Room Night (RN): Hotel's Basic Unit Explained

What is a Room Night?

Room Night = One Room × One Night

The basic unit of hotel inventory. If a guest stays in one room for 3 nights, that's 3 room nights. If 10 guests stay 1 night each, that's also 10 room nights.

Room Night Examples

Example 1: Single Guest

Mr. Sharma books 1 room from Monday to Thursday (3 nights)

Room Nights: 3 RN

Example 2: Multiple Rooms

A company books 5 rooms for 2 nights

5 rooms × 2 nights = 10 Room Nights

Example 3: Hotel Capacity

Your hotel has 50 rooms. In January (31 days):

50 rooms × 31 nights = 1,550 available room nights

Where Room Nights are Used

Use Case Example
Occupancy Calculation Rooms Sold (RN) ÷ Available (RN) = Occupancy %
Group Bookings "Wedding block: 200 room nights over 3 days"
Corporate Contracts "Company commits to 500 RN/year"
Revenue Tracking "Total revenue ÷ Room nights sold = ADR"
Forecasting "Expected 2,000 RN this month"
Channel Performance "OTA delivered 300 RN, Direct gave 450 RN"

Room Night vs Guest Night

Room Night Guest Night
Counts rooms occupied Counts people staying
1 room, 1 night = 1 RN 2 people, 1 room, 1 night = 2 GN
Used for RevPAR, ADR Used for F&B planning
Primary hotel metric Secondary metric

Available Room Nights Calculation

Formula: Total Rooms × Days in Period = Available Room Nights

Monthly Calculation for 80-Room Hotel

Month Days Available RN
January 31 2,480 RN
February 28 2,240 RN
March 31 2,480 RN
Full Year 365 29,200 RN

Room Night Metrics

  • Available Room Nights: Total inventory you have to sell
  • Sold Room Nights: Rooms actually occupied
  • Complimentary RN: Free stays (owner, staff, rewards)
  • Out of Order RN: Rooms unavailable (maintenance)
  • Net Available RN: Available minus OOO