In a world that changes as quickly as that of hotel revenue management, all revenue managers worth their salt know the true value of ongoing, up-to-date and relevant training.

Competing may feel daunting, but there are various tactics that can help you side-step the OTAs and generate direct bookings.

While online travel agents, like Booking.com and Expedia, can be extremely effective distribution platforms, metasearch engines, including Google Hotel Ads, TripAdvisor and Trivago, have become huge players in the hospitality industry.

It’s been proven that over recent years that more and more travellers make their booking decisions based largely on a hotel’s online reputation by checking reviews and hotel websites. Unsurprisingly, positive reviews will influence potential customers considering booking your hotel while negative reviews certainly can tarnish your reputation.

What do recent developments in artificial intelligence mean for those involved in hotel revenue management? Will machine learning and automation replace the need for human intervention?