Today we highlight the second last episode of The Revenuemanager - Summit Series. This was the last sponsored episode of IDeaS, a SAS company who sponsored in total four episode.

Sibylle Luger, Area Vice President, Account Management, EMEA & APAC at IDeaS, Jonathon Liu, Director of Revenue & Marketing Strategy at glh Hotels UK, and Shumi Khan, SVP Business Intelligence & Revenue Management Accor Hotels joined moderator Scott Dahl, SVP Sales, Marketing, & Revenue Management at The Wurzak Hotel Group to discuss, share thoughts and perspectives on how revenue management meets customer service.

The old stereotype of revenue managers being nerds, hiding away in their offices behind spreadsheets is long overhauled. Today's revenue managers need to look far beyond the traditional scope of revenue management to ensure the success of their hotel. By utilizing guest data they are able to not only improve the level of service but also boost revenue.

In the early stages of Revenue Management, cranking up rates when the hotel was on a clear path to selling out was about all it took to be a successful Revenue Manager. But as digital transformation has taken hold in hotels, the role, and the definition of success, have evolved greatly.

Once the gold standard, technical knowledge and decent Excel skills are now table stakes. Today's successful Revenue Manager must focus far beyond forecasting and setting prices. A mastery of the constantly evolving distribution technology landscape, including a keen understanding of every step of the digital customer journey is essential to optimizing market share and total hotel profitability.

Today's customer experience begins way before the guest steps foot on property. The ease of finding information before booking, transparency and fairness in pricing, and the effective collection and dissemination of every customer's specific needs form the foundation of a successful hotel stay. And the proliferation of user generated content and review sites practically ensures that if today's guest has trouble booking your hotel, tomorrow's guest will not even try. The past practice of opportunistic pricing now often results in one step forward… then two steps back.

So, we asked our experts: What strategies and tactics are successful hotels employing to strike this delicate and crucial balance between maximizing revenue and contributing to a positive guest experience? How are Revenue Managers evolving from "number geeks" to having a key role in delivering great customer service?

The Revenuemanager Summit Series were co-produced in collaboration with FunnelTV The Traveltech Channel.

About IDeaS

IDeaS, a SAS company, is the world's leading provider of revenue management software and services. With over 30 years of expertise, IDeaS delivers revenue science to more than 18,000 clients in 145 countries. Combining industry knowledge with innovative, data-analytics technology, IDeaS creates sophisticated yet simple ways to empower revenue leaders with precise, automated decisions they can trust. Results delivered. Revenue transformed. Discover greater profitability at ideas.com.