The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the real time requirements of guests and efforts made by hoteliers to optimize revenue and guest service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the real time requirements of guests and efforts made by hoteliers to optimize revenue and guest service excellence.
Design/methodology/approach
Prior studies have demonstrated the impact of room rates on profitability. The majority of these studies assumed an algebraic relationship between room rates and room demand to obtain the optimal solution by applying calculus to the revenue or profit function. This study adopts an alternative approach by seeking to better understanding the ever changing needs of hotel guests and how their behavior patterns have evolved over time together with innovative approaches that revenue managers need to adopt to optimize revenue. In today’s environment, revenue management has evolved into a more holistic approach and the study assimilates information from senior professionals from a range of hotels in India based on semi-structured interviews.
Findings
Revenue management is no longer about forecasting supply and demand based on historical data. This paper yields insights on emerging areas of importance for revenue management and advocates a systematic approach that hoteliers can adopt and apply to every department to secure a bigger impact on revenue management.
Practical implications
The findings can be used by hoteliers to fine-tune the room rates determined by conventional methods to arrive at a realistic and definitive value for optimal room rates.
Originality/value
This study highlights the issues that arise from viewing revenue management in isolation and it also considers innovative, customer-focused ways to optimize revenues.
Details
Keywords
Gunjan M. Sanjeev, Kanika Gupta and Rumki Bandyopadhyay
The purpose of this paper is to provide a practitioners' perspective on financial challenges prevalent in the Indian hospitality industry. The paper also makes an attempt to give…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a practitioners' perspective on financial challenges prevalent in the Indian hospitality industry. The paper also makes an attempt to give useful insights into possible solutions to the issues raised.
Design/methodology/approach
The study assimilates data from senior finance professionals from a spectrum of hotels in India. The study involves the collection of primary data through structured interviews.
Findings
The study highlights that some of the financial challenges faced by the Indian hospitality industry include high financing costs, multiplicity of taxes charged, licensing and legal issues, working capital issues and eroding margins. The study also gives some useful insights to the possible solutions to the challenges identified.
Research limitations/implications
This paper provides some very useful qualitative analysis of the contemporary challenges and their possible solutions prevalent in the Indian hospitality sector. The findings will be useful for hoteliers, policy makers and researchers to deliberate on the issues raised. However, it does not involve any quantitative analysis.
Originality/value
This study makes a sincere attempt to bring forth some real life issues, challenges and solutions which would be a good value addition to the existing literature.
Details
Keywords
Gunjan M. Sanjeev and Richard Teare
The paper aims to profile the theme issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes titled “How is the need for innovation being addressed by the Indian hospitality industry?”…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to profile the theme issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes titled “How is the need for innovation being addressed by the Indian hospitality industry?” with reference to the experiences of the theme editor, contributors from the industry and academia and the theme issue outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses structured questions to enable the theme editor to reflect on the rationale for their theme issue question, the starting-point, the selection of the writing team and material and the editorial process.
Findings
It highlights recent innovations that have taken place in the Indian hospitality industry especially in the areas of customer service, cost competitiveness, culinary management, revenue management and technology.
Practical implications
As hotel sector investment in India intensifies, this theme issue will be of interest to hoteliers, policy makers, analysts and others interested in the role that innovation can play in helping to facilitate differentiation between competing hotel products and services.
Originality/value
There is limited literature available on industry innovations in the Indian context. All the papers in this theme issue were written after several cycles of interaction between academics and practitioners and so they incorporate real–time, relevant and contemporary data.