Function Space Evaluations

Click New Evaluation to enter details about a potential group and to start an evaluation. The evaluation results help you decide how much to charge the group and to understand how much other forecasted business the group displacesClosed In an evaluation, displacement refers to the rooms, revenue or profit that you lose from other bookings when you accept a group..

You can run evaluations for only guest rooms, only Function Space, or both. For an overview of all features, see Function Space.

What Help Do You Need With Function Space Evaluations?

Steps to Evaluate

If your G3 RMS integrates with the Delphi system, you can start evaluations in Delphi. Note that multi-property function space evaluations are not available.

  1. Click and then Evaluations.
  2. Click New Evaluation. The Evaluation Details page opens.
  3. Enter a unique Group Name. This field is not required. If you want to run a quick evaluation without a name, G3 RMS will ask you to add one if you save the evaluation.
  4. Select the appropriate Market Segment for the group.
  5. Change the Include setting as needed: clear the Guest Rooms checkbox to evaluate only function space, clear the Function Space checkbox to evaluate only guest rooms, or leave both selected to evaluate both for the same group.
  6. Choose the Evaluation Method for the group:
    • Run-of-House considers the inventory of all Room Classes that are set up as Include in ROH evaluation.
    • Room Class allows you to select a specific number of guest rooms from selected room types.

    If you want to compare results from both options for the same group, run one evaluation for the group using Run-of-House, then run a second evaluation using Room Class.

  7. If needed, change the Materialization status of the group. These definitions might not match the ones in your reservation system, so use them according to your property’s procedures. This status is only informational and has no impact on evaluations results.
    • Definite: The group has confirmed the reservation, and the price and day of arrival are fixed.
    • Scenario: The group is an inquiry or prospective business, and neither you nor the group have an obligation.
    • Tentative: You are negotiating with the group.
  8. Select an optional Follow-up Date, for example, the contract due date. This date is informational and doesn't trigger a reminder.
  9. Select the Arrival Date(s). The Guest Rooms and Function Space heat maps display occupancy forecast color-coding to help you locate dates that are most likely to be a good fit for the group.
  10. Enter the Number of Nights of the group's stay, up to 14 nights when you include Function Space and up to 90 nights for only Guest Rooms.
  11. If needed, change the group's Preferred arrival date by clicking the radio button next to the date.
  12. If needed, click the delete icon to remove a selected arrival date.
  13. Record information regarding the group in the optional Notes field.
  14. Add the group details in the Guest Rooms, Function Space, Costs and Ancillary tabs below. If you use Package Pricing, add those details as well. Click a tab name below to view the steps:

    Use this tab to select all Packages that you want G3 RMS to use in the evaluation. You also define any commission that applies to the revenue streams included in the Package. For Guest Rooms, you define the commission in the Costs tab.

    1. Select the Package Type.
    2. If applicable, enter the Commission % that applies to the included revenue streams.
    3. Click to add the Package type. The package type is added to the table below. If needed, delete the package type.
    4. Repeat the steps if you have packages of more than one type.
    5. Under Package Name, select the package.
    6. Add the Number of Delegates per day. If the package is set to include guest rooms, enter the number for Single Occ and Double Occ.

    Guest Room selection differs depending on whether you selected a Run-of-House evaluation or a Room Class evaluation.

    The number of rooms must be less than or equal to the property's Maximum Physical Capacity but can exceed the Available Rooms to Sell. These values display following the field to enter the number of rooms. They are either at the property level (Run-of-House) or room type level (Room Class):

    • Rooms to Sell = Physical Capacity – Out of Order - Sold + Overbooking. Group rooms can exceed this value.
    • Capacity = Physical Capacity – Out of Order. Group rooms can't exceed this value.

    Note: for Run-of-House, the capacity considers only the inventory of Room Classes set as Include in ROH evaluation.

    When you accept a group that exceeds Rooms to Sell, you might incur costs from walking other guests. The system considers these costs in the evaluation and displays them in the details of the evaluation results. For additional information, you also see the Final Price and Special Events.

    Run-of-House

    1. Type of the number of rooms per night requested by the group in the top Rooms field. This value populates for each day of stay.
    2. Change the Rooms value by Date of Stay, as needed.

    Room Class (only for Single Property)

    1. Select the Room Types. The room types from which you can select are those that you designated as being available for evaluations in Room Type setup.
    2. Enter the number of requested rooms for each Room Type in the top field. This value populates for each day of stay.
    3. Change the Rooms value by Date of Stay, as needed.

    Use the Function Space tab to designate the group's function room booking requirements and the contribution from Conference & Banquet revenue streams.

