SiteMinder unveiled a set of smart monitoring and reporting capabilities called Insights that usher hotels into the new era of distribution. The capabilities are native to users of the channel management, direct booking and pricing intelligence features within SiteMinder’s platform and provide hoteliers a single place to access clear and actionable data on their local market, business performance and guests.
The unveiling of SiteMinder Insights follows the company’s 2019 study on the biggest concerns of hoteliers around the world. Among the most common concerns were:
- Delivering to the increasing expectations of guests (71 percent agreed).
- Forecasting and managing demand amid the rise of last-minute bookings (62 percent agreed).
- Rethinking sales and marketing strategies, including pricing, because of Airbnb (58 percent agreed).
When asked to nominate their key drivers for investing in technology, hotelier participants cited better management of room rates and pricing, less time spent on admin and more on guests, and more proactivity about increased local competition as three of their top five reasons.
“In spite of increasing technology to support hotels, many are still challenged with responding to dynamic rates and changing consumer expectations that demand both personalization and the best prices,” SiteMinder Chief Product Officer Inga Latham said in a statement. “The pervasive trend of bargain hunting is both rewarding and rewarded behavior among consumers. That behavior is ultimately driving the continued growth of last-minute bookings and pressuring hoteliers to discount if they want to compete.
“The entire concept of distribution has evolved from a transactional way to manage room rates and availability to a smart, data-driven strategy that reaches guests at all stages of their individual journey—and helps hoteliers to make decisions. SiteMinder Insights allows hotels to be smarter about their sales and marketing strategies while maintaining the integrity of their brand.”
The Hotel at Midtown is among the early adopters of SiteMinder Insights. Using it alongside the channel management feature within SiteMinder’s platform, the 55-room boutique property in Chicago benefits from the intelligence on a day-to-day basis.
“We are an independent hotel needing access to data on our competitive set,” said Amy Lawhorn, hotel and event sales director. “SiteMinder Insights has given us real-time access to our comp set rates, to be better informed daily in our revenue management. I use the tools daily for our rate management.”