Book by Category is a category setting that allows reservations to be created without allocating a specific area at the time of booking in RMS.
Overview
By default, a Category requires an area to be selected on the reservation at the time of booking unless Book by Category is enabled.
When Book by Category is enabled, the overall category availability determines whether a reservation can be saved. This means if the category has availability, the reservation is accepted regardless of whether a specific area is free at that moment. The physical availability of individual areas is used later, when an area is allocated to the reservation before the guest arrives.
Book by Category enables allocating an area to a reservation any time between initial reservation creation and reservation arrival.
Areas can be allocated directly on the reservation, on the Booking Chart, on In/Out Movements, or in bulk using the Auto Area Allocation utility.
Book by Category also includes the ability to allow Category Overbooking.
Overbooking is the practice of accepting more reservations than can be physically accommodated, used as a revenue management strategy to offset cancellations and no shows.
Category Overbooking is only available when a category is set up as Book by Category. It enables creating more reservations in a category than can be physically accommodated, up to the limit set.
Property Overbooking is only available when one or more categories are set up as Book by Category. It enables creating more reservations than can be physically accommodated at the property.
Maximum Property Oversell and Do Not Overbook Property can be used to manage overbooking. Maximum Property Oversell limits the number of reservations above the total property capacity. Do Not Overbook Property prevents reservations from ever exceeding the physical capacity at the property, regardless of individual category overbooking limits.
Key Features
The following key features are available when using Book by Category in RMS:
- Reservations created without an area allocated, using category availability.
- Area allocation can occur anytime between initial reservation creation and reservation arrival.
- Category and property overbooking options.
- Manual and auto area allocation options.
Area Allocation Options
Area allocation assigns the physical space a guest will occupy for their reservation.
When using Book by Category, area allocation can be completed any time between initial reservation creation and reservation arrival.
Area allocation can be set directly on the reservation, on the Booking Chart, on In/Out Movements, or in bulk using the Auto Area Allocation utility.
Choosing an Allocation Method
Use the table below to determine the best area allocation method for your workflow:
| Method | Best For | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Reservation | Allocating a single reservation | Guest requests a specific area or you need to allocate one reservation at a time |
| Booking Chart | Visual allocation with drag-and-drop | Optimising area allocation by viewing all reservations and availability at once |
| In/Out Movements | Allocating during check-in | Allocating areas for guests arriving today or within a selected date range |
| Auto Area Allocation | Bulk allocation using rules | Allocating areas to many reservations at once based on priorities such as length of stay or owner contracts |
Reservation Area Allocation
The Area field on the reservation will only show areas in the selected category that are available for the reservation stay dates.
Areas that are already allocated to a reservation for any of the dates within the reservation's length of stay will not appear in the list of available areas.
Guide
Open the Reservation in RMS.
- Select the Area field.
- Select an Area.
- Select Save/Exit.
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Booking Chart Area Allocation
The Booking Chart is a visual representation of all reservations at the property, displayed by area allocation.
Use the Booking Chart to view reservations in their areas and maximise occupancy by changing the allocated area on a reservation.
By default, the Booking Chart only shows reservations already allocated to an area. The Booking Chart Option Show Unallocated Reservations adds a new row to display all reservations not yet allocated to an area.
The position of the Unallocated Reservations row depends on the View By options selected. The Area by Category Display Order options group areas by category and show an unallocated row at the end of each category section. The Area Display Order options display a single list of all areas and show one unallocated row.
Guide
In the side menu of RMS, go to Charts > Booking Chart.
- Expand a Category or scroll to the Unallocated Reservation Row.
- Click and drag a Reservation into an Area.
Release the mouse button to drop the reservation into the area.
- Confirm the area allocation.
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In/Out Movements Area Allocation
In/Out Movements provides a single point of management for reservations arriving, departing, or currently in-house at a property in RMS.
Contextual actions, including Check-in and Check-out, are determined by the selected view on In/Out Movements.
When using Book by Category, an area can be allocated to a reservation on In/Out Movements using the Area column.
Guide
In the side menu of RMS, go to Reservations > In/Out Movements.
- Select a Date Range.
- Select a View. (Optional)
(Expected Arrivals is recommended for allocating areas to upcoming guests) - Select No Area in the Area Column for a reservation.
