SiteMinder has developed a solution that aims to help hoteliers generate revenue through pricing optimization and distribution insights.
The Dynamic Commerce Engine will use artificial intelligence to surface optimization recommendations and execute them across pricing as well as distribution.
SiteMinder’s managing director and CEO Sankar Narayan said that there many pricing solutions on the market but less available for distribution.
“Are they set up properly? Do they have the right rate plans? Do they have the right inventory settings? Do they have the right terms and conditions? Very often there is a big gap between what the hoteliers want to do and how they execute,” he said.
“Those foundations are fundamental to how that room gets surfaced when somebody searches for the room on any one of the big booking platforms.”
Narayan said this configuration is more complex than the pricing element, adding that SiteMinder believes its visibility and connectivity strengths make it “well placed” to help hoteliers.
A study conducted by SiteMinder looking into hotel customers connected to a top-performing channel showed 11%, or 24,000 rooms, not listed on the channel, which could mean lost revenue.
Narayan said that while hotels have reasons for not listing all rooms, the test “uncovered a visibility problem for hotels—a problem that many of those hotels didn’t even know they had.”
The Dynamic Commerce Engine is tied to the specific hotel’s configuration around room types, packages, descriptions, imagery, rates and restrictions, with SiteMinder data around location and demand patterns also available. Recommendations surfaced to hoteliers are accompanied by a rationale so that properties can dynamically make adjustments to what goes out to end consumers.
Narayan said hotels then have the choice whether to execute on suggestions.