In a constantly evolving hospitality landscape, the significance of forecasting cannot be overstated. Traditionally, forecasting has relied on a combination of market trends and personal intuition, often without rigorous testing or validation. However, today's AI capabilities offer the potential to merge these elements more effectively, promising more precise forecasts. The collaborative synergy of human expertise and AI's precision holds the promise of transforming predictions from mere educated guesses into actionable insights, grounded in the latest and most comprehensive data. AI-powered forecasting is not just an upgrade; it is poised to revolutionize how the hospitality industry charts its course forward.

To facilitate this transition, FLYR for Hospitality has introduced an innovative forecasting feature to its suite of revenue planning tools, poised to revolutionize the process of creating, managing, and sharing monthly forecasts with stakeholders.

We recently sat down with FLYR's Maria Garbea, who serves as a product manager and brings valuable experience as a former hospitality revenue manager (RM), and Matilde Adan, the product designer. Their unique perspectives shed light on how this new solution will benefit a wide range of individuals within organizations, from revenue managers to general managers and beyond.

Setting the Stage

As a product manager, Maria's role centers on comprehending business trends, identifying market gaps, and pinpointing user challenges. "We engage deeply with our users to understand their daily tasks," she explains. "We inquire about their pain points and goals, using this feedback to design solutions that enhance their efficiency and effectiveness."

Maria underscores the significance of feedback, which extends beyond existing customers to internal colleagues, industry experts, and potential clients. FLYR invests substantial time engaging directly with users, often in-person, to observe their problem-solving processes. Additionally, they actively participate in industry events to stay abreast of recent trends and stimulate meaningful discussions.

Matilde elaborates on her role in designing solutions that cater to user needs. "Once we grasp the problem, my job is to devise a solution that aligns seamlessly with our users' requirements. We continually test and refine the design, with a focus on making it not only user-friendly but also a source of improved efficiency."

She emphasizes adopting the customers' perspective throughout the design process, ensuring that the product enhances their daily experiences and perhaps even adds an element of enjoyment to their work.

Challenges in Forecasting

Matilde identifies specific challenges faced by FLYR for Hospitality's customers, challenges that have informed the development of their forecasting capabilities. "Our customers struggled with time constraints in effectively completing their tasks, and we needed to design a product to address this challenge."

Maria adds, "A significant hurdle was that users did not have all their data consolidated in one place. In the past, they had to export data from various sources into Excel spreadsheets. This required them to comb through previous forecasts and recent data trends before creating a new forecast to share with stakeholders."

Additionally, revenue managers and other forecasting stakeholders faced several challenges:

•    Managing multiple revenue streams, which often proved challenging to track in advance.

•    Collaborating with various departments, necessitating alignment of differing goals and coordination of efforts.

•    Achieving the desired level of forecast granularity within the allocated time frame.

Mati underscores the expectations within the industry, explaining, "Considering industry standards, revenue managers are typically expected to keep forecast deviations within about 5% of actuals. Given the limited resources at their disposal and the recent uncertainty in the hospitality sector, working within these margins is a remarkable feat."

Disrupting Conventional Approaches

The pursuit of the most reliable forecasting outcomes demands a fresh approach. Instead of adhering to traditional end-of-month forecasting practices, FLYR's experts anticipate a shift toward a more continuous forecasting model.

"Our solution is geared towards producing the most precise forecasts," Mati notes. "However, it is equally important for revenue managers to retain control over the narrative of forecasts and their distribution. Revenue managers should be able to discern when they need to rely solely on data and when they should enrich the forecast with unique insights, such as expected changes in demand or strategic initiatives. Equipping revenue managers with AI-driven data validated through backtesting is key to achieving the most accurate forecasts."

Maria chimes in, saying, "Our objective is to simplify the process for our customers, allowing them to confidently commit to their base forecast, whether on a monthly or weekly basis. We are essentially transforming what used to be a labor-intensive manual process."

A Glimpse into the Future

FLYR's product continues to evolve in response to changing customer needs. Maria highlights the possibility of enabling users to maintain multiple versions of forecasts. "Our users have expressed interest in this feature to facilitate comparison and lock in a final forecast version, which would remain unalterable for accuracy tracking."

She also mentions the prospect of enabling clients to customize their forecast views visually. "Different users have varying needs depending on their properties and data reading preferences. They want the flexibility to select the metrics they view and the order in which they appear, making forecasting as user-friendly as possible."

Fostering Innovation

The secret to FLYR's success lies in its team and organizational culture. Mati appreciates the freedom to create and emphasizes their customer-centric approach. "We derive much of our work from customer feedback. Witnessing users happily utilizing our product and deriving value from it is highly gratifying."

Mati also commends FLYR's culture, which has allowed her to work from both Spain and Sicily. She highlights the company's Advisory department, consisting of former revenue managers from the industry. "They are a source of truth alongside our customers. If they don't have the answers, they steer me in the right direction. That's one of the reasons I enjoy working here; we have the resources to get things done."

Maria highlights the organization's empowerment of teams to make decisions, emphasizing that it's not a top-down approach. 

She notes, "We feel empowered and accountable for the company's success. We work closely with our customers to chart our direction, listen to their feedback, build solutions that add value, and remain attuned to industry developments to continue adding value in the future. It's vital that we not only empower our clients to predict market movements through forecasting but also anticipate their future needs."

CLICK HERE to read the original article.