WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:01.175 --> 00:00:01.944 Speaker: It's caa. 00:00:04.605 --> 00:00:04.825 caa. 00:00:05.655 --> 00:00:09.945 They be created by caa. 00:00:11.415 --> 00:00:12.424 It's time for the show. 00:00:12.635 --> 00:00:13.225 Let's go 00:00:16.129 --> 00:00:16.370 Speaker 2: today. 00:00:16.370 --> 00:00:20.820 We're Desiree Garcia, the co-founder of revmax, the Revenue Management System, and 00:00:20.820 --> 00:00:25.380 we're talking about the three things that you should do daily, weekly, and monthly 00:00:25.470 --> 00:00:28.620 when working with a revenue manager or working with a revenue management company. 00:00:29.200 --> 00:00:30.250 Desire Ray, thanks for coming on today. 00:00:30.735 --> 00:00:31.245 Speaker 3: Hey Steve. 00:00:31.295 --> 00:00:32.035 Thank you for having me. 00:00:32.595 --> 00:00:36.495 Speaker 2: So Desiree, we've had you on before you started in 2006 and Destin, 00:00:36.525 --> 00:00:42.985 you have got a long history of being a revenue manager, growing revenue for 00:00:43.225 --> 00:00:47.435 a multitude of companies to include the big dogs on the block in the hotel 00:00:47.435 --> 00:00:54.334 industry and all the way up to meeting Carlos and becoming a co founder of 00:00:54.435 --> 00:00:56.555 the RevMax revenue management system. 00:00:56.724 --> 00:00:57.245 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:00:57.764 --> 00:00:58.974 It's been quite the journey. 00:00:59.350 --> 00:01:03.109 Speaker 2: You've come from one market segment into a different 00:01:03.109 --> 00:01:07.590 one and then became a leader of the short terminal segment and 00:01:07.590 --> 00:01:12.249 then co founded an entire revenue management software . That's a pretty 00:01:12.339 --> 00:01:14.369 outstanding career you've got going on. 00:01:14.779 --> 00:01:15.279 Speaker 3: Thank you. 00:01:15.349 --> 00:01:20.409 It's a lot of fun as a revenue manager in the hotel space, if you will, 00:01:20.499 --> 00:01:23.299 they kind of give everything to you. 00:01:23.749 --> 00:01:27.829 And as revenue management evolves and strategies evolve, they're 00:01:27.829 --> 00:01:30.689 not so keen to give you that flexibility and functionality. 00:01:30.689 --> 00:01:34.309 So being the co founder, especially in the vacation rental space with 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:38.619 the revenue management system and the diversity that's needed, the complexity 00:01:38.619 --> 00:01:42.729 with working with owners and different companies and roles, it's important 00:01:42.729 --> 00:01:48.349 that we have a system that gives the flexibility and to know that we have that 00:01:48.349 --> 00:01:53.129 control to bring that to the marketplace is what keeps this exciting and fun. 00:01:53.884 --> 00:01:57.074 Speaker 2: Uh, you know, I remember years ago when we would do everything 00:01:57.074 --> 00:02:00.654 on Excel spreadsheets before Streamline was a thing, when you would Yahoo, 00:02:00.844 --> 00:02:04.464 not Google, because Google wasn't a thing yet, Yahoo property management 00:02:04.464 --> 00:02:05.944 software, nothing would come up. 00:02:06.564 --> 00:02:09.644 I would build these great big charts showing the homeowners what we'd 00:02:09.644 --> 00:02:11.184 be charging for the entire year. 00:02:11.694 --> 00:02:14.374 And we'd send them out and have them like on our front desk. 00:02:14.384 --> 00:02:15.034 So that. 00:02:15.584 --> 00:02:17.674 Guests could pick them up and decide what time of year they 00:02:17.674 --> 00:02:19.284 wanted to come and see everything. 00:02:19.714 --> 00:02:22.884 And then we'd even secretly drop them close to our competitors 00:02:22.894 --> 00:02:25.114 offices with the wrong numbers on it. 00:02:25.124 --> 00:02:27.174 And that's how we would get competitive advantages on it. 00:02:27.175 --> 00:02:30.604 Back in the old days. 00:02:31.174 --> 00:02:31.564 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:02:32.055 --> 00:02:32.125 Yes. 00:02:32.354 --> 00:02:34.454 I remember those pricing sheets. 00:02:34.924 --> 00:02:37.224 Speaker 2: They were really valuable and they were such a thing. 00:02:37.234 --> 00:02:39.774 And like, I remember like, we can put it on nice paper and it was like, 00:02:39.774 --> 00:02:40.954 Oh, you can put it on nice paper. 00:02:40.954 --> 00:02:41.234 Like, yeah. 00:02:41.604 --> 00:02:44.394 And I have times have changed. 