Function Space Forecast Review

Use the Forecast Review page to ensure that the forecasted demand for Function Space meets your expectation. If you know something about the demand that G3 RMS doesn't know, override the forecast by date or by Day Part.

Function Only Business Status

After you review the Forecasted Utilization for a day, review the guest room data and then set the Function Only Business status to set the sell guidelines for function-only business. Preserve the function rooms for groups with guest rooms during high-demand periods and encourage the free sell of function rooms during low-demand periods. Select the status by day or Day Part. This information displays on the Demand Calendar.

The default setting is Evaluate. Change the status to Open or Closed, if needed. These statuses don't impact the sales and catering system.

  • Evaluate: Users can book function-only business, but should evaluate opportunities for fit and profitability.
  • Open: You want to encourage the selling of function-only business.
  • Closed: You are unlikely to accept function-only business. Users can still run an evaluation for Closed dates, since a specific Day Part may be open, or the business may still be a good opportunity.

Forecast Review Steps

Using the Filters

Use the optional filters to limit the days available to review or to override.

  1. Click and then Forecast Review.
  2. Click the Start Date and the End Date to select the date range to display:
    1. Click the default date.
    2. Complete one of the following options:
      • Enter a date in the Selection field.
      • Select Specific Date from the menu. Click the left or right arrows to navigate between months; click the double arrows to navigate between years. Click the appropriate date in the calendar.
      • Select Rolling Date from the menu. Select the System Date or choose to offset the System Date by a defined number of days by selecting either System Date - or System Date +. Enter the number of days to offset the System Date in the Selection field.
  3. Click the Forecast Level menu to filter for forecasts that fall into your Low, Medium or High range, as defined in Forecast Levels Configuration.
  4. Click the Day Parts menu to filter for a specific Day Part to display in the results.
  5. Click the Function Only Business menu to filter for a status of Closed, Evaluate or Open. See Function Space Demand Calendar for definitions of each status.
  6. Enter a % Change from Previous Forecast value to display the dates where the forecast has changed at or more than the selected value since the last optimization. For example, type "5" to view only days where the forecast increased at least 5%. The value that you enter can be positive or negative.
  7. Select the Show Overrides Only checkbox to display only dates with overrides.
  8. Click Clear at any time to reset the filters.
  9. Click Search to display data for your selected criteria.

Changing the Data View

  • Click a column head to sort on that column
  • Click Expand All above the results table to open each day of the week to display Day Parts data
  • Click Collapse All to collapse the data back to the day of week level
  • Click to select or deselect columns to display
  • Click Excel to export the complete data for the selected dates to an Excel spreadsheet

Applying a Forecast Override

If you have information that the system does not know that impacts the forecast, override the Forecast Level or the Forecasted Utilization percentage. You can override for three years from the system date. The Function Space forecast window is three years and independent from the guest room forecast window. Review the guidelines before you override.

  1. Click and then Forecast Review.
  2. Select the appropriate filters to locate the date that requires an override.
  3. Click open to expand the day into Day Parts if you want to apply an override at the Day Part level.
  4. Click the Edit in the row that requires an override.
  5. Select a method to completed the override:
    • Enter a new utilization percentage value in the Utilization Forecasted % column.
    • Select a new Forecast Level of Low, Medium or High.
  6. Click Notes to add and save a note that explains the override.
  7. Click Save . Override displays for the affected day and Day Parts, as well as on the Function Space Demand Calendar.

Removing a Forecast Override

Remove Utilization or Forecast Level overrides if the overrides are no longer necessary. If you do not revert an override, Function Space records the historical utilization value as the actual utilization from the sales and catering system, which is not impacted by the leftover override.

  1. Click and then Forecast Review.
  2. Select the appropriate filters to locate the date that requires an override removal.
  3. Click the Remove link to remove all overrides for an entire date, including those set at the Day Part level. To revert an override for individual Day Parts, click the open icon to expand the day into Day Parts, and click the Remove link for the individual Day Part.
  4. Click Notes to add and save a note that explains the override.
  5. Click Save .

Changing the Function Only Business Status

  1. Click and then Forecast Review.
  2. Select the appropriate filters to limit the dates available for a status change.
  3. Click open to expand the day into Day Parts if you want to change the status at the Day Part level.
  4. Click Edit for the day that requires a status change.
  5. The default Function Only Business status is Evaluate. Select Open if you want encourage sellers to sell function-only business for the day or Day Part. Select Closed if you are unlikely to accept function-only business.’
  6. Click Notes to add a note that explains the status change. After you save a note, a new icon will display indicating that a note exists.
  7. Click Save .

