Hotel Front office- Reservation

Outlined information of Hotel front office reservation system and the advantages of reservation. Beginners can understand the front office reservation procedure and the types of booking

1. FRONT
OFFICE –
RESERVATION
SASIKUMAR NATARAJAN
[email protected]

2. Reservations
Reservation in the hotel industry is defined as ‘blocking a particular type of guestroom (e.g.,
single room, double room, deluxe room, executive room, suite, etc.), for a definite duration of time
(i.e., number of days of stay), for a particular guest’.
Reservation of the hotel accommodation is one of the important responsibilities of the front
office department. A potential guest contacts a hotel for availability of the desired type of
accommodation and any allied services that the hotel offers
reservation increases the chances of a better deal for assured accommodation on arrival. For a
hotel, reservation can enable a better management of guest experience during usual as well as
peak seasons. Reservation procedure varies depending on the size and brand of the hotel and
the reservation system employed.
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3. TYPES OF RESERVATION
Tentative
Reservation:
Waitlisted
Reservation
Confirmed
Reservation
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4. Tentative Reservation
It is a reservation request that a prospective guest makes on a tentative basis for particular staydates. The hotel holds
the room for the guest till a cutoff date, by which the guest should confirm the reservation. Upon confirmation from the
guest the hotel changes the tentative reservation to a confirmed reservation, otherwise it cancels the tentative
reservation, and updates its records accordingly.
Wait listedReservation
A reservation is wait listed when the requested category of room is not available for the requested dates. The waitlisted
reservation is confirmed when the hotel receives a cancellation request for a room of the same category. This way the
hotel ensures that its rooms will not remain vacant in case of cancellations. The hotel does not guarantee a room for
waitlisted reservations; it is understood that the guest will be assigned a room only in the case of a cancellation or a no
show.
Confirmed Reservation
Once a guest confirms a reservation request, the hotel blocks a room for specified stay dates and sends a written
confirmation of the same to the guest. A confirmed reservation can be of the following two types:
▪Guaranteed reservation
▪Non-guaranteed reservation
TYPES OF RESERVATION
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5. GuaranteedReservation;Aguaranteedreservationisaconfirmationthatthehotelwillholdthereservedroomforthe
guestandnotreleaseittoanyotherguesteveniftheguestdoesn’tarriveontime.Thisrequirestheguesttomakean
advancepayment(partorfull,dependingonthehotelpolicyandthehoteloccupancyfortherequestedstaydates),
irrespectiveofwhethertheguestavailsthereservationornot,unlessthereservationiscancelledaccordingtothe
hotel’scancellationproceduresTheguaranteedreservationcanbeobtainedthroughoneofthefollowingways:
Pre-payment,CreditCard,Contractualagreement-Corporate,Travelagencies/Touroperators,Allotment,Advance
Deposit.
Aguaranteedreservationrequiresthepaymentoftheroomrentoraspecifiedamountinadvance,knownaspre-
payment.Asthehotelholdstheroomfortheguestevenafterthecancellationhours,pre-paymentprotectsthehotel
fromanylossofrevenueincaseofalastmomentcancellationorano-show.Pre-paymentcanbemadebysending
demanddraftordepositingcashatthehotel.Cashdepositisthemostpreferredmodeofacceptingguaranteed
reservationContractualagreement:Ahotelmayhaveacontractwithanindividualoracompanyforproviding
guaranteedreservations.Accordingtosuchacontract,thehotelconfirmsthereservationfortheindividualoraperson
referredbythecompanyonaguaranteedbasis,andthepersonorthecompanyagreestopayforthereservation,even
inthecaseofano-show.Hotelsmayhavecontractualagreementwiththefollowing:Travelagencies/Touroperator:
TravelAgencies/TourOperators:Travelagenciesandtouroperatorsmakebulkpurchasesofroomsatarelativelylow
contractedprice.Theyguaranteethehotelaminimumnumberofroomnightsinaparticularperiodandagreetopay
theroomchargeseveniftheyareunabletofillthenumberofroomsaspertheiragreementwiththehotel.Corporate
Houses:Inthiscase,acompanyoracorporatebodymayenterintoacontractwithahotel,wherebythecompany
guaranteespaymentforitsemployeesorsponsoredguestsandacceptsthefinancialresponsibilitiesforanyno-shows.
Non-guaranteedReservation:Whenaguestconfirmsherreservationatahotelbutdoesnotguaranteeitwithan
advancedeposit,itistreatedasanon-guaranteedreservation.Inthistypeofreservation,thehotelagreestoholdthe
roomfortheguesttillthecancellationhour,unlesstheguestinformsthehotelaboutherlatearrival.Thecancellation
houristhetimefixedbyahotelafterwhichanon-guaranteedreservationstandscancelledandtheroomisreleasedto
awalk-inguest—itisgenerally6p.m.
