| Purpose | Understand why reservation-level totals and nightly totals can show different values in the same Cloudbeds Insights report. |
| Best for | Anyone comparing revenue, tax, fee, or other totals in a custom Cloudbeds Insights report. |
| Use this when | Two similarly named figures do not match on individual rows, or a reservation-level total repeats across several room or stay-date rows. |
| Requirements | A custom Cloudbeds Insights report that compares figures recorded at different levels, such as per reservation and per night. |
| Expected result | You can recognize why values may differ row by row, identify matched fields that should reconcile at the reservation or overall-total level, and avoid treating normal differences as an error. |
| Limitations | Figures recorded at different levels are not expected to match on every row. Similar field names also do not always mean the fields use the same definition. |
Introduction
Cloudbeds Insights includes figures recorded at different levels of your property's data. Some totals belong to the reservation as a whole, while others are recorded separately for each room or each night of a stay.
When you place figures from different levels in the same report, both can be correct even if their values do not match on individual rows. A reservation-level figure may repeat across several rows, while a nightly figure divides across those rows.
This article explains why those differences occur, how to interpret common revenue comparisons, and where matched figures should agree when you need to reconcile them.
Table of contents
- Why reservation and nightly totals can differ
- Example: Room Revenue Total and Total Room Revenue
- Compare field definitions before reconciling totals
- Why the same behavior can appear with invoices
- When matched figures should agree
Why reservation and nightly totals can differ
A reservation-level figure represents the booking as one amount. A nightly figure is recorded separately for each night of each room.
When a report includes detail below the reservation level, such as a room, room type, or Stay Date, the nightly figure can divide across those rows. The reservation-level figure remains the amount for the whole booking and can repeat on each detailed row.
Different row values do not automatically indicate an error. A reservation-level figure and a nightly figure can both be correct while representing the same stay at different levels of detail.
Example: Room Revenue Total and Total Room Revenue
In this example, Room Revenue Total represents the room revenue for the reservation, while Total Room Revenue is divided across the individual stay nights.
| Reservation | Stay Date | Total Room Revenue | Room Revenue Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| BK-1001 | 1 Aug | 100 | 200 |
| BK-1001 | 2 Aug | 100 | 200 |
| BK-1002 | 1 Aug | 90 | 90 |
| Total | 290 | 290 |
For reservation BK-1001, Total Room Revenue is split into 100 for each night. Room Revenue Total remains 200 because that field represents the whole reservation and repeats across both nightly rows.
Adding the repeated Room Revenue Total values down the detailed rows would not produce a meaningful result. Instead, the two nightly Total Room Revenue values add up to 200, which matches the reservation's Room Revenue Total.
Across the full example, both fields total 290. The difference appears only on the individual rows because the figures are being shown at different levels.
Compare field definitions before reconciling totals
Two fields can also produce different results because they do not contain exactly the same components. Similar names alone do not mean two figures are equivalent.
| Reservation figure | Nightly figure | How they compare |
|---|---|---|
| Room Revenue Total | Total Room Revenue | Both include room rate, manual room revenue, and no-show fees. They should match at the reservation level. |
| Total Reservation Taxes | Total Taxes | Same definition. |
| Total Reservation Fees | Total Fees | Same definition. |
| Grand Total | Total Revenue | Grand Total includes taxes and fees. Total Revenue excludes them. To compare the same components, add Total Taxes and Total Fees to Total Revenue. |
Why the same behavior can appear with invoices
A similar pattern can occur when transaction detail appears alongside fiscal document information.
Transaction-level values remain at their own level, while a document-level figure can repeat across the related transaction rows. The repeated document value still represents the whole document rather than a separate amount for each transaction row.
When matched figures should agree
When two fields are a matched pair with the same definition, compare them at a level where both represent the same scope.
According to the Reporting behavior covered in this article, matched reservation and nightly figures should agree in two useful views:
- For a single reservation: the nightly values across the complete stay should reconcile to the corresponding reservation-level total.
- At the overall report total: the matched figures should reconcile when the report covers the full stay of every included reservation.
Between those levels, individual rows can differ because the reservation-level value may repeat while the nightly value is divided across rooms or stay dates.
Related articles
Now that you understand why reservation and nightly totals can differ without indicating an error, review these resources for the underlying level-of-detail concept and other cases where report fields behave differently at more detailed levels:
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