Budget

Definition

A hotel’s budget is the revenue plan for the year — target occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR, usually broken down by month, segment, and sometimes room category. It is set before the year starts (top-down owner targets reconciled with a bottom-up build) and, once approved, stays fixed as the reference line.

What it tells you

The budget is the expectation set in advance; the forecast is the live expectation of where you’ll actually land; the actual is reality. Reading pace “vs budget” asks whether today’s booking trajectory is ahead of, on, or behind the path historically needed to reach the budgeted number — a qualitative confidence check, not just an absolute occupancy figure.

How to track it

Compare the current on-the-books position against the historical pace path that lands on the budgeted final. Being a few points ahead of that path early signals you are tracking to meet or beat budget; falling behind it flags a date or segment that needs action.

Where it fits

The backbone of the annual planning cycle and the weekly revenue meeting. Budget, forecast, and actual together form the three-legged control an RM uses to steer the year — never one in isolation. The free Academy teaches it step by step: Budget and the planning cycle.