TYPES OF RESERVATION
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6. Modes of Reservation
Theprocessofreservationbeginswithaninquiry.Aguestmaycontactahotelforreservation
eitherthrough:
•WrittenMode
•VerbalMode
WrittenMode
Whenareservationrequestreachesthehotelinwriting,themodeisclassifiedasawrittenmode
ofreservation.Theadvantagesofthewrittenmodeofreservationsarethattheyareclear,
unambiguous,andprovideawrittenrecordforthehotel,whichcanbereferredtoincaseofany
miscommunicationorconfusion.Thecorrespondencewiththeguestisfiledforfuturereference.
Thevariouswrittenmodeforreservationrequestareasunder:
•Letter,Fax,Telex,E-mail
VerbalMode
Reservationrequestsmayalsobemadethroughoralcommunicationknownasverbalmodeof
reservationrequestTheadvantageoforalcommunicationisthatitisfast,convenient,and
generatesimmediateresponseorfeedback;andonecangetthecompleteinformationandclear
anydoubtsthroughoralcommunication.Thedisadvantageisthatitdoesnotprovidea
permanentrecord.Thevariousmodesofverbalreservationrequestareasunder:
•Telephone
•Inperson
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7. Sources of Reservation
A hotel receives reservation requests from different sources like:
❖Direct reservation
❖Central reservation system
❖Inter-sell agencies
❖Global distribution system
❖Corporate bodies
❖Government sector
❖Hotel websites
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8. DirectReservation
Areservationrequestthatahotelreceivesdirectlyfromanindividualoragroupwithouta
mediatorisknownasadirectreservation.Thedirectreservationrequestisprocessedbythe
reservationmangerandhisteamofreservationassistantinlargehotel.Incaseofasmall
hotelthesamemaybeprocessedevenbyreceptionist
CentralReservationSystem
Centralreservationsystem(CRS)isacomputer-basedreservationsystem,whichenables
gueststomakereservationsinanyoftheparticipatinglodgingpropertiesatanydestinationin
asinglecall.Thecentralreservationofficetypicallydealswithdirectguests,travelagents,
corporatebookers,etc.bymeansoftoll-freetelephonenumbers.TheCRSisoftwotypes:
Affiliatedsystem:Inaffiliatedreservationsystems,alltheparticipatinghotelunitsbelongto
thesamechainorgroup,likeWelcomenetbyWelcomegroupofHotels,HolidexbyHolidayInn
Hotels.
Non-affiliatedsystem:Non-affiliatedsystemisasubscription-basedsystem,designedto
connectindependentornon-chainproperties,liketheLeadingHotelsoftheWorld(LHW),
SmallLuxuryHotelsoftheWorld(SLH).Thisenablesnon-chainpropertiestoenjoythe
benefitsofCRS.
Sources of Reservation
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9. GlobalDistributionSystem
Globaldistributionsystem(GDS)isaworldwidecomputerizedreservationnetwork,whichisusedasasinglepointofaccessfor
reservinghotelrooms,airlineseats,rentalcars,andothertravel-relateditemsbytravelagents,onlinereservationsites,andlarge
corporations.GDSprovidesabundleofproductsandservicestotheprospectiveuseracrossgeographicalboundaries
IntersellAgencies
Anintersellagencyisanagencythatdealswithmanyproductssuchashotelreservations,carrentals,travelarrangements,tour
operations,airlinereservations,railwaybookings,etc.
CorporateBodies
Hotelsalsoreceivebookingsfromcompanies(MNC,FMCGs,pharmaceutical,etc.),non-governmentalorganizationsandinstitutions
(whichmaybeeducational,financial,banking,etc.).
GovernmentSector
Hotelsreceivebookingsfromgovernmentsectorssuchaspublicsectorundertakings,embassies,andconsulates.
HotelWebsites
Ahotel’swebsiteisanotherpotentialsourceforreceivingreservations.Thewebsitecontainsalinkforreservationrequests.Byclicking
thelink,guestscanmakeahotelreservationaspertheirrequirementsfromthecomfortsoftheirhouse/office/cybercafe.
Sources of Reservation
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10. Processing
Reservation
Request
Receiving Reservation
Determining Room
Accepting or Denying Reservation
Amending Reservation
Cancellation of Reservation
Reservation Reports
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11. Importance of Reservation
Reservation is important for guest as well as for the hotel too. The reservation process is of vital importance to a
hotel as it:
▪Gives the first impression of the hotel to guests.
▪Sells the main product of a hotel (accommodation).
▪Generates customers for other departments.
▪Provides important management information to other departments.
Importance of Reservation for the Guest:A confirmed reservation has the following advantages for the guest:
▪Assurance about accommodation:
▪Choice in the type of accommodation
▪Type of room or suite as per the guest’s Preference of floor, view, and personal choice or low-floor room; sea
view/pool view/garden view/monument view room; smoking/non-smoking room; etc.
