A glossary of room block management terms
- Room Block Management
- Tips
Successfully managing room blocks for your events can be a tricky business. To help you navigate through the process of managing your room blocks, here’s a quick guide to some of the most common terms you need to know in room block management.
Allocation
The number of hotel rooms that are currently available for sale.
Attrition
The difference is between the number of rooms booked in a room block and the number of rooms used.
Allotment
A block of negotiated rooms that have been bought out and held by a third party, such as a travel organizer, wholesaler, tour operator, or travel agent.
Amendment
Amendment refers to a change or modification made to an existing reservation or contract for a block of hotel rooms. This could include changes to the number of rooms, the dates of the reservation, the type of rooms requested, or any other details related to the original booking. Amendments can be made by the event planner, organizer, or sourcing contractor who originally booked the block of rooms. Hotels and event management software systems like Resiada typically have specific processes in place for making amendments, including deadlines for making changes and any associated fees or penalties for modifying the reservation.
Availability
The number of vacancies possible for a specific accommodation type for certain dates.
Average length of stay
The total room nights in a hotel are divided by the number of reservations in the hotel. It’s used to keep track of hotel performance in attracting and keeping guests in-house. Formula: Total occupied room nights / Total bookings.
Average room rate
Commonly known as the average daily rate, the rate representing the hotel’s average per paid occupied room for any given period.
B
Booking engine
The software application is used to secure online reservations. Your Booking engine will allow you to sell your rooms through your website and third-party sites like Trivago that your hotel is listed on.
Booking curve
A tool that can visually show bookings over a certain period. It includes data like room pickup, bookings, and availability.
Booking pace
The rate at which hotel reservations are made for a particular date.
C
Central reservation system
The application is used to manage a hotel’s distribution and hotel room bookings.
Complimentary Room
A room is provided to the event organizer or planner as part of the agreement with the hotel.
Contracted rate
The cost per room night that the hotel provides event attendees in exchange for the event planner’s bulk room purchase. The contracted rate could differ based on room type or hotel.
Cut-off date
On the last day, attendees can reserve rooms within the event room block at a discounted rate.
D
Delegates
More commonly referred to as your event’s attendees, the number of people you anticipate for your event.
F
Folio
A collection of charges and payments incurred or made by a guest or corporate account.
G
Group Code
A unique code is provided to attendees when reserving rooms within the event room block.
H
Hold space
Also known as a 24-hour hold, reserving a meeting room or function space for longer than the actual meeting time, often 24 hours, to allow for set up or tear down.
Hosted Payment System
The system presents a web page where payment information is securely collected.
Hotel Rooming List Management
Managing reservations, cancellations, and changes to the rooming list for an event group at a hotel.
I
Inventory
The rooms are available that the hotel has to distribute.
L
Loyalty program
A marketing program that offers rewards to guests for regular or frequent business. Loyalty may be tracked by points or other means.
M
Master Account
The event organizer created a single account to pay for all hotel rooms reserved within the event room block.
o
On Peak
Definition 1:
The highest number of rooms reserved or picked up is based on your committed block.
Definition 2:
The dates or periods during which the demand for hotel rooms is at its highest, often resulting in higher rates and limited availability.
For example, a hotel might have a block of rooms set aside for a conference or event during the peak season, when room rates are higher than during slower periods. In this case, the hotel might require that a certain number of rooms be booked during peak dates to receive a discounted rate for the block of rooms.
Alternatively, suppose a company is negotiating a room block for its employees during a peak season. In that case, the hotel might only offer the discounted rate for the on-peak dates, with higher rates applying for any additional nights outside the peak period.
In short, “on peak” refers to the high-demand period when hotels have limited availability and higher rates.
Overflow Hotel
An additional hotel is reserved for attendees when the original hotel’s room block is full.
Overbooked
When the total number of rooms reserved exceeds the number of rooms available.
Occupancy rate
The percentage of how many rooms from the hotel’s total number of rooms are currently occupied.
P
Peak nights
The nights during the event when the most rooms are occupied.
Property Management System
An administration system is used for reservation, availability, and occupancy management. This application is typically used in-house to control onsite property activities.
R
Room block management
Securing and managing hotel room blocks for your event’s attendees.
Room block
A room block for an event refers to a set of hotel rooms reserved for a specific group of people attending an event. This group may be attendees at a conference, guests at a wedding, or participants in any other event requiring overnight accommodation.
The event organizers typically work with one or more hotels to reserve a block of rooms at a discounted rate for their guests. The room block size will depend on the number of attendees expected to require accommodations and the number of nights they will stay. Guests can then make their reservations within the room block, ensuring they have a place to stay close to the event location and at a discounted rate.
By reserving a room block, event organizers can ensure that their attendees have a convenient and affordable place to stay while also providing a guaranteed source of revenue for the hotel.
Room type
A form of categorization, set, or collection of rooms with some common elements must be managed for marketing purposes within the hotel.
Run of house
Any hotel room available at the time of check-in.
S
Shoulder Nights
The nights before or after the event, for which the hotel may offer a discounted rate.
Sub-blocks
The different segments of guests that occupy your room block. Sub-blocks can include attendees and exhibitors.
Shoulder nights
Off-peak nights when attendees want to extend their room stay outside your event’s days.
Hopefully, this helps you navigate the world of room block management. And we’re here to help. Book a demo with Resiada today.
