In the August 2008 survey conducted by HSMAI (Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International) Asia Pacific, people and technology surfaced as the main preoccupations of hoteliers in Singapore.

In the survey, human resource issues were cited by 45% of those surveyed as "most concerning" while 34% cited Web 2.0 and social networking as a challenge in how to "engage customers and create meaningful global dialogues".

Hoteliers such as Mr Patrick Fiat, General Manager of the Royal Plaza on Scotts, are not surprised by the findings. People, he believes, affects service delivery and a hotel's brand promise while changing technology affects marketing delivery - how a hotel markets, sells and makes itself bookable to customers.

Added Ms Odette Huang, Director of Marketing & Brand Development, Royal Plaza on Scotts, "The results pretty much mirror the valid concerns of the hospitality industry as a whole. It is evident that there is a need for the hospitality industry to leverage on technology and step up on innovative ways to reach out to their target audience with relevant messages."

At Asia Connect, organised by HSMAI in Singapore last month, Ms Huang shared the Royal Plaza's story of branded customer service and what it was doing in the online space to engage with customers.

According to Ms Huang, Royal Plaza's service delivery is based on seven brand values: S.E.R.V.I.C.E. (Seamless, Empowered, Refreshing, Versatile, Individualised, Charming and Extraordinary).

Mr Fiat, who was awarded TravelWeekly's Best Employer Award in 2008, said that coping with the talent crunch along with staff retention and forging brand engagement were crucial to the success of any organisation. 

"The high demand for staff in the hospitality industry translates into intense competition for quality graduates but new graduates deem the unsociable hours and perceived lack of opportunity in the hospitality industry as unfavorable."

Another challenge is dealing with a multi-generational workforce and understanding the motivations of the younger generation.

Said Mr Fiat: "Markedly different from their senior counterparts, the young place greater emphasis on self-actualisation, high expectations of rapid career progression and are willing to change jobs, industries and careers to realise their goals. We therefore lose out to industries such as information technology, business process outsourcing, etc."

In addition to winning the hearts and minds of the younger generation, there's also the challenge of winning the hearts and minds of customers as well. Ms Huang believes that " one-to-one marketing, relationship management, loyalty programmes and electronic Customer Relationship Management (CRM) initiatives are some of the strategies which will enable hotels to develop more meaningful campaigns and veer away from traditional sales and marketing strategies".

She believes that hoteliers should not limit their internet marketing efforts to specific platforms. "The ability to reach out globally with all-embracing information leveraging on all types of internet platforms such as search engines, travel meta searches, online travel agents and even community websites presence will be the right strategies to adopt for the current era. Communication should be barrier-free. The ease and speed of communicating with the hotel's website would determine a stronger ROI and a stronger brand name."

In February, Royal Plaza received the silver Adrian Award 2007 for the email series in the web marketing division from HSMAI, which is an international organisation of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of hospitality, travel, and tourism.

Ms Huang said that since Royal Plaza relaunched its website, online direct bookings, as a percentage of total bookings, had grown from 15% in 2007 to 23% in 2008.

Asked what was behind the success, Ms Huang said: " We conduct extensive research on consumer behavior using various electronic information tools, publication materials and industry reports. Strategic planning and selective collaboration with e-commerce solution designers on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and online advertising partners that encompasses Search Engine Marketing (SEM), online media planning, etc all aim to improve the online performance.

"We developed a system cycle and implemented it in phases. Benchmarks were put in place to measure our success. While we concentrate on securing prominent placements in leading search engines such as Google and Yahoo! to attract new customers, special emphasis is placed to attract repeated customers to book directly with the hotel's website."

While there are some who believe that the benefits of revenue management really kick in only during good times, Ms Huang said that it was essential to maximise revenue opportunities during both good and bad times.  "It's all about getting the right business at the right time and at the right rate."

"Revenue management is a relatively new concept for some hoteliers and some see it more as a hurdle than an opportunity. It is often associated with the science behind it due to the analytics involved to manage rates vis-à-vis the hotel inventory and demand. However, revenue management is really a blend of art and science. It requires a good understanding of one's competitive set, current booking trends, historical data and even entails a pinch of gut instincts from time to time. 

"Essentially, it helps to determine the hotel's current market position and its desired spot in the customers' mind. An effective revenue management strategy complements the hotel's sales and marketing efforts in winning the right type of business according to its positioning."

Meanwhile, Ms Christine Toguchi, who is the Managing Director of HSMAI Asia Pacific Chapter, said the survey results also did not come as surprise to her.

"'Human Resource', 'Talent Development' and the 'Global Business Climate' were cited as top issues concerning our industry. Despite the global economic downturn and softer demand in both leisure and business travel, new hotels are still coming into the market, which further challenges hotel operators in attracting, developing and retaining talent."

Commenting on marketing challenges, Ms Toguchi, who is also Corporate Director of Marketing for Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Asia Pacific, also noted that with the enormous growth of the online marketplace and the relative 'ease of entry' for newcomers into the online space, the market was getting crowded and more fragmented.

"In view of this, businesses, especially those in the hospitality industry, need to be better at defining their market and developing a greater understanding of both their current and future customers. In this respect, having a clearly defined CRM strategy that considers how they engage, communicate and interact with their customers across all touch-points including online is crucial."

Like Ms Huang, Ms Toguchi believes revenue management is as important during difficult as in good times.

"Revenue Management has evolved over the years. Today, it's more of a business strategy rather than just a discipline that works on the theory of optimisation to maximise revenues and profits. 

"This would involve a combination of activities and practices, including: Supply & Demand Forecasting, Inventory Management & Pricing Policies, Market Segmentation & Profit Analysis by Key Market Segment, Strategic & Tactical Response Planning as well as Performance Analysis. 

"Ultimately, the Revenue Management goal is to sell every available room at the best possible price, to a select base of customers with the greatest potential to deliver optimum value.  In challenging times like this, demand forecasting becomes even more essential to enable the hotel to effectively yield by determining the right mix of business to go after."