▪Receive correspondence at the hotel address
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12. Types of
Hotel
Reservation
Systems
Whitney System of Reservation
It was developed in 1940 by Whitney Paper Corporation from New York,
hence the name. This is a conventional manual reservation system the
hotels used to follow during pre-computer days in the hotels. It contains
the following setup for reservation −
•Slip for request of accommodation reservation
•Whitney slip that records guest name, accommodation type, number, and
duration of stay
•Temporary/Permanent arrival slip
•Guest bill
•Guest registration card
•Correspondence file
Bedroom journal that records daily occupancy of the guest with date,
guest name, room type, and room number
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13. Thereisnospecificnumberofpeopletobeconsideredasagroup.Normallyatleasttenpersonsormoreshouldamountof
business.So,aspecialdiscountisnormallyallowedforthem.Thegroupleadershouldbegivenspecialfacilities;sometimehis
discountdependsonthenumberofpersonsofthegroupandthelengthofstay.Whilehandlinggroupreservation,weshould
keepinmindfinallyatthelastmomentifthereservationiscancelled,thehotelwilllosethenormalbusiness.So,consideringthe
reliabilityofthecompany/shouldbetakenornot.Whileconfirmingthegroupreservation,itshouldbenoteddownthattheparty
hastogiveatleast15daysadvanceconditionshouldbetheresayingthatequivalenttoonenight’sstayofthegroupwillbe
charged.Butthischargecanbeexemptedconsidering
▪Numberofpersonsofthegroup.
▪Thevolumeofbusinessyoudidandyouareexpectingtodointhefuture.
▪Relationbetweenthepartyandthehotel.
Groupreservationscaninvolveavarietyofcontacts:guests,meetingplanners,conventionandvisitorsbureaus,touroperators,
andtravelagents.Groupreservationstypicallyinvolveintermediaryagentsandrequirespecialhandling.Agroup’s
representativedealswiththehotel’ssalesorreservationsdepartment.Ifenoughroomsareavailableforthegroup,anagreed-
uponnumberofguestrooms,calledablock,issetasideforthegroup’smembers.Groupmembersmaybegivenaspecial
reservationidentificationcodeorreservationwebaddresstousetoreservetheirroomswithinthegroup’sassignedblock.As
groupmembersreserverooms,theroomsinthegroupblockaremovedfrom“blocked”statusto“booked”status.Unbooked
roomsinthegroupblockmaybereleasedtothehotel’savailableroomsinventoryatapredetermineddate—thecut-offdate.
Group Reservation
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14. Overbooking is a situation when the total number of rooms reserved for a certain period of timeexceeds the total
number of rooms available for sale for the same period. In other words it is the number of additional reservations
need to achieve 100% occupancy. Overbooking for hotels is a revenue management strategy that helps to
maximize the total capacity and increase the Room revenue. But on the other hand overbooking for guests means
waiting and inconvenience that result in their dissatisfaction with the services. Below statistical and historical
data should be stored and processed by thereservation managerorrevenue managerto calculate optimum
overbooking levels.
▪Total number of rooms available.
▪Confirmed reservations vs no-shows based on historical data.
▪Credit Card / Guaranteed reservations vs no-shows based on historical data.
▪Expected cancellations.
▪Predicted stay overs and predicted under stays.
▪Predicted Walk-in guests.
▪Room typewise overbooking levels.
Overbooking
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15. ▪Helps the hotel to achieve 100% occupancy by hedging against guests who do not arrive or cancel their
reservations.
▪Maximize expected revenue.
▪Optimizes the operations efficiency by increasing profitability.
▪Long term revenue and profit increases
▪Overbooking is a Low risk and the oldest most commonly usedmethod to increase profitability.
▪Widely used strategy in hotel revenue management.
▪When overbooking done based on past statistics then chances of miscalculation decreases.
▪Compensation are normally cheaper than keeping a room empty.
▪Rules of refusing are predetermined and alsoacceptable.
▪Because hotel rooms are considered as perishable products, overbooking yields considerable impact on hotels
revenue.
Advantages of Overbooking:
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16. ❑Do not justify the guest expectations which result to bad experience and reputation.
❑Additional financial loss for example guest staying at the hotel might have used other hotel facilities.
❑Guests can be negatively affected by it and therefore it is not good long-term strategy for hotels.
❑Negative reviews on internet eg.Social media, Tripadvisor,
❑Requires professionally trained and experienced staff to reduce risk of miscalculation.
❑Guests need to be walked to other hotels in case predicted overbooking is more than actual availability.
❑Reservations must be closely monitored to control overbooking.
❑Loss of room and other potential revenue.
❑Decreased customer loyalty.
❑Loss of hotel reputation.
❑Potential risk of denied services.
❑Lost future business from walked guest.
❑Negative word-of-mouth publicity.
❑If communicating compensation and process is not appropriate there is a risk of significant financial loss.
Disadvantages of Overbooking
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17. CONTACT
SASIKUMAR NATARAJAN
EDUCATIONALIST & HOSPITALTIY TRAINER
[email protected]
SASIKUMAR NATARAJAN -EDUCATIONALIST & HOSPITALITY TRAINER