Information

Category Overbooking is a feature available only when the category is set up as Book by Category. It allows you to create more reservations in a specific category than can be physically accommodated. Overbooking limits can be configured on the category to control the maximum number of additional reservations that can be made above the physical area count, with the added option to protect against Property Overbooking.

Category Overbooking

Category availability on the Availability Chart when using Category Overbooking will be different from only using Book by Category or Oversell Allotments.

1. The total number of physical areas in a category is shown next to the category description and will always match the maximum number of availability shown for the category.
2. When the number of reservations in the category matches the number of physical areas in the category, or a Stop Sell is applied, the availability will show as '0'.
3. Any overbookings in the category will be shown as a negative value to indicate the number of reservations beyond the physical capacity of the category. Category availability will be displayed differently if using Oversell Allotments.
4. If 'Do Not Overbook Property' is enabled, the total number of reservations at the property and the maximum number of reservations shown in the 'Booked' row can be expected not exceed the total count of physical areas at the property.

If Property Overbooking is enabled, the number of reservations shown in the 'Booked' row can be expected to increase above the total count of physical areas at the property by the number of excess reservations up to the overbooking limits set.

If the Maximum Property Oversell limit is less than the sum of the Category Overbooking limits, the category availability shown will reflect the remaining number of reservations in the category until the property overbooking limit is reached, and sets them all to '0'.

Only Overbooking Base Rooms

Only allowing overbooking on the entry level or standard category with the most availability and the lowest rate can improve overall property occupancy without negatively impacting the guest's experience by walking them on arrival. Limiting overbooking to a specific category this way and not overbooking the total physical capacity of the property allows excess bookings in the standard category to be upgraded to other room types.

Examples

• A city hotel targeting 100% occupancy each night may oversell its standard rooms and offer complimentary upgrades to any excess reservations to secure guests in rooms.

• A remote location resort targeting increased revenue across resort amenities may overbook an entry-level category offering complimentary upgrades, increasing overall revenue from guest spending at the property.

   

By leveraging a category that may not get booked out as frequently to accommodate the excess reservations in the lower category, overall property occupancy can be improved, and revenue can be obtained for the higher room type that would have otherwise remained empty. This method can be used if the target is to maximise occupancy without overbooking the property, and it works best when the change of accommodation offered to the guest is of a higher value than the originally booked category.

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