> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://revhero.gitbook.io/revhero-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://revhero.gitbook.io/revhero-docs/support/glossary/d.md).

# D

Hotel and revenue management terms beginning with D.

## Days Before Arrival (DBA)

The number of days left until a guest's arrival date. Hotel policies use it to set when payment is due and when free cancellation ends.

A hotel asks for full payment 30 days before arrival. A guest arriving on 1 July must pay by 1 June, which is 30 DBA. As the number falls, more conditions apply: payment at 30 DBA, the end of free cancellation at 10 DBA, a final reminder at 5 DBA.

**See also:** [Booking window](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/b.md) · [Cutoff date](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/c.md) · [Lead time restriction](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/l.md)

***

## Demand

The level of interest in your rooms for a given date. It is how many rooms the market wants for those dates, room types or services.

Demand is high in peak season, on holidays and around large events. It is low off-peak. Rates normally rise when demand is high and fall when it is low.

Four types are used:

| Type                 | Meaning                                           |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| Constrained demand   | Demand limited by the number of rooms you have    |
| Unconstrained demand | Total demand if you had unlimited rooms           |
| Elastic demand       | Demand that changes when the price changes        |
| Inelastic demand     | Demand that stays the same when the price changes |

During a major sports event a hotel sees 95% demand and raises its rates. In low season demand falls to 30%, so it lowers rates or adds an offer.

**See also:** [Demand forecasting](#demand-forecasting) · [Dynamic pricing](#dynamic-pricing) · [Seasonality](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/s.md)

***

## Demand Forecasting

Predicting future room demand from past patterns, current bookings and what is happening in the market.

A demand forecast is the base of every other revenue decision. It shapes your rates, your restrictions, your staffing and your purchasing.

**See also:** [Forecast](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/f.md) · [Booking curve](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/b.md) · [Pickup](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/p.md) · [Seasonality](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/s.md)

***

## Demand Generators

Actions a hotel takes to create demand instead of waiting for guests to book.

Common types are flash sales on discount sites, bundled packages that combine the stay with meals or activities, and stay-length offers such as "stay 4 nights, pay for 3".

A hotel with a weak off-season offers 50% off rooms with free breakfast, for 14 days only. The short deadline pushes guests to book now.

**See also:** [Early bird discount](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/e.md) · [Dynamic packaging](#dynamic-packaging) · [Distressed inventory](#distressed-inventory)

***

## Demand Variance

The change in demand against the same time last year, as a percentage. It works for stay demand and for search demand.

**Demand variance % = (current on the books − same time last year) ÷ same time last year × 100**

Your hotel holds 237 room nights on the books for a date. At the same point last year it held 137. Demand variance = (237 − 137) ÷ 137 × 100 = +73%.

A positive number means demand is growing. A negative number means it is falling.

**See also:** [OTB](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/o.md) · [STLY](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/s.md) · [Pace](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/p.md)

***

## Denial

A booking request you cannot accept because the hotel is full for those dates.

Record your denials. They measure the demand you lost, which no report of what you sold can show you.

A city hotel is full during a large parade and turns away many requests. The next year it prices those dates higher from the start.

Denials help you find your true peak dates, judge whether you need more rooms, and forecast future demand more accurately.

**See also:** [Sell-out](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/s.md) · [Unconstrained demand](#demand) · [Overbooking](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/o.md)

***

## Derived Rate

A rate plan whose price is calculated from a base rate plan by a fixed rule — a percentage discount, a fixed amount, or a supplement.

The BAR for a Double Room is €130. Non-Refundable is BAR − 10% = €117. Bed and Breakfast is BAR + €20 = €150.

Derived rates save work. When the base rate changes, every derived rate moves with it.

**See also:** [BAR](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/b.md) · [Rate plan](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/r.md) · [Supplement](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/s.md) · [Non-refundable rate](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/n.md)

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## Design Hotel

A hotel whose main selling point is its architecture and interior design.

Design hotels are usually created by a named architect or designer and have a strong, individual style. Many are in the luxury class.

**See also:** [Boutique hotel](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/b.md) · [Lifestyle hotel](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/l.md) · [Luxury hotel](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/l.md)

***

## Direct Booking

A reservation made with the hotel itself — your website, your booking engine, the telephone, email or the front desk. No agent is involved.

Direct bookings cost you the least, because there is no commission to pay. Growing the direct share is a common goal.

