Question: How do I update availability?

Answer: Availability (to be pushed to online channels) can be updated through the Availability calendar.


To access the Availability calendar,



Update Availability (Single Date)

Scenario: Update availability of Standard King on 01 Aug to 4 rooms.


1. Click on the availability count of Standard King on 01 Aug.


2. In the pop-up, update availability to the desired number (4).

3. Hit ”Submit”.


4. New availability count is reflected in the calendar (and pushed to online channels).


Exceeding the Maximum Availability for a Specific Room Type

A hotel has a fixed number of physical rooms for each of its room types; this is set up per room type in HMS, referred to as the Room count. Users can update the Availability in the Availability Calendar, and there is no restriction on the number that is keyed in. However, when users input a number for Available room that causes the total Sold+Closed+Available count to exceed the physical Room Count, an overbooking warning will appear when the user tries to save the changes. 


For example: the Standard King room type has 25 rooms. On July 15, 10 rooms had been sold and 1 room was closed, leaving 14 rooms available for sale. However, to anticipate potential revenue loss due to no-show guests or cancellations, users may update the room availability to 16 rooms, setting it to overbook. When users click to submit, a “Caution” message will appear. To proceed, users must check the warning acknowledgment box and click "Submit."

The formula to verify room count is:

Available rooms + Sold rooms + Closed rooms = Room Count

In this case:

16 + 10 + 1 = 27

This number exceeds the maximum availability for the Standard King room type, which is 25.



Adjusting Room Availability to Match Unsold Rooms

Maintaining accurate availability counts is essential for maximising revenue. Manual errors or system glitches can lead to overbooking or underbooking, which can negatively impact the bottom line of a hotel.


The “Match Unsold Rooms” function helps hotels avoid these issues. By using this function, hotels can ensure that availability for each room type and date matches exactly the actual number of unsold rooms. 


How to use it: 

  1. Navigate to the Availability Calendar and select the date you wish to adjust.
  2. Click on the Availability box for the chosen date and room type. 
  3. Check the “Availability to match unsold rooms” option. 
  4. Click Submit. 


What happens next? 

Once you click on “Submit”, HMS automatically recalculates the availability for the selected room type and date. This calculation is based on the following factors:  

  • Room Count: The total number of rooms of a specific room type.
  • Sold Rooms: The number of rooms already booked. 
  • Closed Rooms: The numbers of rooms that are unavailable for booking due to maintenance or other reasons. 


The formula used is: 

Availability = Room Count - Sold - Closed

This ensures the "Not Available" count is set to 0.

In this example, we have 

  • Room count: 25
  • Sold rooms: 10
  • Closed rooms: 1

The calculation would be: 

Availability = 25 - 10 - 1 = 14

Therefore, 14 rooms are available for booking. And the Not available count is 0. 



Scenario 1: Correcting an underbooking 

In this scenario, a hotel manually inputs only 5 available rooms for sale, which leads to an underbooking problem and results in missed revenue opportunities. 


To prevent underbooking and ensure all available rooms can be sold, follow these steps:

  1. Click EDIT on the Availability box.
    • The available rooms for sale now are incorrectly set to 5 rooms.
  2. Tick the "Availability to match unsold rooms" option.
    • This action will automatically adjust the number of available rooms to reflect the actual unsold rooms. 
  3. Click SUBMIT.
    • The number of Available rooms should now be updated to 10 rooms. 


Scenario 2: Correcting an overbooking 

In this scenario, the hotel manually inputs 15 available rooms for sale to account for anticipated cancellations and no shows. Given that 14 rooms have already been sold and 1 room is closed, this setting will allow HMS to sell up to 29 rooms, overbooking this room type by 5 rooms. As the day of arrival approaches, it might be risky to allow this much overbooking, potentially resulting in the hotel having to relocate the overbooked guests and incurring additional costs. 


To correct this overbooking situation, follow these steps:

  1. Click EDIT on the Availability box.
    • The available rooms for sale now are incorrectly set to 15 rooms.
    • Pay attention to the Not Available count. A negative value (eg. -5) indicates overbooking, meaning that the system may accept more bookings than the hotel can accommodate.
  2. Tick the "Availability to match unsold rooms" option.
    • This action will automatically adjust the number of available rooms to reflect the actual unsold rooms. 
  3. Click SUBMIT.
    • The number of Available rooms should now be updated to 10 rooms. 



Can't find your answer? Contact the ZUZU Helpline 


Tags: Availability calendar, update availability, room count, availability count, exceed maximum availability, caution pop-up, match unsold rooms, overbooking, underbooking, available rooms, sold rooms, closed rooms, not available rooms, revenue opportunities, overbooking risk, correcting the room availability count