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Kate Brown, CHSL, Regional Vice President Sales, Aimbridge, Sales Advisory Board Member
During a recent HSMAI Sales Advisory Board discussion the group discussed how sales pressure has shifted toward profitable revenue, not just volume. Sales teams are expected to deliver margin without being taught how profitability works inside hotels. Many sellers have never been shown how concessions, space allocation, and food commitments affect the P&L. That gap shows quickly in deal quality, negotiation confidence, and friction with operations teams.
Sales leaders on the call talked about moving past pace and volume and into deal quality. Teaching profitability does not require turning sales teams into finance professionals, participants shared that profitability becomes practical when sellers can see how a group actually performs, before and after arrival. To do this, sales leaders walk their teams through the P&L to offer context. Once sellers understand cost per occupied room, food costs, labor, and flow-through, they stop selling blind
Financial literacy was seen as the biggest tool for long-term behavior change. Some highlights included:
- Displacement analysis reframed as profitability analysis
- Fast inputs and simple outputs speed decision-making
- When margin replaces rate as the focus, negotiations tighten
- Operations become a partner because they share a language
The group stressed that its best when reinforcement happens consistently through regular commercial rhythms. Weekly commercial calls anchored in P&L performance keep profitability top of mind and post-event reviews close the loop between forecasted profit and actual results.
These conversations explain why TRevPAR matters. One participant summarized the shift clearly: “It’s no longer dates, rates, and space, it’s also profitability.”
Recommended Reading
- Evolving Dynamics 4th Edition – Displacement Analysis.pdf
- Hotel Profitability Guide: How to Perform a Hotel Profitability Analysis | NetSuite
- Maximize Hotel Profitability Margins With Key Strategies
- Hotel Profitability Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide
Questions for Teams
- How are you teaching profitability concepts in a sales-friendly way and embedding profit-focused decision-making into daily selling behaviors?
- How do you measure hotel profitability?
- What drives hotel profitability?
- How can sales & revenue contribute to hotel profitability?
- How can you upsell/cross-sell effectively to drive profitability?
- Why does TRevPAR matter?