After the Pandemic, Accor changed the Revenue Management business structure, moving the Revenue managers out of the hotels and into hubs. Emergent leaders would be responsible for a couple of hotels, while the Professional Leaders would work with the GMs and Owners to develop pricing strategies. These leaders became the connection between the Hotel Management company and the hotels, a new role for them. Then the Strategic Leaders would manage teams and multiple hubs.
With such a change in how the hotel GMs and owners worked with the new revenue management structure, there was a need for a new mindset for Revenue Managers, a more commercial mindset that would change how they behave and interact to achieve success.
Heyward Group was commissioned to develop training for the three different levels of leaders, to assist Revenue Managers in operating in the new business structure.
Emergent Leaders
Heyward Group joined with RevSIM, a revenue simulation, 6 months of managing a hotel, dealing with communications from department heads, and making decisions not only on pricing strategy but also on whether to spend money on things like staff training and promotions, while competing with the other participants. At the end of each round, they joined together in an online group session to receive feedback and engage in questioning.
Professional Leaders
These leaders played a pivotal role between the hotel and the hotel Management company. To be able to work collaboratively, developing human skills that fostered a successful working relationship with the GMs was essential. They learned the 5 skills needed to collaborate, dealing with Defensiveness, handling difficult conversations and being able to problem solve through interest-based negotiations (from Radical Collaboration)
Strategic Leaders
These leaders needed to achieve success through the hubs that they managed. Therefore, understanding the elements needed to develop effective teams and the different methods to manage change formed the basis for their training.
Heyward Group designed bespoke training programmes tailored to the three tiers of leadership, ensuring Revenue Managers could thrive within the new business structure. For Emergent Leaders, Heyward Group partnered with RevSIM to deliver a 6-month revenue simulation in 6 weeks, immersing participants in hotel management decisions, including pricing strategies and budget allocations for staff training and promotions. Throughout the simulation, leaders responded to communications from department heads and competed with their peers, culminating in regular online group sessions for feedback and in-depth discussion. The programme ended with each participant presenting a face-to-face business review, giving insights into their Simulated hotel.
Professional Leaders, who acted as the link between hotels and the Management company, received training focused on developing essential human skills for effective collaboration. This included mastering five critical skills for working together, managing defensiveness, navigating difficult conversations, and resolving issues through interest-based negotiation techniques inspired by Radical Collaboration. The programme included two coaching sessions to give time and space to review the challenges they were experiencing.
For Strategic Leaders, the training emphasised building high-performing teams and managing change across multiple hubs. The programme equipped them with the elements required for effective teams (based on Patrick Leconci’s work). As change continued throughout the company, building the leader’s knowledge in different methods of Change Management to support their hubs’ unique situations.
The training for Strategic Leaders focused on developing high-performing teams and managing change across multiple hubs. The programme provided essential components for effective teamwork, drawing from Patrick Lencioni’s research. As change persisted throughout the company, the training also expanded leaders’ understanding of various Change Management methods to address the unique circumstances within their respective hubs. This knowledge would help strategic leaders support the revenue management hubs and drive commercial success.
Emergent leaders demonstrated their ability to look beyond the data, focusing on the factors that shaped outcomes. As the program progressed, their judgment sharpened, allowing them to deliver thorough market analyses and provide actionable insights for decision-makers.
Professional leaders strengthened their relationships with hotel general managers and colleagues. Their behavioural shift positively affected their own performance and influenced the wider team, helping everyone focus on improved results. Additionally, these leaders tackled challenging issues in supportive coaching environments, which empowered them to take decisive action and develop greater focus.
Strategic leaders encountered a fresh wave of changes initiated by the Hotel Management company the following week. Equipped with new tools from the program, they were ready to guide their teams through these transitions.
“The content in the sessions was well presented and easily digestible. The simulation and the exercises (pitch, RFPs) were very helpful for thinking through and applying the knowledge gained in the sessions. I learned so much more about P&Ls through this programme than I did in a dedicated training session I attended on the topic last year.”
“The program, through its approach, allows you to pause and reflect on your own behaviours and what has been driving them. At the same time, it provides concrete methods for navigating certain situations effectively. Long-term vision is key, trust others and remain open-minded, but not to the point of blind trust. That we judge ourselves by intentions and others by their behaviour. Stressful situations are not necessarily bad, we need to face them and practice with simple techniques to feel more confident and grow.”
“The course has helped me gain a much better understanding of myself and how I approach change, as well as the processes my team may go through. It has given me insights into my strengths and areas for improvement, which have been valuable for personal growth. Additionally, I now have a clearer perspective on how different processes work within the team, which will help me collaborate more effectively and streamline workflows moving forward.”
