Revenue management is a common term in hospitality because a business can’t succeed long-term without organized growth. It’s important for outdoor properties to have a successful financial strategy so they can scale their business and meet goals with certainty. 

With reactive revenue management, operational decisions — such as setting reservation rates — are based on what your competitors are already doing. 

While keeping an eye on competitors’ actions is important, a reactive revenue management style doesn’t help you predict your future business needs or growth opportunities. 

Below, we’ll discuss how an active revenue management style can take your RV park to greener fields.

What Does Active Revenue Management Mean in Hospitality?

Active revenue management is the planning that takes place beforehand so you can sell your product or services in the most effective ways possible. For RV parks, this means having your ideal visitors reserve the right space for the best price. 

This perfect situation can only happen through data-based decision making. By using historical data and analyzing consumer behavior to predict and forecast booking trends, you can create and optimize your pricing strategy accordingly. A reservation management system may have revenue management features built into the software. 

How Active Revenue Management Can Improve Your Park Operations

There are several benefits of revenue management that can improve your property in the long- and short-term. For example, you can: 

Predict Demand

Since revenue management helps park owners predict the busy and slow seasons, you can train your staff — or hire more staff — to handle the busier periods well before the flux of campers begins. Utilizing historical data in this way allows for campers to have a smooth check-in process and memorable experience no matter the volume of campers booked. 

You may also use your predictions to advise your loyal visitors to reserve their spots early because you are expecting a high volume of campers. 

Maximize Revenue

Dynamic pricing goes hand-in-hand with your revenue management strategy. If possible through your reservation management system, you can automatically set rates for your park based on your booking predictions and other data, including your current occupancy levels in comparison to your competitors.

Additionally, you may be able to manage promotional periods as a part of a dynamic pricing tool and align them with your marketing strategy to encourage campers to reserve a space during slower periods. 

Allow Staff To Focus on the Guest Experience

With a streamlined revenue management feature through reservation software, your staff can focus their efforts on providing memorable experiences for each visitor. Plus, during predicted slow periods at your park, you can adjust employee schedules accordingly, or have staff use the extra time for continuous education opportunities. 

Knowing when your park may experience fewer bookings can also help you schedule your staff for routine cleaning and maintenance to help prepare your park for the next busy season. 

Increase Visibility

Ideally, your park will be following industry best practices in order to implement a revenue management strategy that suits the financial and overall goals of your business. It’s likely that this will help improve your park ranking on various channels and OTAs. The higher your rank, the more visible — and enticing — your park becomes to potential visitors. If you can gain awareness of more campers through increased online visibility, you're more likely to see increased bookings and revenue.

Choosing the Right Reservation System

Using revenue management solutions as part of your operational strategy for making informed decisions can give you the edge over your competitors.

When you have the right reservation software, streamlining your operations and meeting your scaled growth goals — without sacrificing the experience of your campers — is not only possible, it’s anticipated. But how do you choose what reservation management system is right for your RV park? 

Discover how to bring your RV park into the streamlined future. Download the free guide, Choosing a Reservation & Property Management System today!