Motel operations glossary
The terms behind your reservations and reports. For financial measures, use a consistent period and the accounting definitions agreed for your property.
- PMS
- Property management system: software that keeps reservations, room inventory and property operations together.
- OTA
- Online travel agency: a booking platform that distributes accommodation to travelers.
- Channel manager
- A system that distributes rates and availability across connected booking channels.
- Inventory
- The rooms or room-type quantities available to sell for a stay date.
- Rate plan
- A price offer with its own conditions, such as cancellation rules, meals or payment timing.
- Room mapping
- The connection between a property’s room types and the room types offered on another channel.
- Occupancy
- Rooms sold divided by rooms available for the same period, expressed as a percentage.
- ADR
- Average daily rate: room revenue divided by rooms sold for the same period.
- RevPAR
- Revenue per available room: room revenue divided by available rooms for the same period.
- Booking pace
- How reservations for a stay date accumulate over time; comparisons should use equivalent booking windows.
- Lead time
- The time between making a reservation and the planned arrival.
- Stayover
- A guest who remains at the property across the current business date.
- Walk-in
- A guest requesting a stay at the property without a prior reservation.
- No-show
- A reserved guest who does not arrive, as defined under the booking’s terms.
- Double booking
- Two reservations competing for accommodation the property cannot supply.
- Out of service
- A room withdrawn from sale, for example for maintenance; confirm your PMS’s status definitions.
- Night audit
- The property’s reconciliation and business-date handoff process, often performed overnight.
- Guest folio
- The record of charges, payments and adjustments associated with a guest’s stay.
- Revenue management
- A decision process that considers demand, availability and pricing; not a guarantee of revenue.
- Direct booking
- A reservation made with the property rather than through an intermediary.