But first, we have to take a moment to appreciate this beautiful hotel. The building dates from the early middle ages, and is surrounded by acres of lands. An impressive place where guests can find calm and cosiness. Unlike Hilde, as running things in a hotel with 84 rooms and 22 conference rooms is quite a busy job: ‘I manage the reception, housekeeping, night shifts, sales department. And I’m responsible for the hotel occupancy. Yet, in between my appointments I always find a little time to enjoy the environment.’
Changes in the hospitality market meant a change of direction
Formerly, Buitenplaats Vaeshartelt focused on business guests, but changes in the market made them broaden that perspective: ‘About a decade ago, there weren’t that many options to hold a conference with colleagues or business partners abroad. You had to book a hotel for that. Because of the introduction of skype, and due to the crisis, the business market collapsed. As did our occupancy. We needed a drastic change in our direction to get to a healthy level again. I’m happy our hard work payed off. We now focus on leisure as well as business guests. Everyone is welcome here. That’s wat makes this hotel so special. All our different guests, with all their different stories.’ We definitely recommend paying a visit, so you can experience the liveliness of Buitenplaats Vaeshartelt for yourself.
Revenue management is a combination of gut feeling, experience and common sense
‘In my opinion, revenue management is based on experience, common sense and gut feeling. Supplemented with a high-end system.’ Hilde started without any tools, doing everything the old-fashioned way: ‘We didn’t have a channel manager, nor did we use a revenue management system. None of that. I remember filling out all prices in all booking engines one by one. I can’t imagine doing that anymore. The thing about RevControl is, it makes my work easier, but I’m still the one in control. The system doesn’t take over, but it helps me. I can measure whether my gut feeling is right. It usually is of course…’
RevControl enhances flexibility in our pricing strategy
‘Our price range used to be fixed. A low occupancy meant a lower BAR, and vice versa. We weren’t able to always effectively adapt our prices according to sudden changes in the market. RevControl enables us to be more agile on that matter. One of my favorite features is the pickup alert. It instantly notifies me of sudden changes and enables me to take action immediately. Since we’ve been using RevControl we have a healthier balance in occupancy and the overall RevPAR. So, to answer your question: Yes, RevControl certainly played an important part in Buitenplaats Vaeshartelt’s success over the last years!” We’re very happy to hear that, and we hope to be able to help Hilde for many more years.
