Revenue management is an important component of any organization, particularly in industries that have been directly impacted by economic uncertainty. In these instances, the ability to properly view and analyze data to determine potential revenue has become increasingly vital.

Ankur Randev is the vice president of revenue and distribution at Highgate Hotels. Working in the hospitality industry, he understands that unforeseen factors like weather can have a drastic impact on revenue, but he is optimistic about the future of his organization and position because he knows that big data will play a much larger role going forward. One of the key advantages of using data to determine revenue is that there are more channels to view information, thus giving professionals like himself more data to work with.

However, speaking with the online publication Hospitality Net, Randev warned businesses to ensure they are using high-quality data. More importantly, he said they should learn to capitalize on the information they do have.

“The biggest hurdle is that businesses do not fully understand the value of customer data,” he said. “While a lot of organizations have embarked on building customer databases, it’s important that the quality of that data is constantly refined. From the top down, all departments must embrace the fact and understand that every guest interaction is an opportunity to build on that database.”

To fulfill this need, companies can build a custom database software system that can give users a fully detailed view of customer behavior and any other factor that could potentially impact revenue.