Rate shopping

In shortRate shopping is the regular collection of competitor hotels' prices from sales channels and their comparison with your own rate; the tool that does it is called a rate shopper.

Rates change every day, often several times a day, so tracking them by hand is slow and error-prone. A rate shopper reads the same nights under the same conditions (room type, occupancy, length of stay) every day, which keeps the comparison consistent.

The data is usually laid out night by night: your rate, each competitor's rate, the competitor median and the gap. Rate shopping does not make the decision; it shows the situation and the pricing decision stays with the hotel.