Articles
Articles and guides for hotel owners and managers
Practical articles, plain-language guides to hotel terms and side-by-side software comparisons for the people who run independent hotels, resorts, hostels and guest houses. Use them whether or not you run bedsKey.
Updated October 2026
Latest articles
How to choose a hotel PMS
A buyer's checklist for independent hotels, hostels and guest houses: the 12 questions that separate a good hotel PMS from an expensive mistake.
Read the articlePrevent double bookings and overbooking
Why hotels end up selling the same room twice, the five usual causes, how to prevent each one, and what to do for the guest when it still happens.
Read the articleGet more direct bookings
Practical ways for independent hotels to move guests from online travel agencies to their own website: booking page, pricing, payments and repeat guests.
Read the articleRevenue management for small hotels
A simple revenue management routine for independent hotels: three KPIs, BAR and derived rates, stay restrictions, occupancy-based pricing and a weekly review.
Read the articleNight audit checklist
A step-by-step night audit checklist for hotels: what to reconcile before the audit, what the audit does, which reports to review after, and common errors.
Read the articleHousekeeping room statuses explained
What vacant clean, vacant dirty, inspected, occupied, DND, out of order and out of service mean, who sets each one, and a simple daily housekeeping workflow.
Read the articlebKash and Nagad payments for hotels
How hotels in Bangladesh can take bKash, Nagad, card and bank payments for direct bookings: deposits, card holds, refunds, reconciliation and setup steps.
Read the articleHotel terms explained
PMS
A hotel PMS runs reservations, check-in, room status, billing and night audit in one system. What it does, who needs one and how to choose.
Read the guideADR
ADR is room revenue divided by room nights sold. The formula, a worked example, what to include and exclude, and how ADR relates to RevPAR.
Read the guideRevPAR
RevPAR is room revenue divided by rooms available, or ADR × occupancy. Formula, a worked example and why hotels use it to measure performance.
Read the guideOccupancy rate
Occupancy rate is room nights sold divided by room nights available. The formula, a worked example, bed-level occupancy for hostels and common mistakes.
Read the guideBAR
BAR is a hotel's standard public rate for a night, and the parent other rates are derived from. How BAR works, derived-rate examples and BAR vs ADR.
Read the guideNight audit
The hotel night audit posts room and tax charges, reconciles the day, flags no-shows and rolls the business date. What it does and how to automate it.
Read the guideGuest folio
A guest folio is the running statement of every charge, tax and payment for a stay. How folios work, split and transferred bills, and folio vs invoice.
Read the guideCity ledger
The city ledger is a hotel's accounts receivable for companies and agents billed after the stay. How it works, an example and how to manage it.
Read the guideChannel manager
A channel manager sends rates and availability to booking channels and brings reservations back. How it works, key features and how to avoid overbooking.
Read the guideRate parity
Rate parity means consistent room prices across channels. What parity is, why disparities happen, how to check it, and parity vs channel-specific rates.
Read the guideBooking engine
A hotel booking engine lets guests book directly on the hotel website, without commission. How it works, must-have features and how deposits work.
Read the guideCTA / CTD
CTA stops stays starting on a date; CTD stops stays ending on it. How both restrictions work, examples, and how they differ from minimum stay.
Read the guideComparisons
PMS vs spreadsheets
Spreadsheets vs a hotel PMS compared on double bookings, rates, billing, night audit, reporting and cost, and the signs it is time to move to a PMS.
Read the comparisonCloud vs on-premise PMS
Cloud vs on-premise hotel PMS compared on cost, setup, updates, security, backups, remote access and internet dependence, with honest trade-offs.
Read the comparisonPMS vs channel manager vs booking engine
What a hotel PMS, a channel manager and a booking engine each do, how they connect, whether you need all three, and the benefit of one system.
Read the comparisonMore reading
Run your entire property from one system.
Talk to sales@bedskey.com — we’ll walk you through bedsKey with your own rooms and rates.