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Digital transformation and revenue management: Evidence from the hotel industry

Author

Listed:
  • Ziad Alrawadieh

    (54658University of Jordan, Jordan)

  • Zaid Alrawadieh

    (37516Istanbul University Cerrahpasa, Turkey)

  • Gurel Cetin

    (37516Istanbul University, Turkey)

Abstract

To maximize their revenues and protect their market share against traditional competitors (e.g. formal lodging businesses) and disruptive business models (e.g. Airbnb), the lodging industry increasingly relies on technology in various operations. However, the extent to which hotels adopt technology innovation in their revenue management (RM) operations, as well as the benefits of and barriers for digitalization, remains unclear. Moreover, the possible impacts of digital transformation on the future of revenue managers’ professions have been largely overlooked in previous studies. Drawing on qualitative data collected through 23 semistructured interviews with revenue managers in luxury and upscale hotels across Jordan, the findings suggest that RM is going through digital transformation with different levels of sophistication. While acknowledging the benefits of digital transformation in saving time, supporting the decision-making process, and yielding more revenues, the high cost of RM software emerges as a key barrier for digital transformation. The findings also reveal that the automation of various manual heuristics in RM is far from being possible, and therefore, digital transformation is unlikely to pose a threat to the future of the RM profession.

Suggested Citation

  • Ziad Alrawadieh & Zaid Alrawadieh & Gurel Cetin, 2021. "Digital transformation and revenue management: Evidence from the hotel industry," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(2), pages 328-345, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:toueco:v:27:y:2021:i:2:p:328-345
    DOI: 10.1177/1354816620901928
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Crespo Catarina & Gomes Conceição & Malheiros Cátia & Santos Luís Lima, 2023. "Determinants and COVID-19 effects on RevPAR: The case of Europe," European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, Sciendo, vol. 13(1), pages 97-109, December.
    3. Ruiyi Zhao & Ling Li, 2024. "Does digitalization always benefit cultural, sports, and tourism enterprises quality? Unveiling the inverted U-shaped relationship from a resource and capability perspective," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Antonio Farías & Christian A. Cancino, 2021. "Digital Transformation in the Chilean Lodging Sector: Opportunities for Sustainable Businesses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Liping Fu & Jie Yang & Yongqing Dong & Tong Pei, 2025. "How does information and communication technology promote tourism development? Evidence from the e-commerce pilot city policy in China," Tourism Economics, , vol. 31(2), pages 332-358, March.
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    7. Bruno Albuquerque & Susana Cró & Nuno Moutinho & António Miguel Martins, 2025. "Stock market effects of CrowdStrike IT outage on largest listed hotel companies," Tourism Economics, , vol. 31(7), pages 1452-1464, November.
    8. Feiyu Hu & Jun Pan & Haijun Wang, 2024. "Unveiling the spatial and temporal variation of customer sentiment in hotel experiences: a case study of Beppu City, Japan," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    9. Michael S Lin & Hyejo Hailey Shin & Seunghun Shin, 2025. "The economic impacts of information and communication technologies in the tourism and hospitality industry: A systematic review of the literature," Tourism Economics, , vol. 31(2), pages 165-182, March.
    10. Natalie Haynes & David Egan, 2024. "Transient price setting in the era of automated systems: the ‘hands-on’ hotel general manager lives on!," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(1), pages 28-38, February.
    11. Abdullah Hamoud Ali Seraj & Ahmed Mohamed Hasanein & Bassam Samir Al-Romeedy & Mohammed N. Elziny, 2025. "Redefining the Digital Frontier: Digital Leadership, AI, and Innovation Driving Next-Generation Tourism and Hospitality," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-25, September.
    12. Zaynab Asbeetah & Ahmad Alzubi & Amir Khadem & Kolawole Iyiola, 2025. "Harnessing Digital Transformation for Sustainable Performance: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Green Knowledge Acquisition and Innovation Performance Under Digital Transformational Leadership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-32, March.
    13. Alderighi, Marco & Nava, Consuelo R. & Calabrese, Matteo & Christille, Jean-Marc & Salvemini, Chiara B., 2022. "Consumer perception of price fairness and dynamic pricing: Evidence from Booking.com," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 769-783.
    14. Armindo Frias & Erza Raskova & Álvaro Costa & João Cabral, 2021. "Obtaining Data Values from Tourist Preferences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-15, September.
    15. Sandra Janković & Kevin Grande & Vedran Zubović, 2025. "Indoor vs. outdoor hospitality: enhancing campsite revenue management implementation with MERMCAMP," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(4), pages 401-415, August.
    16. Cheng-Hui Wang & Chih-Lun Wu, 2025. "Synergizing Mentorship and Mindfulness with Innovation and Digital Transformation: A Strategic Framework for the Restaurant Industry ," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 7722-7756, June.

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