Special Events

Special Events are dates when transient business differs from normal patterns. Entering and managing Special Events is one of your key inputs that helps G3 RMS produce the best possible forecasts and, therefore, the best possible decisions.

View this video for an overview of Special Events.

What Help Do You Need for Managing Special Events?

• I want to understand how G3 RMS defines a Special Event.
• I want to understand how Special Events help G3 RMS improve its forecast.
• I want to know how to add a Special Event.
• I want to learn about best practices for managing Special Events.
• What are my options to view Special Events?

How Special Events Help G3 RMS Improve Its Forecast

Special Events help G3 RMS improve forecasts in two ways:

• G3 RMS removes the Special Events from the data it uses to forecast "normal" transient demand. For example, a bad storm on one Saturday means that day's transient patterns and occupancy are very different from normal Saturdays. When the system looks for day-of-week patterns to forecast normal transient demand for upcoming Saturdays, it ignores the data from the Special Event Saturday that is the outlier. It continues to forecast future Saturdays using normal transient business patterns.
• For repeat events, G3 RMS uses the past to forecast the future. For example, you add a Special Event with past and future instances for an annual convention that impacts transient demand. In that case, the system uses the transient demand of the last instance of the convention to forecast its future instances. For more detail, see Add past and future occurrences of recurring events.

How G3 RMS Analyzes Special Events

G3 RMS looks for Special Events on its own and reviews the ones that you entered. The system analyzes the demand patterns for those Special Events and determines if the transient patterns are statistically different from normal ones. If they are different, the system removes the dates from the data that it uses to forecast normal transient demand. In most cases, G3 RMS does not have enough information to identify a Special Event until it has passed.

When G3 RMS reviews a Special Event that you entered, it may find that there is no or little variation from normal transient patterns during those dates. For example, the system may decide that the dates display normal patterns, except there is a 20% increase over normal demand. In that case, G3 RMS removes the 20% increase and continues to use the Special Event data to forecast normal transient demand.

Why You Must Share Special Events with G3 RMS

Always enter a Special Event when you know that the transient patterns differ from normal patterns. Although G3 RMS looks for outliers and may detect an obvious outlier (like the snow storm in the example above), real outliers are rarely obvious in statistical terms and are not easy for the system to detect. We recommend that you work as a team: you enter Special Events when you expect unusual transient demand patterns, and G3 RMS analyzes and decides how to handle them.

Management Steps

Accessing Special Events Management

Click , then Forecasts, and then Special Events.

Using the Six-Month Calendar

Use the six-month calendar at the top of Special Events Management to view the Special Events that are scheduled for the next six-month period, beginning with the current month. Special Events, including pre- and post-event days, are represented by shaded dates. You can perform these actions in this calendar:

• Point to a shaded date to display the title of the event.
• Click the left or right arrows to change the six-month range on the calendars.
• Click a month in the six-month calendar to make it the starting month in the two-month calendar below.

Using the Two-Month Calendar

The lower calendar displays scheduled Special Events for two consecutive months. By default, all Special Events display. The horizontal lines that depict Special Events on the calendar are color-coded by the category to which the Special Events are assigned. You can perform these actions in the two-month calendar view:

• Select a different starting month using the date selector button above the calendar. Click the button to display a menu of the months in the current year. Click the left or right arrow to change the year. Click any month to make it the starting month.
• Click a horizontal line to display details of the Special Event. See Viewing Special Event Details below.
• Point to a horizontal line to display the full title of the Special Event in a window.
• Click a date with no event to open the Create Special Event window.
• Click the filter icon to locate the Special Events that you want to see. Dates with Special Events that do not meet your selection criteria are grayed out in the calendar.
  • Select the Special Event Type:
    • Informational Use Only: G3 RMS does not consider the Special Event in the forecast. It has been added to the system only has a reminder.
    • System Considered: G3 RMS analyzes the demand patterns for the event and determines if the transient patterns are statistically different from normal ones. If they are different, the system removes the dates from the data that it uses to forecast normal transient demand.
    • Guest Room Event: If you are using Function Space, G3 RMS considers the Special Event in the guest room forecast.
    • Function Space Event: If you are using Function Space, G3 RMS considers the Special Event in its Function Space utilization forecast.
  • Select a Category to see Special Events only for the selected category.
  • The filter criteria are saved when you click Apply. Click Reset to restore the filter selections.

