How Do You Spell OVERBOOKING?

Pronunciation: [ˌə͡ʊvəbˈʊkɪŋ] (IPA)

Overbooking is a term used commonly in the travel industry that describes a situation where more people have been booked for a flight or accommodation than there is available space. The spelling of 'overbooking' is pronounced as "ˌoʊvərˈbʊkɪŋ", with emphasis placed on the second syllable, "book". The word is created by combining the prefix "over", meaning more or excessively, with the verb "book", meaning to reserve or schedule. Despite the convenience that the process provides for travelers, overbooking can occasionally lead to frustration and inconvenience.

OVERBOOKING Meaning and Definition

1. Overbooking refers to a practice in which more reservations or bookings are accepted than there are available resources or spaces to accommodate them. Commonly utilized in the hospitality and travel industries, overbooking is a strategic approach employed by businesses to maximize their revenue and ensure maximum occupancy of their facilities.

   Typically, overbooking occurs when organizations anticipate a certain percentage of cancellations or no-shows amongst their confirmed reservations. By intentionally selling more bookings than can be adequately accommodated, establishments aim to minimize financial losses resulting from these anticipated cancellations.

   Although overbooking can be a beneficial business strategy, it can also lead to certain challenges and customer dissatisfaction. When the actual number of arrivals exceeds the available resources, it can result in situations where customers with valid reservations are denied service due to lack of space or capacity. This scenario often arises in the airline industry, for example, when passengers holding confirmed tickets are involuntarily denied boarding on an oversold flight.

   To compensate for such occurrences, businesses usually have policies in place to offer alternative arrangements, such as compensation or rebooking, to affected customers. Additionally, overbooking practices are monitored by regulatory bodies in some industries to ensure fair treatment of consumers.

   Overall, overbooking is a deliberate practice wherein organizations accept more bookings than they can accommodate, often relying on anticipated cancellations or no-shows.

Top Common Misspellings for OVERBOOKING *

• overboooking 100%

* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.

Other Common Misspellings for OVERBOOKING

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• Overboouking

Etymology of OVERBOOKING

The word "overbooking" is a combination of two separate words: "over" and "booking".

The term "booking" originates from the Old English word "bócian", which means "to give, deliver, or entrust". From there, it evolved to refer to reserving accommodations, seats, or services in advance.

The prefix "over" means "beyond" or "in excess". When added to "booking", "over" creates the compound word "overbooking", which has the specific meaning of accepting more reservations or bookings than there are available resources or accommodations.

Thus, "overbooking" refers to the act of making more reservations than can be accommodated, which often occurs in various industries such as airlines, hotels, or event planning.