Week (5)

What is a reservation?It is a booking in advance for a space for a

specified period of time.

E.g. Hotel ballroom, restaurant booking, airline seat, a theatre seat, a hotel guestroom, a doctor’s appointment.

IntroductionFrom a guest’s point of view, the most

important outcome of the reservations process is having a guestroom ready and waiting when the guest arrives.

To achieve these outcomes, the hotel must have efficient reservation procedures in place.

Here are the reservation process activities:-

Conduct reservation inquiry.

· Determine room and rate availability.

· Create reservation record.

· Confirm reservation record.

· Maintain reservation record.

· Produce reservation reports.

· Research, plan, and monitor reservations.

Reservation Activities

Types of Reservations

• Guaranteed Reservation: Insures that the hotel will hold a room for the guest until a specific time of guest’s scheduled arrival date .

• The guest must provide us a method of payment.

• If the guest does not show up or cancel properly,

• the guest will be charged for one night accommodation.

• If the hotel then fails to provide the room for a guaranteed reservation, legal penalties can be applied if the guest files a complaint.

• In order to guarantee a reservation, guests can choose one of the following methods:

The reservation can be guaranteed by  

•Prepayment

· Credit card

· Advance deposit

Travel agent voucher/miscellaneous charge order (MCO)

· Corporate (direct billing account)

Guaranteed Reservations

Non-guaranteed Reservation Non-guaranteed Reservation: Insures that

the hotel agrees to hold a room for the guest until a stated reservation cancellation hour (Usually 6 p.m.) on the day of arrival.

It is common for hotels planning on full occupancy or nearing full occupancy to accept only guaranteed reservation once a specified number of expected arrivals is achieved.

overbookingThe practice of overbooking—accepting reservations

for more rooms than are available by forecasting the

number of no-show reservations, stayovers, understays,

and walk-ins, with the goal of attaining 100 percent

occupancy—is viewed by the general public with

skepticism.

As a future hotelier, you should prepare for the onerous

task of developing a policy on overbooking. The front

office manager is responsible for administering this

policy.

Stayovers are currently registered guests who wish to extend their stay beyond the time for which they made reservations. Accurate records by traveler category (corporate, group, leisure) reveal the stayover rate of each. For example, employees of a corporation who travel with spouses may extend a Thursday and Friday business trip to include a Saturday.Similarly, a group conference scheduled from Monday through Thursday May encourage the attendees to stay longer to sightsee.

Understays are guests who arrive on time but decide to leave before their predicted date of departure. Leisure travelers may find their tourist attraction less interesting than anticipated. Urgent business may require the corporate client to return to the office sooner than expected. Maintaining accurate records helps the front office manager predictunderstays.

A welcome sector of the hotel market, walk-in guests, can enhance daily occupancy percentages when effectively managed. The front office manager must be aware of activity in the local area. Heavy tourist seasons, special tourist events, conventions, and the like will increase the number of potential guests. Awareness of such possibilities helps the front office manager plan. Walk-in numbers are often higher if the front office managermaintains good relations with the front office managers of nearby hotels, who may refer guests to the property when their own are fully booked. Sending guests who cannot be accommodated to nearby hotels is a win-win situation for guests and hotels.

When these occupancy categories are tracked, the front

office manager can more accurately predict occupancy.

The front office manager can obtain the data for this

Formula by reviewing the property management system

(PMS) reservation module, which lists the groups,

corporate clients, and individual guests who have made

reservations for a specific period. Also, the front office

manager should check tourist activity in the area,

Business events planned in other hotels, and other local

special events.

The following occupancy management formula considers confirmed reservations,

guaranteed reservations, no-show factors for these two types of reservations, predicted

stayovers, predicted understays, and predicted walk-ins to determine the number of additional

room reservations needed to achieve 100 percent occupancy. No-show factors are

based on prior experience with people with confirmed or guaranteed reservations who did not show up.

Here is an example of how to use this formula:1. If a 200-room lodging property has 75 confirmed reservations with a 5

percent no Show factor in that category, 71 rooms can be predicted to be occupied by Guests with confirmed reservations. The no-show factor is based on historical records of this category for this property maintained and reviewed by the front office manager.

2. There are 100 guaranteed reservations with a historical no-show rate of 2 percent. This means that 2 rooms have probably been reserved by no-show guests and may be available for sale. The policy of the hotel may or may not allow the sale of these 2 rooms. If the hotel knows of other hotels in the immediate area that have Available rooms for that particular night, the front office manager might be willing to walk a guest with a guaranteed reservation

to another hotel if all the guests with guaranteed reservations arrive. It is important to be extremely cautious in this category. An unpleasant scene can occur if an exhausted guest arrives at 3:00 A.M. with a guaranteed reservation and finds no vacancies.

