Group 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..

See How G3 RMS Calculates the Group Rate to learn about the methodology behind the Group Pricing module. For an overview of all content and features, review the Group Pricing topic.

What Help Do You Need With Running an Evaluation?

Steps to Evaluate

Evaluating a New Group

For multiproperty evaluations, first open the Property Group view from the property menu. If your G3 RMS integrates with your sales and catering system (like Delphi), you can start evaluations there.

  1. Click and then Group Pricing.
    If you visit this page often, click next to the name to add it to the Quick Access menu.
  2. Click New Evaluation. The New Evaluation window opens.
  3. For a multiproperty evaluation, click the Select Property menu to select up to five properties for the evaluation. The Physical Capacity displays in brackets after the property name.
    Note that for multiple properties the method is always Run-of-House (step 8).
  4. Enter a unique Group Name.
  5. Select the appropriate Market Segment for the group. For a multiproperty evaluation, the market segments that are shared by all the selected properties are available.
  6. For single property evaluations, choose the Evaluation Method for the group, either Run-of-House or Room Class.
    • 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 rooms from selected room types.

    To compare results from both options for the same group, run and save a Run-of-House evaluation, then run a Room Class evaluation.

  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):
    • Use the arrows to select the arrival month or click the name of the month to change the year.
    • Click up to five potential arrival dates in the calendar. These include the group's preferred date and any potential alternate arrival dates.
    • You can complete evaluations within the configured Forecast Window (a maximum of 730 days). The last stay date must be 14 days prior to the end of the Forecast Window.
  10. Enter the number of Number of Nights for the group's stay, up to 90.
  11. If needed, change the group's Preferred arrival date by clicking the radio button next to the date.
  12. If needed, you can click the remove icon to delete a selected arrival date.
  13. Record information about the group in the optional Notes field.
  14. Add the group details about Guest Rooms, Costs, Ancillary, and Conference & Banquet revenues. Click a link below to view the steps to complete each tab:

    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 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.

    Use the Conference & Banquet tab to select the Conference and Banquet Revenue Streams to include in the evaluation. These revenue streams are defined in the Conference & Banquet tab in Group Pricing setup.

    In multiproperty evaluations, you can designate different Conference & Banquet Revenue Streams for each property. If you include any Function Space enabled properties in multiproperty evaluations, this tab is not available. G3 RMS turns it off due to potential inconsistencies in the revenue streams from sales and catering systems compared to those from other properties. You can evaluate the Function Space properties individually outside the Property Group to include their revenue streams.

    1. Select a Revenue Stream, if needed.
    2. Click Add.
    3. Enter the Revenue per Group for the revenue stream. This value is the overall amount that you expect the group to spend.
    4. Enter the Commission % that applies to the Revenue Stream.
  15. Click Alternate Date if you want G3 RMS to look for alternate dates that might be a better fit for the group, see Using Alternate Dates below for the steps.
  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 can change any of the data in a saved group evaluation to re-evaluate it. For multiproperty evaluations, first open the Property Group view.

  1. Click and then Group Pricing.
  2. Click the Action menu for the saved evaluation that you want to re-evaluate.
  3. Click the Show Details link.
  4. Change the data as needed.
  5. 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 the Impact of Processing on Evaluations

  • 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.

Ensure You Meet the Requirements to Evaluate Multiple Properties

If you manage multiple properties you can run an evaluation for more than one property:

  • 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.

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.

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.

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.