What does SOB stand for?
| Full form | Source of Business |
|---|---|
| Category | Business & work |
| Type | Initialism |
The initialism SOB stands for Source of Business in hospitality reporting. RHC’s glossary uses it for the purpose of a stay. Other hotel-system documentation uses the full phrase for reservation-origin categories, so read the actual provider’s field definition.
A field called source of business is not self-explanatory across every hotel system. RHC separates its purpose-of-stay SOB categories from SOR, source of reservation, which concerns the booking channel. RoomKeyPMS instead describes its Source of Business tab as tracking where reservations come from and allows property-defined codes and names. Mews’ Amadeus GMS integration documentation uses source-of-business categories such as OTA, GDS, CRS and PMS for that particular integration. These are useful warnings against merging two reports solely because their column headings look similar. In an original example, a conference guest may reserve by email: conference describes why the guest stays, while email describes how the reservation arrives. One value does not fill in the other field. Before mapping reports, retain the provider, field definition and category list. Also keep a source code separate from the reservation’s status; a category does not prove that the guest arrived or that payment occurred. The exercise reads explicitly supplied field definitions. It changes no PMS configuration and classifies no real guest.
Meaning in context
- Source of Business
- The full phrase paired with SOB in the cited hospitality material; its category definition must remain attached.
- SOB versus SOR in RHC
- RHC uses purpose of stay for SOB and booking source/channel for SOR; this is an attributed scheme, not a rule for every PMS.
Practical examples
Separate purpose and channel
- Before
Invented RHC-defined record: purpose conference; reservation received by email. Draft: Email is the guest’s purpose of stay.
- After
In the fictional RHC-defined record, conference is the stay purpose and email is the reservation channel.
The original example preserves two independently supplied fields instead of deriving the trip purpose from the booking method.
Do not merge by heading alone
- Before
Invented import: Report Cedar defines SOB as stay purpose; Report Birch defines Source of Business as reservation origin. Draft: Merge every category without a mapping review.
- After
Retain the two fictional definitions and review a mapping before combining their categories.
A shared heading does not establish identical field semantics. The provider-specific definitions are the evidence for a mapping decision.
Original illustrative examples, not quotations or reports of actual events.
Match the field to its definition
Does this hotel’s SOB field mean the purpose of the stay or the origin of the reservation?
See all guidance
Read RHC terminology
Keep purpose of stay distinct from its SOR channel field.
Conference is a stay purpose; email is a booking channel.
Compare providers
Read each source’s own category definition before merging columns.
The two reports attach different definitions to similar headings.
Check a status claim
Keep the category separate from attendance and payment records.
A source code supplies no completed check-in or payment event.
Read the provider’s definition before mapping SOB: purpose of stay, reservation origin and booking status are separate questions.
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By AcronymIndex Editorial Team · Editorial policy