to May (2011),
are semi-structured interviews. The author of this research will undertake this type of
interview as they will assist in the gathering of primary research information
(Creswell, 2014). This is a “conversation-like” type of interview that follows a
research protocol.
3.4.6 The Interview Process
The researcher attempted to make an appointment with each interviewee via e-mail
but the response rate was significantly low (See APPENDIX 5). Therefore, the author
looked for hotels without an appointment daily from 9 p.m. to 5 p.m. The interview
process was held during the months of July and August of 2015. These months are
part of the low season (to be explained in the next chapter) and thus facilitated the
recruitment of participants as the hotels were not very busy. The author needed 40
28
days to reach seventeen interviews. Each interview lasted an average of sixty minutes
and the travel time between venues was on average forty-five minutes (see Figure 1).
3.5 Analysis
The author started the analysis by deciding that all sessions should be transcribed but
only one would be fully transcribed. A copy of the fully transcribed interview, in both
languages can be found in Appendix 2 and Appendix 3.
Also an identification format of each interview was created. Each interviewee was
identified with the following label: INT (1-15), M or F, A – E (each letter means a
different beach), GM or O (General Manager or Owner). For instance, the first
interviewee was identified as INT1, M, B, GM, meaning that it was a male, general
manager from a hotel located in beach B (see Figure 1).
Four pre-establish themes, relevant to the research objectives, were identified. One
did not have sub-themes and the other three had some sub-themes. Please see the
analysis themes in Appendix 4.
Fourteen interviews were partially transcribed based on these pre-established themes
and relevant quotes from interviewees were distributed under each relevant theme.
The author was the transcriber for all interviews.
The quotes from interviewees were all transcribed in Portuguese and they were
formed with the actual words in Portuguese that were said by both interviewee and
interviewer. As not all quotes were used in the analysis chapter, only the ones utilized
were translated into English. Some wording adaptations or contextualization were
needed when the actual words themselves were impossible to understand or were out
of context due to translation issues.
29
Figure 1: Coding of Interviewees
Identity Audio File Name Position Interview Length Interviewer Location Transcription file name Transcriber
INT1, M, A, GM ZOOM0002 General Manager 62min 52sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0002 Author
INT2, M, B, GM ZOOM0003 General Manager 66min 10sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0003 Author
INT3, F, B, GM ZOOM0004 General Manager 44min 19sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0004 Author
INT4, F, A, GM ZOOM0005 General Manager 74min Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0005 Author
INT5, F, A, O ZOOM0006 Owner 80min 35sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0006 Author
INT6, M, C, GM ZOOM0008 General Manager 40min 35sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0008 Author
INT7, M, D, GM ZOOM0009 General Manager 41min 28sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0009 Author
INT8, M, D, GM ZOOM0010 General Manager 86min 29sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0010 Author
INT9, M, D, GM ZOOM0011 General Manager 53min 57sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0011 Author
INT10, M, B, GM ZOOM0012 General Manager 117min 08sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0012 FULL Author
INT11, F, E, O ZOOM0013 Owner 81min 40sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0013 Author
INT12, M, E, GM ZOOM0014 General Manager 60min 07sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0014 Author
INT13, M, E, O ZOOM0015 Owner 67min 45sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0015 Author
INT14, M, D, O ZOOM0016 Owner 84min 58sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0016 Author
INT15, M, C, O ZOOM0017 Owner 92min 28sec Author In Situ, São Sebastião Region Analysis ZOOM0017 Author
10 Managers Total 17h 33min 30sec
5 Owners Average 1h 10min 18sec Source: the Author
3.6 Ethical Concerns
Amongst the substantial number of authors that defined ethics, it can be simplistically
defined as the concern ‘…with the attempt to formulate codes and principles of moral
behaviour’ (May, 2011, p. 61). The author is very aware of the significant amount of
personal and confidential information that interviewees have provided. Hence, it was
also a major concern of the author to make sure that the participant and the
information were treated with integrity and respect. This means that each interview
was consented, accepted, private, anonymous and confidential.
After the participant was identified, the research project and the objectives were
presented in more detail. Before turning on the recording device, the author carefully
explained that no hotel or interviewees names would be revealed and the data
collected was going to be used only for academic purposes.
Privacy was assured by simply giving the right to the participants to refuse to answer
any question that they did not wish to. No consent letter was signed or recorded. The
author believed that requesting the participants to sign a consent letter, or requiring
the participant to give their consent while the interview was being recorded would
30
have been too intimidating and invasive for the participants. This could have led to a
decrease in the number of participants. Therefore, consent was entirely verbal.
In the end of this explanation, the author asked for the authorization to record the
interview. Upon the interviewees’ acceptance in participating and to be recorded, the
recording device was turned on and the interview commenced.
3.7 Validity
In qualitative studies validity is a process of earning confidence of the readers, or
persuading them, according to the way that the purposed arguments are presented and
how well these arguments are underpinned (Kvale & Binkmann, 2009). As previously
mentioned, the secondary research was entirely based on peer-reviewed renowned
scientific journals, credible textbooks and government documents. The selection of
the participants for the primary research was made In situ, which ensured the correct
selection of participants. All interviews were recorded and kept with the author for
security and audit purposes.
3.8 Limitations
The major limitation of this research is the word count restriction imposed by the
academic institution that requested this research project. There was a significant
amount of information collected with great depth, however, the author was limited to
present and discuss only a small portion of the findings.
A second limitation was the size of the region of São Sebastião that impeded certain
generalizations. It is a relatively big region, with a diversity of beaches. However, it
was not a major limitation because some beaches and some managers indeed shared
common characteristics and common managerial skills.
The last limitation relates to language. It is not a very critical limitation given the
fluency of the author on both languages, Portuguese and English. However, it was a
challenge to literally translate from Portuguese to English every single word, phrase,
verb and colloquial expression. So the English quotes presented in this paper are
31
based on the author’s cultural knowledge of both languages and it reflects what the
interviewees wished to say instead of what they literally said.
3.9 Conclusion
The purpose of the present study is to conduct an exploratory study to discover the
level of knowledge of hotel managers from São Sebastião, Brazil in relation to the
practices of revenue management and room distribution. To do so, a qualitative study
was conducted and it used semi-structure interviews, with the aid of a protocol, in
order to collect the primary data. The method of analyzing the data was also
accurately designed as themes were used to contextualize the interviewees’ quotes.
There was a clear concern of the author in respect to ethical and validity issues.
Therefore, the author strong believes that this methodology was crucial in order to
indicate an existence of a new phenomenon or to shed a new light to an existent
subject so future research can stem from this one. Now that the methodology is
defended and how the primary research was conducted, the main finding s from the
primary data are presented in the next chapter.
32
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
4.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the findings collected during the fieldwork of this project. All
findings are related to the research objectives. The following findings show the
knowledge and application of revenue management and distribution tactics by GMs
and owners of the region studied as well as opportunities and challenges related to
revenue management. As explained in the previous chapter, the findings are separated
by themes and are supported by quotes extracted from the interviews. All quotes are
individually labelled with a unique code for each participant.
4.2 Revenue Management Awareness
The first relevant finding is that the position of ‘Revenue Manager’ does not exist in
the hotels studied in São Sebastião. As mentioned in the previous chapter, during the
interviews, the author introduced the research project to front desk staff and asked to
be directed to the appropriate person to participate. The author was unable to locate a
revenue manager in any of the hotels which participated in the study.
The main purpose of this theme is to identify the overall revenue manage knowledge
of GMs and owners. The interviews demonstrated that while very few hotel GMs and
owners know about the revenue management concept, some believed they knew it but
in fact they did not know how to explain the theory embedding revenue management.
Some other participants simply confessed that revenue management is a completely
new revenue management for them.
The lack of revenue management knowledge is best represented by a GM ’s statement
who claimed to know what revenue management is but gave a very vague answer,
which was not very related to the job of revenue manager:
33
We try to manage the best possible way everything that comes in and goes out.
We are always accounting, always. How can I say? I’m always trying to have
everything right so not to have headaches. (INT1, M, A, GM)
Another example came from the owner of a hotel who confessed that s/he:
Did not know absolutely anything about modern management techniques… so
it is 100% amateur, but it works…’ (INT11, F, E, O)
In conclusion, within the region of São Sebastião, the majority of GMs and owners
did not seem to fully comprehend what revenue management is and how to apply its
tactics.
However, when asked what they were doing to maximize revenue and how to make
the best use of the hotel space in order to generate revenue, they all presented
interesting tactics associated with the concept of revenue management, which will be
discussed in the following paragraphs.
4.3 Seasonality in the Context of Coastal Hotels in the Region of São
Sebastião
Seasonality orchestrated all revenue management and distribution tactics so it is
important to understand the seasonality of the region in detail. All participants argued
that the level of room sales depends largely on the season. The high season has a
higher tourist demand in comparison to the low season. Interestingly revenue
management tactics were found more useful during the low season and during the
high season revenue management tactics were not highly applicable as most of
participants agreed that:
January is our busiest month, when we have the highest rate. We do not need
to work in January because it sells by itself, it doesn´t stop. (INT5, F, A, O)
Seasonality within the region is related to the period of the year, the days of the week,
the calendar of public or religious holidays and the actual weather forecast.
34
As the vast majority of tourists are leisure-driven, a high demand is correlated to any
period of the year that businesses in nearby cities like São Paulo are closed.
The high season happens with the Brazilian summer vacation, which starts between
November and December and continues until the end of the carnival holiday, usually
between end of February and beginning of March; the medium season happens during
the months of March and April; and the low season starts in May and finishes in
October. For instance, ‘…March and April are the medium season. June and July the
low season arrives, however July is very volatile…’ (INT14, M, D, O). A GM
described that:
We have business throughout December, January and February. After Carnival
is low season. The low season here is terrible to everybody. There is no
business, low demand… (INT1, M, A, GM).
Weekends have a higher relative to weekdays so:
During the week is a dead space, it’s a space that you can use your creativity
better, because it is better to receive R$100 during the week than nothing. The
revenue maximization would be done with higher occupancy levels during the
week. You must be promotional on weekdays. (INT15, M, C, O)
But the weather forecast also plays an important role in seasonality. Tourists can book
a room on the same day of arrival, if the weather forecast indicates upcoming sunny
days. That means that even during winter the hotels can experience an increase in
demand according to the weather forecast as it was stated that:
Winter with this sun? For those who enjoy a gentle sunbathe, with less people
in the beach and if I manage to find a target that likes this, they are a valuable
target too (INT13, M, E, O)
In summary, the high season happens during the Brazilian summer but throughout the
year, even during the low and medium seasons, public or religious holidays or sunny
weekends are periods that the demand for hotel rooms increases. Thus, revenue
35
management tactics used during the low season are not the same ones utilized during
the high season as outlined in the following paragraphs.
4.4 Revenue Management Tactics for Coastal Hotels
It is plausible to divide the revenue management tactics into the ones applicable
during the low and medium season, the ones applicable during the high season, and
the ones applicable in any season.
4.4.1 Revenue Management Tactics for Coastal Hotels during Low and
Medium Seasons
Weddings
Despite the fact the weddings were not originally included in the research protocol, it
was discovered that they are used to maximize revenue during the low and medium
seasons by all hotel GMs and owners. Some reasons for targeting the wedding market
will now be presented.
To demonstrate the importance that weddings have in order to increase the total
revenue of the hotel, one GM explained that the hotel has:
Already had six weddings this year and we already have thirteen booked until
June next year, so it’s more than one wedding per month. (INT10, M, B, GM)
Weddings helped not only to increase occupancy levels of the hotel hosting the
ceremony but also of competitors nearby because part of the wedding invitees are not
able to find rooms in the hosting hotel.
However, it was found that only increasing occupancy does not mean maximizing
revenue. Identifying the actual increase in demand and pricing the rooms accordingly
when a wedding is taking place is vital. When there is a wedding on a beach, all
hotels must be aware of increase in demand and adjust the price of the rooms
accordingly. In order to discover the demand generated by a wedding, hotel GMs and
owners argued that staff should be trained in order to collect general information
36
about upcoming weddings. This important piece of information was captured when
couples called or inquired for weddings in person:
... and we know that they enquired with our competitor so we know that
maybe there will be a wedding. What happens when there is a wedding in our
neighbour? [Because of the competitor’s wedding price and physical
structure]. S/he closes the deal for one hundred-and-fifty people, if it only
accommodates thirty and one hundred-and-fifty showed up, there is an excess
of one hundred-and-twenty to be lodged somewhere else. The closest place is
here so obviously we raise the room rate. Thus, when he does weddings we
sell rooms with the January rates, high season (INT10, M, B, GM)
In summary, a combination of:
(a) identifying the level of increase in demand because of a wedding
(b) adapting and offering the hotel’s space to host the ceremony
(c) to adjust the rooms’ rate, even when a wedding ceremony is happening in a
nearby competitor. All these lead to revenue maximization during low and
medium seasons.
4.4.2 Revenue Management Tactics for Low, Medium and High Seasons
The Collection, Interpretation and Usage of Historical Data
A hotel management system called Desbravador that registers the hotels’ historical
data such as cancellations, walk-ins, ADR, RevPAR and occupancy levels was used
by almost all hotels. However, the data collected did not seem to have specific
purposes as explained in the following statement:
We have a system that gives us all this information. We work with
Desbravador. It is a very complete system… as long as it is fed. It gives you
these numbers. We have it since 2008 but it is not something that we use in
our daily operations, to do forecasting (INT5, F, A, O)
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Forecasting
It was identified that the forecasting is done but it is not automated. Also, forecasting
mathematical models were not used. It is suggested that hotel GMs and owner’s
forecasted occupancy based on their own intuition in an ad hoc way. For instance a
participant mentioned that:
Yes, there are public holidays that we have an approximated number of
people, of how many rooms we will sell. (INT1, M, A, GM)
Based on:
(i) rates set for a given future period
(ii) special events that might take place in the region and
(iii) last year’s actual occupancy
The future number of possible guests can be estimated for a particular date. However,
there was no situation where the interviewer was provided with an example of an
exact forecast number. This quote best describes this finding:
I make the probabilities based on our own sales spreadsheet of previous
months. Last year, this same period of the year I sold this much. For this year
my estimation is… (INT14, M, D, O)
Another interesting finding related to forecasting is that GMs and owners can
estimate occupancy based on the actual weather forecast as sunny weekends can
increase demand and rainy weekends can not only decrease demand but also increase
cancellations. But again, these estimations were not very reliable and accuracy was
not checked as it is explained by this hotel owner:
Especially now during winter, it’s complicated because we highly depend on
the weather forecast… Today Wednesday, normally nothing happens during
the low season. Then the weather forecast changes. If sun is forecasted for the
weekend, people start ringing. If the weather forecasted is rain, the telephone
does not ring, the email does not arrive. There are cases that you have a
reservation and then Friday morning the weather forecast is for an entire
weekend of rain. Then you already know that the guest’s mother is going to
get sick, the dog is going to die, the mother-in-law broke a leg (INT5, F, A, O)
38
In conclusion, formal and structured forecasting is not done. Instead, GMs and
owners estimate occupancy based on their intuition and experience, and the weather
forecast also helps with these estimations.
Pricing
Before using pricing tactics a few GMs and owners argued that managing the hotel’s
cost structure is extremely important. It is suggested that this is a complex process and
it involves decisions to be made within the hotel operations.
It was discovered that controlling the hotel costs facilitated GMs and owners to apply
a dynamic and/or a differential pricing tactic. The beginning of the pricing process is
to know exactly the hotel’s fixed and variable costs and then to identify the exact cost
of each room. If the cost of each room is not accurately known this is one possible
consequence:
The question is the cost. When I was a front desk manager I did not have the
possibility of reducing costs to sell cheaper and increase occupancy, I couldn’t
do so because we would bankrupt otherwise. If I charged R$330 a room night
we wouldn’t even pay the breakfast. It would give us a loss (INT10, M, B,
GM)
So in order to be able to adjust the price, the GM explained that:
The question is: we have a way better product, what if I manage to adjust my
price closer to theirs? Of course as a front desk manager I couldn’t simply
demand from now on we would sell cheaper. It doesn’t work because it
depends on the other hotel areas, it depends on the operations. But at that time
I had discovered that there was demand indeed, whether it was raining or not.
As soon as I became a GM , we started doing the cost analysis and then I
discovered how much each room costs: a double room, triple, quadruple, how
much the energy costs, how much the breakfast cost, so I end up cutting some
costs and an initial investment was needed for that. Switch a regular bulb for a
led bulb and mainly in the breakfast service, which all together was what was
impeding me of charging a cheaper rate, so that the guest that stayed there [in
the competitor], stayed here. But now I was on the command thus I could
make decisions. (INT10, M, B, GM)
39
However, it is also suggested that the majority of GMs and owners did not possess
this managerial skill so the rooms’ rates were not cost based. For instance, it was
mentioned that:
We need to sit down and evaluate how much a room exactly costs for us, until
now we do not have an exact cost. We have an average of what we can work
with, but the actual individual room cost we haven’t yet stopped to think
(INT8, M, D, GM)
Unanimously, hotels consulted each other’s prices during the pricing process. For
instance:
One thing that we also focus on is the competitor’s price. We identify an
average price because we cannot be too much above or too much below
either… (INT4, F, A, GM).
The location of the hotel in relation to the beach and the hotel’s value proposition
were also important criterion to be considered when pricing.
In sum, before pricing a room GMs and owners tend not to know the exact cost of
each individual room but it was demonstrated that without accurately knowing each
room’s cost it is not possible to set a competitive price.
Differential Pricing
Applying differential pricing was based on the specific seasonality that affects the
region.
General managers and owners aimed to maximize the hotel’s total revenue by
increasing occupancy levels during the low and medium season. In order to do so,
they offered discounts or set lower rates. During the high season they charged a
higher rate or offered less or no discounts.
40
The rate almost doubled during high seasons as this participant stated that:
The price that we charge during the high season is always higher. It can reach
up to R$480 and today [low season] it is R$290. (INT8, M, D, GM)
A clear example of how prices can fluctuate throughout the year because of
seasonality and location was stated by this hotel owner:
My price is usually ten percent higher than the others. Because of my location,
I work with R$39.90 Sunday to Thursday and R$49.90 Friday and Saturday
during the low season. During the medium season it goes to R$49.90 Sunday
to Thursday and R$59.90 Friday and Saturday, and during the high season,
which is from November to February, it goes up to R$59.90 and R$69.90.
January is like this and I reach around eighty, eighty-five percent occupancy
levels even during weekdays. (INT14, M, D, O)
Other Factors Influencing Pricing
Depending how low the price is, it can attract guests that are not the primary target of
the hotel. To illustrate this situation, this is what a GM stated when asked about
lowering the prices:
Here to increase the flow, or the quantity of people - the occupancy - many
times, there are owners that drop the prices. Consequently they will attract a
type of tourist, or guest that sometimes is not the standard for their hotels.
(INT6, M, C, GM)
Clients that were recognized as loyal or frequent were also offered a different rate.
This is an important guest category as a GM stated that:
We have a very solid database with our frequent guests. They sustain our
annual occupancy level at a minimum of forty percent. (INT 2, M, B, GM).
This category of clients received significant discounts, as explained that:
For guests that are loyal we offer fifty, seventy percent discounts. For guests
that have stayed with us more than three times, we have just launched a
promotion offering fifty percent off for these guests, which means, they spend
the weekend but only pay one room night. (INT5, F, A, O)
41
Another way to have guests paying less for a room was related to the method of
payment. When paying in cash or paying the total balance at once through a bank
transfer discounts were also offered. As mentioned by a couple of GMs:
Full payment… if the guest pays all at once, we offer a discount.
(INT8, M, D, GM).
Cash payment... if they make a full payment we offer a ten percent discount.
(INT5, F, A, O)
In summary, GMs and owners think mainly about a combination of four variables to
establish different prices:
(a) seasonality
(b) type of tourist to attract
(c) loyalty status of the guest
(d) method of payment
However, it was also found that one hotel opted to have a static rate throughout the
whole year. The participant explained that:
If we deliver the same service, we cannot have different prices. It is simple
and it is a way that our client find fair, easy to explained. (INT13, M, E, O).
Dynamic Price
General managers and owners also applied dynamic pricing. The closer to the arrival
date the more expensive the room rate was. However, it was identified that dynamic
pricing was applied in an improvised way rather than a forecasted, automated and
disciplined way. That means that the initial price was not very accurately identified
therefore sometimes the inverse happened: the price had to be lowered to generate
demand as this owner explained:
If the date of arrival is close enough and I still have ten rooms left, it is
because it was expensive, so we lower it. If I am left with one room two
months in advance, then I raise it. (INT11, F, E, O)
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One participant explained that the rates were:
Dynamic minute-by-minute. It is reassessed every day, all the time, according
to the information that we have, that we receive, that we look for. There were
occasions that I offered a room for R$500 during the low season, low demand,
and it sold. Sold quickly? Let’s raise the price, and then I offered another one
for R$600. (INT10, M, B, GM)
Concluding, dynamic price seemed to be practiced but in a very informal way. It was
done based on the GMs or owner’s experience, and sometimes the price had to be
decreased rather than increased mainly because of wrongly establishing the initial
price.
