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Day 1: 26th November - Revenue Management Strategies

9.30 - 11.00 CEO ROUNDTABLE (PLENARY SESSION)

HOW TO EXPLOIT RAPID CHANGE IN TRAVEL PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR IN INDIA

As researching and booking travel online continues to gain popularity in India, four CEOs from four very different travel companies will share their views on how to adapt your strategies to cater for a new generation of internet savvy travellers

  • Who is buying travel online in India and what new business opportunities have arisen over the past year?
  • Selling packages online is a potentially lucrative business. But will Indian travellers actually buy their holidays on the web?
  • Customer service and fulfilment - will an offline presence always be necessary to sell travel successfully in India?
  • How are social media sites changing the way your customers research and buy travel online?
  • Himanshu Singh, MD, Travelocity India
  • Urrshila Kerkar, CEO, Cox and Kings
  • Gautam Chadha, CEO and Founder, Journeymart
  • Sharat Dhall, MD India, Tripadvisor

11.00- 11.30 COFFEE

11.30KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

What can revenue management do for your organisation when it´s fully deployed? What revenue management strategies work in softening markets?

  • The hospitality landscape will change drastically over the next 3 years; learn the skills it will take to manage through this drastic change
  • Most Revenue managers in India have yet to experience a softening market... what do you do to prepare your people and what strategies work
  • Revenue management for the hotel business can be far more than just price of a room. This talk looks at how can you maximise the revenue every time you make contact with your customer
  • Greg Albertini, Regional VP, Revenue Strategy, Asia Pacific, Marriott International

11.50PRESENTATIONS AND PANEL

The Indian travel market is unique... in some areas it is softening and in others still expanding at amazing rates. How can you stimulate demand, and maintain rates in soft markets whilst maximising revenues in others?

  • What is industry best practice in times of an economic slowdown?
  • What are the dangers of chasing demand by lowering your prices?
  • Is the low cost model the best for this current economy and how does this fit in with India´s hotel building patterns?
  • What is the role of opaque pricing in a price sensitive market - especially when 2 markets are co-existing?
  • How can you examine the price-elasticity of your customers?
  • Devdutta Banerjee, Regional Director - Revenue Management, India Bangladesh and Nepal, Starwood Hotels and Resorts
  • Rishikant Singh, AGM, Revenue Management, Air India
  • Tarun Lakhanpal, Group Manager-Revenue Management and Distribution, Lemon Tree Hotel Company

1.10 - 2.15 LUNCH

2.15 - 3.25PRESENTATIONS AND PANEL

Make revenue management work across all your distribution channels

  • How are distribution channels shifting and what impact does this have on revenue management? Where should you focus your time and resources?
  • Rate parity is often talked about. but is it honoured? How do you change decades of business practice and make rate parity work in a personal relationship business world?
  • Should your revenue management rules vary depending on your distribution channel and how can you deal with the client trust?
  • How do you measure your revenue management performance across various channels?
  • Identify the marketing opportunities for each channel
  • Has Web 2.0 made a revenue managers life even harder?
  • Abinash Manghani, Head Sales & Marketing, Fortune Park Hotels
  • Shaun Dubash, VP Business Development, Travelguru
  • Kurien Jacob, President, TravelTripper

3.25 - 3.45 CASE STUDY

Looking at revenue management from a Total Revenue Per Occupied Room perspective

  • How do you assess the total spend of a customer not just the room?
  • Where are the customer touch points and how do you exploit them?
  • How do you take revenue management to the next stage and apply it to F+B and conference + exhibitions
  • How do apply revenue management in a softening market when some cities are still experiencing massive prices?
  • Merwin Ezekial Dawson, Revenue Manager, The Leela Palace, Kempinski

3.45 - 4.15 COFFEE

4.15 - 5.15 PRESENTATIONS AND PANEL

CRM and RM - Actively pursue a consumer-centric revenue management strategy to boost revenue

  • Hear how to segment your customers into distinct buying groups and how to track their traits to predict future behaviour
  • How do you monitor changes to various customer segments and detect downturns?
  • Learn how to set prices according to your customers´ willingness to pay
  • See how your competitors have boosted sales by sending targeted messages to certain segments in specific channels at specific times
  • Unearth the psychology of how and when different groups buy and hold out for a more profitable reservation
  • Examine the lifetime value of the customer and take a humanistic approach to revenue management
  • Puneet Mahindroo, Director of Revenue Management, Taj Hotels
  • Klaus Kohlmeyer, Director, IDeaS Advantage Consulting, IDeaS - A SAS Company

5.15 - 5.40CASE STUDY

How do credit card payments and internet penetration impact on revenue management?

