If you’ve ever negotiated an event housing contract and had to Google half the hotel terms, you’re not alone.

Hotel terminology isn’t always clear, and when it’s misunderstood, it can be costly. From “attrition” to “room nights” to “cut-off dates,” these details can make or break your hotel booking strategy. Knowing what every hotel term means (and how it’s applied) helps you negotiate smarter, prevent mistakes, and keep your events running smoothly.

These hotel terms and definitions provide your team with a shared language for working with hotels, Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs), and housing partners. Use it to: save time during contract reviews and onboarding; communicate clearly and confidently with hotel partners; and avoid expensive errors tied to pickup, billing, and room blocks.

Bookmark it, share it with your team, and come back to it any time you need a quick refresher on hotel booking terminology.

Why Understanding Hotel Terms Matters

Getting hotel terminology right isn’t just about sounding informed. It’s about protecting your budget, your relationships, and your reputation. Here’s why it matters:

• • Avoid planning delays: Misunderstood terms can create confusion and slow down key decisions during time-sensitive event planning.
  • Prevent financial surprises: Missing a cut-off date or misreading attrition clauses can lead to penalties, lost inventory, or unplanned costs.
  • Ensure billing accuracy: Vague or inconsistent billing language can cause compliance issues and invoice disputes.
  • Protect the guest experience: Miscommunication around room types, rates, or reservations can result in guests being turned away at check-in.
  • Reduce internal confusion: Terms like “SRT” or “comp room” can vary by property, creating inconsistency across teams, especially during onboarding or under tight timelines.
  • Strengthen hotel relationships: Using clear, consistent language builds trust with hotel partners and keeps negotiations running smoothly.

As hotel rates rise and margins tighten, being precise with your language isn’t optional. It’s essential.

Key Hotel Booking Terms Every Event Professional Should Know

Planning group travel is already complex. Not knowing the right hotel terms just makes it harder. Whether you're reviewing contracts, managing inventory, or talking to hotel partners, understanding these terms helps you move faster and avoid costly mistakes.

Use this section as a reference to align your team, speed up onboarding, and communicate more effectively with hotels and vendors. Every definition here is written for clarity so that you can use it with confidence, even under pressure.

1. Booking basics: Foundational terms for hotel reservations

These are the must-know terms that come up in every group booking conversation, from your first inquiry to when the last guest checks out.

• • Actualized room nights – Room nights that have been booked and used by guests.
  • ADR (Average Daily Rate) – The average income a hotel earns per sold room night, used to track performance.
  • Booking/reserving rooms – The process of making a hotel reservation with guest info and stay details.
  • Holding/blocking rooms – Setting aside a number of rooms for a group before individual reservations are made.
  • Hotel availability – Whether or not a hotel has rooms available to book.
  • Group base/allocation – The number of total rooms a hotel is willing to commit to group. Most mid-sized hotels (400-600 rooms) will allocate 45-55% to group while holding the remaining rooms for the higher-rated transient/business traveler.
  • Peak nights – The nights during your event when the highest number of rooms are booked.
  • Room nights – One room booked for one night (e.g., 100 rooms for 2 nights = 200 room nights).
  • Transient guest – A non-group guest ie a family on vacation or a business traveler.

2. Room block management: Essential terms for group inventory

Managing room blocks means keeping an eye on inventory, deadlines, and pickup. These terms help you stay in control and avoid overbooking or last-minute scrambles.

• • Block release date (cut-off date)– The date the hotel will close the group block and take back any remaining group rooms to sell to transient, usually at a higher rate.
  • Block review– The date a hotel will review the group pick-up so far and allow you to reduce your committed block to avoid attrition penalties. This usually happens 60 and 90 days out from arrival.
  • Cut-off date (Block release date) – The date when unbooked rooms in a block are released back to hotel inventory.
  • Group block – Rooms held for a specific group to reserve.
  • Hold block/sub-block – a block that's held inside the main group block. Reserved for special groups of people like staff, team (sports), and speakers.
  • Pickup/hotel pickup – Another way to describe the group block’s performance. Actualized room nights shown by day.
  • Rooming list – A spreadsheet or report with guest reservation details submitted to the hotel.

3. Contracts and negotiations: Terms that affect budgets and compliance

These are the words buried in contracts that can make or break your event margins. Understanding them helps you negotiate smarter and avoid unexpected charges.

• • Attrition – The percentage of rooms in your block that can go unsold before paying penalties.
  • Best rate guarantee/rate integrity – A contract clause that guarantees your group gets the lowest rate available.
  • Comp / complimentary room – A free room earned by the event producer, often tied to room pickup or negotiated upfront.
  • Commission. 
  • Credit card authorization form – A form used when you want a master account set up to handle certain charges.
  • Earned comp ratio – The number of booked room nights required to earn one comp night (e.g., 1 per 15).
  • EPO / IPO (each pays own/individual pays own) – IPO in hotel terms is when each guest is responsible for their own hotel charges.
  • RTM (Room and tax to the master) – The term used to desribe a group where the rooms will be paid by the master account with incidentals paid by the guest.
  • SAC (Sign all charges) – Guests can charge anything to their hotel room and the company will pay. Toiletries, tee shirts, golf, restaurant, it’s all included. Typically found with elite incentive trips where the attendees are the top performing in the company
  • Force majeure – A clause protecting both parties if a natural disaster or other uncontrollable event prevents the event from happening.
  • Guaranteed comp room – A complimentary room agreed to in advance, regardless of pickup.
  • Letter of intent (LOI) – A document outlining agreement terms before a full contract is signed.
  • Master bill – A consolidated invoice covering all approved charges for a group.
  • Rebate – A negotiated per-night amount paid to the event organizer by the hotel.
  • SAC (sign all charges) – All charges, including incidentals, are billed to a credit card on file.
  • SRT (sign room and tax) – Only room and tax are charged to the group card; guests cover other charges.
  • Tax exempt – A status that allows a group to skip hotel taxes if they meet certain requirements.

