Learn. Perform. Achieve! August 2023: Overbooking and Overselling, & Digital Marketing!

PERFORM, PERFORM 2023 Choice Hotels

Every month we highlight opportunities for leaders and managers to improve the performance of their teams. Plus, we are pleased to announce Operator Certifications (HOST/Extended Stay Essentials) completions and acknowledge the achievement of those who are now operator certified.

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The Art of Overbooking and Overselling: How Hotels Can Maximize Revenue

Written by Erica Garcia, SR. Revenue Manager

As a hotel owner or general manager, you’re constantly looking for ways to maximize your hotel’s revenue. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through the art of overbooking and overselling. While these concepts may seem counterintuitive, they can help your hotel sell out and increase your profits.

So, what’s overbooking all about? It’s the practice of taking more bookings than the number of rooms you have available. And you know what? It’s actually pretty smart. By overbooking, you’re ensuring that your hotel is always fully occupied, even if some guests decide to cancel. This way, you won’t lose out on any revenue from unsold rooms, and you’ll max out your occupancy.

And then there’s overselling – this is when you sell more of a specific room type than you actually have available. It’s a key strategy that helps ensure you have plenty of rooms to accommodate demand. For example, if you’ve got 20 rooms of a certain type, you might sell 25. That way, you’re making sure that everyone who wants that room gets it – even if it’s already sold out.

But the best part? Overselling can do more than just help you sell out your hotel. It can also give you what’s called “straight-line availability.” This means you can snag extra business on shoulder dates, increase your room type allotment to help overcome OTA thresholds, and open up room type availability over group stay dates. Let’s say a guest wants to stay in a standard king room for 2 or 3 nights starting Sunday. Unfortunately, all the king rooms are sold out on Monday, and the guest won’t find any rooms that match their requirements. They might even end up booking somewhere else! But, if you’re overselling your kings on Monday, it will open up your inventory and allow that guest to book a room. If needed, the guest can always be moved to another room type.

Overselling has another sweet perk – it can lure in guests looking for longer stays, resulting in higher revenue. Imagine a guest seeking an extended stay, but the room type they desire is completely booked. Overselling can swoop in to save the day by opening up more room options, thus capturing the attention of this type of guest!

Implementing these strategies can be the difference between a good and great performance. So, if you want to take your hotel’s performance to the next level, overbooking and overselling is a must! It’s true that managing your inventory may take a bit more time and effort, but the rewards are more than worth it. As billionaire Mark Cuban wisely said, “Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is.” By applying these methods, you’ll be using your hotel’s resources more efficiently, optimizing your occupancy, and boosting your bottom line. Trust us, the extra work will pay off in the end. So don’t wait, start implementing these strategies today and watch your hotel’s success soar!

Check out this training on ChoiceU.com!

Rates Center Oversell: Introduction to the Oversell Tool
This video will give you an introduction to the Overbooking capability tool in Rates Center.

ChoiceMAX Overbooking and Overselling
ChoiceMAX was created to streamline your pricing and inventory strategy through a state-of-the-art, mobile-first platform.

Please note this training is only assigned to the Hotel Management, Owners, and Sales Job Functions.

Let’s Talk About Amping Up Your Digital Marketing!

During this video, recorded live at the 2023 Choice Hotels Convention, hear more about the expanded RevUp program designed to help boost your hotel’s online visibility and help drive more choicehotels.com bookings.

Watch this Choiceu Talk video now on ChoiceU TV

Choice University is excited to announce that we have launched our LinkedIn page. Our goal is to work together to help hotel leaders and their team members achieve their goals through learning.

Please give us a follow on LinkedIn to stay connected to Choice University through our LinkedIn Page!

Operator Certifications (HOST/ExtendedStay Essentials) Earned in July!

Congratulations to the following individuals who earned their operator certification last month!

Shivani Patel AL543 Sleep Inn
Meenakshi Hinton AZ020 Comfort Suites
Robbin Jaeger AZ573 Clarion Pointe
Daniel Garcia CA595 Quality
Aida Li CAB70 Quality
Preet Bhathal CAG47 WoodSpring
Joshua Giron CAJ24 WoodSpring
Gabriel Maltais CN342 Comfort Inn
Mary Plott CNC01 Quality
Puranjay Patel FL443 Quality
Khyati Patel FL795 Comfort Inn
Kerri Hensel FLH15 Comfort Inn
Jay Patel FLH28 Comfort Inn
Pamela Besong GA381 Comfort Inn
Harshil Patel GA809 Quality
Sam Diamond GA987 Comfort Inn
Scott Suhr IA025 Quality
Dhaval Shah IA219 Quality
Akash Amin IL015 Sleep Inn
Priyank Patel IL251 Comfort Suites
Luu Nguyen KS181 Sleep Inn
Jaimin Trivedi KY207 Quality Gold
Chetan Patel KY389 Comfort Inn
Keyur Patel LA126 Comfort Inn
Shane Archambault MA181 Quality
Viral Patel MO322 Quality
Mackenzie Crane MO393 Comfort Inn
Jennifer Jones NC566 Comfort Suites
Calvin Boyd NC932 WoodSpring
Kelly Christopherson ND019 Comfort Inn
Charmaine Stadler ND400 Quality
Nicole Martin NM198 Comfort Inn
Ashish Tari NY219 Comfort Inn
Denise Watkins OH851 Comfort Inn
Cathy Eckrode PA140 Comfort Inn
Marlena Flinkingshelt SC026 Mainstay Suites
Riki Patel SC356 Comfort Suites
Juana Ofuna SC433 Quality
Mital Patel TX332 Quality
Pradeep Kumar TXI31 Quality
Tina Johnson TXK72 WoodSpring
Jessica McGill TXM40 Rodeway Inn
Bishnu Thapa UT116 Comfort Inn
Mihir Patel VA386 Quality
Marcy Spink VA865 WoodSpring
Ronnie Nelson WA198 Comfort Inn
Stephanie Zuniga WI128 Comfort Suites
Susan Duncan WV070 Comfort Inn
Amanda Blankenship WV100 Comfort Inn