- Select an available Area.
- Select Save/Exit.
-
Auto Area Allocation Utility
The Auto Area Allocation utility enables allocating areas to all reservations arriving in the selected period when using Book by Category in RMS.
An area must be allocated to the reservation before it can be changed to Arrived status on guest check-in.
Guests with a preferred category or area can have this information saved on their Guest Profile, with the option to ignore preferences when using the Auto Area Allocation utility.
The utility allocates areas based on one or more Allocation Priorities:
- Reservation Creation Date - allocates areas to reservations in the order they were created.
- Reservation Length of Stay - allocates areas to reservations with longer stays first.
- Owner Contracts - prioritises allocating areas with owner contracts to assist with the distribution of owner income.
Multiple allocation priorities can be selected and reordered to determine which rule takes precedence.
A category or area can be set up to be excluded from auto allocation. Excluded categories or areas will always require manual allocation on the reservation, the Booking Chart, or In/Out Movements.
Key Features
The following key features are available on the Auto Area Allocation utility in RMS:
- Allocate areas to multiple reservations based on selected rules.
- Honour or ignore guests' preferred category or area.
- Set allocation priorities based on reservation creation, length of stay, or owner contracts.
Guide
In the side menu of RMS, go to Utilities > Auto Area Allocation.
- Select a Date Filter and enter date criteria.
- Select the Categories.
- Select a Grouping (Optional).
- Select the checkbox Ignore Preferences. (Optional).
The preferred category or area selected on a Guest Profile will be ignored when selected. - Select the checkbox Include Already Allocated Reservations. (Optional).
Reservations with an area allocated will be included in the search results and can be re-allocated. - Select any required Allocation Priority. (Optional).
Use the arrow icons to reorder the priorities. When more than one priority is selected, the order determines which criteria takes precedence. - Select Search.
- Select the required Reservations.
- Select Allocate.
Category Overbooking
Category Overbooking is only available when the category is set up as Book by Category. It enables creating more reservations in a specific category than can be physically accommodated.
Overbooking limits can be set on the category to manage the maximum number of excess reservations above the physical area count, with the added option to protect against Property Overbooking.
Allowing one or more categories to be overbooked and using Property Overbooking Protection will limit the total number of reservations at the property to never exceed the total physical capacity.
Only Overbooking Base Rooms
This section describes a revenue management strategy that uses Book by Category and Category Overbooking together. The goal is to maximise occupancy by overbooking only the entry-level category and upgrading excess guests to higher room types.
Allowing overbooking only on the entry-level or standard category - the one with the most availability and the lowest rate - can improve overall property occupancy without negatively impacting the guest experience.
Limiting overbooking to a specific category and not overbooking the total physical capacity of the property allows excess bookings in the standard category to be upgraded to other room types.
When a category that is not frequently booked out has spare capacity, those areas can accommodate excess reservations from the lower category. This improves overall occupancy and generates revenue from higher room types that would have otherwise remained empty.
This method works best when the change of accommodation offered to the guest is of a higher value than the originally booked category. It is most effective when the target is to maximise occupancy without overbooking the property overall.
To implement this strategy:
- Enable Allow Overbooking on the standard category with the desired overbooking limit.
- Enable Do Not Overbook Property to ensure total reservations never exceed the property's physical capacity.
- Monitor unallocated reservations on the Booking Chart and allocate upgraded areas before guest arrival.
Example
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.
Offsetting Cancellations & No Shows
Unlike the base-room-only approach above, this method can apply overbooking limits across multiple categories.
The Cancellation List and Reservation Lead Time reports can be used to review trends on reservation creation, cancellation, and no shows when developing an overbooking strategy.
To implement this strategy:
- Review the Cancellation List and Reservation Lead Time reports to understand historical cancellation and no show trends.
- Set an overbooking limit on each category using Allow Overbooking, based on the data reviewed.
- Enable Do Not Overbook Property as a safety net to prevent total reservations from exceeding physical capacity. (Optional)
- Use Oversell Allotments to adjust overbooking limits for specific periods. (Optional)
Other ways to minimise revenue lost from cancellations and no shows include reviewing the Cancellation Policy and Deposit Policy at the property.
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