This document defines various terms used in the hotel industry related to distribution, pricing, revenue management, and reservations. Some key terms include: - Average Daily Rate (ADR) - Revenue from room sales divided by rooms sold - Best Available Rate (BAR) - The lowest published rate available to all guests - Central Reservation System (CRS) - Software used to manage reservations across channels - Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) - Daily room revenue divided by total available rooms - Revenue Management System (RMS) - Software used to control inventory and pricing to maximize profits The document provides concise definitions for over 50 common terms in areas such as pricing strategies, distribution channels, reservations systems, and performance

1. Same hotel. Better price.
Hotel Industry Terms

2. Alternative Distribution System (ADS)
Distribution using the Internet. (OTAs primarily)
Availability
The number of vacancies possibly for a specific type of accommodation for a specific set of
dates.
Average Daily Rate (ADR)
Figure derived by dividing actual daily revenue by the total number of rooms sold.
Average Length of Stay (ALOS)
Figure derived by dividing the number of room nights by the number of bookings.
Best Available Rate (BAR)
The lowest non-restricted rate bookable by all guests. This rate can change several times a week
up to several times a day. Also called Best Flexible Rate(BFR)
Best Rate Guarantee (BRG)
The promise that hotels or OTAs will the best rates on their own site as compared to any other
side for the same product.
Booking Engine (BE)
An application powering the hotels’ own brand site for reservation related information.
Central Reservation System (CRS)
The application used to manage a hotel’s distribution and hotel room bookings. Typically will
be used to reach guests via multiple distribution channels such as travel agencies (via GDS),
online travel agencies (such as Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline and others), direct to the
hotel website, and telephone (either via call center, direct to property or both).
Channel Management / Manager
Controlling the allocation of hotel inventory and rates across all distribution channels including
website, third parties, and the GDS. Effective channel management solutions should reduce
labor costs and improve efficiency by providing a centralize way to control multiple channels.
Close to Departure
A restriction by which the hotel can restrict any check outs on a specific day
Closed to Arrival
A room inventory control function that prevents reservations from arriving on that date.
Reservations can stay through the date.
Commission
That payment that a travel agent receives from a supplier for selling transportation,
accommodation or other services.
Hotel Industry Terms.

3. Demand Based Pricing
Applying revenue management principles to move rate based upon demand within the
marketplace and what the market will bear.
Demand Generators
Specific strategies or programs that attract or drive demand to the area or a specific hotel.
Distribution Strategy
Determining when and through what channels to sell rooms based upon the cost of acquisition
of the individual channel. By driving business to lower cost acquisition channels during high
demand periods, hotels can maximize their profitability.
Dynamic Packaging
The ability to create packages based upon the components the customer selects.
Early Bird
A promotion only available for advanced bookings where a minimum number of days are left
between the reservation and the date of check in, often a discounted rate with fencing.
Electronic Distribution (ED)
Encompasses all the electronic channels of distribution, which includes GDS, Online Travel
Agencies and Web Booking Engines. These distribution channels can be accessed through the
Internet, an intranet or through an interfaced connection.
Fair Market Share
A hotels individual percentage of the market they should reasonably expect to capture all things
being equal based upon their competitive set. Calculated by dividing the number of rooms at
the hotel by the total number of rooms in the competitive set (inclusive of the subject hotel).
Fences
Rate rules that may include restrictions such as advance booking cutoffs or non-refundable
payments.
Flash Sales
A promotional sale by a hotel that is available for purchase by the customers for a limited time
only
Global Distribution System (GDS)
A reservation platform started by code saring airline partners to enable reseravtions for Airlines.
Later on hotels, cars and cruise companies came on board. There are 4 major GDS companies.
Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus and WorldSpan (Galileo and WorldSpan are owned by Travelport) offer
a comprehensive travel shopping and reservation platform to travel agents worldwide. Agents
use one of these systems to book airline, car, hotel and other travel arrangements for their
customers. OTAs also use one or more GDS to power some or all of their content on their site.

4. Gross Operating Profit Per Available Room (GOPPAR)
Calculated as room revenue minus expenses divided by total rooms available. It is the new
RevPAR for owners.
Guest
A Guest is a person that is currently registered to stay at a property and/or has stayed at a
property.
Hotel
An individual property, or an enterprise that owns, manages, or franchises one or more
properties.
Hotel Market Intelligence
Hotel Market Intelligence is the gathering, analysis and dissemination of information relevant
to hotel markets. This information’s purpose is to help you make effective decisions concerning
the distribution of your hotel’s room nights. Is your hotel’s pricing competitive Is your hotel
performing well across channels? How are you doing head-to-head versus your nearby
competitors?
Hotel Revenue Management
Hotel Revenue Management is the process of understanding, anticipating and reacting to
consumer behavior to maximize revenue. Yield Management is also referred to as Revenue
Management.
Hotel System
Any system within the Hotel.
Hotel Web Site
The web site provided by the hotelier; the web presence for the Hotel that can be used to make
reservations and/or to create and update Customer profile information.
Housekeeping Asset
A Housekeeping Asset is a consumable item used to maintain a Room-Type such as toilet paper,
cleaners, soaps, shampoo, etc. All items are not accounted for.
Internet Distribution System (IDS)
Distribution using the Internet. (OTAs primarily)
Inventory (relative to hotel distribution)
The rooms available that the hotel has to distribute/sell across all channels.
Inventory (relative to Internet Marketing)
The number of ad impressions available for sale on a Website. Ad inventory is determined by
the number of ads on a page, the number of pages containing ad space and the number of page
requests.

