Best Practices for Group Block Business

Use these best practices for group blocks in the reservation system (providing the data to G3 RMS, typically your PMS or CRS) to ensure that G3 RMS receives correct pace data and can produce the best possible forecasts and decisions.

Note: Terminology, like Group Block Header, might differ in your reservation systems.

Group Block Header

A Group Block Header is a record that contains information about the group business. This business may be groups (for example, tour groups, corporate groups, etc.) or allotments or allocations (for example, rooms held for a Travel Agent with a rolling cut-off or rooms held for an air crew).

Use Business Blocks

Use Business Blocks to manage group bookings and allocations rather than creating individual reservations for groups or an individual reservation for many rooms. Using individual reservations can impact the visibility of inventory on the books, pick-up and wash patterns for G3 RMS

Consider the Status of Allocations

Are allocations held as deduct or non-deduct? Currently, G3 RMS only forecasts wash patterns for allocations or allotments that are held as deducting from inventory. For allotments with significant production, we recommend that they be held as deduct if G3 RMS should have visibility of the allotment and the ability to forecast wash.

Enter Business Blocks as Deduct following Confirmation

Enter business blocks as deduct following the confirmation date in a timely manner. To measure pace, we recommend that blocks do not sit as non-deduct for a long time. A delay in entering a confirmation can impact the forecast of the booking pattern in G3 RMS.

Regularly Update the Status of Business Blocks

Follow consistent practices for following up with groups. Doing so is particularly important when moving from non-deduct to deduct to ensure that G3 RMS knows the correct number of rooms held as deduct.

Your group status codes should also be defined in Group Status Codes to be either Adjust (Deduct) or Non Adjust (Non-deduct). You can map any new group status codes, but changes to the existing mappings require IDeaS product support to complete a system re-build.

Assign the Market Field Correctly

The Market field identifies the appropriate market segment (also sometimes called market code) for the bookings on the block. Ensure that this field is mandatory and the correct market segment is assigned immediately.

Market segments should only contain group or transient business. G3 RMS needs market segments that exclusively define group business to ensure data cleanliness and the best possible forecasts and decisions.

Group blocks should also have the same market segment as the individual reservations that are picked up from that block.

Set Up Packages Correctly

To optimize G3 RMS needs to know the net "room only" value of reservations, including group reservations.

You can set up packages and rate codes many ways in the reservation system. However, to ensure that any rate values associated with the group block are presented to G3 RMS as a net "room only" value, you must set up any included packages as "Add to Rate" when the package(s) are attached to the rate code. This should ensure that G3 RMS correctly receives the net room revenue.

Group blocks can also be defined with a rate amount that is typed into the group block grid as opposed to having a specific rate code. If this is the case, the appropriate package elements and taxes must be attached to the group block header to ensure that G3 RMS has visibility of only net room revenues on group blocks.

Use Complimentary Rooms Functionality

Be sure that you make use of complimentary room functionality, where available, to allow the reservation system to account for rooms that are offered for free (for example, 1 in 20 rooms is free). Otherwise, hold complimentary rooms with a rate of "0.00" on the business block grid.

Do Not Delete Business Blocks

Do not delete business blocks, to avoid compromising business block data. G3 RMS may not see the deletions and duplication may occur as a result, or the block may not be presented to G3 RMS as having been removed.

Group Block Grid

The grid is where room inventory is held and where rates are assigned (unless you used rate codes to define the rate amounts on the Group Block Header).

Hold the Correct Inventory and Rates

Hold the correct inventory and rates at a per occupancy (single, double etc.) and per room type level. Wherever possible, keep the grid updated in a timely manner where changes are made to the contractual rooms held.

Use Physical Room Types

Hold room inventory only against physical room types. Do not hold inventory against pseudo, house or run-of-house room types. G3 RMS manages physical, yieldable capacity, and, therefore, all rooms must be sold against units of physical inventory to ensure the system is aware of what is occupied by room type.

We understand that hotels commonly sell or contract groups against a run-of-house room type and then move the block or reservations to specific room types later. However, you should set up all group room inventory only against a physical room type (for example, the Base Room Type like the standard double or twin), even if this means that these room types will be physically overbooked. G3 RMS understands and plans for upgrades to accommodate this demand based on available capacity across all room types, remaining demand and expected wash.

It is also important that the group block is entered for the room types for which the group has demand. For example, if you sold Standard rooms to a group but Standard rooms are already sold out, do not place the group in Deluxe rooms immediately at a Standard rate. Instead book the group into Standard and upgrade them later.

Verify Group Numbers

Regularly communicate with groups to provide their updated numbers. Update those numbers on the block grid as per the contractual commitments.

Use Appropriate Cut-off Dates or Days

While G3 RMS does not receive cut-off dates from some reservation systems (for example, Opera PMS), it is important that you apply cut off procedures consistently. When the cut-off date arrives, do you keep the group blocks intact until closer to arrival or do you cut blocks off immediately and release them back for general sale? Each method leads to very different booking curves and therefore booking patterns that G3 RMS tracks for group Forecast Groups. Both methods work well for G3 RMS but only if you apply them consistently. Mixing the two methods increases the uncertainty and leads to suboptimal group wash and demand forecasts.

Load Groups Consistently

Maintain a consistent procedure to load groups either at the contracted amount or at the amount you expect them to pick up. To illustrate, let's say you have two groups, group A and B, both with 40 rooms contracted. You block group A at a pre-washed amount of 30 rooms and group B at the contracted amount of 40 rooms. Both end up with a final pick up of 30 rooms.

Because G3 RMS only sees the amount of rooms that are blocked in your Sales and Catering system, not the contracted amount, it sees 0% wash for group A (30 pick up out of 30 blocked) and 25% wash for group B (30 pick up out of 40 blocked). If the system builds patterns and forecasts wash based on such groups, it will lead to suboptimal wash forecasts that are likely due to the large uncertainty with observed pick-up patterns.

Hold the Correct Currency

The currency on the business block, including the rate code(s) on the block header and the currency on the block grid, should be the PMS base currency wherever possible. This ensures that G3 RMS is presented with consistent data.