00:02:44.954 --> 00:02:45.474 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:02:45.564 --> 00:02:46.544 They were magnets. 00:02:48.594 --> 00:02:48.994 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:02:50.124 --> 00:02:53.095 Well, today we're talking about the three things that you should be 00:02:53.095 --> 00:02:54.934 doing daily, weekly, and monthly. 00:02:54.944 --> 00:02:59.894 And I think this is so important because when you bring on a revenue manager or 00:02:59.894 --> 00:03:02.194 you hire a revenue management company. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:08.179 They know what they're doing, but you really don't often as a property manager. 00:03:08.519 --> 00:03:11.929 I wondered sometimes asked like, okay, I'm glad you're on board. 00:03:12.594 --> 00:03:15.324 What should I be doing or what questions should I be asking, 00:03:15.324 --> 00:03:16.614 or what should I be monitoring? 00:03:17.054 --> 00:03:19.744 I'm really excited about this episode because I think that we're 00:03:19.744 --> 00:03:23.504 going to answer those questions for our partners at Costco today. 00:03:24.094 --> 00:03:28.144 Speaker 3: I think ultimately when you have a revenue manager, they 00:03:28.174 --> 00:03:31.924 should be responsible for your entire revenue management strategy 00:03:32.504 --> 00:03:36.694 because revenue management isn't just about setting a price, right? 00:03:36.694 --> 00:03:38.174 A pricing tool can do that. 00:03:38.794 --> 00:03:44.464 And they're not just sitting back changing rates for 365 days for every home. 00:03:44.604 --> 00:03:50.504 It's all about managing the strategy and making sure that we're optimizing 00:03:50.514 --> 00:03:52.424 the supply and demand for every day. 00:03:52.824 --> 00:03:55.934 Revenue management is an art and a science. 00:03:56.549 --> 00:03:58.559 The science is through the system. 00:03:58.829 --> 00:04:01.849 Let the system do a lot of that heavy lifting. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:06.739 The art is through the revenue manager, as well as with a blend of 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:09.479 the property manager, because they are the ones who are boots on the ground. 00:04:09.489 --> 00:04:13.499 Most revenue managers are remote, but ultimately the collaboration 00:04:13.499 --> 00:04:18.399 of those two are what's going to make a successful strategy. 00:04:18.889 --> 00:04:22.969 And making sure that all the key players that are involved know the goal, 00:04:23.209 --> 00:04:27.839 understand the strategy so they can execute in their respective position. 00:04:28.629 --> 00:04:32.169 Speaker 2: I love that you said that the people on the ground. 00:04:32.719 --> 00:04:36.819 Along with the strategist as the revenue manager are working together. 00:04:36.819 --> 00:04:41.679 And in a previous episode, we talked about how revenue management is a team sport 00:04:42.229 --> 00:04:45.799 and making sure that the people who are actually on the ground, picking up the 00:04:45.799 --> 00:04:49.899 phone calls, talking to guests, talking to homeowners, answering emails, are 00:04:49.899 --> 00:04:52.779 giving feedback to the revenue manager. 00:04:52.819 --> 00:04:53.939 Who's setting the strategy. 00:04:54.449 --> 00:04:54.689 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:04:54.689 --> 00:04:59.839 It's important that owner services, marketing reservations, revenue 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:01.079 manager, we're all aligned. 00:05:01.489 --> 00:05:01.689 And the 00:05:01.689 --> 00:05:02.099 Speaker 2: homeowner. 00:05:02.359 --> 00:05:03.019 Speaker 3: I'm the homeowner. 00:05:03.029 --> 00:05:03.419 Yes. 00:05:03.659 --> 00:05:03.819 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:05:03.979 --> 00:05:05.789 So we're going to start with daily. 00:05:05.869 --> 00:05:09.939 So the three things that we should be doing daily as a property manager, you 00:05:09.939 --> 00:05:12.619 said number one was major bookings. 00:05:13.189 --> 00:05:13.749 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:05:14.069 --> 00:05:15.469 The important thing is right. 00:05:15.469 --> 00:05:17.779 I'm going to kind of take a step back before we jump into that is 00:05:18.179 --> 00:05:20.499 once a revenue management strategy. 00:05:20.939 --> 00:05:21.709 is set. 00:05:22.609 --> 00:05:27.319 This is what you should be doing then daily, weekly, monthly. 