Balaton Colors: Profit Margin Up Nearly 35%

“Beyond the growth, what we liked most was that we did not have to hand pricing over blindly. The system automates a great deal, but we always know what is happening and can step in whenever necessary.”

Győző operates several properties around Lake Balaton and moved his first five properties to RoomRaiser in 2025. The portfolio includes apartment buildings and hotels, with both seasonal and year-round operations. The properties have between 20 and 50 rooms, and they all operate under lease agreements. This makes profitability especially important, because rent represents a significant fixed cost for the operator.

The group had previously worked with an external revenue management provider, so it already understood the benefits of dynamic pricing. The question was not whether revenue management was needed, but how it could be operated cost-effectively across several properties over the long term while retaining control over decisions. There were two problems with the external provider: the service cost approximately HUF 3.5 million per year, and the operator lacked transparency and control, as Győző explained:

Why they switched

“What mattered to us was not outsourcing pricing blindly. We needed to see what was happening and why. RoomRaiser helped us with that: it automates the process without taking the decision out of our hands.”

This became the most important reason for switching. The group was not simply looking for a cheaper solution, but for a system that supports decisions without replacing the operator.

What changed after introducing RoomRaiser?

After RoomRaiser was introduced, the results improved and the pricing process became simpler. Previously, the rates of every property had to be reviewed separately, market changes were tracked manually, and pricing decisions had to be made from information collected across several sources.

Today, the daily routine looks completely different:

• Pricing recommendations are generated automatically and shown in one structured interface.
• The team does not need to reprice every property manually.
• Competitor monitoring forms part of the daily workflow.
• All five properties can follow a consistent pricing logic.
• Users can approve or adjust recommendations whenever necessary.
• The portfolio remains manageable without a dedicated revenue manager.

Győző summarizes it simply: “I look at the recommendations in the morning, review them, and I am done. Sometimes I do not even look at them, while at other times I adjust the prices—for example, if only higher-category rooms remain for a particular night.”

The results

• +35% relative improvement
• HUF 2m for all five properties
• 5 properties
• +11% revenue
• Lake Balaton region
• More than one year using RoomRaiser

During the first year with RoomRaiser, the hotel group’s combined revenue increased by 11%. The regional NTAK figures cited in the case study showed 6–9% market growth over the same period. Based on these rounded numbers, the portfolio’s growth was 2–5 percentage points above that range; the figures alone do not show how much of the difference was caused by RoomRaiser. Even more important than revenue, however, was how much of it remained as profit. Because the properties operate under leases, every additional unit of revenue is especially valuable.

After RoomRaiser was introduced, the revenue-related profit margin increased from 9.2% to 12.4%, a relative improvement of almost 35% in the margin.

The reported annual revenue management spend also fell: the former service cost HUF 3.5 million per year for one hotel, while RoomRaiser cost HUF 2 million per year for all five properties combined. These figures cover different numbers of properties, so they are not a like-for-like comparison of service prices.

What did the hotel group achieve?

• +11% revenue
• 2–5 percentage points higher growth than the cited regional range
• Nearly +35% relative improvement in profit margin
• HUF 2 million per year in revenue management fees for five properties
• Successful implementation across five properties
• Automated daily pricing recommendations
• Full control over pricing decisions

Would you like to learn what RoomRaiser could achieve for your property?

During a short demonstration, we will show you how the system works in practice, which data it uses, how pricing recommendations are created, and what results other Hungarian accommodation providers have achieved.

Request a personalized online demonstration!

What does this mean for other accommodation providers?

Most accommodation providers already understand that dynamic pricing provides a competitive advantage.

The more practical question is how to introduce it so that it:

• does not require several hours of manual work each day,
• remains scalable across multiple properties,
• allows the operator to retain control over decisions,
• and delivers genuine business results.

Győző’s story shows that these goals can be achieved together.

The practical takeaway

The Balaton Colors example shows that revenue management does not have to mean giving up pricing control or building a large specialist team. With a transparent workflow, five different properties can follow a consistent pricing logic while the operator still reviews and adjusts recommendations when local knowledge matters.

The customer reported lower annual revenue management spend for a different service scope, an 11% increase in revenue and a nearly 35% relative improvement in profit margin. The practical lesson is to use technology to make better decisions faster while keeping responsibility with the team.