Does your hotel rely on the built-in pricing feature in your PMS or channel manager to manage rates?
You’re not alone. Many small, independent properties, especially those without a revenue manager, depend on these features to make pricing decisions.
But here’s the catch: those tools can only take you so far.
Let’s explore why they’re not enough and what your hotel could be missing out on.
What are Built-in Pricing Features?
Some property management systems (PMS) and channel managers include basic pricing tools, often called “yielding features” or “built-in pricing.”
These features may allow hotels to:
- Set minimum and maximum rates
- Manage seasonal pricing and day-of-week variations
- Apply simple pricing rules (e.g., raise rates when occupancy hits 80%)
Helpful? Sure. But limited.
These systems still rely on you to make decisions and manually adjust rates based on what’s happening around you.
Imagine your local football team makes the finals. Demand surges overnight. But your system doesn’t know the match is happening, and by the time you notice and raise your rates, your rooms are already booked at low prices. Ouch.
That’s the problem with rules-based prices: they don’t understand context.
50% occupancy six months out? You’re probably too cheap.
50% occupancy the day before arrival? You might need to drop prices.
But a rule that says “raise prices at 50%” can’t tell the difference.
Sure, you could add more rules but that quickly becomes a spaghetti mess of logic that’s hard to manage and even harder to trust.
You don’t need more complexity. You need smarter, profit-driven decisions that adapt to the market in real time.
What’s at Risk with Built-in Pricing Features?
Hotel pricing is no longer a “set it and forget it” game. Demand is always changing. Without the right tools, you risk:
- Wasting hours of time on manual pricing updates
- Pricing your rooms too high or too low
- Leaving revenue on the table by reacting too slowly
The result? You’re working harder, not smarter. And you’re still missing out on valuable bookings and revenue.
When It Comes to Pricing, Hotels Need a Specialist
Your PMS is built to manage hotel operations. Your channel manager is designed to distribute rates and availability across online booking channels.
Both are essential to your hotel’s success. But using basic tools to manage complex market dynamics is like using a flip phone in a smartphone world.
Effective revenue optimization requires specialized pricing solutions that can interpret market signals and act on them faster than any human can.
How an Automated Revenue Solution Works
A revenue management system (RMS) like RoomPriceGenie is purpose-built to optimize pricing. It doesn’t just react to demand – it predicts it, taking into account:
- Your hotel’s occupancy and booking pace
- Local market demand and events
- Competitor pricing
- Historical performance
- Day of the week and seasonality
It uses this information to calculate the optimal rates and automatically updates them in your PMS or channel manager. Prefer more control? You can switch to recommendation mode and approve rates before they go live.
Why an Automated Revenue Solution Is a Game-Changer
RoomPriceGenie was built for independent hotels that don’t have the time, team, or technical expertise to manage pricing manually.
Instead of following a rigid set of rules, it adapts to real-world demand, helping you maximize revenue, reduce stress, and spend time on other important tasks.
Here’s what sets a real RMS apart:
- Forecasts demand up to a full year in advance
- Adapts prices dynamically, multiple times per day if needed
- Implements smart controls, like surge protection and minimum stay restrictions
- Operates every day of the week – no holidays or coffee breaks required
It’s like having a full-time pricing expert who is always there for you.
Need help persuading the higher-ups? Read: How to Convince Your General Manager to Say Yes to an RMS.
What About an RMS Embedded in Your PMS?
Here’s an important distinction: yielding tools built into your PMS are not the same as an RMS embedded within your PMS dashboard.
At RoomPriceGenie, we’ve partnered with PMSs like Resly and Apaleo so our RMS can be accessed easily inside the PMS interface. No logging in and out of different systems required.
Just click a button, and poof! RoomPriceGenie appears, ready to grant your revenue management wishes.
It’s Time to Up Your Pricing Game
Even in a predictable market, pricing is anything but predictable. Demand can shift with weather, events, or even a last-minute group booking down the road. Relying on basic rules just isn’t enough to keep up. A fully automated RMS is the key to staying ahead for Independent hotels and multi-property groups.
With RoomPriceGenie, independent hotels can compete with big brands in pricing sophistication without needing a dedicated revenue manager.
In fact, in a recent study of 567 hotels across nine countries, those using RoomPriceGenie saw an average 19% increase in room revenue year over year while also saving valuable time.
You simply can’t get those kinds of results with built-in tools alone.
Start your free trial of RoomPriceGenie and discover how automated pricing can transform your hotel’s revenue strategy.
To learn how RoomPriceGenie can help your property increase your property’s profitability, start your free trial of our automated pricing solution today!
