In many hotels, “Pace” and “Pick-up” are treated as synonyms. But to a seasoned Revenue Manager, using them interchangeably is like a pilot confusing “altitude” with “climb rate.” One tells you where you are; the other tells you how fast you’re moving.
NB: This is an article from Demand Calendar
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If you want to move beyond “heads in beds” and start driving true profitability, we need to clear the fog.
The Thesis: Why You Need Both
You cannot build a proactive strategy without a deep understanding of both metrics. They serve two distinct functions in your tactical toolkit:
Pick-up is your “Tactical Feedback Loop”: It tells you if your current actions—like a flash sale, a new OTA promotion, or a price hike—are working right now.
Pace is your “Strategic Early Warning System”: It tells you if your long-term goals are at risk. You might have a great pick-up today, but if your pace is still 20% behind last year, you are still in a “recovery” phase, not a “growth” phase.
If you only look at pick-up, you’re flying blind to the finish line. If you only look at pace, you’re reacting too late to the market’s daily shifts. Mastery lies in the intersection of the two.
Total Revenue: The “Volume vs. Rate” Dimensional Shift
To truly understand performance, we have to look past the top-line revenue number. Total revenue is built on two primary levers: Volume (how many rooms/units were sold) and Rate (the price at which they were sold).
In modern revenue management, seeing that your revenue is “up” isn’t enough. You need to know how it got there. Did you sell more rooms at a lower price, or fewer rooms at a premium? This is where we apply our Pace and Pick-up definitions to the Volume vs. Rate lens.
1. Volume Pace vs. Rate Pace: The “Healthy Mix”
When we compare our position to last year (STLY), we look for the Variance.
- Volume Pace: Are we ahead or behind in Room Nights? If you are 50 rooms ahead of last year but your revenue is flat, you have a Rate Pace problem. You are working harder (higher operational costs) for the same result.
- Rate Pace: Are we ahead or behind in ADR? If your ADR is $20 higher than last year but your occupancy is 15% lower, you are running a “Yield” strategy. This is often more profitable, provided the volume drop doesn’t leave the hotel feeling “empty” and hurting your ancillary outlets.
Read the full article at Demand Calendar
