A Day as a Revenue Manager

A Revenue Manager at berner+becker is in many ways similar to a race engineer in Formula 1. The engineer analyses data, fine-tunes the car, makes quick decisions during the race, and develops long-term strategies with the team and driver. It’s the same in revenue management: daily operational adjustments and long-term strategies go hand in hand – always in sync with the hotel team. The difference: the race never ends. It’s more like a 24-hour Le Mans that runs for years.

The day of a Revenue Manager begins with analysing the hotel’s performance over the past 24 hours. Because it’s a continuous race, quick decisions must be made. This is – except in rare cases – the first task of the day.

Thanks to the support of our Revenue Coordinators, the data is already checked and prepared early in the morning. For many of our clients, this process is now automated – for example, through a Revenue Management System (RMS) or a BI tool. If the hotel’s system structure allows it, and both readiness and budget are in place, we prefer this more modern way of working.

One of the most exciting moments of the day is discovering the pick-up values. Even though I’m an external partner at b+b, I feel like part of the hotel team. A positive pick-up makes me happy; the day starts less pleasantly when the numbers are red.

When opening the pick-up report, the first question is: Who booked, when, and at what price? Whether performance was good or bad, adjustments must be made to reach the goals. Just as the engineer and mechanics work on the car between races, we optimize hotel sales on two levels.

The first level is pricing. Based on the hotel’s internal data and competitor strategies, we adjust the rates up or down. The second level is what we call yielding – in other words, steering how and through which channels guests can book. If demand for a date is high, we might close the cheaper channels.

We don’t always make decisions alone. In many hotels, the RMS supports us. The system uses data analytics and AI to suggest prices. Our role is different: we fine-tune the system settings, review its suggestions, and correct them when necessary. This often saves us valuable time and allows us to focus more on strategic tasks.

Like a car in a race, a hotel can also suffer damage – for example, a booking entered at the wrong rate. The diagnosis is then sent to the “mechanics” in the hotel team for repair, or we fix it ourselves depending on responsibilities. Over time, I’ve worked with many different hotel systems, but it’s still frustrating how complicated and clunky some of them are. Probably even the system founders thought the same at some point…

Even though prices and strategies can be adjusted throughout the day, the “car” should be competitive for the next 24 hours.

The second part of the day focuses on mid-term strategy. For this, a forecast is created and usually updated monthly. An accurate forecast helps define the best possible strategy and implement targeted measures. An RMS can also generate forecasts – our task is to review and validate them. The importance of a solid forecast is even highlighted internally in a playful way: as a competitive person, my goal here is always to take first place!

So how do we achieve our monthly goals, gain market share, and bring home the “title”? First, we analyse. Using internal and external reports, we look for potential and gaps. The risk here is getting lost in too much data – efficiency is key. In such moments, I put on my headphones, start a focus playlist, and work through the reports with full concentration. If ideas are lacking or creativity runs out, a quick exchange with a colleague almost always brings a new path or solution.

Forecasts, prepared analyses, and possible measures are then presented to the hotel. Being involved in mid- and long-term strategy is particularly rewarding. This is where the most impact can be achieved together with the hotel. That is probably also the biggest difference compared to a similar position in a hotel chain. At b+b, the motto is: participate. This can be more challenging because expectations are higher – but it’s also more exciting because there are fewer restrictions.

Of course, there are stressful moments – for example, when numbers remain red, and actions don’t have the desired effect. But it’s even more rewarding when a client tells us that their hotel is profitable again thanks to our support, and renovation work can be planned. That’s when it becomes clear how directly our work shapes the development of the hotel.

Good communication with the hotel’s stakeholders is essential to define and implement the right strategy together. But it also adds the human element. Like all my colleagues, I’m data-driven and enjoy working in Excel spreadsheets. But the work only becomes truly rewarding when I can share and discuss my analyses and ideas.

Unlike the race engineer, who supports two nearly identical cars, I work with very different hotels – from city hotels to ski resorts. Each has its own structures and people. This diversity demands flexibility but makes the work even more exciting. Personal meetings on-site are therefore essential – whether at the beginning of a collaboration or in strategy and budget meetings.

I grew up in France and now live in Berlin. Even though I don’t travel every week, my work has allowed me to discover many parts of Germany.

Ready, set, go,

Written by Tobias Paetzold