A pick-up report tracks how many rooms in your room block have actually been reserved by attendees. You should request this report weekly starting 60 days before your event. Tracking your pick-up ensures you don't breach your attrition clause or face major financial penalties simply because your attendees booked outside the block.
You've contracted a room block for 200 room nights at an excellent rate. Fast forward to the week before the event: the hotel sends you an invoice for 15,000 EUR in attrition damages because only half of the attendees actually used the booking code.
The difference between a flawlessly executed room block and a catastrophic attrition penalty is active monitoring. The tool you use for this is the pick-up report.
What is a Pick-Up Report?
When you contract a block of rooms, the hotel assigns a unique group code. As attendees book rooms using that code or your custom booking link, the hotel "picks up" the room from your block and assigns it to a real person.
A pick-up report is simply a running tally provided by the hotel showing: Total rooms contracted minus Rooms booked equals Rooms remaining in the block.
The Anatomy of an Active Room Block
If you wait until your cut-off date to check your pick-up, it’s already too late. You need an active schedule.
- 60-Days Out: The hotel provides the first report. You should be at 25-30% pick-up.
- 45-Days Out: Start pushing reminders to your attendees. If you are tracking behind your 80% attrition guarantee, it is time to intervene.
- 30-to-21-Days Out (Cut-Off Date): The deadline. This is when unbooked rooms revert to the hotel's general inventory. If you are significantly under your target, you may have the opportunity to officially release some of the block to mitigate damages.
Always instruct the hotel to perform a "cross-reference check" or "audit" against your attendee registration list. Often, attendees book at the hotel using their corporate rate or an OTA (like Booking.com) instead of your group code. If you can prove they are with your group, the hotel must count them toward your pick-up.
How to Request It in the RFP
Set expectations during the RFP phase so the hotel knows you will rigorously manage your block.
"Client requires the Hotel to provide a room block pick-up report on a bi-weekly basis starting 60 days prior to the event, and weekly starting 30 days prior. The Hotel agrees that any attendee from [Company Name] who books outside the official block (via OTA or corporate rate) will be credited toward the group’s pick-up and attrition calculation upon verification."
Taking Control of the Data
Do not let the hotel dictate your risk. If the pick-up report is showing low numbers, analyze the why. Is the retail rate currently lower than your contracted group rate? (If so, you have a solid argument for renegotiation). Are your attendees booking Airbnbs? (You need to mandate hotel stays for company expenses).