Integrated Revenue Management Case Study and Presentation

Bringing It All Together: The Integrated Revenue Management Case Study

Revenue management is not a single calculation or a one-time decision. It is an ongoing cycle of analysis, strategy, action, and evaluation. In this final practice lesson you will work through a realistic multi-week hotel scenario, produce a professional written recommendation, and defend your thinking in front of a simulated leadership team. This mirrors what a front desk representative, guest service professional, or hospitality supervisor is expected to contribute on the job.

Understanding the Scenario Packet

Your scenario packet contains several documents that revenue teams use in real operations:

• Historical occupancy data (four weeks): Shows how full the hotel was each day. Look for patterns by day of week, sudden dips, and peak nights.
• ADR trend report: Shows average daily rate over the same period. Compare ADR movement to occupancy movement to judge whether pricing was too aggressive or too conservative.
• STAR report (sample): The STR competitive set report benchmarks your simulated hotel against its competitors using Occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR index scores. An index above 100 means the hotel is outperforming its competitive set; below 100 means it is losing ground.
• Upcoming events calendar: Local events—conventions, festivals, sporting tournaments, graduations—drive demand spikes. Identifying these dates is the first step toward proactive rate adjustments.
• OTA rate screens: Online travel agency screens show what competitors are currently charging for future dates. This is real-time market intelligence.

Read every document before drawing conclusions. A low occupancy week may look like a problem until you notice the STAR report shows every competitor was equally slow—meaning demand was simply soft market-wide, not a pricing error.

Building Your Written Rate Strategy Report

A professional revenue strategy report has a clear structure. Follow the template provided and include each section:

1. Demand Forecast: Summarize what you expect for the coming period based on historical patterns, the events calendar, and competitive rate data. State whether you anticipate compression nights (nights when demand is so high that all or most hotels in the market will fill) or soft nights.

2. Proposed Rate Actions by Day of Week: Recommend specific rate moves—rate increases, restrictions such as minimum length of stay, or promotional rates—for each day type. Justify every recommendation with data from the packet. Avoid vague language such as "raise rates a little"; instead write "increase the best available rate on Friday and Saturday of week three by approximately 15% based on the convention pick-up pattern and competitor rate screens showing sold-out conditions."

3. Channel Mix Adjustments: Identify whether the hotel should shift business toward or away from OTAs, direct booking, group, or corporate channels. Remember that OTA bookings carry a commission cost that reduces net revenue; direct bookings typically cost less to acquire.

4. Projected RevPAR Impact: Estimate the effect of your recommendations on RevPAR. Even a rough projection—"if occupancy holds at 88% and ADR rises from $142 to $163, RevPAR improves from $124.96 to $143.44"—demonstrates that you understand the relationship between the metrics.

Keep the report to two to three pages, use professional formatting, and cite specific figures from the packet rather than general statements.

Delivering the Presentation

Your 10-minute presentation to the simulated general manager and director of sales should follow a logical flow: brief situation summary, key findings, your recommended strategy, projected outcomes, and a clear ask for approval or feedback. Use slides to display data visually—charts of occupancy trends, a rate calendar grid, and a simple RevPAR comparison table are all appropriate.

During the Q&A, evaluators will probe your reasoning. Common questions include: "Why did you recommend dropping the rate on Tuesday instead of adding a value-added package?" or "What happens to your strategy if the event is canceled?" Prepare by asking yourself what could go wrong with each recommendation and what your fallback position would be.

Professional Standards and Accuracy

Revenue decisions have direct financial consequences. Overpricing drives guests to competitors; underpricing leaves money on the table permanently—a night that passes unsold can never be recovered. Because of this, accuracy matters above all. Double-check every number you cite in your report and every figure on your slides. If a calculation does not look right, recalculate it before presenting.

Confidentiality is also a professional obligation. Competitive rate data, STAR reports, and internal occupancy figures are proprietary. In a real hotel, sharing these externally without authorization could violate contractual agreements with STR or damage competitive position. Treat the scenario packet with the same discretion you would apply on the job.

Evaluation Criteria

Both your written report and your presentation must score at least 75% on their respective rubrics to pass this lesson. The written rubric assesses accuracy of analysis, completeness of each required section, and professional format. The presentation rubric assesses clarity of delivery, how well your data supports your recommendations, and the quality of your responses to evaluator questions. Submitting all supporting documentation—your spreadsheet work, the annotated scenario packet, and your slides—is required for full credit.