By Melissa Kalan, Director, Australian Revenue Management Association
The APAC Revenue Management Summit was again held at Rydges Melbourne last week and was an overwhelming success. Delegate, partner and exhibitor numbers increased on the previous years and the Summit saw a cross-section of the accommodation industry united in the common goal of education.
Headlined “CONNECT & GROW”, the Summit was planned and hosted by Melissa Kalan, founding director of the Australian Revenue Management Association (ARMA) in support with industry partners the Accommodation Association of Australia (AAoA) , Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) the Caravan and Camping Industry NSW and Torrens University Australia.
The format which is continuing to resonate with and remain popular with delegates saw day 1 feature an expert workshop from world-renowned pricing experts and Summit partner, Simon-Kucher and Partners. Chris Petzoldt – founding partner and managing director Oceania opened the Summit sharing research conducted on the rating economy and its impact on your business.
Each year the Summit focuses on the discipline of revenue and yield management across other industries with a perishable asset. This year saw an entertainment theme and delegates were delighted with fascinating keynotes on the television industry presented by Peter Brew, CEO of Maxamation and Nic Robin, General Manager Marketing of Village Entertainment who shared insights into the cinema industry.
Delegates then selected two of the four workshops on offer: Dirty Data, The Power of Trust, Hospitality Disrupted and The Path to Profit before heading into the well-attended networking drinks in Bobby McGee’s.
Day 2 saw the Summit transform into a thriving market place showcasing the latest technology and innovation in products for a targeted audience. Dean Long, CEO of the Accommodation Association of Australia opened the Summit with an inspiring welcome address well received by delegates before they headed off to the Genius Zone sessions which included a range of profit-generating topics delivered in short 15-minute rotational sessions.
Encouraged by ARMA, the industry was challenged to “think outside of the box” and to “think beyond the in-house guest to leverage assets, plug all leaky revenue holes, sell ancillary services and upsell to stretch margins, be creative and most importantly always remain the student”
The Summit again featured the popular CONNECT program encouraging delegate engagement with exhibitors; this also enabled them to enter the major prize draw, which was courtesy of ARMA and P&O Australia.
ARMA would also like to thank all of our valued partners who continue their support for this event and help make it possible.
The APAC Revenue Management Summit will return in 2020.