| Article ID: | iaor20111509 |
| Volume: | 10 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Start Page Number: | 73 |
| End Page Number: | 86 |
| Publication Date: | Jan 2011 |
| Journal: | Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management |
| Authors: | Keskinocak Pinar, Garrow Laurie A, Lee Seonah, Higbie Jon A, Koushik Dev |
| Keywords: | yield management |
This study uses booking data from 28 US hotels to investigate the validity of two key assumptions in hotel revenue management: (1) customers who book later are willing to pay higher rates than customers who book earlier; and (2) demand is stronger during the week than on the weekend. Empirical results based on an analysis of booking curves, average paid rates and occupancy rates for group, restricted retail, unrestricted retail and negotiated demand segments challenge the validity of these assumptions. Based on these findings, new recommendations for segmenting transient demand and setting weekday versus weekend pricing are provided.