How to choose a revenue management
system (+22 top RMS solutions)

If you’re still relying on spreadsheets to conduct your revenue management strategy, it’s time to look at how technology can help you streamline processes to save time, earn more revenue, and make better business decisions.

Thankfully, revenue management technology has come a long way since its inception in the 1980s and can do a lot of the heavy lifting for lodging operators when it comes to analyzing real-time data, demand forecasting, and providing pricing suggestions.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about choosing a revenue management system including key features and leading solutions.

In this short video, we explain what a revenue management system is, why your property needs one, and 8 benefits of using this technology.

How does modern hotel revenue management software work?

Typically, modern revenue management software analyzes historical, competitor, and market data in real time to calculate ideal room rates. The range of features available may vary widely, but thanks to recent developments in machine learning, automation, and AI, the technology is more accessible.

Some of the most notable RMS players in the space for dynamic pricing and data-driven decision-making collect internal, historical data via integrations with more hotel management tools such as the property management system (PMS) and channel manager, along with important external data that impacts demand, like seasonality, events, competitor rates, flight data, weather patterns, and the economy.

Why is a revenue management solution important to use?

Technology is becoming increasingly important across the hotel industry — here’s why RMS, in particular, is a crucial tool for hoteliers to have.

Competitive pricing.

Demand post-pandemic has reached all-time highs, and price is now one of the main determining factors in a traveler’s purchase decision. An RMS is a gamechanger to ensure you’re pricing competitively and discovering new revenue opportunities.

Rapidly changing market conditions.

Back in the day, hoteliers could update rates on a weekly, monthly, or sometimes yearly basis and be fine. Today, the market is changing so rapidly that you need a dedicated system to constantly monitor market activities.

Accurately report on critical metrics.

ADR, RevPAR, TRevPAR, GOPAR — these are just a few of the key financial metrics across hotel businesses. An RMS can help you track these KPIs, perform data analysis, and provide suggestions for improving performance.

Do more with less.

Whether you have a dedicated revenue manager or not, manually conducting accurate forecasts and altering your pricing strategies require a great deal of expertise and time. With an RMS, you can make more informed decisions fast.

8 benefits of an RMS

Let’s break down the benefits of using a revenue management system in the hospitality industry.

1. Complex calculations can be done quickly & accurately

RMS algorithms work around the clock to analyze data points and market trends based on real-time data.

2. Make informed pricing decisions

Let’s face it — without an RMS, there can be times when we make pricing decisions based on a “gut feeling.” While these might work out sometimes, a quick check-in with your RMS to confirm will ensure consistent revenue streams through optimal pricing.

3. Maximize revenue

Your bottom line relies on how well you price your rooms. With an RMS, you’ll never miss out on the chance to optimize your room rates through automation and preset rules for ultimate revenue growth.

4. Expand the role of your revenue manager

Give your revenue manager the time and data needed for more strategic decision-making. An RMS can help hotel owners and revenue managers unlock insights that may have never been considered without technology.

5. Don’t have a revenue manager? No worries

 An RMS can be a lifesaver for smaller, independent properties without a dedicated revenue manager. Most RMSs present data in a simple, straightforward fashion so that anyone on your team responsible for pricing hotel rooms can do so effectively.

6. Keep an eye on your competitors

Your day is busy enough without worrying about what the hotel next door is doing. An RMS provides insights into your competitive set to help guide any changes you may need to make at your property.

7. Improve the guest experience

Travelers want a fair price for their room type and value hotels that are strategic about their pricing. In addition, by streamlining tedious revenue management activities, your team will have more time to determine how to increase room revenue and direct bookings through ancillary services and value-added upsells.

8. Automate operations

Labor shortages are at an all-time high, with more than 90% of hotels unable to fill open positions. Revenue management is one area of operations that you can automate with an RMS to reduce the workload on your team. An RMS also helps ensure that hotels are conducting proper resource allocation and inventory management. 

Key features to look for in an RMS software

Various software solutions exist today, and your choice will depend on your property’s size, requirements, and budget. Here are a few key features you should look for when researching revenue management systems.

Automated rules and alerts.

