REPORT FROM THE U.S.—A lot of time and effort must be invested in turning a revenue manager into a revenue leader. That investment, however, is time and effort well spent, panelists said during a webinar.
Janelle Cornett, regional director of revenue management for TPG Hospitality, listed a bevy of characteristics she wants to see in a revenue leader. For one, these revenue managers need to be more than just “spreadsheet ninjas,” but also be able to synthesize complex information for groups that might not be familiar with the intricacies of revenue management.
Competitiveness and the willingness to learn from mistakes are also near the top of her revenue management leadership checklist, she said during the webinar titled “The road to revenue management leadership,” which was presented jointly by Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, Hotel News Now and HNN’s parent company, STR.
“They have to really want to win,” she said, adding, “They need to be able to look back and analyze what went wrong. I think we need to be better listeners and good learners.”
Panel moderator and HNN editor-in-chief Patrick Mayock asked Cornett what the best way is to find these potential leaders. During the interview process, she said she looks for characteristics the person possesses that can’t be taught.
“You can’t teach someone to be analytical, or competitiveness or the will to win,” she said.
She also said finding revenue management talent is becoming increasingly difficult, so the company typically hires from within. “We’ve started cultivating it ourselves,” she said.
Know thyself
Rosemary Browning, founder and president of Global Career Horizons, said a company has to have a clear idea of what its philosophy is and what goals it wants to accomplish prior to going on the leadership hunt. Failure to understand its own identity, or having unrealistic goals and expectations, could result in frustration among revenue management team members and might force some of them to look for employment elsewhere.
“You have to hire the best fit, someone aligned with your goals,” she said.
Also, she said a lot of her clients take the line of thought that if their hotel is a luxury brand, then they should hire revenue managers who have experience with other luxury properties. That’s not necessarily the best strategy, however, she said.
“Someone at a 3-star hotel, who has had to fight for their numbers, might be a better fit than someone who came from a luxury background and was riding the coattails of the brand,” Browning said.
Mentoring
Once the best individual is brought on board, mentoring can help push that person from being a revenue manager to being a revenue leader, the panelists said.
Jennifer Hill, director of revenue management at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza in Washington, D.C., said she benefitted from mentoring. “It’s been an important part of my career growth,” she said.
If a company is going to introduce a mentoring program, it has to be realistic about what it will take to make the program successful.
“One of the top pitfalls of mentoring, honestly, is the time commitment,” she said.
Maximizing performance
Grooming revenue leaders might be especially important today given where the industry is in the cycle. Lauren Faulkner, a business development executive at STR, said there should be plenty of opportunity to drive rate in the foreseeable future. She said STR is forecasting the upturn should last another 24 months at least.
Faulkner pointed to the 71.7% occupancy of U.S. hotels in June, the highest point this century, as one indicator of the strong performance hotels have shown of late.
“Owners and developers are all smiles for the rest of the summer, we believe,” she said.
Faulkner said operators needn’t be concerned about supply just yet. Year to date through June, supply was up 0.8%.
“I don’t think supply should be a concern because of the high demand increases,” she said. Year to date through June, demand was up 4.1%.