Analysis according to purpose of stay and booking source

Very important analyses for the assessment and planning of sales development are:

SOB = source of business (analysis according to purpose of stay)

SOR = source of reservation (analysis of booking source / the distribution channel)

Actually, it should be quite easy. We segment:

1. According to the purpose of stay (business, tourism/private, conference, group)
2. According to booking channel (directly in the hotel (including telephone, fax, email, etc.), GDS (divided into Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, etc.), ADS (booking.com, HRS Group, Expedia, Kurzurlaub.de or Fewo-direkt, Budget Places, Casamundo…, tour operator, etc.).) By the way, the guest without a reservation is a “walk in”. That is a booking source and not a purpose of stay.

Parallel to each transaction / booking the booked price code is captured (cash, early booking, contract price of companies etc.; the place of origin of the guest etc.). Unfortunately, most of the property management systems (PMS) do not allow cross analysis.

If marketing wants to know whether and with how much lead-time, business travelers respond to an early bird rate with restrictions, then the evaluation must combine segment and price code. Most PMS cannot do that; other business analysis tools are necessary… or segmentation, which brings these questions together.

Therefore, the recommendation often involves a combination of purpose of stay & tariff or purpose of stay and very strongly price influencing booking channels (E.g. wholesaler).

This way might the master data look like in a typical mixed business with conferences, short holidaymakers, and business travelers:

Group of business travelers:

• Trade fair guest
• Business traveler, flexible
• Business traveler, price sensitive
• Business traveler with contract
• Boarding / long stay
• Crews / airlines
• Business groups
• Conference, flexible
• Conference ECO (price sensitive)
• Congress participants / exhibition City Hall

Group of private travelers:

• Private traveler, flexible
• Private traveler, price sensitive
• Arrangement / package
• Private guest through tour operator
• Guest holiday apartment
• Private celebration in the hotel
• Group direct booking (circle of friends, family meeting etc.)
• Group through tour operator
• Group through wholesaler
• Complimentary (invited guests, e.g. buyer, journalists etc.)
• Employees and their families

This is a little more complicated than the classical structure, which the software implementers like to install, but, it gives a quick overview, which segments (including tariffs or booking channels) currently actually change.

With great care, especially the booking channels (distribution channels) must be also observed. Hereby, actually every used channel should be set up in the master data and associated with every reservation:

E.g. – Source of Reservation:

• Directly in the hotel (email, call, fax…)
• Walk in (arrival without previous reservation)
• Enquiry hotel website
• Online booking hotel website (WBE)
• MICE booking engine own hotel website
• Booking.com
• HRS Group
• Expedia
• Kurzurlaub.de
• GDS
• Tour operator
• Travel agency
• Event agency
• Wholesaler
• Touristic marketing, destination
• Social Media
• MICE portals (RFP)
• MICE portals instant book