SA hotels have new weapon for revenue optimization in 2010
24. Jun, 2009
4 Comments
IDeaS, the leading provider of hospitality focused revenue management and optimization solutions throughout EMEA, have released their list of ‘winning revenue management strategies’ for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
The World Cup is the most followed sporting events in the world, surpassing even the Olympic Games in size and scale, and hoteliers are trying to determine how to best take advantage of the expected increase in both demand and occupancy through the use of optimal revenue management and pricing strategies.
With the 2010 FIFA World Cup being the first of its kind to be held in Africa, no historical data is currently available for the industry to base their expectations on. “With no background data available for hotels in South Africa, many hoteliers are raising a variety of questions. Such as what optimal rates should they be charging, what minimum length of stay requirements they should set and if there will be any significant impact on other streams of revenue” explained Paul Van Meerendonk, Senior Consultant, IDeaS Advantage EMEA.
“To provide a sense of clarity and control for hotels in South Africa, we undertook a detailed study of the last two football events in Europe in an effort to provide the industry with a sense of what to expect and how to best prepare” added Paul Van Meerendonk.
IDeaS analysed the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and the 2008 UEFA Championship in Austria and Switzerland in a number of hosting cities. The research undertaken by IDeaS focused clearly on levels of occupancy, the optimal rates charged and the other streams of revenue which were affected by the various football matches. The data was then formulated in a manner which was able to provide a clear picture of the effects different matches had on individual cities.
By comparing the performance of hotels over the one-month football event with the surrounding sixteen weeks, IDeaS was able to provide a comprehensive view of the effect of each World Cup match on occupancy, pricing and other streams of revenue such as food and beverage.
Through its detailed analysis of the previous football events, IDeaS have recommended South African hoteliers undertake a range of revenue management strategies to both take advantage and cope with the expected increase in demand.
Strategies such as the use of carefully planned pre-paying options to help reduce the impact of costly last-minute cancellations, as well as the implementation of minimum length of stay requirements during the period, are just some of the different revenue management strategies IDeaS has recommended hotels apply prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
As was expected, previous football events had a positive effect on the host cities, highlighting the need for South African Hoteliers to prepare their revenue management strategies for an above average period of occupancy and higher food and beverage sales.
The FIFA World Cup is to be held from June 11 – July 14th 2010, with various estimates predicting an influx of 3 million additional visitors to the country and pumping an estimated $21.3 billion into the South African economy. For more details on IDeaS strategic recommendations for South African hotels please view the OnDemand Webinar for South African hotels here http://go.ideas.com/WN16 or view the complete FIFA World Cup 2010 Report here http://go.ideas.com/WP5.
About IDeaS Revenue Optimization:
IDeaS, a SAS COMPANY, is the premier provider of enterprise revenue optimization solutions and services. IDeaS can help make an immediate impact on company revenue and profitability with its forecasting, optimization and pricing solutions. Headquartered in Minneapolis, IDeaS has technology, support, sales and distribution offices in North and South America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia. For more information, visit www.ideas.com.
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My name is Muzi Mohale a full-time travel blogger, your host at Travelwires.com responsible for all editorial on this blog. I blog about the travel and tourism industry in Africa. Apart from blogging about tourism, I also run 
Food Of Champions is proud to be associated with this sporting event and true to the brand’s philosophy, it’s goal is to deliver to the fan.
I believe that the revenue management strategies are going to be a fundamental aspect in understanding what’s still to come. As I continue to boost confidence within the food industry, I will emphasise the fact that the “world is coming to South Africa to eat”.
Ideas, concepts and market research development are all exciting programmes to be currently involved in, and it’s so refreshing to see new ideas being posted on the south african directories daily.
Food Of Champions will continue to provide those new ideas.
Greetings Sholton,
Would you mind doing a guest post about the topic ‘world coming to South Africa to eat’?
Hi Muzi,
I would love to do a guest post about my topic ‘world coming to South Africa to eat’.
Please email details on how to log onto guest post and I will gladly assist with correct content, style and message for this topic.
Regards,
Food Of Champions.
Hi Sholton, just ensure you read the guidelines about guest blogging first on http://www.travelwires.com/wp/send-us-news/. Then send through your post together with your brief profile for publication.