Cancellation Policies
All hotels had defined cancellation policies that were slightly different from each
other. Interestingly, the objective of the GMs and owners with the cancellation
policies was not to maximize revenue by collecting the penalty fee and still have the
room available to resell it.
Participants claimed that they did not want to damage the hotel’s reputation when
following cancellation policies. Interestingly, the interviewer also discovered that they
were very flexible with the hotel’s cancellation policies mainly to find a way around
the Brazilian customer protection law.
The Brazilian customer law was mentioned when discussing cancellation policies and
it was explained that it allows customer to regret a purchase in fourteen days forcing
the hotel to fully refund the guest as it is stated by this participant:
… there is the cancellation policy by law and our cancelation policy. By law
guests have fourteen days to cancel it… to regret… so if they make a
reservation only seven days prior the arrival date [and they cancel it], we must
refund them entirely. Our policy is like this. Up to forty-eight hours [before
the arrival date] we offer them a credit but we keep twenty percent, less than
forty-eight hours, which would be twenty-four hours in advance, if we resell
the room, we still offer the credit and retain twenty percent. If we do not resell
the room the guest loses everything. In practice this does not work, by law we
have to refund them. (INT11, F, E, O)
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Therefore, GMs and owners frequently try to be flexible when guests wish to cancel a
reservation. This flexibility was done by offering a credit or even having the room
instantly rebooked. Not surprisingly, the credit had an expiration date and could be
used only during the low and medium seasons. When asked why they are flexible
with the cancellation policies, a participant stated that:
One must be, otherwise it goes to court. It is not worth to hire a lawyer
because of an R$500 law suit. Do you know what I mean? Besides, especially
nowadays, the negative repercussion that it can have. (INT7, M, D, GM)
To sum up cancellation policies existed but GMs and owners did not see it as a way
to maximize revenue by collecting the cancellation fee and resell the room.
4.4.3 Revenue Management Tactics for the High Season
Overbooking
With the exception of one general manger, overbooking was not practiced and it was
seen as a very negative revenue management tactic. This participant was the only
exception:
Overbooking is in my head since last season. I noticed that we had sent a lot of
people to other hotels because we were sold out ages before and there were a
lot of people still looking. The demand was high so I felt like practicing
overbooking. Since then the idea is growing in my head, and it is an idea that I
am thinking for the next season already. I will try to start doing it smoothly.
(INT10, M, B, GM).
In general, overbooking was considered:
Very negative, it is not practiced and we treat it with excess of responsibility.
(INT13, M, E, O).
Nevertheless it has been discovered that with the majority of the participants:
It has happened but we do not practice it. It was a staff mistake, human
mistake. (INT12, M, E, GM)
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Or
It has also happened that the site [booking.com] made a room available. There
were no rooms available, we were sold out and we had let them know that
there was no vacancy. They said it was a system error. (INT4, F, A, GM).
Very interestingly, it was discovered that by accident overbooking has worked in
order to maximize revenue, as explained by this GM that said that:
It has happened that we accidentally had one overbook and somebody else
called and cancelled. Thank God that s/he cancelled because we had one
overbook (INT4, F, A, GM)
To conclude, the word that best described overbooking for the vast majority of
participants is problematic so it was not practiced by any GM or owner.
4.5 Distribution
To make a critical analysis amongst all distribution channels, aiming to identify which
channel generated more revenue and which one was more profitable, is an exercise
that a few GMs and owners had at least tried once but most of them had never done it.
The vast majority concluded that they are very dependent on distributing the rooms
via an OTA, Booking.com being the one most frequently used. The main reasons were
the reliability that OTAs offered and the high cost to distribute and sell rooms via the
hotel’s own website. The following quote from this participant summarizes this
finding:
We have done this analysis and today we cannot leave Booking.com. To leave
it is a shot in the foot. There is the reliability in terms of guests giving their
credit card number to it [OTA] instead of a small little hotel that the guest
doesn’t even know. So Booking.com is more reliable… and to do this via our
own website needs software that’s very expensive. (INT11, F, E, O)
It was argued that is not expensive to distribute rooms via OTAs because:
Booking.com is highly visited; I don’t think it is in our interest to stop doing
business with them, not at all. Thirteen percent per reservation is not
45
expensive. It’s a cost that we pay only when we sell, so it’s worth it. Also,
people that visit Booking.com are those who are looking for a place to stay, are
looking for a trip. It is a website specialized in lodging, so it attracts our target.
(INT12, M, E, GM)
The use of OTAs were also related to the seasonality as it was found that:
I do not provide them [Booking.com] rooms to sell in December or January.
(INT8, M, D, GM)
Or even if the hotel provided rooms to be sold during the high season, the commission
was negotiated, as stated by this owner:
The seven percent I pay Booking.com is a minimum commission. If forty
hotels come up in a search, I will be the fortieth. If I raise the commission to
fifteen percent, I will be the thirtieth. If I raise to thirty-five, forty percent I
will be the first or the second on the list. During the high season I only pay
seven percent and during the low season it depends. (INT14, M, D, O)
A few hotels had a relationship with other OTAs rather than Booking.com. Only one
hotel mentioned that the dependence on OTAs is not positive for hotels so he decided
not to work with any OTA, as stated:
I had [a contract] with Hotel.com but I cancelled it. I think that if continues
like this everybody is going to drown. It sets unfair competition amongst all
hotels. When you do a search, it goes for the cheapest. I am competing with a
tiny little hotel that is far away from the beach and contracts a photographer to
upload some wonderful pictures. Then you check-in this hotel and its rooms
are not even half the size of mine, smell mould, far from the beach, horrible
breakfast service, and I am competing with it. What advantage do I have?
None. On top of everything, you receive twenty percent less because you have
to pay their commission plus four percent to the credit card administrator.
(INT15, M, C, O)
In general, both sides, OTAs and hotels, seemed to be satisfied with their relationship.
Booking.com sold enough rooms for the hotels, especially during the low demand
periods, and the hotels were satisfied with the commission paid.
46
Their [Booking.com] marketing is very strong. In less than fifteen days they
sold eleven rooms for us. I believe that the hotel by itself would not sell these
eleven rooms [in this period]. (INT8, M, D, GM)
In conclusion, hotels mainly distributed their rooms via one single OTA:
Booking.com. The tactics used were related to the seasonality, as during the high
season the OTA was not very much needed. In general they were satisfied with the
service provided, the revenue generated and the profitability ratio. However, having
an OTA to distribute the hotels’ rooms was also seen as a negative tactic and not
recommended.
4.6 Conclusion
The findings presented were all aligned with the research objectives. They were
presented in different themes and according to the different seasonality situations. It
was shown several revenue management and distribution tactics that GMs and
owners are currently applying in coastal hotels in São Sebastião. Furthermore, within
these findings, opportunities and challenges could also be identified but not yet
labelled as ‘challenges and opportunities’ in this chapter. Therefore, the following
chapter will discuss these findings categorized according to each research objective
specifically. The knowledge of revenue management, the main revenue management
and distribution tactics, the challenges and the opportunities related to revenue
management in São Sebastião will be discussed in relation to the findings of the
secondary research.
47
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
5.1 Introduction
The objective of this research was to explore the management skills of coastal hotel
general manager and owners with regard to revenue management and room
distribution practices in the region of São Sebastião, Brazil.
The findings presented in the previous chapter have contributed to the understanding
of the different revenue management principles, their challenges and associated
opportunities according to the specific seasonality of the region. Figure 2 provides a
summary of main findings and it is a good starting point to read this chapter.
Figure 2: Summary of Main Findings
48
The following paragraphs will compare these findings with the scholars point of view
presented in the literature review. This integration between findings and literature
form the basis to achieve the research objectives and finally answer the research
question. The findings are now discussed and sub-divided by objectives. Objective
one - critically review the relevant literature, which has been completed and presented
in chapter two.
5.2 Objective two - examine the knowledge that coastal hotel
managers from São Sebastião, Brazil with regard to revenue
management practices
5.2.1 Revenue Management Awareness
It is important to set a clear boundary here: one thing is to holistically comprehend the
revenue management concept. Another factor is to apply its principles. A revenue
manager position was not found. This could indicate things but it is most likely that
the revenue management culture has not yet been introduced in the region studied.
With few exceptions, the general managers and owners could not define revenue
management’s theory or explain the main revenue management principles used.
Hence, in the context of this research, the revenue management concept is an
unknown management strategy or a relatively new one.
On the other hand, general managers and owners implemented interesting tactics in
order to maximize the hotel’s total revenue.
This finding is consistent with the literature which states that the basis of revenue
management thinking has existed for a long-time, approximately since eight thousand
years ago (Cross, 1997; Talluri & Van Ryzin, 2005). Moreover Kimes (2000, 2011)
explains the conditions of a business to be eligible to implement revenue management
tactics and hotels present these conditions.
49
Because the variables that orchestrated revenue maximization have not changed over
time and revenue management tactics can be applied in any hotel, general managers
and owners from the region indeed applied the appropriate revenue management and
distribution tactics without knowing that they were called ‘revenue management
tactics’.
Some benefits of applying revenue management in coastal SMHs were identified but
not presented because of the limitations explained in chapter three. However, this
finding supports Lee-Ross & Johns (1997) who argued that revenue management can
indeed be effective in SMHs.
5.3 Objective three - examine the main revenue management tactics
applied in the hotel industry in the context of coastal hotels
located in São Sebastião, Brazil
As identified in chapter two, these are the main revenue management tactics and their
respective discussion.
5.3.1 The Collection, Interpretation and Usage of Hotel Historical Data
According to all scholars it was consented that the hotels’ historical data needs to be
collected because it is useful to measure the hotel’s performance, to forecast demand,
cancellations, no-shows, occupancy, and project revenue (Lieberman, 2003; Vinod,
2004; Shy, 2008; Guadix et al., 2010, 2011; Pullman & Rogers, 2010; Kimes, 2011;
Ivanov & Zhechev, 2012; Guillet & Mohammed, 2015; Elbanna, Eid & Kamel,
2015).
This research has discovered that this data was indeed collected and with the help of
an operational system called Desbravador. The purpose of having this data was very
vague. The majority of general managers and owners stated that they had this data but
it was not used for any specific reasons.
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This finding is alarming as it is suggested within the literature that the process of
revenue management starts with collecting this data and finished by measuring the
hotel performance using this data from previous years for comparison and
identification of trends. Not to mention that forecasting and pricing is highly
dependent on the interpretation of this data (Schwartz & Cohen, 2004a).
Therefore, the effectiveness of revenue management tactics is not assessed constantly
and the data collected has practically no importance for general managers and owners
from the region studied.
One assumption is that the interpretation, analysis of this data, as well as the creation
of managerial insights based on this data, can be very time consuming, exhausting and
expensive. It needs the help of specialized software and talented staff in order to
transform this data into managerial decisions as it is suggested by Guillet and
Mohammed (2015). Hotels from that region cannot afford this investment and that is
why the collection of historical data is practically meaningless for general managers
and owners in the region studied. The same situation applies to forecasting.
5.3.2 Forecasting
Forecasting is an important revenue management tactic as it helps GMs and owners to
manage customers’ uncertainties by providing strong quantitative estimations for the
decision-making process (Aghazadeh, 2007).
However, forecasting variables from SMHs is not an easy task (Lee-Ross & Johns,
1997). However, Bodea & Fergusson (2014) state that when general managers and
owners face time, money or employee constraints that impede the exercise of
forecasting, a qualitative forecast could be an alternative.
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This is exactly what was discovered with the present research. General managers and
owners applied qualitative forecasting as they estimated occupancy and projected
revenue by using their own intuition and knowledge of the market acquired through
years of experience.
5.3.3 Pricing
Bodea and Fergusson (2014), Shy (2008) and Ng (2008) state that pricing a hotel
room based on its fixed and variable costs is a very accurate method. It is fair for the
customer. It involves less risk and it is a very straightforward technique.
This research has shown that in fact. General managers and owners from the region
cannot accurately know how much each room costs and this is a major problem that
can impede revenue management pricing tactics to be implemented.
Some authors believe that pricing hotel rooms should mainly be based on the
customers’ WTP. One way to identify the WTP is to study the competitor’s price
(Verret, 2008; Kimes, 2010; Hayes & Miller, 2011; Skugge, 2011).
In fact it is a succession of factors. It is very relevant to consult competitors to find an
optimal price but without exactly knowing each room’s cost, general managers and
owners do not have much room to adjust prices. Or even worse, as one general
manager mentioned, it can result in bankruptcy. The hotel revenue can be maximized
during the low and medium seasons by accurately understanding the cost structure of
each room and cutting unnecessary expenses and costs, which allow general managers
and owners to have a price much more competitive and profitable, and this is the core
role of revenue management.
5.3.4 Differential Pricing
The literature revealed that guests can be charged differently for the same room and
revenue managers find this revenue management tactic an effective way to increase
revenue.
52
Depending on the method of payment, loyalty, status, proximity of the arrival date or
refund terms a guest can pay a higher or a lower rate for the same room (Kimes, 2010;
Ng, 2008; Ivanov, 2014; Guillet et al., 2014). However, McMahon-Beattie’s (2011)
argue that customer’s trust could be negatively affected if they find the practice of
differential pricing unfair.
In the region studied prices are mostly fixed according to the day of the week, period
of the year, public or religious holidays, method of payment and loyalty status. There
was no evidence of the same guests paying different prices based on the age, if it is a
family or a couple, if it is a business traveler, if it is a walk-in or even based on the
weather forecast.
The loyalty status of the guest was a reason for applying a lower price in order to
attract this segment during the low and medium season. These guests received
significant benefits including discounts that reached fifty percent.
Despite the fact that authors defend the application of different rates, this research has
revealed that general managers and owners of the region studied sometimes cannot
drop their price too much. They argued that this would attract a different guest
segment that it did not intend to. Therefore, when adjusting down the price, general
managers and owners should know that this tactic can attract a different segment of
guests. This finding is supported by Hayes and Miller (2011) and Legohérel et al.
(2013) who state that different prices can alter the perception of quality of the hotel
and position the hotel in a different category.
However, if the guests themselves understand the relationship between the room price
and guest segment, a hotel can indeed choose to attract only one guest segment during
a defined moment by dropping the price really low. This could increase the occupancy
during a really low demand period and increase the total revenue. In this situation
different guest segments would not meet. Guests from one segment would be able to
identify that because of price; a different segment would be present in the hotel and
therefore choose not to visit. In this case the perception of quality of the hotel would
53
not be altered but it would indeed be in a different position. The risks of this
manoeuvre must be assessed though.
5.3.5 Dynamic Pricing
It is argued that in order to dynamically update prices according to changes in buying
patterns and demand a sophisticated optimization model is needed. It highly depends
on future demand forecast of different customer segments (Aziz et al., 2011.
Therefore it is very complex and hard to do it without specialized software.
However, the findings of this research have demonstrated that it is indeed possible to
have a dynamic pricing even with technological restrictions. The only challenge is to
forecast the initial price, which in the region studied, was done informally mostly
based on the general manager or owner’s intuition. If the initial price is not accurate
the dynamic price can go down instead of going up in relation to the arrival date and
that defeats the purpose of revenue management.
5.3.6 Cancellation Policies
Cancellation policies can help the hotel to increase its revenue when refunds are not
offered or cancellation fees are applied, and the room is resold later or instantly
reoccupied due to an overbooking (Kimes, 2000).
However, general managers and owners might opt to not collect the cancellation fee
in order to avoid any conflict with the guest. Instead, the guest receives the amount
paid in the form of credits to be used in a future reservation (Toh & Dekay, 2002).
This is a valid argument but it is important to mention that the conflict between guest
and hotel could go beyond a simple verbal argument. In Brazil, depending on how
long before the guest cancels a reservation; s/he has the right to be fully refunded. If
the hotel does not follow that law, legal action can be taken. Moreover, such a conflict
can damage the hotel’s reputation. The alternative to deal with this issue was to have a
flexible approach when executing the hotel’s cancellation policy. That means
allowing the guest to cancel a reservation but instead of refunding or applying the
54
penalty fee, the hotels offered a credit to be used in a future reservation. It would be
very unwise if this credit was allowed to be used during the high season; therefore this
credit can only be used during the low and medium seasons.
Therefore, if there is already a law that forces the hotel to refund guests under a
specific condition, then this is another significant reason to actually apply the
cancellation police strictly. If a Brazilian guest regrets making a reservation after the
fourteen days regret period, hotels should apply one hundred percent of the penalty
fee, which could mean the loss of the entire initial payment or part of it, and therefore
revenue is maximized. By the country’s law, this practice is totally legal. It could
indeed generate bad publicity, but at the end of the day the hotel is in accordance with
the law.
5.3.7 Overbooking
Toh & Dekay, (2002) give several reasons why to apply overbooking. In spite of these
reasons, overbooking was not practiced in the region studied. General managers and
owners demonstrated dread when overbooking was discussed. Nonetheless, it was
identified that accidentally, overbooking had happened at least once or twice with
practically all hotels and in some cases, the overbooking tactic accidentally worked
towards maximizing the hotel’s revenue.
On the other hand, there was an indication that overbooking could start to be applied
within the region as a general manager thought about slowly introducing overbooking
policies in the hotel but had not done so at the time the research was undertaken.
In the region studied, overbooking is seen from the guest’s perspective rather than the
hotel’s perspective. The fear of damaging the hotel reputation, the lack of accuracy
when estimating cancellations and the difficulty in finding reliable partner hotels
impede general managers and owners to practice overbooking.
Overbooking can be an effective tactic to increase revenue and the region is favorable
to do so, but general managers and owners must overcome the above challenges.
55
5.4 Objective four - examine how rooms are being distributed in
coastal hotels in São Sebastião, Brazil
Nowadays, hotels are distributing their rooms through a variety of channels, including
OTAs. However, OTAs seem to be dominating the rooms’ distribution mainly
because of the significant sales that are attributed to this channel. Therefore, it has
been argued within scholars that hotels are losing control of their own channels and
creating an over dependence on OTAs. One of the reasons for that is the fact that
general managers and owners fail to critically analyze the profitability of each
channel, including the hotel’s own website (O’Connor, 2003; Myung et al., 2009;
Thakran & Verma, 2013).
This key issue, which can alter the room rate and therefore alter the pricing revenue
management tactics, was identified within the region studied. It was discovered there
was an over dependence on a particular OTA, Booking.com, which had a contract
with all participants except one.
Booking.com dominated the room distribution of hotels from São Sebastião because:
(a) price practiced in the OTA website was higher because of the commission so
general managers and owners had their pricing tactics altered and sometimes,
because of rate parity, their rack rate was altered
(b) there were situations that the guests collected the hotel’s information from the
hotel’s own website but went to Booking.com to make the reservation and that
seemed normal for general managers and owners
(c) many hotel websites had a Booking.com link that directed the guest from the
website straight to the Booking.com booking engine to finish the sale
(d) it was confessed that some guests had asked the reason why the hotel did not
appear in the Booking.com search engine, implying that being in Booking.com
is a must.
56
In conclusion, even though Toh, Raven & DeKay (2011) have identified possible
paths to reduce the dependence on OTAs, the existing challenges within the region
studied seem to be extremely difficult to overcome in order to increase direct
bookings and decrease the over dependence on this intermediary. With today’s
accessible online technology this is not a hard task to do and the reasons to invest in
direct bookings are straightforward:
(a) one less variable cost
(b) total control over the hotel’s own price
(c) total control of the guest’s information and buying patterns
5.5 Objective five – identify the challenges and opportunities when
applying revenue management and distribution tactics in coastal
hotels in São Sebastião, Brazil
5.5.1 Challenges
Seasonality in the Context of Coastal Hotels
Dealing with seasonality was found to be the main challenge for hotel general
managers and owners in São Sebastião because of the specific seasonality factors that
altered the demand patterns throughout the year.
Hayes & Miller (2011) argue that lowering the price might not be an effective way to
increase demand if the hotel itself has no inherent demand. In relation to this
argument, the findings relating to seasonality in São Sebastião showed that the region
indeed has inherent demand during the whole year. While in some regions of the
globe during winter the demand for coastal hotels can be almost zero and it could last
for more or less six months. There are winters in São Sebastião that temperatures can
reach thirty degrees Celsius and have blue skies, sunny days, so demand for a beach
break exists whenever.
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The seasonality in the region studied is directly related to the day, week or month of
the year when there is no work or no school in the nearby cities. During the low
season, the seasonality is also related to the weather forecast. It was found that even
during winter a nice weather forecast can increase demand. On the other hand, a bad
weather forecast can decrease demand. Hence the challenge for general managers and
owners is daunting: to apply revenue management and distribution tactics according
to a combination of seasonality factors, including the weather forecast that is not very
predictable.