To minimize time spent in the system, look for an interactive RMS that can support preset rules, alerts, and workflows so that you don’t have to check your data and update rates manually. Specific rules and alerts can include (but aren’t limited to):

• Compset-based alerts: get alerted anytime there is an important shift in pricing (i.e., be alerted every time your compset pricing goes up by 10%)
• Occupancy-based alerts: get alerted when it’s time to update your rates based on your occupancy (i.e., increase your rates when your occupancy rises).
• Restriction-based rules: add restrictions that stop you from receiving new reservations (i.e., minimum length of stay).

Rate comparison functionality.

Maintaining rate parity is crucial as travelers frequent metasearch websites to compare pricing across a hotel’s distribution channels. Your RMS should have rate comparison functionality that allows you to view your rates across your booking engine, online travel agency connections (OTAs), and against competitors.

Forecasting and pricing recommendations.

Based on factors like market demand, historical data, and competitor pricing — your RMS should be able to forecast and provide pricing recommendations to ensure you always offer the right price at the right time. You should be able to assign the level of control your RMS has in implementing pricing decisions by setting rules where your price is automatically updated in certain instances, and in others, it must have your permission.

Comprehensive dashboard with key reports and insights.

Data is of no use unless it can be analyzed and interpreted for decision-making. An RMS should provide key reports that offer an easily digestible snapshot of a hotel’s performance with the option to dig deeper into the data. Your RMS should give user-friendly insight into KPIs like RevPAR, TRevPAR, room nights sold, ADR, occupancy rate, booking sources, etc.

Integration with your tech stack.

An RMS is not nearly as effective without proper integration with your channel manager, PMS, CRM, booking engine, and other apps. Your systems need to be in constant communication to update rates across channels, report on occupancy, see available rooms, and provide data for forecasting.

Cloud-based.

Market demand is unpredictable and needs to be monitored in real time. Not only can you log in to monitor performance anywhere, any time, but a cloud-based RMS provides better connectivity between systems and channels and offers regular updates to maintain effectiveness.

A provider with 24/7 support.

Your room rates are the lifeblood of your business and the number one revenue driver. If you have a problem with your RMS, you need a partner with customer support resources available at all times to help get you back on track.

22 top revenue management systems

The key to a hotel’s profitability within the hospitality industry is effective revenue management. Say goodbye to spreadsheets and manual processes and look for a revenue management system to take your property’s revenue management strategy to the next level.

Here are 22 of the top revenue management systems on the market today.

The Cloudbeds Pricing Intelligence Engine (PIE)

Cloudbeds’ Pricing Intelligence Engine (PIE) is a fully integrated, easy-to-use dynamic pricing tool that empowers hoteliers to drive more revenue to the bottom line while saving them time. Built into the Cloudbeds Platform, PIE’s rule-based system and automation capabilities allow hoteliers to easily adjust and control their rate strategy based on occupancy, length of stay restrictions, and competitive set changes. 

Cloudbeds also offers deep integrations with industry-leading revenue management systems for lodging businesses looking for more robust revenue management functionality

Andre Sovgir, Senior Director of Product at Cloudbeds, explains the value of PIE and Cloudbeds’ integrations with leading RMS providers. 

Atomize

Atomize is an innovative and fast-growing Lean Revenue Management Software built for hoteliers who want to do more with less. Atomize’s core focus lies in increasing revenues and operational efficiency and lowering costs to drive profitability. Harnessing the power of big data, Atomize proves that technology is a way to achieve an edge with its sophisticated machine-learning algorithm. 

BEONx

BEONx is a total profitability platform that goes beyond revenue management to total profitability. Their AI-driven platform makes it easy for hoteliers to shift from RevPAR to RevPAG, optimizing guest journeys and the bottom line. 

Beyond

Beyond is a revenue management solution for short-term rental managers and owners. Its platform includes a dynamic-demand-driven pricing tool with extensive market data that pairs with OTA distribution channels and booking engines.

Diamo

Diamo is an intelligent, all-in-one automated hotel revenue management system that maximizes RevPAR, so hotels can run with ease. 