Viewing Special Event Details

To view Special Event details, click the horizontal line that represents the Special Event on the two-month calendar. Special Event details display in a yellow window, including the event title, start and end dates, and the number of pre- and post-event days.

You can perform the following actions in the details view:

• Click the edit icon to edit the Special Event. See Steps to Edit Special Events.
• Click New Event to create a new Special Event for the same date. See Steps to Add Special Events.

Using Special Event Categories

For organizational purposes, Special Events are assigned to categories that you create. Examples of Categories are Convention, National Holiday, Festival, and Sports. By designating a different color to each of your categories, you can quickly identify the type of Special Events that are displayed on the two-month calendar. See Steps to Add Special Events to learn how a category is assigned to a Special Event.

The left pane in Special Events Management displays a list of your categories. The number of Special Events in each category displays in brackets after the category title, followed by the color that you assign to the category. You can perform the following actions in the left pane:

• Click New Event to create a new Special Event.
• Click Manage Categories to add or edit categories, including changing their color representation. See Manage Categories below.
• Enter a string of characters in the Search field to filter for Special Events that contain those characters.
• The list includes Past and Current Special Events. Clear a checkbox to filter the list.
• Click the open icon before a Category to display the list of Special Events assigned it.
• Click the edit icon following a Special Event to edit it. See Edit Special Events for more information.
• Click a Special Event title to open the two-month calendar to the month in which the event occurs. If the event repeats, the calendar opens to the next future occurrence.
• See which events are Informational Use Only, indicated by an information icon .

Adding Categories

1. Click , then Forecasts, and then Special Events.
2. Click Manage Categories. The Special Events Category window opens.
3. Click to add a new category.
4. Enter a title for the new category or edit an existing category title.
5. Click the edit color icon in the Action column to select a color. The color identifies Special Events in that category on the two-month calendar.
6. Click Save.

Deleting Categories

You cannot delete a category if Special Events are assigned to that category. You must first re-assign the events to another category. See Edit a Special Event to learn how to change an event's Category. To delete a category, click the delete icon in the Action column of the Special Event Category window.

When you set up a Special Event, you define the instances when the event occurs. Instances are the actual event days, as well as the pre- and post-days that are affected by the event.

See Best Practices for Special Events to learn recommendations for defining and managing Special Events.

Adding Special Events for Multiple Properties

To add or edit Special Events for multiple properties concurrently, see Steps to Upload Special Events.

Adding Special Events

1. Click , then Forecasts, and then Special Events.
2. Click New Event in the left pane. The Create Special Event page opens.
3. Enter the Event Name. The name must be unique and can consist of alphanumeric characters and the symbols : . - /.
4. Select how the Special Event will impact the forecast:
   • If you are using Function Space:
     • Select the Guest Room Event checkbox if G3 RMS should consider the Special Event in the guest room forecast.
     • Select the Function Space Event checkbox if Function Space should consider the Special Event in its utilization forecast.
   • Select the Informational Use Only checkbox if G3 RMS should not consider the Special Event in the forecast.
5. Select a Category Name for the Special Event.
6. Enter an optional event Description.
7. Enter the number of Pre-event days, the days before the event that are affected by it.
8. Select the dates for the Event Start and Event End by clicking the calendar icons. One-day Special Events must have the same Start and End Date.
9. Enter the number of Post-event days, the days after the event that are affected by it.
10. If the event repeats on a definite date or following a day of the month pattern, enter it as a repeat event:
    1. Select the Recurrence checkbox.
    2. If the Special Event occurs annually, select Recur Every Year. If it occurs biennially, select Recur Every Other Year.
    3. Select Recurrence starts on information to define the start date rule:
       • Select Date selected if the Special Event always begins on the same calendar date.
       • If the Special Event occurs on the same day of the month, but not the same date, select the day and week of the month on which it occurs.
    4. Select Recurrence ends on information to define how long the Special Event should continue to repeat:
       • Select No end date if the Special Event repeats with no defined end date.
       • Select End after __ occurrence(s) if the Special Event ends after the number of occurrences that you type in the field.
       • Select End by and select the year if the Special Event ends after a specific year.
11. Click Add Instance (or Add Instances for repeat events). The instance or instances are added to the Past Instances or Future Instances pane. Instances for repeating events are labeled with a recurrence icon .
12. Enter an optional Instance Name to define a specific occurrence.
13. Continue to add instances to account for past and future occurrences of the Special Event. Note: The dates for new instances cannot overlap the dates of existing instances within the same Special Event, including the pre- and post-event days.
14. Click the note icon to add a note to each instance. If a note has already been saved, the notes icon displays with a check mark .
15. Click Create Event.

