Tailormade Hotels

"We increased revenue by 22% while occupancy stayed about the same. FLYR for Hospitality allowed us to push the prices to a level where we never would have thought we could go." — Alex Löw, Revenue Manager, Tailormade Hotels

Switzerland's diverse Tailormade Hotels group consists of 13 properties scattered throughout the alpine country (and one in Cape Verde). With an eclectic inventory—from rooms to beds to apartments—and a broad range of customer types, the hotel group needed revenue management technology that could handle a complex revenue mix. We spoke with Revenue Manager Alex Löw about how FLYR for Hospitality has helped revolutionise Tailormade's pricing process.

Finding the Right Technology

"A few years ago, we started the search for a Revenue Management System (RMS) with a true two-way API connection. The legacy revenue management vendors can't really do that, so we looked at more modern options. We wanted a system we could navigate easily and that plugged into Apaleo—our cloud-based Property Management System (PMS). We also needed something with a good reporting function, which ruled out a bunch of systems.

"In the end, FLYR for Hospitality was the best fit for us. Their native, integrated BI and user interface particularly differentiated them from the competitors.

"We used to work with a basic demand calendar with seven buckets requiring manual adjustments. One of the most challenging things was that, because I had so many other tasks and responsibilities, I simply did not have the time to check pricing at the properties every day and ensure they were optimised for the upcoming months. My pricing focus was never more than the next 14 days at each property.

"We were missing a lot of chances to impact prices and revenue. But now, FLYR for Hospitality is always working and pricing 365 days out. Problem solved."

Rapid and Flexible Implementation

"All of our properties now have fully automated pricing. Onboarding was fast and easy, with our first property set up in just two working days and on autopilot within two weeks.

"But FLYR for Hospitality didn't force us to activate autopilot immediately for every property. We were able to personalise our approach and accommodate some of the general managers who were hesitant and needed more information.

"The system provides all the possibilities. Then you put it on autopilot and let it run."

Instant Results

"We have a big mix of inventory and a range of customer types so an RMS that handles that is essential. For example, one property in Zurich is 85 percent corporate while another on the lake in Lucerne has over 40 rooms for mainly weekend leisure visitors.

"One property in Lucerne is a true hybrid in itself—rooms and beds—and FLYR for Hospitality does an excellent job handling that complexity. It is just so user-friendly and understandable, and that alone has saved us so much time and effort.

"We mainly track total revenue vs budget and in the first month of having most of our properties on automation, we beat budget by a double-digit percentage in most of the properties, while others outperformed in the high single digits.

"Our GMs have quickly adapted to the new pricing paradigm. Now they are happily surprised to see us sometimes selling rooms for 30 percent more than they had previously expected—or selling two rooms each for CHF 100 instead of one at CHF 160.

"The time saved is incredible. Now, once or twice a year, I meet with the GMs of the specific hotels where we have seasonalities. We look over the next 12 to 16 months and determine if we should input any specific settings, events, and seasonalities in FLYR for Hospitality. And once it's set, we won't have to revisit pricing."

Commercial Intelligence

"The BI solution is one of the things I love most about FLYR for Hospitality. I can build dashboards myself, design them how I want, and adjust them as needed.

"In the past, we weren't always sure if we should sign a particular contract or focus on a specific segment. But now, if my boss has a question like this, I can build something quickly that is very easy to read. We know much more within five minutes than we would have guessed before—especially with 13 hotels."

Optimised Revenue

"We looked at one year over the previous year for one of our properties in Lucerne during the very busy August tourist season. The city itself has an occupancy between 94% and 98% during this period of time. The occupancy for the two years we reviewed was comparable, in the 95% range. We increased it a little bit over the previous year, but this didn't have a huge impact. Automating our pricing with FLYR for Hospitality did have a huge impact. We increased total revenue by 22%.

"For me, when we saw these numbers, it was quite clear that FLYR for Hospitality had allowed us to optimise pricing in a way we have never been able to do before.

"Honestly, I don't think we would be able to do this without FLYR for Hospitality."