What is hotel occupancy?
Updated
Occupancy is the share of your available rooms that were sold on a given night, calculated as rooms sold divided by rooms available.
Why does it matter to a small hotel?
Occupancy is the number every hotelier knows without looking. It is useful because it is quick and because it moves with demand: a quiet Tuesday and a festival Saturday look nothing alike. It is also limited. It says how full you were, not how well you were paid, so a hotel can run at 90% and still make less than one at 70% with a higher rate. Use it for forward planning, such as how many rooms are left to sell for a date, and pair it with ADR and RevPAR to judge the result afterwards.
A worked example
The 24-room hotel averages 68% across the year, roughly 16 rooms a night. On an autumn Tuesday it has 16 of 24 sold, so occupancy is 16 ÷ 24 = 66.7%. By six days out on a summer Saturday it already has 20 sold, so 83.3% occupancy with four rooms left. That is the moment to ask whether the last four should go at £165, or higher. If you want to watch occupancy alongside your market, start a free RatePulse trial.
Related terms
Questions people ask
What is a good occupancy for a small hotel?
Many independent UK hotels we know sit somewhere in the 60s and 70s over a year; yours may differ. Seasonal and coastal hotels swing more. Judge yourself against your own history and nearby hotels.
Is higher occupancy always better?
No. Chasing it with low prices can cut RevPAR. The aim is the best revenue per room available, not the fullest house.
How is occupancy measured for a period?
Add up room-nights sold in the period and divide by room-nights available. For 24 rooms over 30 nights, available is 720.