More and more markets picked up two related concepts: time-based pricing and more efficient use of so-called “vanishing assets” – or capital goods that generate revenue only as they are used. Airlines and hotels were among the first to use time-based pricing, but now consumers can be targeted by anyone from a manicurist to an airport massage booth.
ROME – Back in the late 1980’s, I attended a conference on “revenue management,” or the art of pricing airline seats to get maximize yield. Too high, and you lost business; too low, and you got less than people were willing to pay. Most of the speakers were from the airline industry, which already knew the tricks. Many of the listeners were from the hotel business; they were just learning. As a customer, I felt as if I had penetrated the enemy’s strategy session.
ROME – Back in the late 1980’s, I attended a conference on “revenue management,” or the art of pricing airline seats to get maximize yield. Too high, and you lost business; too low, and you got less than people were willing to pay. Most of the speakers were from the airline industry, which already knew the tricks. Many of the listeners were from the hotel business; they were just learning. As a customer, I felt as if I had penetrated the enemy’s strategy session.