Hotel Revenue, Distribution & Operations Glossary
Clear definitions for the commercial, digital and operational language used to run a stronger independent hotel.
Revenue and performance metrics
The numbers and controls hotel teams use to measure demand, price rooms and protect profitability.
ADR
Average Daily RateThe average room revenue earned for each occupied room. ADR is calculated as room revenue divided by rooms sold.
Related service: Revenue ManagementRevPAR
Revenue per Available RoomA core performance measure combining rate and occupancy. RevPAR equals room revenue divided by available rooms, or ADR multiplied by occupancy.
Related service: Revenue ManagementTRevPAR
Total Revenue per Available RoomTotal hotel revenue—including rooms, food and beverage, spa and other departments—divided by available rooms.
Related service: Revenue ManagementGOPPAR
Gross Operating Profit per Available RoomGross operating profit divided by available rooms. It connects topline performance with operating efficiency.
Related service: Revenue ManagementOccupancy
Occupancy RateThe percentage of available rooms sold during a period. Occupancy equals rooms sold divided by rooms available.
Related service: Revenue ManagementALOS
Average Length of StayThe average number of nights guests stay. ALOS helps teams understand booking patterns, housekeeping demand and revenue opportunity.
Related service: Revenue ManagementRoom Revenue
Rooms RevenueRevenue generated by selling guestrooms before ancillary revenue and typically before taxes and fees.
Related service: Revenue ManagementPickup
Booking PickupThe change in rooms or revenue booked between two reporting dates for the same future stay period.
Related service: Revenue ManagementBooking Pace
PaceThe speed at which reservations are accumulating for future dates, often compared with budget, forecast or the prior year.
Related service: Revenue ManagementForecast
Hotel ForecastA current projection of occupancy, ADR, revenue and demand based on bookings, pace, trends and market intelligence.
Related service: Revenue ManagementBudget
Hotel BudgetThe approved financial plan against which a hotel measures revenue, costs and profit for a future period.
Related service: Revenue ManagementComp Set
Competitive SetA selected group of comparable hotels used to benchmark rate, occupancy, RevPAR and market positioning.
Related service: Revenue ManagementBAR
Best Available RateThe primary publicly available flexible room rate before discounts, negotiated rates or packages.
Related service: Revenue ManagementRate Fence
Rate RestrictionA condition guests must meet to access a specific rate, such as advance purchase, membership or minimum stay.
Related service: Revenue ManagementLOS
Length of StayThe number of nights in a reservation. LOS controls can include minimum- or maximum-stay requirements.
Related service: Revenue ManagementNeed Period
Low-Demand PeriodA date or period with demand below target, requiring focused pricing, sales or marketing activity.
Related service: Revenue ManagementCompression Date
High-Demand DateA date when market demand approaches available supply, creating an opportunity to yield rates and protect inventory.
Related service: Revenue ManagementDisplacement Analysis
Business DisplacementA comparison of the value of one booking opportunity with the revenue it could displace from higher-rated demand.
Related service: Revenue ManagementYield Management
Inventory YieldingThe practice of adjusting rates, restrictions and inventory access to maximize revenue from perishable room supply.
Related service: Revenue ManagementHotel distribution and sales terms
The channels, contracts and systems that place hotel inventory in front of the right travelers.