Data Details

The following results display in the table. Click to select or deselect the columns that display. For example, guest room data columns are hidden by default.

Column Description
Day of Week The day of the week that corresponds to the date. Click the open icon to expand the day into Day Parts. Click the close icon to hide the Day Parts
Date Each date that meets the filter criteria. An override icon displays if the day or any of its Day Parts includes a utilization override. Click the Remove link if you want to remove the override.
Day Part The Day Parts that you have set up to be included in the forecast. An override icon displays if a Day Part includes a utilization override. Click the Remove link if you want to remove the override.
Utilization Forecasted % The expected utilization percentage for the day or Day Part. The total forecasted utilization at the day level is the average of the forecasted utilization for the Day Parts, weighted based on how many hours each Day Part represents. See Function Space Metrics for more information. G3 RMS weights the forecasted utilization for a Day Part by the square area of the rooms used. The Forecasted Utilization considers pace and the percentage of each group status that is likely to materialize, based on three years of historical data. This value only includes function rooms that are set to Include in Function Rooms Configuration.

If a user override of the forecast is in place, this value is the user-adjusted utilization.
Forecast Level The forecast utilization status of Low, Medium or High for the date, which depends on the property's defined Forecast Levels. The total Forecast Level for the day is an average of its Day Parts, weighted based on how many hours each Day Part represents. If a user override of the Forecast Level is in place, this value is the user-adjusted level.
Forecast Variance % The percentage amount that the forecast has changed since the last optimization.
Utilization % On Books The percentage of function space area that is on-books for the day or Day Part. The total percentage for the day is an average of its Day Parts, weighted by the number of hours each Day Part represents. The utilization for events that overlap multiple Day Parts is included in all affected Day Parts. This value includes definite and tentative reservations and only includes function rooms that are set to Include in Function Rooms Configuration.
Function Only Business The status of Open, Closed or Evaluate associated with the day or Day Part, which indicates if function-only business for the date is likely or unlikely to be accepted or should be evaluated, to provide guidance for sellers. This value defaults to Evaluate.
Total Demand - Guest Rooms The total unconstrained guest room demand for all business for the date.
Occupancy Forecast - Group The system forecasted guest room occupancy for group business for the date.
Occupancy On Books - Group The total guest rooms on-books for group business for the date.
Remaining Demand - Total The total remaining unconstrained guest room demand for guest rooms business for the date.
Occupancy Forecast - Transient The system forecasted guest room occupancy for transient business for the date.
Occupancy On Books - Transient The total guest rooms on-books for transient business for the date.
Remaining Demand - Transient The total remaining unconstrained guest room demand for transient business for the date.
On Books as % of OF - Group Group business on books as a percentage of the total group forecast.
Occupancy On Books - Total The total guest rooms on-books for the date.
Occupancy Forecast - Total The total system forecasted guest room occupancy for the date.
Utilization On Books with Prospects The Function Space utilization percentage for the date with prospective business included.
Number of Indivisible Rooms On Books The number of unique indivisible function rooms on books by day and for each Day Part.
Notes Click the notes icon to view or add notes for the date. After you save a note, a new icon indicates that a note exists.
Actions Click the edit icon to apply an override to the Forecasted Utilization or the Function-Only Business status.

Best Practices

Select the Appropriate Frequency and Date for the Review

Frequency

Regularly review your overrides to ensure that they are still valid. How often you review depends on how busy your property is how comfortable you are with the system's forecast.

  • You might review more often and in more detail after the initial setup of G3 RMS and when you haven't reviewed in a while.
  • If you get only a few bookings per day and only for a short booking window, you might only review once a week. Large and busy properties might review daily. Or, review daily but focus on exceptional dates by filtering to see only those dates with forecast changes of more than 10%. Once a week, select all dates and check in more detail.

Review on the Most Up-to-Date Days

Select a day for your regular review that provides the most up-to-date and accurate picture. For example, your hotel may update the event orders for all upcoming events once a week. In that case, always do the review on the day after.

Be Consistent in Your Processes

Maintaining consistent business processes enables you to schedule the reviews for the best day, and it increases the quality of the forecasts. A typical example is the handover from Sales to the department that services an event. Many hotels change the meeting rooms during that process or add rooms for set-up. If that process always happens on the same day, then the system detects that pattern and can better expect the changes. Therefore, when you initially implement Function Space, re-evaluate the frequency and timing of such processes, then maintain the established timings.

