Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Chapter 5: Systemwide Reservations

Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved

Chapter 5:Systemwide Reservations


Focus Points

Importance of guest reservations to travelers and lodging establishmentsOverview of reservation systemSources of reservationsForecasting reservationsOverbooking (occupancy management)Processing guest reservations


Classroom Presentations

IntroductionReservations are a necessity for travelersReservations are a necessary marketing tool for hotels to produce a profit• Steady flow of guests to a property –

30% with a central reservation system


Overview of reservation system

Choice Hotels International5000 franchises42 countriesReceived 32,000 phone calls at one of its two reservation call- centers per day.


Overview of reservation system (cont’d.)

Brand names http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-us/html/CorpBrandInformation?sid

=rRPg.2c9UnKBu3.1• Comfort Inn• Comfort Suites• Quality• Clarion• Sleep Inn• Econo Lodge• Main Stay Suites• Rodeway Inn

Technology applications of Palm VII or Palm VIIx (p. 131)



InterContinental Hotels Group3500 hotels and resorts100 countries535,000 guest rooms


Overview of reservation system (cont’d.)Intercontinential Brands

http://www.sixcontinentshotels.com/h/d/6c/c/2/dec/6c/1/en/ob.html• InterContinental Hotels & Resorts• Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts• Hotel Indigo• Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts• Holiday Inn Express• Staybridge Suites• Candlewood Suites• Park Inn Hotels• Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts• Regent International Hotels

• Experiences over 7 million visits to its web site each month.


Carlson Hospitality WorldwideCurtis-C (pronounced courtesy) reservation system• 730 hotel locations and six cruise ships• 8,900 reservations per day processed;

over 3 million per year (2000)



Carlson Brands http://www.carlson.com

Regent International HotelsRadisson Hotels & ResortsPark Plaza Hotels & ResortsCountry Inns & Suites by CarlsonPark Inn HotelsRadisson Seven Seas Cruises



Carlson - Connected to 455,000 travel agentsCarlson - Data Interface

HARMONY – the PMS of the hotelsCustomer KARE system (Customer Knowledge and Relationship Enabling System)

Harmony Database Manager – room inventory and room reservations

Guest Communication Manager – manages guest satisfaction information

KnowledgeNet – provides access to company policies, forms, reports, hotel procedures and newsletters



Global Distribution System

Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are distributors of hotel rooms to corporations such as travel agents that buy rooms in large volume.

AmadeusGalileoSABREWorldspan


Role of the Internet in Securing Reservations

Intro – A buyers’ market place with the best rates on the Internet


Role of the Internet cont’d.Background on Room Rates offered via the Internet

Dot.com mania hits consumers ->wholesalers decided to advertise free offers to entice consumers to use the InternetLeaves lasting impression on purchasing mannerWholesaler offers to take empty hotel rooms into inventory and offer on Internet -> hoteliers grateful to sell rooms at low sale pricesInternet sales light; everything seems okOther Internet sites offered similar models with their discounts guaranteed lowest price -> transparency of rates (guest can check room rates before check-in to see if their rate has been offered lower on the Internet)


Role of the Internet cont’d.Effect of Internet on Pricing Rooms – Muqbil 2003

35% of Americans used Internet to research travelReal-time rate information availability causes re-book booking, if lower rates are postedMinus $1.27 billion to lower ADR because of increased transparency and price competition and increased revenues due to increased bookings stimulated by the lower rateInternet average rate is 17% less than non Internet rate75 % were discount seekers and 25% were convenience bookers.Price transparency during low periods is a negative for hotels to increase rate; opposite during peak seasons.


Role of the Internet cont’d.

Consumers Response to Use of the Internet – Third-Party Websites (Expedia, Travelocity)

GDS and Pegasus Hotel e-Commerce room night sales = 57,131,438 (46,510,434 sold by travel agents and 10,621,004 by consumer off the Internet) second quarter 2004


Types of reservation systems

Franchisee – hotel owner who leases a brand name and the benefits by:

Management expertiseFinancial backingNational advertisingGroup purchasingReservation service


Types of Reservation SystemsReferral Member of a Reservation Referral System - a worldwide organization that processes requests for room reservations at a particular member-hotel, is a hotel developer/owner who has access to the national reservation system

15%-30% of daily room rentals vs. independent statusHilton franchise fees example (2005):

• Initial fee of $85,000 for first 275 guest rooms or suites plus $300 for each additional room or suite (min. fee to

$75,000)• 5% monthly gross rooms revenue for franchise fee• 4% of monthly gross rooms revenue = monthly program

fee• Plus other fees for participation in Frequent Traveler/Guest

Reward program, training, and computer system


Sources of Reservations

Corporate ClientsSecretaries ClubToll-freeReservation Referral ChainTravel AgentWeb sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com)


Sources of Reservations cont’d.

Social/Military/Educational/Religious/Fraternal (SMERF)

Provides opportunity to fill vacancies in low timesThese markets are price sensitive and time-relaxed and will travel accordingly.


Sources of Reservations cont’d.

