What is pickup?
Pickup is the net difference between reservations and cancellations made within a specific period. Simply put, it shows how many bookings you have actually gained.
An example: you open your laptop on Monday morning and want to see what happened over the weekend for the upcoming week. You then look at the reservations and cancellations that came in on Saturday and Sunday for that period. Let’s say eight reservations were made over the weekend and there were two cancellations. Your pickup is then eight reservations minus two cancellations, which equals six. For a small boutique hotel, this can be a strong result compared to your historical pickup.
The signal is clear: market demand is high and your pricing strategy may be able to move upward. That is often where the challenge lies. Tracking this manually takes a lot of time, and a revenue manager usually does not work all weekend. A Revenue Management System helps you keep these insights available continuously and automatically.
How does pickup dynamically influence your prices?
At RevControl, we use multiple data points to calculate the forecast. This forecast forms the basis for the Occupancy Based Rate, which is RevControl’s first price recommendation. Every fifteen minutes, we compare historical performance with the current situation. This includes your current on the books reservations as well as your pickup. When pickup is relatively high, the forecast increases. And when the forecast increases, price recommendations usually go up as well. In short: more demand visible in your pickup means you can respond to the market faster and more intelligently.
Pickup insights on the dashboard
In RevControl, you can view pickup clearly on the dashboard. We compare pickup with the previous week, month, and year. You can also choose the time unit over which reservations and cancellations are measured.
In addition, you can:
- View the segments the data comes from
- Switch between pickup in volume and pickup in revenue
- View pickup alerts, where we notify you of days with low or high demand
Pickup is important, but not the only factor
Pickup is a strong indicator, but it is not the only factor. In RevControl, we also take competitor data, on the books reservations, and other KPIs into account when calculating your prices. Want to see how this works for your accommodation? Book a demo via the orange button below.
