Revenue management and price optimization techniques in the hotel sector

Abstract

Pricing and revenue management (RM) techniques have become a popular field of research in hotel management literature. The sector’s background framework and evolution and the widespread use of new technologies have allowed a customer-oriented approach to be taken to pricing and the development of RM tools, while also contributing to better processes in hotel management performance at individual hotel level. Thus, price optimization (PO) methods that seek to maximize hotel revenue are based on inventory scarcity, customer segmentation and pricing. In the hotel sector, as in the airline industry, different pricing policies have a greater impact than competition measurement effects. This is mainly as differentiation strategies and specific policies at hotels can reduce the pressure of a competitive environment. The main contributions of the article are the presentation, description and classification of the principal RM and PO techniques in hotel sector literature.