Antonio Magana is the general manager at the 180room Hawthorne Suites. Disappointed with his occupancy rate last year, he decided to reduce his room rates this year by 10% to help increase sales and improve his RevPAR. This action resulted in an upswing in occupancy, from 75% last year to 85% this year, an increase of 13.3%.

As shown below, last year, Antonio's controllable operating costs were $61.00 per room. This year, they rose to $62.00 per room, an increase of only 1.6%.