Know What Business is Expected

To effectively review the forecast, you must be familiar with your function space booking pace and know what business is still expected. In many cases, that may mean that a revenue manager will review the forecast together with a function space manager.

Use the Notes Functionality

Use the notes to enter information about the expected function space business. Notes explain why you added or removed overrides to make future reviews easier, and they help you when you decide the correct Function Only Business setting: Evaluate, Open or Closed.

Align Guest Room and Function Space Strategies

Use the Forecast Review and Performance Trends pages in your Revenue Meetings to align guest room and function space strategies. For example:

  • Change the Function Only Business status based on high or low demand.
  • Review dates with high utilization but low ProPAST values and investigate if you are optimizing the available space.

For optimal evaluation results, review both the Function Space and the guest room forecast regularly.

Follow These Guidelines for Setting Forecast Overrides

To learn how to override the forecast, see steps.

  • If you lower the Forecast Level, the Forecasted Utilization percentage changes to the highest value in the range for that Forecast Level. For example, if you change the Forecast Level from Medium to Low, and Low is defined as 0% - 30%, the Forecasted Utilization changes to 30%.
  • If you increase the Forecast Level, the Forecasted Utilization percentage will change to the lowest value in the range for that Forecast Level. For example, if you change the level from Medium to High, and High is defined as 75% - 100%, the Forecasted Utilization changes to 75%.
  • When you override the Forecasted Utilization percentage, the Forecast Level adjusts to High, Medium, or Low to match the range within which your override percentage falls. For example, if your Medium range is defined as 30% - 60%, and you override the Forecasted Utilization from 29% to 35%, the Forecast Level changes from Low to Medium.
  • The total Forecast Level and Forecasted Utilization percentage for a day are a weighted average of its Day Parts. When you adjust the Forecasted Utilization or Forecast Level at the day level, the change cascades to its Day Parts, which adjust to meet the day level value. For example, if you change the Forecast Level for a day from Medium to High, the Forecasted Utilization percentage for each Day Part that is not already High will adjust to the lowest value in the High range.
  • When you apply an override to a Day Part, other Day Parts are not affected. However, the day level value adjusts to reflect the weighted average of its Day Parts, including the new override value.
  • When you have specific demand information by time of day, override at the Day Part level. If you have less specific information but expect generally higher demand, override at the day level and let the system distribute it to the Day Parts.
  • Note: the system ignores any override in the past and uses actual utilization instead.

Understand the Differences between Forecasts for Function Space Versus Guest Room Demand

G3 RMS forecasts function space demand similarly to how it forecasts guest rooms. The system finds booking patterns (like pace, wash, and pick up) in historical booking data and uses those patterns to forecast future demand. And it uses the booking data from existing business to adjust its forecasts. For example, it learns how much business cancels and when. Here are some differences:

  • The data comes from your Sales and Catering (not Reservation) system and ideally includes three years of history, but at least one year.
  • G3 RMS applies the booking patterns at the Day Part, Price Tier, and Day of Week by Month level.
  • Similar to group demand for guest rooms, function room demand is often inconsistent and unevenly distributed. To ensure there is enough data to create reliable booking patterns, G3 RMS uses higher level data, if needed. Here are two examples:
    • Because there is often not enough data at the function room level, the system forecasts at the higher Price Tier level.
    • Day of week by month. There is likely not enough data to forecast function space demand for, as an example, the first Wednesday in February, but enough data for all Wednesdays in February combined. As bookings materialize for Wednesdays in February, the forecast for each Wednesday adjusts accordingly.
  • The system tracks and learns the booking patterns not only for deduct business, like Definite bookings, but also for non-deduct business, like Inquiries or Prospects. And it uses those patterns to forecast how existing business changes. For example, based on the pattern of how much and when Prospect business turns Tentative, Definite, or Cancelled, the system might expect that the existing Prospect booking ABC will turn tentative tomorrow and that the Prospect booking XYZ will cancel. It also forecasts pick up, for example, that one new Prospect is booked tomorrow. And it forecasts how much wash a block will have for guest rooms and function rooms.
  • G3 RMS forecasts only the remaining constrained demand for function space, not unconstrainedClosed Unconstrained, or true demand refers to how much you could sell if there were no constraints such as the hotel’s capacity or restrictions on bookings. This demand forecast shows you the potential demand, not just the limited demand that you accept. See the Demand and Wash (Overview) topic for how the system calculates unconstrained demand..