Revenue management trends and opportunities

Twenty–five years ago, the science of yield or revenue management was in its infancy. Only a relatively small group of professionals showed interest in the discipline, and research in the area was limited. Since then, an industry has developed around this science, involving academics, practitioners, consulting and software product companies and, no doubt, many others. Within the last few years, the professional landscape of revenue management has again begun to show signs of change. Within one professional society, INFORMS, a Revenue Management and Pricing Section has been established; also, the Journal of Revenue & Pricing Management has recently completed its second volume and is entering its third. Both these initiatives can help play a major role in the further progress and evolution of revenue management. This paper describes several initiatives and opportunities for the revenue management community to capitalise on. It is hoped that some of the ideas presented here will stimulate and support the efforts of academics as well as practitioners as they strive for ways to enable businesses as well as consumers to benefit from successful revenue management implementations.