OTA
Online Travel AgencyA third-party travel website or app—such as Booking.com or Expedia—that markets and sells hotel rooms.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingGDS
Global Distribution SystemA network used by travel agencies and corporate travel programs to search and book hotel inventory.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingCRS
Central Reservation SystemA central platform that manages hotel rates, availability and reservations across connected sales channels.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingChannel Manager
Hotel Channel ManagerSoftware that distributes rates and availability to multiple booking channels and returns reservations to the hotel.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingRate Mapping
Channel Rate MappingThe process of correctly connecting room types, rate plans and policies between hotel systems and distribution partners.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingRate Parity
Price ParityThe alignment of publicly available room rates across direct and third-party booking channels.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingConsortia
Travel ConsortiaNetworks of travel agencies or travel-management companies that provide hotels access to managed and corporate demand.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingWholesaler
Hotel WholesalerA B2B travel intermediary that contracts hotel inventory and redistributes it to travel sellers.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingBed Bank
Accommodation WholesalerA wholesaler specializing in contracted accommodation inventory distributed to travel agencies, tour operators and other sellers.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingMetasearch
Hotel MetasearchA comparison channel—such as Google Hotels or Tripadvisor—that displays hotel rates from multiple booking sources.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingRFP
Request for ProposalA structured request used by corporate buyers, consortia and travel programs to solicit hotel rates and terms.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingCorporate Negotiated Rate
Negotiated Hotel RateA contracted rate and set of terms offered to a company or managed travel program.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingLRA
Last Room AvailabilityA contract condition requiring an eligible negotiated rate to remain available while the corresponding public room type is available.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingDistribution Mix
Channel MixThe share of hotel bookings or revenue generated by direct, OTA, GDS, wholesale, corporate and other channels.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingNet Room Revenue
Net RevenueRoom revenue remaining after channel commissions, transaction costs, discounts and other acquisition expenses.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingMerchant Model
OTA Merchant ModelA model in which a distributor collects the guest’s payment and remits the contracted net amount to the hotel.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingHotel Collect
Agency ModelA model in which the hotel charges the guest and later pays the booking channel an agreed commission.
Related service: Distribution & Rate MappingDirect booking and digital marketing terms
The tools and tactics that turn hotel interest into measurable, lower-cost direct demand.
Booking Engine
Hotel Booking EngineThe website technology that lets guests view live rates and availability and complete a direct reservation.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentDirect Booking
Direct Hotel ReservationA reservation made with the hotel through its website, phone, email or another hotel-controlled channel.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentConversion Rate
Website Conversion RateThe percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action, most commonly a booking or qualified inquiry.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentSEO
Search Engine OptimizationThe practice of improving a website’s content, structure and authority so it can earn relevant visibility in search results.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentGEO
Generative Engine OptimizationThe practice of making content clear, authoritative and well structured so AI-powered search and answer engines can understand and cite it.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentMetasearch Campaign
Hotel Metasearch AdvertisingPaid placement that connects live hotel rates and availability with travelers comparing options on metasearch platforms.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentRetargeting
RemarketingAdvertising that re-engages previous website visitors or audiences who showed interest but did not book.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentBooking Abandonment
Abandoned BookingA booking journey that begins but is not completed, often measured to identify conversion friction.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentRate Comparison
Rate Comparison WidgetA website tool that compares the hotel’s direct rate with selected third-party rates to reinforce booking confidence.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentCRM
Customer Relationship ManagementTechnology and processes used to organize guest data, segment audiences and deliver relevant pre-stay, in-stay and post-stay communication.
Related service: Website Design & DevelopmentHotel operations and technology terms
The connected systems, processes and service models that support a consistent guest experience.
PMS
Property Management SystemThe hotel’s core operating system for reservations, room inventory, guest profiles, folios, housekeeping and front-desk workflows.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsRMS
Revenue Management SystemTechnology that analyzes demand and performance data to recommend or automate room pricing and inventory decisions.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsBI
Business IntelligenceConnected reporting that turns hotel data into dashboards, trends and decision-ready performance insights.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsAPI
Application Programming InterfaceA defined way for hotel systems to exchange data and trigger actions securely and consistently.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsDigital Check-in
Online Check-inA guest-facing process that collects required arrival details before or without a traditional front-desk check-in.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsDigital Key
Mobile Room KeyA secure credential on a guest’s mobile device that can unlock an assigned hotel room or property access point.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsRemote Reception
Remote Front DeskHospitality-trained reception support delivered off site for guest communication, reservations, arrivals and service coordination.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsGuest Journey
Hotel Guest JourneyThe complete sequence of interactions from discovery and booking through arrival, stay, departure and post-stay communication.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsSOP
Standard Operating ProcedureA documented process that defines how a recurring hotel task should be completed consistently and to standard.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsUpselling
Hotel UpsellingOffering relevant room upgrades, add-ons or experiences that improve the stay and increase total revenue.
Related service: Remote Hotel OperationsNo matching term found. Try a shorter search.
Connect the metrics, channels and guest journey.
KHR brings revenue management, distribution, digital strategy and remote hotel operations together under one experienced team.