Hotel price monitoring: How to track hotel prices

What is hotel price monitoring?

Hotel price monitoring is a crucial practice that involves tracking the prices of hotel rooms, both within your own portfolio and across competitors. This data-driven approach enables you to make informed pricing decisions, ensuring you remain competitive in the market while maximising revenue.

Why is hotel price monitoring important for hotels?

Pricing is a foundational factor that plays a pivotal role in attracting guests and ensuring the financial viability of your establishment. It’s only right, then, that successful hoteliers invest significant time, energy, effort and capital in mastering it.

Hotel price monitoring offers many benefits, allowing smart hoteliers to better understand the market, make better decisions, invest in valuable projects and improvements, aim for a future filled with long-term growth, and much more.

In short, mastering hotel price monitoring ensures you have the details and data you need to stay ahead of competitors without sacrificing your own revenue, arming you with the knowledge you need to make smarter decisions around how you price your rooms and services.

Hotel price tracking: How to monitor hotel prices online

In this digital age, there are many tools that simplify the process of hotel price tracking. These tools automate the mundane task of price tracking, freeing up time for you to focus on other crucial aspects of hotel management.

The key is to find a tool like SiteMinder that integrates seamlessly with existing hotel management systems, and is customisable to cater to your specific needs and constraints of medium-sized hotels.

Benefits of tracking hotel prices

Monitoring hotel prices isn’t merely a tactical move but a strategic endeavour that brings numerous benefits to the table:

Understanding market dynamics

The pricing landscape in the hotel industry is in a state of constant flux, influenced by factors such as seasonality, local events, and competitor pricing strategies.

By monitoring hotel prices, you can glean insights into these market dynamics, which in turn, enables you to adjust your pricing strategies accordingly – whether you rely on direct bookings or lean on your network of OTAs via a channel manager.

Optimising pricing strategies

Finding the optimal price point is a delicate balancing act. Price too high (either directly from room costs or via hotel fees) and you risk alienating potential guests; price too low and you may leave revenue on the table.

Hotel price monitoring provides the data necessary to identify the sweet spot that maximises revenue without deterring guests.

Competitive benchmarking

In a market teeming with choices, staying competitive is paramount. Hotel price monitoring allows for a real-time comparison with competitors’ pricing, ensuring that your establishment remains an attractive option for potential guests.

Enhanced guest satisfaction

Offering competitive prices not only attracts guests but also augments perceived value, which in turn, enhances guest satisfaction. A satisfied guest is more likely to return, recommend your hotel to others, and leave positive reviews, all of which are invaluable in building a strong brand reputation.

Data-driven decision making

In the modern age, data is king. Hotel price monitoring furnishes you with a robust data foundation to make informed decisions. Whether it’s setting room rates or devising special offers, having a clear understanding of the pricing landscape facilitates smarter, data-driven decisions.

Revenue management

Effective revenue management is a cornerstone of a successful hotel operation. By monitoring and analysing pricing trends, you can devise strategies that maximise revenue during peak periods and keep the cash flow steady during off-peak times, offsetting your hotel costs and staying profitable year-long.

Resource allocation

With insights derived from price monitoring, you can allocate resources more efficiently. For instance, during high-demand periods, resources can be channelled to ensure optimal guest experience, whereas, during low-demand periods, efforts can be directed towards marketing and promotional activities.

Long-term growth

Consistent hotel price monitoring and the subsequent insights gained lay the groundwork for sustainable growth. It aids in understanding market trends, guest preferences, and the effectiveness of pricing strategies, all of which are crucial for making long-term strategic decisions.

How to find the best hotel price tracker

Finding the right hotel price tracker is crucial for effective price monitoring and subsequently, for the financial success of your hotel.

The ideal tool should not only track prices but also provide actionable insights that can be utilised for strategic decision-making. Here are some key factors to consider:

• Ease of integration – Look for a tool that seamlessly integrates with your existing hotel management systems, thereby streamlining the process of price tracking and analysis.
• Customisation – Every hotel is unique, and a one-size-fits-all solution may not cater to your specific needs. It’s crucial to choose a tool that can adapt to you – not the other way around.
• Real-time data – In a fast-paced industry, having access to real-time data and hotel price alerts is invaluable. Any hotel price tracking tool worth its salt – and your investment – must have up-to-date information feeding its insights.
• Automation – Manually tracking prices can be tedious and time-consuming. With pricing automation, you can set predefined rules for price adjustments based on market conditions, ensuring your pricing remains competitive without the need for manual intervention.
• Comprehensive reporting – Having a myriad of data at your fingertips is great, but understanding that data is where the real value lies. SiteMinder’s robust reporting features, for example, translate data into actionable insights, aiding in informed decision-making.
• User-friendly interface – A complex, hard-to-navigate interface can deter even the most tech-savvy individuals. Any software you and your staff use must be streamlined, with smart dashboards that don’t conceal useful information with screeds of unnecessary data and complex navigation.
• Customer support – Reliable customer support to assist you whenever you face challenges or have queries is indispensable. This is especially true for hotels with multiple sites and large numbers of rooms; the greater the complexity of your business, the more important it is to have expert, responsive support.
• Training and resources – Having a wealth of training resources at your disposal can significantly enhance your understanding and utilisation of the price tracking tool. No matter how advanced a price tracking tool may be, it’s worthless if it doesn’t have the tutorials and guidance necessary to use it effectively.