Revenue leakage from price cuts in hotels

Rebooking—canceling a reservation and booking the same stay at a lower rate—creates revenue leakage for hotels, whether the savings go to guests or intermediaries. We analyze 2,223,024 reservations from 628 Portuguese properties (2022–2024) and match cancellations to near-immediate, lower-priced replacement bookings. Rebookings account for 0.94 % of reservations and generate €1,241,281.58 in gross revenue displacement (i.e., the difference between the original and replacement booking values). Rebooking is more frequent in urban markets but typically involves smaller per-stay losses. Losses vary by region, season, and accommodation type. We propose a measurement framework and recommend policies: guardrails on late price cuts, fenced discounts, parity audits, and rebooking risk flags in reservation systems. To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale multi-property estimate of within-property rebooking-related revenue displacement in hotels. Results extend empirical evidence on strategic consumer behavior under dynamic pricing and inform more robust monitoring and pricing safeguards in revenue management practice.