Editing Special Events

1. Click , then Forecasts, and then Special Events.
2. Click the open icon for the event's category or use the Search field to locate the Special Event.
3. Click the edit icon following the Special Event. The Edit Special Event page opens. From this page, you can complete the tasks listed below.

Editing General Information

1. Edit the Event Name.
2. Select how the Special Event will impact the forecast:
   • If you are not using Function Space, select or clear the Informational Use Only checkbox to control whether or not G3 RMS should consider the Special Event in the forecast.
   • If you are using Function Space, select or clear the Guest Room Event checkbox to change how G3 RMS uses the event in its guest rooms forecast. Select or clear the Function Space Event checkbox to change how Function Space uses the event in its utilization forecast.
3. Select a new Category Name for the Special Event, if needed.
4. Edit the Description, if needed.
5. Click Update Event.

Adding Event Instances

The dates for new instances cannot overlap the dates of existing instances within the same Special Event, including the pre- and post-event days.

1. Enter the number of Pre-event days, which are the days before the event that are affected by it.
2. Select the dates for the Event Start and Event End for the new instance by clicking the date calendar icons. One-day Special Events must have the same Start and End Date.
3. Enter the number of Post-event days, which are the days after the event that are affected by it.
4. Select the Recurrence checkbox if the Special Event repeats on a definite date or following a recurring monthly day of the week pattern:
   1. If the Special Event occurs annually, select Recur Every Year, or if it occurs biennially, select Recur Every Other Year.
   2. Select Recurrence starts on information to define the start date rule.
   3. Select Recurrence ends on information to define how long the Special Event should continue to repeat.
5. Click Add Additional Instance (or Add Additional Instances for repeat events). The instances are added to the Past Instances or Future Instances pane.
6. Enter an optional Instance Name to define a specific occurrence.
7. Click Update Event.

Editing Instances

1. In the Past Instances or Future Instances pane, edit the Event Start and Event End dates by selecting a new date from the calendar icon. One-day Special Events must have the same Start and End Date.
2. Edit the number of Pre-Event or Post-Event days, as needed.
3. Click the note icon to add a note to the instance. If a note has already been saved, the notes icon displays with a check mark .
4. Click Update Event.

Deleting Instances

Do not click the Delete button. Doing so deletes the entire Special Event, including all instances of the event.

1. In the Past Instances or Future Instances pane, click the delete icon that follows the instance that you want to remove.
2. Click Update Event.

Deleting an Entire Event and All Instances

1. On the bottom of the Create Special Event window, click Delete. A confirmation window opens.
2. Click Yes.

Best Practices

Review Your Events Regularly

A day that seemed like a Special Event six months ago may not look like one after the day has passed. If that is the case, delete the Special Event.

Be Sure Events Are Special

Special Events should be "special," not the norm. We recommend that a maximum of 20% of days in a year be marked as Special Events. Otherwise, forecast accuracy may be negatively affected.

There is no impact on the system from Special Events marked as Informational Use Only, but too many informational events may create clutter on dashboards and reports that makes it difficult to review the system-relevant Special Events.

Understand how G3 RMS Defines a Special Event

G3 RMS uses some or all of the following criteria to differentiate Special Events from normal periods. You can also use these criteria when you consider whether to enter days as Special Events:

• Booking Pace: Bookings for Special Events are made much earlier or much later than normal.
• Business Mix: Special Events change the business mix, as one Forecast Group may have much higher or much lower volume than its normal booking patterns.
• Occupancy: Occupancy may be impacted, as the occupancy for a Special Event date may be much higher or much lower than normal.
• Room Revenue: Special Events typically impact room revenue.

Note: G3 RMS does not consider unusual periods of group activity that are not matched by unusual transient patterns as Special Events because it already considers each group individually.

