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Course Description

Businesses that accept reservations must cope with the problem of no-shows: customers who make a reservation but fail to honor it. Hotels can protect themselves against revenue loss from no-shows by overbooking. This course teaches you how to strategically overbook and how to evaluate groups in order to determine which rates to charge.

You will examine the components of a successful overbooking strategy: no-show forecasting, no-show rates, arrival uncertainty, pricing policies, and cancellation forecasts. You will consider the risks of overbooking and review strategies to minimize costs and mitigate customer impact.

This course, authored by Cornell University Professor Sheryl E. Kimes, will help you create a group forecast and explore yieldable and non-yieldable business and incremental group costs and revenue opportunities. Finally, you will employ models to calculate displacement costs and contribution margins to determine which customer groups will return the most profit.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

  • Introduction to Hotel Revenue Management
  • Forecasting and Availability Controls in Hotel Revenue Management
  • Pricing Strategy and Distribution Channels in Hotel Revenue Management

Faculty Author

Sheryl Kimes

Benefits to the Learner

  • How to develop an overbooking approach that addresses no-shows
  • Ways to manage potential customer issues associated with overbooking
  • Strategies to make group-management decisions that maximize revenue

Prerequisites

Cornell University School of Hotel Administration

Requirements

Use of Microsoft Excel is required for this course.

Target Audience

  • Directors, general managers, and other hospitality professionals responsible for improving the financial performance of their organizations
  • Front desk managers, night auditors, and sales and marketing analysts who want to take on more responsibility for improving profitability in their property
  • Those who aspire to hospitality management positions and need a strong foundation of revenue concepts

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

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Enroll Now - Select a section to enroll in

Type
2 week
Dates
May 13, 2026 to May 26, 2026
Total Number of Hours
10.0
Course Fee(s)
Standard Price $1,199.00

Section Notes

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

  • This course includes two years of free access to Symposium! These events feature a week of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore today’s most pressing hospitality topics. Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending a Symposium is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
Type
2 week
Dates
Jun 10, 2026 to Jun 23, 2026
Total Number of Hours
10.0
Course Fee(s)
Standard Price $1,199.00

Section Notes

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

  • This course includes two years of free access to Symposium! These events feature a week of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore today’s most pressing hospitality topics. Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending a Symposium is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
Type
2 week
Dates
Jul 08, 2026 to Jul 21, 2026
Total Number of Hours
10.0
Course Fee(s)
Standard Price $1,199.00

Section Notes

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

  • This course includes two years of free access to Symposium! These events feature a week of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore today’s most pressing hospitality topics. Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending a Symposium is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
Type
2 week
Dates
Aug 05, 2026 to Aug 18, 2026
Total Number of Hours
10.0
Course Fee(s)
Standard Price $1,199.00

Section Notes

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

  • This course includes two years of free access to Symposium! These events feature a week of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore today’s most pressing hospitality topics. Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending a Symposium is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
Type
2 week
Dates
Sep 02, 2026 to Sep 15, 2026
Total Number of Hours
10.0
Course Fee(s)
Standard Price $1,199.00

Section Notes

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

  • This course includes two years of free access to Symposium! These events feature a week of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore today’s most pressing hospitality topics. Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending a Symposium is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
Type
2 week
Dates
Sep 30, 2026 to Oct 13, 2026
Total Number of Hours
10.0
Course Fee(s)
Standard Price $1,199.00

Section Notes

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

  • This course includes two years of free access to Symposium! These events feature a week of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore today’s most pressing hospitality topics. Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending a Symposium is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
Type
2 week
Dates
Oct 28, 2026 to Nov 10, 2026
Total Number of Hours
10.0
Course Fee(s)
Standard Price $1,199.00

Section Notes

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

  • This course includes two years of free access to Symposium! These events feature a week of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore today’s most pressing hospitality topics. Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending a Symposium is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
Type
2 week
Dates
Nov 25, 2026 to Dec 08, 2026
Total Number of Hours
10.0
Course Fee(s)
Standard Price $1,199.00

Section Notes

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

  • This course includes two years of free access to Symposium! These events feature a week of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore today’s most pressing hospitality topics. Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending a Symposium is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
Type
2 week
Dates
Dec 23, 2026 to Jan 05, 2027
Total Number of Hours
10.0
Course Fee(s)
Standard Price $1,199.00

Section Notes

IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION

  • This course includes two years of free access to Symposium! These events feature a week of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore today’s most pressing hospitality topics. Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending a Symposium is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.
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