Understanding LOS Records
What is LOS?
LOS stands for Length Of Stay and LOS Records are a simple but powerful way to define rates. It is a precomputed cache of prices for consecutive days for a given day, best explained through examples.
(1) Basic example
Let's take an LOS Record:
day: 2000-01-01
min_occupancy: 1
max_occupancy: 4
rates: 50,100,150,200,250,300,350,400,450,500,...
Meaning
When the check-in date is 2000-01-01 and the number of guests is between 1 and 4 (inclusive), then the price is:
50 for 1 night
100 for 2 nights
150 for 3 nights
...
500 for 10 nights
(2) Additional guest
day: 2000-01-01
min_occupancy: 1
max_occupancy: 4
rates: 50,100,150,200,250,300,350,400,450,500,...
day: 2000-01-01
min_occupancy: 5
max_occupancy: 5
rates: 60,120,180,240,300,360,420,480,540,600,...
Meaning
We can see that the daily price increased by 10 from adding an extra guest.
(3) No check-in
day: 2000-01-01
rates: 0,0,0,0,0,...,0
Meaning
You can't check in on 2000 January 1.
(4) Minimum stay
day: 2000-01-01
rates: 0,0,150,200,250,300,350,400,450,500,...
Meaning
When checking in on 2000 January 1 you must stay for at least 3 nights.
(5) Maximum stay
day: 2000-01-01
rates: 50,100,150,200,250,300,350,0,...,0
Meaning
When checking in on 2000 January 1 you can't stay for more than 7 nights.
(6) No check-out
day: 2000-01-01
rates: 50,100,0,0,250,300,350,400,450,500,...
Meaning
When the check-in date is 2000 January 1 checking out on the 3rd or 4th night is not possible. This is how it looks when gaps are prevented in the calendar, or a period must be rented fully.
Check out Prevent Gap and Full Period Only rate rules in our manual.
(7) Example to demonstrate flexibility
The power of LOS Records is that it considers all the possible inputs that can affect the price:
- booking date
- check-in date
- check-out date
- length of stay
- number of guests
No matter how complex your rules are, it will be accurate. Say we have the following set of rules:
- booking must be made at least 2 days prior to check-in day
- minimum stay 3 nights
- charge at least 7 nights
- no check-in on every 2nd Sunday
- no check-out on the 17th night if check-in was on Wed or Sat (intentionally weird rule)
On the following tables, rows represent the length of stay and each column is an LOS record for the given check-in day. These rules are not affected by occupancy so that is ommitted.
If today is Monday the 1st:
Because of rule 1, Mon Tue check-in is impossible - all zeroes.
Because of rule 2, staying for 1 or 2 nights is impossible - first two rows all zeroes.
Because of rule 3, staying for 3 to 7 nights is the same price - 700.
Because of rule 4, the second Sunday is all zeroes - no check-in.
Because of rule 5, you can see zero when length of stay is 17 and the day is Wed or Sat.
If today is Tuesday the 2nd:
Monday's record is in the past, it's obsolete.
Because of rule 1, today (Tue) and tomorrow (Wed) check-in becomes not possible.
