Hospitality Glossary
– plain-English terms for hotels, resorts & vacation rentals
Hospitality runs on acronyms. CTD, MLOS, GDS, rate parity, net vs. sell… here's every term distribution throws at you — for hotels, resorts, and vacation rentals — explained in one or two sentences. No jargon loop.
Distribution essentials
Start with Channel Managers, PMS, and OTAs to understand how hotel distribution fits together.
Foundational
Channel Manager: What It Is and Why You Need One
What Is a Hotel Channel Manager? A hotel channel manager is software that synchronizes room inventory, rates, and availability across online travel agencies (O…
Foundational
What Does a Hotel PMS or Property Management System Mean?
In this dynamic hospitality industry, hotel operating systems have become a critical tool to conduct daily operations with ease. Among these systems, hotel sof…
Foundational
OTA Hotel — What It Means for Property Managers
What Is an OTA Hotel? An OTA hotel is a property that distributes its rooms through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) — third-party booking platforms like Booking.…
A
Allocation
The number of rooms a hotel has available to be sold.
Average Daily Rate (ADR): Hotel Metric Explained
What Is Average Daily Rate? Average Daily Rate (ADR) is a key performance metric that measures the average revenue earned per occupied room per day. It is calc…
B
Booking Engine: Direct Booking Technology Explained
A hotel booking engine accepts direct reservations through your website. Understand integrations, payment responsibilities and the costs behind direct-booking…
Brand
What is a hotel brand? A hotel brand is referred to as the hotel chain (such as Holiday Inn, or Hilton) that a hotel joins with. A hotel can change their brand…
C
Channel Manager vs. CRS: What’s the Difference?
A channel manager distributes rates and availability. A CRS centralizes reservations and commercial controls. Learn where they overlap and when you need each.
Channel Manager: What It Is and Why You Need One
What Is a Hotel Channel Manager? A hotel channel manager is software that synchronizes room inventory, rates, and availability across online travel agencies (O…
CTA
Closed to Arrival
What does CTA or Closed to Arrival mean? When CTA aka “closed to arrival” is set for a date, a guest can not book this date if their stay begins on this date.…
CTD
Closed To Departure
What does CTD or Closed To Departure mean? When CTD aka “closed to departure” is set for a date, a guest can not book this date if their stay ends on this date…
Corporate Rate Hotel — How Negotiated Rates Work
What Is a Corporate Rate Hotel? A corporate rate hotel is a property that offers discounted room rates to employees of companies that have negotiated a rate ag…
Cut Off Days
What does hotel cut off days mean? Cut Off Days (or sometimes also called Cut Off Hours or Cut Off Date) allows inventory to be closed out, or appear unavailab…
D
Direct Booking Strategies for Independent Hotel Groups
Grow direct bookings with a better booking experience, useful guest benefits and clear channel-cost comparisons across your hotel group.
Distribution Channels: Definition, Types & Examples
Learn what hotel distribution channels are, how direct bookings, OTAs, GDS and wholesalers differ, and how hotels keep rates and availability aligned.
Dynamic Pricing in Hotels: Decisions, Demand Signals and Examples
How hotels adjust room prices using demand signals, manual or automated decisions, and practical guardrails—with a worked example.
M
Markup & Margin
What does hotel margin or hotel markup mean? Hotel markup and margin are terms used to calculate how much a sales website collects as their fee from booking on…
Max Nights, Max LOS, Maximum Length of Stay
What does hotel max nights (aka max los, or maximum length of stay) mean? TL;DR Max LOS, also referred to as “maximum nights on arrival,” activates on the arri…
Min Nights, MLOS, Minimum Length of Stay
What does hotel min nights (aka MLOS, or minimum length of stay) mean? A minimum length of stay restriction only shows the stay as bookable if the stay is equa…
N
Net Rate
What does hotel net rate mean? Understanding Hotel Net Rates Hotel net rates are essentially the rates offered to OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) or other bookin…
No-Show Hotel Policy — What It Is and How to Enforce It
What Is a No-Show Hotel Policy? A no-show hotel policy is a property's stated rule that guests who make a reservation but fail to arrive — without canceling or…
O
OTA Commission — What Hotels Pay and How to Reduce It
What Is OTA Commission? OTA commission is the fee that Online Travel Agencies charge hotels for each booking made through their platform. It's typically calcul…
OTA Commission Optimization: Reducing Distribution Costs
Compare OTA commissions, direct-booking costs and channel contribution to reduce distribution costs without losing profitable demand.
OTA Hotel — What It Means for Property Managers
What Is an OTA Hotel? An OTA hotel is a property that distributes its rooms through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) — third-party booking platforms like Booking.…
R
Rate Parity Compliance: Responsibilities, Contracts and Escalation
Manage property-specific rate-parity obligations with clear contract ownership, promotion approvals, evidence records and escalation procedures.
Rate Parity: Meaning, Rules & Examples
Hotel rate parity means comparing like-for-like rates across channels. Learn how contracts, regional rules, promotions, and channel management affect it.
Revenue Management — A Practical Guide for Operators
What Is Hotel Revenue Management? Hotel revenue management is the practice of selling the right room, to the right guest, at the right time, for the right pric…
Revenue Management Basics for Small Hotel Chains
Build a practical revenue-management routine for a small hotel chain: accurate metrics, property-level pricing and clear distribution costs.
RevPAR: Meaning, Formula and Examples
Learn what hotel RevPAR means, how to calculate it, how it differs from ADR, and how to report it accurately across a multi-property portfolio.
S
Sell Rate
What does hotel sell rate mean? When your hotel’s room nights are sold via one of your distribution channels, the amount the guest has to pay for your hotel’s…
Stop Sell
What Does Hotel Stop Sell Mean? A Comprehensive Guide Managing room inventory effectively is crucial for hotels, especially during high-demand periods. One of…
W
What Does a Hotel PMS or Property Management System Mean?
In this dynamic hospitality industry, hotel operating systems have become a critical tool to conduct daily operations with ease. Among these systems, hotel sof…
What is a Hotel Wholesaler?
Understanding the Role of a Hotel Wholesaler in the Hospitality Industry The hospitality industry is a network of hotels, distributors, travel sellers, and tec…
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