    1. Click the Function Space tab.
    2. Add the revenues and, if needed, commission for each revenue stream that you expect the group to use. All Conference & Banquet revenue stream display, except the one defined as Is Rental because G3 RMS recommends the rental value.
      1. Enter the total Revenue for any applicable Revenue Stream. It's the total for all days of the function room usage.
      2. If needed, enter the Commission % for the revenue stream.
    3. Enter the total Function Space Costs that apply to the function room usage, for example, a function room discount.
    4. Set the Date and Time for the function space use. Ensure that they meet the evaluation requirements.
      1. Click the Start Date Time and End Date Time calendar icons to select a start date/time and an end date/time for the group's Function Space use.
      2.  Set the Start Date Time to be the time on which the group will begin using the room on the Start Date, including set up time.
      3.  Set the End Date Time to be the time on which the group will be finished with the room on the End Date, including tear down time.
      4.  Select the Recur through end date checkbox if the group uses the room exclusively from the Start Time to the End Time every day, but the room could be sold before and after on each day. Do not select the checkbox if you want the evaluation to consider the Function Space as occupied by the group from the Start Time on the Start Date through the End Time on the End Date, including all hours in between.
      5. Click anywhere outside of the calendars to continue.
    5. Define what Function Space the group uses with one of two methods:
      • Select Sq. Meters or Sq. Feet (depending on your General Configuration setting) and type the total Function Space area required for the group. Select the Price Tier for the space that the group requires. The requested room area must be within the available capacity of the selected Price Tier. You may need to verify that sufficient function space is available to accommodate the request. In its evaluation, the system can use any available meeting space that belongs to that Price Tier.
      • Select Room and click in the Room field. Enter characters from the names of the indivisible or combination rooms that the group could use to filter the list, and select the room. You can select multiple rooms, but if you select a combination room, you can't also select the room's indivisible parts.

      Select an option based on what you know. If the event require five rooms, and you know the names of matching rooms but not their total size, use the Room option. If you know the size of required function space and the Price Tier, use the first option instead.

      Regardless of which option you use, G3 RMS uses the information only to determine the amount of space and time that is being consumed within each Price Tier. For example, if you select Ballroom A, the system does not check during the evaluation whether this specific room is available or not. Instead, it uses the size and Price Tier of Ballroom A to calculate how much demand the group displaces based on the available capacity and expected demand of that Price Tier.

      In both cases, the selected tiers impact the Recommended Function Space Rental, because the displacement is calculated at the Price Tier level, and the value of the space is calculated based on Price Tier, market segment, day of the week, season and Day Part.

    6. Click Add. The Function Space details for each daily occurrence populate in the grid.
    7. If the group requires additional rooms, repeat steps 4. to 6.

    Use the Costs tab to capture the value of any concessions like discounts or rebates for guest rooms. For example, a group that is using 100 rooms might want one complimentary room for every 50 included in the block, or a 5% discount for every room over 100 in the block. In the evaluation, G3 RMS applies these values as guest room costs for acquiring the group.

    Commission

    The guest room commission paid per room for the group. For Room Class evaluations, G3 RMS applies the specified commission percentage by each room type.

    1. Enter the commission percentage value per room in Per Room Cost.
    2. Enter a Description of the cost.
    3. Click Add.

    Complimentary Room Nights

    The number or ratio of free nights given to the group. For Room Class Evaluations, G3 RMS calculates this cost as the weighted average for all selected room types.

    1. Select the Cost Type to define the cost as a Ratio of the rooms or a Total number of rooms.
    2. Enter the total number of rooms that are complimentary. You can enter up to one less than the total number of rooms that the group requested. If you select Ratio, enter the ratio of complimentary rooms in the first and second fields. For example, if one room is complimentary for every ten rooms purchased, type 1 in the first field and 10 in the Complimentary Rooms per field.
    3. Enter a Description of the cost.
    4. Click Add. 
    5. Repeat the steps as needed to capture all complimentary rooms for the group.

    Discounted Room Nights

    The number or ratio of rooms offered to the group at a discounted value. For Room Class Evaluations, G3 RMS calculates this cost as the weighted average for all selected room types.

    1. Select the Cost Type to define the cost as a Ratio of the rooms or a Total number of rooms.
    2. Enter the total number of rooms that you are discounting. You can enter up to the total number of rooms that the group requested. If you select Ratio, enter the ratio of complimentary rooms in the first and second fields. For example, if one room is discounted for every ten rooms purchased, type 1 in the first field and 10 in the Discounted Rooms per field.
    3. Enter the value of the discount in the Discounted Rooms at field.
    4. Select if the discount is a Value or a % of room cost.
    5. Enter a Description of the cost.
    6. Click Add.
    7. Repeat the steps as needed to capture all discounted rooms for the group.

