Articles for hoteliers
Revenue, distribution, operations and finance for independent hotels, chains and hotel groups: the numbers, the trade-offs and what to do on Monday.
- Groups · 7 min readMulti-property hotel reporting: one set of numbers for the whole groupHow hotel groups consolidate occupancy, ADR and RevPAR across properties without spreadsheets, which numbers to compare, and the traps that make group reports lie.
- Operations · 6 min readWhy hotels still run a night audit (and what it protects you from)The night audit is not paperwork from the 1980s: it fixes the business date, catches revenue leaks and makes every report after it trustworthy. What it is for, and how cloud PMSs changed it.
- Groups · 7 min readGroup blocks vs allotments: what is the difference and how to manage bothGroup blocks and allotments both hold rooms before names exist, but they carry different risk. Cut-off dates, pickup, attrition and release rules explained with examples.
- Finance · 6 min readHotel city ledger explained: billing companies after the guest has leftWhat a city ledger is, when to move a folio to it, how to age receivables and chase payment from corporate accounts and travel agencies without losing track.
- Distribution · 7 min readChannel manager: two-way connection or iCal? How to choose for your hoteliCal sync is free but slow and one-dimensional; a two-way channel manager pushes rates and restrictions and pulls bookings in seconds. When each is enough, and what it costs in overbookings.
- Switching · 8 min readSwitching hotel PMS without downtime: a 30-day planA practical plan to move a hotel or a group to a new property management system: what to export, when to cut over, how to run the first week, and what usually goes wrong.
- Buying · 6 min readHotel PMS pricing: per room vs per property, and what you really payHow hotel property management systems are priced, per room, per property or by tier, with worked examples for a 15-room, 80-room and 250-room hotel and the add-ons that change the total.
- Revenue · 6 min readOccupancy, ADR and RevPAR: the three hotel KPIs, with a worked exampleHow to calculate occupancy, ADR and RevPAR correctly, why RevPAR is the one owners watch, and the common mistakes with complimentary rooms, out-of-order rooms and taxes.
- Operations · 6 min readHow to prevent double bookings in a hotel: the causes and the fixesDouble bookings come from sync delays, manual edits and room moves. Where they really come from, what a PMS must enforce, and what to do when one happens anyway.
- Distribution · 6 min readDirect bookings vs OTA commission: the maths every hotel should runWhat OTA commissions really cost over a year, how many bookings you need to move to direct to matter, and the practical steps that shift guests to your own website.
- Revenue · 7 min readHotel rate plans and seasons: a structure that scales from 10 to 500 roomsHow to structure rate plans (BAR, non-refundable, corporate, packages) and seasons so revenue managers can change prices in one place without breaking OTA mappings.
- Groups · 6 min readWhy hotel groups need a PMS with an open APIDoor locks, accounting, BI dashboards, CRM: what an open PMS API and webhooks make possible for hotel groups, and the questions to ask vendors before signing.
Looking for step-by-step procedures and templates? See the hotel guides.
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