Revenue Management
Pace
The rate at which bookings accumulate for a future date versus the same point last year.
Academic definition
Pace is the rate at which reservations accumulate for a future date, measured relative to a reference point — most commonly the same number of days before arrival in a prior period or year. By comparing how many rooms are on the books today against how many were on the books at the equivalent lead time historically, pace reveals whether demand for a date is building faster or slower than usual. It is a forward-looking indicator central to revenue management, signalling when to raise rates as demand outpaces history or to stimulate bookings when it lags. Pace is tracked by segment and by date, and is read alongside pickup, which measures bookings gained over a recent interval. Pace describes the trajectory of booking volume and revenue toward a date; it does not by itself describe the profitability or channel composition of the bookings accumulating.
Worked example
A summer weekend is pacing 12% ahead of last year on room-nights, but a channel breakdown shows the lead is almost all OTA — pace looks strong while the profit trajectory quietly lags.
The ProfitPAR™ lens
Pace tells you the booking curve is running hot or cold, but the curve has a composition the headline number hides. A date can pace ahead of last year on volume while pacing behind on profit, if the bookings filling it early are the cheap, commissioned, refundable kind. Reacting to pace alone — raising rates because the room count looks strong — can lock in a mix that fills the hotel with margin-poor demand. ProfitPAR™ reads pace by channel and segment, asking not just whether bookings are ahead of pace but whether profitable bookings are. A date pacing ahead on OTA volume is a warning to push direct, not a signal to relax.
A date can pace ahead on rooms and behind on profit at the same time.
Measure what each room actually keeps.
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Request an InvitationWorked examples use illustrative figures in Indian Rupee (₹) with lakh/crore conventions. They are composite and representative, not drawn from any single property. ProfitPAR™ is a trademark of Sibasish Misra.