Flag Certain Special Events as Informational Use Only

When you create a Special Event, you can flag it as Informational Use Only. G3 RMS does not analyze these Special Events and treats them as normal dates. You can include these Special Events on the Special Event Management page to be reminded about them.

For example, you should not consider unusual periods of group activity that are not matched by transient activity to be Special Events. However, you can use G3 RMS to remind you of unusual group business, like a group that books all the rooms in your property for a one-night stay or when you have numerous in-house conferences. For these cases, create Informational Use Only events.

Set Pre- and Post-Event Dates

Pre- and post-event dates help G3 RMS understand the impact of the Special Event on surrounding days and are distinct from the actual event days.

For example, a city-wide conference from Monday to Friday may have the Sunday as a pre-event date because some guests arrive early for preparation and set up. The same event may have Friday and Saturday as post-event dates that impact transient business because many guests stay longer for shopping and sightseeing.

To forecast future instances of repeat events, G3 RMS chooses the best fit from over 100 demand models. Depending on the patterns, it may use a different demand model for pre- and post-events days, or it may use the same model.

Add Past Instances of Repeat Events

If Special Events occur on a definite date or follow a monthly recurring day of the week pattern, select the Recurrence checkbox when you set up the event. Define a repeat event's date pattern, and G3 RMS creates multiple instances based on the date or monthly recurring day on which the Special Event occurs.

For events that recur but do not follow a repeating date or day pattern, define past and future instances of the Special Event individually. Regardless of whether past instances follow a pattern or not, always add them to a Special Event. When you do, G3 RMS forecasts future instances in the following way:

• The transient demand based on the last instance. Thus, ensure that the last instance is a good reference, see Delete Unusual Instances.
• Booking pace and wash based on all past instances of the last three years.

Match Instances of Repeat Events

To ensure that G3 RMS has the most optimal reference points when forecasting future events, all instances of a repeat event with similar demand should have the same total number of days, including the pre-event days, main event days, and post-event days.

Scenario When Dates Do Not Match

There may be valid scenarios where the event dates with similar demand do not match exactly. However, when there are differences, the forecasting logic may provide unexpected results. In this case, we recommend that you review the forecast for the impacted dates after the next optimization, to ensure that you are comfortable with the system’s outputs.

For example, below is how G3 RMS handles an event where the number of days in the event do not match.

	Past Instance (LY)	Future Instance (TY)
Independence Day, US	4 July LY	4 July TY
Day of Week	Saturday	Monday
Event Date Range	3 July - 6 July	4 July - 6 July
Event Days	4 Days	3 Days
Pre-Event Date	2 July	2 July - 3 July
Post-Event Date	7 July	7 July
Total Pre- and Post-Events Days	2 Days	3 Days
Total Special Event Days	6 Days	6 Days

The illustration below shows how G3 RMS aligns the event dates of the past and future instance for forecasting purposes. Orange dates are pre-event and post-event days. Green dates are event days.

Event dates This Year (TY)	Linked event dates from Last Year (LY)	Forecast Link Explanation
2 July TY	2 July LY	Forecast is the average of pre-event dates (1, in this case)
3 July TY
4 July TY	3 July LY	First event night
5 July TY	4 July LY	Second event night
6 July TY	5 July LY	Third event night
	6 July LY
7 July TY	7 July LY	Post-event night

What if the dates were reversed, so the past instance had three peak nights (4, 5 and 6 July) and the future instance had four peak nights (3, 4, 5 and 6 July)? In that case, 6 July would be forecasted based on an average of the past instance’s three peak nights, since there is no direct match.

Combine Overlapping Dates

Special Events in G3 RMS can overlap. However, if two Special Events always overlap, create one Special Event instead. For example, if a repeating city-wide convention always falls on a public holiday that is also set up as a Special Event, the convention and public holiday should be set up as a single Special Event. However, if the city-wide convention occurs only once and that instance falls on a repeat holiday, create two separate Special Events.

Delete Unusual Instances

What if one instance of a repeat Special Event had very different transient demand and wash patterns than in previous years? For example, a concert always takes place on one weekend in July. The venue for the concert is close to your hotel and impacts your hotel’s transient business. What if last year’s attendance was much lower due to bad weather or a less popular performer?

