ABSTRACT
In today’s competitive business eco-system, the management of 5-star hotels requires a culture of flexibility and innovation, in working with a new set of conventions and strategies to achieve a competitive edge and enhanced profits. Hotels represent significant investment for both investors and the national economy and need long-term strategic planning and effective management to be successful. Improved customer service, better quality, operational effectiveness, sustained bottom line profitability, and ability to engage with customers are most important to survive in an extremely competitive market place. Revenue management has been one of the key contributors toward business profitability, and its wide adoption by most service organizations, especially hotels, is evidence of its success and strong future as a strategic tool. There has been little research in the Indian context to examine the adoption of revenue management practices in India, due to issues around its acceptance by customers. The purpose of this research was to explore the existing revenue management practices, emerging opportu- nities, and the challenges in the luxury segment from the hotel operator’s perspective. A qualitative approach was adopted for the investigation through personal in-depth interviews with revenue managers and general managers (in absence of revenue manager) of 5-star luxury hotels. This study aimed to explore the revenue management practices and the challenges faced by Indian revenue managers of 5-star luxury hotel categories. This research is helpful in identifying the level of achievement of 5-star luxury hotels in applying revenue management practices and also throws light on the knowl- edge and awareness level of revenue managers. This study also uncovered the challenges faced by Indian hospitality managers while implementing revenue management in 5-star hotels of India. The practical implication of this study was to suggest strategies that Indian hotel managers can adopt to overcome challenges and help current revenue management practice to evolve into “responsible revenue management.”
