How The Internet Has Changed Hotel Asset Management For Good

Traditionally, an asset manager’s role involved analyzing the costs of running a hotel, cutting costs wherever required and ensuring the cost-effectiveness of owning and operating the hotel asset.


Not anymore.

But to understand how Hotel Asset Management has evolved over time, we need to understand the traditional concept of Hotel Asset Management:


The main aspects of a hotel’s asset manager’s job were ensuring the maintenance and cost-effectiveness of a hotel’s tangible and intangible assets.

Tangible assets include the building, rooms etc. Intangible assets include manpower, financial capital etc.

Asset managers generally used to focus on cutting costs at various points in the running of a hotel in order to earn higher profits.

But since the advent of the internet, cutting costs doesn’t seem to be the only solution to increasing profits. In fact, cutting costs might lead to compromises and poorer customer experiences, which customers now value more than anything, thus affecting financial results negatively over the long run.



The Impact of the Internet

Earlier, it was possible for asset managers to build and leverage the brand name of a hotel to sell more rooms and earn more revenue.

The internet has turned the whole concept of “branding” on its head.

With digital marketing becoming increasingly accessible to anybody with a website and a Facebook account, building visibility on the internet is easier than ever.

Add to that the boosted visibility on OTAs and travel websites along with the rise of companies like AirBnb, and having a recognised brand just doesn’t sell rooms like it used to.



Asset managers now collaborate with revenue managers to focus on Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) and Gross Operating Profit Per Available Room (GOPPAR) that is optimising the revenue earned per room by increasing occupancy and regulating room prices.

And while traditional cost-cutting is still useful and necessary, using SEO and digital marketing to increase visibility and drive direct sales will simultaneously increase profits.

Asset managers now don’t just have to look at controlling costs but increasing revenue as well, through hotel marketing analysis and management.

The modern age has led to several new roles being established and several old roles being merged into one, making hotel marketing and management challenging and difficult for professionals still stuck with doing it the traditional way.



The internet has changed the way the world operates, and hotel are no exception.




Woodstock Digital offers Asset Management and Revenue Management Services for your hotel that are up-to-date with the latest trends in the online space.
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