00:05:27.579 --> 00:05:31.219 So if you're saying tomorrow, right, I'm going to just hire a revenue manager, 00:05:31.219 --> 00:05:32.799 but there's no existing strategy. 00:05:33.119 --> 00:05:37.039 We may need to do all of these things daily to try to get the strategy 00:05:37.039 --> 00:05:39.039 built, get the system set up. 00:05:39.039 --> 00:05:42.379 So you understand what's happening once your strategy is good. 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:44.699 And now you're in maintenance mode, if you will. 00:05:45.049 --> 00:05:48.059 These are the things you want to do daily, weekly, monthly. 00:05:48.409 --> 00:05:51.039 We're going to start with daily and you had said measure bookings. 00:05:51.559 --> 00:05:55.009 Because we want to understand our reservations. 00:05:55.039 --> 00:06:00.189 We want to understand what reservations are coming in because if we had 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:06.349 just made a price adjustment, or we just opened up our calendars, or 00:06:06.349 --> 00:06:08.229 we just sent out a marketing piece. 00:06:09.009 --> 00:06:13.569 Or we just added a different distribution channel or partner OTA. 00:06:14.009 --> 00:06:17.729 How is that impacting the volume of reservations coming in? 00:06:18.619 --> 00:06:22.619 So we need to have a pulse on every day, how many reservations are 00:06:22.629 --> 00:06:26.229 coming in because ultimately that's cash also, how much cash is getting 00:06:26.229 --> 00:06:27.599 deposited into my bank account. 00:06:28.099 --> 00:06:32.449 So that's why as a GM, you want to have a pulse check of your bookings. 00:06:33.349 --> 00:06:38.929 Speaker 2: And so for number two, you said major leads, why major leads if 00:06:38.929 --> 00:06:40.359 they haven't turned into revenue yet? 00:06:40.819 --> 00:06:41.259 Speaker 3: Correct. 00:06:41.299 --> 00:06:45.539 In our previous podcast, we had talked about availability, which was opportunity. 00:06:46.129 --> 00:06:51.739 So leads are opportunities where people have picked up the phone 00:06:51.829 --> 00:06:55.949 or sent an inquiry and are ready to spend money, but haven't yet. 00:06:56.349 --> 00:06:57.559 That's your demand. 00:06:57.649 --> 00:06:59.199 That's how much demand is coming in. 00:06:59.269 --> 00:07:02.849 You also want to know, okay, that's great that I had 20 bookings. 00:07:03.209 --> 00:07:05.019 But how much demand did I have? 00:07:05.019 --> 00:07:09.199 If I had 20 bookings and 50 leads, I need to convert those leads. 00:07:10.064 --> 00:07:11.484 Why did they not book? 00:07:11.794 --> 00:07:13.034 Was it policy? 00:07:13.474 --> 00:07:14.364 Was it rate? 00:07:14.514 --> 00:07:15.784 Was it availability? 00:07:15.954 --> 00:07:17.944 Was it deposit? 00:07:18.294 --> 00:07:20.014 Are they nervous about the cancellation? 00:07:20.324 --> 00:07:23.634 Why did 20 of them give me money right away? 00:07:23.694 --> 00:07:26.464 And why did the other 50, why were they apprehensive? 00:07:26.874 --> 00:07:29.414 Speaker 2: So when you're measuring leads, you're also 00:07:29.524 --> 00:07:31.274 inside of that measuring denials. 00:07:31.634 --> 00:07:32.024 Speaker 3: Correct. 00:07:32.424 --> 00:07:36.364 So denials are when somebody called in and it was a hard no, 00:07:36.364 --> 00:07:37.814 I'm not moving forward with you. 00:07:38.494 --> 00:07:40.344 Why did we deny that reservation? 00:07:40.564 --> 00:07:42.304 Why did we deny their money? 00:07:42.544 --> 00:07:43.404 That's how I look at it. 00:07:43.984 --> 00:07:47.614 People have money, they walked into my store, they have an intent 00:07:47.624 --> 00:07:49.504 to buy, and we turned them away. 00:07:50.044 --> 00:07:50.634 Why is that? 00:07:51.294 --> 00:07:53.754 So it could be the price was too high. 00:07:53.784 --> 00:07:57.454 It could be their house had a certain night minimum. 00:07:57.674 --> 00:07:59.544 They weren't flexible with their stay. 00:07:59.594 --> 00:08:03.244 They wanted to bring their pet and they couldn't, it could be a number of reasons. 00:08:03.724 --> 00:08:05.964 So why would we turn those customers away if we didn't 00:08:05.964 --> 00:08:08.014 have existing demand to book it? 00:08:08.164 --> 00:08:12.894 That's the conversations we need to have with clients or reservationists 00:08:13.184 --> 00:08:15.244 to the revenue managers and the GMs. 00:08:15.594 --> 00:08:19.944 Marketing is doing their part with getting the demand in, but now we're running 00:08:19.944 --> 00:08:21.554 into hurdles because we can't convert it. 00:08:23.174 --> 00:08:28.094 Speaker 2: So for number three on our daily schedule, we should review pickup. 