| Driving Revenue | Building Culture | Inspiring Success
| Driving Revenue | Building Culture | Inspiring Success
Success Story: How The St. Anthony Became the Market Leader in Total Revenue Performance
A Strategic Approach to Post-Pandemic Revenue Recovery
Overview
Coming out of the pandemic, The St. Anthony faced an evolving hospitality landscape. With business travel lagging, group bookings slower to recover, and guest expectations shifting, the challenge was clear: rebuild revenue while maintaining the hotel’s position as a market leader in luxury hospitality.
Rather than relying solely on room revenue, The St. Anthony took a Total Revenue Per Available Room (TRevPAR) approach, optimizing all revenue streams, including F&B, events, and premium guest experiences. By 2023, these strategies secured the hotel’s #1 ranking in TRevPAR within its competitive set—outpacing the market in total revenue generation.
The Strategy: A Multi-Faceted Revenue Approach
1. TRevPAR-Centric Revenue Management
Instead of chasing occupancy at the expense of profitability, The St. Anthony focused on rate integrity, strategic mix management, and optimizing high-margin revenue streams.
✔ Balanced room revenue with premium F&B, event, and experience-driven revenue.
✔ Preserved rate leadership while selectively using promotions to drive high-value demand.
✔ Maintained strong TRevPAR index growth, outperforming comp set benchmarks.
🏆 Key Win: By 2023, The St. Anthony ranked #1 in TRevPAR vs. its competitive set, improving its position from #3 in 2019.
2. Digital-First Demand Generation
The hotel’s marketing efforts were tightly integrated with revenue management, ensuring that every digital campaign aligned with the TRevPAR-focused strategy.
✔ Targeted digital campaigns highlighting premium experiences, driving high-spend guests.
✔ Expedia Travel Ads leveraged strategically to capture demand without undercutting rates.
✔ Social media activations, influencer collaborations, and hyper-local campaigns maximized reach.
📈 Key Win: The St. Anthony’s digital campaigns achieved a record-high engagement rate, directly influencing high-margin bookings and premium F&B spend.
3. F&B & Group Strategy: The Power of Ancillary Revenue
Rather than focusing solely on room sales, The St. Anthony invested in high-impact F&B experiences and event-driven revenue strategies to elevate total property revenue.
✔ Curated dining experiences, special event activations, and premium bar programming drove F&B index growth.
✔ Targeted group sales strategies shifted focus to high-yielding, experience-driven bookings.
✔ Event spaces were maximized for revenue, ensuring that every activation contributed to TRevPAR.
🍽 Key Win: By 2023, The St. Anthony ranked #1 in F&B revenue vs. its competitive set, with a significant increase in TRevPAR contribution from non-room revenue.
4. Recruiting & Service Culture Training: Building a Revenue-Driven Team
To sustain its recovery and deliver consistent, high-touch luxury service, The St. Anthony launched an aggressive recruitment and training initiative that strengthened its workforce.
✔ Innovative Recruiting Campaigns:
Developed a rich recruiting website to provide a seamless experience for applicants and highlight the hotel's culture and career opportunities.
Launched a social-first recruitment strategy using targeted digital ads, downtown signage, and referral programs to attract top talent.
Developed QR-code job cards, posters, and stickers, making it seamless for potential applicants to apply and easy for our associates to recruit co-workers.
Expanded applicant pool by 60% over pre-pandemic levels, resolving key staffing gaps.
✔ Tailored Service Culture Training:
Designed a post-pandemic training program to equip both new and returning associates with the skills needed to meet evolving guest expectations.
Reinforced The St. Anthony’s award-winning hospitality culture, ensuring every guest interaction contributed to revenue growth.
Trained associates to drive incremental spend through personalized service, upselling, and experience curation.
🌟 Key Win: The service culture and recruitment initiatives played a direct role in enhancing TRevPAR, ensuring that every guest touchpoint contributed to total revenue growth.
The Results: Market Leadership in Total Revenue Performance
By shifting from a traditional RevPAR mindset to a TRevPAR-focused strategy, The St. Anthony emerged as the market leader in total revenue generation by 2023.
📊 TRevPAR Performance Highlights (2019-2023):
✔ Ranked #1 in TRevPAR vs. competitive set by 2023 (previously #3 in 2019).
✔ TRevPAR Index increased significantly, outperforming comp set benchmarks.
✔ F&B & event-driven revenue became a primary driver of total revenue growth.
✔ Service culture investments and recruitment efforts directly impacted guest engagement and incremental revenue.
Final Takeaway
The St. Anthony’s success story is a testament to the power of a TRevPAR-driven strategy—where room revenue is only one piece of the puzzle. By optimizing total property revenue, leveraging digital marketing, reinforcing service culture, and rebuilding a high-performing team, The St. Anthony secured its place as the top-performing luxury hotel in its market.
Case Study: Transforming URBN Events – A Revenue Growth Story
From Small Business to Scaling Success
In 2019, URBN Events, a photobooth company with just one full-time employee (the owner) and a couple of contractors, faced challenges familiar to many small businesses. While the company's technical expertise and marketing were solid, revenue goals, pricing strategies, and employee training left room for improvement. Over the next five years, URBN Events grew into a thriving business with five full-time employees, 8–10 contractors, dozens of repeat corporate customers, and partnerships with key venues and Destination Management Companies (DMCs). Here's how we made it happen.
Challenges: The Starting Point
Small Team, Big Ambitions: Limited resources and staffing created operational bottlenecks and growth limitations.
Inconsistent Pricing & Margins: While marketing efforts generated demand, pricing strategies and desired profit margins weren't always aligned.
Lack of Structured Training: Technical training was in place, but no framework existed for elevating guest experiences or building a cohesive service culture.
