An allotment is a number of rooms a hotel sets aside for a partner (a tour operator, a travel agency, a company) on given dates, at a contracted rate. Unlike a group block, the partner fills it with individual bookings over time, and whatever is unsold goes back to the hotel on the release date.
The three numbers of every allotment
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Allotted rooms | Rooms held per night for the partner |
| Release period | How many days before arrival unsold rooms come back to the hotel (e.g. 21 days) |
| Pick-up | How many of the allotted rooms the partner actually sold |
Why the release period is where the money is
A room released 21 days before arrival can still be sold direct or on the OTAs. A room released 2 days before arrival is usually lost. So a partner who asks for a short release period is asking the hotel to carry the risk.
Rule of thumb: the lower the partner's historic pick-up, the longer the release period you should ask for.
Worked example
A 90-room resort gives Sun Tours 10 doubles per night for July at EUR 80, release 21 days.
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Rooms allotted in July | 10 x 31 = 310 room nights |
| Picked up | 186 room nights |
| Pick-up rate | 186 / 310 = 60% |
| Released on time | 124 room nights |
| Resold direct at EUR 115, 55% sold | 68 room nights = EUR 7,820 |
Next season, with 60% pick-up, the contract should shrink to 6-7 rooms or the release period should grow. Both keep more inventory in the hotel's own hands.
Mistakes that cost rooms
- ●Tracking allotments in a spreadsheet next to the PMS: the release date passes and nobody puts the rooms back on sale.
- ●Letting partners sell beyond the allotment "just this once": it becomes overbooking.
- ●Not measuring pick-up per partner: the worst partners keep the best dates.
In FrontDesk each allotment has its partner, room type, dates, number of rooms and release date, and can be linked to a group; the hold is in the system, not in a spreadsheet nobody opens on the release date.
Simple hotel property management software for independent hotels, chains and groups.