10 Hotel Revenue Management Books to Take RevPAR & Occupancy to New Levels

It might seem like the best hotel revenue managers have an innate ability to boost occupancy and revenue. They can effortlessly predict revenue, adjust rates, and manage occupancy. There’s no crystal ball involved ” and a few hotel revenue management books can help you get to their level.

These 10 recommended hotel revenue books cover dozens of examples and real-life case studies. You might even find entirely new ways to forecast your revenue and think about occupancy.

1. Revenue Management for the Hospitality Industry

Revenue Management for the Hospitality Industry is based on a common principle that all revenue managers can live by. The secret is to charge the right price, to the right customer, for the right product, through the right channel, at the right time. Sounds simple enough, right? Students and industry newcomers will want to check this one out.


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2. The Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality: Cutting Edge Thinking and Practice

Most experts agree that Cornell University has the best hospitality program in the country. With that in mind, a book by the programs’ professors is worth reading. Cutting Edge Thinking and Practice highlights today’s best practices for the industry. It’s required reading for Cornell students, and a de facto pre-requisite for anyone starting a career in revenue management.


3. Revenue Superstar! The Simple Rules of Hotel Revenue Management

Revenue Superstar is about bringing simplicity to complex systems. Get an understanding of traditional principles behind hotel revenue management. Then, find out how technology is challenging those principles. Beyond that, this book dives into how revenue managers can adapt quickly to ever-changing technology and data models.


4. Hotel Revenue Management: Factors to Consider When Pricing Your Room Nights

Factors to Consider When Pricing Your Room Nights is a short, digestible book focused on booking guest rooms. The author, Shane Lambert, also shares the most common revenue management mistakes. After reading the book, you’ll understand the systems that revenue managers use to ensure success.


5. Hotel Pricing in a Social World: Driving Value in the Digital Economy

This book starts with a high-level view of the hotel industry today. Keeping up with global trends can be daunting. So before you start digging into your favorite data models, you need to know what drives supply. This book explores the market conditions that impact on hotel revenue management the most.


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6. Hotel Revenue Management: Maximize Your Profitability

Maximize Your Profitability is a perfect introduction to the world of hospitality revenue management. It’s specifically written for students and hospitality pros who are new to revenue management. There’s no hard copy ” it comes in eBook format ” so you can download it on a tablet or laptop.


7. Introduction to Revenue Management for the Hospitality Industry: Principles and Practices for the Real World

Here’s another great option for folks who are starting fresh. Principles and Practices for the Real World offers frameworks and decision-making trees for the problems that most revenue managers face every day. Additionally, industry newcomers will get an idea of the professional profile and career paths in hospitality revenue management.


8. Revenue Management: Maximizing Revenue in Hospitality Operations

Of all the hotel revenue management books on this list, only this one deserves the title of “the revenue manager’s Bible.” It gives a comprehensive overview of the most effective strategies and tactics for virtually any sized hotel. The book also reveals how tiny mistakes and bad habits in management can have major effects on revenue.


9. The Evolving Dynamics of Revenue Management: A Revenue Optimization Road Map for Hotel Owners, Operators, and Practitioners

The Evolving Dynamics of Revenue Management reminds us that revenue management is a science. The best way to succeed in hospitality is with proper revenue and data management organization that can support a revenue strategy. This book is perfect for revenue managers who know the best practices and want to know about applications of revenue management beyond higher yields.


10. Pricing and Revenue Optimization

This is a comprehensive introduction to the concepts, theories, and applications of pricing and revenue optimization. From the initial success of “yield management” in the commercial airline industry down to more recent successes of markdown management and dynamic pricing, the application of mathematical analysis to optimize pricing has become increasingly important across many different industries. Not just hospitality.

The Ultimate Group Sales Playbook

Which hotel revenue management books did we miss? Send us a note over @Socialtables on twitter and tell us about one of your favorites.

Have more questions about hotel revenue management?

What is revenue management?

Revenue management refers to the use of analytics to predict consumer behavior and determine product availability and price in order to maximize revenue. Simply put, the goal of revenue management is to sell the right product, to the right customer for the right price, at the right time.

Why is revenue management important in hotels?

Revenue management is becoming more important to hotels as they expand their offerings beyond sleeping rooms and conference rooms. New revenue streams like conferences, restaurants, recreational facilities, and more provide opportunities for optimization and increased profits.

How is hotel revenue management calculated?

Hotel revenue management is calculated using a broad variety of metrics that include revenues beyond just the cost of rooms. Patterns are analyzed that include spending on amenities, revenue divided by various offerings from the hotel (such as available rooms or square feet of event space), and usage rates.

How much to hotel revenue managers make?

On average, hotel revenue managers make between $60,000 to $70,000 per year, depending on location.