It was found within the coastal hotel literature that pricing rooms according to
seasonality proved to be a very effective way to generate demand (Modica et al.,
2009). The findings from this research relating to pricing support this argument. But
the challenge here is obvious: an effective revenue management tactic could be ruined
by a forecast of unpredictable bad weather. Guests could lose interest in going to the
beach or cancel a reservation due to rain. This is by far the hardest uncertainty to deal
with being a general manager or an owner of a coastal hotel in São Sebastião.
5.5.2 Opportunities
Weddings – An Opportunity to Increase Revenue During the Low Season
The literature has suggested that guests can be attracted to a hotel because of its
location in relation to the beach. In addition, despite the fact that most guests from
coastal hotels are leisure guest, it is possible to attract other guest’s categories like
business Travelers and corporate customers. Moreover, one of the guest segments
identified within the literature was the demanding beach users, who are guests that are
attracted by the surroundings of the hotel rather than the actual hotel (Modica et al.,
2009; Costa, 2013; Ekonomou et al., 2014).
Hence, it is plausible to argue that a segment of guests could exist that are not solely
leisure motivated, choose a beach before a hotel and prefer hotels that are closer to the
sea. In the case of this study this argument was corroborated with the existence of the
wedding customer segment.
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It is a segment that is not entirely leisure but is not corporate or business either in
terms of price sensitiveness. This has implications when setting prices for this
segment. According to Hayes & Miller (2011) there are different value formulas
depending on who is paying for the room and for whom the room is being booked. In
the case of weddings, it is either the buyer’s money paying for their own service or
someone else’s money paying for the buyer’s service. It was found that general
managers and owners adjusted their prices when a wedding was happening but it was
not clear if the rationale behind the adjustment was related to Hayes & Miller’s (2011)
value formulas.
What it is acceptable however, is that the WTP of a couple that wants to get married
with their ‘feet on the sand’ is higher than a regular leisure tourist, and so is the WTP
of their invitees, which explains charging higher prices.
It is important to mention that weddings are not only an opportunity to increase the
revenue of the hotel hosting the ceremony but also to increase the demand for rooms
of competitors nearby as normally, the hosting hotel cannot accommodate.
In conclusion, despite the fact that the literature did not mention weddings as a
segment for coastal hotels, this research has proved that it not only exists but it
increases the hotel’s revenue significantly by increasing occupancy and demand
during the low and medium seasons. Moreover, one explanation for selling wedding
packages only during the low and medium seasons is possibly because the revenue
generated with regular room sales in the high seasons is significantly higher than
wedding packages but this hypothesis could not be entirely proven.
A Formal Loyalty Program
An opportunity to offer different prices for frequent guests was identified. The
research showed that the way that general managers and owners offered different
prices for their frequent guests was very informal. Therefore, implementing a
structured and formal loyalty program could represent an advantage and could help
hotels to increase revenue.
59
For instance, the criterion to flag a guest with loyal status varied amongst hotels.
There was no evidence of an automated loyalty program and some guests were
considered loyal after staying three times, while others after ten stays.
These guests’ names were either simply in the general manager/owner’s memory or
were filtered from the hotel’s main system. The lack of an automated loyalty program
could be explained by the investment needed to do so.
Therefore, a hotel that implements a strong and formal loyalty program has an
opportunity to attract more guests during the low season and offer special packages
during the high season in relation to competitors, which could increase the hotel’s
total revenue.
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CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION
6.1 Introduction
Holistically, the author sought to explore the topic of revenue management and its
application within coastal hotels in a developing country. As an object of study, the
author chose to research the SMHs located in the region of São Sebastião, Brazil.
Based on the author’s research objectives several conclusions are now presented.
Finally, a set of recommendations are outlined, the contribution provided by the
literature review is explained and the research question is answered.
6.1.1 Objective one - critically review the literature surrounding revenue
management and room distribution practices within coastal hotels
The literature review has identified how broad an area revenue is. As a result, the
author could not cover all areas related to revenue management. Thus, the main
revenue management subjects and its related activities were critically analyzed in
order to support the collection and analysis of the primary data. The literature
revealed that revenue management can indeed be applied in coastal SHMs but this
specific hotel category has many specific areas that need to be considered.
In general scholars argued that having talented staff and sophisticated mathematical
models facilitate the implementation of revenue management tactics and it can
increase its efficacy. Nonetheless it was also argued that revenue management is the
ability to manage uncertainties, understand the supply and demand relationship,
seasonality and price elasticity. Therefore, technology can indeed help general
managers and owners but the research has shown that it is completely possible to
implement revenue management and distribution tactics with limited technology. The
research has shown that general managers or owner’s intuition based on years of
experience in the hospitality industry is more important than technology.
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Pricing is the revenue management area had the highest number of papers. Scholars
argued that the hospitality industry is one of the most sophisticated industries in terms
of effective pricing techniques. Hence, general managers and owners have plenty of
material to study and find solutions with regard to pricing.
It was concluded that despite the fact that currently hotels can depend too much on
OTAs to distribute their rooms, it is vital to critically analyze which channel makes a
difference in terms of profitability and to then apply distribution tactics accordingly.
6.1.2 Objective two - examine the knowledge that coastal hotels’
managers from São Sebastião, Brazil have regarding revenue
management practices
This research has shown that revenue management is a very broad theme under the
management umbrella. The hotel management variables are practically the same as
the revenue management variables. It was concluded that general managers and
owners do not know the holistic concept of revenue management even though revenue
management tactics are part of their managerial tools. It can be concluded that either
the revenue management concept has not yet been introduced in hospitality courses in
schools in Brazil or, general managers or owners did not follow a formal hospitality
management course.
6.1.3 Objective three – examine the main revenue management tactics
applied in the hotel industry in the context of coastal hotels
located in São Sebastião, Brazil
The vast majority of the coastal hotels within the region of São Sebastião had not
invested significantly in technology but managed to apply important revenue
management and distribution tactics. For instance, dynamic pricing and forecasting
are automated in large hotels but general managers and owners from the region
applied these tactics more based on their intuition and knowledge of the market.
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The purpose of collecting the hotel’s historical data is to feed a system that can
forecast demand and generate dynamic prices according to different demand patterns.
As general managers and owners did not use any specific system for forecasting and
dynamic pricing, the reason for collecting the hotel’s data was very vague.
In terms of pricing, in coastal hotels different periods of the year need different rates.
Loyal customers have benefits which include lower rates, paying in cash or making a
full payment in advance of staying in the hotel. This allows the guest to pay less and
the closer from the arrival date the more expensive the rate is, as long as the initial
price is accurately established in the first place. These are the main conclusions drawn
in respect of revenue management differential pricing tactics within the region
studied.
Very importantly, it was concluded that in order to offer a competitive price the fixed
and variable costs of the hotel must be accurately known.
In terms of cancellations it could be concluded that general managers and owners are
very flexible and normally do not follow policies strictly. The main reason for this is
to avoid legal problems and retain guests. Thus, it did not aim to maximize revenue
although retaining a guest could help the hotel to increase revenue.
It also could be concluded that because of the guest profile – leisure, beach demand
user - overbooking can be a very negative revenue management tactic for the high
season. Relocating such type of guest can be catastrophic for general managers and
owners. Nonetheless, out of all participants only agreed that overbooking in the region
is indeed possible. Therefore, apparently, the region studied is suitable to apply
overbooking but it needs to be tightly structured.
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6.1.4 Objective four – examine how rooms are being distributed in
coastal hotels in São Sebastião, Brazil
Distributing the rooms through Booking.com and mainly during the low and medium
seasons were the general managers and owners main tactics. The conclusion here is
that during the high season the demand is so high that the need for the OTA is really
low. In other words, during the low and medium seasons the bargain power is on the
OTA’s side, and during the high season it is on the hotel’s side. This has implications
in contract terms and commission percentages.
As an overall conclusion, the general managers and owners from the region
considered Booking.com a very reliable partner and did not consider cancelling their
contract. One possible explanation for this fact is that general managers and owners
have not yet identified the opportunity to distribute the rooms through their own
website or they do not believe this tactic will be effective. Investing in search engine
optimization, AdWords, paid advertisements and social media are still seen as
uncertain and less tangible channels. This may be a possible reason why Booking.com
has dominated room distribution in the region studied.
6.1.5 Objective five – identify the challenges and opportunities when
applying revenue management and distribution tactics in coastal
hotels in São Sebastião, Brazil
Challenges
As it is argued within the literature, that revenue management’s main challenge is to
manage (customer) uncertainty. It was concluded that the seasonality has a lower
uncertainty degree but the weather forecast has a high uncertainty degree, making the
application of revenue management tactics very difficult to deal with. This is a major
challenge for general managers and owners of the region studied. However, the
challenge of having a significant low demand period during winter that some
countries face, the region studied does not as demand for the beaches of the region is
constant throughout the year.
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The author also concluded that economic and socio-cultural factors also interfere in
the general managers and owner’s tactics. The country’s economic situation is not
favorable for the development of businesses in general mainly because of high taxes
and low public services and benefits. This has negative implications in strategic
planning and business growth. Public education is quite a distance from the region
and not accessible to everyone. Therefore, finding, training and retaining qualified
employees is challenging. Thirdly, there are a high number of ‘life style’
entrepreneurs who do not run the hotel very professionally. This challenge has
implications in terms of growth because:
(a) they are not very interested in making huge profits, so revenue management
tactics do not make much sense to them
(b) profits are not invested locally
Because of the concentration of many hotels within one beach, it is vital that all
hoteliers ‘speak the same language’ or ‘are on the same page’. In other words, it is not
positive if Hotel A makes huge efforts to maximize revenue but Hotel B, which is a
nearby competitor, does not intend to maximize revenue.
Opportunities
It was concluded that hotels within the region studied have identified the wedding
niche as a great opportunity to increase hotel revenue during the low and medium
seasons only. The research has indicated that this opportunity seems to be new and
there is plenty of time to investigate it. The reason why this opportunity is significant
for the hotel is:
(a) the hotel can rent its common areas
(b) it can reach full occupancy during the wedding
(c) it can increase the demand for rooms and benefit nearby competitors.
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It could also be inferred that even though weddings are a good niche to attract during
the low and medium seasons, the regular room revenue generated during the high
season is higher and therefore general managers and owners do not target weddings
during the high season.
The lack of a formal loyalty programme not only within the hotels studied but also
within a beach is also an opportunity identified by the author. The hotel itself by
having its own loyalty programme could create an opportunity to have a
differentiation point in relation to its competitors. Furthermore, since the region of
São Sebastião is composed by several beaches with distinct characteristics, hotels
from one beach could form a group and develop a loyalty programme for the beach.
This is a great opportunity to make guests loyal to the beach so during the whole year
all hotels from a specific beach can beneficiate.
Another opportunity is related to education. As it was identified that the majority of
the participants did not have a formal education in hospitality management and skilled
labour is scarce, having a bachelor, master’s degree or a certificate in hospitality
management is an opportunity. Therefore, to open a ‘Coastal Hotel School and
Training Centre’ in the region would be a great opportunity.
There is a significant opportunity for other OTAs to gain market share in the
competitive arena, as long as they cater their products to the specific region of São
Sebastião. This dissertation offers good insights on how to undertake this. Moreover,
consultant groups such as Bookassist.org that help hotels to directly sell their rooms
have a great opportunity in the region to sell such services. It was identified that there
is no such service within the region and there is a lack of knowledge of how to
effectively invest in direct bookings.
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6.2 Recommendations
This research has contributed to the general understanding of how to apply revenue
management and distribution tactics in coastal hotels and the specific challenges and
opportunities associated with the region under research. Nonetheless there is plenty of
room for improvement and this is the purpose of the author’s recommendations.
Therefore the author recommends that:
Exactly the same research scope should be conducted with other coastal hotels,
preferably in countries in the south hemisphere. This would facilitate
comparison of findings and generate discussions in order to establish
generalizations, especially in relation to seasonality.
General managers and owners from São Sebastião should be more integrated
in order to promote the exchange of revenue management knowledge and
facilitate a beach loyalty programme.
Therefore, it is recommended that an extension of this study be completed
focusing on the potential benefits of revenue management applied in coastal
hotels in a developing country.
Research should be undertaken to identify alternatives rate fences for low
demand periods. For instance, special rate conditions for days with a bad
weather forecast. Rates with unlimited amendments or non refundable could
help decrease the problems associated with the weather uncertainty.
General managers and owners must accurately identify the hotel’s fixed and
variable costs of the hotel if this has not been undertaken to date.
Strategic investments in technology aiming to reduce variable costs of
distribution should be completed.
Seeking help from a consultant group specialized in hotel distribution would
be recommended.
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6.3 Statement of Contribution to the Literature
This research has provided valuable insights into the field of revenue management,
which added knowledge of what had been researched to date. Previous research
addressed all the revenue management core activities applied in hotels as
demonstrated by Ivanov & Zhechev (2012) and Guillet & Mohammed (2015).
However, it is argued that most revenue management research is concentrated in Asia,
Europe and North America, and the majority of the studies followed a quantitative
methodology. This study contributes to the existing research on revenue management
as it analyzes the application of revenue management and distribution tactics from a
different perspective: a qualitative methodology applied in coastal hotels in São
Sebastião, Brazil. The author believes that studying revenue management in hotels in
a developing country with a qualitative methodology has a major contribution as it
offers scholars interesting insights for further research and it offers valuable
recommendations for hoteliers, especially those running a coastal hotel in a
developing country.
6.4 Overall Conclusion
Finally, the author wishes to conclude this dissertation directly by answering its
research question, which is: How managers of coastal hotels located in the region of
São Sebastião, Brazil, are dealing with revenue management and distribution
practices?
Given the overall challenges that the country has in general, hotel general managers
and owners in São Sebatião are dealing with revenue management and distribution
tactics in an informal way, without the aid of much technology. Despite the fact that
general managers and owners in general lacked the conceptual theory behind revenue
management, all of them collected and stored the hotel’s historical data, most of them
applied differential pricing and some of them applied dynamic pricing. However,
overbooking and forecasting, two very important revenue management tactics, were
not part of their managerial agenda. There are some significant opportunities for
general managers and owners to maximize revenue as presented in the previous
chapters. In spite of identifying the benefits of revenue management and distribution
68
tactics this was not an objective of this dissertation, the author established indicators
that the hotels that had a minimum level of revenue management culture had a
significant increase in occupancy and significantly increased their total revenue.
However, this indication is solely a hypothesis identified by the author and it must be
empirically studied in order to have academic value.
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APPENDIX 1 – RESEARCH PROTOCOL IN ENGLISH AND PORTUGUESE
In English
HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT THESIS
An Exploratory Individual Interview with Beach Hotels General Managers and
Owners
São Sebastião, North Shore of Sao Paulo State, Brazil
Interviews to be held from 1st of July to 31
st of August, 2015
Protocol
Interviewer: Mario T. Roma Momma
Client: College of Arts and Tourism, Dublin Institute of Technology
Present: 1 MSc in Hospitality Management Student interviewer
1. Introduction
a. Self Intro;
b. Reassurance of confidentiality;
c. Purpose;
i. refer to the need of research and write a dissertation in order to
graduate, and the personal interest in seek of management gaps
in the industry;
ii. to identify if general managers are using revenue management
techniques ;
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iii. to explore how general managers are distributing their rooms
nowadays;
iv. explain desire to speak with general managers who also may be
interested in solving existing problems in terms of revenue and
distribution;
v. give the opportunity for the interviewed to introduce themselves
and their hotel.
2. CONCEPT and PRACTISES of Revenue Managements
a. Are you familiar with the term Revenue Management?
i. Yes – Could you please explain to me what it is, which hotel
areas are involved, your own experiences?
ii. No – Explain Revenue management briefly and ask if now
he/she is familiar and ask for own experiences.
b. Do you invest time looking for ways to maximize your revenue?
i. Yes - How much? Could you please detail how you do it?
(Probe for Revenue Management, Capacity Management, Based on historical data,
based on previous experience, routine, most important, less important)
3. OCCUPANCY
a. How do you do to try to maximize occupancy?
b. Do you keep track of no shows, cancellations and walk-ins?
i. Yes – Could you please describe your way of doing it?
ii. No – Is there a specific reason why you don’t do it?
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iii. Do you think this is important for your hotel? Why?
c. Do you forecast demand using historical data?
i. Yes – How often is it done? Do you check accuracy?
ii. No – Is there a specific reason why you don’t do it?
iii. Do you think this is important for your hotel? Why?
d. Have you ever needed to overbook?
i. Yes – on what basis did you decide to overbook?
ii. Are your employees trained to deal with it?
iii. Do you think having an overbooking policy would be positive
or negative for your hotel? Why?
e. How do you deal with cancellations?
i. Do your customers have to make a deposit to confirm the
reservation? Is this deposit refundable?
(Probe for competition, less customers, cancelation policy, historical data, booking
curve, training needs, customer reaction, days before arrival)
PRICING
f. In general, could you please comment on how you set your prices?
i. Who decides the prices?
ii. Do you have differential pricing strategy? For example, people
paying different prices for the same room?
iii. What do you think about differential pricing?
iv. What do you think about your customer’s perception? Would it
be positive, negative or neutral?
g. Do you segment your customers?
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i. Yes – can you comment on how do you do it?
ii. No – Is there a specific reason why you don’t do it?
iii. Does someone, other than the one responsible for pricing, have
the authority to decide on changing prices according to
segmentation? When is that allowed?
h. Do you have a standard procedure when a customer asks a price?
Could you comment please?
i. Could you comment on what to do in low season periods in terms of
pricing, promotions? Do you consider different strategies for those
periods?
(Probe for tourist, repeat customer, seasonality, demand, competitors, standard rates)
4. IMPLEMENTATION and TECHNOLOGY
a. Do you have a computer system for reservations?
i. Yes – do you mind saying its name? Do you use it strategically?
ii. No – Are you aware of them? What is your opinion about
implementing this in your hotel?
b. Do you use a computer system for profit maximization?
i. Yes – do you mind saying its name? Could you comment on
what you think about it?
ii. No – Are you aware of them? What is your opinion about
implementing this in your hotel?
c. What about your employees?
i. Do you think they understand Revenue Management?
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ii. Do you think they would understand and get involved or do you
think it’s only your responsibility?
iii. Would you stimulate, incentivize or provide them with training
to do so?
d. What do you think about having a customer database?
i. Could you comment on your experience with it?
(Probe for GDS, Fidelio, Sabre, Galileo, not necessary, too expensive, never thought
about it, customer relationship management)
5. DISTRIBUTION
a. Are you satisfied with your online strategy? Social Media, own
website?
i. Yes – Could you comment why?
ii. No – What would you do different? What are your reasons for
not utilizing these? Could you please explain in detail how your
website can be improved?
b. Attracting customers to your website: do you see it as an opportunity or
a threat?
i. Could you please comment on what you think about this
channel?
ii. How do you think you can improve the number of bookings on
your own website?
c. Do you use social media do advertise, promote or sell your rooms?
i. Could you please comment on what you think about this
channel?
d. What do you think about mobile phone apps?
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i. Do you have a mobile friendly website or an app? Could you
detail your answer please?
ii. What do you think about being available on other devices?
e. Do you strategically analyze your distribution in terms of main
channels and their related costs?
i. Do you have a specific reason for choosing one channel over
another? Could you please comment on that?
ii. Do you use all the tools offered by OTAs?
iii. Would you change the way your rooms are being distributed?
Could you please detail your answer?
iv. What is your opinion about OTAs?
(Probe for Facebook, reservation by phone, booking engine, pay per click, mobile
app, Google)
6. General Analysis
a. In general, how satisfied are you with the way the hotel is being run,
promoted and distributed?
b. Could you comment what do you think is important for customers
when deciding to book a hotel?
c. Is there any need to change the way things are being done? Could you
detail your answer please?
(Probe for price, previous experience, very satisfied, unsatisfied, attract more
customer, low season)
In Portuguese
1. CONCEITO e APLICAÇÕES de Gerenciamento de Receita (Revenue
Management)
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a. O termo Gerenciamento de Receita (Revenue Management em Inglês)
é familiar para o Sr. (a)?
i. Sim – O Sr. (a) poderia explicar-me o que é, quais as áreas do
hotel estão envolvidos, suas próprias experiências?
ii. Não – Explicar brevemente e perguntar se agora o termo é
familiar e pedir próprias experiências
b. O Sr. (a) investe tempo procurando maneiras de maximizar sua receita?
i. Sim - Quanto? Poderia, por favor detalhar como você faz isso?