00:08:28.564 --> 00:08:30.204 And we're not talking about a Ford pickup here. 00:08:30.204 --> 00:08:31.314 We're talking about something else, right? 00:08:32.684 --> 00:08:33.184 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:08:33.194 --> 00:08:38.329 So pickup simply just means We know that we had bookings, but pickup 00:08:38.339 --> 00:08:40.869 is where does that occupancy fall? 00:08:40.949 --> 00:08:44.109 What day in the calendar, what did we pick up? 00:08:44.469 --> 00:08:49.589 So if I had 10 bookings, fantastic, but where are they picking up? 00:08:49.819 --> 00:08:51.189 Is it last minute? 00:08:51.199 --> 00:08:52.149 Is it next week? 00:08:52.189 --> 00:08:53.259 Is it next year? 00:08:53.529 --> 00:08:55.099 Is it 4th of July? 00:08:55.319 --> 00:08:56.939 When are those reservations picking up? 00:08:57.699 --> 00:09:03.109 That helps to understand this last Thursday, we picked up five reservations 00:09:03.119 --> 00:09:04.879 and they're all booking for 4th of July. 00:09:05.889 --> 00:09:06.599 Good to know. 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:09.469 Versus five reservations and they all just booked for next year. 00:09:10.114 --> 00:09:12.834 It's important to have a pulse check of how many reservations are coming 00:09:12.834 --> 00:09:15.164 in and what days are they falling on. 00:09:15.684 --> 00:09:16.384 Speaker 2: That's really good advice. 00:09:16.384 --> 00:09:19.864 You know, I look at the daily pickup, but I'm not really 00:09:19.864 --> 00:09:21.104 looking at when it's coming in. 00:09:21.134 --> 00:09:25.754 I was trying to pace pickup comparatively to the year before, but I think I'm 00:09:25.754 --> 00:09:30.064 leaving a lot on the table by not looking at the dates for the pickup as well. 00:09:30.964 --> 00:09:37.934 So we've done our daily three for the past week, and now it's coming up to our 00:09:37.984 --> 00:09:42.384 weekly meeting or our weekly schedule, and we have three things that we should be 00:09:42.384 --> 00:09:45.694 doing weekly, and one is review pricing. 00:09:46.929 --> 00:09:50.989 Speaker 3: At least once a week, you want to have a collective meeting with 00:09:50.989 --> 00:09:56.739 all your players at bare minimum, the GM or the owner and the revenue manager. 00:09:57.489 --> 00:10:01.879 It would be great if you had a director of marketing or marketing manager, a 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:07.829 reservationist owner services, because it's important to understand the, 00:10:07.829 --> 00:10:09.289 why we're doing what we're doing. 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:13.449 And if we need to make adjustments, if we're noticing certain 00:10:13.449 --> 00:10:16.084 trends, All players are there. 00:10:16.264 --> 00:10:17.714 They understand the goal. 00:10:17.734 --> 00:10:20.834 So any questions anybody gets asked, they all have the appropriate 00:10:20.864 --> 00:10:23.684 answers in the weekly meeting. 00:10:23.844 --> 00:10:28.874 When we're reviewing price, if we recognize, hey, for the last seven 00:10:28.874 --> 00:10:31.254 days, our pickup trend has been X. 00:10:32.219 --> 00:10:35.859 We need to offer a discount, right? 00:10:35.859 --> 00:10:38.319 We're sitting with 100 nights open. 00:10:38.819 --> 00:10:45.339 We're going to offer a discount owner services and reservationists need to 00:10:45.349 --> 00:10:48.029 be aware of why we're dropping price. 00:10:48.079 --> 00:10:51.299 So if they get calls, they can speak confidently to the owners 00:10:51.299 --> 00:10:53.559 about why instead of passing it off. 00:10:53.999 --> 00:10:55.199 They can easily convert that. 00:10:55.699 --> 00:10:57.449 So we were reviewing prices. 00:10:57.449 --> 00:11:02.139 Number one on our weekly call, because we need to understand based upon our 00:11:02.139 --> 00:11:04.439 pickup, where is demand coming in? 00:11:04.989 --> 00:11:09.439 And where is the opportunity if demand is coming in hot and we are 00:11:09.439 --> 00:11:15.019 pacing to sell out too fast, then I probably need to increase my price 00:11:15.019 --> 00:11:16.319 a little bit to slow that down. 00:11:17.429 --> 00:11:22.039 If demand is not coming in over certain periods of the year, 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:26.769 certain weeks, or even certain days, could I adjust my price down? 00:11:27.089 --> 00:11:29.529 Whether that's through just a hard decrease. 