Front Office Reservations PDF

FRONT OFFICE: RESERVATIONS LESSON 2 Introduction to Front Office The front office is the first point of contact between guests and the hotel. It is responsible for handling reservations, check- ins, check-outs, guest requests, and payments. It plays a crucial role in guest satisfac...

FRONT OFFICE: RESERVATIONS LESSON 2 Introduction to Front Office The front office is the first point of contact between guests and the hotel. It is responsible for handling reservations, check- ins, check-outs, guest requests, and payments. It plays a crucial role in guest satisfaction and hotel profitability. Importance of Front Office Operations Represents the hotel's image and brand (first and last impression). Handles guest inquiries, complaints, and requests. Ensures efficient room management through reservations and allocations. Generates revenue through room sales and additional services. Key Departments within the Front Office Section Duties Reservations To accept, block, store and assign guest room reservations for individuals and groups. Reception Registration – to meet guest’s requirement regarding rooms and to establish registration formalities. Mail – handles guest messages and postage Key – control the giving of the keys to the guest and responsible for the key rack Information – to answer requests for information about hotel facilities and services and the surrounding community. Handles guest correspondence. Telephone Exchange To handle the telephone traffic for guests and the rest of the operations; to provide wake-up calls and message services. Key Departments within the Front Office Cashiering/Billing To perform the cashiering functions of accepting payments from guests. Bell Service To provide guest services by carrying their luggage and assisting to their rooms. Concierge To render additional services to guests, usually regarding information outside hotel premises (directions to points of interests, entertainment reservations, and local offices). Business Center To provide guest services like computer jobs, receiving or sending fax messages, and photocopying and even printing. Basic Activities in the Front Office Guest Activities Front Office Activities Inquire Sell Guest Rooms - Sales opportunity - Describe product/service Reservations Offer Accommodations -accept reservations -handle walk-ins -perform guest registration procedure -assign rooms -check customer credit worthiness -update room availability Confirm Confirm Offer -record information -record receipt of deposit -update room availability chart -Check overbooking -prepare arrival Guest Activities Front Office Activities Arrival Bell Service -car parking -luggage handling Registration and Check-in Receive and Welcome Guest -checking and booking details -allocate rooms -record room allocation -allocate keys -mails and messages Provide Information on Guest Services -concerning internal hotel operations -about external events and locations Guest Activities Front Office Activities Go to Room Direct or Take Luggage -escort to elevator -sales opportunity In House Coordinate Guest Services -Liaison between front and back of the house areas -handle guest problems and complaints -mails, messages, calls -chart room status reports -coordinate room sales and housekeeping A. occupied status B. on-change status C. out-of-order status Guest Activities Front Office Activities Maintain Guest -Construction of guest folio account Accounts -posting to folios (updating) -supervision of credit limits -documentation of guests’ transactions Settlement of Guest Finalize Account Accounts -Preparation of guest statements -reconciliation of folio -receive payment -perform the checkout procedure Departure Bid Guest Goodbye -sales opportunity -notify other departments Construct Guest -Record guest’s personal date for future reference History File Coordinating with the other Departments Hotel Reservations A reservation is an advance request made by a guest to secure accommodation for a specific period. It is the first step in the guest cycle and plays a crucial role in hotel revenue management. Types of Reservations Guaranteed Reservation: The guest secures the booking by providing advance payment or credit card details. The hotel holds the room even if the guest arrives late. Non-Guaranteed Reservation: The hotel holds the room for a limited period but may release it if the guest does not arrive by a specified time. Methods to guarantee a reservation To safeguard against people who make a reservation but do not arrive (no-show), many hotels require a kind of guarantee to hold a room for a confirmed reservation. They can be in the ff methods: a. Credit card – major credit card companies have developed a system by which participating properties can be guaranteed payment for reserved rooms that were left empty by the clientele’s non-appearance. b. Advance deposit – (or partial pre-payment) requires guest to remit to the property a specified amount prior to guest’s stay. The pre- payment maybe in for one night’s lodging, plus taxes, or for the entire stay. c. Travel Agencies – although this type of guarantee was common before, it is now used less frequently by smaller travel agencies because they prefer to use credit card or advance deposit guarantee whenever possible.  