3. The predicted number of stayovers at this given time—based on historical records, with considerations for the season of the year,

tourist attractions, nature of the current guests (convention,

tourist, or business traveler)—is 4 rooms. This number of rooms

must be subtracted from the number of rooms available for sale.

4. The predicted number of understays at this given time, considering factors similar to those applied to stayovers, is 5. This

number of rooms is added to the number of rooms available for

sale.

5. The predicted number of walk-ins for this given period—using historical records and available information concerning tourist

events, activity at other hotels, attractions in nearby communities, and the like—is 8.

Reservation Inquiry

• Guests can communicate their reservation inquiries in person, over the telephone, via mail, through facsimile, telex, e-mail…

• While getting a reservation inquiry, the reservation staff shall obtain the following guest-related information:

• Guest’s name, address and telephone number• Company or travel agency name• Date of arrival and departure• Type and number of rooms requested

cont.

Desired room rateNumber of people in the group, if applicableMethod of payment and/or guaranteeAny other special requests Most of the above mentioned information is

used to create a reservation record.

The seven steps reservation sales process

• 1. Greet the caller. ( thank you for calling Holiday inn. This is Mary speaking How can I help you today?)

• 2. Identify caller’s need ( arrival date, departure date, preference ....)

• 3. Provide an overview of the hotel’s feature ( number of restaurant, swimming pool )

• 4. Make a room recommendation and room rate.

• 5. Ask for the sales ( Would you like me to book the reservation for you?

cont.• 6. Create a reservation record according to

the hotel procedures.• 7. Thank the caller. Closing a call as warmly as

opening a call leaves the caller with a sense of confidence that they have made the correct decision.

• The reservation function is a sales process, if the reservation staff is unenthusiastic, the caller will not a have a positive impression of the hotel and may decide to go elsewhere.

cont.Reservations can be made for individuals,

group, tours or conventions.An individual, not part of the a group is

referred as a FIT. ( free independent traveller)

The customers make reservation by using different sources.

•Central Reservation System

· Global Distribution System

· Intersell Agencies (for example flight centre)

· Property Direct

· Internet

Sources of Reservations

Central Reservation System (CRS)A central (or computerised) reservation

system that controls and maintains the reservations for several hotels in one location, and automatically redirects the reservation to the required hotel.

Central reservation systems

• The majority of hotel groups belong to one or more Central Reservation Systems

• A central reservation system is composed of a central reservation office, member hotels connected together via communication devices, and potential guests.

• It exchanges room availability information with members hotel.

• Central Reservation Office [CRO] offers its services via a 24-hours toll free telephone number(s) [Green Numbers].

continued

On return, central reservation offices charges a fee for the utilization of its services which might take the form of a flat fee and a variable fee, or a flat percentage of potential room revenue, actual room revenue, and/or Rooms Division gross profit…

•Computerized system by which reservation-related information is stored and retrieved for multiple organizations.

• Global Distribution Systems [GDS] System including several Central Reservation Offices connected to each other.• Selling hotel rooms is accomplished by connecting the hotel reservation system with the GDS system.• GDSs have become a powerful force in hotel reservation.

 

Global Distribution Systems

Inter sell AgenciesInters ell Agencies are special types of

central reservation offices contracting to handle reservation for more than one Product Line [ex: Handle at the same time Airline Tickets, Car Rental, Hotel Reservation…] “ One Call Does it All Approach “!

Property Direct Reservation System: Even though many of the five-star hotels rely

heavily on central reservation offices and intersell agencies, some potential guests still find it convenient, and personal to call directly the hotel to communicate a reservation inquiry.

Property direct reservations are made in a several ways

· Telephone

· Mail

· Property-to-property

· FAX

· E-mail

Property Direct Reservations

Group Bookings

Types of groupsTour groupsConference/conventionCharity groups (fund raising)Flight crewsSchool groupsSporting groups

Reservation Availability After receiving a reservation request, the hotel

might accept it, as it is, if there is room availability.

If not, the reservation department should suggest alternative room types, dates, and/or rates, to the potential guest.

If, however, the potential guest insists on his/her previous request, the hotel should suggest an alternative hotel.

That's one of the main reasons why we need to maintain good relation-ships with nearby competing Hotels

continued

The reservation department should always compare historical reservation volumes against actual arrivals.

