Blog
Running a hotel, in plain words.
Distribution, pricing, operations and direct bookings — written for owners and managers of independent hotels, with worked examples and no jargon left unexplained.
What is a channel manager? How hotels stop double bookings
A channel manager is the system that keeps every booking site showing the same availability and prices — and takes a room off sale everywhere the moment it is sold anywhere.
How to prevent overbooking at a small hotel
Overbooking is rarely bad luck. It has a handful of causes, and each one has a fix you can put in place this month.
Booking.com commission: what a booking really costs your hotel
Commission looks like one percentage. Worked through a year of real stays, it is usually the largest cost a small hotel never sees on one invoice.
How to get more direct bookings: 12 tactics that work for small hotels
Direct bookings grow from a handful of unglamorous things done well: a booking page that is quick and honest, a reason to book there, and a route back for every guest you already won.
Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR explained, with worked examples
Three numbers describe how a hotel is selling. Each is simple; reading them together is where the decisions are.
Minimum stay, closed to arrival, stop sell: hotel restrictions explained
Restrictions are the quiet half of pricing. Used well, they fill the nights around your busiest days instead of leaving gaps.
Housekeeping for small hotels: run every room from a phone
Housekeeping goes wrong at the hand-off: the desk does not know a room is ready, or a cleaner does not know which room matters first. Both are fixable.
Deposits, card guarantees and prepayment: choosing a hotel payment policy
Every rate needs an answer to one question: what does the guest pay now? The right answer is different for a flexible rate and a non-refundable one.
Night audit explained: what closing the hotel day actually does
The night audit draws a line under the day: every stay charged, every no-show decided, every number agreed. Done right, it takes minutes.
Choosing hotel software: 10 questions to ask before you sign
Demos all look good. These ten questions show what a hotel system will be like on a busy Saturday, at renewal time and on the day you want to leave.
Derived rates explained: manage ten prices by changing one
Most hotels sell the same room at several prices that move together. Derived rates let you change the parent and have the family follow.
Rate parity in 2026: can your hotel be cheaper when booked direct?
For years hotels were told they could not undercut the booking sites on their own website. In the EU that has changed — but the details, and your contracts, still matter.