The numbers that really matter: a simple KPI dashboard for your accommodation

Most accommodation owners measure too much or nothing at all. Five numbers tell you almost everything you need: occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, your share of direct bookings, and what a booking costs you on average.

The problem

You have a Booking dashboard, a Google Analytics account, an email from your booking module with monthly figures, and somewhere a folder with invoices. Four sources, all different numbers, and none of them telling you whether things are better or worse than last year.

The other extreme happens just as often. You look at the balance in your account at the end of the month, see it was "fine" and move on. No number, no comparison, no idea whether that busy July actually did better than last year or just felt busier.

Both cost you money. Measuring too much paralyzes: you drown in dashboards and make no decisions. Measuring nothing means you only notice your occupancy dropping once the season is already over and there's nothing left you can do about it.

The solution isn't expensive software. It's a short list of the numbers that actually matter, in one place, updated once a month. Data-driven working (deciding based on numbers instead of gut feeling) doesn't have to be complicated for a small accommodation.

Worked example

These are the numbers that matter for an accommodation up to about 15 rooms. No more. Each number has a purpose, a target value, and a place where you find it.

RevPAR is the most important number on this list, because it combines price and occupancy into one figure. An example: say you have 6 rooms and in June a room revenue of 16,200 euros. That's 30 days times 6 rooms, so 180 available room nights. RevPAR is then 16,200 divided by 180, or 90 euros. If you sold 150 of those 180 nights, your occupancy is 83% and your ADR is 108 euros (16,200 divided by 150).

Why RevPAR is fairer than ADR: you can keep your price high and still perform poorly. An ADR of 120 euros sounds great, but if it leaves you half empty, your RevPAR might only be 60 euros. Someone with an ADR of 95 euros and a full calendar is doing better. RevPAR catches you out on that self-deception.

Step by step

You build this in Google Sheets or Excel. No plugin, no subscription, no integration. Budget half an hour for the initial setup and then ten minutes a month.

1. Make one tab with the months listed underneath each other. The first column is the month (January, February, and so on). Next to it, one column per metric from the table above. Start with five columns, you can always expand.

2. Enter the raw numbers, not the calculated ones. Per month, enter the number of room nights sold, your available room nights (rooms times days), your total room revenue, and your total commission plus fees. These are the numbers you actually have.

3. Let the spreadsheet calculate the KPIs. ADR is room revenue divided by nights sold. RevPAR is room revenue divided by available nights. Occupancy is sold divided by available nights. Cost per booking is commission plus fees divided by number of bookings. One formula per cell, then drag it down for every month.

4. Add a column with last year's same-month value. This is the most important step. A RevPAR of 90 euros says nothing. A RevPAR of 90 euros against 78 euros last June says you're doing 15% better. Comparing with the same month last year strips the season out of your numbers.

5. Make one simple chart. Put RevPAR per month in a line chart, this year and last year overlaid. One glance and you see whether you're rising or falling. You don't need more charts than that.

6. Set a recurring appointment in your calendar. The first of every month, ten minutes, enter last month's numbers. Without a fixed moment you'll forget it, and a year later you'll have an empty spreadsheet.

Want it set up properly right away without figuring it out yourself, we help with that at marketing for hotels. The spreadsheet itself stays yours and runs on its own after that.

Common mistakes

• Wanting every number you can find. A dashboard with 30 figures isn't a dashboard, it's a spreadsheet you'll never look at again. The power is in the restriction. Five figures you check every month beat thirty you enter once and then ignore.

• Looking at one month instead of the trend. One bad month says nothing. A RevPAR falling three months in a row is a signal. Always look at the last three to six months, not the most recent figure.

• Forgetting to compare with last year. Tourism is seasonal. August is always better than November. Without comparing to the same month last year, you're measuring the season, not your own performance.

• Using ADR as your only price metric. A high average room price feels good, but hides empty rooms. Always calculate RevPAR too. How you steer price and occupancy together is covered in revenue management for a small accommodation.

• Forgetting the website side. How many people visit your site and how many of them book is just as much a KPI as RevPAR. Connect your dashboard to what happens online. How to measure that is covered in measuring conversion on your hotel site and setting up Google Analytics 4 for your hotel site.

What you can do now

Open a blank Google Sheet today and lay out the five columns: month, room nights sold, room nights available, room revenue, commission. Fill in the last three months with numbers you already have from your booking module and your Booking extranet. That's enough to see the first trend.

After that you add one row per month. After half a year you'll have a line showing you whether your RevPAR is rising, whether your direct share is growing, and whether your cost per booking is falling. That's exactly what expensive dashboard software also shows you, just without a subscription.

The two numbers you can steer the most are your direct share and your cost per booking. If the first rises and the second falls, you're becoming less dependent on Booking and keeping more per guest. What a shift to direct is worth to you concretely, calculate it in the savings calculator.

Rather have us look together at which numbers steer the most for your accommodation, and how you become less dependent on Booking with them? We discuss that at marketing for hotels.