RoomTetris in room committing: why the role of minimum-length-of-stay requirements should be revisited

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to analyze how different room-committing practices affect the occupancy and profitability of hotels and it critically reviews the role of minimum-length-of-stay (MLOS) requirements given these findings. Design/methodology/approach: The approach uses statistical analysis of simplified contexts to develop understanding, and simulations of more complex situations to confirm the relevance in realistic contexts. Findings: The study demonstrates that proper solutions of the room-committing problem improve occupancy and profitability, in particular, for hotels working in high-season and high-occupancy situations. Smart committing algorithms diminish the role of MLOS requirements. More demand can be accepted without sacrificing late-arriving long reservations. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work, building upon a previous one cited in this paper, is the first to rigorously study the room-committing problem and to demonstrate its relevance in practical situations and its implications on MLOS rules.