Cancel, rebook, save: 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. • Large-scale, multi-hotel evidence of rebooking-driven revenue leakage. • 0.94 % of reservations yet €1.24 M loss across 628 Portuguese properties in 3 years. • Revenue leakage can be captured by guests or intermediaries. • Varies by region, season, property; urban more frequent, smaller loss. • Framework: rate, loss per stay. Actions: guardrails, fences, parity check.