Reservation Channels Direct (phone, email, hotel website) Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) – e.g., Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda Global Distribution Systems (GDS) – used by airlines and travel agencies Walk-in reservations Reservation Process Steps Inquiry & Guest Information Collection: Name, contact details, arrival/departure dates, room preference. Availability Check & Room Allocation: Ensuring room availability based on demand. Rate Quotation & Confirmation: Providing the guest with pricing and confirmation details. Guest Guarantee & Payment Details: Securing the reservation with credit card or deposit. Reservation Entry in PMS (Property Management System): Logging the details for reference. Confirmation Sent to Guest: Via email or SMS for assurance.  Common Challenges & Solutions Overbooking: Hotels sometimes overbook to compensate for cancellations; solutions include offering alternative accommodations or upgrades. No-Show Guests: Implement cancellation policies and charge fees for no-shows. Miscommunication in Bookings: Use clear confirmation emails and digital reservation systems to prevent errors. Manual Reservations Even with the advent of modern technology through computers, many small properties are still using the manual method of processing reservations. Manual reservations are primitive but effective reservation systems with the use of a combination of cards or charts displayed on a wall (figure 2.1), blocked out on the room status board commonly called the room rack (figure 2.2), recorded in a reservation book, a ledger, or a calendar book, or providing a rack for each room. The traditional way of accepting reservations maybe time consuming and tiresome on the part of the reservations clerk. However, the advantage of using manual reservations are worth mentioning. 1. Using computers are expensive, the software (program), hardware (memory, cpu, input devices-mouse and keyboard, and output devices-printers and monitor) and the maintenance of a computer technician. 2. In case of power failure/shortage, it would be very difficult to retrieve information at the moment. 3. It takes time to train personnel to operate the computer, and 4. Once a computer program is damaged, it could affect the other data inside.  The accuracy and the effectiveness of the manual reservation cannot be underrated for it is properly managed, it could be of equal importance to any system. It is therefore important to understand the basic principles of charting advance reservations for even the most sophisticated technology can fail at times. Below is an example of a reservation chart used by hotels. The wall-mounted reservation chart is prominently displayed on the wall of the reservations office. It shows the days of the month. Entries are based on the available types of rooms which indicates that on this date all rooms are available except for deluxe and suite rooms. Likewise, status of the rooms are noted showing that on this date, no discounts will be honored.  October Chart SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNES THURSDA FRIDAY SATURDA DAY Y Y 1 2 3 4 5 * 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 * 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 X 24 X 25 26 * 27 28 29 30 31 Legend: No standards * No Suites Sold out (no space available) No superior X No discounts No Deluxe Blocked saved for group Room Racks Room racks reveal the individual room numbers on which reservation slips are inserted. Usually color-coded to indicate the type of reservation booked. When a particular room is blocked, the slip is taken from the rack and the name of the guest is written with the arrival and departure dates. Computerized Reservations Most hotels nowadays realize the importance of updating their equipment especially in the field of technology. Though computers might be really expensive, investing in these equipment can make the flow of operations faster and easier to manage. Many challenges involve people, technology supports a new form of organization that empowers employees by granting better access to information. The marriage of technology and communication has changed so much the business climate. Hotels have developed new ways of accepting reservations. Central reservations service are computer based or a WATS (Wide Area Telephone System), line which receives and documents reservations for a chain, franchise network or referral organization. When a guest wants to make a reservation, he/she can call a toll-free single number and either have a reservation at a distant point confirmed immediately or obtain help in locating alternative accommodations. A hotel’s internal reservation system must accomplish the following objectives: 1. To efficiently manage room availability and guest registration; 