Insights to spa revenue management for industry professionals
“ People who do really well at revenue management have a mix of personality traits . They ’ re analytical , math focused , trend focused . Puzzles , games , chess really excite their minds .”
— ADAM HAYASHI
I ’ m a genie . Just make a wish and I ’ m going to make it happen for you . I ’ m going to make it perfect . I carried that through my whole operations career , creating those experiences for people . One of my first jobs was as a signature concierge in a resort in Whistler . And I still remember a guest who booked a house for two weeks and brought 15 people to Whistler . I booked his ski rentals . I booked his lift tickets . I booked his snowmobile excursions , I booked his dinner reservations , I had groceries in the fridge when he arrived . I even bought a tree and decorated it for him . It was all about making his Christmas experience . There ’ s something so rewarding about being part of that .
With revenue management , you really get to be creative in finding strategies and solutions to make the hotel successful . I find the problem-solving , the analysis and the out-of-the-box thinking very interesting . Revenue management is fun , it ’ s like a game . That ’ s the draw for me .
Also , because I worked for Fairmont , I get reciprocal privileges to travel everywhere . Maybe I would have taken a vacation if I was in another industry , but I really feel this industry allows you to take care of that travel bug you have inside of you . I ’ ve flown 100,000 miles this year already . I ’ ve been to Doha . I ’ ve been to Dubai . I ’ ve been to Sydney , Nassau . I may not be a luxury funded guest , but I have the opportunity to hit luxury hotels because of these great offers I have . n
ADAM HAYASHI serves as vice president of revenue management for Accor North & Central America . In his role , Adam oversees the revenue management strategy for all Fairmont Hotels and resorts in the Americas . He has led the creation of a proprietary business intelligence solution and recently built a comprehensive distribution support team . His purview extends beyond traditional rooms revenue management to maximize ancillary revenue streams such as food and beverage , spa and function space revenue management . Adam describes his career trajectory and what attracted him to revenue management : “ I came from an operations background , working at the front desk at a hotel . I transitioned to sales manager and I ended up getting into revenue management by fluke . I was interviewing for a sales manager role at another company when they asked what I enjoyed most about operations , I talked about when I worked at a big box hotel . We would often have a thousand-plus arrivals , and we ’ d be oversold by hundreds of rooms . I tried to perfectly fill the inventory , with no empty rooms and with a bed for every guest . Forecasting and understanding how many guests we thought wouldn ’ t show
up based on the trends , where they were coming from , what they were coming for ( conference , business , leisure ), the weather and other outside environmental impacts — that became the basis of my analysis and led to my revenue management job .”
ABOUT ADAM HAYASHI
KRISTINE HUFFMAN LICSW , formerly a partner with Hutchinson Consulting , is a semi-retired hospitality consultant and former ISPA Board member . She brings more than 30 years of experience in hospitality and human services , including providing leadership , psychotherapeutic services , staff training , program development and brand direction for the award-winning Canyon Ranch , Miraval and Travaasa Resorts .
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