00:11:30.034 --> 00:11:32.534 Is it through a marketing campaign or a coupon? 00:11:33.234 --> 00:11:36.264 Is it on every house or on a specific home? 00:11:36.944 --> 00:11:40.914 So we're reviewing price in all of those capacities on the weekly call. 00:11:41.634 --> 00:11:44.714 Usually the revenue manager will already have those answers brought 00:11:44.714 --> 00:11:47.844 out for you to where everybody else just needs to approve. 00:11:47.944 --> 00:11:49.724 They do all of that prep work in advance. 00:11:50.244 --> 00:11:52.584 Speaker 2: So they're coming to the meeting with these reports 00:11:52.584 --> 00:11:56.254 ready to go and sit down and you're reviewing pricing segment. 00:11:56.699 --> 00:12:00.029 And trying to figure out how that applies to the strategy and whether 00:12:00.029 --> 00:12:03.299 you're overpacing or underpacing and where you go from there. 00:12:03.749 --> 00:12:04.169 Correct. 00:12:04.319 --> 00:12:04.699 Yes. 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:09.789 So number two for the weekly revenue management meeting 00:12:09.809 --> 00:12:12.289 is review nightly minimums. 00:12:12.909 --> 00:12:16.739 Speaker 3: So we're reviewing nightly minimums because we want to make sure 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:18.879 we have the correct strategy in place. 00:12:18.899 --> 00:12:23.419 We're not displacing weeds because if we're getting a lot of. 00:12:23.789 --> 00:12:25.669 inquiries, but no conversion. 00:12:26.119 --> 00:12:30.709 We're reviewing with our pickup when we are noticing that if we 00:12:30.709 --> 00:12:35.909 recognize, Hey, we're picking up too fast for a specific weekend, right? 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:40.029 How do we increase our nightly minimum to capture shoulder nights 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:45.019 or to slow down a, just a one night sellout and on the flip side of that. 00:12:45.189 --> 00:12:47.489 So it's looking at areas of opportunity. 00:12:47.499 --> 00:12:52.629 If I need to adjust by reducing nightly, men's Or areas of opportunity 00:12:52.629 --> 00:12:56.429 where I'm pacing really fast and I need to increase my nightly mins. 00:12:57.154 --> 00:13:02.094 Speaker 2: You know, a lot of people think about adjusting your strategy, 00:13:02.494 --> 00:13:06.094 whether or not you're overpacing or underpacing purely on price. 00:13:06.764 --> 00:13:10.564 And what you're saying here is it's not just price. 00:13:10.584 --> 00:13:14.774 You can also demand more nights or longer stays to drive higher occupancy 00:13:14.935 --> 00:13:19.514 those times and help with either over or underpacing just by your length of stay 00:13:19.514 --> 00:13:21.584 and your nightly minimums in itself. 00:13:21.694 --> 00:13:22.314 Is that correct? 00:13:22.315 --> 00:13:22.464 That 00:13:22.464 --> 00:13:24.204 Speaker 3: is 100 percent correct. 00:13:24.254 --> 00:13:24.764 Yes. 00:13:24.765 --> 00:13:24.859 Yes. 00:13:25.209 --> 00:13:30.769 Speaker 2: I can't tell you how often everybody I talk to in property management 00:13:31.329 --> 00:13:35.779 starts talking about pacing and the first thing we all go to is pricing, right? 00:13:35.859 --> 00:13:38.549 This, we all go to, I mean, us as property managers, we're 00:13:38.549 --> 00:13:39.729 all going to that immediately. 00:13:39.729 --> 00:13:41.659 First thing, like drop price, raise price. 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:48.104 We don't think often about like, hey, Demand more nights or demand less nights, 00:13:48.134 --> 00:13:50.184 you know, as the default go to for it. 00:13:50.224 --> 00:13:54.304 So I think that's a great way to think about pacing your inventory. 00:13:54.824 --> 00:13:58.954 So number three for weekly is review availability. 00:13:59.174 --> 00:13:59.674 Speaker 3: Correct. 00:14:00.144 --> 00:14:02.534 There is nightly minimum management. 00:14:02.604 --> 00:14:04.544 If I'm saying two, three, seven nights. 00:14:05.254 --> 00:14:10.514 There's the pricing strategy, but then there is the availability piece. 