TERMINOLOGY

RESERVATIONS and THEIR MANAGEMENTS

The first set of terms is connected with the reservations, their creation and management. Then, for several terms, there are links to other terms that can deepen the understanding of front office operations.The first set of terms is connected with the reservations, their creation and management. Then, for several terms, there are links to other terms that can deepen the understanding of front office operations.

Confirmed Reservation – Reservation was created by the reservation agent/front office worker in the PMS. The confirmation was made by the payment of reservation guarantee or card pre-authorization, based on the applied cancellation policy.

Confirmation Number – Unique identification code generated for the reservation and its identification.

Floating reservation – Specific functionality of the complex PMS systems where the reservation is created on a specific room type, but the precise room is allocated (be aware of the same wording for the allocation/allotment with different meaning) a few days before arrival. Floating reservations allow better and more efficient room management.

Optional Reservation with Effect – Optional reservation, in general, is created reservation based on the quests request. Still, the quest is not 100 % sure of the arrival, or the reservation is not yet guaranteed. The “Effect” is automated action of the PMS based on the predefined rules that will change the reservation status after the “Option date”.

Option date – Arranged and specific date for “Optional Reservation” that leads to specific action based on the reservation characteristics (“Effect”).

Optional Reservation without Effect – The principle is the same. After passing the “Option Date”, there is no automated action, and the PMS keeps the “Optional Reservation” status. The Front Office employee must change the status.

Reservation on Waiting-list – Main principle of the reservation on the Waiting-list is common to “Optional Reservation”. The difference is in the full occupation of the hotel capacity, where the reservation is pre-confirmed by the client with no guarantee of the capacity, which might be freed (based on the previous performance of the hotel).

Tentative Reservation – This reservation has no option date but in principles can be described in the same way. This reservation is confirmed after the guarantee payment or card pre-authorization.

No-show – The situation where the client confirmed the reservation but did not arrive. For the reservation, the cancellation policy is applied.

Cancelled Reservation – Reservation that the client has cancelled. The freed capacity is sold on the market. The reservation can be cancelled freely or with specific cancellation charges based on the policy. Cancellation behaviour of hotels guest directly affects performance forecasting and revenue management.

Cancellation ID – Specific number or code that proves the cancellation of the room reservation must be available to the hotels and the quest.

Check-in – Registration of the quest for a stay. The whole process is complex and is described by the section of this e-book focusing on the standards (SOPs).

Guest Registration Card – The form with a predefined set of personal data that the front office employee must collect and verify before guest check-in. The local laws and restrictions define the range of personal data. The walk-out procedure must be applied when the client cannot provide the data.

Walk-out – The procedure is turning away the client who has the reservation due to the lack of available rooms or not fulfilling the requirements for client accommodation (missing details, black-list, missing ID, more people that were reserved).

Check-out – The process connected with the quest departure and account billing. The whole procedure is described as a standalone standard in the previous section.

Allocation/contingency – Agreement between hotel operator and business partner for a specific amount of room on predefined dates. Tour operators or huge corporations mainly use the allocation. The allocation consists of the capacity, in many cases predefined rates, services structure, and release date.

Release date (Cut-off date) –Predefined date for allocation, which allows the hotel operator to sell the allocated capacity freely. Until this date, the capacity is guaranteed to the business partner. The release date is specific for single allocation and might have the form of a fixed date or relative date, which showcase the number of the day before arrival. The relative release date is connected with higher flexibility for a business partner.

Walk-in – In some cases, walk-ins are defined as a standalone market segment. The walk-in reflects the situation when the client comes directly from the street without a reservation. For this client, the RACK rate is commonly offered.

Cancellation Policy – Set of rules used for demand management. The cancellation policy showcase the possible reservation changes and the relative dates for these specific changes.

Cancellation Charges – Based on the reservation policy, in some cases, the clients are charged a specific amount of money. If the reservation is not guaranteed, It might be hard to enforce the charge (accepting an unguaranteed reservation is not recommended). For guaranteed reservations, the difference between guarantee and charge is refunded.

Prolonged stay – When the client is satisfied or needs to stay at the destination for longer, the demand for a stay prolonging might occur. The client is price-insensitive (if the price is not significantly different), and the distribution and housekeeping costs might be reduced. The number or a relative number of prolonged stays is crucial for “Overbooking” estimated.

Shortened stay – In case of guest dissatisfaction with an unpredictable situation, the stay might be shortened. Based on the situation, the FOM should select the most suitable procedure that sticks with the cancellation policy and terms of trade.

Overbooking – The situation when more rooms that are physically available are reserved. The overbooking strategy is an overly complex and sophisticated approach to demand management that considers cancellations, no-shows, allocations, prolonged and shortened stays and the overall behaviour of hotel guests.

Skipper – The person intends to leave without paying for the consumed services. The practice tries to avoid skippers by pre-authorising credit/debit cards or guaranteed payments. However, in many cases, when the services and the during-stay consumption are charged on the room account, the clients can leave without payment and proper check-out.

Pre-authorization – This is an allocation of the specific amount on the credit/debit card of the client that serves as a guarantee for the stay. The authorization is cancelled based on the company terms and conditions or no longer than the reservation is fully paid.

Up-selling – Sales technique based on offering the better room type (the more expensive one) than was reserved by the clients. The benefits are promoted to the client to fit better the needs. In many cases, this technique is used when the reserved room type is fully occupied and the staff wants to avoid the walk-out of a free-of-charge room upgrade. Currently, up-selling is also used to describe all the sales activities that lead to higher revenue generated by the reservation.

Gratuity – Free of charged services.

Cross-selling – Sales technique that promotes other services offered by the accommodation facility (wellness, F&B and others) or its partners.

Expected Arrival List – The list of reservations/hotel quests is expected to arrive today. The list is as well used to maintain the no-shows.

Expected Departure List – The list of reservations/hotel quests that are expected to leave today. The list is commonly connected with the overview of the stayovers.