The industry that will be one of the last facets of a normal society to recover from the damage that has been done by coronavirus is travel and hospitality. As time goes by, the restrictions revolving around the lockdown is easing across the globe, and domestic tourism is set to play a pivotal role in rebuilding the economy. Not to forget, the surge will occur at different rates across the globe, so it is fair to say that domestic tourism will recover erratically. Some countries might be able to kick start their economy quickly when compared to other countries.
In this article, we will focus on America and how they have been performing. To provide you with a better understanding, we have collaborated with RateGain, a travel technology company. Initial research conducted by them during the early days of global lockdowns showed a significant dip in revenues in hotels due to the scenario back then, but now, a glimmer of hope is showing with slow recovery in the region. Their recent study revealed that, on average, 70% of the hotels across the region were open in May 2020. Moreover, they have been accepting room bookings for future dates as well.
In the research, they have also mentioned how every country is taking a different approach toward hotel rooms rates. Hotels in the USA have opted for a conservative approach, not only are they offering rooms at a lower rate, but they are also very consistent throughout the month. If we look back at the month of May, the lowest average daily sell rate in the US was USD 78, and the highest was USD 85.
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Just like US-based hotels, hotels in Argentina, are also following the same approach when it comes to pricing. Moreover, the difference between Argentina’s lowest and highest average daily sell price is merely USD 7. See here, what we need to understand is that lowering the room rate significantly at this point in time is a good strategy for hotels to reduce the operational losses and recover if possible.
However, on the other hand, there are countries that are taking drastic measures to the room rates in one month. The lowest average sell rate in Peru, was USD 42, whereas the highest was USD 177. Due to the uncertainty, hotels are using the hit and trial method to come to a conclusion. Now talking about the ‘nicest’ country, Canada, the lowest average daily sell rate in May was USD 94, and highest was USD 161. Another thing that was slightly different about Canada was that they seemed to be lowering their room rates during the weekends, and this trend will continue for the next three months. Besides that, the hotels in the country are actively increasing the room rates; in May 2020, the average daily sell rate in the country was USD 106, which saw a jump in the month of June to USD 120 and then to 125.
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Keeping the aforementioned in mind, it seems like hotels in Canada are confident enough about the increase in the number of travelers in the upcoming future.
In order to push the recovery rate, it is beneficial to invest in smart distribution. You wonder why? Well, that is because smart distribution as a software solution helps hotels get a better understanding of how to optimize source markets and relevant channels, to be at par with similar hotels, and automate their distribution mechanism, especially in the realm of advanced room mapping.
RateGain is one of the best hotel revenue management companies that has changed the game of hotel distribution channels by providing the hoteliers with the ability to quickly discover and receive recommendation on any new demand opportunities, auto contract with new channels, construct new content and then automatically map products on various new channels.
