As consumer behavior continues to shift, the question in 2015 is， how do we get ahead of these fast-paced changes and work within this new landscape?

The disciplines of hotel sales, marketing and revenue management have seen many changes in recent years, and the pace won’t slow down in 2015.

As consumer behavior continues to shift, the question in 2015 is how do we get ahead of these fast-paced changes and work within this new landscape? While there is no silver bullet, following are four areas to watch in each discipline.

Intermediation

The sheer number of new distribution entrants and disruptors that have come into the business can make any sales person, marketer or revenue manager’s head spin. They are developing so quickly that it is difficult to see how to adapt and combat. Keys:

• Marketing –  Differentiate on value, not just price. Look for the “incrementality” to your business and avoid simply redirecting business to your hotel.

• Sales – Review the cost of the channel or the impact of the total cost of customer acquisition for leisure, corporate, and group business. All segments of business have new entrants. Also, look at high-value customers, particularly in regard to loyalty marketing. Continue to focus on keeping your high-value customers booking direct.

• Revenue Management – When partnering with intermediaries, identify which are most valuable, who to align with and what unique offers or benefits to provide through those channels. Know the cost per channel and optimize your channel contribution. Measure, test, and measure again.

Integration

Silos still exist in many organizations between sales, marketing and revenue management. All organizations can benefit from optimizing revenue and profits (and operating efficiencies) when these disciplines converge. Keys:

• Marketing - Develop a unifying strategy and brand voice for EVERY aspect of your organization. Everyone needs to be trained and prepared to deliver the brand message.

• Sales - Think about what you are doing to drive contribution, rates and value. Everything needs to be evaluated from a profitability standpoint. Rethink how we sell and how our sales structures are set up. The legacy structure for sales and marketing has not changed that much, particularly with groups. How can we rethink sales architecture and resource deployment to make it more effective in today’s competitive marketplace?

• Revenue Management - Train strategic thinkers and think TOTAL revenue management; not just rooms revenue. Don’t allow revenue managers to rely on automated tools so much that they forget to use their own experiences. Adopt new dynamic pricing tactics.

Digital

No hospitality trends piece would be complete without a reference to digital and the changes coming via the mobile wave. Keys:

• Marketing - Fully embrace mobile – mobile-friendly websites, small-screen booking, tracking and measuring mobile better than ever before. More focus on reviews and content that is created specifically for mobile. Be proactive with social media and leverage user generated content to improve your guest experience and create loyal customers.

• Sales – Provide sales assistance via social, allowing more personalization, greater quality control and quicker response time. Provide call center associates access to the digital properties to help respond to caller questions more easily and close deals.

• Revenue Management– Understand the net impact of technology in the travel space – especially adoption by upcoming generations. Begin trying to figure out how that will impact revenue in 2015 and beyond.

Big Data

What’s really going to make the difference in big data is what data we work with as sales people, marketers and revenue managers and what we do with that data once it is collected. Keys:

• Marketing - Determine what data is going to make the most difference in marketing plans.

• Sales - Determine how the data collected can support goals and objectives.

• Revenue Management – Determine whether the collection of big data is worth the cost. Work with the marketing team to streamline how to test and measure the data, then evaluate whether what’s being collected is actually being used.

To continue to compete smart in 2015, marketing, sales and revenue management will have to mine for opportunities where they can market to current and potential guests effectively, and where they can truly meet the needs of their guests. All while monitoring a constantly shifting landscape of consumer behavior and booking channel preferences.