In today’s evolving hotel market, your competitive set (compset) should be your compass—not a leftover list from years past. With margins tighter than ever, profit benchmarking has become essential. Yet many compsets are still optimized only for RevPAR, not for true performance insights.
Here are five signs it might be time to reassess your compset—and what to do about it.
1. You Haven’t Updated It in Over a Year
Why it matters: Markets move fast. New hotels open, others reposition, and guest expectations shift. If your compset hasn’t evolved alongside those changes, it may no longer reflect your competitive reality.
What to consider: A quick quarterly or semi-annual review ensures your compset keeps pace with your brand’s pricing, service level, and guest segments.
2. You Benchmark on RevPAR Alone
Why it matters: RevPAR is useful—but incomplete. A property can excel in revenue yet struggle with rising costs or operational inefficiencies.
What to consider: Metrics like GOPPAR, labor costs, and departmental performance reveal where revenue turns into real profit. This is where smarter benchmarking begins.
3. Your Compset Doesn’t Reflect Your Brand or Positioning
Why it matters: If you’re comparing against hotels with very different service models, target guests, or amenities, the data won’t tell you much. It’s like comparing apples to oranges.
What to consider: Your compset should include properties that operate under similar conditions—aligned in experience level, asset class, and guest profile.
4. You’ve Never Looked at Your Compset’s Profitability
Why it matters: Focusing only on occupancy and ADR overlooks the cost side of performance. Without insight into profitability, you may be benchmarking the wrong success.
What to consider: Look beyond top-line revenue. Benchmark costs, margins, and departmental performance to gain a more complete view of how your compset operates.
5. You’re Not Sure Why Some Properties Are Included
Why it matters: Legacy compsets can linger long after their relevance fades. If a property’s inclusion can’t be clearly justified, it’s probably distorting your strategy.
What to consider: Each property should earn its place—because it shares your market, guest profile, pricing tier, or business goals.
A Stronger Compset, a Smarter Strategy
When built with intention and evaluated through a profitability lens, your compset becomes more than a reference—it becomes a tool for growth. Even small refinements can unlock new insights, sharpen performance comparisons, and guide better decisions.
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About HotStats
HotStats, a Duetto company, is a global data benchmarking company offering specialized performance analysis and a benchmarking tool that helps analyze financial and operational data from a diverse range of hotels globally. This provides hotel owners, operators, and investors with valuable insights into the financial performance of their properties against their competition – an invaluable resource for weighing options and evaluating investment opportunities. For a quick demo, email us at [email protected] or visit www.hotstats.com.
