Letter from the Dean – July 2021 Revenue Management Issue
Welcome to the Revenue Management Edition of Boston Hospitality Review
By: Arun Upneja, Ph.D., Dean, Boston University – School of Hospitality Administration
“Come on down!” These words for some of you need no explanation. You hear them, and you may travel back in your mind to lazy afternoons on the couch, watching the long-running and ever-popular game show, “The Price Is Right.” The show’s magic and widespread appeal for generations of fans from every walk of life was in guessing the price of the featured item, from kitchen appliances to cars and even vacation trips. (If unfamiliar with the show, I recommend this WBUR Cognoscenti piece.)
You may be asking yourself, what does this special issue of Boston Hospitality Review (BHR) on Revenue Management, edited by Apostolos Ampountolas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Hospitality Finance and Revenue Management at SHA, have to do with “The Price Is Right?” The answer is everything. Revenue Management is about the “right price” and much more, which you can read about in this issue of BHR.
For those who teach, study, and practice Revenue Management, you are well aware that there is no one “right price,” but many of them. The dynamic nature of Revenue Management makes this sector forever captivating and essential to the hospitality industry and many other businesses as well.
As we all have experienced over the course of the pandemic, supply and demand patterns, that we once could forecast reasonably well, have changed entirely. Now, the correct answer(s) to the prize-winning question in this game show of Revenue Management is, “How do we climb back up on those graphs and charts?” The helpful hint can be found in the wise words of Peter Greenberg, the Emmy-winning reporter and recent keynote speaker for SHA’s Hospitality Leadership Summit. The global travel expert advised the audience of established and emerging hospitality professionals: focus on the value, not the rate. In other words, price matters, but what is even more important is, what you get for that price.
Let’s put it another way. Imagine what it would cost not to be able to gather for a vacation, dinner or celebration with family and friends? Based on our very recent lived experience during these COVID times, we know all too well that these scenarios cost us too much.
Looking ahead, as you plan for your next leisure-time excursion, my hope is that you find that the price is just right and you derive much enjoyment from these deeply valuable experiences.
Sincerely,
Arun Upneja, Ph.D.
Dean of Boston University School of Hospitality Administration