  • Internet penetration and credit card usage is expanding rapidly. But the factors are still holding back web bookings and the application of revenue management. Even with such rapid expansion the Indian travel industry is facing a long wait before they can rely on these tools to apply an effective revenue managementstrategy... In the mean time what can be done?
  • Jay Prakash Ramasamy, Revenue Manager, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India

5.40 END OF DAY ONE & COCKTAIL PARTY

Day 2: 27th November: Ancillary Revenue Strategies

9.30 - 11.00 CEO ROUNDTABLE (PLENARY SESSION)

OTA 2.0 - BUSINESS MODELS, GROWTH STRATEGIES, CONSOLIDATION, FUTURE PLANS

India´s leading OTAs have spent the last few years (and rounds of investment) on building brand and claiming market share. Now with impending 0% commission, who will rise prosperous from the imminent financial storm and what measures can be taken to overcome a potentially company destroying situation?

  • India´s top OTAs have attracted over US$120 million in funding over the last three years. Where do they stand today and how are they valued in the overall marketplace?
  • MakeMyTrip, Yatra and Cleartrip are all optimistic about achieving break-even in 2008-09. Can they do it?
  • Comparing the growth curve of Indian and mature market OTAs - have Indian online travel companies been hampered for too long by the pricing strategy of airlines and their own dog-eat-dog game?
  • Air accounts for 75% to 95% of the top-line of major OTAs. How can higher margin products like hotels and packages have a positive impact on profitability in the short and medium-term?
  • Online goes offline - all the major OTAs are moving towards a hybrid model with greater offline presence. What is the business case behind this move and what will be the effect on the industry as a whole?
  • 0% commission and increasing direct sales - will these factors force consolidation?
  • Dhruv Shringhi, CEO, Yatra
  • Stuart Crighton, CEO, Cleartrip
  • Deep Kalra, CEO, Makemytrip
  • Ashwin Demera, CEO, Travelguru

11.00 - 11.30 COFFEE

PRESENTATIONS AND PANEL

11.30 - 12.45 How can Ancillary Revenue benefit the travel industry?

To offset soaring fuel costs airlines haave begun charging passengers for a second bag - a move that will generate United Airlines an estimated $100m. Can it work in India?

  • Why is the travel industry particularly suited to delivering significant ancillary revenue?
  • What factors are driving the need for ancillary revenue?
  • What is the difference between genuine ancillary revenue and unbundling?
  • Creating an ancillary revenue program for your particular business: How much money could you make?
  • Ancillary revenue partnerships - what structure do you need to succeed?
  • Should responsibility for ancillary revenue lie with one person in your organization, or is it better shared between the relevant departments?
  • Samyukth Sridharan, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet
  • Keyur Joshi, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Makemytrip
  • Amitabh Pandey, President and Head, ebusiness Thomas Cook India ltd.

12.45 - 2.00 LUNCH

2.00 - 2.20KEYNOTE ANALYSIS

Ancillary Revenue from A to Z

  • How lucrative could Ancillary Revenue be for your business?
  • Why is the airline model particularly suited to Ancillary Revenue?
  • How can an ancillary revenue strategy help you offer a lower base fare and appeal to price conscious customers?
  • How does Ancillary Revenue relate to your brand?
  • Get expert advice for implementing an Ancillary Revenue strategy throughout your company
  • Mark Nasr, Manager Revenue Planning, Continental Airlines

2.20 -3.30PRESENTATIONS AND PANEL

Which ancillary revenue products best complement the travel purchasing cycle - and deliver maximum profits?

  • Create a list of innovative products that are ideally suited to your brand and reach - and identify the items that are serious money-spinners?
  • What “special-service reqe  sts”can you add in the booking process - and fulfill with ease
  • Travel insurance - the ancillary revenue no-brainer: How can you successfully push insurance to your customers and what kind of returns should you expect?
  • How can you exploit the boom in destination and experiential travel to sell ancillary products?
  • What kind of experiential services and souvenir items work best with destination seekers?
  • In-flight and in-room entertainment: Which new ideas are working best right now?
  • The cruise industry and ancillary revenue: How easily can you form profitable third-party partnerships?
  • When - and where - is the best time to sell your extra products and services? Can you expand your window of opportunity?
  • Aseem Sadana, Co-founder & COO, Isango
  • Vikas Marwah, COO, CIPL
  • Gavin Dabreco, Vice President, Meru Cabs

3.30 - 4.00 COFFEE

4.00 - 5.00 CLOSING SESSION (PLENARY SESSION)

THE FUTURE OF INDIAN ONLINE TRAVEL- DETERMINE ALTERNATIVE DISTRIBUTION MODELS AND FOCUS ON WHERE AND WHAT TO INVEST IN

  • What are the next developments in e-commerce and how can they be maximised? Is new technology opening up new opportunities?
  • What impact is the rapid growth of e-commerce having on the GDSs in India ? What are the new alternatives to GDS distribution and how effective are they?
  • Where are the growth areas in the online travel market? Which sectors are going to be making the most of this channel over the coming months?
  • More Indians have access to mobiles than have access to a computer - are you making the most of this opportunity and utilizing the advantages that lie with mobile?
  • Yogesh Rathi, CEO, eTours
  • Narasimha Rao, Country Manager - Sales, Akamai India
  • Sanjay Aggarwal, General Manager (Operations), IRCTC
  • Haranath Lokanadham, CEO, Ticketvala

END OF CONFERENCE