2. To accurately monitor present occupancy levels and forecast future levels; 3. To plan and budget the hotel’s future and expenses, based on anticipated room occupancy; 4. To manage the hotel’s marketing activities to best compensate for anticipated fluctuation in occupancy; 5. To provide a detailed list of guests and their requirements on the day of their arrival; 6. To support the front office management’s effort to attain a full house. To fulfill these objectives, the hotel’s reservation system must perform two essential functions efficiently and accurately: 1.The maintenance of guest reservation data -includes all pertinent details about the guest’s stay 2. The forecasting of room status and availability - forecasts the number of rooms of each type and in each category that will be on a specified future date  AVAILABILITY CODE ROOM TYPE TOTAL AVAILABLE SOLD 001 Standard/ 34 24 10 double 002 Superior/twin 48 16 32 003 Superior/ 32 12 20 deluxe 004 Deluxe suite 24 14 10 Accepting Reservation Arrival date/time Departure date/time Name of guest Type of accommodation Number of person Company name Contact number Manner of payment Status Remarks/special request Booked by/initial All FO personnel should observe the ff precautions before accepting the reservations: 1. Before accepting any room reservation, check the room status control board at the reservations office and double check if the hotel is still open (rooms available) or close (fully booked). 2. Do not promise a specific type of room or location of rooms to the person making the reservation. Assure him that we will do our best to comply with his request and if he needs a written confirmation, get his complete e-mail address, contact number and contact person. 3. All requests for suite reservations should be referred to the FOM, Reservations Supervisor who will check the suite availability. 4. If guest will arrive late, get the specific time of arrival. If unknown, the caller should be advised that the reservation will be held only until 6:00 pm and that the hotel should be informed of his definite arrival. 5. If the caller wants the account to be charged to his company, he should request for a letter of authorization (communication from the company stating that the services accorded to the guest) that the account will be charged against the company. No account will be charged to a company unless a letter of authorization is received. If it’s an airline, accommodation voucher should be requested. 6. Sell high quoting superior rooms first, if the guest declilnes, offer other rates of rooms. 7. Never reject bookings/reservations, if the room is not available, offer alternative dates. 8. Always thank the caller for making a reservation. Declining a Reservation As much as possible a hotel does not want to deny a room to a guest, however because of full occupancy or some other reasons (renovation, Construction, etc.), hotels should take into consideration the comfort and convenience of guest first and foremost. When denying reservation, it is very important to inform guest tactfully the reason for the refusal the soonest possible time. It would also be best to offer alternative dates when the reservation can be accommodated. The reservation clerk should show initiative in whatever way to help the guest, like booking him in another hotel of the same standard as your property. In this way, the guest will always appreciate and remember your kind gesture. Thus, keeping in mind to stay in your hotel when the opportunity comes. Status of Reservation 6 PM RELEASE Reservations are expected that guests will arrive at a certain day and time. If they arrive before the time of their arrival, they will have the room prepared for them. If they arrive after the time (6PM) they are expected, the room is released and made available to other guests. The practice assures the property for full booking as cut-off time us specified. GUARANTEED ARRIVAL This is the opposite of 6 PM release. An arrangement between the guest, company or travel agency is made on whether the guest will arrive of not. Payment is already guaranteed to the property. Thus, the room blocked is not released in the duration of the reservation agreed upon. TAKE OR PLACE This are offered to regular guests. If they arrive in short notice, a room is checked if it is available; if not, they will be booked in another property of the same standard as your hotel. VIP This type of reservation is properly noted by the FOM and EH. Make sure special arrangements are carried out correctly. Inspection of the room is necessary before the guest arrival as instructions on guest’s needs are specified TOURS AND GROUPS These are reservations of more than five rooms. Bigger groups require longer planning thus, special procedures, deposits and other arrangements are required prior to guests’ arrival. COMMISSIONABLE BOOKING Reservation for rooms made by travel agencies, hotel booking agents, and travel organizers are on a commission basis. A remark is noted on the logbook to indicate that the bill is commissionable.