Close to Arrival (CTA) in Revenue Management (Cloud)

Close to Arrival (CTA) in Revenue Management (Cloud)

The Close to Arrival (CTA) setting in Visual Matrix PMS offers a strategic way to manage booking behavior based on occupancy levels and booking windows. It helps ensure that rooms on high-demand days, like Saturdays, are reserved together with the preceding night (Friday), thereby optimizing room utilization and revenue.
While the CTA feature is considered a legacy tool by some, it still provides value for specific use cases, particularly in ensuring balanced room availability and maximizing profitability during peak periods.

How CTA Works

The CTA feature operates using two key conditions:
- Occupancy Percentage: The system evaluates if a specified occupancy threshold is met (e.g., 80% occupancy on a busy day like Saturday).
- Booking Window: It considers how far in advance the reservation is being made (e.g., 90 days before arrival).
Once these conditions are met, the system will automatically trigger a Close to Arrival restriction for the high-demand day (e.g., Saturday). This means guests wishing to book for Saturday will need to include Friday in their reservation, ensuring that Friday’s availability is optimized alongside the busy Saturday.

Practical Example
For instance, imagine the following scenario:
- Occupancy: 80% on Saturday (the peak day).
- Booking Window: 90 days in advance.
The system will close availability on Saturday to encourage guests to also book Friday night, ensuring optimal occupancy across both nights.
Notes
This approach is designed to enhance occupancy rates by making sure rooms on busy weekends aren't left unsold, particularly on adjacent lower-demand nights.

Setting Up CTA

To set up Close to Arrival (CTA) in your system, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the CTA Setup: Revenue Management Live! > Revenue Management Live! > Auto Tiering > CTA
- Define the Conditions: Input your desired Occupancy Percentage, # of Days in Advance, and Day of Week for the CTA to trigger. For example, you might set it to activate when occupancy reaches 80% and bookings are made 90 days in advance.
- No need to click save. Once you've configured the desired settings, the CTA functionality is activated. The system will now automatically restrict bookings for the target days based on your set conditions.



The Value of CTA Today

The CTA setting remains a valuable tool for hotels looking to align room availability with demand. It’s particularly effective in certain markets or for properties looking for more automated management of occupancy-based restrictions.
Info
Key Benefits
- Maximizes Occupancy: By ensuring that Saturday rooms are only sold with Friday bookings, the CTA feature helps balance occupancy across both nights.
- Optimizes Revenue: It supports a strategy of selling more rooms at optimal rates, especially during busy weekends or peak periods.
- Works Seamlessly with Auto-Tiering: The CTA feature works in harmony with the auto-tiering system, creating a cohesive, automated pricing strategy based on real-time occupancy.
Notes
Key Takeaways
CTA is a smart tool that helps control room availability by requiring adjacent bookings, ensuring optimal occupancy during busy times.
It offers a proactive way to manage high-demand periods by preventing rooms from being booked in isolation.
CTA is still a useful feature when combined with auto-tiering, helping revenue managers stay in control of their pricing and occupancy strategies.

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