Hotel Cancellation Cost Calculator
Put a figure on what cancellations and no-shows actually cost you once resale is taken into account. Every input comes from your own property management system, and the output is arithmetic on the numbers you enter rather than a view on what any policy should be.
A typical month
Labels your own figures. Nothing is converted between currencies.
The average value of a booking before it is cancelled, taken from your own reporting. Use the same basis throughout, so a cancelled booking is valued the way a realised one would be.
Reservations taken in a typical month across every channel, direct included. This is bookings made rather than stays realised, because a cancellation starts life as a booking.
The share of those bookings that cancel or never arrive, from your own system. There is no default here that represents any market: a resort on non-refundable rates and a city hotel on free cancellation are not comparable.
How much of the cancelled value you sell again before the date passes. This is the input most often guessed at, and it is the one that decides whether cancellations are an irritation or a real cost.
Cancelled or no-show bookings per month
40
Revenue not realised before resale
€6,000
Revenue recovered by reselling
€3,600
Net exposure per month
€2,400
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MisMatchMaker compares supported listing details. It does not predict revenue or compare rates.
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Cancelled or no-show bookings per month
The volume behind the money. It is worth looking at on its own, because the handling cost - the emails, the calls, the re-rooming - scales with this number rather than with the revenue attached to it.
Revenue not realised before resale
The gross value of what was booked and then was not taken. On its own this figure overstates the problem for any property that resells well, which is why it should never be quoted without the next two.
Revenue recovered by reselling
What you sell again before the date passes. Improving this is usually faster and less contentious than tightening a policy, because it changes no terms a guest agreed to.
Net exposure per month
What actually does not arrive. This is the figure to carry into any discussion about deposits or non-refundable rates. Multiply by twelve for an annual view, and treat a seasonal property's months separately rather than averaging them.
A worked example
A city hotel checking whether its cancellation terms are worth changing. Figures are illustrative and are shown in EUR for readability; they are not measured research or a benchmark for your property.
Inputs
- Average revenue per booking
- 150
- Bookings per month
- 200
- Cancellation and no-show rate
- 20%
- Share of cancelled nights resold
- 60%
Result
- Cancelled or no-show bookings
- 40 per month
- Revenue not realised
- 6,000
- Revenue recovered by reselling
- 3,600
- Net exposure
- 2,400 per month
The gap between 6,000 and 2,400 is the whole argument. Quoted gross, cancellations look like a case for non-refundable rates; netted off against resale they look like a case for getting the resale share from 60% to 75%, which costs no guest goodwill at all. Work out which lever you are actually pulling before changing terms.
What each input means
Most disagreements between a calculator like this and a real statement come from putting the right number in the wrong box. These are the definitions this tool assumes.
- Average revenue per booking
- The average value of a booking before it is cancelled, taken from your own reporting. Use the same basis throughout, so a cancelled booking is valued the way a realised one would be.
- Bookings per month
- Reservations taken in a typical month across every channel, direct included. This is bookings made rather than stays realised, because a cancellation starts life as a booking.
- Cancellation and no-show rate (%)
- The share of those bookings that cancel or never arrive, from your own system. There is no default here that represents any market: a resort on non-refundable rates and a city hotel on free cancellation are not comparable.
- Share of cancelled nights resold (%)
- How much of the cancelled value you sell again before the date passes. This is the input most often guessed at, and it is the one that decides whether cancellations are an irritation or a real cost.
Formula and limitations
Formula
Cancelled bookings = bookings per month x cancellation and no-show rate. Revenue not realised = cancelled bookings x average revenue per booking. Revenue recovered = revenue not realised x share resold. Net exposure = revenue not realised - revenue recovered.
What this calculation does not include
- Cancellations and no-shows are treated as one rate. If your system separates them, run the calculation twice, because the two behave differently and are usually addressed by different changes.
- Any deposit, cancellation fee, or no-show charge you do collect is excluded, so the net exposure is before recoveries of that kind.
- Resale is modelled as a share of value, not of nights. A cancelled night resold at a lower rate is only partly recovered, so enter the share of value rather than the share of rooms.
- Lead time is not modelled. A cancellation the day before and one three months out have very different resale prospects and are averaged together here.
- Nothing here is converted between currencies, and no figure is seasonally adjusted.
- No input represents a normal rate for any market or property type. Every figure must come from your own system.
Frequently asked questions
Should I include no-shows in the cancellation rate?
You can, and the calculator treats them together, but it is more useful to run it twice if your system separates them. A cancellation gives you notice and a chance to resell; a no-show usually does not, so the same percentage carries a very different recovery rate and calls for a different response.
What counts as a resold night?
Value sold again for the same date before it passes, expressed as a share of the cancelled value rather than of the rooms. If a cancelled room is resold at a lower rate, only that part of the value is recovered, so counting rooms rather than value will make your resale look better than it is.
Does this tell me whether to move to non-refundable rates?
No. It sizes the exposure so the conversation starts from a number rather than an impression. Whether tighter terms are worth it depends on how much demand they deter and what your resale share already is - a property recovering most of its cancelled value is solving a smaller problem than the gross figure suggests.
Why is there no default cancellation rate?
Because there is no figure that would be right for more than a narrow set of properties, and a default here would look authoritative while being wrong for most people. A resort selling non-refundable rates and a city hotel selling free cancellation are not comparable. Take the rate from your own property management system.
Can I save or share a calculation?
Yes. Every input is held in the page address, so copying the link from your browser - or using the copy-link button - sends someone the exact figures you entered. Nothing is uploaded to us; the numbers exist only in your own browser and in the link you choose to share.