Quick answer
CPOR (Cost Per Occupied Room) is the average cost you incur for every room actually sold on a given night. You calculate it by dividing the operating costs tied to rooms by the number of occupied rooms: if in a month you spend 4,500 € and sell 90 room-nights, CPOR is 50 €. It's the single most important number before setting any rate, because it defines the floor below which every room sold is a loss.
What CPOR is and why it matters
When a revenue manager asks "what does a room cost us", they almost always mean CPOR. It's the bridge between the P&L and the rate: it translates thousands of euros of monthly cost into a single per-room number — the same language you think in when you set a price.
Without CPOR you're flying blind. You can post a brilliant RevPAR and still lose money, because RevPAR measures revenue per available room but ignores cost entirely. CPOR closes the loop: it tells you how much of that revenue is already committed before the guest even checks out.
The question it answers is blunt: what is the true average cost of every room I sell?
The CPOR formula
The base formula is simple:
CPOR = room operating costs ÷ occupied rooms
Where "occupied rooms" is the number of room-nights sold in the period (not physical rooms). A 100-room hotel that fills 90 rooms every night for 30 days has sold 2,700 room-nights in the month.
Monthly example:
- Room operating costs for the month: 135,000 €
- Room-nights sold: 2,700
CPOR = 135,000 ÷ 2,700 = 50 €
Each room sold cost you 50 € on average. Any net rate (after commissions and taxes) below 50 € erodes cash.
To run this calculation automatically, separating variable costs from the fixed share, use the cost per occupied room calculator.
Which costs to include (and which not)
This is where all the accuracy of CPOR is won or lost. The classic mistake is to throw in the whole income statement: then you don't get the cost of the room, you get the cost of the hotel. CPOR must include only the costs attributable to the rooms department.
| Item | Include in CPOR? | Type | |---|---|---| | Room cleaning (housekeeping) | Yes | Variable | | Linen and laundry | Yes | Variable | | Amenities (toiletries, basic mini-bar) | Yes | Variable | | Energy and water charged to rooms | Yes (share) | Mixed | | Routine room maintenance | Yes (share) | Fixed | | Rooms department fixed staff | Yes | Fixed | | Kitchen and restaurant | No | Other department | | Marketing and OTA commissions | No (go into the rate, not CPOR) | Distribution | | Mortgage, building rent, structural depreciation | No (general costs) | Structural fixed |
The operating rule: if that cost would arise anyway with an empty hotel and isn't about the room, it stays out of CPOR. Rent and mortgage are recovered through the margin on the rate, not spread across CPOR.
Pure CPOR vs "loaded" CPOR
There are two levels of reading, and it pays to calculate both.
Variable CPOR (marginal cost)
Only the items that arise when you sell the room: housekeeping, linen, amenities, incremental utilities. It's the marginal cost of the extra room.
Example: cleaning 18 €, linen 6 €, amenities 3 €, utilities 4 € → 31 € variable CPOR.
This is the number you use on last-minute nights: as long as the net rate beats 31 €, selling that room adds margin, even if it doesn't cover the fixed costs.
Total CPOR (with fixed-department share)
Add to the variable the share of the rooms department's fixed costs (fixed staff, maintenance) divided by occupied rooms.
Example: 19 € of fixed per room + 31 € variable → 50 € total CPOR. This is the number for medium-term rate planning.
From CPOR to the minimum rate
CPOR is the floor, not the price. The selling rate must cover three things beyond CPOR:
- Distribution commissions (OTAs, often 15–25% of the gross).
- Taxes on the sale, where applicable.
- The margin that contributes to the property's general costs (rent/mortgage, management, marketing) and to profit.
Quick example with a total CPOR of 50 €:
- I want a 60% gross margin on the net rate → net rate = 50 ÷ (1 − 0.60) = 125 €
- Booking via OTA at 18% commission → gross rate = 125 ÷ (1 − 0.18) ≈ 152 €
The starting rate is therefore around 150 €. To set up this cost-plus calculation including OTA commissions and expected RevPAR, use the room rate calculator.
A full worked example, step by step
80-room hotel, high-season month, 85% occupancy.
Step 1 — room-nights sold 80 rooms × 30 nights × 0.85 = 2,040 room-nights.
Step 2 — rooms department costs for the month
| Item | Monthly amount | |---|---| | Housekeeping (labour) | 41,000 € | | Linen and laundry | 12,200 € | | Amenities | 6,100 € | | Room utilities share | 9,800 € | | Routine maintenance | 4,900 € | | Total | 74,000 € |
Step 3 — CPOR 74,000 ÷ 2,040 = 36.27 € per occupied room.
Step 4 — reading it Every room sold in July costs around 36 €. A net rate of 110 € leaves ~74 € of gross margin to cover structural fixed costs and generate profit. In low season, with 45% occupancy, the same package of fixed costs spreads across fewer rooms and CPOR rises: that's why it must be recalculated by season.
Common mistakes
- Confusing CPOR with total hotel cost. Putting mortgage, kitchen and marketing into CPOR inflates the number and leads to off-market rates. Those costs are recovered through margin, not CPOR.
- Using physical rooms instead of room-nights sold. The denominator is actual occupancy for the period, not the hotel's capacity.
- Calculating it once a year. CPOR is seasonal: utilities, housekeeping labour and above all occupancy change everything. At low occupancy CPOR spikes because the fixed costs split across few rooms.
- Selling below variable CPOR to "fill the board". Below marginal cost every room sold worsens the result: you're paying the guest to sleep at your place.
- Ignoring the variable vs total CPOR difference. Last-minute decisions hinge on the variable; rate planning hinges on the total. Using the wrong one leads to the wrong call.
Related resources
- Cost per occupied room calculator — variable and total CPOR from your costs
- Room rate calculator — from the CPOR base to a rate with margin and OTA commissions