Funnel to Flow-Through: Sales + Marketing That Grow TRevPAR & GOPPAR
Market context & owners Takeaway (2024 —2026)
HotStats’ latest outlook is blunt: in key European markets, labour costs up 4–6% YoY are outpacing revenue, eroding GOPPAR. Europe needs roughly +3.5% total revenue just to expand margins.
Knight Frank’s UK trading performance review for 2025 shows 2024 resilience - London TRevPAR + 3.3%, GOPPAR + 5.6%; Regional UK: +4.5% / +7.2%. But 2025 brings rate resistance on the back of costs pressures, value-seeking guests, additional supply, exchange rate and inflation pressure in feeder markets, policy shifts and geopolitical tensions. In short, there is volatility now and likely into 2026. (CWT’s 2026 Global Business Travel Forecast points to a moderate 1.9% ADR growth in EMEA region).
The Owner’s takeaway is that top line alone won’t protect NOI; conversion to profit will.
The priority is clear: orchestrate Sales & Marketing so more TrevPAR flows through to GOP – faster than costs rise (Flow-through = ∆GOP / ∆Revenue).
Marketing creates options but hotels bank flow-through. Essentially, the segments that move TRevPAR and convert to GOPPAR most reliably – Group/MICE and corporate – are won by Sales, then priced and fenced by Revenue Management. That’s commercial optimisation.
From Funnel to Flow-Through: Who Does What
Marketing fills the top of the funnel at the lowest acquisition cost (grow direct; prime leisure demand).
Sales selects, shapes and closes high-contribution demand (Group / MICE / events / business transient / consortia) that drives ancillaries and stabilises shoulder nights.
Revenue Management orchestrates pricing, fences and displacement so revenue uplift converts to GOP.
In a year where Europe needs ~ 3.5% revenue growth just to expand GOPPAR, the winners will be the sales-enabled hotels that turn revenue into flow-through.
Three non-obvious truths owners should test
The biggest group isn’t always the best: a low ancillary spend (F&B/AV/space) can underperform high-ADR transient on profit – and large groups can hurt resident guests’ experience and reputation.
Meeting-space yield matters. Sales optimises RevPOR on function space while RM protects rooms value via displacement and fences.
Booking window is a margin lever. Longer-lead, sales-won demand improves labour productivity (e.g. rota planning and preparation), enables upsell streams, steers away from high-commission OTAs, and lets RM hold rates.
Why booking window moves margin (same revenue, different costs)?
Example: 85 rooms sold @ ADR £150 = £12,750 Rooms Revenue.
Longer window mix: 50% Direct (2% web cost), 40% Business Travel/consortia (8%), 10% OTA (15%).
Distribution £726.75; Labour £1,020 (85 x £12 POR)
Short window mix: 40% Direct (4%), 10% BT (8%), 50% OTA (15%); overtime +£3 POR.
Distribution £1,262.25; Labour £1,275
Extra cost for the same revenue: Distribution +£535.50 + Labour +255.00 = +£790.50
Margin impact: Moving from a short to a longer booking window adds ~6.2 ppts of GOP margin.
Realistically, hotels will have a blend of long/short windows. But when applying a GOPPAR lens to the sales funnel – and secure MICE/Group earlier – Sales has a bigger impact on flow-through. Marketing remains vital to attract target demand and position the asset; Sales determines which demand compounds profit.
What does it mean for your Sales team
This approach requires a shift from a RevPAR-only mindset to profit-first selling. Real hotels don’t live only in per-pound maths – they live in conversion, risk and scalability.
Conversion risk (expected value):
A small ADR rise on a negotiated group can lower win profitability or trigger concessions. Small F&B upsells are typically added after signature, so the realisation probability is higher.
No distribution cost on F&B:
Rooms ADR gains carry commission/loyalty/brand promo related costs. F&B revenue usually doesn’t – only COS and service charge mechanics.
Fixed-labour utilisation:
Events labour is largely fixed once the meeting runs; Extra F&B per attendee often uses the same team/room set up. By contrast, an ADR tweak doesn’t improve utilisation.
Upsells scale beyond room nights:
Many groups bring additional day delegates. A £5 per attendee upsell can apply to more bodies than rooms, so the revenue base is larger.
Frictionless to sell:
Enhanced breaks, upgraded coffee, late check-out, AV bundles face less resistance than rate changes. Compounded, low friction gains often outpace the ADR battle.
Measure what matters
If your tech stack provides the data, look at the profit lens on Sales such as:
Incremental Flow-through by group/initiative.
Cvent conversion by stage & lead-time band; time-to-decision trend.
Rooms cost-of-sales % on MICE vs transient weeks.
Function-space RevPOR and F&B per group room-night.
Overtime hours / occupied group room
Diagnose the gaps
Answer these no-nonsense strategic questions in one sentence. Wherever you hesitate there is likely to be a gap:
Did profit grow faster than revenue last quarter?
On event weeks, did profit per room actually rise?
Which five customers delivered the most profit, not just revenue?
What share of bookings arrived inside 7 days – and what happened to profit on those weeks?
What % of MICE-related rooms revenue went to commissions & fees last month?
Conclusion: choose demand that becomes cash-flow
2024 was strong for many, but 2025 is testing margins. What protects GOP conversion isn’t more activity; it’s choosing the demand that compounds TRevPAR and flows through to GOP. That starts with Sales – selecting MICE / Groups / corporate business with lower acquisition cost and stronger spend – working in unison with Marketing and Revenue. A focused review of business-mix profitability will surface the gaps that move flow-through. The task now is a clear, strategic reset to optimise the levers you control.
Unfold Consulting
From funnel to flow-through is where we work. Unfold Consulting helps asset owners and investors optimise profitability and grow NOI by aligning Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management.
With 15+ years’ experience across resorts, city-centre hotels, MICE-led and corporate portfolios, we take an impartial, factual approach—clear diagnostics, practical recommendations, and delivery you can measure. If this perspective resonates, explore our client portfolio and case studies to see the outcomes in context.
Should this perspective align with you, we would be happy to discuss how it applies to your situation.
Request a call back HERE
Glossary:
COS – Cost of Sales
GOP – Gross Operating Profit
GOPPAR – Gross Operating Profit Per Available Room
NOI – Net Operating Income
RM – Revenue Management
RevPOR – Revenue Per Occupied Room
TRevPAR – Total Revenue Per Available