FLYR

FLYR for Hospitality, an AI-driven decision and business intelligence suite, puts the power of machine learning and data science into the hands of managers. 

Hotelitix

Hotelitix identifies revenue-generating opportunities in real-time, forecasting the exact price changes your hotel should be making to maximize performance. 

IDeaS Elevate

Combining industry knowledge with innovative data analytics and AI, IDeaS creates sophisticated yet simple ways to empower hoteliers with precise, automated pricing they can trust. 

Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight)

Lighthouse is the leading commercial platform for the hospitality industry that transforms complexity into confidence with actionable market insights, business intelligence, and pricing tools that maximize revenue. 

LodgIQ

LodgIQ is an adaptive revenue optimization platform that uses BigData Analytics and AI to forecast demand and price hotel rooms.

Outperform

Outperform is an RMS that analyzes all past, current, and future data to optimize prices, improve RevPAR, and discuss reports and KPIs. It uses a price optimization algorithm to identify trends and conduct forecasting.

Pace Revenue

Pace Revenue provides hospitality businesses with insight and intelligence, enabling them to make optimal commercial decisions in real time. Pace sits between your PMS and the distribution landscape to help you realize your full commercial potential. It includes truly native business intelligence and is built on top of an industry-leading pricing decision engine.

PriceLabs

PriceLabs is a revenue management solution that combines human control with automation and market data to maximize revenue. It uses automation rules and customizations to manage pricing and minimum-stay restrictions for larger portfolios to help property managers increase revenue.

Pricepoint

Pricepoint is a real-time price optimization engine that analyzes the market and updates room prices to keep you ahead of the curve and in front of competitors.

Rate Quantum 

Rate Quantum is a revenue management system that uses science, AI, and the latest technology to determine the correct rates for your hotel.

RateGenie

RateGenie aims to empower businesses with the data and insights needed to maximize their revenue through flexible and dynamic pricing strategies tailored to the needs of each property.

RevControl

RevControl is a revenue management software that provides hoteliers with an intuitive platform to optimize revenue and deliver exceptional guest experiences.

Right Revenue

Right Revenue is a revenue management software solution designed for independent hotels. The solution uses advanced AI to help hoteliers make important pricing decisions.

RoomPriceGenie

RoomPriceGenie is the easiest way to ensure that your rooms are priced right every night. Purpose-built for the independent hotelier, RoomPriceGenie is fast to implement, intuitive to use, and simple to understand. 

Smartpricing

Smartpricing is an RMS that manages the price of accommodation facilities and monitors hotel and market data. It uses smart algorithms to generate the most profitable rate based on current market demand, availability, and trends.

Turbosuite

Turbosuite is a revenue management system that covers revenue to account management to ensure the highest possible income to achieve economic sustainability in the hotel and vacation rental industry.

Wheelhouse 

Wheelhouse helps property owners manage short-term rentals as professionally and efficiently as major hotels, from understanding performance to better nightly pricing. It offers dynamic pricing, powerful insights, and personalized strategy all in one system so that you price right every night.

How The ZERO Hotels automates pricing with Cloudbeds’ PIE

The ZERO Hotels are a unique collection of properties across Portugal that offer guests an unparalleled lodging experience. Its properties are inspired by Japanese capsule hotels where guests stay in minimalistic rooms equipped with a private bathroom in a shared dorm.

Berndaro Thierstein, General Manager at The ZERO Box Lodge Porto, uses Cloudbeds’ Pricing Intelligence Engine (PIE) across properties to automate pricing strategies and monitor competitor and market trends. He says, “We automate a lot of our pricing with PIE, and it’s allowed us a lot more time to spend training staff since it’s doing a part of our jobs automatically.”

With PIE, ZERO Box Lodge Coimbra has been able to increase its average daily rate anywhere from 10-25%, depending on market conditions. 

Final thoughts

Hotels of all shapes and sizes are getting more sophisticated in their revenue management capabilities. In 2023, we saw record-high RevPAR performance, part of which can be attributed to technology enabling hoteliers to price more effectively. Revenue management technology is pivotal in this day and age to make proactive, data-driven decisions to maximize revenue and profitability.