On The Books (OTB)

Why is On The Books important in hotels?

Monitoring OTB allows a hotel to have an up-to-date snapshot of current reservations, thus anticipating demand trends and adjusting sales strategies accordingly.

Analyzing the On The Books is useful to:

• Verify whether occupancy goals are being met
• Compare performance with the same period in previous years
• Identify demand peaks or drops in advance
• Adjust pricing and availability to maximize revenue

For example, a very high On The Books for a future date may indicate an opportunity to increase rates (if demand remains strong), while a low OTB may require promotional actions or price adjustments.

OTB is also a key factor when evaluating group or event requests: by comparing OTB with total capacity and the forecast, hotels can decide whether to accept a request or not (see also displacement analysis).

How is On The Books analyzed in hotels?

On The Books (OTB) is monitored through daily or weekly reports, often displayed via a calendar or table showing confirmed bookings for each future day.

One of the main advantages of OTB is the ability to make comparisons: to understand whether the property is performing better or worse than in previous years. But how do you compare On The Books? By analyzing confirmed bookings alongside pickup (new bookings day by day) and historical data.

For example, today’s occupancy may be equal to or higher than last year’s on the same date, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re generating the same or higher revenue. To verify this, you must analyze OTB data on occupancy, ADR (Average Daily Rate), and RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room) and compare them with those recorded on the same date the previous year.

Basically, you need to retrieve the sales forecast you had on the same date last year and compare it with current data. Only this way can you understand whether performance is truly improving, whether your pricing strategy is correct, and whether adjustments or targeted promotions are needed.