When a tour operator, DMC or wholesaler contracts rooms directly with hotels, the agreement includes terms that control how many rooms can be sold, until when and on what conditions. A hotel extranet turns those terms into rules the booking engine follows automatically. Understanding the vocabulary is the first step to managing direct contracts well.
Contracted rates
A contract sets net rates for room types, board basis and seasons. These rates are usually confidential and lower than public prices, leaving room for your margin. The extranet stores them by date range, room type and occupancy.
Allotment
An allotment is a number of rooms the hotel reserves for you on each date. For example, five deluxe rooms per night during the season. Bookings reduce the allotment, and when it reaches zero, further bookings need hotel confirmation or are blocked.
Release period
The release period is how many days before arrival unsold allotment returns to the hotel. With a seven-day release, rooms not booked a week before arrival go back to the hotel's general inventory. The extranet must stop instant confirmations after the release date and switch to on-request booking.
Free sale
Under free sale, you can confirm bookings without a fixed allotment until the hotel tells you to stop. It gives flexibility but depends on fast stop-sell updates.
Stop-sell
A stop-sell is the hotel's instruction to stop selling certain dates or room types, usually because the hotel is full. The extranet should apply stop-sells immediately across every channel, B2B, B2C and API customers, to avoid overbooking.
Other common restrictions
- Minimum stay: bookings must cover a minimum number of nights on certain dates.
- Closed to arrival or departure: guests cannot check in or check out on specific dates.
- Cancellation terms: deadlines and penalties, which may differ by season.
- Supplements and offers: extra charges for gala dinners, or early-booking and long-stay discounts.
How an extranet manages all this
- Stores contracts with rates, seasons and restrictions in a structured way.
- Calculates availability and price for every search from these rules.
- Applies stop-sells and release periods automatically.
- Notifies hotels of new bookings and keeps confirmation numbers.
- Reports allotment usage so you can renegotiate next season.
In practice: a DMC in Goa
A DMC contracts 20 beach resorts for the winter season, each with allotments and a 14-day release. In its extranet, it loads rates and restrictions for all resorts. Agents book through its B2B portal, and rooms confirm instantly while allotment lasts. When a resort sends a stop-sell for New Year week, the DMC applies it once and it takes effect across every channel. After the season, the allotment report shows which resorts sold out early and which returned most rooms, which shapes the next round of negotiations.
Negotiating better terms next season
Extranet reports give you evidence for negotiations. If a hotel's allotment sold out weeks before release, you can ask for more rooms or a longer release period. If most rooms were returned unsold, you can reduce the allotment or move to free sale. Data on stop-sell frequency and booking lead times also helps you agree realistic terms that suit both sides.
Common mistakes
- Keeping contracts in spreadsheets, which leads to wrong prices and missed restrictions.
- Applying stop-sells late, causing overbookings.
- Ignoring release dates and confirming rooms the hotel has already taken back.
Frequently asked questions
Can extranet rooms appear alongside bedbank rooms?
Yes. A booking engine can merge contracted rooms with supplier API results, often showing the contracted rate when it is better.
Can hotels update their own allotments?
Many extranets give hotels a login to update availability and stop-sells directly, which reduces errors and delays.
Key takeaways
- Allotments, release periods and stop-sells control what you can sell and when.
- An extranet turns contract terms into automatic booking rules.
- Fast stop-sell handling is essential to avoid overbooking.
Manage direct hotel contracts with our hotel extranet software.