(Sondar por Revenue Management, Gerenciamento da Capacidade, com base em
dados históricos, com base na experiência anterior, de rotina, o mais importante,
menos importante)
2. OCUPAÇÃO
a. Como o Sr. (a) faz para tentar maximizar a ocupação?
b. O Sr. (a) mantém um controle de “no-shows”, cancelamentos e “walk-
ins”?
i. Sim - Poderia descrever a sua maneira de fazê-lo?
ii. Não - Existe uma razão específica para não fazê-lo?
iii. O Sr. (a) acha que isso é importante para o seu hotel? Por quê?
c. O Sr.(a) faz “forecasts” baseado em dados históricos do hotel?
i. Sim – Qual a periodicidade? O Sr. (a) checa a precisão?
ii. Não – existe alguma razão específica por não fazê-lo?
iii. O Sr. (a) acha isso importante para o seu Hotel?
d. Ja foi necessário praticar overbooking?
i. Sim – baseado em que o Sr. (a) praticou overbooking?
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ii. O seus funcionários estão treinados para lidar com essa
situação?
iii. O Sr. (a) acha positivo ou negativo praticar overbooking para o
seu Hotel?
e. Como o Sr. (a) lida com cancelamentos?
i. Poderia por gentileza comentar a sua política para
cancelamentos?
(Sondar por concorrência, menos clientes, condições de cancelamento, dados
históricos, curva de reserva, as necessidades de formação, a reação do cliente, dias
antes da chegada)
PREÇO
f. No geral, poderia por gentileza comentar como o Sr. (a) determina os
preços?
i. O Sr. (a) aplica alguma estratégia de preço diferencial? Por
exemplo clientes pagando preços diferentes pelo mesmo
quarto?
ii. O que o Sr. (a) pensa a respeito de preço diferencial?
iii. Qual a percepção dos seus clientes quanto à estratégia de preço
diferencial? O Sr. (a) acha que seria positivo, negative ou
neutral?
g. Sobre segmentação, o Sr. (a) poderia comentar como isso é feito?
i. Se não é feito segmentação, teria algum motive específico?
ii. Os seus funcionários estão autorizados a aplicar preços
diferentes para segmentos diferentes? Por favor comente.
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h. Poderia por gentileza comentar como o Sr. (a) lida com os preços nos
períodos de pouco movimento?
(Sondar por cliente fiel, sazonalidade, demanda, concorrência, tabela de preços)
3. IMPLEMENTAÇÃO e TECNOLOGIA
a. O Sr. (a) possui um sistema de reservas computadorizado?
i. Sim – se não se importar, qual seria?
b. O Sr. (a) possui um sistema computadorizado de gerenciamento de
receita?
i. Sim – se não se importar, qual seria?
ii. O sistema oferece relatórios estratégicos? Comente por favor?
iii. Ele esta integrado com o seu sistema de reservas?
iv. Não - O Sr. (a) conhece algum? Ex. Micros Fidelios, Rate
Wise, Ideas, Easy RMS, Amadeus. Qual a sua opinião em
implementar um desses sistemas no seu hotel?
c. Referente aos seus funcionários, o Sr. (a) acredita que eles entenderiam
e se envolveriam na maximização de receita? Ou o Sr. (a) acha que é
somente sua responsabilidade?
i. O Sr. (a) promoveria algum tipo de incentive ou mesmo
treinamento para eles trabalharem também a maximização de
receita?
d. O que o Sr. (a) acha sobre ter uma base de dados dos seus clientes?
Poderia por gentileza comentar a sua experiência?
(Sondar por GDS, Fidelio, Sabre, Galileo, não é necessário, muito caro, nunca
pensei sobre isso, programas de relacionamento)
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4. DISTRIBUIÇÃO
a. O Sr. (a) esta satisfeito com a sua estratégia online, por exemplo midia
social, o seu website?
i. Sim ou não – por gentileza poderia comentar? O que é bom, o
que poderia mudar?
ii. Atrair clientes e vender quartos no seu próprio website: o Sr. (a)
acha uma oportunidade ou ameaça? Poderia comentar por
gentileza o que o Sr. (a) acha desse canal, o que poderia
melhorar?
b. O Sr. (a) usa media social para promover ou vender seus quartos?
i. O que acha desse canal?
c. Qual a sua opinião sobre aplicativos para celular?
i. O Sr. (a) possui um site mobile friendly ?
ii. O que acha de estar disponível em outros aparelhos tipo Ipad,
relógio, óculos?
d. O Sr. (a) analisa estrategicamente seus canais de distribuição e custos
relacionados?
i. O Sr. (a) possui um gerenciador de canal por exemplo
Siteminder, Rate Tiger?
ii. Poderia comentar como o Sr. (a) escolhe os canais de
distribuição?
iii. Qual a sua opinião sobre canais de distribuição online?
(Sondar por facebook, reservas por telephone, sistema de resrvas, pay-per-click,
aplicativo de cellular, google)
5. ANALISE GERAL
a. No geral quão satisfeito o Sr. (a) está com relação a maneira que o seu
Hotel esta sendo gerenciado, promovido e distribuído?
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b. Poderia por gentileza comentar o que o Sr. (a) acha importante para os
clientes quando eles vão escolher um hotel?
c. Teria alguma coisa que gostaria de comentar? Alguma coisa que
gostaria de mudar por exemplo?
(Sondar por preço, localização, experiências anteriores, muito satisfeito, insatisfeito,
atração de mais clientes, baixa temporada).
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APPENDIX 2 – FULLY TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEW IN ENGLISH
INT10, M, B, GM
Interviewer: In the subject of Revenue Management, which hotel areas it
encompasses do you think ?What techniques do you use to maximize your revenue?
Do you have some sort of experience trying to increase occupation, revenue?
Interviewee: Actually this is very interesting because I am doing it in practice,
because I took over the Hotel one year ago. And there is also the question of the
seasonality. I personally deeply believe that the low season does not exist for us.
Independently, for me this is a culture that we preferred to work with. I am coming
from a meeting in the tourism office and it is something complicated, but have you
known the region for a long time?
Interviewer: The North Shore or Juquehy?
Interviewee: The North Shore.
Interviewer: Yes, for quite a long time.
Interviewee: So you are aware that this is not the city of Juquehy is a beach, which is
a neighborhood of São Sebastião. The beach [city] is São Sebastião, but it is already
part of our culture, you don´t say ‘I am in São Sebastião’. ‘I am in Juquehy, Maresias,
I am in Cambury’. And they want to change this culture, because they want to sell the
beach, sorry the city, the region as a whole. All right, they are not wrong thinking
about this. The question is that we are already inserted in a culture that is going to be
difficult to change right now. Of course this is a tool that in the long run will maybe
start to join together. The point is that firstly we are in a difficult year [economically?]
Yeah! But disregarding that, other years were also difficult. In terms of demand, of
actually having sales conversion during the off-season and mid-week. We did not
have much. I can even show you here in the system, which is interesting because it
will be an introduction for us to get to the point you want. To give you an idea we
were the only hotel on the north shore that was full 100% from August last year to
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April this year. We consider a [high] season from January. January and February we
get 100% occupancy. And we full since August, which are 8 months. [Passing the low
season?] So that's what I'm talking about, it was [high] season for us in terms of
occupation. It is obvious that the room rate was not the same that we charge in
January. We charge a price in January and another one in August. This is our
midweek [showing the computer screen], after this weekend. Here is empty because
we are closing down to refurnish the hotel. This is our mid-week, and our midweek is
practically the same all the time. We have an occupancy of 70% in the midweek.
Interviewer: And you are managing to maximize revenue in this period? Are
managing to get the most out of it because, only the occupation okay it is fine but, the
price for example is being worked dynamically?
Interviewee: That's what I said, it is an introduction to reach the point where you
wanted reach. What happens? I took the hotel 1 year ago. I used to work at the front
desk, I had the reception chief role. I used to leave here the Hotel and used to see that
that each hotel had one car, two cars parked. Thinking that they were guests in the
hotels. There were 2, 4, 6, 8 15, 18 and I thought 'Wow, so there are people, the
demand exists but why these people is not here [in his hotel]? It is obvious that the
others are cheaper that’s why they went there. The point is that we had a much better
product. What if I can get a price closer to theirs? Of course it wouldn´t work if
myself, front desk chief, simply said 'now we sell cheaper'. It does not work like this
because it depends on other sectors, it depends on the operating. But I've found that
the demand existed, whether it was raining or not. As soon as I became a general
manager we did a cost projection and then I found out how much it cost each room,
how much it costs a double, a triple, a quadruple, the energy costs, how much the
breakfast cost and I ended up doing some cuts. It demanded me an initial investment.
I replaced regular bulbs with LED ones, especially the breakfast, which was impeding
me to make a cheaper rate, so that guest that was there stayed here. But now I was in
charge so I could decide. My breakfast during the week is completely different from
the weekend. What happens? We are five hotels standing on the sand, a competition
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among 5 hotels, but with these strategies I extended the competition range in the
midweek. So during the week I do not have competitors foot in the sand, my
competitors are others. The cost benefit is that s/he will pay 50, 100 more to stay here.
Many people criticize 'but then you're bringing another public' Indeed, but I am
bringing another target, which is that guest that would not stay here with the normal
rate. It's the guest who says like 'If I invest 50, 100 more a day, I can stay at HOTEL
X' It is not the guest that says ‘I do not have 50, 100 more to get it’. So my
competition increased significantly. The guy who had been frequent in another hotel
nearby for 5 years turned our guest. The most interesting, which is crazy, from the
moment I took the hotel I cut all advertising costs, all you can imagine. Internet
guides, printed guides, publications, took out everything. We spent a year 22, 23K,
which is little. Interestingly, the hotel has never been so visualized after the cuts I
made. My guests that come during the week used to be in a hotel there. They have a
circle of five friends In Facebook. On one occasion, they found us through
Booking.com and saw that are rate was not too bad at all and then they called here and
found out that there was even 10% discount if paid through bank wire transfer booked
here and did not tell their friends. He arrived and before they filled the check in form
he was already taking pictures. It is a different target, the guest wanted to show off.
So who is making my advertising is now the guest himself by sharing. First I cut
advertising costs and second cut costs from breakfast. The amazing thing is that when
I have breakfast complaint is not during the week is during the weekend. My rate
varies from 490 the simplest room in the low season to 790, during weekends. For
mid-week it drops. From 330 to 450. It is the BEACH B price. It's 50, 60 more
expensive than the others. Thanks to the primarily cost reduction, which was the first
thing we did. When I took over we had a waste of approximately 2kg of fruit and 3
bags of bread, today there is no waste. We restructured operational, everyone here had
to re-learn how to think. As soon as I took over I called a meeting with everyone, and
I depend solely on them for all of this, and said 'Now it is going to be like this, this is
the way. Whoever is in, is in, whoever does not want do adapt to this new stage tell
me that we make a deal' Only two employees left, they did not want to think
differently. Back to the point, cost reduction was the main tactic that made offer a
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cheaper rate for the guest, so I could offer the person who was staying with the other a
better value here.
Interviewer: This was 1 year ago right? What about now? Because the guests comes
and has an experience, hers/his perception of value doubles. Do you think you have
room to increase the price in relation with the proximity of the arrival date?
Interviewee: "It comes from a restructuring the operations. First, we have some tools,
it was not easy to implement them though but, I have at the front desk today, people
who have appropriate selling and marketing techniques, marketing. For example if the
person doing the reservation now for November during midweek the price is one. As
it gets closer [to the arrival date] we check the occupation and the price increases, and
the same happens every weekend... For example we also do weddings, actually we do
not do marriage, we offer space for it to be done, and I base myself totally with my
competitor, by the attitudes he has ... to be very technical, to arrive to the point: we
charged 37mil from Friday to Sunday to close the hotel for weddings and he charges
39, and he does more weddings than we do, actually used to. 'But it is more
expensive? "… The clients arrived and discovered that here you need to cover, just
look at the picture of the hotel ... in HOTEL Z (direct competitor) you enter the hotel
there is a big hall, a restaurant, so depending if it is 100, 150 people do not need to
cover. To cover is expensive, if you cover all areas of my hotel it is 26,000 so here a
wedding used to cost 37 plus 26, and there was 39. So when I became a GM I
convinced the owners to decrease the value. We decreased to 29,000. Problem
solved? No, that is 29 plus 26, although here is still more expensive than there we do
more weddings than them ... It makes no sense! It doesn´t when we do not know the
location, profile. The niche has changed. That guy who has 100, 150, 200 people
wedding, end up doing it there because he makes little or no cover. We found the
market of that person if the wedding is not here, it won’t be on the beach. Then the
price decreases. So if the wedding is for 60, 70, 80 people it can be done here without
covering the place and then it will actually be a reduction to 29,000 and not 39
thousand that he would pay there [in the competitor]. Now we've had six weddings
this year and we already have 13 more by June next year, more than one wedding per
month. Why do we do this? Because of his strategy [competitor] or lack of it. They
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[competitor] have a very conservative policy, and they do not inform you nothing. If
you send an email to him 'I want to do my wedding there' he answers 'then come here,
sit here and we will tell you everything I say if you come here' Then the publicity that
I do not do, who does it is. 90% of marriages that we close here, the person came here
to talk to him, and then as it was really nearby, the person also came here to quote.
And those are exactly the ones that is targeting a wedding for 50, 60 people. Because
here the person already knows that is 29,000. Here we explain everything, reveals
everything, so the person only comes to meet the space. If one day he change his
strategy we will have to change ours here as well. It's basically what happens with
normal rate. Now that we are doing many marriages because of this strategy so I pray
for do even more marriages? No! I wanted to actually not do any marriages. Every
time they do marriages, and we discover that because we talk the person when a
person comes here and asks for a marriage to such date. I depend on the reception
staff to collect all information. We know that the person has been researching the
competitor and so we already know that perhaps there will have a wedding. What
happens when you have a wedding in our neighbor? Here we lodge 40 people, and
they lodge 30, and a marriage is for at least 50 people. The person who invites 50
people does it here, because here is 29 and there 39. Therefore they [competitor] do a
wedding for 150 people, if they only lodge 30 and 150 people turn up, there is 120
people to stay elsewhere. The nearest hotel is here, then it is obvious that we increase
our rate. So when they [competitor] do marriages we sell room with the price of
January, high season. Of course I can´t do all of this alone, I cannot manage it, so I
have to share information, to train the reception staff.
Interviewer: This is a subject we will talk about. Without training, involvement, and a
[RM] culture of front desk staff and sales, only one person aiming to maximize
[revenue] does not work.
Interviewee: They have to understand the strategy. I love to teach so I do not bother to
stay until 11 pm talking to them [staff], so sometimes I talk to them individually,
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sometimes it is possible to talk with 2, 3 people. It is more like when I have spare
time. Now we will have a lot of meetings because the hotel will be closed.
Interviewer: And your customer, your guest, what do you think they appreciate when
choosing among the hotels in BEACH B? Price, tranquility, comfort, ‘feet on the
sand’?
Interviewee: I think we're evolving to a period, to a generation of collaboration,
sharing. Nowadays everyone is able to know everything. Everything is public domain
and public interest. Thinking about this, I gave up the individual ways of sharing. Will
I generate content? No. My guests will generate content for me. I realized that 60% of
all the people we talked and we registered, they stayed with us because of the good
rating and the word of mouth of others: Booking[.com], TripAdvisor, and
recommendations. This is my basis. It's hard to tell what my guests want because even
them don´t know what they want. We do not know what we want. Unfortunately we
are in a period that the people want everything s/he is entitled for. For example, the
weekend breakfast receives complaints in terms of lack of variety and when you ask
variety of what one cannot tell. You do not know what you want, then say what my
guest wants is terrible, I can´t.
Interviewer: Let's talk about cancellation? About this theme I would like to know the
hotel’s policies, and how it is practiced. It is strictly practiced or you are flexible? Is
the cancellation used as a device for future sales?
Interviewee: I will tell you what happened and this is real. As I said our pricing is
dynamic, it has to be so we feel the market, feel, the conversion, the demand,
everything, and of course the supply, we do research all the time. This weekend for
example, we have 13 rooms, we sold 17, 4 extra because there were two cancellations
each reservation was for two rooms. We had the cancellation, we cancelled them and
re-sold the rooms. Our neighbor, HOTEL Z does not have 50% occupation, they do
not have 7 rooms occupied, and HOTEL Y, which is one of the best here, which is
also our competitor still have to sell 4 rooms.
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Interviewer: And you all share information about your hotel among each other?
Interviewee: Formerly it was not like that, but I think that this culture is changing, not
the owners, they do not like this, but among us internally. The HOTEL Y receptionist
receives our call 4, 5 times per day. What for? To offer. I ask 'you still have
availability? I am sold out’. ‘Ow we still have 4 rooms’. Then if someone calls us we
recommend HOTEL Y. So they receive this call, this contact, 4, 5 times a day so we
offer them our clients. Thus, there is no harm in getting some extra information. It's a
type of share that we do and that…
Interviewer: Back to cancellations…
Interviewee: Let’s go, New Year Holidays. I sold the New Year Holidays but I still
had 3 rooms. And we also sold Christmas very well, also because of strategy as before
we did not even have analytics on the website. I put the analytics, but the site is crap,
we need to make a new site, but I put the analytics, and started to realize that many
people from Campinas searched, and a lot of people with a personal computer, and
very focused on a period only , on Christmas, because I put the analytics in our
Christmas rates page. I said 'there are people from Campinas wanting to come in for
Christmas' So I put together a package, interesting price, sold almost the New Year
Holiday prices for Christmas, and indeed a family bought 9 rooms and then a friend of
theirs bought the other 4. But only because we managed to identify that they were
accessing, were looking for. I always offer dynamic packages, that people can choose.
Choose the period. Sometimes I do a 5 day package, but if one wants to buy only one
day it is possible, of course I'm going to offer the total price of the package, I base
myself on that. And it's amazing for example, I do a package with 5 nights by
R$5000, but then the person says 'I do not want 5 days', and then I say 'but you have
to pay the total package' and then the person refuses. Then I do a package of R$5000
1 night plus R$50, R$100, R$150, R$200. R$5200. Then s/he takes 4 nights and does
not claim to pay R$5150 for 4 nights, it is amazing. S/he thinks ‘Okay, even if it is R$
50, but I'm not paying the last night’. It is also interesting because I can also sell the
last day. Anyway, on New Year's Eve, I didn´t sell 3 back bedrooms, the simplest
ones with the view to the street, I have 4 rooms of those. As it was difficult to sell I
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lowered the price. One of those who bought this room saw and said ‘I paid this much,
there is a difference of R$1350' I agreed and tried to justify. We have four categories
of rooms and you have the simplest one, the question is that I have even more
luxurious room to sell and then I had to lower the value of it. It made no sense to
leave the most luxurious room with a similar rate to the cheapest so I lowered the
price of all rooms, not intentional, I didn´t think it was going to create problems.
That's it, ‘no one will buy the same bedroom of yours paying less, because I have no
more available, what I have is more expensive, which I lowered the price and I was
lowering the others as well, but there is no availability of other rooms. Regardless,
s/he did not understand me, s/he said that if this was the explanation t was a waste of
time. Okay, I respect your opinion, then after the wife sent me an email also finding it
absurd. Replied the email saying ‘I'm worried about, and it’s complicated, is that you
do not want to understand the side of the hotel and my intention is not to have
dissatisfied customers, mainly before arrival, then the problem is this, I do not mind if
you cancel the reservation, I would not charge the penalty fee, and if the problem is
really R$1,350, as you are doing the math, I also give back this money for you, I paid
you to not stay here. Therefore, it was around R$10,000 the package, I returned the 10
thousand plus 1350 and then it became a matter of moral right? She said 'I'm not
looking to make 1350' I explained. Because of my attitude she replied that she had
finally agreed that it was a misunderstood, they did not cancel it, didn´t ask for a
refund, we became friends and we will open a branch together in Miami, and as he is
a painter, we made an agreement that he will paint some paintings to the hotel. So one
occasion that was supposed to be totally negative, it became a partnership, I showed
them that I was not joking. It is complicated a company that is afraid. I usually
explain to my clients that we have values and that is what creates our personality. We
sell these values, this is what we are, and that's what I need to put in their heads so
they understand what we are. Who wants us like this, will come and enjoy it, who
wants us to betray our values, we refund and pay to not stay with us . We do not want
to have contact with this type of people. Hence, our cancellation has a value, a penalty
fee and everything. But this is stipulated but not said to the guest. It works as follows,
we have a cancellation policy and if there is a cancellation, we try to resell the room,
but what we need is, as we have values, that people also have values and commit to it.
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It is a commitment, it is a contract, it is paid and the payment is the person’s signature
saying 'I accept the conditions' so when s/he paid, they accepted our conditions. I try
to get the person to repeat it and speak ‘okay, I won’t not go and so please go ahead
and cancel’. When that is done, then we try to resell. The person then accepted our
cancellation policy but as soon as we resell the room, s/he chooses for a refund of for
a credit. But this is all hidden, but for them we will make a cancellation. If we do not
sell, we keep the policy. That is what happened this weekend, 4 rooms that we
managed to resell, and they decided to stay with the credit.
Interviewer: And do you collect this cancellation number, per month, how many times
it happens?
