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How to use the Inventory Calendar (F12)

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The Inventory Calendar can be accessed using the F12 Function Key, or by going to Operations > Inventory Calendar. There are two different views of the Inventory Calendar available in the PMS, a basic view and an enhanced view.

Option 1: Basic View

This is the default view available in the PMS. This view provides a snapshot of a property's availability.

This view shows all available Room Types, and their inventory for the time period displayed.  The example below shows two week's worth of inventory starting from May 28th, 2020.

Option 1: Basic View

View functions that are available on both the default & enhanced Inventory Calendar views are as follows:

  • Refresh – this button is used to refresh the Inventory Calendar. As rooms are continuously being sold & released you can use the Refresh button to ensure you are always looking at the most up-to-date information.
  • View Rates – selecting this button opens up a 2nd screen which allows you to select specific rates for a selected Room Type & Rate Plan
  • Color Properties – allows you to customize the color of the numbers that display below based on Occupancy. However, please note that the colors will always return to their default settings after you exit the Inventory Calendar
  • Print – allows you to print off a copy of the Inventory Calendar as displayed on your screen
  • Close – allows you to exit out of the Inventory Calendar.
  • Room Types – displays the Room Types currently setup in the PMS
  • Sleeps - displays the maximum number of people that can be assigned to that room type
  • Avg Rate – the Average Rate is displayed for the average of the dates selected and the Rate Plan used for the price is the Default Rate set on the Room Type: System Configuration => Room Inventory => Default rate. This rate should NOT be used for quoting guests
  • Inv (Inventory) – shows the total number of rooms of each room type that you have available

This section indicates how many rooms of each room type you have available for each day (if you are using the enhanced Inventory Calendar this will display per day rates as well).

Option 2: Enhanced View

The Enhanced View of the Inventory Calendar shows availability and rates in a single screen. Rates are displayed by selecting a Client Type, and then a rate plan.  

This optional view can be turned on by going to System Configuration > Property > Preferences tab, and checking the option Display Rates in Inventory Calendar.

NOTE: This feature is only available for properties using the Rate Wizard to build rates. This option is not available to properties still using the legacy Rates Module. Please contact the PMS Support team if you would like to migrate your rates from the Rates Module to the Rate Wizard.

Option 2: Enhanced View

This view provides a snapshot of a property's availability, as well as rates.

NOTE: Prices displayed are always based on Double Occupancy.

The options in the top left allow the user to choose to view inventory in intervals of:

  • 2 Weeks
  • 1 Month
  • By a selected date rate (By Reservation Dates)

Inventory levels can be displayed based on either Availability or Occupancy %.

When the 2 Weeks or Month view are chosen, there is an option to select the first date the calendar displays from, using the Date drop down in the top right.

If the option By Reservation Dates is selected, there will be an option to choose the start and end date of the reservation using the Arrival and Departure fields in the top right.

To view rates, select the desired Client Type & Rate Type using the corresponding drop down menus.

When selecting a Corporate, Group or Wholesaler based Client Type, the corresponding company, group or wholesaler account will need to be selected before the Rate Type can be chosen.

NOTE: For viewing Groups, the inventory calendar will default to the dates of the group once a group is selected.

Once you have selected the Rate Type, the Inventory Calendar will then display the applicable rates.

NOTE: The rates that display are your Hotel Direct Rates, and ALL prices are based on Double Occupancy.

If a Rate is Closed for a specific time period, the Rate will display as N/A.

NOTE: If a Rate is Closed to Arrival, or if a Length of Stay (LOS) restriction is in place, these will NOT be reflected on the Inventory Calendar.

Features available in both Basic and Enhanced Views

To view all the reservations made on a particular date for all room types click on the date button at the top of the screen (ie: Wed Jun 03) and an Inventory Detail Report will appear.

Features available in both Basic and Enhanced Views

This Inventory Detail (All Rooms) report shows the total number of reservations for the date you selected.

Just below the Reservations Totals is a breakdown of Block Totals.

If you are ever “missing” rooms from your inventory the 1st thing you should always check is your BLOCK. Within the Block Totals you can see if there are any Rooms Left in Block and if so, to which group they belong.

At the end of the report you will see a “Total Inventory for All Rooms”, which shows you your total inventory available for sale.

Total of all Holds for ALL ROOM TYPES on (DATE) + Total Inventory Remaining for ALL ROOM TYPES = Total Inventory for All Rooms

To streamline this information even more, by double clicking on the “5” under Wed Jun 03 for the EKS Room Type, it will display an Inventory Detail Report just for the EKS room type will display.

Again, at the end of the report we will see the Total Inventory for the specific room type only.

Total of all Holds for SPECIFIC ROOM TYPE on (DATE) + Total Inventory Remaining for SPECIFIC ROOM TYPE = Total Inventory for SPECIFIC ROOM TYPE

The bottom half of the Inventory Calendar indicates the following:

  • Total Inventory - displays the total number of rooms that you have available in your inventory
  • Available – displays the total number of rooms that you have available for sale
  • Available % - shows what percentage of your rooms are available to be sold
  • Out of Order - shows any rooms that currently out of order
  • Block - shows rooms remaining in block. It is VERY IMPORTANT to keep an eye on this section as the rooms that are remaining in block are being held by a group and cannot be sold to the general public. In order to view which group is holding the rooms in block click on the date button at the top of the screen and look at the “Block Totals” section
  • Reserved - shows the total number of reservations you currently have in your system)

Rooms left in BLOCK this close to arrival should be released ASAP. Each property will have their own guidelines in place as to how long to keep rooms in block (ie: release all one week out, two weeks out, one month out….this varies property to property, and each property usually has a standard policy in place.

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