5 Tips for Leading with a Revenue Strategy Mindset

By Taylor Baca, Director of Revenue Management, Balboa Bay Resort, HSMAI Rising Revenue Optimization Leaders Council Member

Leading a revenue strategy culture can allow for greater sense of purpose and direction, motivating teams to work together to achieve cohesive goals. I brought this topic to the Rising Revenue Optimization Leaders to discuss how we are leading a revenue strategy mindset. Here are our 5 top tips:

1. Data-Based Communication of Goals: Effective communication of revenue goals starts with a clear understanding of past performances. However, the key lies in adapting these goals based on updated financial forecasts. This approach allows us to communicate revenue targets to our team in a way that is both informed by past performance and responsive to current trends.
2. Cross-Departmental Engagement in Revenue Strategy: Revenue generation is a collective effort, requiring the involvement of various departments such as sales, marketing, food and beverage, spa, and retail. The challenge is to integrate these diverse departments into the revenue strategy discussions. Sharing insights from digital marketing and involving teams like food and beverage in these discussions can lead to a more comprehensive and unified strategy.
3. The Role of Revenue Leaders in Data Analysis: Revenue leaders today need to be adept in analyzing and interpreting data from various sources, including marketing, sales, and operational analytics.
4. Adapting Revenue Strategy Meetings: Involving teams from the front office, spa, and retail into meetings can provide a variety of perspectives, leading to a more well-rounded and effective revenue strategy.
5. Metrics for Success: Assessing the success of a revenue strategy mindset and culture is crucial. This involves tracking not only financial outcomes but also evaluating how effectively the revenue culture has been integrated across departments. Metrics should reflect the collaborative efforts of all departments in achieving the overall revenue targets.

Read Further:

• 5 Steps to Light Up Revenue Culture | IDeaS
• Breaking the Boundaries Between Hotel Revenue, Marketing and Sales (revenue-hub.com)
• How to break the ‘Silo Mentality’ at your hotel with a successful commercial strategy (hospitalitynet.org)

Questions for Your Team:

1. What data do you use to effectively communicate the hotel’s goals and revenue targets to the team?
2. What strategies can we implement to engage other departments including sales, marketing, food and beverage, spa, etc.?
3. Should revenue leaders become the data experts? Breaking down marketing, sales, food and beverage, etc. analytics?
4. How are we evolving our revenue strategy meetings to involve departments outside of commercial strategy (Food and Beverage, Front Office, Spa, Retail)?
5. How can we measure the success of our revenue strategy mindset and culture? What metrics should we track?

About HSMAI

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners and is the industry's leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals and their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as the Marketing Strategy Conference, Adrian Awards, Sales Leader Forum, and HSMAI ROC. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is a membership organization comprising more than 5,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at hsmai.org.