Interviewee: It's another interesting thing. I have the operating system, which is
Desbravador. Use it more than 100% because we use it in such a way that it was not
actually created for. It has interesting parameters that we have created. I see the
reservations I have cancelled from the day we opened. In June for example, we had
three reservations canceled and then I got the history of them here. Look,
Booking.com reservation, 100% penalty fee… Actually cancellation for us is very
good because I take the penalty fee and still resell the room. And if I do not collect the
penalty fee, for example, what happens? The person made the reservation, R$1000 so
the penalty fee would be R$500. I tell that the fine will be 500. The person accepts,
it’s all right. If I resell the room, I'll call the person and say ‘I was thinking here, let’s
do this? You want the R$500 back, we refund you but if you want to take it as a credit
then you get the total credit of R$1000 and then you come back in another
opportunity, because you already had an interest to come in, you could not come now,
but maybe you will be interested again…’
Interviewer: It is an opportunity to offer the person the experience but it would be
more profitable to keep the R$ 500. However in the long term you would have another
guest in your database.
Interviewee: [It is more profitable] to keep the R$500. Therefore, we do not worry
about cancellations.
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Interviewer: This cancellation statistics for example, the holiday of September 7, in
previous years you have had four cancellations. You could estimate that this year will
probably have two, and in that sense you overbook.
Interviewee: OverBooking has been already in my mind since the season began. I saw
that we sent a lot of people to other hotels, we would be sold out long ago and still
had a lot of people looking for us, the demand was high and I had this desire to apply
overbooking. So I’ve been trying to find ways to do so, it is an idea that I have to have
for the next high season, I will gradually try it. This is the problem, as I said, I’ve just
got out of a meeting at the tourist office where there were many people in the
industry, and most of them hotel owners. And it's hard to have hotel owners here who
do like the owners of this hotel: they go away and let people who know how to work
be in charge, it is very complicated. Here there is the crowd that says ‘I am getting old
and I will open a beach hotel to see how things go.’ So it's very complicated for me to
depend on this type of entrepreneurs because I know that is not handled in the most
professional way I have no confidence. To HOTLE K I would send my guests, I know
they will be well taken care. That’s why we need to restructure ourselves. For
example, this happened last week. A person made a reservation here and another one
in HOTEL X. Their friends stayed here, and they stayed there. As I say, we have an
identity, we have values. One of our values is that you will not share the pool with
anyone who is not a guest. You will share the pool with the person who has the same
right as you. You will not share the beer with the guy who is passing on the beach that
will take your cold beer, and when you ask our waiter for your cold beer it will be
warm because there was none in the fridge. Values. Values based on a strategy and a
physical reality of the hotel. I'm not able to have more freezers to put more beer,
maybe I will not sell, so why would I do that? So what I am able today is to offer as
much as I can and to whom is my guest. They cannot write a complaint on
Booking.com, on TripAdvisor , they can write the value of the hotel 'we don’t want to
go back there anymore because it is a hotel value' and that's what I wanted them to
put, so now on anyone who reads it says ‘their services are strictly to guests so that
exactly where I want to go’. Then it is very complicated this type of partnership that is
very specific, each hotel has a way of working, each hotel has a particularity. You go
to resorts with 300 apartments and it is easy, you can easily have 100 passing by
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customers in this hotel, you need to bring business to the restaurant then, it is
different, a different structure.
Interviewer: And in times that demand is greater than supply, you make a waiting
list? If you are crowded and continue to receive calls, you make a list to contact them
if there is a cancellation?
Interviewee: At least for us here, as the demand is high, it does not work. 99.99999%
of the people we contacted after had already made reservations elsewhere. It is not as
dynamic. If you have 300 apartments, the probability of cancellation is much higher
than 13 apartments. And you think 10, 15, 20, 30 cancellations on public holidays,
you already consider that so you can overbook. In our case, imagine if we had here a
neighbor with, 100, 150 apartments, of course we would do overbooking. We know
then that the neighbor will not be sold out all the time. The guest calls here ‘Do you
have rooms available’ we say ‘wait!’ The we call our neighbor and ask ‘Do you have
rooms available?’ ‘We do!’ So it is easy then, pick a guest here send them to the
neighbor and we say 'yes, we have an apartment' When you realize you are already
crowding the other. It is a plan that I have to do, but I need to mature it.
Interviewer: Speaking of price, how do you set your price? How do you determine it?
How many times a year you review it? It is dynamic the whole month?
Interviewee: It is dynamic every minute, it is reassessed every day, all the time,
according to the information we have, we receive and that we search. [So in the web
site the price is not shown?] It is, but changing it is easy, you just go there and
change. See, we will travel, will buy the plane ticket everyone knows, why not hotels?
It is a culture that is complicated. It is already changing though, the proof is that this
is how we do it here. I have had occasions I offered a night for R$500 and then it sold
it, during the low season, low demand. Sold it already? I increased the other, then I
put 600 or so. But this 600 one the guest picked from Thursday to Saturday left the
night from Saturday to Sunday free, and then I sold this night for R$1500. Because
the highest demand, room nights from Saturday to Sunday is the highest demand, and
we sell more in the last minute, so it's great when we have it. There are nights from
Saturday to Sunday but the person picked only Thursday to Saturday, then we sell
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through Booking.com at a higher price and it sells, it sells! We have four room
categories, there is the standard that has no sea view, luxury with a side view, and
super deluxe and master, both beachfront, but the master has a whirlpool. [Showing
the layout of the hotel] Then I got here three masters, 2 super luxury, this is not an
apartment, it is a coffee area and that is why we will be closed, because it doesn’t
make sense, so we will build the fourteenth apartment. The hotel has 6 years, and I am
working here for 4, and I'm manager for 1 year. And the previous management was
totally [static] total. See, master apartment with whirlpool, super luxury apartment
without whirlpool. Apartment master had a difference of R$100, R$100 and
something in relation to the super luxury because of the whirlpool. What happened?
You looked here in our reservations map. The two super-premium were always sold
out. Because the guest thought ‘R$150 extra, I'll be in super luxury then, as I will stay
three days, 150 per day is almost one room night’. Only super luxury sold. What did I
do? Room night of standard R$100 less the luxury room night with a side view, did
not do anything with the luxury, set the room night here (master) whatever price, and
I reduce R$20 the super luxury room night. Now I have five masters, with the price of
five masters. How much revenue have we lost during all these years? Selling Super
Luxury R$100, R$150 cheaper? The point is that you are not paying R$20 more to
have a hot tub, no. You're having R$20 discount to stay in the super luxury. This is
the concept of fearful company that I explained. It is risky to do so? This is what the
previous manager thought. How can I justify only R$20 more? During Public
Holidays I increase it R$50. [Justify to whom?] To the guest, this is the question. It is
a very conservative concept. There is a difference to be conservative and be
reactionary. Conservative preserves those good habits that we have to actually
conserve, reactionary is to do what was done before to save custom… which was the
case here. Conservative ideas with reactionary attitudes and then we got plastered and
that is why we had low, high, mid-week, weekend, for us now this does not exist
anymore. For us now there is a lack of concern with the weekend that for us it is
already sold and more focus during the week, so being dynamic we can have higher
prices, whatever is it’s to increase R$2, R$5 or R$10. 2015 is the best year ever of
hotel, the year of economic crisis and it is the best year of the hotel. We are making a
new room, we are covering this area here to have more weddings, we heated the pool
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this year, made a refurbish in the bar and implemented electronic expense cards. I
assumed the hotel with 17 employees, we are 21 now, and we will refurbish the
kitchen now.
Interviewer: What about your clients, do you segment them? Business, leisure,
geographically? Does that matter for you?
Interviewee: I don’t do this firstly because I would need more people to do this. Me,
myself, doing it, it’s not possible. [Business? Conference? Meetings?] It's more
weddings because I do not have structure. Also, it is not an investment I can do, there
is no room for it. The hotel is small, does not advance, it doesn’t go. Sometimes we
do a few, when the companies are interested in adapting to our reality, something
more informal. Like outdoors with umbrellas, chairs, tables. But to put a multimedia
screen is not possible because of the daylight. It depends on the dynamics.
Interviewer: What about discounts? When do offer them? In which situations? How
do you do it? What is your experience?
Interviewee: We offer 10% discount for payment through bank deposit. An interesting
thing, check it out how crazy it is, to think of the cost reduction. First thing was to
review the fixed costs, for example computer technician I paid R$200 per month.
Firstly he was no longer serving us well, he did not bring us innovation. I decided to
cancel it, I know how to work with computers, we find a way to do it, only when there
is a huge problem we ask him. Canceled the contract. After 5 months we implemented
the electronic expenses cards, so had saved R$1,000. Then I called another computer
technician and he charged me R$300 to reset my entire network, separate the hotel
network from the guest’s one. Now I needed new computers, separated servers and he
charged me another 350 to format all computers and leave everything on track. This
in one year, I spent 650 reais in twelve months where it would have been spent
R$2,400. Then there was the fruit supplier. The previous manager he over cared for
the quality, that's good, great. The question is the cost associated to it. So that’s why
when I was in the front desk I didn´t see a possibility of reducing the price to sell
more and have this occupation, I could not do that because we would bankrupt. If I
were to charge R$330 per day it would not cover the breakfast cost. It would give a
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loss. When we see the reports showing the breakfast expenses with fruit for example,
with the previous supplier I had fruit nothing has changed. Then you compare the
occupation, and you see that we do twice, three times with the same. So cutting costs,
reviewing suppliers was essential. Another important detail, we had a fridge, washing
machine technician but everything had technical problems all the time. The next step
was to hire him full time, he was here every day. I pulled a report and had a thought.
He comes to work with a brand new car that costs R$25,000 and we spent with him
R$29,000, I other words we paid the car for him. What have I done? I have two
people in maintenance, the maintenance manager and the assistant. I think the total
cost of their course was R$3,500, including food and transportation. I paid the course
for them. For example the ice machine that broke every week is since November
without giving any problem. Because on top of everything the technician above all
was being dishonest. Cutting costs? No! Actually excess in costs. When I became the
GM of the hotel, the owners were thinking about selling it, and now we will open
another branch in the United States. The previous manager did the following. The
figure was R$37,000 for weddings, and we has this difficulty to sell it because the
neighbor was R$39,000, that thing I've explained to you, because of the covering. But
sometimes people fell in love with the hotel, and it was only then that happened that
we sold weddings. Because of quality service and because the person fell in love with
the hotel. What did he do? The covering company charges a certain amount, the
contract we make is to start covering on a Thursday and it only took it on Monday.
Because Sundays are the days off of the employee, then we would have to pay extra,
then would become more expensive for the couple, then the alternative was to take the
cover off Monday. Thus, it used to be from Thursdays to Mondays. So we used to
loose from Thursday to Friday, and Sunday to Monday. There were weddings that we
closed from Tuesday to Tuesday because of the covering. It was closed. Because then
the covering company said that it would need 10 people but if we allowed them to
start covering before then they would need only three and it would be cheaper for the
couple. Today we let them work from Thursday, it is very clear in the contract that the
lodging is from Friday to Sunday, and I still can sell Thursday to Friday by a really
low price, even during the covering work I still can have guest from Thursday to
Friday. And on Sunday they already have to take cover out, it’s their problem, they
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are already paying less. Interestingly, most of these large reservations, from Sunday
through Friday, these reservations they are made maximum up to two weeks in
advance, and these smaller reservations were made yesterday. Smaller reservations
are close to check in. Seeing this, no matter what, if the groom asks me to take the
cover on Monday, there is no way that’s happening, it must be on Sunday. Because
this person who is staying here, if I said that were no availability on Sunday, only on
Monday, s/he would not come. So now we realize how much we lost because of a
closed and static administration.
Interviewer: For instance, what do you think about targeting weddings during the high
season?
Interviewee: It's impossible to do, because in the high season, January, February, I
have this problem, it is not the price, I could put R$100,000 a wedding, the problem is
my occupation, because I have to do the covering thing then I lose some reservations.
It is not worth because my focus is not marriage, this is not a ballroom, this is a hotel
that focuses on accommodation, so if and focus on marriage I lose accommodation,
and then the person will not remember me when s/he want to come to BEACH B.
Interviewer: What do you think about having a customer data base?
Interviewee: I think it is very good but it depends what you do with it. Once I tried
sending email marketing, and I noticed that our clients find a little invasive. I do not
have any specific formation, but I love Marketing. Actually I've tried six degrees, but
I did not complete any, and the last one I’m trying is Marketing, which I intend to
finish. Before I was a manager, I picked up the email addresses from the system and
started sending email marketing. I made it clear ‘if you do not wish to receive this
email…’ I had a little bounce rate. Every week I used to send, holiday packages, and
had no rejections. They were receiving, but they were not answering. Some of them to
complain about the price. I stopped sending for a while, for 4 months. Then came our
Valentine's Day, and I sent to see and it was the highest rejection rate I've ever had.
What did I think? I started to send and they did not read there at the bottom and did
not ask to be excluded, so they received and deleted. Or ‘Maybe I’ve won a free
night’ then they opened and it didn´t happen. ‘They are offering packages, it’s too
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expensive’ and deleted. They had lost interest, and then had interest again and I put up
the opt-out even bigger to see whether or not the person wanted to receive. From that
moment I decided to not do it anymore. For example, let's think about facebook. I got
a person to manage our Facebook and Instagram, and then he told me ‘Doing this way
we will 2 million people’ Then that is exactly what I do not want to do. Imagine if 2
million people show up here, I'll give terrible service, so what was supposed to be
positive will be negative. So because of our reality I still cannot see the concern of
trying to go get them (clients). I think this is in general for everybody here, for
instance the meeting we had today in the tourism board. We are trying stop this
culture that people have that São Sebastião is one thing, BEACH A is another, and
BEACH B is another, although I do not agree with that. I think each one must be
independent. In this case yes, we keep searching, I offer my email database here, to a
much larger objective. Now here for the hotel I do not see the need for that, we can
meet the demand we have already from Booking[.com] and the hotel website. The
Booking[.com] is an incredible tool.
Interviewer: What channels are you using? Own website, Booking[.com]? Any
others?
And there is the Hotel Urbano we are in now, and B2W travel that is the submarine,
submarine trips, and so far it hasn’t sold anything yet but it is there because it is free,
sometimes something can happen. I did a consultancy in HOTEL X. That's when I
discovered that I can face management. Mainly I learned a lot from the former
manager here, what not to do. Little I did there but I could see that the owner there
pays the Hotel. In 15 years the Hotel hasn’t yet made any profit for him. The owner is
rich, the children work and have money to be able to pay here and let the old man
here so he doesn’t bother the sons, it is basically what has been happening for 15
years. I took its Booking[.com] book, the commission he was paying that month,
October 2013, R$650. Then I opened my laptop, the commission that we were paying
in October R$10,600. My commission to Booking[.com] in January is no more than
R$2,000 thousand. In this low season I’ve paid R$4,700
Interviewer: In high season you get out from Booking[.com]?
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Interviewee: Exactly, I decrease.
Interviewer: It is expensive, isn´t it?
Interviewee: 13%. But the higher the Booking[.com] commission is, it shows the
amount of revenue that we’ve had, we’ve sold. I've a meeting every three months with
the Booking[.com] manager and he did not show me, but I asked him to tell if there is
another hotel like us, that sells like us as he said that no one got even close. After the
commission I pay, there was a hotel paying R$1000 while I was paying R$4000. Then
the Booking proved to be a very good tool for us, and is our main channel, as well as
direct Booking.
Interviewer: Don’t you think the reservations through your website are cheaper for
you?
Interviewee: In my website I have a Booking[.com] button [that directs guests to the
bookin.com website], and reservations made through this button I don´t pay
commission. This function increased 30% the reservations made through our website.
Interviewer: What do you think about cancelling the contract with Booking[.com] and
selling only through your website? Your profit is higher…
Interviewee: I would not do it!
Interviewer: Google adwords, pay per click?
Interviewee: I do not do any of this! That’s it, my rate is R$300, I pay 13% for
Booking[.com], so I already add that and put in Booking[.com], the card fee also.
Costs 6% more expensive to buy through Booking[.com].
Interviewer: And how many rooms you give for Booking[.com]?
Interviewee: All I’ve got. Google adwords need people who understand how to do it, I
will not do. The Booking[.com] tool I know. I use Booking in a way that no other
hotel here uses. As a marketing and sales tool. For example, New Year's package
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from the 26th
to the 2nd
. Searches for the period of 27 to 2, no other hotel will show
but us. 28-2? 27-3? 28-4? We appear in every search you make. If you are looking for
other hotels they only show if you search 26-2, which is the package of 7 nights. Is it
a lot of work? It is a lot of work! But it works. So I can see, to me is tangible. I
received a call from the TripAdvisor manager with a business proposal. I calculated
the average and I’ve spend R$6,000 in average per month with Booking[.com]. See is
not an expense, it is an investment, but it is something I transfer to the guest, it would
be great if it came to me
Interviewer: Because if it came from your website, this money would yours?
Interviewee: Exactly. And then he said, ‘do you know that most of these reservations
from Booking[.com], almost all, are coming from TripAdvisor?’ You see, it jumps
from one to the other. I said, ‘That's great’ and he said ‘I will make for you US$500 a
month’ I said ‘Done deal! But I want to see the reports for me to see the real thing’
and he said it was confidential and could not show me. For him it is very clear, but for
me it is in the dark. Who proves that he is telling the truth, that the reservations that
are coming through Booking[.com] are coming from TripAdvisor? I'm seeing the
reservations from Booking[.com] but I'm not seeing his, then to who I'll give the
merit? On my website, I've never seen this return, because I never did it. So to do so I
need to hire someone, and I'll have to empower an employee. Another cost also we
cut was laundry. [instead of outsourcing you bought the machines?] I didn´t buy the
machines, I have them but we brought from the US as the hotel owners are there, it is
easier to bring things from these. It was a risk we decided running since December.
[What is the risk?] When you know the place, then you understand the risk. We
always had an outsourced laundry and it wasn´t meeting our needs anymore. On
Mondays they take the sheets to be delivered on Tuesday or Wednesday. They
delivered on Friday. This means that I had to have an extra set of sheets and If I called
the laundry, and I’ve been customers for five years, they said ‘you have to sort out
your sheets, we are too busy’. A laundry that offered this bad service, for a 5 year old
client, imagine what they would do if they find out I am using my own machines?
And my machines break? When I was a regular client they offered a bad service,
imagine now? So it's a high risk. It's complicated. Regardless, I did some calculations.
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I hired an employee, maid, I calculated soap products, managed to use only one
product to wash that I have found and for us it works, and we haven’t had complaints
yet. It was a cost that decreased greatly. There is a Johnson representative who is
insisting to sell a industrial machine and I explained to him that I want to invest in the
intellectual capital not in machines. It doesn’t work to put machines if the people
don´t understand the strategy but he does not agree. HOTEL X has industrial
machines and they don’t sell half of what we sell here. Same thing in the kitchen that
is being a problem for me. I let go the chef, there was too many complaints. She was
the cook, and if I brought someone from outside to be her boss I was going to have
trouble, she would not accept it. She cooks well, she knows how things work, I gave
her the opportunity. I do not know anything about who is working in what time. The
head of the sector is responsible for this. He decides and manages the way he wants,
he let people go, he hires and she could not adapt to this reality. For example,
Tuesday we will make an order ‘Do we need squid?’ ‘No! There is enough, we are
good for squid’ Saturday, two in the afternoon, starting getting busy the restaurant
calls me ‘There is no squid!’ Are you kidding me? Today I'm investing in intellectual
capital. I changed all the kitchen staff, the oldest in the kitchen has three years. The
food is great, but it was not meeting our needs, because the guest had nothing else to
complain about. I did a test and it was fabulous. I'm renovating all rooms, the first
room I did not refurbish it because I did not want but there was a stain on the ceiling
by infiltration and I took the opportunity to make general refurbishing in that room
and just missed the filling between the tiles. I told them to not do so I could run an
experiment. The room has a lot of complaint because it is too perfect but there is no
filling between the tiles. Experiment proved. When it is all perfect focus on a little
thing. That is what happened in the kitchen, I had nothing to complain about. All the
advances we have achieved in the kitchen was because of those who were already
there, but they stopped evolving and other sectors advanced, the guest does not have
anything to complain about reception, cleaning, but the kitchen stopped so focus on
the kitchen. I let everybody go!
Interviewer: Do you think about how many rooms you are going to give for each
channel according to the costs?
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Interviewee: I can only get an idea based on my operational, the guys that work here. I
wanted to have 20 channels, so I could have a that service to take care and integrate
the channel [a channel manager?] Yeah. But my operating people will not get it, they
need to understand. Today I have some small little problems that I say ‘I do not
believe you did that’ The experience that I have they will have to acquire. I teach
everything for them, but there are things that they want to learn the hard way, learning
from mistakes, want to feel it on the skin. I want to have more channels? Yes, but
everything will depend on my intellectual capital here. We are here forming the next
managers for other hotels, because here I the region nobody works like this, no one
can have this vision, no one can think in the future, they want to think now and decide
now and that’s it. The previous manager, the same way I met him he was gone, he
didn´t change a bit. When I became a GM I started changing every day and every day
was something different, something new.
