As a hotel owner, manager or marketer, you are always striving to improve your business. You want to attract more guests, increase revenue, and provide top-notch service. To achieve these goals, you need to track the right metrics. That's where KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) come in. In this article, I will discuss the top 8 KPIs for the hotel industry and explain why tracking them is so important.
What is a KPI?
Before we dive into the KPIs that matter most for the hotel industry, let's define what a KPI is. A KPI is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving its key business objectives. In other words, KPIs are metrics that help you understand whether you are on track to meet your goals. KPIs can vary depending on the industry and the specific goals of a business.
This is Why You Should Always Track KPIs
Tracking KPIs is crucial for any business, including hotels. Here are some reasons why:
1. Measure performance
KPIs help you measure how well your hotel is performing. By tracking KPIs, you can see whether you are meeting your targets and identify areas that need improvement. For example, if your occupancy rate is consistently low, you can try to increase it by adjusting your pricing strategy or improving your marketing efforts.
2. Make informed decisions
KPIs provide valuable insights that can help you make informed decisions. By tracking KPIs over time, you can identify trends and patterns that can inform your strategy. For example, if you notice that your ADR is higher during certain times of the year, you can adjust your pricing strategy to take advantage of this trend.
3. Identify opportunities
KPIs can also help you identify new opportunities for growth. By tracking metrics like online booking conversion rate, you can see whether your website is effectively converting visitors into guests. If your conversion rate is low, you can focus on improving your website's user experience to increase conversions.
What KPIs are important for the hotel industry?
Now that we've covered why tracking KPIs is important, let's dive into the top 8 KPIs for the hotel industry.
Average Daily Rate (ADR)
ADR is one of the most important KPIs for hotels. This metric measures the average price per room, per day. ADR is calculated by dividing total room revenue by the number of rooms sold. ADR is important because it directly impacts your revenue per available room (RevPAR), which I'll dive into in the next section.
How to calculate
ADR = Rooms revenue earned / Number of rooms sold
To improve your ADR, you can implement dynamic pricing strategies, offer packages and promotions, and focus on providing exceptional customer service.
Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR)
RevPAR is another key metric for hotels. This KPI measures the total revenue generated by all available rooms, divided by the total number of available rooms. RevPAR takes into account both occupancy rate and ADR, making it a valuable metric for understanding your hotel's overall performance.
How to calculate
RevPAR = Total revenue / Number of rooms available
To increase your RevPAR, you can focus on increasing your occupancy rate, implementing revenue management strategies, and optimizing your pricing.
Average Length of Stay (ALOS)
ALOS measures the average number of nights guests stay at your hotel. This KPI is important because it can impact your ADR and RevPAR. Guests who stay longer tend to spend more on other hotel services, like food and beverage, spa treatments, and activities.
To calculate this metric, you need to define a period, either a month, a quarter or a year. Add up number of room nights booked in that period. Find out how many reservation was made in that period. Divide the number of room nights by total reservations to get your ALOS.
How to calculate
ALOS = Number of room nights / Total reservation reservations
To increase your ALOS, you can offer packages and promotions that encourage longer stays, provide exceptional customer service, and create a memorable guest experience.
Occupancy Rate
Occupancy rate measures the percentage of rooms that are occupied during a specific time period. Occupancy rate is important because it directly impacts your revenue. A higher occupancy rate means more revenue, while a lower occupancy rate means less revenue.
How to calculate
Occupancy Rate = Rooms sold / Available rooms
To increase your occupancy rate, you can implement marketing strategies to attract more guests, adjust your pricing strategy, and improve your online presence.
RevPAR Room Type Index (ReRTI)
ReRTI measures the RevPAR of each room type in your hotel, compared to the overall RevPAR. This hotel KPI is important because it can help you identify which room types are most profitable and which ones need improvement.
The calculations for this one is a bit tricky, so stay with me.
How to calculate
ReRTI = % Total RevPAR for a room type / number of specific room type / % inventory x number of specific room type
To improve your ReRTI, you can adjust your pricing strategy for each room type, offer promotions for underperforming room types, and make improvements to rooms that are receiving low ratings.
Revenue from food and beverage
Food and beverage is an important revenue stream for hotels. This KPI measures the total revenue generated by food and beverage sales. To increase your revenue from food and beverage, you can offer innovative menus, create unique dining experiences, and promote your restaurant to guests and locals alike.
Benchmarks are hard to find, so historical benchmarking is the way to go on this KPI.
Spa and wellness revenue
Spa and wellness services are becoming increasingly popular among hotel guests. This KPI measures the total revenue generated by spa and wellness services. To increase your spa and wellness revenue, you can offer a variety of services, create packages that combine multiple services, and promote your spa to guests and locals.
Online booking conversion rate
A slightly different, but still oh so relevant is online booking conversion rate. This KPI measures the percentage of website visitors who book a room. This KPI is important because it can help you understand whether your website is effective at converting visitors into guests.
How to calculate
Conversion rate % = Total online bookings / Amount of visitors x 100
To increase your online booking conversion rate, you can improve your website's user experience, offer incentives for booking directly through your website, or do conversion rate optimizations.
How can you track these metrics?
Now that you know which KPIs to track, you may be wondering how to track them. Here are some tips:
Use a hotel management system
A hotel management system can help you track KPIs in real-time. Many systems offer built-in reporting and analytics tools that can help you understand your hotel's performance.
Set up a spreadsheet
If you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can set up a spreadsheet to track your KPIs. Be sure to update your spreadsheet regularly and analyze the data to identify trends and patterns.
Hire a marketing agency
If you don't have the time or resources to track KPIs on your own, consider hiring a marketing agency. Many agencies specialize in hotel marketing and can help you track and analyze your KPIs.