5. Last Room Availability
Usually used in conjunction with negotiated or consortia rates. It allows agents to book the last
room a hotel has available at the contracted rate.
“Lookers to Bookers”(L2B)
Refers to the conversion of online shoppers to actual buyers; often communicated in a ratio.
Loyalty-Program
A Loyalty Program is a marketing program that offers rewards to guests for regular or frequent
business. A loyalty program may also be a partnership with loyalty programs of other businesses
(airlines for example). Loyalty may be tracked by points or other means.
Marketing Campaign
A Marketing Campaign is an activity designed to promote and increase the awareness of the
hotel and one or more of its services.
Marketing Channel
A Marketing Channel is any individual or company used in making the hotels products and/or
services available to its customers.
Markup
The difference between the hotel’s selling and the merchant’s price offered to the consumer.
Maximum Length of Stay
A room inventory control function that limits the number of nights a reservation can stay when
arriving on a certain date.
Minimum Length of Stay
A room inventory control function that requires a reservation to meet or exceed a certain length
of stay (2 or more) in order to complete the reservation.
Occupancy
“Fill” measure of a hotel calculated by dividing the total number of rooms occupied by the total
number of rooms available times 100, e.g. 75% occupancy.
Online Travel Agencies (OTA)
Websites offering comprehensive travel shopping and Reservations Solutions to consumers.
Examples include Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline, and many local and regional sites.
Overbooking
The practice of booking rooms beyond the capacity of the hotel in anticipation that some guests
will not show up

6. Package
A collection of components being sold at a single price, where the component prices may or may
not be known to the consumer.
Price Match Guarantee (PMG)
The promise that hotels or OTAs will offer the lowest rates or match the lowest rate available
across any channel for the same product.
Property
A Property is a location owned or operated by the hotel management company.
Property Management System (PMS)
Theapplicationusedbythehoteltocontrolonsitepropertyactivitiessuchascheckin/out,folios,
guest profiles, room status, requests, etc. PMSs can have interfaces between other applications
such as the hotel point-of-sale (POS) or central reservations system (CRS).
Rate Parity
The strategy that all distribution channels of a hotel should reflect the same rate for the same
conditions for a particular room type. Rate parity strengthens customer loyalty and encourages
guests to book directly with the hotel where terms/policies may be more flexible, given the
same pricing as in other channels.
Receivable
A Receivable is an amount of money that the hotel must collect. A Receivable may be a Folio or
an Invoice.
Reservation
The record of a request to set aside a room or other resource for use in the future. Source for the
following: American Heritage Dictionary via theFreeDictionary.com
1. An arrangement by which accommodations are secured in advance, as in a hotel or on an
airplane.
2. The record or promise of such an arrangement.
3. The accommodations so secured.
Revenue Management System (RMS)
The software application hotels to control the supply and price of their inventory in order to
achieve maximum revenue or profit, by managing availability, room types, stay patterns (future
and historical), etc.
Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)
Calculatedbytakingthedailyroomrevenueofahotelanddividingitbythetotalroomsavailable
at that hotel.

7. Revenue Per Occupied Room (RevPOR)
Calculated by taking the total daily revenue (including ancillary revenues) and dividing it by the
total number of occupied rooms at the hotel.
Room Block
A Room Block is a group of rooms. Room Blocks may be created to organize rooms in various
configurations to aid in planning and sales or other management tasks. Examples of Room
Blocks might include: associating rooms with a single fixed price, a single Guest, a Channel, or a
single team of Staff Members that manage or maintain the rooms in the block.
Room Inventory
The set of rooms available for stays for a particular date or range of dates.
Room Type
A Room Type represents some form of categorization, set, or collection of rooms with some
common element at the hotel that must be managed for marketing purposes within the hotel.
For example, a Room-Type might be a suite or a single Room with a double bed, poolside or
ocean-side. A Room may belong to multiple Room Types.
Single Image Inventory
The distribution to be such that the consumers should finds the same rates at the same time
for the same accommodations, regardless of the booking channel they choose; technology
capability that supports/enables this strategy.
Stay
The period of time that a customer is a guest of a hotel.
Stay Record
A record of a guests previous visit to a hotel.