08 March 2006...The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA -www.ih-ra.com) is delighted to announce a new partnership with The Bench (http://www.thebench.com/), a web-based management tool that gives hotels around the globe access to daily market information that can support revenue management strategies, increase RevPAR penetration and maximize returns.
“By partnering with The Bench, IH&RA is enhancing its member benefits to all hotels, be they large branded properties or small independent operators.? The Bench not only provides daily market information but also value for money by making this innovative tool accessible to the industry at large - and at preferential rates to IHRA members,”said IH&RA CEO David McMillan.
Jamie Chappell, Managing Director of The Bench said, “the Bench is delighted to have formed a close association with the hotel industries’ leading organization, the IH&RA. The information that The Bench provides will be a valuable addition to the management tools currently available to the IH&RA’ members. Together with the Association, The Bench will work hard to provide critical performance data to managers to allow for scientific pricing decisions that drive bottom line results. We look forward to a long partnership with the Association and all of its members.” Why The Bench?
The Bench allows users to compare Average rate, Occupancy and RevPAR against markets in over 80 destinations around the globe on a daily basis. The user will see their market penetration, fair market share and ranking against the market, giving them the ability to fine tune yield and revenue strategy and pick up on market trends faster than ever before.? Special Benefits to IH&RA members, including hotels that belong to their national hotel association
As a new IH&RA partner, The Bench is making a very affordable proposition to encourage individual hotel properties to join.? All individual properties that are IH&RA members, including all those that belong to their local, national or regional hotel association, can register to The Bench for 900 euros per year - which represents 20% discount off the public rate.?? IH&RA hotel chain members get 5% discount off The Bench Head Office Version - giving access to all branded properties worldwide.? Once a member of The Bench, hotels can then access daily targeted market information available on-line 24-hours a day, access a huge database of hotel performance and can personalize reports, compare against hotels in their competitive set in their own city - or choose to compare with over 1800 hotels in over 80 destinations around the globe.? The user can personalize and create as many different reports at no additional cost.
As part of the partnership with IH&RA, The Bench will also provide complimentary regular updates on overall market performance by region which will be made available via the IH&RA website.