Hotel Pricing Made Simple

Room Price Genie, a hotel pricing optimization company, showcased its innovative platform at the No Vacancy Expo, held at the ICCC in Sydney last month. According to co-founder Marvin Speh, the company, which is based in Germany, helps hotels maximize revenue by setting optimal prices through data analysis and partnerships with PMS (Property Management Systems) or channel managers. "We help hotels find the right price to optimize revenue," explained Speh. The platform works by analyzing vast amounts of data and providing pricing recommendations to PMS or channel managers, who then distribute the new pricing across various booking channels. With 70% of its business in Europe, 15% in Australia and New Zealand, and another 15% in North America, Room Price Genie is still expanding, with plans to tap into Southeast Asia. "We’re starting with that now, but slowly," Speh said, adding that they don’t have a team on the ground in Southeast Asia yet but see it as a key future market. Room Price Genie works with hotels of all sizes, from small bed and breakfasts to larger groups with up to 100 properties. Their pricing model is subscription-based, with hotels paying a monthly fee for the service. Speh mentioned that recent analysis showed a 19% increase in revenue for hotels using their platform over the past year, with higher occupancy rates and increased average daily rates. The company entered the Australian market two and a half years ago, and it has been growing ever since. "We’re soon going to have over 10 people in the market," said Speh. Room Price Genie works with hotels and holiday parks across the country, focusing on smaller hotel chains and boutique accommodations. Although currently privately owned, the company aims to expand significantly before considering a public listing. "We need to 20-fold the business, and that’s going to take a few years," Speh said. Founded in 2017, the company's name, Room Price Genie, came from Speh’s co-founder’s wife, who thought it would be memorable — and it stuck. This interview was conducted with Marvin Speh, co-founder of Room Price Genie, at the No Vacancy Expo, held at the ICCC in Sydney last month.