**See also:** [OTA](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/o.md) · [Distribution channel](#distribution-channel) · [Commission](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/c.md) · [Net revenue](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/n.md)

***

## Direct Connect

A technical link between two systems that lets them exchange data without a person in the middle. It is also called an interface.

In hotels, a direct connect keeps a reservation system and a sales channel in step in real time. Rates and availability update on both sides automatically, so there is less manual work and less room for error.

**See also:** [Interface](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/i.md) · [Channel manager](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/c.md) · [CRS](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/c.md) · [PMS](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/p.md)

***

## Direct Connect Availability (DCA)

A connectivity product from Sabre. It reads live rates, availability and property information straight from a hotel's central reservation system.

**See also:** [Direct connect](#direct-connect) · [GDS](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/g.md) · [CRS](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/c.md)

***

## Displacement Analysis

The check you run before accepting a group: is the group worth more than the individual bookings it will push out?

You compare the total value of the group against the revenue those same rooms would earn from individual guests. Count room revenue and also food, drink, meeting rooms and other spend.

A group asks for 30 rooms for 3 nights at €100 a night, so €9,000 in total. You expect to sell those rooms to individual guests at €140 a night, so €12,600. The group displaces €3,600 of higher-value business.

Accept the group when it is worth more. Without this check you can take group business that lowers your total revenue.

**See also:** [Displacement cost](#displacement-cost) · [Group booking](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/g.md) · [Group displacement](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/g.md) · [MICE](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/m.md)

***

## Displacement Cost

The revenue you give up by accepting one booking instead of a better-paying one. It puts a number on what the displaced business was worth.

**Displacement cost = revenue from the higher-paying business − revenue from the business you accepted**

A group asks for 20 rooms at €100 a night. You expect to sell those 20 rooms to individual guests at €150. Displacement cost = (€150 − €100) × 20 = €1,000.

Use this number when you negotiate a group rate. It is the minimum the group has to beat.

**See also:** [Displacement analysis](#displacement-analysis) · [Group rate](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/g.md) · [Group booking](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/g.md)

***

## Distressed Inventory

Rooms that are likely to stay empty, because demand is low or the arrival date is close.

Hotels discount these rooms to sell them. A room sold cheaply still earns more than an empty one, and the guest also spends on food, drink and other services.

**See also:** [Demand generators](#demand-generators) · [Last room value](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/l.md) · [Sell-out](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/s.md)

***

## Distribution Channel

Any route through which you sell room nights. Your own website, OTAs, the GDS, tour operators, corporate contracts and walk-ins are all channels.

Each channel has a different cost, a different type of guest and a different booking pattern. Managing the mix to earn the most net revenue is a core part of the job.

**See also:** [OTA](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/o.md) · [GDS](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/g.md) · [Direct booking](#direct-booking) · [Channel manager](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/c.md) · [Net revenue](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/n.md)

***

## Distribution Strategy

Your plan for which channels you sell through, and when. It is built on what each channel costs you to acquire a booking.

You compare the cost of each channel, then push business towards the cheapest ones, especially on high-demand dates. Channels to weigh up include the GDS and consortia, travel agents and tour operators, OTAs, destination management companies, tourist offices and convention bureaus, sales representatives, and your own website.

**See also:** [Distribution channel](#distribution-channel) · [Commission](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/c.md) · [Business mix](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/b.md)

***

## Dynamic Packaging

Letting a guest build their own package online by combining a room with other travel parts, such as flights, car hire or activities.

For a hotel, dynamic packaging means offering modules that fit the date, the guest and the location — a spa package, a city tour, a harbour cruise, a family deal, a wine tasting or a corporate package.

**See also:** [Packaging](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/p.md) · [Demand generators](#demand-generators) · [Upsell](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/u.md)

***

## Dynamic Pricing

Adjusting your rates as demand, bookings and competitor prices change, instead of fixing a rate for the whole season.

A rate for 15 April is set at €120 six months out. It rises to €140 as bookings build, and reaches €165 a week before arrival when few rooms are left.

Dynamic pricing earns more than a fixed price because it follows the market. It is the strategy a revenue management system exists to support.

**See also:** [Yield management](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/y.md) · [Revenue management system](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/r.md) · [BAR](/revhero-docs/support/glossary/b.md) · [Demand](#demand)

***

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