Running a small hotel is like conducting an orchestra with half the musicians offstage. You’re greeting guests, answering the phone, checking rooms, and sorting invoices, often all in the same hour. In the middle of that swirl, there’s one quiet question that decides whether your hard work pays off: what does a sold room actually cost you tonight?
When you can calculate the cost per occupied room, everything from pricing to staffing becomes easier and a lot less stressful. When you stop guessing and start planning, your day feels calmer. The good news is you don’t need to be an accountant to get there; you just need a simple way to total up the everyday costs of making a room guest-ready, and to let your system, most independent hotel property management systems can do this, pull the numbers together without you chasing scraps of paper.
Think of Cost Per Occupied Room (CPOR) as the actual cost of a clean, working, welcoming room for one guest night. It includes the obvious bits, housekeeping time, laundry, toiletries, tea and coffee, and a fair slice of the less obvious items, such as software, insurance, minor repairs, and energy. Put simply, you add up what you spent to run rooms for the month and divide by how many rooms you actually sold. That’s it. You’ll get a down-to-earth figure that says, “Every room we sold cost us about this much to service.” Once you know that number, you have a floor you shouldn’t dip below when you set rates, because selling under that line is the same as paying guests to stay.
Let’s keep it friendly with an example. Imagine last month’s room-related spending came to a neat total, and you sold 800 room nights. When you divide the spending by those 800 nights, you might discover each sold room costs around, say, £25 to service. That £25 becomes your reference point. If you’d like £35 profit per room night as a sensible target, your “safe” rate before commissions and taxes should sit around £60. You’ll ask a little more on busy weekends and a little less when it’s quiet, but now you’re steering with your eyes open, no complicated formulas; just a number that helps you sleep better.
Where do those costs come from? Mostly, the little things you already touch every day. Housekeeping minutes add up quickly. Laundry and linen replacements are steady background costs. Amenities, such as shampoo, soap, coffee, and biscuits, seem tiny until you multiply them by every stay. The light and heat that make a winter stay cosy belong in the total, too. And don’t forget the “small but constant” items: a replacement kettle here, a new hinge there, a fresh remote control after one goes missing. When your PMS is set up to capture the basics, how many rooms you sold, how long cleans took on average, how often you turn linen for different stay lengths, it quietly builds a clearer picture of CPOR without you turning into a full-time bookkeeper.
This is where independent hotel property management systems really earn their keep. Instead of chasing everyone for numbers at month-end, your PMS can collect them as you work. A housekeeper taps “start” and “finish” on a mobile device, so you can see how long rooms actually take and spot the patterns. A simple stock note each week monitors bulk amenities, so you’re not surprised by a jump in costs. A quick “minor maintenance” log against room numbers helps you see which rooms demand extra attention and why. Even if your utility bills don’t split neatly by room, you can agree on a sensible per-room estimate and adjust it a couple of times a year. None of this is heavy or technical; it’s just bringing the everyday work you already do into one place so the totals make sense.
Once you have a reliable CPOR, pricing stops being a wrestling match. You can set a “do not cross” line for each channel. If an online travel site takes a commission, ensure your public rates still leave room for profit after that fee. On your own website or over the phone, you might be willing to sit a little closer to the line because you’re keeping more of each pound. And when you see a spike in demand, concerts, school breaks, or a big match in town, you can lift prices or add a two-night minimum without second-guessing yourself. Your number gives you confidence.
There’s also a calm, practical benefit: staffing. If you notice rooms are selling fast next weekend, you can look at average cleaning times and schedule an extra pair of hands for a few hours. That little move can turn a frantic Saturday into a smooth one. Likewise, if the month looks soft, you can plan light-touch “stayover” services on longer bookings, still thoughtful and tidy, just less time-intensive, so you save minutes without sacrificing warmth or cleanliness. Over a month, those minutes become money.
Are there traps to watch out for? A few, and they’re easy to fix. The first is “mystery costs,” those invoices that get dumped into a vague “miscellaneous” bucket. Give them simple labels instead: amenities, linen loss, minor repairs. After one month of tidier labels, you’ll spot which levers to pull. The second is surprise fees for guests. If people only discover certain charges at checkout, they’re more likely to push back or leave a sour review, and both outcomes cost you. Show the full price early. The third is relying on paper. The paper gets lost and can’t do the maths for you. Even a light use of mobile checklists and notes will make your CPOR more accurate and your day gentler.
You might be thinking, “This sounds sensible, but I’m busy.” That’s fair. Here’s a calm, one-month routine that fits around real life. In week one, decide what you’ll count: cleaning time, laundry, room supplies, minor fixes, and a fair slice of overheads. In week two, turn on the simple tracking your PMS already offers: housekeeping start/finish taps, a weekly amenities count, and quick notes for minor maintenance. In week three, total the month and divide by rooms sold. That gives you your CPOR and, with your chosen profit per room, your safe base rate. In week four, use the number. Ensure your rates on each channel are above your line, add a couple of easy add-ons that don’t increase costs much (like late checkout or a room-with-a-view upgrade), and send a friendly pre-arrival message that answers common questions before guests ask. You’ll feel the difference the very next weekend.
Housekeeping deserves a special mention because it quietly decides whether CPOR drifts up or down. A few small habits go a long way. Group rooms by corridor so staff walk less and clean more. Encourage quick photo notes when something needs fixing so maintenance can act before the next arrival. Prioritize rooms due in that day so you’re never waiting on a clean when a guest is already at the desk. If you can trim just five minutes from an average clean without cutting corners, you’ll see it in your costs and your reviews.
None of this means squeezing the joy out of hospitality. In fact, it’s the opposite. When you know your number, you can say “yes” more confidently. Yes to a welcome tray that costs pennies but delights guests. Yes, hold a parking space for a late arrival because your day isn’t hanging by a thread. Yes, keep your best promises during busy weekends because your system is doing the quiet, tedious work in the background. A clear CPOR and a willing PMS don’t replace the human side of your hotel; they protect it.
So take a breath, pick a month, and do the simple sum. Add the costs that truly belong to running rooms, divide by the rooms you actually sold, and write down your number. Let your independent hotel property management systems gather the inputs for next month to make the process easier. Use the result to set your “do not cross” line, to plan your team’s hours, and to nudge prices up or down with calm assurance. One night really does come down to a single, helpful number. Know it, and you’ll run your small hotel with a clearer head and a kinder day.
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