The main reason is to cope with overbooking, which a situation occurring when the total number of rooms reserved for a certain period of time exceeds the total number of rooms available for sale, for the same period of time.

continued

In order to cope with the overbooking problem, some statistical and historical data should be stored and processed by the hotel and should be continuously updated. Such data should include:

Number of rooms reserved for a specific dateNumber of rooms occupied by stayovers (for a

certain specific date) Forecasted no-shows percentageForecasted understays percentageForecasted overstays percentageForecasted cancellation percentageNumber of out of order rooms for a specific

date

Overbooking (Occupancy Management)The practice of overbooking—accepting

reservations for more rooms than are available by

forecasting the number of no-show reservations, stayovers, understays, and walk-ins, with

the goal of attaining 100 percent occupancy—is viewed by the general public with skepticism.

As a future hotelier, you should prepare for the onerous task of developing a policy

on overbooking. The front office manager is responsible for administering this policy.

Reasons for Travel

BusinessPleasureEducationFamilyReligiousSpecial events (e.g.Olympic Games)

Types of Market Sources

F.I.T. – free/fully independent travellerGroupCorporateGovernmentPackage

Room Rate Factors

$ Location (CBD, Country)$ Hotel Rating (Star/Flag/Crown)Room attributes/aspectsHotel facilities$ Competition$ Time of year$ Intended client

Room Rate Types

RackCorporateGovernmentAirline (delayed flights, crew, package)Travel Agents (package, familiarisation,

group, F.I.T.)Groups/conferencePackages (honeymoon, weekend, midweek)

Five steps to selling

• Know your product• Know your guest• Match the guest to the best alternative• Be aware you are part of the sales team• Always sell the product before the price

Guest History

Assist with marketing strategiesEnsure future reservations are more efficientEnsure a quicker check-inEnsure guest’s needs are metAssist with check-out

History data

Reservation formsRegistration cardsGuest folios on check-out

History can be stored and maintained:ManuallyComputerised

Details Provided to GuestRoom release time (6pm is standard)Guaranteed reservationCheck-in timeAcceptable MOPParking facilitiesHotel facilities and services

CancellationRetrieve original reservationNote date and time cancellation receivedRecord contact name of person cancellingUpdate manual and computer recordsFile cancelled reservationApply cancellation fee as per hotel policyThank caller

AmendmentsRetrieve original reservationNote date and time amendment receivedRecord contact name of person amendingUpdate manual and computer recordsFile amended reservationThank caller

Departments concerned with reservations report

HousekeepingTo enable accurate staff rosteringBudgeting, planning for refurbishment, ordering

of suppliesFood and BeverageAs above

Departments concerned with reservations report

MaintenanceTo enable accurate staff rosteringBudgeting, planning for refurbishment, ordering

of suppliesConcierge/Porters/Front DeskAs above

Types of ReportsOccupancy ArrivalsCancellationsSpecial requestsV.I.P.SBlack listsMarket SegmentsGuest history

Occupancy ReportsPrepared on a regular basis for:rosteringbudgetsmaximising occupancyplanning refurbishmentordering

Special Requests ReportHousekeepingCots/rollaways/special linen/vases/flowers/baby

sitters/early and late arrivals and departuresRoom ServiceChampagne/fruit baskets/flowers/VIP mini barsPorter/ ConciergeTheatre bookings/restaurant bookings/hire

cars/early arrivals/late departures/wheelchair access/luggage storage/red carpet

Special Requests ReportFood and BeverageDietary, Group meals, Children, Cultural

Requirements, Seating, Groups departing early

FunctionsDietary, AV Equipment, Meal break times,

Business Services

Group and Conference DetailsETA/ETDRooming list readyRooms AssignedStaffing requirementsPorter/Concierge (Luggage collection

times)Food and BeverageFunctions departmentHospitality room/area

Black List

“Bad” debts (previous accounts remain unsettled)

Malicious damage to hotel propertyTheft of hotel propertyVerbal/physical assault of staff members

Reservation Reports:

• In the reservation department, the widely used management reservation reports include:

• Reservation transaction report• Commission agent report• Turnaway report (sometimes called the

refusal report)• revenue forecast report

Potential Reservation

Problems • 4 main common problems that might be

encountered:• 1) Errors in a reservation record:a.Record a wrong arrival or departure dateb.Misspell the guest’s name or reverse itc. Reserve for the caller instead of the guest

Potential Reservation Problems

2) Misunderstandings due to industry jargon:Confirmed versus guaranteed reservationDouble room versus 2 bedsConnecting rooms versus adjacent rooms

Potential Reservation Problems

3. Miscommunications with external reservation systems:

Book a guest in the wrong hotelBook a guest in the wrong city [ex: Novotel,

Melbourne versus Novotel, Sydney]

Potential Reservation Problems (continued)

4. Online reservation system failures:Fail to update central reservation system

concerning room availability or to communicate rate changes in real time

Delays in communicating reservation requests

Communication Equipment used may become technologically obsolete or inoperatable