Solutions: A Game-Changing Approach
The most immediate and transformative step was goal setting. Different things motivate different people, and for this owner, having clear, measurable goals became the catalyst for change. From there, we implemented a structured plan to tackle the company’s challenges:
Revenue Management:
Conducted detailed price studies to align with desired profit margins.
Implemented a forecasting system to analyze demand and pace, ensuring pricing reflected peak and slow periods.
Optimized discounting strategies to balance profitability and customer satisfaction.
Training for Excellence:
Designed and delivered guest experience training for photobooth attendants, empowering them to deliver exceptional service.
Built a service culture to complement the technical skills already in place.
Partnership Development:
Strengthened relationships with corporate customers, venues, and DMCs, leading to repeat business and partnerships.
Brand Revamp:
Worked with the owner to reposition the brand for long-term growth.
Results: Measurable Growth
The impact of these strategies is clear in the numbers:
Revenue Growth: A 247% increase in revenue from 2019 to 2023.
Team Expansion: Grew from a team of 1 to 5 full-time employees and 8–10 contractors.
Average Check Growth: A 198% increase in the average check size, reflecting a higher perceived value and improved service quality.
Client Retention: Established dozens of returning corporate customers and partnerships with top venues and DMCs.
Testimonial: What the Owner Has to Say
"Kelly has been instrumental in the growth of my business through her revenue consulting expertise. From pricing strategies and discounting to forecasting, revenue analysis, and sales optimization, she has provided invaluable insights that have helped me make smarter, data-driven decisions. Her ability to understand the unique challenges of the photobooth industry and craft strategies tailored to my business has been a game-changer."
– Ryan, Owner, URBN Events
Key Takeaways
Set Goals Early: Creating measurable goals motivated the owner and kick-started improvements.
Invest in Training: A focus on guest experience elevated client satisfaction and retention.
Leverage Downtime: The pandemic provided an opportunity to revamp the brand and retool for success.
Prioritize Data-Driven Decisions: Pricing and forecasting improvements led to sustainable growth.
Let’s Make This Your Story Too
URBN Events’ success story proves that small, strategic changes can create exponential growth. Whether you’re looking to revamp your brand, optimize revenue, or train your team for success, I can help.
Signature Styles By Brit
When Brit and I began working together, her entrepreneurial journey was just taking shape. I had the privilege of supporting her in several key areas, helping her lay the groundwork for a thriving business. Together, we:
Explored how to use AI tools effectively for creating content and scheduling posts, shaping a voice and tone that truly reflects her brand.
Expanded her social media presence with platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, providing guidance on setup and strategy.
Developed clear agreements for subcontracting, ensuring professional and streamlined collaborations.
Introduced her to another client who runs an organizing business and designed partnership packages that enhanced her client offerings.
Created service packages and pricing that accurately reflected her expertise and time, while empowering her to stand firm in her value.
Our collaboration was so inspiring that I trusted Brit with redesigning my own bathroom, guest room, and office spaces—she delivered beautifully!
Here's what Brit had to say about our work together:
Working with Kelly Haynie has been nothing short of transformative for my business and personal growth as a new entrepreneur. From day one, Kelly's expertise and passion for helping others succeed were evident. She guided me in creating proper content that resonates with my audience, ensuring my brand message was professional, clear, and engaging.
One of the most impactful collaborations she facilitated was connecting me with a professional organizer, which helped me streamline my processes and elevate my business operations. This collaboration allowed me to deliver a better client experience while staying organized and focused on growth.
Kelly also played a critical role in helping me establish a realistic business budget and pricing strategy. She taught me the importance of valuing my time and expertise, ensuring I was compensated fairly for my work. Her advice was especially empowering in situations where others suggested I work "for free" in exchange for exposure. Her words, "We don't need practice, you're a professional," became a turning point for me, giving me the confidence to stand firm in my worth.
What sets Kelly apart is her unwavering commitment to your success. She is always available with thoughtful advice, a fresh perspective, or a kind word of encouragement. She genuinely cares about your goals and goes above and beyond to help you achieve them. Whether it’s brainstorming ideas, refining your services, or providing the tools to tackle challenges, Kelly offers comprehensive support every step of the way.
If you’re a new or seasoned business owner looking for someone to help you navigate the complexities of building and growing a business, I cannot recommend Kelly Haynie enough. Her expertise, compassion, and dedication to her clients make her an invaluable partner in achieving success.
Signature Styles By Brit
Life-Changing Organization Leads to a Thriving Partnership
When I first met Angela, I was in the middle of a big life transition—my sons had just moved out, and I needed help getting my home back in order. I found Angela through a Nextdoor post, and hiring her to help organize my space was nothing short of life-changing. Her talent and eye for detail were incredible, and after hours of working together to get my life back on track, she asked for help taking her brand-new business to the next level.
We started by setting up her social media accounts and ensuring she had the tools to promote herself locally. I introduced her to ChatGPT, Canva, and DALL-E, giving her the skills to create and schedule posts with confidence. Together, we revamped her pricing, packages, and messaging, and in just a few months, her client base more than tripled. Now, she’s collaborating with another client, Signature Styles by Brit to offer comprehensive packages that help Brit’s clients stay organized in their beautifully redesigned spaces.
Here’s what Angela had to say about our work together:
Kelly has been an invaluable guide in growing my small business, Finding Function Home Organization. Her practical advice has shaped our company culture, fostering a supportive and goal-driven environment that has become the foundation of our success. From her innovative marketing strategies to her insights on client engagement, Kelly’s tips have directly resulted in closed deals, increased revenue, and a more streamlined approach to running my business. She has a remarkable ability to provide actionable ideas that align perfectly with my goals. I’m so grateful for her mentorship and the positive impact she’s had on both my business and my confidence as a leader.
