Terms

What is hotel rate intelligence? Hotel rate intelligence is the practice of using specialised market intelligence software to track room prices of your hotel competitors on the Internet.

What is a Maximum Length of Stay (MoS) Restriction? Maximum length of stay restriction is a stay restriction that permits a guest to stay only a certain number of nights.

What are Meta Search Engines? Meta search engines are referral sites that crawl other sites in the hotel industry for the best price or deal.

What is a Minimum Length of Stay Restriction? Minimum length of stay restriction is a stay restriction that dictates the minimum number of nights the person must stay in order to book.

What is a multiplier effect? Multiplier effect is a term meaning that for every dollar that a traveler spends in direct costs to reach a destination, some multiple of that amount will be spent on total products and services during that traveler’s visit.

What is a Must stay restriction? A must-stay restriction is a stay restriction that applies to all reservations that stay over on the night on which this restriction is placed.

What is occupancy? Occupancy refers to the percentage of the hotel’s rooms sold last night.

What is occupancy percentage? Occupancy percentage is a percentage calculated by dividing the total number of rooms occupied by the total number of rooms available.

What is Off Season? Off-season is a period of the year facing the lowest demand. It is also commonly referred to as a weak season or valley season.

What is Onward distribution? Onward distribution is the conveyance of rates, inventory, and content to various channels through the GDS or through the Internet via switching mechanisms.

What is an opaque channel? An opaque channel is a website on which either the price or the product is hidden to the customer.

What is peak season? Peak season a season with the highest demand. Peak season is the opposite of off season.

What is per diem? Per diem is a term used in the hotel industry meaning per day.

What is Perfectly Elastic? Perfectly elastic is a term used in the hotel industry to describe the relationship between supply and demand.

What is perfectly inelastic? Perfectly inelastic is a term used in the hotel industry to describe the relationship between supply and demand.

What is perishable? Perishable a term meaning that if a product or service is not sold in a given time (a day, a night, a week) that product cannot later be sold.

What is perishable inventory? Perishable inventory are products or services that possess the possibility of spoilage or loss. Food is a perishable commodity.

What is pick up? Pick-up is the number of rooms sold. Pick-up also refers to the number of units that have been confirmed as sold within a block.

What is PMS? In the context of hotels, PMS refers to Property Management System.

What is prestige pricing? Prestige pricing is a pricing strategy of using high price to elevate the positioning of an organization’s products and services and increase the perceived value to the consumer.

What is price elasticity of demand? Price elasticity of demand is the value calculated by taking the absolute value of the percentage change in the quantity of a good demanded and dividing that by the percentage change in the price of that good.

What is price elasticity of supply? Price elasticity of supply is a value calculated by taking the absolute value of the percentage change in quantity of a good supplied and dividing that by the percentage change in the price of that good.

What are price fences? Price fences are rules and regulations constructed to prohibit customers from leaping from one segment to another in an attempt to receive a lower rate.

What is price fencing? Price fencing is the practice of setting up rules and restrictions regarding the eligibility of an individual to purchase products and services at a specific price.

What is price gouging? Price gouging is the practice of setting price levels much higher than what is perceived just and fair.

What is price parity? Price parity is the practice of maintaining consistent prices across all channels of distribution. Detailed information is available on the Hotel Price Reporter blog:

What is a Property Management System? A property management system is a computerized system used to manage the inventory of products and services available at a single location such as a hotel or a small BnB.

What is a rack rate? Rack rate is the full rate payable by walk-in guests for a night’s stay at the hotel.

What is rate integrity? Rate integrity is the maintenance of consistent prices for similar purchase conditions.

What is rate shopping? Definition and meaning Rate shopping is the practice of collecting and analyzing room rates of your hotel competitors.

What is a reservation? Reservation is an arrangement between a buyer and a seller to hold a product or service in advance of purchase based on a promised intention of future purchase made by the buyer.

What is Reservation Conversion Percentage? Reservation conversion percentage is the percentage of reservations that progress from inquiry level to final sale.

What is revenue management? Revenue management is the act of skillfully, carefully, and tactfully managing, controlling, and directing capacity and sources of income, given the constraints of supply and demand.

What is a revenue management team? Revenue management team are those individuals who participate in the strategic revenue management process.

What is RevMAP? RevMAP is the critical path leading to strategic revenue management.

What is a room night? Room night is a statistical metric for the hotel industry. It is calculated by multiplying one room times one night.

What is Run of House? Run of house is the practice of offering the best available rate for all room types.

What is a shoulder season? A shoulder season is the time of year immediately before or after a peak season or a weak season.

What is stay? Stay is the number of nights a guest occupies a specific product, whether it is a hotel room, a cruise berth, or a campground space.

What are stay controls? Stay controls are duration rules and restrictions that may apply to arrival dates, departure dates, and minimum length of stay.

What is a stay pattern? A stay pattern is a pattern that can cover the individual’s arrival day, number of nights’ stay, and departure day for the guest.

What is Total Acquisition Cost? Total acquisition cost is the total cost that may apply to either a customer or an organization.

What is value based pricing? Value-based pricing is a pricing strategy in which the hotel focuses upon the value placed by the customer on the product or service.

What is a wash factor? Wash factor is a predetermined percentage of usage based upon historical data and experience.

What is a weak season? Weak season is a period in the year facing the lowest demand. It is commonly referred to as a valley season.

What is a wholesale rate? A wholesale rate is a hotel room rate that is often 20 to 30 percent or more off the retail rate.

What is a wholesale tour operator? A wholesale tour operator is travel professional that creates travel packages to be sold to travelers directly or through travel agencies at a discount.

What is wholesaler? Wholesaler is a person who purchases individual travel components at a discount based upon volume, repackages the components and sells them to a consumer on a retail basis.

What is yield? Yield refers to the amount of revenue received by the airline for each mile flown per passenger (also known as passenger mile).

What is yield management? Yield management is the precursor to what we now refer to as revenue management. A formalized method of managing and controlling revenue.