4. Guest and team policies: Housing requirements and penalties

These terms define the rules guests and teams need to followand what happens if they don’t). Knowing them helps avoid miscommunication and keeps things running smoothly.

• • Blockflation – Specific to youth sports, when teams block more rooms than they need, limiting other teams from getting hotel blocks in the same hotel/hotels
  • Compliance/compliancy – Tracking whether teams have met the housing requirement.
  • Exemption – An approved reason for not booking within the official block (e.g., local team, military rate).
  • Hotel walking – When a hotel overbooks and moves a guest to another property.
  • Housing protection – A service that protects a guest’s reservation if they need to cancel for covered reasons.
  • Late cancel fee – A fee charged if a reservation is canceled after a set deadline.
  • Stay to Play – A policy that requires teams to book within the official hotel block to participate in the event.

5. Hotel types and services: Categories and amenities

Not all hotels operate the same. These terms help you understand the difference between properties and what to expect when booking.

• • DORM (director of revenue management) – The hotel staffer responsible for pricing, comps, and concessions.
  • F&B minimum – A food and beverage spend requirement for events held at a hotel.
  • Full-service hotels – Hotels with restaurants, meeting space, and amenities like room service.
  • Limited service hotels – Hotels without F&B or event space; often more budget-friendly.
  • Run of house (ROH) – The hotel decides the room type at check-in based on availability.

6. Industry and partner terms: Who’s involved in the event housing process

Event housing involves more than just hotels. These are the players and organizations you’ll work with behind the scenes.

• • Book of business (BOB) – The set of events managed by a specific planner or account rep.
  • Commission/hotel commission – A percentage of the room rate paid by the hotel to the housing provider.
  • Connect Sports – A major conference where planners and vendors meet to plan future events.
  • Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) or Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) – A local organization that helps bring events to a city.
  • Event producer (EP) / tournament director (TD) – An event producer is the person responsible for organizing the event.
  • National governing body (NGB) – An organization that regulates a sport and its events (e.g., USA Volleyball).
  • National sales – The hotel brand reps who manage planner relationships and rate negotiations.
  • Premier event – A high-value event based on room revenue or client importance.
  • Request for proposal (RFP) – A formal request used to secure bids from hotels or vendors.
  • Sports commission – A city or regional group that promotes sporting events and helps with event planning.

Putting These Hotel Terms Into Action

Hotel terminology affects more than contracts. It shapes how fast your housing process runs. Every delay, every misstep in billing, every back-and-forth with a vendor usually ties back to someone misunderstanding a term. When your team and partners use the same language, approvals move quickly, inventory stays on track, and costly mistakes are caught early. The examples below show where clarity pays off.

1. Align your team and partners with a shared language

Using clear hotel terminology improves coordination across housing teams, event staff, and hotel contacts.

• • Set consistent terms in all communication
  • Reduce delays caused by misinterpretation
  • Keep internal and external stakeholders aligned

2. Review hotel contracts with clarity and control

Understanding hotel contract language helps protect budgets and avoid avoidable commitments.

• • Identify vague attrition clauses or unclear billing responsibilities
  • Confirm what terms like “block release date” or “rate integrity” actually mean
  • Push back where needed to clarify risks before signing

3. Avoid surprises with pickup, billing, and attrition

Contract terms tied to room pickup and billing can create penalties if not managed precisely.

• Monitor pickup data so you can adjust the block early
• Confirm billing responsibilities (SAC, SRT, IPO, or master bill)
• Track review clauses and cut-off dates to stay ahead of charges

4. Train staff with hotel terminology that supports consistency

A shared vocabulary shortens ramp-up time and reduces confusion.

• • Use standard terms across your team and vendors
  • Support cross-functional coordination between housing, operations, and guest services
  • Reduce errors caused by inconsistent or unclear language

Conclusion: Why Mastering Hotel Terminology Keeps Housing on Track

Event housing moves fast. The terms you use can either keep things running smoothly or cause friction that slows everything down. When your team understands hotel terminology, you avoid costly missteps, protect revenue, and build stronger relationships with hotel partners.

And when you're ready to move even faster, EventPipe makes room block management easier —from contract negotiation to real-time pickup and guest communications—all in one place. No extra spreadsheets, no follow-up chaos. Just smart tools that help your team stay ahead.

Want to streamline housing without losing control? Book a demo and see how EventPipe works.