Meetings/Incentive/Conference/Event (MICE)

Need to locate large group of conference attendeesDetails: airfares, hotel rooms, room rates, food and beverage, cultural activities, etc.Cooperation of local tourism and travel association necessary


Sources of Reservations (cont’d.)Group travelers

Refer to various travel directories used by hotels and potential guests as listed in the text

• Group planner• Bus association network

– Virginia Bus Association– Pennsylvania Bus Association– National Bus Association

• Travel directories i.e. Hotel and Travel Index (refer to p. 139)

• Hotel Representative – member of hotel staff who seeks group activity planners

• Hotel Broker – person who sells hotel room prize packages to corporations, sweepstakes promoters, game shows, and other sponsors (with a discount)


Sources of Reservations (cont’d.)

Leisure Traveler – people who travel alone or with others to visit points of interest or relatives, or for other personal reasons• Travel agencies• Toll-free numbers• Reservation/referral systems• Internet

Current Guests - an overlooked marketing opportunity


Forecasting ReservationsRooms forecast – refer to Figure 5-2

(p. 141)Helps to preview the Income Statement house count – number of persons registered in a hotel full house – 100% occupancy

Procedure to determine forecast – refer to Figure 5-3 (p. 142)


Overbooking (Occupancy Management)

Overbooking – accepting reservations for more rooms that are available by forecasting the number of no-show reservations, stayovers, understays, and walk-ins, with the goal of attaining 100% occupancy



P. 138 Toh reports: “in many instances, overbooking to overcome the problem of no-shows and late cancellations may produce advantages by way of operating efficiencies that far outweigh the occasional inconveniences to guests and travelers.”Gould et al. could find no direct statutory or administrative law governing hotel overbooking with the exception of one Florida regulation. Hoteliers and front office managers who practice overbooking do so to meet an organization’s financial objectives. They do not intentionally overbook to cause problems for the traveler.”


Components of overbookingConfirmed reservations – 4 pm or 6 pm check inGuaranteed reservations – credit card requiredStayoversUnderstaysWalk-in guests

Occupancy management formula as listed in Chapter (p. 145)



Revenue ManagementRestate the role of revenue management in the reservation process (this topic will be covered in detail in Chapter 6) –

“A management technique of planning to achieve maximum room rates and most profitable guests”



Processing Guest Reservations

Systemwide Reservation SystemsOperational procedure:• Greeted by an operator• Guest places of request for dates and

accommodations• Operator checks availability of request

with room data bank• Operator suggests alternatives


Outsourcing reservations (p. 148) – providers of central reservation systems that are not owned by the hotel operation

InternetGlobal Distribution System (GDS) – Amadeus, Galileo, SARE, and World Span

Web-enabled application-service provider (ASP)Components of SynXis Agent (Allows hotel operators to consolidate and control hotel inventory from all booking sources. )

• Central reservation system• GDS connectivity• Alternate-distribution system connectivity• Book-A-Rez

Pegasus Solutions• Real-time availability and pricing for property and room

types• Interfaces with key industry PMS, revenue systems, and

loyalty program systems to approximately 7500 hotels

Processing Guest Reservations (cont’d.)


Confirmed reservation – a reservation that is held until 4pm or 6pm; discuss implications on profit and loss statementGuaranteed reservation – a reservation that is held with a credit card until the guest arrives; discuss implications on profit and loss statement



Reservation codes for confirmed or guaranteed reservations (See example,

p. 149)Components

• I.D. number of property• Initials of reservationist• Date of arrival• Date of departure• Type of credit card• Room rate• Type of room• Sequential reservation number



Cancellation code (See example, p. 150)Components

• I.D. number of property• Initials of person who processed the reservation• Date of arrival date of departure• Sequential number of cancellation

Blocking procedure – removing rooms from the available room data bank for the dates involved

– blocking on the horizon – in the distant future– daily blocking assigning guests to their particular

rooms on a specific day of arrival



Process of completing reservations through a PMSFigure 5-4 – Guest Data screen (p. 152)Figure 5-5 – Room Inventory screen (p. 152)Figure 5-6 – Guest Deposit screen (p. 153)Figure 5-7 – Special Requests screen (p. 153)Figure 5-8 – Blocking Report screen (p. 154)Figure 5-9 – Arrival Report screen (p. 155)Figure 5-10 – Departure screen (p. 156)Figure 5-11 – VIP Information screen (p. 156)Figure 5-12 – Projected Occupancy screen (p. 157)Figure 5-13 – Travel Agent screen (p. 157)Figure 5-14 – Guest Message screen (p. 158)



Database InterfacesTransferring of computer information (captured at the time a reservation is made) between computers• Examples

– Marketing and sales office– Housekeeping staff– Maintenance crews– Food and beverage– Controller’s office



Database interfaces (cont’d.)True Integration• Integration of central reservation system

and property management system sharing database.

• Benefits:– Consumer can access real-time reservations– Less investment for data storage– Hotels can access data via Internet


Documents

Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Chapter 5: Systemwide Reservations