Revenue Per Available Spot (RevPAS) is a capacity efficiency metric that measures your total revenue divided by your total available spots across all tours, regardless of whether those spots were filled or empty. Unlike Revenue Per Guest which only counts paying customers, RevPAS includes all the spots you could have sold, giving you a clear picture of how effectively you're monetizing your total capacity.
Why RevPAS Reveals Hidden Capacity Issues ↗
While Revenue Per Guest shows you how much each customer spends, RevPAS shows you how well you're using your business capacity. You might have great RPG numbers because your customers spend heavily on add-ons, but poor RevPAS because you're only filling half your available spots. This metric forces you to think about both pricing and capacity utilization together.
RevPAS is particularly valuable for adventure operators because it accounts for the reality that empty spots on tours generate zero revenue, regardless of how much your paying customers spend. A half-empty $200 tour with 6 spots generates $200 RevPAS (if 2 people book), while a full $150 tour with 6 spots generates $150 RevPAS – even though the individual guest revenue differs.
This metric helps you identify whether your revenue challenges come from low pricing, poor capacity utilization, or both.
Quick Win: Calculate Your Current RevPAS ↗
For the past month, add up all your tour revenue and divide by all available spots you offered (filled + empty). Compare this to your Revenue Per Guest to see the gap between what paying customers spend vs. how efficiently you're using capacity.
If there's a big difference, you have a capacity utilization problem that's costing you revenue.
RevPAS vs. Other Revenue Metrics ↗
Revenue Per Guest (RPG) – Measures customer value but ignores empty spots. You could have high RPG but low RevPAS if you consistently run half-empty tours.
Average Transaction Value – Similar to RPG but focuses on individual transactions rather than comprehensive customer spending during their entire experience.
Occupancy Rate – Shows capacity utilization but doesn't account for revenue differences between tour types or add-on sales.
Total Revenue – Important but doesn't show efficiency relative to your capacity constraints or potential.
Factors That Impact RevPAS ↗
Capacity utilization – The percentage of available spots you actually fill has the biggest impact on RevPAS. A tour that's 80% full will generally have better RevPAS than one that's 50% full, even with identical pricing.
Tour mix – High-capacity, lower-priced tours vs. low-capacity, premium tours affect RevPAS differently. The optimal mix depends on your market and operational constraints.
Seasonal demand patterns – RevPAS typically varies significantly by season, with peak periods showing higher efficiency and shoulder seasons revealing capacity challenges.
Pricing strategy – Revenue management that adjusts pricing based on demand helps optimize RevPAS by maximizing revenue from available capacity.
Add-on sales – While RevPAS focuses on spot efficiency, add-on revenue can significantly impact the metric by increasing revenue without requiring additional spots.
Using RevPAS for Business Decisions ↗
Tour scheduling – Identify which time slots, days, or seasons have poor RevPAS and adjust scheduling to focus capacity when demand is stronger.
Pricing optimization – Low RevPAS might indicate pricing is too high for market demand, while high RevPAS with full tours might suggest pricing is too low.
Activity mix decisions – Compare RevPAS across different tour types to understand which activities most efficiently generate revenue from your capacity.
Marketing allocation – Focus marketing spend on improving RevPAS for tours with capacity but low utilization rather than trying to oversell already-full experiences.
Capacity expansion decisions – Strong RevPAS indicates you might benefit from adding capacity, while weak RevPAS suggests you should focus on utilization before expansion.
RevPAS Optimization Strategies ↗
Dynamic pricing – Adjust prices based on booking pace and demand to maximize revenue from available spots while maintaining reasonable utilization.
Minimum group sizes – Set booking minimums that ensure adequate RevPAS rather than running tours with just one or two participants.
Capacity reallocation – Shift guides and equipment from low-RevPAS tours to higher-performing options during peak demand periods.
Demand generation – Focus marketing and promotions on filling specific tours with poor RevPAS rather than general brand marketing.
Tour consolidation – Combine smaller groups into single tours to improve RevPAS, even if it means some customers get different dates than originally requested.
RevPAS Limitations ↗
Doesn't show customer value – High RevPAS doesn't necessarily mean happy customers or sustainable business if you're achieving efficiency through poor service or safety shortcuts.
Ignores profitability – Some high-RevPAS tours might have low profit margins due to high guide costs, equipment needs, or operational complexity.
Seasonal variations – RevPAS comparisons are most meaningful within similar time periods and demand conditions.
Doesn't predict repeat business – Efficient capacity utilization means nothing if customers don't return or recommend your business.
RevPAS works best when analyzed alongside capacity management strategies and revenue per guest metrics, while being supported by effective inventory management.
For detailed strategies on optimizing your capacity efficiency, check out our guide on RevPAS optimization for adventure operators ↗.
Keep Learning ↗
RevPAS is one piece of your revenue optimization puzzle. You might want to explore capacity management to understand how to better utilize your available spots, or learn about revenue per guest to see how customer value and capacity efficiency work together.