00:14:10.714 --> 00:14:14.204 So maybe I reduce my nightly minimums or increase my nightly 00:14:14.204 --> 00:14:20.884 minimums, but availability controls, which also means my turn days. 00:14:21.424 --> 00:14:23.384 Am I forcing a Saturday arrival? 00:14:23.405 --> 00:14:25.184 Am I forcing a Saturday departure? 00:14:25.704 --> 00:14:30.224 Reviewing that strategy as well as my nightly minimum could be correct. 00:14:30.824 --> 00:14:35.424 But if my availability is not correct, we have gap nights 00:14:35.454 --> 00:14:37.134 or air quote orphan nights. 00:14:37.874 --> 00:14:42.344 How are we opening those up and how are we capitalizing on those opportunities? 00:14:43.084 --> 00:14:47.454 In some cases, if I have a three night minimum because I can't 00:14:47.574 --> 00:14:50.284 sell two nights, fantastic. 00:14:50.284 --> 00:14:54.634 However, I need to review those two night gaps because what I can do if I 00:14:54.634 --> 00:14:56.494 can't sell it to a brand new customer. 00:14:57.094 --> 00:15:04.094 I could always call the customers on both sides of that gap and offer them to extend 00:15:04.094 --> 00:15:08.464 their stay either one night later or one night earlier, offer them an earlier 00:15:08.464 --> 00:15:12.304 late checkout for a very aggressive price because it doesn't matter because 00:15:12.304 --> 00:15:14.514 nobody can come in on those days anyways. 00:15:14.824 --> 00:15:19.094 So that's a way to capture incremental revenue for those same customers. 00:15:19.669 --> 00:15:22.759 Speaker 2: Once those nights are gone, there is no shelf life on them. 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:23.479 They're gone forever. 00:15:23.479 --> 00:15:27.599 So if you've got that orphan night, even an aggressive rate, any aggressive 00:15:27.599 --> 00:15:31.839 rate brings value to a night that was going to be wasted and you would 00:15:31.839 --> 00:15:36.219 have rotted on the shelf, if it were a supermarket product, it's a way to 00:15:36.239 --> 00:15:38.029 get value out of it before it dies. 00:15:38.549 --> 00:15:39.309 Speaker 3: Absolutely. 00:15:39.579 --> 00:15:41.579 Speaker 2: So we're doing our dailies. 00:15:41.579 --> 00:15:46.859 We're doing our weekly meetings and now the month passes by and we're 00:15:46.969 --> 00:15:48.829 going to do three things monthly. 00:15:49.194 --> 00:15:51.964 And number one is review our marketing efforts. 00:15:52.614 --> 00:15:54.774 Speaker 3: Part of the revenue management strategy. 00:15:55.214 --> 00:16:00.194 We got to have demand before my pricing adjustments will have any impact. 00:16:00.614 --> 00:16:05.304 I have to have the demand and I can distribute my product on distribution 00:16:05.304 --> 00:16:10.414 channels, which is your OTAs, but I also need to be able to communicate 00:16:10.824 --> 00:16:15.584 to either my existing customers or a way to capture new customers. 00:16:16.049 --> 00:16:21.479 Because I can't depend on the marketplace and the destination to bring in demand. 00:16:21.869 --> 00:16:23.369 I have to do my part as well. 00:16:23.979 --> 00:16:27.909 I have to be able to get in front of the marketplace. 00:16:28.669 --> 00:16:32.359 Through marketing efforts, whatever that looks like, is it social media? 00:16:32.649 --> 00:16:34.039 Is it Tik TOK videos? 00:16:34.069 --> 00:16:37.209 Is it snippets on Instagram? 00:16:37.579 --> 00:16:38.549 Whatever it is. 00:16:38.929 --> 00:16:40.049 What are the marketing efforts? 00:16:40.059 --> 00:16:42.499 What is the company doing to generate demand? 00:16:42.889 --> 00:16:47.440 Because just listing it on Verbo and Airbnb doesn't fill the calendars anymore. 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:51.439 Speaker 2: So should we be looking at things like the email marketing? 00:16:51.579 --> 00:16:52.629 Does it move the needle? 00:16:52.829 --> 00:16:55.734 So to say, and if so, How do we measure that 00:16:56.094 --> 00:16:59.394 Speaker 3: in addition to capturing new demand? 00:16:59.524 --> 00:17:00.364 That was part one. 00:17:00.534 --> 00:17:06.374 Part two now is to make sure that we're communicating to the database bi weekly. 00:17:06.484 --> 00:17:08.364 That's our existing customers. 00:17:08.364 --> 00:17:12.804 That's any leads, anybody that stayed with us for the past, you know, three years. 00:17:12.954 --> 00:17:14.874 However, we're capturing our guests. 00:17:14.894 --> 00:17:16.394 We need to communicate to them. 