REVENUE MANAGEMENT IN HOTEL BUSINESS
Authors: LEVYTSKA Inna 
Published: February 2020

The article defines the most effective methods of managing hotel revenues and methods of their use, which in turn will create competitive advantages and make the sale of hotel services stable, and the activity of hotel enterprises more profitable. The concept of Revenue management in the hotel business is disclosed, which is a technology that determines the best price for hotel room on the basis of demand forecasting, that is, the sale of the necessary number to the client at the right moment at the right price.

The basic pricing objectives of the hotel company have been developed, which should not be considered separately, but should be in line with the marketing strategy of the enterprise development.

Interdependence of the level of loading of hotel rooms from the reduction of prices is determined. The obtained data testify that the price reduction even by 1% requires an increase in loading of hotel rooms by almost 1% to cover losses as a result of income reduction. The goal of the pricing strategy, aimed at achieving the goals as the services to be offered, are proposed, hotels are trying to outdo competitors by maximizing the quality of services.

The principles, which should be used by hotel companies that master flexible pricing methods from the point of view of marketing complex: the choice of pricing policy should be closely related to the positioning of the hotel company services; A correlation of the pricing strategy with the definition of the stage of the life cycle, on which the hotel product is located, is very important for the process of formation of prices.

The mechanism of calculation of sales prices for hotel services is offered. These approaches should be considered in the pricing policies of the hotel company, depending on the services they provide. The stages of the analysis are determined: market research, hotel product life cycle, task setting of pricing depending on the goals of the hotel company, determination of the marginal range of price fluctuations, determination of the most optimal range of prices. Analysis of prices and range of competitors' services, choice of method of pricing, adjustment of the basic price level, establishment of the final price.

The method of "discriminatory pricing" is described and examples of the use of this method are given. The concept of "Price discrimination" is defined, which is a useful tool for smoothing the supply and demand, providing additional income and profit to most hospitality establishments. This method of pricing uses reductions / increases in prices to attract additional customers and revenue without lowering / raising prices for all.

A detailed description of the multiplier effect method used in the calculation of prices. The essence of the multiplier method is to calculate the multiplier, which shows how many times the dependent factor (profit) increases or decreases if the independent factor is changed to one.

The calculation of the budget based on the multiplicative method in the hotel "Ramada Lviv" was carried out. The number of indicators given in the calculations may increase depending on the specifics of the enterprise. Constant costs are the sum of personnel costs, operating costs, management, depreciation, etc., each of which is considered as an independent factor of impact on profits. Variable costs depend on the volume of goods turnover; therefore, they should include such expenses as additional wages, production raw materials, related and consumable materials.

It is characterized by a revenue management system in a hotel that requires a reliable database. A good revenue management system will benefit the hotel and customer. Cost-effectiveness factors (fixed costs of fixed assets and operating costs, variable costs of services) have a completely different range of actions than market-oriented factors (price, cost of services, loading of numbers, etc.).

It is determined that for hotels, comparing the influence of various factors on profit, it can be argued that the impact of trade turnover is more significant than the impact of costs.

An estimation of the importance of the factors that create the multiplicative effect, which was ranked, depending on their impact on profit.

It was found that prices, which are in close connection with all elements of the marketing complex, determine the profitability of the hotel company, its life cycle and financial stability. At the same time, the choice of pricing methods and pricing policies largely depends on the goals and strategies of the hotel company in the selected segment of the market.

The proposed mechanism for calculating the sale price of a hotel company is based on a multiplicative method, which includes: the definition of key indicators that affect the profit, including prices; calculation of profit when changing these indicators; estimation of the importance of the impact on the profit of each selected indicator; the choice of the most appropriate variant of profit.

The development of market relations in Ukraine and in advanced economies is somewhat similar, therefore, the generalization and dissemination of the best foreign and domestic income management experience based on marketing will improve the efficiency of the hotel industry.

Prospects for further research are the development of new strategies aimed at gaining market share, improving hotel services, increasing consumer demand through the interaction of factors of price and quality, promotion of the brand, introduction of new forms of management, including franchising and management contracts, electronic sales of hotels services.