Hotel Revenue Management Glossary – Terms beginning with ‘C’

Need to know what a hotel term means? Below is a list of key Hotel Revenue Management Terms you may encounter when it comes to hotel revenue management.  We explain definitions of terminology industry jargon from hotel revenue management. You will learn all this and more on our hotel revenue management courses.

Terms being with the letter C below, rest to follow on further Blogs…

Cut Off – What is the meaning/definition of Cut Off in the hospitality industry?

With cut-offs (which are very similar to release dates), a hotel simply sets a time limit upon when a reservation is made, and the guest’s actual arrival. Used a lot for group and tour operator business. They will hold a block or allotment in the hotel as per their contract.

CTD – What is the meaning/definition of CTD in the hospitality industry?

CTD stands for Closed to Departure. It is a specific set of days guests cannot make their reservation for with this date as check-out.

CTA – What is the meaning/definition of CTA or Closed to Arrival in the hospitality industry?

CTA stands for Closed to Arrival. It is a yield tool used to close days our from reservations arriving on a particular day.

CRS – What is the meaning/definition of CRS in the hotel industry?

CRS stands for: Central Reservations System. It is a computerised reservation software used to maintain the hotel information, room inventory and rates, to manage the reservation and process. A CRS provides hotel room rates and availability for many different distribution channels such as the GDS, IBE, OTA, 3rd party websites etc.

CRO – What is the meaning/definition of CRO in the hospitality industry?

CRO stands for: Central Reservations Office. It is a system that allows reservation agents to receive reservation requests by phone and to handle them immediately.

CPOR – What is the meaning/definition of CPOR in the hospitality industry?

CPOR stands for Cost Per Occupied Room. The CPOR formula helps calculate the average cost per occupied room in the hotel. This is another KPI to measure and analyze if the operating cost for each room is reasonable.

Consortia – What is the meaning/definition of Consortia in the hospitality industry?

Consortia are Associations or Marketing organisations which link together small to medium-sized independent travel agencies to leverage purchasing power and marketing opportunities. Examples of Consortia are American Express, Carlson Wagonlit, BCD Travel or HRG.

Complimentary – What is the meaning/definition of Complimentary in the hospitality industry?

Complimentary services or products are those given to an audience / a customer without charge. This term is often used in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Comp-Set – What is the meaning/definition of Comp Set in the hospitality industry?

A Competitive Set (or Compset) is a group of hotels that are seen as direct competitors to your own hotel.

Commission – What is the meaning/definition of Commission in the hospitality industry?

A commission is a charge that a hotel pays to third parties (travel agents, OTAs) for selling their hotel rooms. It is usually a fixed percentage of the room rate.  The commission ranges from 10% to 30% depending on the OTA (how influential it is), on the size of the hotel and also on the popularity of the destination.  Large hotel chains usually have more negotiation power.

Close Out – What is the meaning/definition of Close Out in the hospitality industry?

Hotel rooms made unavailable from sales. Such a closed out could be for a variety of reasons and applied to individual market segments.

Channels – What is the meaning/definition of Channels in the hospitality industry?

A term that refers to Distribution Channels and that describes the different methods/platforms buy which / in which bookings for a hotel are made. A Channel can be a hotel’s booking engine a direct phone reservation or a specific stream of revenue such as a 3rd party website, an OTA, etc.

Channel Management – What is the meaning/definition of Channel Management in the hospitality industry?

Channel Management (also Multi-Channel-Management) refers to the techniques and systems used by hotels in line with their distribution policy. This management method includes content management as well as data reconciliation in various distribution channels. It means the updating of the hotel information, of room rates and availabilities across all distribution channels, such as hotels website, third parties (OTAs, IDS, ADS) and the CRS/GDS.

Capacity – The set number of rooms in a hotel.

Central Reservation System (CRS) – A system or an office that is used by hotels in one chain or organisation, or created by a third-party vendor, used to maintain hotel information, inventories and rates and to manage the reservation process.

Conversion – The transition by a customer from shopping or gathering information to taking an action such as purchasing or making an inquiry.

Chain Code – What is the meaning/definition of Chain Code in the hospitality industry?

Chain Code is a two-character code used to identify hotel chains within a GDS. Chain codes may vary by GDS.

The Training Terminal offers an introductory course in Hotel Revenue Management.  Check out our Hotel Revenue Management Course.