Franziska Brandl, Head of Convention Sales at Empire Riverside Hotel and Hotel Hafen Hamburg, discusses how OpenSpace has revolutionized Empire Riverside’s revenue management strategy and operations, increasing RevPP by 17%.
Introducing Empire Riverside Hotel
At the heart of St. Pauli, between the harbor, the River Elbe, and the Reeperbahn, you’ll find the impressive bronze-paneled tower of the Empire Riverside Hotel, offering bird's eye views of Hamburg, a skyline bar, and a Finnish sauna.
Alongside F&B, we have a strong focus on our meetings and events spaces, with 842 sqm of configurable function space and a capacity of over 1,000 people across eight rooms that regularly host meetings, seminars, birthdays, and weddings.
The challenge
We lacked a total revenue approach when it came to our strategy. Despite our prime location and high occupancy, we weren’t optimizing for demand, leaving profit on the table. In many cases, we would have to turn down high-value and last-minute RFPs, because space was already reserved up to 12 to 18 months ahead.
A big factor in this was the way we were tracking demand — from 2018 to 2022, everything for our banqueting function was recorded in Excel spreadsheets, making it difficult to see trends and react to changes in the market.
We were in a tricky situation, relying on pure luck to get any business during the low-demand periods, which coupled with our static pricing strategy, resulted in lower profitability.
We also had a big communication gap, with room and banquet teams operating in silos, and found manually creating event proposals in Word time-consuming, hindering the team's ability to focus on client needs and making strategic decisions.
The solution
We went on the lookout for a MICE revenue management system, and to be honest, we struggled to find one! It was by chance I met Gerhard at a conference and really admired his knowledge and insights in the hospitality field. I knew he and OpenSpace were the right choice for Empire Riverside Hotel.
With Duetto as our revenue management system, we wanted to:
- Shift focus from occupancy to optimizing revenue per person, considering factors like room rates, event spaces, and catering.
- Implement a flexible pricing structure based on demand and seasonality.
- Improve communication and break down silos between departments to align strategies and maximize total hotel revenue.
- Significantly reduce the time spent on creating proposals, allowing staff to focus on client relationships and strategic sales efforts.
“We had a big communication gap, with room and banquet teams operating in silos, and manually creating event proposals, hindering the team's ability to focus on client needs and making strategic decisions.”
The results
- Increased revenue per person (RevPP).
By adopting a dynamic pricing strategy and focusing on total revenue, we’ve seen a 17% increase in RevPP, from January to September 2024 compared to the previous year. - Improved efficiency.
Streamlining the proposal process with an online booking engine saved us valuable time, so we could be more responsive to client needs and focus on higher-value tasks. Customers also had a better experience as they could self-serve and select dates from a calendar setup the same way they do for booking flights or hotel rooms, and see live rates. - Empowered staff.
The system has given us the confidence to make data-informed decisions, leading to improved client interactions and a more proactive sales approach. We’re no longer accepting the first RFPs we receive; we're not afraid to wait for profitable business.
Our partnership with Duetto has transformed our revenue management strategy and overall operations. By implementing dynamic pricing, focusing on total revenue, improving communication, and streamlining processes, we’ve achieved significant improvements in efficiency, staff empowerment, and most importantly, our revenue.
My advice
Act now!
You could start with an Excel spreadsheet, but having a professional partner in the process will ensure more capacity to focus on customer experience which is the perfect way to set yourself apart from the competition.
