Overview
This role is responsible for establishing and leading the revenue management function for a river cruise portfolio. The position owns pricing, inventory, and yield strategy to maximize total revenue and contribution across all channels and markets. It involves close collaboration with deployment planning, product, finance, sales, marketing, and operational partners to set commercial strategies for pricing, yield, promotions, and onboard revenue.
Responsibilities
- Build and lead the river cruise revenue management function, establishing best-practice processes, governance, and tools.
- Develop and implement comprehensive pricing, yield, and inventory strategies for all sailings, cabins, itineraries, markets, and distribution channels.
- Align pricing strategies with capacity planning and fleet deployment in partnership with deployment planning.
- Manage fare-setting, cabin category pricing, promotional strategy, discounting guardrails, and override governance.
- Oversee daily and strategic inventory decisions including cabin optimization, holds, group allotments, and allocation across channels.
- Ensure accurate and timely setup of products, pricing, promotions, and offers across all systems.
- Build accurate and dynamic demand forecasts by sailing, itinerary, region, and channel.
- Analyze market trends, competitive pricing, booking pace, and historical performance to inform revenue decisions.
- Create and maintain dashboards tracking load factor, revenue per guest, yield, pace, and promotional effectiveness.
- Collaborate with sales and direct-to-consumer marketing to align pricing and offers with channel strategy and revenue goals.
- Work closely with touring yield and revenue teams to maximize cross-selling opportunities.
- Partner with product, operations, and operational partners to ensure commercial plans reflect guest value, cost structures, and operational considerations.
- Collaborate with finance on budgeting, forecasting, and performance reporting.
- Support development of onboard revenue strategies including excursions, drinks packages, experiences, retail, and concessions.
Success Criteria
- Achieve and exceed budgeted load factor targets by sailing, itinerary, and season.
- Meet or surpass average selling price goals by sailing, itinerary, and season.
- Deliver year-over-year growth in net revenue per guest.
- Hit booking pace milestones for key sailings and commercial periods.
- Reduce reliance on discounting while maintaining revenue and load factor goals.
- Provide accurate and reliable revenue and load factor forecasting.
- Balance revenue objectives across trade, direct-to-consumer, and international markets.
Key Competencies
- Collaboration: Build strong cross-team relationships to achieve shared goals.
- Courage & Decision Making: Make confident, timely decisions and challenge the status quo.
- Quality & Attention to Detail: Ensure accuracy and high standards to minimize risk and rework.
Requirements
- Minimum 5 years of progressive experience in revenue or yield management within cruise, travel, or hospitality sectors.
- Proven success in building or transforming a revenue management function.
- Experience managing pricing and inventory in multi-channel, multi-region environments.
- Strong commercial acumen with demonstrated results in revenue, yield, and load factor targets.
- Experience collaborating with sales, marketing, product, and finance teams in matrixed or functional organizations.
- Highly analytical with advanced skills interpreting complex data sets.
- Strong leadership and influencing skills across cross-functional partners.
- Expert knowledge of pricing strategy, demand forecasting, and yield optimization.
- Excellent communication skills for presenting insights and recommendations to senior leadership.
- Detail-oriented and structured, comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
- Proficiency with revenue management platforms relevant to cruise, hospitality, or travel.
- Experience with Salesforce CRM.
- Advanced skills in Power BI and Excel (pivot tables, modeling, automation).
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint, Outlook, Word).
- Preferred experience with digital commerce, dynamic pricing, or modern revenue management tools.
Travel Requirements
- Up to 10% domestic and international travel required, including ship visits, product reviews, and supplier/partner meetings.
Compensation
- Annual salary range: $103,000 - $110,000
Location