Responding to customer feedback, Duetto has introduced a series of new features for GameChanger, its revenue optimization platform. The new rate management experience features enable revenue teams to work more strategically, consolidating all rate publishing pages into one unified view.
“There was a need in the market for a solution that was more intuitive and that users could tailor to their specific revenue management needs and super-streamline their workflows,” said David Woolenberg, CEO, Duetto. “It’s a great innovation and one I know the product team is very proud of, but honestly, the kudos belongs with our Duetto users. Within Duetto, we have an enhancements board, where users can submit ideas and vote for others. This new rate management experience is the result of that process.”
David Woolenberg Duetto
According to Woolenberg, the new update allows teams of all sizes to manage “complex, multi-property rate strategies, improve rate precision and save time, answering two critical questions for hoteliers today: How do I drive resource efficiencies? How do I simultaneously generate more revenue?”
The new features in GameChanger include the ability to seamlessly toggle between autopilot and overrides for precise rate control; comprehensive competitive information and quicker filtering to enable revenue managers to take pricing action by room type and market segment; seamless systems integration with rate push failure notices and audit trails; and real-time decision support on what is selling and what is not with customizable views of the most important data points.
The solution also offers improved precision in pricing and inventory selling strategy visibility with quick filtering guidance to focus on stay dates where the revenue opportunity is greatest, and enables users to enforce commercial strategy best practices to provide actionable recommendations such as satisfying member rates and add-ons.
“All of this is now delivered in a customizable, easy-to-use dashboard that can be arranged according to the user’s workflows and business priorities,” said Woolenberg. “This goes far beyond the typical ‘role-based’ portals of the past to now completely individualized views that look, feel and work just like you do.”
Since Duetto is a cloud-native Software as a Service provider, users gained immediate access to the new features without having to install anything.
“[Users] simply log into the application like they normally do, except now they gain access to the new experience,” he said. “We even have features built-in that will walk them through these new updates, including video tutorials. And, of course, our customer success team is always on hand to answer questions or provide walk-throughs of new functionality if needed.”
Woolenberg pointed out that the feedback his company has already received on the new rate management experience has all been positive.
“We had a number of customers using this in beta, and all provided rave reviews,” he said. “Now that this is rolling out system-wide, the momentum is really building, with users seeing great results both in terms of revenue uplift and time saved.”
Two of the companies that had access to the new features in beta were Pacifica Hotels and Playa Hotels & Resorts.
“It’s now easier to maneuver and streamlines the whole process,” said Jamie Chang, regional director of revenue management, Pacifica Hotels. “Having all the data on one screen helps when I’m looking at it on a weekend from my phone. I have everything at my fingertips. This enables me to work smarter, not harder, where I don’t feel tethered to my laptop every day.”
Jaime Abraham Garza, corporate revenue manager, Playa Hotels & Resorts, said, “Duetto’s new rate management experience is very user-friendly. You have all of the data points like daily pace in the same tool. I don’t make many rate changes anymore because I only have to take the recommendation from Duetto. I can optimize in three minutes or less.”
Soon after the release of the new rate management experience, Duetto revealed the new Forecast & Budget Builder within its Scoreboard, its revenue intelligence application. The new feature, Woolenberg noted, enables revenue managers and finance and operations teams to generate forecasts and budgets more quickly and accurately, whether by property, brand or at a corporate level.
“[It] was developed to bring efficiency and agility to workflows,” he said. “It allows revenue teams to work on both long-term projections and more granular day-level forecasts by providing a solution that can manage both a system forecast that optimizes selling strategies and a financial forecast that supports the property’s profitability objectives.”
He added, “Beyond revenue, the new Forecast & Budget Builder also helps operational teams plan more effectively, giving them greater and more accurate insight into future demand patterns. With staffing issues across the board, having this data available throughout the business is a huge boost to also driving efficiencies and saving costs. And, this positively impacts the hotel’s bottom line.”
