Chapter 4:

Reservations

Reservations• -The act of reserving; a keeping or withholding.

• -Booking in advance.

• -Something that is kept back or withheld.

The main function of reservation process is to match room request

with room availability.

Brief history:-earlier, reservation agent acted as booking clerk.- room sales were the responsibility of the Sales and Marketing Department before.- with better realization of the role of the reservation agent, the sales activity moved to the reservation department making the sales and marketing respond in a supportive role to the reservation agent’s demand and cues.

Process of reservations:• 1.) receive reservation

• 2.) determining the room availability

• 3.) accepting or denying request

• 4.) documenting the reservation details

• 5.) confirming the reservation

• 6.) maintaining the reservation record

• 7.) compiling the reservation report

Reservation terminology

• Allowances- Daily cash paid-outs to airline crews as negotiated crews as negotiated with the airlines and recovered from them at later date.

• Amendments- Changes made of records concerning his/her stay.

• Cancellation- A confirmed booking that has been confirmed in writing by a guest.

• Confirmation- A room reservation that has been confirmed in writing by a guest.

• Double occupancy- Two guest staying in a room.

• Group- Any body of guest above 15 persons who travel together.

• Guaranteed booking- A room booking that is confirmed in writing by a guest.

• Guest- A client of the hotel.

• Forecast- A studied anticipation of room business.

• Free sale- Rooms that is available for booking.

Reservation terminologies:

Reservation terminologies:• FIT- Stands for “Free Individual Traveler” who is an independent guest

who does not use the services of middlemen for booking his/her room.

• GIT- Group Inclusive Tour

• Lay-over- Airline passengers checked in by airlines who are catching a connecting flight sometime later.

• On-request- a status when guest are kept waiting for a room booking confirmation.

• Overbooking- Booking rooms that are beyond the hotel room capacity.

• Pax- Person

• Revision- Change in booking instructions.

• Room availability- The room position when rooms are available for sale.

• Room blocking- Blocking a room in the reservation chart.

Reservation terminologies:• Room night- a charge for a one night occupation, spanning two days from

noon to noon.

• Sale- a room space sold.

• Sold out- a status in which all rooms in the hotel are sold.

• Single occupancy- one guest staying in a room.

• Waitlist- a guest awaiting a confirmation of the room booking.

• Charge- is a financial obligation for a product or service during a guest stay.

• Fences- rate rules that may include restrictions such as advance booking cutoffs or non-refundable payments.

• Litigious society- an environment in which consumers sue providers and services for not delivering them according to expected operating standards.

• Late charges- guest charges that might not be included on the guest folio because of a delay in posting by other department.

Types of rooms in a hotel

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What does a room mean to a guest?

It means:

-comfort

-security

-privacy

-convenience

-cleanliness

-A “home away from home”

Single room:

- A room with two single beds meant for two persons.

Double

Room:

-A room with Double bed meant

for two people.

Twin Double Room:

-Commonly known as family room having two double beds separated from each other.

Triple room:-A room with the capacity to accommodate three persons, generally three single beds

Quad:

A hotel quad room is a room that can

accommodate four people with four single beds.

Interconnecting rooms:

-Two rooms which shares a common door, mostly used

by families.

Adjoining

room:-Two rooms

beside each other

cabana

-A room which is near a water

body or beside a swimming pool

Executive rooms

A room with additional features like internet connections,

computer points, mini bars etc. specially designed for the

business executive

suites

• A suite in a hotel or other public accommodation denotes a class of luxury accommodations, the key feature of which is multiple rooms.

Burj al arab

Receiving area

Bedroom

Powder room

Bar

Dining area

Kitchen

Junior suite

A hotel room with a separate living area (though not a separate room), plus the bedroom.

Double suite

Two rooms, one serving as a living

room.

Duplex suite

Two suites on two floors with

an interconnecting

staircase

Executive

suitesSuite

specially fitted for business

executives.

Single suite

Two rooms, one serving as a

living area and another with a

single bed.

Presidential suite• Presidential suite and Royal suite are

common names for the most expensive suite in a luxury hotel.

• a suite of rooms, as in a hotel, suitable for a president or other head of state.

Waldorf Astoria Presidential Suite

Types of Rates and Plans

RatesWhat are the key rate determinants?•Location•Hotel rating/standard•Competition•Demand•season•day of the week•competitor prices •inventory available

What Is a Hotels Rack

Rate?• A rack rate is a term that describes the frequently inflated prices, which a person pays at a hotel when he deals with the hotel directly when booking a room. Basically, if you enquired for a room for a night personally, you may pay more. The payment can even be twice or thrice.