    Other Concessions

    Use this category for up to five other concessions that don't fit into the other categories. For example, complimentary breakfast, free parking, free airport transportation, or room type upgrades.

    1. Enter the total number of rooms to which the cost applies. You can enter up to the total number of rooms that the group requested for each concession.
    2. Enter the value of the discount in the Per Room Cost field.
    3. Enter a Description of the cost.
    4. Click Add.
    5. Repeat the steps as needed to capture all concessions for the group.

    Rebates

    Rebates are a deduction from the amount paid by a guest, using a reduction, return, or refund. For Room Class Evaluations, G3 RMS applies the rebate percentage to the rate returned for each specified room type.

    1. Enter the total number of Rooms to which the rebate applies. You can enter up one room less than the total number of rooms that the group requested.
    2. Enter the value of the rebate per room in Per Room Cost.
    3. Select if the rebate is a Value or a % of room cost.
    4. Enter a Description of the cost.
    5. Click Add.
    6. Repeat the steps as needed to capture all rebates for the group.

    Use this pane to add any Ancillary revenues from the guest rooms that you want to include in the evaluation. See When to Include Ancillary Revenues for best practices.

    In multiproperty evaluations, you can designate different Ancillary Revenue Streams for each property.

    1. Select a Revenue Stream.
    2. Click Add.
    3. Enter the Revenue per Room Night for the revenue stream. This value is the average revenue that you expect the group to spend per room night. G3 RMS completes this value if you set up Ancillary Assignments by Season for the selected market segment. If needed, delete or change the default value.

    The Profit % is the average percentage of profit for each day of stay that your property generates from the revenue stream. G3 RMS adds this value based on your Ancillary configuration. The Total Profit Per Room Night is the Revenue per Room Night multiplied by the Profit %.

    See Ancillary for questions about its configuration.

  15. If you want G3 RMS to look for alternate dates for the group other than the selected arrival dates, see Alternate Dates below.
  16. Click Generate Evaluation. Evaluation Results display.

Using Alternate Dates

If you want G3 RMS to look for alternate dates:

  1. In a new evaluation, click Alternate Date anytime after you complete the Guest Rooms tab and before you complete the evaluation. The Alternate Date window opens.
  2. In the Weekly Alternate Dates fields, enter the number of Pre and Post weeks off the Preferred Arrival date for G3 RMS to search.
    •  The number of Pre weeks must be between the System Date and the arrival date, up to 12 weeks.
    •  The Post weeks can be up to 14 days prior to the end of the Forecast Window.
  3. Select the days of the week for G3 RMS to consider in its search.
  4. Click Generate.
  5. Review the results for Day, Date, and Estimated Displacement. Click the Show More link to view more than five results, when available. The results are sorted by displacement, with the lowest total displacement displayed first.
  6. To add suggested dates to the evaluation, select the checkbox for the date, and click Apply. You can include up to five potential arrival dates in an evaluation.

Re-Evaluating a Group

You cannot re-evaluate a group if you have removed its included Function Space or the Ancillary Revenue Stream from the system since the original evaluation. For example, if you remove a priceable function room that you included in a previous evaluation, you will still see the original evaluation, but you will not be able to re-evaluate the group with that function room.

  1. Click .
  2. Click Evaluation.
  3. Click the Action menu for the saved evaluation that you want to re-evaluate.
  4. Click Show Details. The Evaluation Details window displays.
  5. Change the data as needed.
  6. Click Re-Evaluate.

Best Practices for New Evaluations

Understand the Impact of Using Run-of-House versus Room Class Evaluations

Run-of-House

In a Run-of-House evaluation, G3 RMS considers the inventory of all Room Classes that are set up as Include in ROH evaluation.

Rooms to Sell applies to the same amount of inventory, so when the requested rooms exceed that value it means that you likely incur costs from walking other guests. The system considers these costs in the evaluation and displays them in the details of the evaluation results.

Room Class

Use a Room Class evaluation if the group requires specific room types or when you want G3 RMS to price room types differently. For example, a group that requires half of its rooms to be Standard and the other half Suites. It might not be optimal to price Suites the same as the Standard rooms. You define the number of rooms for each room type.

Rooms to Sell applies to the selected room type and when you exceed that value for a room type, G3 RMS assumes that you distribute the business to other room types. The system still considers and displays walk costs since the adding the group might exceed overall property capacity.

Understand When to Include Ancillary Revenues

In an evaluation you can enter the ancillary revenues for guest rooms. G3 RMS then compares the ancillary net profit from the group against the profit of the business it displaces. In general, the higher the group's net ancillary profit, the lower the recommended rate.

