By Samuel Johnson, Director of Operations & Customer Success
You could call it the Monday morning problem.
You open your device and stare at the firehose of information: pick-up, pace, compset shifts, event calendars, rate reports, reviews, demand curves, flight data, and that’s before your first coffee. We’ve never had more data. But we’ve also never had less time to make sense of it.
That’s the paradox of modern Revenue Management.
I was recently invited by 10 Minutes Hotels, France’s leading podcast on hospitality innovation, to be their first international guest as they launched their channel globally.
The debut episode, Hotels Have More Data Than Ever — So Where is Generative AI?, didn’t just showcase a tool, it explored the essential transformation of the Revenue Manager into a commercial strategist.
In this article, I aim to explain why this discussion is essential right now, and what the shift toward focused AI truly means for Revenue Managers across the industry.
I believe we’ve opened a new chapter in how hoteliers approach decision-making in an age of data saturation.
What if the future of revenue strategy isn’t about collecting more data, but about knowing where to look, and why?
From Intuition to Intelligence
At its core, Revenue Management has always been a blend of intuition and analytics. But over the last decade, the balance has shifted. As technology advanced, we’ve added more tools, more reports, more dashboards — and with them, more complexity. What we needed wasn’t another spreadsheet. We needed perspective.
A proper AI tool should not be judged solely by its ability to crunch data, but also by the way it speaks back.
Using generative AI, it should clarify why a decision is being recommended. Not just what the price should be, but what’s driving the recommendation: market compression, pacing anomalies, compset behavior, or internal demand shifts.
This clarity transforms AI from a black box into a trusted partner.
The Tools That Cut Through the Noise
The modern Revenue Manager’s challenge is not a lack of data, but the tyranny of too many signals.
The analysis paralysis caused by juggling countless reports — from pace and pick-up to market intelligence and competitor positioning — consumes valuable hours that should be spent on strategic execution.
The future of revenue strategy hinges on a new contract between human and technology, one where the AI doesn’t just calculate a better price, but helps us think better and deeper.
It’s about moving from two hours of data compilation every morning to 30 seconds of prioritized strategic focus. It’s about digging into the data you could otherwise only scratch the surface of. And it’s about leveraging that analysis with technology to deliver real actionable strategies that can help your hotel perform better.
This new generation of focused AI distills the chaos into critical priorities the leadership team cannot afford to miss that day or week.
It gives the Revenue Management team back the time to focus on high-value activities, such as channel performance, marketing alignment, and long-term strategy, rather than report generation and analysis.
When we designed our AI Wizard, it was important to us that it also prompts strategic thinking, encouraging users to look beyond rate and restriction changes, and instead consider:
- Distribution strategies
- Segments to target
- Promotions to deploy
Answering the GM’s Most Critical Question: The ‘Why’
The most significant friction point in any hotel strategy meeting is often the simple question, “Why are we doing this?”
The Owner or General Manager doesn’t need five spreadsheets, they need a clear, strategic rationale.
Focused AI removes this friction.
When a date needs attention, whether it’s a risk from overpricing or an opportunity to capture market demand, the system must deliver not only the recommended action (e.g., a €34 rate adjustment) but the full strategic context:
- The risk level
- The underlying market behavior
- The forecasted revenue impact (e.g., a potential 12.4% occupancy boost)
Delivered instantly, this clear, data-driven language unifies the Revenue Manager, GM, and key stakeholders around a single, actionable narrative.
A New Layer of Strategic Thinking
Imagine the conversation with the owner on a key date. Instead of digging through reports, the Revenue Manager can simply ask a conversational interface:
“How are our Tuesdays performing compared to last year?”
or
“What’s our strategy for the first week of March?”
and get a tailored response in real-time.
This capability transforms the Revenue Manager from a historian, constantly analyzing past data, into a proactive strategist equipped with an instant, data-backed plan.
It shifts their focus from justifying past decisions to driving future growth, complete with promotional suggestions, rate strategy, and channel performance insights.
A Shared Vision for Smarter Hospitality
The question, “Is AI going to replace me?” remains central to industry dialogue. Our view is clear: this is not about replacement, it’s about elevation.
By automating the monotonous, time-consuming tasks of data analysis and report compilation, we free the Revenue Manager to focus on:
- Human-centric strategy
- Cross-departmental communication
- The complex art of commercial leadership
This is why our conversation with 10minhotel.com is so relevant. It’s a reflection of where the entire industry is headed.
🎧 The podcast is now available. Watch Hotels Have More Data Than Ever — So Where is Generative AI?
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