Stay Controls are methods for hotels to restrict bookings. They can depend on a variety of factors and are generally based on a hotel’s booking patterns. Essentially, Stay Controls are restrictions that help a hotel realize higher revenue potential.
What are Stay Controls For?
Stay Controls are used by hotel revenue managers to achieve as close to full occupancy as possible, for as many weeks as possible during a calendar year, and into the future. There are many ways for a hotel to place controls on a visitor’s stay, but the specific controls that will be most useful for a given hotel will require an in-depth evaluation of that hotel’s booking patterns.
Benefits of Stay Controls
Stay Controls allow a hotel to maximize revenue potential during seasons of lower demand. By analyzing booking and stay patterns, a hotel can implement controls that minimize periods of low occupancy. In turn, these controls can help a hotel manager identify changes to a hotel’s reservation policy that will ultimately increase hotel profitability.
Limitations of Stay Controls
A hotel’s ability to implement Stay Controls may greatly depend on the regulations of the county, state, or region in which they operate. For example, certain counties may place restrictions on both length-of-stay controls, as well as a hotel’s ability to leverage dynamic pricing.
Additionally, certain Stay Controls come with risk. As a hotel, building customer loyalty can be just as important as maximizing daily revenue potential. A hotel must weigh the pros and cons of implementing Stay Controls in order to avoid alienating return guests.
How are Stay Controls Identified
Stay Controls should be implemented carefully. While the goal of Stay Controls is to boost hotel revenue, there are a number of ethical and legal questions that can impact a hotel’s bottom line when it comes to implementing Stay Controls.
Examples of Stay Controls
Here are some examples of Stay Controls:
● Minimum Length of Stay
● Maximum Length of Stay
● A Combination of Minimum and Maximum Length of Stay
● Dates Closed to Arrival (CTA)
● Dates Closed to Departure (CTD)
● Stay-Through Restrictions