Interviewer: The last theme is the strategic part, all hotel indicators, length of stay,
average daily rate, RevPAR… Have you had to deny a client?
Interviewee: We have here some flagged customers in the system. [Customers who
had problems?] Yes"
Interviewer: So all this data, cancellation, walk ins, occupation, you register them and
do you use them for estimations?
Interviewee: No, the only thing that I consult is sales. This is the reception
responsibility, weekly, almost every day. Same period last year is consulted. We
know when those reservations were made, the occupation last year, how long before it
was. And then we have to see that strategy. If a reservation is done well before, so we
already have to be earlier, already with the rate ready. At the beginning of the year we
already do this, it's a routine.
Interviewer: RevPAR does it influence you in any way? You do this analysis?
Interviewee: No, I don’t.
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Interviewer: The other areas of the hotel, for instance restaurant, do you think of it
when selling [rooms]? They also contribute for the hotel's total revenue, sometimes
even with a larger margin.
Interviewee: My management is very recent. So I had to go to each sector to make
things happen. And the main ideology, for example, the previous management always
told the owners that the needed electronic consumption cards. That means, ‘do this for
us to improve’. I did it differently, I improved the hotel with the tools I had to prove
that we can do ti. Want us to improve, implement the electronic consumption cards.
Same thing with the heated pool. Since I entered the hotel they said the heated pool
was needed for us to improve, and was never done, and now we did it. I proved that
we were doing all of this without heated pool, then imagine with a heated pool. So
this idea of using the tools we have to improve, with what we have, it is the principal.
So what I'd rather do, is to have the restaurant functioning properly, simple, but the
person is satisfied when choosing, according to the price we charge. I do not sell the
restaurant for example, it is difficult to sell the restaurant. I have no structure to do so
yet. Restaurant for us is still that thing that it is a necessary evil, you have to have. We
are going well, we were not red any month , differently than how it was in the past,
we had losses with the restaurant. And then I think it is a question of structure,
because I think that to bring business to the restaurant we need to target the general
people [not only guests] and we have no structure for that.
APPENDIX 3 – FULLY TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEW IN PORTUGUESE
INT10, M, B, GM
Entrevistador: Nesse assunto de gerenciamento de receitas, que áreas do hotel você
acha que engloba Revenue Management? Que tipos de técnicas de maximização de
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vendas você utiliza? Você tem alguma experiência nesse sentido de tentar aumentar
ocupação, receita?
Entrevistado: Na verdade isso é interessante por que eu to fazendo na prática mesmo,
por que eu assumi o hotel há um ano atrás. E entra também a questão da sazonalidade.
Eu no fundo, particularmente, acredito que pra gente não exista baixa temporada.
Independente de qualquer coisa pra mim isso é uma cultura que a gente preferiu
trabalhar assim. Eu to vindo agora de uma reunião na secretaria de turismo e é um
pouquinho complicado isso, mas assim você já conhece essa região há muito tempo?”
Entrevistador: O litoral norte ou PRAIA B?
Interviewer: The North Shore or PRAIA B?
Entrevistado: O litoral norte.
Entrevistador: Conheço há um bom tempo sim.
Entrevistado: Então você sabe que aqui não é a cidade de PRAIA B, PRAIA B é uma
praia, que é um bairro de São Sebastião. A praia é São Sebastião, só que já esta
inserido na nossa cultura, você não fala ‘eu to em São Sebastião.’ ‘Eu to em PRAIA
B, eu to em Maresias, to em Cambury’ E eles querem mudar essa cultura, por que eles
querem vender a praia, desculpa a cidade, a região como um todo. Tudo bem, eles não
estão errado também pensando nisso. A questão é que a gente já esta inserido numa
cultura que é difícil a gente agora unir tudo. É claro que isso é uma ferramenta que a
longo prazo vai talvez começar a unir. A questão é que primeiro a gente esta num ano
complicado [economicamente?] É! Mas desconsiderando isso, os outros anos também
foram assim, na parte de demanda de realmente ter conversão de venda, durante a
baixa temporada e meio de semana a gente não tinha muita coisa. Uma prova disso,
eu consigo até te mostrar aqui no sistema, o que é interessante por que vai ser uma
introdução pra gente chegar no que você quer. Pra você ter uma ideia nós ficamos, o
único hotel do litoral norte, nós ficamos lotados 100% de Agosto do ano passado até
Abril desse ano. A gente considera que uma temporada seja la a partir de Janeiro,
Janeiro e Fevereiro que você fica lotado 100%. E nós ficamos de Agosto, são 8 meses.
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[Pegando ali uma parte da baixa ainda?] Então, é isso que eu to falando, foi
temporada pra gente se você for comparar em ocupação. É obvio que a diária não foi
a mesma que a gente ganha em Janeiro, a gente cobra em Janeiro um preço e Agosto
foi outro. Esse é nosso meio de semana [mostrando a tela do computador], depois
desse final de semana. Aqui tá vazio por que a gente fechou por que a gente vai fazer
uma reforma, vai estar fechado o hotel. Esse é nosso meio de semana, e o nosso meio
de semana é praticamente assim praticamente todos os meio de semana. A gente ta
com uma ocupação entre 70% no meio de semana.
Entrevistador: E vocês estão conseguindo maximizar a receita nesse período? Estão
conseguindo tirar o maior proveito possível por que, só a ocupação tudo bem é legal,
mas o preço por exemplo, esta sendo trabalhado de forma dinâmica?
Entrevistado: É isso que eu falei, é uma introdução que eu ia chegar no ponto que
você queria chegar. O que acontece? Eu assumi como eu disse há 1 ano atrás, eu
trabalhava na recepção, tinha a função de chefe de recepção e eu saia aqui do Hotel e
via que tinha 1 carro, 2 carros em cada pousada. Contava esses carros, imaginando
que fossem hóspedes nas pousadas, eu contava 2, 4 6, 8 dava 15, 18 e eu pensava
assim ‘Poxa, então tem gente, a demanda existe mas por que que essa galera não fica
lá [no hotel dele]?’ É óbvio que as outras são mais baratas, por isso que o cara fechava
la também. A questão é que a gente tinha um produto, tem um produto muito melhor e
se eu conseguir chegar num valor próximo ao deles? É claro que não adiantava eu
como chefe de recepção chegar e falar ‘agora vamos vender mais barato’ Não adianta
por que depende dos outros setores, depende do operacional. Então mas aí eu já
descobri que a demanda existia, independente que se estivesse chovendo ou não.
Assim que eu assumi a gente acabou fazendo o projeto de custos e aí eu descobri
quanto custou cada quarto, o quanto custa um quarto duplo, triplo, quádruplo, o
quanto custa o consumo de energia, quanto custa o café da manhã e acabei fazendo
alguns cortes e isso me demandou um investimento inicial, trocar lâmpada por
lâmpada de led, e principalmente o café da manhã, que é o que me impossibilitava de
fazer uma diária mais barata, pra que aquele cara que ficou la, ficasse aqui, mas agora
eu estava no comando então eu poderia decidir. Meu café da manhã durante a semana
é completamente diferente do final de semana. O que acontece? Nós somos 5 hotéis
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pé na areia, uma concorrência de 5 hotéis, só que através dessas estratégias eu estendi
a faixa de concorrência no meio de semana. Então durante a semana eu não tenho
concorrentes pé na areia, meus concorrentes são outros. O custo benefício ele vai
pagar 50, 100 a mais pra ficar aqui. Muita gente critica ‘mas aí você ta trazendo outro
publico’ De fato, mas to trazendo outro público que é o cara que não ficaria aqui com
a diária normal. É o cara que fala assim ‘Se eu investir 50, 100 a mais por dia, eu fico
la no La Plage’ Não é o cara que diz ‘Eu não tenho 50, 100 reais a mais pra ficar la.
Então eu tenho que investir la mesmo’ Então a gente ainda conseguiu, mas a minha
faixa de concorrência aumentou demais. O cara que ficara há 5 anos numa pousada
aqui próxima, virou nosso hóspede. O mais interessante, o que é maluco, a partir do
momento que eu assumi o hotel eu cortei todos os custos com publicidade, todos,
todos que você imaginar. Guias de internet, guias impressos, publicação, tirei tudo. A
gente gastava por ano 22, 23 mil, o que é pouco. O interessante é que o hotel nunca
foi tão visualizado depois que eu cortei isso. O meu público que vem durante a
semana, veja bem é o meu público que começou la em agosto e que ta vindo agora,
ele é acostumado a ficar numa pousadinha ali, e ele tem um círculo de 5 amigos,
facebook, que também ficam com ele la e numa ocasião, e isso é fato real, isso
aconteceu aqui, em uma ocasião, eles nos descobriu ligou, viu no Booking e viu que a
diária estava mais ou menos, ligou aqui e ainda descobriu que tinha 10% de desconto
se pagasse em depósito, fechou aqui e nem comentou com os amigos. Ele chegou e
antes mesmos preencher a ficha de check in ele já estava tirando foto. É outro público,
é diferente, o cara quer mostrar. Então quem ta me fazendo a propaganda agora é o
compartilhamento do próprio hóspede. Primeiro eu cortei custo com publicidade e
segundo cortei custo de café da manhã. O incrível é que quando eu tenho reclamação
de café da manhã não é durante a semana, é no próprio final de semana. A minha
diária varia a partir de 490 o quarto mais simples, pra baixa temporada agora até 790.
Isso final de semana. Pra meio de semana vai cair pra 330 até 450. É o preço de
PRAIA B das outras mesmo. É 50, 60 mais caros que as outras, lógico contando
principalmente com a redução de custos que foi a primeira coisa que a gente fez.
Quando eu assumi a gente tinha um desperdício de café da manhã de
aproximadamente de 2kg de fruta e pão eram 3 saquinhos de pão, hoje não tem
nenhuma perda. A gente reestruturou operacional, todo mundo aqui teve que re-
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aprender a pensar. Assim que eu assumi eu fiz uma reunião com todos, e eu dependo
única e exclusivamente deles pra isso, e falei ‘Agora é assim, vai ser tocado de uma
determinada forma. Quem ta dentro ta aí, quem não quiser se adaptar a essa nova
etapa já me avisa que a gente já tira do quadro de funcionários pra que não atrase’
Somente dois funcionários que saíram que não queriam se adaptar, não queriam
pensar diferente. Voltando, a redução de custo foi o principal para eu poder repassar
isso pro hóspede, pra eu poder tirar a pessoa que estava la nas outras e ter um custo
benefício melhor aqui.
Entrevistador: Isso há 1 ano né? E agora você sente que daria pra dar uma
aumentada por que, o cara vem e tem uma experiência, a percepção de valor dele
dobra, e você acha que tem espaço pra aumentar o valor de acordo com a
antecedência?
Entrevistado: Vem de uma reestruturação complexa até dentro do operacional.
Primeiro, a gente tem algumas ferramentas, não foi fácil colocar isso, mas eu tenho la
na recepção hoje, as pessoas que estão lá, estão adequados a técnicas de venda, de
marketing como por exemplo se a pessoa esta fazendo a reserva agora pra novembro
meio de semana o valor vai ser um. Conforme vai se aproximando a gente vai vendo a
ocupação o valor aumenta, o mesmo acontece em todos os finais de semana. É muito
mais fácil você decidir aqui vamos continuar e aí engessa, não tem dinamismo e aí
você mata. Por exemplo a gente também faz casamento, na verdade a gente não faz
casamento, a gente oferece o espaço pra que seja feito, e eu me baseio totalmente com
o meu concorrente, pelas atitudes que ele tem. pra ser bem técnico, pra chegar no
ponto, a gente cobrava 37mil de sexta a domingo pra fechar o hotel pro casamento e
ele cobra 39, e ele fecha mais casamentos que a gente, fechava. ‘Mas ele é mais
caro?’ [As vezes ele oferece algo a mais.] Não! O público chegava e descobria que
aqui você precisava fazer cobertura, só olhar a foto do hotel. La no Louis et Louise
(concorrente direto) você entra na pousada já é um salão grande, já é um restaurante
então dependendo se é 100, 150 pessoas não precisa fechar cobertura. Cobertura é
mais caro, se você cobrir todas as áreas aqui do hotel da 26 mil, então aqui era 37
mais 26, e la era 39. Assim que eu assumi eu convenci os donos a diminuir o valor.
Nós diminuímos para 29 mil. Resolveu? Não, por que é 29 mais 26, continua sendo
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mais caro que la, e agora a gente fecha muito mais casamento que eles. Não tem
sentido! Não quando a gente não conhece o local, o perfil. O nicho mudou. Aquele
cara que tem 100, 150, 200 pessoas acaba fechando la por que se ele não fizer nada,
ele faz pouca cobertura. A gente descobriu no mercado daquela pessoa que se ela não
fechar o casamento aqui, ela não vai casar na praia. Ai diminui o preço. Então se for
um casamento para 60, 70, 80 pessoas ela consegue fazer o casamento sem cobertura
aqui e aí vai ser realmente uma redução pra 29 mil e não de 39 mil que ele pagaria la.
Agora a gente já teve 6 casamentos esse ano e a gente já ta com mais 13 até Junho do
ano que vem, então já deu mais que 1 casamento por mês. Por que a gente consegue
fazer isso? Por causa da estratégia dele [concorrente] ou falta de estratégia. Ele tem
uma política muito conservadora e ele não informa nada. Se você manda um email
para ele ‘eu quero fazer o casamento aí’ ele responde ‘então vem aqui, senta aqui e
vamos conservar, eu falo tudo se você vier aqui’ Então a publicidade que eu não faço,
quem faz é ele. 90% dos casamentos que nós fechamos aqui, a pessoa veio aqui pra
falar com ele, e aí já que estava aqui mesmo, veio conhecer. E aí é justamente aquela
pessoa que é pra 50, 60 pessoas. Por que aqui ele já sabe que é 29, aqui a gente fala
tudo, revela tudo, por que aí a pessoa só vem pra conhecer o espaço. se um dia ele
mudar a estratégia dele la, aí a gente vai ter que mudar a nossa aqui. É basicamente o
que acontece com a diária normal. Agora ta fechando muito casamento, estamos
fechando muito casamento que legal por essa estratégia. então você torce pra que você
feche muito casamento? Não! Eu queria que não fechasse nenhum. toda vez que ele
fecha casamento, e a gente descobre e faz uma pesquisa, por que quando a pessoa
vem aqui e pede um casamento pra tal data, e eu dependo do pessoal da recepção para
coletar todas as informações. e a gente sabe que ele foi pesquisar no concorrente e
então a gente já sabe que talvez tenha um casamento. o que acontece quando tem um
casamento no nosso vizinho? Aqui a gente hospeda 40 pessoas, la ele hospeda 30, e
casamento tem pelo menos 50 pessoas, sobra 20, mas não é porque o cara fecha aqui o
casamento pra 50 pessoas e não la, por que aqui é 29 la é 39, então ele fecha pra 150
pessoas, se ele hospeda só 30 e foram 150 pessoas sobra 120 pessoas pra ficar em
outro lugar, o mais próximo é aqui, então é óbvio que a gente aumenta o valor da
diária. Então quando ele faz casamento a gente vende diária com o valor de janeiro,
de temporada. É claro que, se for tudo pra mim, eu não consigo administrar, então eu
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tenho que passar toda essa informação, passar um treinamento para o pessoal da
recepção.
Entrevistador: Esse é um assunto que a gente vai conversar que se não tem um
treinamento, um envolvimento, e uma cultura dos funcionários de front desk, de
vendas, só uma pessoa pensando com a ideia de maximizar não da certo.
Entrevistado: Eles têm que entender a estratégia. eu gosto muito de ensinar então eu
não me preocupo em ficar até 11 da noite falando com quem ta ali, então as vezes é
individual, as vezes existe a possibilidade de falar com 2, 3 pessoas. É mais assim,
quando sobra tempo. Agora a gente vai ter muita reunião que a gente vai estar com o
hotel fechado.
Entrevistador: E o seu cliente, o seu hospede, o que você acha que ele preza no
momento de escolher entre os hotéis de PRAIA B, pra escolher? Preço, tranquilidade,
conforto, pé na areia?
Entrevistado: Eu acho que a gente tá evoluindo pra um período, pra uma geração de
colaboração, de compartilhamento. Hoje em dia todo mundo esta em saber de tudo.
tudo é de domínio e interesse público. Pensando nisso que eu desisti dos meios
individuais de compartilhamento. Eu vou gerar conteúdo, não. Quem vai gerar
conteúdo são os meus hóspedes. Eu percebi que 60% de todas as pessoas que nós
conversamos e que a gente registrou, eles nos escolheram pela boa pontuação e pelos
elogios de outras pessoas, Booking[.com], TripAdvisor, e indicação. A gente se baseia
nisso. É complicado a gente dizer o que o meu hóspede quer por que nem ele sabe. A
gente não sabe o que quer. Infelizmente a gente ta em um período que o cara quer
tudo que ele tem direito. Por exemplo o café da manhã do final de semana existe
reclamação justamente por falta de variedade, e quando você pergunta variedade do
que a pessoa não sabe dizer. A gente não sabe o que quer, então dizer o que meu
hóspede quer é terrível, não dá..
Entrevistador: Vamos falar de cancelamento? Nesse assunto eu gostaria de saber a
política do hotel, e como que ela é praticada? Ela é praticada a risca, tem um jogo de
cintura? O cancelamento é usado como um artifício de vendas futuras?
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Entrevistado: O que aconteceu? Isso é real. Como eu disse nosso tarifário é dinâmico,
tem que ser então a gente vai sentido o mercado, vai vendo a conversão, a demanda,
tudo mais, e claro a oferta, a gente faz pesquisa o tempo todo. Esse final de semana
por exemplo, nós temos 13 quartos, vendemos 17, 4 a mais por que houveram 2
cancelamentos, cada um era de dois quartos. A gente teve o cancelamento, nós
cancelamos e re vendemos. E veja bem o nosso vizinho, HOTEL Z não tem nem 50%,
ele não esta com 7 quartos ocupados, e a pousada HOTEL Y, que é uma das melhores
aqui, que é nossa concorrente ainda falta vender 4 quartos.
Entrevistador: E você passa informação do seu hotel pra eles, eles pra vocês?
Entrevistado: Antigamente não era isso, mas acho que vai mudando a cultura, não dos
donos, eles não gostam, mas entre nós internamente. A recepcionista la do Alcatraz
recebe nossa ligação umas 4, 5 vezes por semana. Pra que? Pra oferecer. Eu falo ‘
você ainda tem disponibilidade? Eu to lotado.’ ‘ah ainda tem 4 quartos’. Aí a pessoa
que a gente atende agente fala que na tem mas indicamos a Alcatrazes. Então ela
recebe 4, 5 vezes por dia essa pergunta e esse contato nosso pra nós oferecermos
clientes pra eles, e aí não custa nada a gente ligar pra puxar alguma coisa. É um
compartilhamento que a gente faz e que...
Entrevistador: Voltando sobre cancelamento...
“Vamos lá, Reveillon. Eu vendi o Reveillon só que ainda me faltava 3 quartos. E a
gente vendeu muito bem o Natal, também por estratégia por que antigamente a gente
nem tinha analytics no site. Eu coloquei o analytics, mas o site é uma porcaria
precisamos fazer um novo site, mas coloquei o analytics, e comecei a percebe que
muita gente de Campinas pesquisa, e muita gente com um computador mesmo, com
PC e foi muito focado num período só, pro Natal, por que eu coloquei o analytics na
aba do tarifário pro Natal. Eu falei ‘tem gente de Campinas querendo vir no Natal’
Então eu montei um pacote, preço interessante, vendi quase o preço de Reveillon pro
Natal, e de fato uma família comprou 9 quartos e aí um amigo deles comprou os
outros 4 então acabou meio que fechando pra eles. Mas por que a gente conseguiu
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perceber aquilo e a gente viu que eles estavam acessando, estavam vendo. Eu sempre
faço pacotes dinâmicos, que as pessoas escolhem. escolhe o período. As vezes eu faço
um pacote de 5 diárias, mas se a pessoa quiser comprar um ela consegue comprar, é
evidente que eu vou ta dando o valor total do pacote, eu me baseio nisso. E é incrível
por exemplo, eu faço um pacote com 5 diárias por R$5000, mas aí a pessoa fala ‘eu
não quero as 5 diárias’, e aí eu falo ‘mas você tem que pagar o pacote total’ e aí a
pessoa se recusa. Aí eu faço um pacote de 5 mil 1 diária e aí 50 reais o resto das
diárias e se ela pegar o pacote todo ela vai pagar 5 mil mais 50, 100, 150, 200, 5 mil e
200. Aí ela pega 4 diárias e ela não reclama em pagar 5mil 150 nas 4 diárias, é
incrível isso. Ela pensa ‘não tudo bem, que seja 50 mas eu não estou pagando a última
diária’. É interessante também por que eu consigo vender também a última diária.
