A hotelier’s guide to: understanding revenue metrics 

04 June 2025, 02:31 am AEST

We understand that as a hotelier, your day is packed. From managing bookings to making sure guests are happy, you’re going to feel like you’re doing a million things at once. But what if you could take some of the guesswork out of your decisions?

That’s where hotel metrics come in.

These numbers don’t just sit pretty on a spreadsheet, they tell you exactly where you’re excelling and where there’s room to grow. Once you get the hang of a few key metrics, you’ll have the power to make smarter choices, boost your revenue and create better experiences for your guests.

Let’s take a closer look at the metrics that matter most and why they’ll help your business thrive.

1. Average Daily Rate (ADR): Your room’s price tag

Let’s start with something simple: you’re hosting a dinner party, and you decide to charge $25 per plate. If you manage to serve 10 people, you’ve made $250. ADR is just the same but for your rooms. It tells you how much revenue each room is earning on average. You can increase your ADR by adjusting your room rates based on demand, events, or peak seasons. The more you adjust wisely, the more you stand to earn.

2. Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR): How’s your room doing overall?

RevPAR is like the superpower of hotel metrics. It takes into account both your room rates (ADR) and your occupancy rate to show how much revenue you’re earning per available room.

For example, if your room rate is $100 and your occupancy is 80%, RevPAR shows the average revenue you earn from all rooms, not just the booked ones. It combines both your room rate and occupancy to give a full picture of your revenue.

If occupancy is low but rates are high, RevPAR helps you see that lowering rates could increase bookings and improve revenue.

3. Bookings by Source: Where are your reservations coming from?

Are guests booking through OTAs like Expedia, or are they finding you directly via your website? Bookings by source shows you where your traffic is coming from, helping you understand which marketing channels are working best for you.

If you’re getting a lot of bookings from OTAs, you might want to focus on converting more of those into direct bookings. If most of your bookings are from your website, great! Keep feeding that traffic and optimizing your site to convert even more.

Here’s how this looks in the Sirvoy dashboard:


4. Occupancy Rate: Are your rooms filled?

Imagine you’re hosting a party with 50 spots, but only 30 people show up. Your occupancy rate is 60%. It’s just that simple. This metric shows how many of your rooms are actually booked, which can help you understand your hotel’s demand.

Low occupancy can be a sign that your marketing is missing the mark or that you’re charging too much for rooms. On the flip side, if your occupancy is too high, it might be time to raise your prices or look for ways to create more room availability. (Hello, happy guests and higher profits!)

5. Cash Receipts: Tracking the flow of money

Imagine you’re running a guesthouse. One guest pays for their stay upfront with a credit card, that’s when you create a cash receipt. But then another guest decides to book for a future date and asks for an invoice. They’ll pay later. That’s tracked separately as an invoice.

If your cash receipts aren’t adding up like you expected, it might mean some guests haven’t paid yet or there’s a glitch with a payment method. And don’t forget about those invoices! Keeping track of both receipts, invoices and invoice payments gives you the full picture of your incoming payments, so you can ensure your cash flow is in check and you’re always ready for the next big expense.

6. Nationalities: Where are your guests coming from?

Knowing where your guests are traveling from offers valuable insights for adjusting your marketing strategy. For example, if you see a high number of guests from the United States, it could be a good time to tailor your promotions to better appeal to that market.

It also opens up opportunities for growth. If guests are coming from countries you didn’t expect, you might want to focus on attracting even more from these regions or adapting your services to meet their preferences.

Here’s how this looks in the Sirvoy dashboard:


7. Guest Nights: How long are they staying?

Want to know how many people are staying – and for how long?
Guest nights count every guest for every night they stay. So if two guests stay in one room for a single night, that’s 2 guest nights. If they stay two nights, that’s 4 guest nights.

This metric helps you spot patterns in stay length and occupancy. The longer your guests stay, the more opportunities you have to generate revenue – whether through upsells, meals, or extras.

You can use this insight to offer discounts for extended stays or design packages that encourage guests to stay a bit longer. It’s a win-win for both you and your guests.


8. Charts: Visualizing Your Performance

Sometimes, numbers on a page can feel overwhelming, but charts provide a much clearer picture. In Sirvoy, the Total Number of Units chart allows you to easily track the performance of your rooms over time, showing how many rooms are being booked and when.

The Inverted Total Number of Units chart flips this on its head, helping you quickly see periods where occupancy was lower. By comparing both charts, you can spot trends, identify peak booking times, and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Here’s how this looks in the Sirvoy dashboard:


Why do metrics matter?

Understanding hotel metrics is more than just number crunching. It’s about making informed decisions that can increase your revenue, improve guest satisfaction, and enhance your operations.

The Sirvoy advantage: easy tracking, smarter decisions

At Sirvoy, we make it easy to track all these metrics. Our system gives you real-time data so you can make smarter decisions. Whether it’s adjusting room rates or increasing occupancy, you’ll have the insights you need to take action.

Want to take the guesswork out of your hotel’s performance? Book your free demo with Sirvoy today and discover how understanding your metrics can help you grow.

“Since signing up with Sirvoy we’ve increased direct bookings from our website by 50%. It is an easy system for our customers to navigate and our employees to use. Another great thing about Sirvoy is the statistics where you can get a great overview of your business performance.”

– HøloftetBB, Sweden