Hotel Revenue Glossary · Demand

Compression Night

A date when qualified demand is high relative to available comparable supply across a market or segment. Events, conventions, holidays, supply outages, and overlapping drivers may contribute, but product, location, room type, and channel determine each hotel's response.

Why it matters: Compression can support price, restriction, and channel tests, but profit and elasticity still depend on the property, product, guest mix, contract, conversion, cancellation, service capacity, and displacement. Measure response rather than assume maximum profit or minimal occupancy impact.

Worked example: Four weeks out, a Saturday sits at 78% on the books against 44% at the same lead time on a normal Saturday, and three of your five comps show no availability. On 160 rooms that is 125 sold, 35 left. Move BAR from A$219 to A$289 and those 35 rooms are worth 35 × A$289 = A$10,115 instead of A$7,665 - A$2,450 more if they all still sell. Set a checkpoint: if fewer than 12 go in seven days, step back to A$255.

Common mistake: Raising rate on a compression night and then not watching what happens. Compression tells you demand is high relative to supply; it does not tell you how far your guests will follow the rate. Book a review date when you make the move, compare pickup to a normal night at the same lead time, and roll back if it stalls.

All glossary terms Citywide Event BAR (Best Available Rate) Dynamic Pricing