The Relationship of Yield Management and Hotel Occupancy Levels with the Provision of Events during Off-Peak Seasons with a Case Study on Inverness Hotels

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to address the central aim and objectives and conclude with a robust answer to the research question; The Relationship of Yield Management and Hotel Occupancy Levels with the Provision of Events during Off- Peak Seasons with a case study on Inverness Hotels. The aim of the research is to explore the strategic relationship between yield management and accommodation occupancy levels by holding events during off-peak seasons. The objectives are the following: ___ Determine what yield management is and the parameters used by hotels to implement this on a regular basis. ___ Examine the advantages and disadvantages of using yield management in hotels. ___ Explore the relationship between the hotel business cycle and event cycle patterns. ___ Investigate whether hotels should use events to maximise profits. Firstly, existing literatures on yield management (YM) were analysed and discussed to obtain in-depth understanding of the topic area being researched. However, due to the lack of literature on YM in relation to events, the researcher discussed dynamic pricing which is currently being used by professional sports and the box office. In the literature review emerging themes were identified, these will be further discussed and analysed together with themes arising post data collection. Next, a mixed-method approach of quantitative and qualitative was used as this would provide data which could be collected in numerical form as well as data involving people's own experiences. The two methods used to collect data were: Survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The survey questionnaires were sent to 22 hotels who are members of the Inverness Hotel Association. These surveys were to be completed by either General Managers or Revenue Managers as they would have fruitful knowledge on the research topic. Also, five hotel General Managers were interviewed in Inverness at their workplace. Afterwards the quantitative and qualitative data were gathered, analysed and coded accordingly into themes which emerged previously within the literature review as well as new findings from the survey questionnaires and interviews. The findings showed that events can be used to maximise profits in hotels; however, they cannot be used to increase occupancy levels due to the geographical location of the hotels, Inverness as well as the size of the city itself. In spite of this, local events organised within the local area increases the potential of increase in accommodation occupancy levels.