Research
Implementing Revenue Management in Your Restaurants
A Case Study with Fairmont Raffles Hotels International. This was a really fun RRM project that Jeannette Ho, the former VP of RM at Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) and I worked on from 2011 - 2016. In this article, we discuss how we approached the project and give some concrete examples of our success. Within a year of implementation, FRHI restaurants that implemented RM had generated five times more revenue growth than those not applying the program. Pretty exciting!
Hotel Revenue Management in an Economic Downturn: Results
from an International Study
The sudden reversal in the lodging industry’s fortunes from 2008 to 2009 has brought a renewed focus on revenue and profitability for revenue managers. In a survey conducted in 2009, 291 revenue managers cited concerns about customer rate resistance, contract renegotiations, competition, and price wars as their top considerations.
Hotel Revenue Management in an Economic Downturn: Results
from an International Study
The sudden reversal in the lodging industry’s fortunes from 2008 to 2009 has brought a renewed focus on revenue and profitability for revenue managers. In a survey conducted in 2009, 291 revenue managers cited concerns about customer rate resistance, contract renegotiations, competition, and price wars as their top considerations.
The Future of Hotel Revenue Management
In this 2017 study, I surveyed over 400 RM professionals. While respondents said that RM has been more strategic and centralized, changes in RM practice have come more slowly. For example, in my 2010 study, people said that total hotel RM would be common by 2015. But, when I asked respondents how far they had progressed with applying RM to other non-rooms parts of the hotel, they basically said 'not much', Click here to read more!
The Future of Hotel Revenue Management
In this 2017 study, I surveyed over 400 RM professionals. While respondents said that RM has been more strategic and centralized, changes in RM practice have come more slowly. For example, in my 2010 study, people said that total hotel RM would be common by 2015. But, when I asked respondents how far they had progressed with applying RM to other non-rooms parts of the hotel, they basically said 'not much', Click here to read more!
HOTELS - RESEARCH ARTICLES
Hotel Revenue Management in an Economic Downturn: Results from an International Study
The sudden reversal in the lodging industry’s fortunes from 2008 to 2009 has brought a renewed focus on revenue and profitability for revenue managers. In a survey conducted in 2009, 291 revenue managers cited concerns about customer rate resistance, contract renegotiations, competition, and price wars as their top considerations.
The Future of Hotel Revenue Management (2017)
A Case Study with Fairmont Raffles Hotels International. This was a really fun RRM project that Jeannette Ho, the former VP of RM at Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) and I worked on from 2011 - 2016. In this article, we discuss how we approached the project and give some concrete examples of our success. Within a year of implementation, FRHI restaurants that implemented RM had generated five times more revenue growth than those not applying the program. Pretty exciting!
RESTAURANTS - RESEARCH ARTICLES
Restaurant Daily Deals:
Customers’ Responses to Social Couponing
A survey of 931 U.S. consumers finds that those who have purchased daily deals from a casual dining, fast-casual, or quick-service restaurant are not noticeably different in behavior or attitudes from those who have not done so. New customers in particular would not have tried the restaurant without the daily deal offer. All customer groups said they considered the restaurant to be a good value, even without the discount offer.
An Evaluation of Heuristic Methods for Determining the Best Table Mix In Full-Service Restaurants
In this 2006ish study with Gary Thompson, we tested out various methods for coming up with the optimal table mix. As it turns out, one of the simplest methods worked VERY well and came within 1% of optimal. Leann more!!
Revenue Management in Restaurants: Unbundling Pricing for Reservations from the Core Service
Reservation slots are NOT created equal. Customers tend to value hard-to-get reservations more than those available during slow times. Traditionally, restaurants haven't charged for this, but now some companies are starting to do that. The question is how do customers react to this? While most people said they did not like the idea, there was a substantial % who were open to it. Read the study to learn more!
Restaurant Revenue Management: Implementation at Chevys Arrowhead
Again, this is an older one (around 2004) but it gives a detailed overview of how we approached RRM with Chevys and about some of the results that they had. As a result of the changes that we made, they were able to increase their revenue by 3%. One of the other restaurants we worked with went up by 5%. Check it out!
Customer Perceptions of Restaurant Delivery
This is a study that I just finished up on restaurant delivery. Amazingly, 100% of respondents had used their device to order delivery. And, even more amazingly over half of them ordered delivery at least once a week. There were some very interesting differences between frequent and infrequent users. Also, there were some major usage and attitudes between men and women.
Customer Perceptions of Electronic Food Ordering
This 2011 study is 'old' now, but back then only half had ordered food using their device (this compares to the 100% in my 2019 study!!). The chief reasons given for using online ordering were convenience and control. Nor surprisingly, users were younger than non-users and tended to eat out more. Take a look at this study to learn more!
Pricing:
PRICING - RESEARCH ARTICLES
Restaurants: Unbundling Pricing for Reservations from the Core Service
Not all reservation slots are created equal. For example, prime time reservations are much more valued than off-peak reservations. The question is whether customers are willing to pay a separate charge for a hard-to-get reservation. Read this to find out more!
Has Revenue Management Become Acceptable?
Managers often worry about how their customers will react to variable pricing. Jochen Wirtz and I decided to find out In this 2003 study. The study was done in three different countries (Singapore, Sweden and the US) and presented respondents with different scenarios that were framed in different ways. We found that when price variations were presented as a discount, rather than as a surcharge that customers viewed them as quite fair. And, guess which country was the most open to variable pricing? Find out more!