ROH (Run of House)

Run of House (ROH) is a rate or allocation type in which a hotel sells a room at a single price without guaranteeing a specific room type, view or floor. The hotel assigns any available room at check-in, usually keeping the best rooms for guests who pay more for a defined category. ROH is common in group contracts, wholesale and tour operator agreements, and some opaque or last-minute OTA products.

How it works

The buyer, such as a tour operator, corporate account or group organiser, receives one flat rate for the whole house. The hotel keeps the freedom to place guests where it suits operations, usually starting with the least desirable rooms and upgrading only when inventory allows. Contracts often define a floor, for example "no rooms below category Standard", or a mix, such as "70% standard, 30% superior".

Example

A hotel has 100 rooms: 60 Standard at €120 BAR, 30 Superior at €150 and 10 Suites at €250. A tour operator negotiates a ROH rate of €110 net for 20 rooms per night. The hotel will most likely allocate Standard rooms, so the effective discount against the Standard BAR is small. If the rate were quoted against the weighted house average of about €141, the same ROH price would look far more generous. That is why contracts need a clear definition of what "house" means.

Why it matters

• Simplifies contracting. One price avoids negotiating each room type, which suits high-volume, low-touch business.
• Protects premium inventory. The hotel can keep suites and top categories for direct and higher-yielding demand.
• Needs guardrails. Without a category floor or mix, buyers may expect better rooms than the rate was priced for, which leads to complaints and upgrade pressure.
• Interacts with reporting. ROH bookings can distort ADR by room type and make Group Displacement and RevPAR analysis harder if the actual room used is not tracked.

Related

ROH is often paired with an Allotment or Hard Block and sold through Wholesale / Net Rate agreements. It contrasts with BAR by Day pricing, where each room type has its own price, and sits close to the Opaque Model, where the guest also does not know exactly what they get until booking is complete.