Experiential Selling with Dynamic Inventory Shows Results
45 percent higher average prices of +16 euros have a direct positive impact on the net revenue of hotels
70% reservation automation helps teams thanks to automated sales of room preferences that were previously only possible via email or phone inquiries
Many guests prefer a high floor and more queen and king beds
Frankfurt, February 28, 2024 - An evaluation of data from over 45 customers from the 2023 financial year shows that the implementation of GauVendi's innovative, AI-powered and dynamic inventory management platform generates significant added value in hotels' success-relevant KPIs.
For example, the average rates achieved by booking via the hotel's own websites were 45 percent higher, which corresponds to an increase of 16 euros, compared to bookings made via other channels (e.g. online travel agency, property management systems). The share of online direct business in total business varied from 12 to 70 percent per customer. The following three reasons led to the increase in sales:
Selling relevant room features that could not be priced before (from corner room to a specific view, location, bed type or other functional extras). This multiplies the product offering and results in more price points that are offered, resulting in higher average prices.
Marketing of products that were proactively offered to the user dynamically by the AI models used and booked accordingly. These are products that are additionally marked with labels such as "Most Popular" or "Our Tip" and that differ from the total of six available products in price and content (see image below).
Bookings were increasingly made via the hotel's own sales engine and no longer by telephone, e-mail or third-party channels, as the differentiated sales on the hotel's own website made the offer more attractive and no longer comparable to the classic category sales on the third-party channels.
In addition to the higher average rates achieved, hotels in the reservation and front office areas saw significant declines in email and telephone enquiries. As a result, the respective teams had more time for other guest-related tasks, such as looking after the guests on site.
The hotels also noticed changes in sales behavior: 25 percent of the guests booked a product controlled by the AI (guest favorite or our tip), 15 percent of the guests put together their product according to their own preferences via the room configurator, and again 22 percent of the guests booked a room product that was offered directly on the sales engine. Only 38 percent of guests chose the lowest available rate.
Due to the possibility of further differentiating the inventory with the GauVendi solution beyond the established room categories, the proportion of higher-quality products that can be offered is much higher. For example, if rooms are divided into five categories, 80 percent of the inventory is divided between the three lowest categories with correspondingly lower prices. With dynamic inventory, however, it's the other way around: only a few rooms are at the bottom, and over 80 percent of the inventory can be sold at higher prices.
The average conversion, i.e. the number of visitors to the hotel website who actually make a booking, was seven percent over the year, which is above the industry average. This is mainly due to the fact that with the GauVendi solution, guests can already find the offer that suits them on the website. The measurement of conversion is based on Google's definition.
Another interesting aspect of the evaluation shows the preferences of the guests. Some of the most requested features included high floor, queen bed, king bed, balcony, medium room size, shower, view, kitchenette, twin beds, walk-in shower, large balcony, terrace, fireplace, extra quiet area and bathtub.
Among the most popular and most booked room products were products that had previously been reluctant to be allocated by hotels due to their location or special features. However, they have become more attractive to certain target groups in the course of transparent room sales, for example, the room product of a standard category with a view of the street was the second most booked, thus enabling a successful upsell of the higher-value room products to other, less price-sensitive guests.
Top five most booked room products (outside of category sales)
1. Large Room – High floor and away from the elevator
2. Classic – facing the street
3. Large bedroom with mountain view
4. Large Single Room with Queen Bed
5. Small Double Room with Queen Bed & Balcony
***
About GauVendi
GauVendi is revolutionizing the hospitality industry. Founded in May 2020 by experienced industry experts, GauVendi offers a comprehensive solution for sales, distribution, revenue management and the highest possible automation with its innovative, AI-powered, feature-based and dynamic inventory management platform. GauVendi transforms room categories into feature-based inventory, which in turn transforms into relevant and tailor-made stay products. This results in many new use cases that provide more automation, monetization of individual room attributes, hyper-personalized sales, flexible distribution and marketing, higher guest satisfaction and return on properties. By the way, GauVendi stands for "Gaudium Venditio", and means the joy of selling. www.gauvendi.com
Pictures: Sales engine of the Adlers Hotel, Innsbruck: Presenting six products. In addition to the lowest price, the AI displays a suitable product as a "guest favorite" and one as "Our tip". The products offered in the second row are based on the hotel's sales strategy. In this case, categories are played.