overbook
oh-ver-BOOK
/ˌoʊvərˈbʊk/
To accept more reservations or bookings than there is actual space available.
To accept more reservations or bookings for a flight, hotel, or event than there is actual space available, usually to offset potential cancellations.
The story behind the word. A modern compound of the Germanic prefix over- (excessive) and the Old English bōcian (to write in a book, register). It arose with the commercial airline and hotel industries in the mid-20th century.
Word relationships
- oversell: Oversell can refer to selling too much of any product or overhyping an idea, while overbook is specific to reservations, flights, and rooms.
Commonly confused with
- double-book: Double-booking is accidentally reserving the exact same room or time slot for two different people, while overbooking is a deliberate statistical business practice of selling more total capacity than exists.
Word family
- overbooking (noun): the practice of accepting more reservations than available capacity
Collocations
- overbook a flight
- overbooked hotel
- system overbooks
Example sentences
- "The hotel had to upgrade several guests because they had overbooked the standard rooms." Hotel booking issues.
Memory hook
If you over-book, you book over the limit. Overbook is booking over the limit.
When not to use
Do not use to mean simply 'crowded' or 'busy'; it specifically refers to the business practice of selling too many tickets or rooms.
Fun facts
- Overbooking is a calculated risk based on predictive algorithms. Hotels and airlines expect a certain percentage of 'no-shows' and intentionally overbook to maximize revenue.
Related words
Explore more words
overestimate, reservation, overfish, congestion, overspend, accommodate
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