Revenue management for small hotels: where to start
You do not need expensive software to begin. Most small hotels gain from a few disciplined habits, applied every week.
1. Choose a competitor set
List five to eight hotels that your guests actually compare you with: same area, similar quality, similar price. Check their rates for the same dates you are selling.
2. Study last year by month and day of week
Look at occupancy and ADR for each month and for weekdays against weekends. This shows your real peaks and your real quiet periods, which are often different from what the team assumes.
3. Set a rate floor and a rate range
Decide the lowest rate you will accept for each room type, and the range you will price within on peak, normal and quiet dates. A floor stops panic discounting.
4. Watch pick-up
Pick-up is how many rooms you have booked for a future date compared with the same point last year. If a date is filling faster than usual, raise the rate. If it is slower, act early with offers aimed at the right segment.
5. Review channel mix every week
Check how many bookings come from each OTA, from your website, from corporate and from agents, and what each costs after commission. Then decide where to push.
6. Keep rates consistent
The same room should not have very different prices across channels. Review parity regularly.
When to get help
If you do these steps and still miss targets, or if nobody on the team has time, an outside revenue manager can run the daily decisions and give you a monthly report.