Billing discrepancy · Attrition
Audit hotel room block attrition charges.
Attrition is often the largest single line on a post-event bill, and the one planners most want to check. It's also formula-driven, so it can be recalculated exactly from the contract and the pickup report.
The short answer
A room block attrition charge is what you owe when actual pickup falls below the percentage of the block the contract lets you drop to. To check it, take the contracted room nights, apply the allowed attrition percentage to get the minimum commitment, subtract actualized room nights, and multiply the shortfall by the rate the contract names.
Then check the adjustments the contract allows: credit for rooms the hotel resold, cumulative versus night-by-night measurement, and whether damages are at the group rate or a reduced rate.
What to check
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Contracted room nights
The total block, and whether it was reduced by a signed amendment before the cutoff.
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Allowed attrition
The percentage you could drop without penalty, for example 20%. Minimum commitment = block × (1 − allowed attrition).
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Cumulative or nightly
Cumulative clauses measure the whole stay; nightly clauses measure each night. They give different results with the same pickup.
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Actualized pickup
Use the hotel's post-event pickup report, including rooms booked outside the block if the contract credits them.
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The rate
Damages are often at the group rate, sometimes less a percentage for the hotel's avoided costs. Check which the contract says.
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Resale credit
Some contracts credit rooms the hotel resold. Ask for the hotel's occupancy evidence if the clause applies.
How FolioMatch checks it
FolioMatch extracts the block, allowed attrition, measurement basis and damages rate from the agreement and any signed block reduction, then reads actual pickup from the supplied pickup report or rooming list. The attrition formula is run in code with every input shown.
If no pickup report is supplied, the finding is marked insufficient evidence rather than guessed.
- 01
Hotel or event agreement
The signed contract and its schedules set the base terms: rates, percentages, minimums, formulas and concessions.
- 02
Amendments and signed changes
A signed addendum or change order replaces the contract term it amends, and only that term.
- 03
BEOs and revised BEOs
Banquet event orders set the operational detail: counts, times, staffing and menus. The latest approved revision is used, and earlier revisions are kept for comparison.
- 04
Supporting documents
Rooming lists, pickup reports, AV orders, staffing sheets and invoice exports, where you supply them.
- 05
Final invoice or master bill
Each billed line is compared with the terms above. Where the documents don't explain a charge, it becomes a finding with the pages behind it.
Findings are labelled as a possible discrepancy, needs review, matches the agreement or insufficient evidence. FolioMatch doesn't make legal determinations; it shows what the supplied documents do and don't support.
Sample finding: attrition calculated on the wrong commitment
Illustrative example — sample data
Agreement
- Block 600 room nights
- Allowed attrition 20%
- Damages at group rate $219
Pickup report
- Actualized 450 room nights
- Cumulative across 4 nights
Final bill
- Attrition 50 room nights
- × $219 = $10,950
FolioMatch finding
Possible $4,380 discrepancy
With 20% allowed attrition the minimum commitment is 480 room nights. Actual pickup was 450, a shortfall of 30 room nights, or $6,570 at the group rate.
The invoice bills 50 room nights. That would correspond to a commitment of 500, which does not appear in the supplied documents. Review recommended.
- 600 × (1 − 20%)
- 480 room nights
- Shortfall (480 − 450)
- 30 room nights
- Expected attrition (30 × $219)
- $6,570.00
- Attrition invoiced
- $10,950.00
- Difference
- $4,380.00
Evidence
- Agreement · Room Block & Attrition · page 4
- Pickup Report · Summary · page 1
- Final Invoice · Attrition · page 2
Nightly clauses need a different check
If your contract measures attrition night by night, a strong peak night can't offset a weak shoulder night. Recalculate each night against its own block and allowed attrition, then add the shortfalls. It's common for a hotel to use nightly measurement when the contract says cumulative, or the reverse.
Room-rate problems affect attrition too. If rooms in the block were billed at the wrong rate, see room-rate discrepancies. Actualized nights also drive complimentary room credits.
Questions
Do rooms booked outside the block count toward pickup?
Only if the contract says so. Many do, if you can identify attendees. Supply the matching list and FolioMatch will note the clause.
Is attrition subject to tax?
Often not, because it's damages rather than a room sale, but local rules differ. Check the invoice's tax treatment against the contract.
What if the hotel resold my unused rooms?
If your contract has a resale credit clause, ask the hotel for their occupancy data. Without it, FolioMatch can't verify the credit and says so.
Related
Room-rate discrepancies
Contracted vs charged rate by room type, date and shoulder night.
Complimentary room credits
1-per-X formulas, actualized room nights and whether the credit reached the master.
Missing concessions
A concessions ledger: what was negotiated, and whether it reached the bill.
Back to all hotel billing discrepancies or the hotel master bill audit guide.
You negotiated the deal. Make sure you got it.
Upload the agreement, BEOs and final bill. FolioMatch checks what you negotiated against what you were charged and shows the evidence behind every finding.