In recent years, Central Reservation Systems (CRS) have become increasingly more important for hoteliers. The rise in demand for this technology reflects shifts in the worldwide business environment, the economic climate and evolving consumer behaviour.
In short, hotels are interacting with a world that is more complex than ever before and, consequently, there is a strong need for robust reservation systems that are capable of dealing with multiple booking channels and fluctuating rates in this fast-moving market.
Enter the new generation of CRS. Systems today must balance ease of use with powerful actions, be able to integrate seamlessly with every other system used by the hotel, and adapt to new technological developments in all areas of the market. CRS suppliers certainly have got their hands full!
“Everyone in the organisation has a very different expectation of CRS,” explains Ròya International hospitality consultant, Turab Saleem. “Operators are looking for scalability to support the brand’s growth, while individual property owners want a system that is able to centralise data for simplicity and revenue management purposes. Investors, on the other hand, want a cost-efficient system that can drive up the shareholder value and will eventually provide a better return on investment.”
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Agility is perhaps the most important feature of a good CRS, as hoteliers need to capitalise on emerging trends and effectively adapt to changing market conditions. To achieve this, they require a CRS which is capable of dynamic analysis and reporting, even when handling the distribution of multiple rate plans targeted at different market segments.
“A good-quality reservation system will increase RevPar and market share by providing hotels with a flexible platform to manage and distribute rates quickly and effectively according to supply and demand across various market segments,” says Philippe Dewulf, director of business development for CRS supplier, Evolution.
“The system should be able to sell promotional rates with value add-ons to up-sell the guest and contribute to the RevPar increase. It should also be able to distribute rates to multiple distribution channels including the hotel’s own website. Overall, you should be able to accurately sell the right rates to the right market at the right time, ensuring a significant ROI.”
CRS has found itself on the frontline of revenue management, and hoteliers are currently working hard to effectively align CRS with their business’s revenue management policies and systems.
Ideally, CRS and revenue management should be seamlessly woven together to combine real-time booking data with forecasting capabilities to predict demand patterns and optimise as required.
“It’s essential to balance a good-quality reservation system and a strong revenue management policy to achieve increases in occupancy and RevPar,” explains Availpro president of the board of directors, Philippe Lamarche. “Availpro’s back office system provides you with a clear view of your bookings history from one year to another so that you are able to compare the trends and identify the average price per period.
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