Competitor Index for the Competitor Based Rate Recommendation.
Competitor Index: This setting is used when setting up the hotel, or when the competitor based recommended rate is too high/low. In this index certain criteria need to be filled in, which will result in a ranking.
The review score can be filled in by looking up to competitors on booking.com, and taking over the review score. The next step is to fill in the build/renovation. This criterium is based on the hotels' own opinion, what do you think of the condition of the competitor's hotel? 5 indicates top condition, 4 means well maintained, 3 means average etc.
The last step is to fill in the location. This, again, is based on the opinion of the hotel. It is essential to first determine which is the largest group of online bookers and to what segment they belong. What would this segment think of the location of the own hotel and what grade would they link to this location? What would this same segment think of the location of the comp set? When the own hotel has a different target group for weekdays and weekends, it is possible to create a second ranking for the weekend, based on location.
The own criteria are rarely used. Only when a hotel believes they have a unique selling point, for example a parking in the city centre, these criteria might be used.
Based on the criteria a ranking is created. This ranking is formulated into a weighted average per hotel and the competitor based recommended rate is calculated. For example, when the own hotel has a higher ranking, the system will boost the hotels' rate by using the algorithm.
When one of the hotels in to comp set is priced out of the market, which causes your competitor recommended rate being too high, it is possible to switch this hotel off. When switching the hotel off, it will be shown in the Daily Index, but it will not be used in the calculation.
When Competitor Index has been filled out and saved, go to rate recommendation and open the information screen. At the bottom you can find the calculated competitor based rate recommendation. Here you can easily asses with the hotel manager if he/she is comfortable with these rate recommendations. If not, alter settings in de Competitor Index until the rates are just right. In the top yellow line you can compare your own rate on booking.com with the competitor based rate.