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:20.179 And we do that with email marketing every other week. 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:21.799 So we're not spamming them. 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:23.639 We're not sending them daily emails. 00:17:23.649 --> 00:17:26.499 You can send them daily social media posts, but emails need to 00:17:26.509 --> 00:17:28.289 be a bare maximum twice a month. 00:17:28.639 --> 00:17:33.079 One email communicating the destination. 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:34.969 Why come to the destination, right? 00:17:34.969 --> 00:17:36.429 What are the things to do? 00:17:36.569 --> 00:17:39.609 Is there festivals in the area or there are concerts in the area? 00:17:40.009 --> 00:17:42.209 Why come to my area? 00:17:42.419 --> 00:17:43.969 The next e blast. 00:17:44.284 --> 00:17:46.084 Would then be a call to action. 00:17:46.704 --> 00:17:51.754 Maybe it's a Memorial Day sale, a Mother's Day sale, a summer sale, and you want 00:17:51.754 --> 00:17:55.054 to be proactive with those because you know the booking window, right? 00:17:55.054 --> 00:17:58.034 So you want to make sure you're ahead of them to give them ample time to 00:17:58.034 --> 00:18:03.049 buy, to coordinate with whomever they need to, and One e blast is 00:18:03.049 --> 00:18:05.399 called to action in two weeks. 00:18:05.399 --> 00:18:08.389 They'll find another one about why they need to come to the destination. 00:18:08.809 --> 00:18:12.139 And two weeks after that, it's another, you know, different call to action. 00:18:12.699 --> 00:18:14.449 You don't want to spam them that way. 00:18:14.449 --> 00:18:17.799 You're not always seeing that you're on sale and there is 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:20.009 a reason to buy with you. 00:18:20.009 --> 00:18:21.479 It's not just information based. 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:25.779 Speaker 2: So one is information and two is offer. 00:18:26.579 --> 00:18:26.859 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:18:26.899 --> 00:18:27.099 And 00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:28.679 Speaker 2: you, and you rotate back and forth. 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:28.819 Yes. 00:18:29.199 --> 00:18:29.649 Speaker: Yes. 00:18:30.314 --> 00:18:33.744 Speaker 2: And twice a month or never more than twice a month. 00:18:34.254 --> 00:18:36.594 Speaker 3: You got to think about it if you were the consumer. 00:18:36.774 --> 00:18:40.364 If you're getting constantly a weekly email about a deal, 00:18:41.324 --> 00:18:43.234 it's usually not good cadence. 00:18:43.234 --> 00:18:46.464 You're like, I'm just going to get spammed or there's no sense of urgency to buy. 00:18:46.949 --> 00:18:48.529 Because I'm going to get another one the next week. 00:18:48.659 --> 00:18:51.969 And then, I may not even be thinking about fall right now. 00:18:52.009 --> 00:18:54.099 I don't want to see that every week. 00:18:54.249 --> 00:18:58.559 Therefore, the more you email them, the higher the chance of getting spammed. 00:18:58.689 --> 00:19:01.999 So, best practice is twice a month, every other week. 00:19:02.834 --> 00:19:07.294 Speaker 2: And so for number three on the monthly cadence, you said, review the 00:19:07.294 --> 00:19:10.364 OTA performance, the clicks and reviews. 00:19:10.814 --> 00:19:16.334 Speaker 3: Part of the demand is we're catering to existing customers 00:19:16.334 --> 00:19:17.494 who have stayed with us in the past. 00:19:17.914 --> 00:19:23.534 We are trying to get new customers in the marketplace via pay per click or whatever. 00:19:24.094 --> 00:19:28.414 Now we need to focus on our third lever, which is the shelves of 00:19:28.414 --> 00:19:31.064 where our inventory resides. 00:19:31.469 --> 00:19:33.789 The shelves, meaning distribution channels, right? 00:19:33.789 --> 00:19:35.269 I'm on the shelf for people to buy. 00:19:35.889 --> 00:19:39.259 I need to make sure that I'm optimized on those shelves. 00:19:40.059 --> 00:19:42.189 Am I getting the exposure that I need? 00:19:42.869 --> 00:19:45.229 Is my content good? 00:19:45.239 --> 00:19:47.509 Do I need to make any adjustments to my pictures? 00:19:47.829 --> 00:19:49.679 How many clicks am I getting right? 00:19:49.679 --> 00:19:55.779 Usually the partners will give you some kind of report or benchmark in the portal. 