Price plans (meal plans)

A plan is a package

proposal of rooms and

meals.

European

Plan(EP)

Does not include any meals.

American Plan

(AP)Includes three

meals per day at the hotel, i.e.

breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Modified

American Plan (MAP)

The quoted rate includes two meals

a day, including breakfast and either

lunch or dinner.

Continental Plan (CP)

The quoted rate includes a

continental breakfast.

Bed & Breakf

ast (BB)

Charges for room and English

breakfast

Family American Plan

(FA)

This plan offers free or

discounted meals for children.

Meal plans:• -business executives prefer the European plan.

• - groups prefer the MAP.

• - an American plan is chosen by holiday makers. This plan is often found at resorts.

• -The continental plan is found in Europe that is used to breakfast of a continental style.

• - the bed and breakfast is a british.

Meal menus related to plans

• 1. A list of the dishes to be served or available for a meal.

• 2. The dishes served or available at a meal.

• 3. A list of available options, especially as displayed on a screen.

A la carte menu• In reference to a menu of items priced and ordered

separately.

• The courses generally follow the sequence of the classical menu.

• Guest on a European plan without meal options will select, meals from a la carte menu in any restaurant of the hotel.

Table d’hote menu•Table d'hôte menu is a menu

where multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed total price.• It is offered in American plans and modified American plans.

Breakfast menu• Traditionally, American plans and modified American plans

offer this kind of breakfast but as travel has spread worldwide, the breakfasts have been altered to local practices and tastes.

Types:

• 1.) English breakfast

• 2.) Continental breakfast

• 3.) American breakfast

Lunch menus•Lunch menus can vary from elaborate meals or light meals depending on the purpose and culture of the guest.

Dinner menus•These menus are elaborate as guests have more time and leisure for eating.

Buffet service•It is a self-service where the food is displayed on tables.

Sources of reservations

•Guest reservation in hotel is done through many sources.

• The term ‘source’ means individual or group company which takes service from hotel and in reply pay for it.

Principal sources of reservations are:

• Global distribution system (GDS)

• Tour operators

• Travel agents

• Airlines

• Corporate houses

• Embassies and consulates

• Free individual traveler (FIT)

• Central reservation office (CRS)

• Hotel websites

• Referral hotels

Global distribution system (GDS)

• A network of providers that brings products and services geographically spread to the doorstep of consumers anywhere in the world.

• Some featured examples of GDS are Sabre computer system, Amadeus computer system, Galileo central reservation systems, World span and the Scandinavian multi across reservation for Travel agents (SMART).

Tour operators-Tour operators sell package tour programs in large number all over the world.

-Tour operators are whole sellers who deal with hotels, surface transporters, airlines, cruise ships, tour offices, and so on.

-Tour operators cooperate with hotels or airlines in order to include their service their package tour.

Travel agents

- Someone who sells or arranges trips or tours for customers.

- They take commission from the tour operators to sell their travel packages.

- Travel agents are generally located in the prime location which is convenient place for the traveler to attract the guest.

Airlines

- Airlines is very popular among hotels.

- Airlines crew generally stay for short time and hotel always has to give discount on their stay.

Corporate houses- Corporate houses have to

deal with many clients and they also have to arrange company training programs and meetings. They contact with a hotel for these purposes.

- Rates are negotiated for minimum room nights a year. The more business the better is the rate.

Embassies and consula

tes- Diplomatic officials travel

throughout the whole year and stay at a hotel. They have to contact with embassy and consulates which is a very good source of business for hotels.

Free individual traveler

(FIT)- Provide the bread and

butter business on a regular basis.

- FITs are individual guest who book rooms directly within the hotel.

Central reservati

on offices (CRS)

- Also know as CRO. An automated reservation system that take reservations for all properties within an organization.

- These establishments are one-stop-shops and have reservation tie ups with all concerns of the earth.

Hotel website

s- A new popular way

to get bookings.

- Guest can fill on-site reservations forms and send to the hotel directly with all the relevant details.

Referral hotels- Independent hotels that get-together to recommend each other to guest staying in their property, provided the establishment does not have a hotel in that location.

- An airline ties-up with referral hotels to attract passengers.

British airways Crown plaza

Hotel and Airline Partnerships

Hotel and Airline Partnership

US Airways Hotel indigo

Hotel and Airline Partnerships

Philippine airlines Diamond hotel