Kalibri Labs and Hotel Industry Associations Sign a Letter of Intent for Groundbreaking Commercial Strategy Certification Program

The first-of-its-kind industry certification, powered by Kalibri Labs, focuses on techniques to operate profitably in a digitally disrupted market.

TORONTO, June 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kalibri Labs, an innovative data science leader in hotel performance analytics and benchmarking, announced a groundbreaking initiative, which will be supported by multiple industry associations, that will revolutionize the approach of hoteliers in a market dominated by digital disruption.

In a strategic collaboration, Kalibri Labs and leading industry associations including AAHOA, HFTP, and HSMAI, will launch the first-ever Commercial Strategy Certification Program. This announcement follows the recent release of "Demystifying the Digital Market & Guide to Commercial Strategy", published in partnership with Hotel Business, a market leader in delivering insights to owners and operators. The new certification program will provide practical tools and techniques to hotel operators faced with increasing challenges of operating profitably in a marketplace with rapidly rising costs.

The Commercial Strategy Certification Program, powered by Kalibri Labs, will address the emerging discipline of commercial strategy as an imperative for hoteliers operating in a world of digital disruption. The online certification program will emphasize the importance of growing asset value as a measure of success and introduce the concept of profit contribution as a critical component in commercial decision-making.

Traditional approaches to commercial techniques have typically focused on maximizing revenue. However, the Commercial Strategy Certification Program will underscore the added significance of growing asset value by focusing on profit contribution. This shift in perspective aims to ensure hotel professionals consider the bottom line in commercial spending decisions, such as those around advertising, sales deployment, digital campaigns, and loyalty initiatives.

Recognizing the need for a comprehensive and multidisciplinary curriculum, the program will be developed and implemented with guidance from an expert advisory board comprising renowned industry thought leaders, academics, and experienced practitioners. The curriculum will encompass many topics from calculation of asset value to tradeoff analysis and assessing actions related to a hotel's business mix.

Cindy Estis Green, CEO and Co-founder of Kalibri Labs expressed the value and impact: "In working on the certification with one of my co-authors on the book, Dave Roberts from the faculty of Cornell's Hotel School, we recognize that a rigorous certification will define a standard of excellence and convey the necessary skills and knowledge to advance the emerging discipline of commercial strategy throughout the industry. It is a critical toolkit to manage effectively with the high costs of operating in today's marketplace."

The participating organizations will target various roles, including on-property and above-property general managers, financial and accounting managers, hotel owners, asset managers, and commercial teams consisting of revenue, sales, marketing, and digital leaders to gain deeper expertise in this new approach. With digital disruption significantly impacting profitability, acquiring the necessary skills to navigate these challenges becomes crucial for sustained success.

Several prominent industry figures have voiced their support for the program. Frank Wolfe, HFTP CEO, explains, "This is a sea change in the hotel industry, and we want to be part of it. We recognize the significant transformation in how hotels go to market and are committed to contributing to this evolution."

Bob Gilbert, President and CEO of the largest hospitality sales and marketing professional society in the world (HSMAI), also expressed enthusiasm, emphasizing that "commercial strategy certification is a vehicle to sustaining a healthy hotel ecosystem in the decades to come. Leadership in revenue management, sales, marketing and digital have already started to come together in integrated planning and decision making, and the commercial strategy framework will facilitate this process."

"Hoteliers at various levels must grasp the vital importance of evaluating performance based on profit contribution," said Bharat Patel, AAHOA Chairman. "At present, the burden of debt service has doubled, while labor costs have surged since the pandemic. Consequently, owners are scrutinizing every dollar. A primary avenue to improve asset value lies in growing a hotel's profit contribution. The main controllable element for a hotel lies in managing customer acquisition expenses by being selective about the business mix pursued."

Upon successful certification, each team can adapt its own commercial strategy playbook according to its specific portfolio and organizational structure. The Commercial Strategy Certification Program is projected to launch by the close of 2023.

About Kalibri Labs
Kalibri Labs evaluates and forecasts revenue and cost of acquisition performance in the digital marketplace. Our next-generation Hummingbird^PXM platform is the only hotel benchmarking and reporting solution driven by AI and machine learning.

Hummingbird^PXM is built on a robust database of daily transactions and cost of acquisition data gathered weekly from almost 35,000 hotels. Using advanced algorithms, the platform enables owners and operators to determine a hotel's optimal business mix and manage resources to achieve it. Kalibri Labs unpacks the composition of RevPAR to describe market demand by rate category and channel assisting hotel owners and operators to develop strategies that improve profit contribution, which leads to higher asset values. Tapped regularly by the real estate and investment community, the Kalibri Labs database supports hotel transactions and financial restructuring by brokers, lenders, appraisers, and financial consultants. For more information, visit www.kalibrilabs.com.

About HFTP
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), established in 1952, is a hospitality nonprofit association headquartered in Austin, Texas USA with offices in the EU and Middle East. HFTP is recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP uniquely understands the industry's pressing issues, and assists its stakeholders in finding solutions to their challenges more efficiently than any organization. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, research, leadership opportunities and conferences and events. HFTP produces international events throughout the year, including the world's largest hospitality technology tradeshow and conference brand: HITEC. In addition, it oversees the hospitality-specific Pineapplesearch.com® and the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI). For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org. For the latest news, visit the HFTP News page at news.hftp.org and the HFTP Connect blog at blog.hftp.org.
For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org

About HSMAI
The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners and is the industry's leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals and their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as the Marketing Strategy Conference, Adrian Awards, Sales Leader Forum, and HSMAI ROC. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is a membership organization comprising more than 5,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at hsmai.org.

About AAHOA
AAHOA is the largest hotel owner's association in the nation, with Member-owned properties representing a significant part of the U.S. economy. AAHOA's 20,000 members own 60% of the hotels in the United States and are responsible for 1.7% of the nation's GDP. More than one million employees work at AAHOA member-owned hotels, earning $47 billion annually, and member-owned hotels support 4.2 million U.S. jobs across all sectors of the hospitality industry. AAHOA's mission is to advance and protect the business interests of hotel owners through advocacy, industry leadership, professional development, member benefits, and community engagement.

SOURCE Kalibri Labs