How different channels handle occupancy and how to configure your settings
Configure occupancy settings for channels
Channels handle occupancy differently, and the way you configure occupancy can significantly impact pricing and availability on different channels. Understanding these differences helps you set up your rates correctly and avoid pricing errors.
Your platform lets you set occupancy at both room type and room rate level. However, some channels only manage occupancy at the room type level, and others use specific occupancy-based pricing models that require special configuration.
Occupancy pricing models
Different channels might use different occupancy pricing models:
Occupancy-Based Pricing (OBP): Prices change based on guest count. Base rate is usually for a specific number of guests, and each occupancy level has a different price
Per-Day Pricing (PDP): One fixed price for the room regardless of guest count. Extra person charges only apply above base occupancy
Check your channel's requirements to ensure you're using the correct pricing model.
Set up occupancy for channels
To set up occupancy in your platform:
Go to Rooms and rates > Room types.
Set the base occupancy and maximum occupancy for each room type.
When mapping room rates to channels, configure channel-specific occupancy settings if available.
💡 Some channels require you to configure extra person charges directly on their extranet. Check with each channel for their specific requirements.
Configure occupancy in channel mapping
Common occupancy settings to configure when mapping channels (Distribution > Channels > Room rates mapping):
Base/included occupancy: The standard number of guests included in the rate.
Maximum occupancy: The maximum guests allowed in the room.
Extra guest charges: Amount to charge for additional guests above the base occupancy.
Child policies: Age ranges and pricing for children.
Each channel may require different configurations for these settings.
💡 Extra person charges: Some channels do not support receiving extra person charges from your platform. In this case, extra person charges need to be set up directly in the channel's extranet. Check with the channel directly for help to set up extra person charges.
Configure occupancy in the channel extranet
For most channels, you must configure occupancy settings directly in each channel's extranet:
Base and maximum occupancy limits.
Extra person charge amounts.
Child age policies and rates.
Single guest discount settings.
Room capacity configurations.
Always make sure occupancy settings match between your platform and the channel's extranet.
⚠️ When you change occupancy settings in your platform, you must also update the corresponding settings in each channel's extranet. Settings must match exactly between your platform and each channel to prevent rates becoming automatically disabled, pricing errors and booking failures, inventory sync issues, and reservation delivery problems.
Fix single guest pricing issues
If single guest pricing appears wrong on channels, this usually indicates an occupancy configuration mismatch.
Common single guest pricing problems:
Single guest discount not configured, so channel shows full price for one guest.
Occupancy model mismatch where your platform uses OBP but channel expects PDP.
Base occupancy set incorrectly, so channel calculates pricing from wrong starting point.
Single rate setting conflicts where rate is marked as single-only but configured for multiple guests.
To fix single guest pricing issues:
Go to Distribution > Channels.
Click the ellipsis button (three dots) then click Edit room rates mapping.
Click on the affected channel rate.
Click Configure.
Review these settings: included/base occupancy, maximum occupancy, single guest discount (if available), and single rate only setting.
Match your channel's pricing model.
Best practices for occupancy configuration
Create one room type with the appropriate maximum occupancy rather than creating separate room rates for different occupancies (like single, double, and triple rooms). Creating separate rates for each occupancy creates multiple inventory entries for the same room type and can cause overbookings.
Create one room type with the appropriate maximum occupancy.
Configure the correct included/base occupancy
Set up extra person charges for additional guests
Let the channel calculate pricing based on occupancy