'Revenue management is more than just numbers'

How insight, timing and collaboration lead to better results

For many hotels, revenue management remains a difficult field to grasp. It is often outsourced to external parties or leans too much on software alone. For Cuneyt Bulman, it is much more than that: a continuous process of analysing, adjusting and collaborating that simultaneously allows you to know what is going on in and around the hotel. Together with colleague Arnold Godei, he is responsible for the revenue management of Hotel Amsterdam Mosaic and Grand Hotel Downtown. Their approach? Strategic, structured and always with an eye for the bigger picture.

"My numerical background in business economics gave me a natural feel for numbers," Bulman says. "When Grand Hotel Downtown was looking for a revenue manager, they asked me to think along during the interviews because of my analytical acumen. Before and during those interviews, I started learning about the software and methods that were then on the table. In the end, they asked me if I didn't want to do it myself."

From Excel models to practical alignment

In the beginning, he mostly stuck to what others in the profession were doing. "Then I learnt a lot in a short time. For instance, back then I was happy with many reservations at good prices, without taking into account possible cancellations." Soon Bulman noticed that he was developing his own insights. "I am good at Excel and started building my own models, complementary to the software. Partly because I wanted to easily and at a glance look further ahead or back than was possible with standard programmes. In Excel, I set exactly what I need. Every time I add something, my insight becomes sharper. That way I keep refining my approach." That this works is evidenced by an average utilisation rate of 97 per cent.

The technical insight is valuable, but equally important is the collaboration with Arnold Godei, who focuses mainly on day-to-day operations. "I am close to the practice," says Godei. "If I notice that prices are too high for our guests, I let them know. After all, we want guests to be satisfied and leave good reviews in the long run." 

Godei sees that their joint approach is paying off: "Our revenue is doing well compared to competitors, this while some hotels employ full-time revenue managers with good salaries, who do not achieve the same results as we do." Bulman adds: "Because we switch continuously and know the situation on the floor, we can charge good prices without pricing ourselves out of the market. Many external revenue managers lack that feeling at a hotel. They work remotely, more numerically. We combine data with practice."

That short-to-long-term balance is exactly where the duo's strength lies. "Arnold responds to immediate demand, for example if there are suddenly a lot of calls for free rooms," says Bulman. "Without knowing why that is, you then have to move quickly." We also look at broader trends and patterns. "We provide revenue management for a three-star hotel with an average younger audience that often attends events, and a four-star hotel that attracts slightly older guests with different needs. That requires different emphases." 

Data and sentiment: the future of revenue management

Both hotels use the software Duetto. "In the beginning, I compared about five programmes. The choice fell on Duetto because of its user-friendliness and clear statistics. Nevertheless, Excel remains an important addition for me. I am visually oriented and want more control over the data than standard software offers."

What makes someone a good revenue manager? "If you manage to maximise occupancy as well as revenue responsibly - not just this month, but in the long term," Bulman says. "When I started, I soon discovered that. Sometimes that also means: knowing when not to increase." According to him, many hotels are still missing opportunities. "I even saw once that the hotel has fixed prices: one rate during the week, another one at the weekend. There you miss a lot of optimisation opportunities. Of course, this is an extreme case." 

Bulman expects the future of revenue management to move increasingly towards automation. "AI may soon be able to link the software with other data predicting, for example, how many tourists are coming to Amsterdam, based on airline ticket data or even the weather. Those kinds of insights give strategic advantage. Now you still largely have to piece that together yourself."

Finally, he has some clear advice for young professionals: "Jump in, but learn from experienced people. I dived into it myself blankly and learned a lot by doing. But if I had to do it all over again, I would look at the art first. Use the knowledge out there, but also develop your own vision."