In this case, remove last year’s dates from the past instances of the Special Event to ensure that G3 RMS uses the relevant instance from two years ago to forecast future instances of the festival.

Next, decide if last year’s instance of the concert should be a separate Special Event. If its patterns are different from normal transient patterns, create a separate Special Event just for last year. If the attendance was so low that there was no difference to normal patterns, just delete the instance, and G3 RMS uses the data to forecast normal demand.

Note: Adding or removing past instances impacts the forecast, see Understand the Forecast Impact.

Separate Atypical Repeat Events

An example of an atypical event is a recurring sporting event that impacts demand differently depending on the type of game. Your home team's games against its arch rival may draw more interest than normal home games or those against the league’s bottom team. Deleting one instance of the Special Event may not be enough to account for these demand differences.

For G3 RMS to forecast the demand accurately for these events, create separate recurring Special Events for each demand level. In this example, you create one event for "home games – high demand" and one for "home games – medium demand." If the patterns for "home games – low demand" are similar to normal demand days, no Special Event is necessary.

Such Special Events need to be grouped together not only by demand but by their duration. For example, if you have many conventions in your market that impact your transient demand, you could create three Special Events for high, medium and low impact for two-day conventions, three Special Events for high, medium and low impact for three-day conventions, and so on, instead of listing each convention separately.

Manage Events Outside the Data Window

If you know the date of a one-time Special Event that will occur outside the G3 RMS optimization window, you cannot inform G3 RMS of the expected strong demand with a demand override. Consequently, when the date opens in your selling system Any distribution system, like a PMS, CRS or a Channel Manager, that is used to sell your transient guest room inventory. Ideally, G3 RMS sends all controls to your selling systems, but this may vary based on their capabilities. For some integrations, the selling systems may not include the reservation system that provides with data., reservations could come in without the proper rates or restrictions.

In these instances, add the Special Event in G3 RMS and load your restrictions into your selling system prior to when the date opens for sale. After the date has been added to G3 RMS, ensure that the system's forecast and controls are accurate for those dates. If necessary, use overrides. You can then remove the restrictions in your selling system and monitor the Special Event and overrides in G3 RMS.

Override Remaining Demand, When Needed

If there is a future event without any historical instance within the booking data window, say six months away, you may know something the system does not that you need to share. For example, a convention is coming up in your city that is held in a different location each year. You know that transient reservations for the event will be strong. However, if no reservations are being made yet, G3 RMS may not yet recognize it as a Special Event, and the system may not have raised the forecast and implemented more restrictive controls.

Even if your booking pace is already stronger than normal, the system knows that, in most cases, a strong early pace is not a reliable indicator for higher remaining demand. G3 RMS will not forecast it as a Special Event and may simply add the forecasted remaining demand to the higher on books.

Thus, whenever G3 RMS does not have any historical instance to help it forecast a future Special Event, monitor it closely. You will most likely need to override the remaining demand forecast. In this way, you help the system forecast more accurately earlier.

Understand the Forecast Impact of Changing Past Special Events

When you add or remove past instances of a Special Event, G3 RMS checks all its demand models to ensure they are current. That might cause large changes in demand forecasts and decisions that seem disproportionate. For example, you add a single Special Event. After the next optimization, you notice large changes in the demand forecast. The changes apply to the entire forecast window.

If that is the case, G3 RMS likely found other changes in patterns of its demand models that are not related to the Special Event change. For example, an increase in business volume in a Forecast Group. Without the Special Event change, G3 RMS would have found that increase in its next regular check of demand models. See Self-Learning for more details.

Set Up Future Special Events in LDB Properties

If your property is using the Limited Data Build (LDB) process, don't enter your high or low demand expectations for Special Events in the projections. See Manage Special Events with Demand Overrides for more details.

Use Special Events for Seasonal Closures

Enter a Special Event if a seasonal closure repeats every year. That applies to complete and partial seasonal closures, including if you are closed only on some days of the week. Let’s say that during four weeks of low demand, a property is closed from Sunday through Thursday and only open on Fridays and Saturdays. In that case, enter a Special Event with multiple instances, each covering the past and future Sunday through Thursday closure period when the hotel inventory is set to out of order.

See Periods of Restricted Inventory for information about handling these periods and making sure that G3 RMS understands and reacts to the impact of restricted inventory.