Enfim, no Reveillon, me faltou 3 quartos ainda, os mais simples com vista pra rua, eu
tenho 4 quartos desses. Como estava difícil de vender eu baixei o pacote. Um dos que
comprou esse quarto viu e falou ‘eu paguei tanto, a diferença é de 1350’ eu falei, é, é
realmente e tentei justificar. Nós temos 4 categorias a que você pegou é a mais
simples, a questão é que eu ainda tenho quarto mais luxuoso pra vender e aí eu tive
que baixar o valor dele. Não fazia sentido eu deixar o quarto mais luxuoso no tarifário
com o preço parecido com o mais barato então eu baixei o valor de todos só como
estética não foi intencional, não achei que fosse dar esse problema. Então é isso,
ninguém vai comprar o mesmo quarto do senhor pagando menos, por que eu não
tenho quarto disponível, o que eu tenho é mais caro, que baixou o preço e eu fui
baixando dos outros também, mas eu não tenho dos outros. Independente disso ela
não quis me entender, ele falou que se fosse pra explicar isso nem precisava ter
ligado. Tudo bem, respeito a sua opinião, aí depois a esposa dele me mandou um
email também achando um absurdo. Respondi o email dizendo ‘o que me preocupa, o
complicado, é que vocês não querem entender o lado do hotel e a minha intenção não
é ter cliente insatisfeito, principalmente antes da hospedagem, então se o problema é
esse, eu não me importo que vocês cancelem a reserva, os isentarei da multa, e se o
problema é 1350 reais como vocês fazem questão de fazer a conta, eu também
devolvo esse valor pra vocês, pago pra vocês não ficarem aqui. Ou seja, era 10 mil e
alguma coisa o pacote, eu devolvi os 10 mil e pouco e mais 1350, aí entrou numa
questão de moral né? Ela falou ‘ eu não estou querendo ganhar 1350’ Expliquei. E
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pela minha atitude ela respondeu que agora sim ela considerava que nada passou de
uma entendido, não cancelou, não pediu retorno, viramos amigos e a gente vai abrir
uma filial em Miami, e como ele é pintor, a gente fez um acordo que ele vai pintar uns
quadros para o hotel. Então uma ocasião que era pra ser totalmente negativa, se tornou
uma parceria, por que eu mostrei pra ele que eu não estava de brincadeira. Também é
complicado o conceito de empresa bundona, e eu costumo falar pros meus clientes
que a gente tem valores e é isso que cria nossa personalidade, e esses valores que a
gente vende, são nossos valores, e é isso que nós somos, e é isso que eu preciso
colocar na cabeça deles que eles entendam o que nós somos. Quem quer a gente
assim, vai vir e vai gostar, quem quer que a gente traia nossos valores, a gente até
devolve o dinheiro e até paga pra pessoa pra não vir que a gente não quer ter contato
com esse tipo de pessoa. Então, o nosso cancelamento tem um valor, tem multa e tudo
mais. Mas isso é estipulado e não é dito pro hospede. A gente trabalha da seguinte
forma, a gente tem a política de cancelamento e ela é aplicada, e se ela é aplicada a
gente tenta revender, mas o que a gente precisa é que assim como a gente apresenta
valores, que a pessoa também tenha valores e honre o compromisso, é um
compromisso, é um contrato, ela pagou e esse pagamento é a assinatura dela falando
‘aceito as condições’ então quando ela pagou ela aceitou nossas condições. Eu tento
fazer com que ela repita isso e fale ‘tudo bem, não vou mais mesmo e pode cancelar’
Feito isso, aí a gente tenta revender. A pessoa já aceitou o cancelamento da forma que
é o nosso padrão mesmo mas assim que a gente consegue revender o quarto aí ela
escolhe ou a devolução ou ficar com um crédito. Mas isso é tudo oculto, mas pra ela a
gente vai fazer um cancelamento. Caso a gente não venda, a gente mantém a política.
Que foi o que aconteceu nesse final de semana, 4 quartos, que a gente conseguiu
revender, e eles decidiram ficar com o crédito.
Entrevistador: E você registra esse número de cancelamentos, por mês, quantas vezes
acontece?
Entrevistado: É uma outra coisa interessante. eu tenho o sistema operacional, que é o
desbravador. a gente usa o desbravador mais que 100% por que a gente usa ele com
ferramentas que ele não foi criado para tal coisa, e a gente usa ele pra aquilo. Ele tem
parâmetros interessantes que a gente criou. Eu vejo as reservas que eu cancelei. Desde
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que quando abriu. Em junho por exemplo, nós tivemos 3 reservas canceladas e aí eu
tenho até o histórico delas aqui. Olha la, reserva do Booking[.com], multa de 100%...
Na verdade o cancelamento pra gente é muito bom, por que eu cobro a multa e
revendo. E se eu não cobrar a multa, por exemplo, o que acontece? A pessoa fez a
reserva mil reais então a multa vai ser de 500 reais, eu falo pra ela que a multa vai ser
de 500 ela aceita, ta tudo certo. Revendi o quarto, eu ligo para ela e falo ‘eu tava
pensando aqui, vamos fazer assim? Você quer os 500 reais de volta, eu te devolvo
mas se você quiser ficar com o crédito no hotel, aí você fica com o crédito total dos
mil reais e aí você vem numa próxima oportunidade, por que você já tinha interesse
de vir no hotel agora, não pôde vir, pode ser que surja um novo interesse...’
Entrevistador: É uma oportunidade de oferecer a experiência mas é mais lucrativo
pra você de repente ficar com os 500 reais, mas pra um longo prazo pra ter mais um
cliente no banco de dados.
Entrevistado: [é mais lucrativo.] ficar com os 500 reais. Então o cancelamento não é
pra gente uma preocupação.
Entrevistador: Essa estatística de cancelamentos, por exemplo o feriado de 7 de
setembro, nos anos anteriores você teve a incidência de 4 cancelamentos. Pode-se
acreditar que também para esse ano vai ter pelo menos uns dois. E aí nesse sentido
você faz um overBooking.
Entrevistado: O overboking já esta na minha mente desde da temporada que passou.
Que eu via que a gente mandou muita gente pra outros hotéis, a gente tava lotado há
muito tempo atrás e tinha muita gente procurando, a demanda era grande e me surgiu
essa vontade de ter o overBooking. E de la pra cá eu venho tentando amadurecer isso,
e é uma ideia que eu to tendo já pra essa temporada, vou começar aos poucos pra
tentar. O problema é o seguinte, como eu disse, acabei de sair de uma reunião na
secretaria de turismo onde tinha muita gente do setor, e a maior parte dono de
pousada. E é difícil você ter donos de pousada aqui que fazem como por exemplo
como os donos desse hotel que vão embora e deixam quem sabe trabalhar, é muito
complicado. Aqui é a galera mais que fala ‘não agora to ficando velho, to tranquilo e
vou montar uma pousada na praia pra ver a coisa rolar’ Então é muito complicado eu
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depender desse empresários, por que eu sei que não é tratado da forma mais
profissional, eu não tenho confiança. Pra Alcatrazes eu mandaria pra la, eu sei que vai
ser bem atendido. por isso que precisa se reestruturar. Por exemplo, isso aconteceu na
semana retrasada. Uma pessoa fez uma reserva aqui e uma no Louis ET Lousie. Os
amigos deles se hospedaram aqui, e eles vieram pra ca. Como eu digo, a gente tem
uma identidade, temos valores. Um valor nosso é o seguinte, você não dividirá a
piscina com quem não é hóspede. Você dividirá a piscina com a pessoa que tem o
mesmo direito que você que pagou. Você não dividirá a cerveja com aquele cara que
ta passando la na praia, que vai tomar a sua cerveja gelada, e quando você for pedir a
sua cerveja pro garçom vai estar quente por que teve que repor no freezer. Valores.
Valores baseados numa estratégia e numa realidade física do hotel. Eu não tenho
condições de ter mais freezer pra colocar mais cerveja, talvez eu não venda, então pra
que eu vou fazer isso? Então o que eu tenho condições hoje é de oferecer o máximo
que e posso pra quem é o meu hóspede. eles colocaram no Booking, no tripadvisor
não uma reclamação, colocou la o valor do hotel ‘nós não voltamos mais, mas é um
valor do hotel’ e é o que eu queria que ela colocasse, por que agora quem lê la fala ‘la
não pode mesmo ficar ninguém mesmo que não esta hospedado no hotel, é pra la que
eu vou’ se é isso que a pessoa quer. Então é muito complicado esse tipo de parceria
por que é muito específico, cada hotel tem uma forma de trabalho, cada hotel tem uma
particularidade. Você vai pra resorts de 300 apartamentos fica fácil, por que você
consegue ter 100 passantes tranquilos num hotel desse, você precisa ter pra
movimentar o restaurante então, é diferente, é uma estrutura diferente.
Entrevistador: E nos períodos que a demanda é maior que a oferta, você faz uma lista
de espera? Se você esta lotado e continua recebendo ligação, você faz uma lista pra
entrar em contato caso haja um cancelamento?
Entrevistado: Pelo menos pra gente aqui, como a demanda é grande, isso não
funciona. 99.99999% das pessoas que nós entramos em contato já fez reserva em
outro lugar. não é tão dinâmico assim. se você tem 300 apartamentos, a probabilidade
de cancelamento entre eles é muito maior do que 13 apartamentos. E você considera
10, 15, 20, 30 cancelamentos no feriado, você já considera isso então você consegue
vender overbooking. No nosso caso imagina se a gente tivesse aqui o vizinho com,
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100, 150 apartamentos, é obvio que a gente ia fazer overbooking. A gente sabe que o
cara não vai estar lotado o tempo todo, é tranquilo a pessoa fala ‘tem disponibilidade
aí?’ perai. [liga no vizinho] ‘tem disponibilidade aí?’ ‘tem’ Escolhe um aqui, joga pra
la e fala ‘tem sim, tem um apartamento’ Quando você vai ver você já esta lotando o
outro. É um plano que eu tenho pra fazer, mas eu preciso amadurecer.
Entrevistador: Por falar no preço, como você trabalha o seu preço? Como você
determina? Quantas vezes ao ano você revê? Ele é dinâmico o mês inteiro?
Entrevistado: É dinâmico de minuto a minuto, isso é repensado todos os dias o tempo
todo, conforme as informações que a gente tem. Que a gente recebe e que a gente
busca. [Então no site não tem os valores?] Tem, mas mudar é fácil, é só ir la e mudar.
Veja bem, a gente vai viajar, vai comprar passagem de avião todo mundo sabe, por
que hotel não? É uma cultura que é complicado. Já esta mudando, a prova é que da
pra fazer isso por que é assim que a gente faz aqui. eu já tive ocasiões que eu fiz a
diária do apartamento a 500 reais e aí vendeu, no período baixo, procura baixa. Ja
vendeu? Vamos aumentar o outro, aí eu coloquei 600 e pouco. só que nesse de 600 e
pouco, o cara pegou de quinta pra sábado, sobrou a diária de sábado pra domingo, e aí
eu vendi essa a mil e quinhentos. Por que é a grande procura, diária de sábado pra
domingo é a de maior procura, e a gente vende mais em cima da hora, então é ótimo
quando tem. Tem diária de sábado pra domingo, que o cara pegou de quinta pra
sábado, aí a gente já vai e coloca no Booking no valor mais alto e vende, vende! Nós
temos 4 categorias de quarto, tem a standard que não tem vista pro mar, a luxo com
vista lateral, e a super luxo e a master, ambos de frente pro mar, mas a master tem
hidromassagem. [mostrando a planta do hotel] Então eu tenho aqui 3 masters, 2 super
luxo, esse não é um apartamento, é um cafezinho que da acesso a isso. e é por isso
que a gente vai ficar fechado, por que isso não tem lógica, por que a gente vai
construir o décimo quarto apartamento. O hotel tem 6 anos, e eu estou trabalhando
aqui há 4, e sou gerente há 1 ano. E a gestão anterior era [estática] total. veja bem,
apartamento master com hidromassagem, apartamento super luxo sem
hidromassagem. Apartamento master tinha uma diferença de 100, 100 e pouco reais
do super luxo por causa da hidromassagem. O que acontecia? Você olhava aqui no
mapa de reservas. ficava os dois superluxo só reserva neles, por que a pessoa pensava
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150 reais a mais, vou ficar na super luxo então por que eu vou ficar 3 dias, 150 por dia
é quase uma diária, só super luxo vendia. que eu fiz? Diária do standard, 100 reais a
menos que a diária do luxo com vista lateral, pulo a luxo (não faço nada), jogo a
diária desse aqui (máster) o preço que for, e diminuo 20 reais pro super luxo. Agora
eu tenho 5 masters, pelo valor, o preço de 5 masters. O que a gente não perdeu de
faturamento durante todos esses anos passados? Vendendo Super Luxo a 100, 150
reais mais baratos? A questão não é que a gente colocou 20 reais a mais para ter
hidromassagem, não. Você ta tendo 20 reais de desconto para ficar na super luxo. Que
é aquele conceito de empresa bundona que eu digo, é arriscado fazer isso, que é como
o gerente anterior pensava. Como eu vou justificar 20 reais a mais só? Feriado eu
aumento 50 reais. [Justificar pra quem?] Pro hóspede, essa é a questão. É o conceito
conservador demais. Existe uma diferença de ser conservador e ser reacionário.
Conservador conserva aqueles costumes bons que a gente tem que conservar mesmo,
ser reacionário é fazer como era feito antes para conservar o costume, régua na mão,
ajoelha no milho, que era o que acontecia aqui. Ideia conservadora com atitudes
reacionárias e aí a gente ficava engessado e aí por isso que a gente tinha baixa, alta,
meio de semana, final de semana, pra gente agora não existe mais isso. Pra gente
agora o que existe é uma despreocupação com o final de semana que pra gente já esta
vendido e um maior foco durante a semana, sendo dinâmico então a gente consegue
ter valores mais altos, que seja aumentar 2 reais, 5 reais, 10 reais. 2015 é o melhor ano
hotel, ano de crise, é o melhor ano do hotel. A gente ta fazendo um novo quarto, a
gente ta cobrindo essa área aqui para melhorar pra casamento, a gente aqueceu a
piscina esse ano, fiz reforma no bar e colocamos comanda eletrônica, eu assumi o
hotel com 17 funcionários, estamos com 21, vamos reformar a cozinha agora.
Entrevistador: E o seus clientes você segmenta eles? Negócios, lazer, geográfico?
Tem algum peso isso?
Entrevistado: Não faço isso por que primeiro que eu precisaria de mais gente pra fazer
isso, eu fazer não ia dar. [Business, conferência, reunião?] É mais casamento, por que
eu não tenho estrutura. não é um investimento que eu possa fazer também, não tem
onde colocar. O hotel é pequeno, não avança não vai. Ainda fazemos alguns, quando
as empresas tem interesse em se adaptar a nossa realidade, uma coisa mais descolada
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mesmo. Quando tem eles fazem aqui, ao ar livre, com guarda sol, mesas cadeiras.
colocar um data show, não vai conseguir por causa da luz do dia. vai depender da
dinâmica.”
Entrevistador: E desconto? Quando você aplica? Em que situações? De que maneira?
Qual a sua experiência?
Entrevistado: A gente trabalha com desconto fixo de 10% pra pagamento em depósito
bancário. Uma coisa interessante, olha só que loucura também, pra pensar na redução
de custo. Primeira coisa foi rever os custos fixos, por exemplo técnico de informática,
eu pagava 200 reais por mês. primeiro que ele já não estava nos atendendo bem, não
trazia inovação. decidir romper, eu já sei mexer em computador. A gente da um jeito,
vai se virando, só quando der um BO grande aí a gente faz. Rompi com ele, fiquei 5
meses e fomos implantar a comanda eletrônica, então já economizei mil reais. Aí
chamei um outro técnico ele me cobrou 300 pra me refazer toda a rede, separar as
redes do hotel e dos hóspedes. Aí agora precisei por que coloquei computador novo,
separei os servidores e ele me cobrou mais 350 pra formatar todos os computadores e
deixar tudo nos eixos. Isso em um ano, gastei 650 reais em doze meses gastaria 2400
reais. Aí tinha um fornecedor de fruta. O gerente anterior ele privava muito pela
qualidade, isso é bom, ótimo. A questão é o custo, então por isso la na recepção eu
não via possibilidade de reduzir o preço pra vender mais e ter essa ocupação, eu não
podia fazer isso por que a gente ia falir. Eu ia cobrar uma diária, se eu cobrasse 330
reais a diária o cara não ia pagar o café da manhã. Ia dar prejuízo. Quando a gente tira
os relatórios com gastos com café da manhã, com fruta por exemplo, com o
fornecedor antigo que eu tinha de frutas, o gasto é igual. Não mudou nada. Aí você
compara com a ocupação, e você vê que a gente faz o dobro, o triplo com o mesmo.
Então o corte de custo, rever os fornecedores foi imprescindível. Um outro detalhe
importante, a gente tinha técnico de refrigeração, maquina de lavar, e tudo vivia
dando muito problema. Faltou assinar a carteira do técnico, ele estava aqui todos os
dias. Eu puxei o relatório e pensei. Ele vem trabalhar com um Uno, que ele comprou
zero, que custa 25 mil, e a gente gastou com ele 29 mil, ou seja, pagamos o carro pra
ele. Que que eu fiz? Eu tenho duas pessoas na manutenção o gerente de manutenção,
e o assistente. Acho que o custo total do curso deles foi de 3500 reais, incluindo
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alimentação e transporte. Dei o curso pra eles. Por exemplo a máquina de gelo que
dava problema toda semana, esta desde de novembro até hoje sem dar problema
nenhum. Por que o técnico além de tudo estava fazendo os esquemas. corte de custo?
Não na verdade excesso de custo anterior. Eu assumi o hotel, os donos estavam
pensando em vendê-lo, e agora vamos fazer outro nos estado unidos. Eu tinha o
gerente anterior que fazia o seguinte. O valor era de 37 mil os casamentos, e a gente
via essa dificuldade de fechar por que o vizinho era 39, aquela coisa que eu já te
expliquei, por causa da cobertura. Mas as vezes as pessoas se apaixonava por aqui, e
era só assim que a gente fechava casamento. Pelo atendimento e por que a pessoa se
apaixonava. O que que ele fazia? O cara da cobertura cobra um determinado valor, no
contrato a gente faz o início da cobertura na quinta e na época dele tirava na segunda,
por que se for pra tirar no domingo é dia de folga dos funcionários, então tem que
paga extra, então vai ficar mais caro pros noivos, então a alternativa era jogar pra
segunda. Era de quinta pra segunda. Então a gente perdia de quinta pra sexta, e de
domingo pra segunda. tinha casamentos que ele fechava terça feira, até a outra terça,
por causa da cobertura. ficava fechado. Por que aí o cara da cobertura falava que ia
levar 10 pessoas, mas se você me liberar para colocar a cobertura antes, aí eu levo três
e vai ficar mais barato pros noivos. Hoje a gente libera na quinta feira, muito claro no
contrato que é de sexta a domingo a hospedagem e eu ainda consigo vender de quinta
pra sexta por um valor baixinho, mesmo montando a cobertura ainda tenho hóspede
de quinta pra sexta. E no domingo já tem que tirar a cobertura, problema deles, eles já
estão pagando menos. O interessante, a maior parte dessas reservas grandes, que fica
de domingo até sexta, essas reservas elas são fechadas no máximo duas semanas
antes, e essas reservas menores forma feitas ontem. menos diárias com maior
proximidade do check in. Vendo isso, por mais que o noivo me peça parar tirar na
segunda feira, não tem como, tem que ser no domingo. Por que essa pessoa que esta
ficando aqui, se eu falasse que não tem entrada no domingo, só na segunda, ela não
ficaria. Então a gente percebe o quanto a gente perdia de hospedagem e faturamento
por causa de uma administração fechada e engessada.
Entrevistador: Por exemplo o que você acha de fazer casamento na alta temporada?
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Entrevistado: Não da pra fazer, por que na alta temporada, janeiro, fevereiro, eu tenho
esse problema, não pelo valor, eu poderia colocar 100 e poucos mil reais num
casamento, o problema é a minha ocupação, por que eu tenho que fazer e tirar
cobertura, e aí eu perco algumas reservas. Não compensa por que meu foco não é
casamento, aqui não é um salão de eventos, aqui é um hotel foca em hospedagem,
então se e foco pra casamento eu perco hospedagem, e daí o cara não vai lembrar de
mim quando quiser vir pra PRAIA B.
Entrevistador: O que você acha de ter uma base de dados dos clientes?
