Attrition is the gap between the rooms or revenue a group committed to in its hotel contract and what it actually used.
How it works in practice
A group contract usually starts with a room block: in MPI's definition, a reservation for a set of hotel rooms, typically with a negotiated group rate and a cut-off date. The industry's APEX Contracts Panel defines guest room attrition as "the difference between the contract commitments and the actual number of sleeping rooms utilized or revenue generated."
The attrition clause decides who pays for that gap. According to the same report, it "defines the extent of the group's liability for failing to fulfill its minimum commitments" and may set out a formula for the damages owed.
Two details decide how much it costs:
- Per night or cumulative. The APEX report notes that attrition can be calculated on a "per night" or "cumulative" basis. A per-night clause looks at each night on its own, so one weak night can trigger damages even when the stay as a whole performs.
- Attrition and cancellation are different. Attrition covers a group that arrives smaller than contracted. Cancellation covers a group that does not come at all. APEX recommends that contracts define the two separately.
In our view, the time to manage attrition is before signing. Know the allowance, the calculation basis and the dates when rooms can still be released, then track pickup against them.
Sources
- APEX Contracts Panel Report, Convention Industry Council (Events Industry Council)
- Event Industry Glossary, MPI
Related reading
- Best hotel RFP software for agencies sourcing group bookingsMost hotel RFP software rankings review tools for hotels answering bids. Agencies sending group RFPs need buyer-side sourcing, comparison and block tracking.
- Hotel RFP software vs spreadsheets: when spreadsheets stop workingSpreadsheets cope with a few group RFPs a year. In our view they break near 20 bookings a year, once offer, contract and rooming list deadlines overlap.
- Group rooming lists: how to build, submit and manage changesPull the deadlines from your contract, submit the rooming list before cut-off, then log every add, drop and name change against the room block.
- Hotel attrition clauses explained, with a worked penalty exampleAn attrition clause sets the minimum rooms or revenue a group must use. The charge is shortfall below the minimum × rate × damages %. Worked 50 room example.
- Ghost commissions in group hotel bookings: what platforms take and what agencies payA ghost commission is a hotel-paid cut to a booking platform, hidden in the group rate your agency pays. How to spot one and keep it out of your rates.
- The Best Cvent Alternative for Group Hotel Sourcing in 2026Where Cvent helps with group hotel sourcing, where agencies still lose time, and what a purpose-built alternative should do.