With the proliferation of new channels, there is increasing overlap between various hotel disciplines and even more reason to collaborate

Once upon a time selling a hotel room or  service was a straightforward business. The online explosion changed all that and now one of the big questions today is this: is social media a sales channel? Luxury brand Ritz Carlton doesn’t think so, but others like Preferred Hotel Group see social media as a avenue to initiate relationship sales.

Whereas Ritz uses social as a medium to start a conversation Preferred Hotel Group’s aim, on the MICE front at least, is to spot qualified new prospects to invite to the group’s events and to develop into sources of business.

For PHG revenue management, marketing and sales are all closely linked and social too plays a role in this. Craig Jacobs, senior vice president, group sales, Preferred Hotel Group: “Revenue management plays a fundamental role in the group sales process for properties in the US.” So every potential group is vetted and requalified by a revenue account manager to ensure that it is well-placed over the best possible dates and will generate enough revenue to ensure that the hotel will achieve its monthly financial goals. “The PHG role in that process is to understand enough about our hotels group sales needs to send them appropriate leads for groups and events and to balance the needs of our clients with those of our hotels.”

PHG does a number things to ensure that all departments work as a cohesive unit. These include:

·      Having a department dedicated to providing hotels with assistance on revenue management that includes deep analysis of rate types, room types and so on

·      The presence of revenue account managers who consult with reservations directors and sales and marketing directors on property.

·      Frequent contact between account managers with others disciplines on the property to provide guidance and suggestions on all aspects of reservations and revenue management. 

Having a coordinated effort between sales, marketing and RM teams can help boost net profit margins. However, given the number of brands and variation in ownership and management groups within hotels, there is no fixed formula. 

The jury is still out on whether social is a sales channel but if you decide to head down this road, here are some considerations: 

·         Stay away from overt sales messages. Rather, first understand protocols such as how conversations are initiated and followed up on an avenue like LinkedIn.

·        Learn an appropriate way to target corporate, leisure and MICE segments. One suggestion is to bring marketing communications into a sales transaction environment.