Soft ware Solutions

Seven hints to prepare for next holiday season

By Sylvia Johnston,

Senior Executive, HiRUM Software Solutions

In the blink of an eye another Christmas has passed, and the busy holiday season is drawing to a close.

Holiday periods tend to be busy for most people, but if you manage an accommodation property the additional demands of working with a ‘full house’ can take that busyness to a whole new level. Peak season means higher revenues, but that can be countered by the pressure of maintaining great service with more time pressure, and much more stress. As occupancy levels start to calm down, it is a great time to take stock of how well prepared you were to hit the ground running this holiday season and assess whether you managed to maximise your revenue and opportunities throughout the period. A moment of reflection now to consider what worked for you, and what could be improved upon, can enlighten you as to how best to prepare for the next holiday season. Planning is key when it comes to deciding on and implementing tactics to capitalise on your seasonal peaks. It is difficult to make changes once you are in the midst of the madness and paddling like the proverbial duck under water. Be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to peak season preparation. Here are 7 top tips to help you make the most of your next holiday season…

1. Gain insight from analytics and learn from experience

Study your analytics to glean insight into how your hotel has performed. Use the analytics tools offered to you in your software, or via 3rd party providers, to gain greater understanding of your property’s strengths, and highlight opportunities for growth. Look at metrics such as Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) and compare this to the same periods historically, to gather a clearer picture of performance. Average Daily Rate (ADR) will give you an idea of how you stack up against your competitors. By comparing this figure to last year, it will also give you a clearer picture of whether your rate changes are in keeping with economic factors that may impact your profitability, such as our current rate of inflation.

Consider metrics such as Booking Lead Time and Pick Up Analysis to help you to forecast when you should initiate marketing campaigns in the lead up to next festive season, to ensure you achieve maximum occupancy. And of course, understanding the Geo Status of your guests will help you to target those marketing campaigns to exactly the right demographic to maximise the impact of your marketing dollars.

2. Get your distribution right

Long before peak season comes around, you need to work on ensuring you are making the most of all the distribution channels that suit your business. Make sure you have your property displayed where your potential guests are looking, whether that be Google Hotels, the major OTA’s, vacation rentals or meta channels.