00:19:56.214 --> 00:19:59.714 of how many clicks the home is doing and whether they're up or down. 00:20:00.004 --> 00:20:04.944 And then always make sure you're reviewing your reviews as well as your customers. 00:20:05.074 --> 00:20:07.704 I think you have the ability in almost every platform to rate 00:20:07.704 --> 00:20:09.394 your customer and review them. 00:20:09.654 --> 00:20:10.184 Do that. 00:20:10.644 --> 00:20:15.644 Because the more engaged you are with each partner, the stronger your relationship 00:20:15.654 --> 00:20:19.584 is, and the more involved you are in that platform, it helps in your algorithm. 00:20:20.054 --> 00:20:25.204 Speaker 2: So, when you rate your guests, do you think it actually boosts 00:20:25.224 --> 00:20:28.254 your rankings inside of the OTAs? 00:20:28.854 --> 00:20:29.314 Yes. 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:33.849 . Speaker 3: It helps in the algorithm because it shows that you are an engaged 00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:36.509 user and your listing isn't stagnant. 00:20:37.109 --> 00:20:40.889 So the more engaged you are with your listing, the chances 00:20:40.889 --> 00:20:44.749 of you having a higher position in the sort order is greater. 00:20:45.019 --> 00:20:52.449 And as a host, like me, that if I'm Verbo, I want to give customers to an active 00:20:52.449 --> 00:20:55.719 homeowner because nine times out of 10, you're going to service them better. 00:20:56.254 --> 00:20:59.804 If you're that involved with the listing, how much more are you going 00:20:59.804 --> 00:21:01.214 to be involved with that guest? 00:21:02.374 --> 00:21:06.214 First is me going to a listing that hasn't been touched in six months. 00:21:06.424 --> 00:21:09.544 Now this guest is kind of going, I hope they talk to you. 00:21:09.544 --> 00:21:11.924 They haven't paid attention to their listing at all. 00:21:12.314 --> 00:21:14.344 They're not engaged with their reviews. 00:21:14.604 --> 00:21:15.404 Good luck. 00:21:15.444 --> 00:21:17.384 The guest isn't going to care about that owner. 00:21:17.384 --> 00:21:18.974 That guest is going to care about Verbo. 00:21:19.764 --> 00:21:21.244 So it does help. 00:21:21.334 --> 00:21:24.144 I'm not saying it's going to make you number one, but it does help 00:21:24.184 --> 00:21:26.724 with having a quality listing. 00:21:27.544 --> 00:21:31.604 Speaker 2: Every little bit helps and we've been talking recently about what 00:21:31.604 --> 00:21:38.134 would a 10 X listing look like and it's a combination of all these small things 00:21:38.134 --> 00:21:42.064 that turns your listing into the 10 X listing right 10 times better than your 00:21:42.134 --> 00:21:46.144 competitors, which serves you serves your homeowner serves your guest better 00:21:47.014 --> 00:21:49.844 reviewing your guest is one of those. 00:21:50.274 --> 00:21:53.264 Action items that you're going to have to take seriously. 00:21:53.274 --> 00:21:55.354 If you really want to have a 10 X listing. 00:21:55.604 --> 00:21:57.084 Speaker 3: Yes, that is correct. 00:21:57.704 --> 00:21:59.714 Speaker 2: Desiree, thank you again for coming on. 00:21:59.944 --> 00:22:01.634 It's always so much to learn. 00:22:01.644 --> 00:22:05.264 And I have personally been curious about what kind of rhythm should 00:22:05.264 --> 00:22:06.834 I be having on revenue management? 00:22:06.854 --> 00:22:10.354 What should I be reviewing on a daily, on a weekly, on a monthly, 00:22:10.384 --> 00:22:11.674 and this really lays it out. 00:22:12.204 --> 00:22:13.294 Appreciate all of your time. 00:22:13.294 --> 00:22:16.324 And as always, all the things you do for Costco, really one 00:22:16.324 --> 00:22:18.544 of the leaders in our industry. 00:22:18.654 --> 00:22:19.734 Thanks for spending the time with me. 00:22:20.414 --> 00:22:20.864 Speaker 3: Absolutely. 00:22:20.864 --> 00:22:23.384 Thank you Steve, and looking forward to the next podcast. 00:22:24.544 --> 00:22:26.135 Speaker: It's the CAA Cast. 00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:28.529 We're so luxury CAA Cast. 00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:31.714 They wanna be a CAA cast. 00:22:31.714 --> 00:22:32.764 Just don't call it in there. 00:22:36.669 --> 00:22:37.129 CAA Cast. 00:22:37.904 --> 00:22:40.634 We got Orange Credo CAA Cast. 00:22:40.694 --> 00:22:44.354 Our company's the CASA cast created by 00:22:44.354 --> 00:22:45.044 Casa.