Informative sessions? Insightful speakers? Unparalleled networking opportunities? That’s what is on the schedule for the next few days at the inaugural Apartment Revenue Management Conference. Kickoff is Monday, September 12 at 5:30 with our Welcome Networking Reception.
Monday also happens to be the kickoff of the 42nd season of Monday Night Football—a doubleheader with New England at Miami (7:00) and Oakland at Denver (10:30).
So, football and revenue management. Interesting combination and it got me to thinking: We’ll have the top revenue management minds in the country gathered in Scottsdale at the conference. I wonder if they could show us how to employ yield optimization strategies in online betting to maximize our earnings? Hmmm, I wonder….
No, seriously, there is a great example of how revenue management works in the sports world, particularly in regard a certain product’s value in different market segments. That product? Super Bowl tickets.
Consider this: The average price for Super Bowl XXX tickets was $250 if purchased from the National Football League. However, the going rate for tickets in the secondary market was $1,450. That meant people who were able to purchase tickets directly enjoyed an average consumer surplus of $1,200. Talk about revenue.
What it boiled down to was perceived value; that is, certain customers valued the Super Bowl tickets more than others and happily paid more for them.
Revenue management techniques are extremely useful in dealing with opportunities presented by the variance to values that a product represents to different customer segments. In fact, the survival of your business may depend on your ability to identify such opportunities and capture that consumer surplus.
At the conference, you’ll learn more about RM tactics—market-based pricing, segment pricing and forecasting on the micromarket level—that will help you best deal with the differences in how market segments value your products.
I look forward to seeing you there.
P.S. Even though I don’t really know much about football – my picks: Pats over the Dolphins and Broncos over the Raiders.