Note: Only add Ancillary revenues if you have set up Ancillary Assignments by Season. If you have set up Ancillary Assignments by Season and you delete them in the evaluation, keep in mind that the system still uses the configured values to calculate displacementClosed In an evaluation, displacement refers to the rooms, revenue or profit that you lose from other bookings when you accept a group..

For details, see Ancillary setup.

Use G3 RMS to Find Alternate Dates

For groups with flexible arrival dates, can add up to four alternate dates, run the evaluation, and compare the results for the group's preferred arrival date against the alternate dates. G3 RMS can also suggest alternate dates for you that might be a better fit. For example, you find out that the recommended rate for the preferred date exceeds a group's budget and you want to find less busy dates when you can offer a lower rate.

When G3 RMS suggests alternate dates, it estimates displacementClosed In an evaluation, displacement refers to the rooms, revenue or profit that you lose from other bookings when you accept a group. of other business on surrounding dates. To get more accurate results for alternate dates, select the specific dates and run the evaluation.

Ensure that You Meet the Requirements to Run an Evaluation

  • You can't run an evaluation while G3 RMS is in Read Only mode, see Sync Services for more information. An evaluation doesn't put G3 RMS into Read Only mode.
  • If multiple users run an evaluation at the same time, they go into a queue. G3 RMS returns the results in the order in which the evaluations complete. Evaluation times might be longer in extreme cases where three or more users run simultaneous an evaluations.
  • You can evaluate Function Space for three years beyond the system date. The last stay date must be 14 days prior to the end of this three-year window.
  • If you include Function Space in an Evaluation, the maximum length of stay is 14 days.
  • If you include Guest Rooms in an Evaluation, the maximum length of stay is 90 days.
  • When you evaluate multiple arrival days, the number of days between the earliest and the latest arrival date cannot exceed 365 days. In other words, you cannot run a single evaluation for a group with arrival dates for the same date this year and next year.
  • When you select a start date and time and an end date and time for the group's Function Space use, the date range must be inclusive of all sleeping room nights and all function room nights. For example, if a group is arriving on June 1 and needs guest rooms for three nights (June 1, 2, 3), but a function room for June 4, then select a Start Date of June 1 and an End Date of June 4. You can enter zero for specific days of stay for guest rooms and function rooms if the group is not using one or the other on certain days of stay.
  • The time used for a function room can't fall entirely into a Day Part that you have excluded from the forecast.
  • The evaluation must include at least one indivisible function room with default pricing set up in Function Rooms.
  • You must map all your sales and catering market segments in Market Segment setup and sales and catering room types in Guest Room Type setup before you can run an Evaluation.
  • If you evaluate the group for multiple function rooms and the group later cancels one room, re-run the evaluation with the most up-to-date setup.
  • The time used for Function Space must include set up and tear down time. This allows the evaluation to consider all the time the space is unavailable for sale to another group.

    Multi-property Evaluations:

  •  Multi-property evaluations can include only Guest Rooms, not Function Space.
  • You must set up and select a Property Group that includes all the properties for the evaluation.
  • You must have permissions to access evaluations for all properties in the selected Property Group. The same applies to viewing saved evaluations.
  • The properties must share at least one group market segment.
  • Any property that you want to select is not in Read Only mode due to processing.

Best Practices for Re-Evaluating

Check the Revenue Streams

When you re-evaluate a saved evaluation, G3 RMS uses the saved Costs, Ancillary, and Conference & Banquet Revenue information. If you change the market segment, G3 RMS applies the revenue streams of the new market segment. If you change the preferred date, the system applies the revenue streams for that season. G3 RMS also resets the revenue and profit percentages.

G3 RMS removes any revenue streams that you deleted in setup since the last saved evaluation.

Readjust the Results as Needed

If you re-evaluate an adjusted group, G3 RMS overwrites your adjustments with the new system values. If needed, adjust and save them again.

Expect Different Results for Different Dates

If you re-evaluate a group using the same criteria but on a different date, the evaluation results might not be the same as the initial evaluation. A change in the forecast causes this difference, because the displacement analysis is based on the forecast.

Manage Multiple Property Results

If you re-evaluate individual property results when those results came from a multi-property group evaluation, two sets of evaluation results display. The first saved results from the multi-property evaluation remain unchanged. A second set of results displays for the new individual property evaluation.

If the Property Group that was associated with a multi-property evaluation is deleted, the green check mark still displays to indicate that the evaluation results for the property originated from a multi-property evaluation. You can only run a re-evaluation of these results for the single property and with the Run-of-House method.