What is the Hotel Occupancy Rate and how to Calculate it ?
The occupancy rate specifically shows the percentage of the rooms that are booked at any given point in time.
You calculate it by dividing the number of rooms occupied by your total available rooms and multiplying by 100.
For instance, if 65 of your 100 rooms are booked, then your occupancy rate is 65%.
Why it is Important?
The occupancy rate may just be a number, however, it is more than that: it is the lifeblood of your hotel.
When you compare your occupancy with your Average Daily Rate (ADR) and Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR), occupancy becomes an extremely useful tool for effective revenue management.
Additionally, understanding changes in your hotel occupancy rate puts you in a better position to adjust your forecasting and operational planning and make key decisions on pricing strategies.
What is a Good Occupancy Rate?
A “good” occupancy rate for your property depends on many factors, including property type, location, and time of year.
Overall, it is reasonable to aim for 60-70% occupancy; an 80-90% occupancy rate typically indicates peak demand periods.
Strategies to Maximize Occupancy Rates
1. First, build Guest Loyalty
For instance, implement a guest loyalty program that rewards return stays (special rates, perks, or referrals), especially during slower times.
For example, reaching out to previous guests during slower times with specific offers is a great way to fill open nights.
2. Next, use Guest Feedback
Good reviews are one of the best marketing tools you have. Encourage happy visitors to post their feedback on Google, TripAdvisor, or Online Travel Agency ( or OTA ) channels.
Put them on your website and/or social media to show credibility and that they may influence someone new to choose you.
3. Craft Offers per Market Segment
People travel for all sorts of reasons—you have business travelers who stay Sunday to Thursday, guests who come during the weekend for fun, or families who travel during school holidays.
Segmenting your markets and creating offers tailored to different groups at the right time is key.
4. Work with Local Partners
Offer package deals with friends in the community and provide guests with opportunities to experience everything your town and area has to offer—a restaurant, attraction, or operating tour company.
In the right context, a bundled offer can impress guests and offer a competitive advantage through cross-promotion
5. Keep Price-Sensitive
Pricing in hospitality should never stay the same.
Be mindful of the rates of competitors or market trends, and use your disclosure surrounding your price increases and decreases to drive more people into bookings.
Leveraging QloApps revenue management and dynamic pricing will allow for constant maximization of your room rate, ultimately saving you time from “babysitting” manual price updates
6. Use Promotions to Drive Social
Post unique content about your property consistently, and promote it through targeted promotions.
There is no better way to produce inexpensive customer interest without investing in any extra work than through social media.
From seasonal images to giving products away, the value of good marketing can drive awareness and ultimately bookings.
7. Provide Flexible Restrictions
Simple restrictions like free cancellation, or flexible check-in and check-out can make a big difference.
Flexibility provides future guests the level of comfort they want and converts potential guests into confirmed bookings.
8. Provide Excellent Service
Great reviews provide key word-of-mouth as well as repeat sales.
The more super excited your guests are, the better your occupancy will be over time.
9. Base your Business Decisions on Data
Look at the booking channels, guest demographics, booking leads, seasonal changes to each, icons benchmarks, and more.
The more information you have, the more data-driven your revenue and marketing strategies will be.
10. Seasonal Campaigns
Keep your promotion to offer targeted deals to make up for off-peak times.
Staying competitive during these times can give you the ability to convert budget-conscious travelers into loyal repeat guests who pay driven rates.
Using QloApps Technology to Increase Occupancy
1. Moreover, intelligent Pricing with QloApps’ Dynamic Pricing
Using advanced AI tools, QloApps analyzes both historical and real-time market data to determine the best form of pricing.
Additionally, QloApps gives you the ability to automatically push price updates to all sales channels to help you manage demand and maximize revenue with limited manual work.
For example, a 117-room hotel on a lake saw a 38% increase in revenue and a 25% higher average rate in the first year using this automated pricing model.
2. Wide Distribution through Channel Management
QloApps has easy integrations with the main OTAs such as SiteMinder, D‑EDGE, Vertical Booking, and other GDS and metasearch engines.
This means your hotel will be highlighted in numerous travel search engines while keeping prices, availability, and promotions consistent for all channels.
3. Personalized Experiences to Create Loyalty
QloApps allows you to send automated communication based on guest history and preferences, including pre-arrival greeting, in-stay upsells, and post stay messaging.
You can tailor a personalized experience: a late check-out for a business traveler, a free room upgrade for a frequent guest, and so on.
To make the traveler feel valued, and this will result in them wanting to return and even promote your hotel.
4. Mobile-First Self-Service Tools
QloApps provides digital check-in / out, mobile keys, and a guest profile, while simplifying the guest journey and improving satisfaction.
These mobile – first self – service tools reduce wait times, enhance convenience, and result in an often higher number of reviews and repeat bookings.
5. Flexible Integrations to Fit Your Business Needs
QloApps has integrations with a range of solutions, as well as an open API.
To connect your hotel. Property Management System (PMS) with hundreds of third-party apps.
Everywhere from marketing, feedback capture, event management, loyalty systems, retargeting, and beyond.
You now have the flexibility to automate the running of operations, scale your business, while aligning your strategies with your very own occupancy goals.
6. Smarter & Easier Housekeeping Operations
QloApps gives users the ability to centralize room assignments, view cleaning status in real-time , and seamlessly connect with the front office from the housekeeping department.
Conclusion
Overall, the occupancy rate is more than just a number – it’s an important representation of how attractive your hotel is and how well your business is financially performing.
You can improve both occupancy and profit all year long by complementing loyalty-based initiatives, using demand-aware pricing, operational smart automation, and creating a guest experience.
Get in Touch
Want to streamline your hotel operations? QloApps is ready to assist!
Let’s collaborate to simplify your daily tasks and enhance guest satisfaction.
With QloApps’ Property Management System and Channel Manager, effortlessly manage your hotel and boost your revenue. Contact us today!