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Guest Acquisition Cost (GAC) Calculator

Calculate your hotel's GAC to understand how much you spend to attract each new guest and to optimize your sales and marketing budget.

/ 01

Optimize Marketing Spend

Understand the true cost of acquiring a guest to better allocate your budget.

/ 02

Measure Campaign ROI

Evaluate the effectiveness of different marketing channels and strategies.

/ 03

Drive Profitable Growth

Balance acquisition costs with guest lifetime value for sustainable success.

The calculator

Run the numbers

Guest Acquisition Cost Calculator

Sales & Marketing Costs ($) for Period

Guests Acquired in Period

Results

Enter values and click Calculate to see results

The theory

Understanding Guest Acquisition Cost.

Guest Acquisition Cost (GAC), or Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), is the total cost of sales and marketing efforts needed to acquire a single new customer. It's a critical metric for measuring the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

/ Formula

By tracking GAC, you can determine which channels are most cost-effective and make smarter decisions about where to allocate your budget.

GAC = Total Sales & Marketing Costs / Number of New Guests Acquired
Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions.

This should be a comprehensive sum of all expenses related to acquiring guests over a specific period. It includes OTA commissions, advertising spend (digital and print), salaries and bonuses for your sales and marketing team, and any technology or agency fees related to marketing.
No, GAC is typically focused on the cost to acquire *new* customers. The cost to retain an existing guest is usually much lower. You can calculate a separate 'Cost of Retention' if you want to analyze the effectiveness of your loyalty and guest engagement efforts.
A 'good' GAC depends entirely on the Lifetime Value (LTV) of your guests. A GAC of $50 might be excellent if the average guest spends $500 over their lifetime, but terrible if they only spend $60. The key is to ensure your GAC is significantly lower than your guest LTV.
To lower your GAC, focus on more cost-effective marketing channels. This often means strengthening your direct booking strategy through SEO and email marketing. Also, focus on improving your conversion rate—turning more lookers into bookers—which makes every marketing dollar you spend more effective.
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