How Does His New Role Reflect His Philosophy of Revenue Management?
Steve Pinchuk will be moderating EyeforTravel's Revenue Management and Pricing conference, being held on September 16-17 in Chicago . For a full agenda, click here: http://events.eyefortravel.com/tdsusa/revenue-management/
On commencing in his role and in preparation for the upcoming RM conference, EyeforTravel interviewed Steve Pinchuk on his new position, his philosophy of RM and the changing economy.
Pinchuk's new role will be combine aspects of distribution, reservations, revenue management, marketing and sales. He has been recruited as Westgate Resorts begins a major re-structuring. This restructuring is driven by the changing economy, more specifically the current problems in selling time share mortgages.
Pinchuk aims to combine all these departments from a revenue management perspective, 'To think about integration from an RM perspective is one thing, but it's a real challenge to integrate all of these areas operationally, especially in a changing economy'
'I took this new role because I wanted to sharpen my understanding and gain a better knowledge of how things work on an operational level. And with the current economy, I think it's a good time to use my skills in a hands-on environment'
Pinchuk explained how his new role reflected his philosophy of revenue management 'Because I am in charge of sales and marketing this allows me to integrate these areas. Rather than being an outsider, coercing people to cooperate, I institute strategies with the authority to do so and enforce best practice across the whole organization'
'That's a fundamental difference in the role of RM in an organization' Pinchuk added 'Normally people with a revenue management background are not in charge of all these areas, but in my opinion it is highly appropriate. In times of high demand it's easy for the revenue manager to focus simply on yield, but as demand erodes the revenue manager needs to focus on distribution and pricing too.'
'We're now beginning to see Revenue Management executives reaching high levels within travel companies and it's a natural progression. And it's very important that RM people learn about the various departments to prepare them for these roles.'
On discounting prices Pinchuk said: 'It depends on the company and the market situation. Some companies don't have the choice; it's about cash-flow. If you do have to discount, you need to do it discreetly and you should try not to discount your prevailing rate. You should target specific groups and channels, but again this may not always be possible'
'This downturn has been more severe than people expected, but I think that customers will be more forgiving as prices start to go up because there they have a greater understanding of the economic situation. I do not accept the fear that customers 2 years from now will expect the same prices that they saw years earlier in the midst of our current recession'
'The decision on whether or not to cut prices depends where your products are, as the demand is different for different products. So now, more than ever, companies, more specifically revenue managers, need to take calculated action rather than reactions'
Pinchuk also has his predictions for economic improvement 'It depends on the segment. Business travel will pick up before leisure travel because leisure travel is impacted more by unemployment levels and those will be slow to improve. And then we'll only see cautious growth'.
Steve Pinchuk has been moderating EyeforTravel's Revenue Management conference since the events began many years ago. 'The EyeforTravel Revenue Management conference is unique because it is dual conference with the Travel Distribution Summit. The Distribution and Revenue management conferences run concurrently which encourages cross-fertilization. EyeforTravel have been running this event for nearly ten years now and they have a very loyal following because delegates know that by attending they will hear the latest ideas, refresh their strategies and re-charge their batteries.' For more information on Revenue Management and Pricing in Travel (September 16-17, Chicago) click here: http://events.eyefortravel.com/tdsusa/revenue-management/
To conclude Pinchuk said 'Revenue Management today has to work very closely with distribution, especially since so many people are shopping purely on price. The perspective of value is important - I think packages will be very important - because they have a value-added component. It also protects the price point for the product'.
'Finally, my advice would be; it's a tough environment, don't shoot from the hip'
Contact:
Helen Raff
VP North America
EyeforTravel
+44 (0) 207 375 7582 (UK)
helen@eyefortravel.com