what to say when offering the registration card of hotel to guest
The registration process is one of the many points of interaction with the invitee and ultimately the cornerstone of delivering service before, during, and after the guest stay. Early on in this section, nosotros discuss the importance of capturing invitee data that is confirmed from the previous reservation procedure or initiated with a walk - in guest. While guests are in our care, we can communicate with them, maintain an authentic accounting record, and later on respond to any inquiries with regard to financial concerns or follow up on service. The registration process follows a rather succinct procedure of offer invitee hospitality, retrieving a reservation, reviewing the registration card for completeness, extending credit, selecting a room to encounter the needs of the guest, checking room status, confirming room rates, promoting additional room sales, assigning room keys, and processing the guest folio. All these steps occur within the space of several minutes, only the organization behind the scenes of the registration process is essential. Allow's take a await at how the hotel operational policies and procedures are developed to support the ease of a smooth registration process. Capturing Invitee Data It is important to note at the start the value of capturing guest information at registration.This data is used by many employees in the hotel to provide service and hospitality to the guest. It will exist used to transfer messages to the guest, to inform the staff of the guest'south needs, to check credit background, and to process charges. Guests will undoubtedly receive phone calls, phone messages, mail, and / or fax transmissions that the hotel must evangelize. Recording the proper spelling of a invitee's name, including the heart initial, during registration volition assist the telephone operator and bellhop in locating the right invitee. A person with a common last name such as Smith should non miss an of import message but because more than one Thomas Smith is registered at the hotel. Hotel employees also need to know who each person is in the hotel so standard operating procedures tin be carried out. For case, the director of security will desire the housekeeping staff to be on the warning for unusual circumstances that signal that more people are staying in a room than are registered for that room. Not but will this information aid in providing security to registered guest, but it volition provide the hotel with boosted income. Guests' special needs - such equally certain room effects (cribs or roll away beds), facilities for the physically challenged, separate folios for guests splitting costs, wake - up calls, or requests for rooms on lower floors that were not indicated when the reservation was made - should be noted and communicated to the appropriate hotel staff. Guests who are members of a group must have their registrations handled in a special mode to expedite the procedure. However, it is still important that the tour leader of the grouping provide private invitee information and room assignments. This information is necessary and then that the hotel staff tin locate a specific invitee or deliver messages as they are received. The forepart desk-bound clerk who accepts a invitee'southward credit carte as a means of payment must cheque the validity of the card and the bachelor credit rest. Obtaining credit information from walk - ins or guests with confirmed reservations will help in the procedure of extending credit, billing, and collecting charges on checkout. Invitee Registration Procedure The invitee registration procedure involves several steps that, if followed accurately, will allow management to ensure a pleasant, efficient, and prophylactic visit. The guest registration process involves the following steps and volition be discussed by and large as these steps relate to effective forepart office management. Later in this affiliate, utilise of a PMS (property direction organization) method of registration is discussed. Guest Hospitality The registration process begins when a guest requests to cheque into the hotel. The guest may arrive alone or with a group. The forepart desk clerk begins the check - in process with a display of hospitality toward the guest; of import elements include eye contact, a warm smile, an inquiry regarding travel experience, an offer to assist the invitee in a dilemma, and the like. As mentioned earlier, the importance of a warm welcome to a guest'due south positive impressions of the hotel and its staff cannot be overemphasized. Well-nigh travelers expect common courtesy along with a quality production and a well - developed delivery system. Inquiry well-nigh Reservation After the front desk clerk has welcomed the guest, he or she asks if a reservation has been placed. If the guest responds affirmatively, the reservation is retrieved (called upwards on the computer). If the guest is a walk - in, the front end desk clerk must bank check the availability of accommodations. If accommodations are bachelor, the next step is to complete the registration card. Completion of Registration Carte The registration card provides the hotel with guest'southward billing information and provides the guest with information on checkout time and room rates. Even if the invitee has a reservation, the completion of the registration carte is important, as it verifies the spelling of names, addresses, phone numbers, anticipated appointment of divergence, number of people in the party, room rate, and method of payment. The top portion of the registration card supplies information about the guest then the hotel has an accurate listing of registered guests. With this information, phone calls, messages, and the like can be relayed as they are received. This tape is also used for billing purposes. If the hotel has parking facilities, the garage manager will want information on the guest'south motorcar for security and command purposes. Obtaining complete and accurate information is very of import in hotels that employ a PMS, this course is preprinted. Review Completeness of Registration Card The front desk clerk should speedily review the completeness of the registration card. For instance, handwriting should be legible. If the card needs a corrected printed revision, information technology should be washed at this time. The invitee may forget to fill up in a aught lawmaking, which is ofttimes used by the marketing and sales section to analyze market demo graphics also as by the controller's role to process invoices. If a invitee does not know a license plate number or other automobile information, the desk clerk should indicate to the invitee that this A registration form is used in a PMS and is often preprinted for guests who have reservations information is necessary for security. If the desk clerk follows up this statement with a phone call to the garage attendant to obtain the necessary information, the attempt will exist appreciated by the guest, security officer, and garage director. Any areas on the registration card that remain blank should be called to the guest'southward attention. Such omissions may be oversights, or they may exist an effort past the guest to commit fraud. The guest who does not supply a credit card and gives a weak excuse ("I forgot information technology in my car" or "It is in my suitcase, which the