Entrevistado: Eu acho muito bom mas depende do que você vai fazer com isso. Uma
vez eu experimentei mandar email marketing, e reparei que pro nosso público acaba
sendo um pouco invasivo. Eu não tenho formação nenhuma, mas eu amo Marketing.
Na verdade eu já tentei 6 faculdades, mas não conclui nenhuma, e a última que eu
tentei agora é Marketing, que é a que eu pretendo concluir. Antes de eu ser gerente,
eu peguei os emails do sistema e comecei a mandar email marketing. escrito ‘se não
quiser mais receber esse email.’ Tive uma pequena taxa de rejeição. Toda semana eu
mandava, pacote de feriado, mandava e não tinha nenhuma rejeição. Tão recebendo,
mas não tão respondendo. Alguns pra reclamar do preço. Parei de enviar por um
tempo, fiquei 4 meses sem enviar nada. Aí veio o dia dos namorados, e eu envie pra
ver e foi a maior taxa de rejeição que eu já tive. O que acho? Eu comecei a enviar, ou
não leu la em baixo e não pediu para excluir, mas começava a receber email nosso e
deletava. ou ‘sera que eu ganhei uma diária’ aí ela abre e não, estão oferecendo os
pacotes, muito caro e deletava. eles tinham perdido o interesse, e criou o interesse
novamente e eu coloquei até maior o opt-out pra ver mesmo se a pessoa queria. Eu
decidi a partir daquilo não fazer mais isso. Por exemplo, vamos pensar no facebook.
eu consegui uma pessoa que faz permuta, permuta de meio de semana, ele administra
agora nosso facebook e nosso instagram, e aí ele me falou. faz assim que você vai
alcançar 2 milhões de pessoas. então é esse que eu não quero que faça. Imagina se as
2 milhões de pessoas liga aqui, eu vou dar um péssimo atendimento, então o que era
pra ser positivo vai ser negativo. Então, pela realidade que a gente tem eu ainda não
consigo ver essa preocupação de tentar ir buscar, ir la buscar (clientes). Acho que isso
serve pro geral, como por exemplo a reunião que a gente fez hoje no conselho do
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turismo. A gente tentar tirar essa cultura das pessoas que São Sebastião é uma coisa,
Maresias é outra, e PRAIA B é outra, apesar de eu não concordar com isso. eu acho
que cada um tem que ser cada um. Nesse caso sim, a gente ficar buscando, eu oferecer
meus email aqui pra mandar pro cara la, aí sim eu ligar aqui e falar pro cara la. pra um
bem muito maior, que abranja muito mais coisas. Agora aqui pro hotel eu não vejo
essa necessidade por que a gente consegue suprir a demanda que nós temos já,
Booking e site do hotel. O Booking se mostrou uma ferramenta incrível. Veja bem.
Entrevistador: Quais canais você esta? Próprio site, Booking? Tem algum outro?
Entrevistado: E aí tem o hotel urbano que a gente colocou agora, e o B2W viagens
que é do submarino, submarino viagens, e até agora não vendemos nada. mas ta la pro
que é de graça, as vezes pode ser que aconteça alguma coisa. Eu inicie uma
consultoria no Louis et Louise. foi aí que eu descobri que eu posso encarar a gerência.
principalmente que eu aprendi muito com o gerente daqui, anterior, o que não fazer. O
pouco que eu vi la, que eu comecei a pesquisar, eu percebi que o cara paga a pousada.
há 15 anos a pousada nunca deu lucro pra ele. 10 a zero pro prejuízo, saí negativo 10
pra ele. o cara é rico, os filhos trabalham e tem grana pra poder bancar aqui e deixar o
velho aqui e não encher o saco deles, é basicamente isso que acontece há 15 anos. Eu
peguei o Booking dele, comissão do Booking que ele tava pagando aquele mês,
outubro de 2013, 650 reais aí eu abri no meu laptop a comissão que a gente estava
pagando em outubro 10 mil e 600 reais. A minha comissão que eu pago pro Booking
em Janeiro é no máximo 2 mil reais. Eu paguei agora baixa temporada pro Booking
4700 reais
Entrevistador: Na alta você tira do Booking[.com]?
Entrevistado: Exatamente, eu diminuo.
Entrevistador: É caro, não?
Entrevistado: 13%. Mas quanto maior a comissão do Booking mostra a quantidade de
faturamento que a gente teve, que a gente vendeu. Eu tenho reunião a cada 3 meses
com o gerente do Booking e ele não me mostrou, mas eu pedi para ele dizer se tem
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alguém que faz como a gente, que vende como a gente, ele falou não chega nem aos
pés. Fora a sua, a comissão que paga maior foi de 1000 reais enquanto eu tava
pagando 4 mil. Então o Booking se mostrou uma ferramenta muito boa pra gente, e é
o nosso carro chefe, além da reserva feita direta.
Entrevistador: E você não acha que as reservas feitas pelo seu website não sai mais
barato?
Entrevistado: Direto do meu website eu tenho o botão do Booking, e as reservas feita
por esse botão não tem comissão. E essa função aumentou 30%, de reservas feitas
pelo nosso website.
Entrevistador: E o que você acha de cancelar o Booking, e fazer só pelo seu site? Seu
lucro é maior pelo seu site...
Entrevistado: Não faria!
Entrevistador: Google adwords, pay per click?
Entrevistado: Eu não faço nada disso! Aí é que esta, a minha tarifa custa 300 reais, eu
pago 13% de comissão do Booking, então eu já faço isso e jogo no Booking o extra, a
taxa do cartão também. Custa 6% mais caro fechar pelo Booking.
Entrevistador: E quantos quartos você da pro Booking?
Entrevistado: Todos que eu tiver. O Google adwords precisa de gente que entende pra
fazer, eu não vou fazer. O Booking a ferramenta eu conheço. eu uso o Booking de
uma forma que nenhuma outro hotel aqui no litoral usa. Ferramenta de venda, de
marketing. Por exemplo, pacote de Reveillon, de 26 ao dia 02. Procura de 27 a 2, não
vai aparecer ninguém, só a gente. De 28 a 2? De 27 a 3? De 28 a 4? A gente aparece
em todas as pesquisas que você fizer. Se você for procurar os outros, só vão aparecer
de 26 a 2, que é o pacote de 7 diárias. Da trabalho? Da um puta de um trabalho, mas o
negócio funciona. Então eu consigo ver, pra mim é tangível. Eu recebi uma ligação do
gerente da TripAdvisor e veio com uma proposta. Eu tirei a média e deu 6 mil reais a
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média de gasto por mês com o Booking. Veja bem não é gasto, é um investimento,
mas é um repasse que eu fiz pro hóspede, que seria ótimo se viesse pra mim
Entrevistador: Por que se viesse pelo seu website, ia ser pra você esse valor?
Entrevistado: Exatamente. E aí ele falou, ‘você sabia que a maioria dessas reservas
que esta fazendo pelo Booking, quase todas, estão vindo pelo trip advisor?’ Ta vendo,
vai pulando de um para outro.Eu falei, ‘Isso é ótimo’ e ele falou ‘e eu vou fazer pra
você por mês, 500 dolares’. eu falei ‘ta fechado agora’ mas eu quero ver os relatórios
para eu poder ver a realidade e ele falou que era confidencial, e que não podia mostrar
pra mim. Para ele esta muito claro, mas pra mim esta no escuro. Quem prova que
você esta falando a verdade, que as reservas que estão vindo pelo Booking estão
vindo do TripAdvisor? Eu to vendo a reserva do Booking mas não estou vendo a sua
então pra quem eu vou dar o mérito? No site, eu nunca vi esse retorno, por que eu
nunca fiz. Então para fazer eu preciso contratar alguém, e eu vou ter que repassar para
algum funcionário. que a gente passa o lençol dobrado, como os donos do hotel estão
lá, fica mais fácil trazer essas cosias. Eu falei que era um risco que a gente esta
assumindo desde dezembro. [Qual o risco?] Quando você conhece o local, aí você
entende o risco. nós sempre tivemos a lavanderia, terceirizada e essa lavanderia já não
nos supria adequadamente. na segunda feira eles levavam os lençóis, então era para
entregar na terça, ou na quarta. eles entregavam na sexta. Isso quer dizer que eu tinha
que ter um enxoval a mais, e se eu ligasse na lavanderia, cliente de 5 anos atrás
cobrando, eles falavam ‘vocês tem que resolver e o enxoval de vocês, a gente esta
com muito trabalho.’ se uma lavanderia que me oferecia uma porcaria de um serviço
desse, quando eu era cliente já fazia isso comigo, imagina agora que eu comprei uma
calandrinha e estou usando agora, e eu preciso da lavanderia agora? Quebra minha
calandra? Se quando eu era cliente já tinha um serviço péssimo, imagina agora? Então
é um risco alto. É complicado. Independente de qualquer coisa, fiz os cálculos.
aumentou um funcionário, camareira, cálculos com produtos sabão e tal, consegui
manter 1 produto só que eu descobri e pra gente esta dando certo, e nunca tivemos
reclamação de nada. foi um custo que diminuiu muito. Tem um representante da
Johnson que também vende máquina industrial ele fica insistindo para colocar
máquina industrial e eu explico pra ele que e maior investimento que eu quero fazer é
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no capital intelectual, não adianta eu ter maquina industrial e ter um pessoal que não
entendem a estratégia, e ele não concorda. O HOTEL X tem máquina industrial, e não
faz metade do que a gente faz aqui. Mesma coisa na cozinha, que esta sendo meu
problema. Eu demiti a chefe de cozinha, a gente estava muita reclamação. Ela era
cozinheira, e se eu trouxesse alguém de fora para ser a chefe dela eu ia ter problema,
ela não ia aceitar. Ela cozinha bem, sabe como é que funcionam as coisas, vou dar a
oportunidade para ela. mas assim, eu não sei de nada sobre quem esta trabalhando, em
que horário. quem administra isso é o chefe de setor, ele que decide e administra da
forma que quiser, ele demite, ele contrata e ela não conseguia se adaptar a essa
realidade. Por exemplo, terça feira vamos fazer pedido ‘Vai precisa de lula?’ ‘Não
tem bastante, lula tranquilo’ Sábado, duas da tarde, começando o movimento do
restaurante me liga ‘Acabou a lula!’ Você esta me tirando?. hoje então eu estou
investindo no capital intelectual. Eu troquei todas da cozinha, a pessoa mais antiga da
cozinha tem 3 anos. A comida é ótima, mas não estava suprindo a realidade, por que a
pessoa não tinha mais onde reclamar. Eu fiz um teste e isso foi fabuloso. eu estou
reformando todos os quartos, o primeiro quarto que eu não reformei por que eu não
quis por que deu uma mancha no teto por infiltração e aproveitamos para fazer geral
nesse quarto e só faltou o rejunte das pastilhas do banheiro, eu falei para não fazer
para fazer uma experiência. O quarto tem muita reclamação, do rejunte, e antes não
tinha reclamação nenhuma, por que a pessoa não tinha como comparar. A pessoa
entra no quarto e repara o rejunte novinho, branquinho, pintura e tal, espelho
rejuntado em volta, e olha e se pergunta por que não fez a pastilha, e aí tem a
reclamação. Esse quarto tem reclamação todas as vezes, falam que tudo foi excelente
mas reclama da pastilha do banheiro. Experiência comprovada, quando esta tudo uma
maravilha, foca em uma coisinha. Que é o que aconteceu na cozinha, eu não tinha o
que reclamar. Todos os avanços que conseguimos na cozinha foi por causa dos que já
estavam, mas eles pararam e os outros setores avançaram, a pessoa não tem nada de
reclamar de recepção, de limpeza de nada, mas a cozinha parou então foca na cozinha.
Cortei todo mundo.”
Entrevistador: Você pensa em quantos quartos você vai dar para cada canal por
causa dos custos?
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Entrevistado: Eu só consigo ter uma noção baseada no meu operacional, na galera que
esta aqui trabalhando. eu queria ter 20 canais, que daí a gente contrata aquele que
unifica com o sistema, [gerenciador de canal?] É. Mas o meu operacional não vai
conseguir, ele precisa entender. hoje eu tenho uns probleminhas que eu falo ‘não
acredito que vocês fizeram isso’ A experiência que eu tenho eles vão ter adquirir. Eu
passo tudo para eles, mas tem coisas que não adianta, eles querem aprender da forma
mais difícil, errando que se aprende, querem sentir na pele. Quero ter mais canais?
Sim, mas tudo vai depender do meu capital intelectual aqui. Nós aqui estamos
fabricando os próximos gerentes de outras pousadas, por que aqui no litoral ninguém
trabalha assim, ninguém consegue ter essa visão, ninguém consegue pensar la na
frente, eles querem pensar agora e decidir agora e acabou. O Gerente anterior. da
mesma forma que eu o conheci, ele foi embora, não mudou nada. Eu quando assumi
já comecei a mudar e todo dia era uma coisa diferente, uma coisa nova.”
Entrevistador: O último assunto é a parte estratégica, todos os indicadores de hotéis,
tempo de estadia, diária média, REvPar. você já teve que por exemplo negar algum
cliente?
Entrevistado: A gente tem aqui um flag que as vezes a gente usa. [clientes que tiveram
problemas?] É”
Entrevistador: Então todos esses dados, cancelamento, walk ins, ocupação, você
registra eles e você usa eles para alguma estimativa?
Entrevistado: Não. A única coisa que eu me baseio é na parte da venda. isso já é
função da recepção, é semanalmente, todo dia quase. ele se baseiam para vender esse
final de semana no final de semana do ano passado. A gente já sabe quando foram
fechadas essas reservas, a ocupação do ano passado, quanto tempo antes, que é nisso
que a gente se baseia. E aí a gente precisa ver essa estratégia. Se for fechado bastante
tempo antes, então a gente ja tem que estar mais adiantado, já com o valor pronto,
com a faixa de preço pronta. No inicio do ano a gente já faz, é rotina.
Entrevistador: Revpar, ele te influencia de alguma forma? Você faz essa análise?
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Entrevistado: Não, não uso.
Entrevistador: As outras áreas do hotel, restaurante bar, você pensa nela na hora de
vender? Eles também compõe a receita do hotel também, as vezes até com uma maior
margem.
Entrevistado: Eu acho que assim, a minha gestão é muito recente. Então eu tive que
começar de setor por setor para ir fazendo as coisas acontecerem. E a principal
ideologia, por exemplo a gestão anterior que sempre chegava pros donos do hotel e
falavam que precisava de comanda eletrônica. ou seja faz isso pra que a gente
melhore. Eu fiz o contrário, eu melhorei com as ferramentas que já tinha e aí provei
que a gente pode fazer. Quer que a gente melhore, põe a comanda eletrônica. Mesma
coisa com a piscina aquecida. Desde que eu entrei no hotel ele falava que precisava da
piscina aquecida pra gente melhorar, e nunca foi posto, e agora que a gente colocou.
eu provei que a gente estava fazendo tudo isso sem piscina aquecida, então imagina
com a piscina aquecida. Então essa ideia de usar as ferramentas que tem para
melhorar, com aquilo que a gente tem, é o principal. Então o que eu prefiro fazer, é
ter o restaurante funcionando, que seja simples, mas que a pessoa se satisfaça quando
escolher, de acordo com os valores que a gente apresentou. Eu não faço venda do
restaurante por exemplo, é complicado fazer venda do restaurante. não tenho estrutura
pra isso ainda. restaurante pra gente ainda é aquela coisa do hoteleiro que é um mal
necessário, tem que ter. a gente luta pra trocar figurinha. a gente esta indo bem, não
ficamos no vermelho nenhum mês, diferente do que era no passado, a gente tinha
prejuízo com o restaurante. e aí eu acho vai da estrutura, por que eu acho que pra
movimentar bem o restaurante a gente precisa vender pra fora, e a gente não tem
estrutura.
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APPENDIX 4 – ANALYSIS THEMES
1 - Awareness of Revenue Management
2 - RM Core activities: execution, challenges and opportunities:
Historical data: collection, interpretation and usage
The importance of forecasting
How forecasting is done
The pricing process
The application of different rates for different segments through rate fences
The value of cancellation policies
Understanding overbooking
OTAs relevancy and dependence
3 - Understanding Coastal Hotels
Establishing specific characteristics of the region studied
Seasonality in the context of coastal hotels
Coastal hotel guest’s needs, expectations and motivations (Segmentation)
4 - RM, Fairness and Coastal Hotels
Differential pricing and fairness
Overbooking and fairness
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APPENDIX 5 – INTRODUCTION EMAIL IN ENGLISH AND PORTUGUESE
In English
(Please, I kindly ask that this email be forwarded to the manager or owner of the
Hotel. Thank you!)
Dear (a) Manager of the HOTEL X.
My name is THE AUTHOR and please excuse me to introduce myself and explain the
reason for the contact.
I'm studying a Masters in Hotel Management (Hospitality Management in English) at
the Institute of Technology in Dublin, Ireland (Dublin Institute of Technology - DIT
www.dit.ie/hospitalitymanagementtourism), and in order to graduate I should conduct
a research project in coastal hotels in the area of Revenue Management.
Since I am Brazilian, and have an immense affection for the region as I lived much of
my life on the beaches of the North Shore of São Paulo, I chose to focus my research
on coastal hotels located in São Sebastião, so I’ve identified that your hotel is a
potential participant.
The objective of the research is to understand how Revenue Management techniques
are being used in this sector to develop guidance and support that in the future can
assist managers and hotel owners in maximizing revenue.
Despite living in Ireland at the moment, I will be in São Sebastião in July and August
to conduct this research. Thus I would like to invite you to be part of the respondents.
It will be a conversation related to the field of study and that should not take more
than 60 minutes.
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The period that I will be present in São Sebastião is from 20/07 to 30/08. The "chat"
can also be conducted in a more convenient place for you but I will be fully available
to go over to your hotel.
It is very important to understand that this research is for academic purposes only, not
commercial, and the information collected will be treated with all integrity and
confidentiality, I am giving you my word. Obviously, at the conclusion of the
proposed research to Feb / 2016, final results and conclusions will be available for
consultation.
To schedule our conversation just answer this e-mail telling me what day, time and
place or if you prefer contact by WhatsApp, or even call me at any time (Ireland
number). Feel free also to send me a message via Skype, LinkedIn or Facebook.
Right now I am very grateful for your attention and looking forward for our
conversation!
Regards,
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In Portuguese
(Por gentileza peço que esse email seja direcionado ao Gerente ou proprietário do
Hotel. Muito Obrigado!)
Prezado (a) Gerente do HOTEL X.
Me chamo O AUTOR e peço licença para me apresentar e explicar o motivo desse
contato.
Estou cursando um Mestrado em Gestão Hoteleira (Hospitality Management em
inglês) no Instituto de Tecnologia em Dublin, Irlanda (Dublin Institute of Technology
– DIT www.dit.ie/hospitalitymanagementtourism), e para conclusão do curso devo
conduzir uma pesquisa de campo em hotéis independentes na área de Gerenciamento
de Receita (Revenue Management em inglês).
Como sou brasileiro, e como adquiri um carinho imenso pela região por ter vivido
grande parte da minha vida nas praias do litoral norte de São Paulo, escolhi focar
minha pesquisa em hotéis e pousadas independentes localizadas em São Sebastião,
escolhendo assim de forma aleatória o seu Hotel/Pousada para participar do meu
trabalho.
O objetivo da pesquisa é entender como técnicas de Gerenciamento de Receita estão
sendo usadas neste setor para desenvolver orientações e suporte que futuramente
possam assistir gerentes e donos de hotéis na maximização de receita.
Apesar de estar morando na Irlanda no momento, estarei no litoral norte de São Paulo
nos meses de Julho e Agosto a fim de conduzir tal pesquisa. Dessa maneira gostaria
de convidá-lo a fazer parte dos entrevistados. Irei conduzir uma conversa descontraída
relacionada ao campo de estudo e que não deve levar mais que 60 minutos.
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As datas que estarei presente no litoral norte de São Paulo são do dia 20/07 ao dia
30/08 no horário que seja de melhor conveniência ao Sr.(a). O “bate-papo” pode ser
conduzido também no lugar de melhor conveniência para o Sr.(a) porém estarei
completamente disponível para me deslocar ao seu hotel.
É muito importante o Sr.(a) entender que essa pesquisa é somente de caráter
acadêmico, não comercial, e as informações coletadas serão tratadas com toda
integridade e confidencialidade, e estou aqui dando a minha palavra de confiança.
Obviamente, na conclusão da pesquisa prevista para Fev/2016, os resultados e
conclusões finais estarão disponíveis para sua consulta bastando apenas entrar em
contato comigo para eu encaminhar uma cópia do meu trabalho completo.
Para agendar a nossa conversa basta responder esse email me dizendo o dia, horário e
local ou se preferir entrar em contato por WhatsApp, ou até mesmo me ligar à
qualquer momento (número da Irlanda). Fique a vontade também de me enviar
mensagem via Skype, LinkedIn ou Facebook.
Desde já fico muito agradecido pela atenção e conto com a nossa conversa!