As the owner of a revenue management company with mostly Caribbean-based clients, COVID hit hard. One client closed; another cut down to bare-bones staff, and a third changed from a hotel to a private villa. Good news was hard to come by. So, needing a change of energy, I read a HelloSeven guide to running a woman-owned business and making an impact; two of my favorite topics. Needless to say, it was just what I needed.
“Often we hide our true selves at work and become boring corporate robots who don’t say anything different than the next person in our industry.”
Rachel Rodgers, HelloSeven CEO
As soon as I read this quote, I felt seen. Not because I hide my true self, but because of how I talk about my consulting style. I do it differently. Whereas other revenue management consultants prioritize RevPAR, boutique ROI is more hands-on and holistic. That is to say, we treat revenue management as the basis of a hotel’s sales and marketing efforts; we align and guide teams toward shared revenue goals.
PEOPLE OVER PROFITS
Before Covid, I downplayed this, framing our revenue management consulting services as my peers did. I wanted to sound more like my comp set in order to affirm my credibility. Now, after reflection, I embrace “doing it differently”. While we sell our ability to grow revenue, it is not the most important result of our service. Because we coach our clients’ teams, the real benefit is each team member’s professional development and improved overall performance. This is why we do what we do, the way we do it.
As COVID forced hotels to send staff home and suspend contracts, all the work fell to a few people. Fortunately, we continued working with one client, albeit in a slightly different role. Thus, we learned firsthand how important it is to cross-train people, especially those in the critical role of Reservations.
Given this experience, we tweaked our mission. Instead of focusing on just the bottom line, we are now more focused on elevating the people too. And as a revenue management company founded in the Caribbean, we know how important it is to support regional sustainability, wherever our clients are in the world. Now, more than ever, our mission is to contribute to the professional development of the staff we work with. We look forward to working with hoteliers who share this goal. If that’s you, we’d love to connect on Instagram or LinkedIn.