Definition
CPOR is the cost of servicing one occupied room, calculated by dividing a department's total spend by occupied room nights — most often used for housekeeping, the largest operational cost in the rooms division.
Also called: Cost Per Occupied Room · Cost per occupied room night
How it is calculated
- CPOR = Department Cost ÷ Occupied Room Nights
In practice
A housekeeping CPOR should capture every rupee the department spends: labour including overtime and contract staff, which is usually 55–70% of the total; laundry, whether in-house operating cost or outsourced per-piece billing; linen and terry; and chemicals, amenities and supplies.
The denominator matters as much as the numerator. Divide by occupied rooms, never by available rooms — available-room arithmetic flatters a hotel in high season and panics it in low season while saying nothing about efficiency. Calculate monthly and trend it across twelve months.
CPOR is also the easiest number to cut badly. Squeeze it carelessly and the saving appears this quarter while tired rooms, slipping review scores and attrition among the best attendants appear the following year. The target is the lowest cost at which the standard is fully protected.
What drives housekeeping CPOR
- Labour: 55–70% of total departmental cost
- Rooms per attendant per shift: around 12–16 in Indian hotels, by room type and departure mix
- Linen par stock: roughly 3 par — one in the room, one in the wash, one on the shelf
Why it matters to an owner
Housekeeping responds to management faster than almost any other line, which makes CPOR both the most useful cost metric in the rooms division and the most dangerous one to optimise in isolation. Cleanliness is the most unforgiving driver of guest reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Occupied rooms, always. Dividing by available rooms makes the number look good in high season and alarming in low season without telling you anything about efficiency.
Around 12 to 16 rooms per attendant per shift in Indian hotels, depending on room size, service standard and the mix of departures to stayovers. Compact business-hotel rooms sit at the top of that range.