Rate shopper

A rate shopper in the hospitality industry is a software solution that helps hoteliers monitor and compare market rates. A part of the revenue management toolset, it’s also sometimes referred to as market intelligence software.

Rate shopping tools automatically collect pricing data from multiple online sources (hotels’ own websites, OTAs, metasearch engines, market data providers, etc.), process it (data mapping is often required), and present it in a convenient, comparable form. This way, hoteliers can monitor competitors’ prices, ensure rate parity, and benchmark their performance metrics. 

With the help of advanced analytics algorithms, some rate shoppers can also forecast customer demand, allowing hoteliers to optimize their pricing strategy according to current market conditions.

Some popular rate shopping platforms are Amadeus RevenueStrategy360, Rate Insight, and Hotel Price Reporter.