Group blocks that crowd out transient demand
Signals that tell you a contracted block is absorbing rooms your transient guests would have paid more for.
Contracted group blocks protect base occupancy, yet they can crowd higher-paying transient demand when cut-off dates sit too close to arrival. The early warning is transient pace outrunning the same weeks last year while blocked rooms remain lightly picked up inside the group allotment.
Ask sales for a realistic wash assumption before the cut-off, and compare the residual block against transient willingness to pay on those dates. Returning rooms early for brand.com and preferred OTAs often recovers more than holding a half-empty block for appearance.
Document the decision with the commercial team so future contracts include clearer attrition language when similar patterns appear.