Room rates reflect not only costs and return prices, but also demand and

competitiveness and management efficiency, according to Christina Chi (2012).

Standard room rate measurement targets one of the businesses ' needs not on the
customers ' needs. Current pricing strategies understand the ability and willingness
of customers to pay. Price is described as "the price amount traded by consumers
for the benefit of having or using the product or service" (Kotler, Bowen, and
Makens,
2010).Price is the easiest factor to switch between the elements in the mix in the mar
keting program; other elements are timely.It is one of the advertising mix
components that generates revenue, while expense is generated by other
component of the mix.
Over time and according to demand and supply situation, hotels change room rates
(Kauffman & Lee, 2007; Ropero, 2011). Hotel star ratings are negatively associated
with room rate frequency, so high-quality hotels change their room rate less often
than low-quality hotels. Room prices of hotels may be determined significantly by
their position and place qualities (Latinopoulos, 2018; Soler & Gemar, 2018). By vital
and effective dynamic pricing, hoteliers can reach their full capacity with full
efficiency. Room rates vary markedly depending on the location of a hotel since the
nature of its location gives differential value . (Bull, 1994).
For example, a hotel room situated in the immediate vicinity of a lovely garden or
park is more likely to have a higher cost than one located in the heart of the city with
city views.In fact, hotel rooms within the same tower have different tariffs based on
the view and landscape that can be seen from their windows or from their balconies.
A particular view taken from different windows or floors is likely to be a key factor in
determining whether a room will be sold at a premium or a discount rate when there
is fierce competition among hotels.

A channel of distribution is defined as a possible room reservation source (Robert H

Woods, 2018)The technology’s usage is increasing day by day in marketing
distribution channels in the hospitality firms. In the hotel and tourism sector, the Web
is changing the way it systematically decides and operationally replaces the
traditional components of marketing strategies. The 4Ps (product, cost,
advertisement and location)–the basic elements of the advertising formula–are being
adapted to the Internet's characteristics as the most important communication
platform of modern times. The biggest change in the delivery and marketing of
tourism products and services has taken place in this regard (Pilepic, Šimunic and
Car, 2013). Over the past decade, online sales in the hotel industry worldwide have
become increasingly important and deliver expanded platform marketing,
promotional opportunities

The use of technology in marketing distribution channels in hospitality companies

increases day after day. Hotel customers, just like other consumers world-wide,
increasingly seek quick, easy, and cheap means of finding, purchasing, and
receiving products and services using the Internet. The share of reservations
associated with the Internet is increasing. By late 2010, Internet bookings for the top
30 hotel brands reached 56.9% of the total brand Computer Reservation Systems
(CRS) bookings (eTRAK Report, 2011). In recent years, a new breed of hyper-
interactive travel consumers who are today’s main hotel customers has emerged.
The capacity of third-party online travel agencies (OTS)–such as Expedia, Orbitz,
Travelcity, Agoda, Zuji, Bookings.com and so on –to enable the cost-effective search
of a variety of tourism items has become very common. The customer also prefers to
use the different distribution networks, including the hotel Web Site, to find the lowest
rate of hotels in their preferred category or venue for the initial booking. Through
making it easier and less'' time consuming'' to evaluate room rates between different
hotels, these e-wholesalers have provided customers with the data they need to
compare spaces, despite their specified value and price expectations. The formation
of a compromise between marketing and network management has become
increasingly difficult for the hoteliers (Carvell and Quan, 2006). Hotel owners use a
wide range of distribution channels to sell their products. Since most of them market
concurrently across multiple channels, channels often struggle to meet the same set
of customers.Companies often choose to open new avenues for distribution in an
effort to capture new markets or new customers. This can result in channel conflict
ict-selling the same product in a market with different pricing through multiple sales
channels. Channel conflict also refers to a situation where one channel member
perceives other channel members engaging in behavior that prevents or prevents
them from achieving their goals (Webb, 2002, Coughlan et al., 2006).

Revenue management is an automated and systemic method to maximizing revenue

through the exploitation of the prices charged to consumers (Sanchez and Satir,
2005). The decision on hotel room prices clearly has a major impact on revenue and
profit. Marketing management deals with segmentation, market prediction, marketing
planning, organizational modeling, interdepartmental alignment, competitive
positioning, inventory control techniques, and internal performance analysis,
according to Helsel and Cullen (2006). The room rate plan is one of the most
relevant techniques carried out by hotel owners (Pan, 2007) which involves the
assignment of room stock to be marketed at a certain room rate, the allocation of
room inventory to different distribution networks, an overbooking policy and a
cancelation policy. Decisions on revenue control are challenged by having to
consider different types of accommodation, varying agreed room rates and different
stay periods. Due to the many complexities involved in the decision phase, such
choices are difficult to make, including uncertainty regarding visitor arrivals to a
venue, hotel room supply, hotel room demand elasticity, frequency of no-shows, and
competitor pricing. In reality, a hotel manager has to make assumptions about these
risks and then make appropriate choices on sales control. Optimization of part of the
revenue management system is extremely important. It is intended to solve the issue
of increasing hotel profit by determining best prices and improving resource
allocation. (Mc gill and van ryzin). Revenue management is widely applied to
hospitality, since the business often sells inventories that are perishable, has the
potential to classify customers through customer needs, book actions and
willingness to pay, and has goods that can be priced in advance to turn hourly
demand trends into statistical predictions (Hanks 1992).
References
Abbott, P. and Lewry, S. (2011). Front office. Oxon: Routledge.