Cost per Occupied Room Calculator (CPOR)

Cost per occupied room, often abbreviated CPOR, is an indicator of operational efficiency. STR (CoStar) defines it: "CPOR measures the total operating expenses for a specific period divided by the total number of occupied rooms during that same period." STR adds that CPOR "encompasses all costs associated with running a hotel, including labor costs, utilities, and amenities."

The formula:

CPOR = Total operating expenses ÷ Occupied rooms

Both figures must cover the same period: a day, a month, a quarter or a year. The result tells you how much operating expense the hotel carried, on average, for each occupied room.

1. Choose the Currency: EUR, USD or GBP. It only changes the symbol shown.
2. Pick a tab. In Enter a total (the default), type your Total operating expenses and Occupied rooms. In Add up cost lines, type Labor costs, Utilities, Guest amenities and supplies and Other operating expenses, then type Occupied rooms. Empty cost lines count as zero; at least one must be above zero.
3. Read the results. They update as you type once the required fields are valid. Click Calculate to see which fields are missing or invalid. The result shows your CPOR with the formula written out using your numbers.
4. In the cost-lines tab, the results also include a small table showing each cost line with its amount, its cost per occupied room and its share of the total.
5. Click Try an example to load the worked example below, or Clear to empty the form.

You can type numbers with or without thousands separators, with a decimal point or a decimal comma. Money is shown with two decimals and shares with one decimal. The calculator runs in your browser; the numbers you type are not sent or stored by the page.

CPOR tells you the operating cost of each room night that had a guest in it. A lower number means the hotel spent less per occupied room; a higher number means it spent more. Neither is good or bad on its own: a full-service hotel with a restaurant and spa can have a higher CPOR than a limited-service property, because its cost base covers more services.

CPOR moves when occupancy changes even if total expenses stay flat. Many hotel costs are at least partly fixed, such as management salaries, insurance and base utility charges. When more rooms are occupied, those fixed costs spread over a larger number of rooms and CPOR falls. When fewer rooms are occupied, the same fixed costs concentrate on fewer rooms and CPOR rises. Variable costs such as guest amenities and laundry rise and fall with occupied rooms, so their cost per occupied room stays roughly level; the movement in CPOR comes mainly from the fixed part. Watching CPOR month by month therefore shows you how sensitive the cost base is to changes in demand.

Compare your CPOR against your own history, the same period last year and your budget. A single period's figure means little without that context. Whatever cost scope you use, keep it the same every period and write it down, otherwise trends mislead.

• Mixing periods: operating expenses and occupied rooms must cover the same dates. Monthly costs divided by annual room nights will produce a figure far too low.
• Double counting with the two tabs: if you already know the total, use the total tab. Entering the full total as one of the cost lines and then adding other lines counts part of the expenses twice.
• Changing cost scope between periods: if marketing is included one quarter and excluded the next, the trend reflects the change in definition, not a change in efficiency. Decide which expense categories belong in your CPOR, write them down, and keep them the same.
• Ignoring the occupied-rooms question: STR's rooms sold, used for ADR and occupancy, excludes complimentary rooms. The CPOR definition speaks of occupied rooms. Decide whether complimentary rooms count, state it, and stay consistent.
• Comparing across properties without context: a resort with a spa and a city hotel with no food service can have very different CPORs because their cost bases differ. The metric is most useful when compared against the same hotel over time.

Compare CPOR with ADR (average daily rate) to see how much of the average room rate remains after operating costs per occupied room. The arithmetic is ADR - CPOR: a positive result means the average rate exceeds the operating cost per occupied room. Work out your ADR with the ADR calculator.

RevPAR (revenue per available room) divides room revenue by rooms available, not rooms sold. It measures room revenue per available room, while CPOR measures operating cost per occupied room. Because the denominators differ (available rooms vs. occupied rooms), do not subtract one from the other directly. Calculate RevPAR with the RevPAR calculator.

For a broader look at how these metrics fit together, see the article on hotel revenue metrics.