airline is delivering in 3 hours"), combined with a front desk-bound clerk who accepts these reasons, sets the stage for fraud. A decorated front desk clerk will more than likely forget to obtain this information later in the day. Extension of Guest Credit Front desk clerks must perform a few basic procedures to extend credit to guests. These include accepting the designated credit card from the guest, using credit - card processing equipment, interpreting information from the credit - carte validation machine, and verifying the cardholder's identification. Credit Cards Credit cards are grouped according to the issuing agency. The major groupings are banking concern cards, commercial cards, private label cards, and inter sell cards. As their name suggests, banking concern cards are issued past banks; Visa, MasterCard, and JCB are three bankcards. Commercial cards are issued past corporations; Diners Social club is an case. Private label cards are generally issued by a retail organization, such as a section store or gasoline company. Their use is commonly limited to products sold by the issuing organization, but they may be acceptable for other purposes. Inter sell cards are similar to individual characterization cards but are issued by a major hotel chain. This type of card is acceptable at all properties of the chain and any of its subsidiaries. Each of these issuing agencies has verified the credit rating of the person to whom the card was issued. This enables the hotel to extend credit to the person who offers the credit card for time to come payment; this is a very important pick for hotels. Hotels extend credit to guests as a footing for doing business. Without this pre - established certification of credit, a hotel would take to develop, operate, and maintain a organization of establishing customer credit. Hotel bondage that accept inter sell cards have washed this, as have smaller hotels that are willing to bill to an account. All credit cards are not equal from a hotel's financial betoken of view. The hotel may have a standing policy to request a depository financial institution credit card first or its own inter sell carte and then a commercial credit bill of fare. The reason for this is the discount rate , a percentage of the total auction that is charged by the credit - menu agency to the commercial enterprise for the convenience of accepting credit cards, the issuing agency requires. The discount rate depends on the book of sales transactions, amount of individual sales transaction, expediency with which vouchers are turned into cash, and other factors. Each general manager,in consultation with the controller and front end office managing director, works with each credit card–issuing agency to determine a rate that is realistic for the hotel. The commercial credit card may require a ten percent discount of the sale to be returned to the credit - card agency, while ane banking company credit card requires 4 percent and some other banking company credit card requires 3 percent. The effect on the profit - and - loss statement is shown in the following illustration: Even though Bank Menu 2 seems more profitable, it may not be the credit carte du jour preferred by the hotel. The Bank Card 2 credit - issuing bureau may stipulate a 7 - twenty-four hours turnaround time, so that the hotel will not accept access to the money until vii days have passed.Bank Bill of fare 1 may give the hotel instant access to the money on deposit of the vouchers. The cash flow requirements of the hotel must be thoroughly investigated and income and expenses must exist projected before direction can make up one's mind which credit cards it prefers. Guests choose their credit cards for a variety of reasons, but sometimes they simply offer the showtime one pulled from a wallet. If the desk clerk is alert to the guest who displays several major credit cards, a asking for the desired bill of fare may be adequate to the guest. This small procedure could mean more than turn a profit for the hotel over a financial year. Credit - Card Processing The credit - card imprinter, a machine that makes an imprint of the credit card the guest will apply equally the method of payment, and the credit - card validator , a computer terminal linked to a credit - menu data depository financial institution that holds information apropos the client's electric current rest and security condition, are basic pieces of equipment at the front desk in many hotels; all the same, some hotels with a PMS or computerized credit - carte du jour processing equipment do non crave this equipment. The forepart desk-bound clerk uses the credit - carte imprinter to imprint the cardholder's name, carte du jour number, and card expiration appointment onto a preprinted voucher. The credit - card validator enables the forepart desk-bound clerk to establish approving for a sure amount of money to exist deducted from a invitee's credit line. The credit - carte company provides an approval code for authorization of the charge. The data programmed into a credit - menu validator by the credit - menu issuing agencies differ from company to company. Some may only indicate that a card is electric current. Some indicate that the credit card is valid and the amount of the sale will not cause the guest to exceed his or her credit limit; conversely, the information may indicate that the corporeality of the auction will crusade the guest to exceed the limit. For example, a guest's nib, estimated to be $300 for a three - mean solar day stay, may not be covered by an available credit line of $173. In that instance, the forepart desk clerk will have to inquire for another credit card to establish credit. The data received from the credit - card validator may also betoken that this credit card has been reported stolen and should be retained by the hotel. Established procedures for handling fraud will indicate how hotel security should be alerted in this case. Proof of Identification Some hotels require proof of identification when a credit carte is presented, whereas others demand none. When the hotel policy does require the guest to produce identification, a valid driver's license with a photo is usually acceptable. Alteration of the not - photograph identification is all likewise common, making it less than reliable. Hotel security departments must piece of work with the front office in training desk clerks and cashiers to be warning to fraudulent identifications. Neb - To - Account The credit carte is the most often used form of establishing credit in a hotel. Even so, at that place are other means of extending credit to the guest. The neb - to - account requires the guest or the invitee's employer to establish a line of credit and to adhere to a regular payment schedule. The guest or the employer would complete a standard credit application. The controller would evaluate the completed grade, considering outstanding financial obligations, liquid financial avails, credit - card balances, and other credit concerns. If the applicant is deemed credit worthy, then the controller establishes a line of credit. The bill - to - account client is informed of the billing schedule and payment schedule. When offering bill - to - business relationship credit to the invitee, the hotel takes on the responsibility of bill collecting. Information technology must anticipate the effect of the billing and payment schedule on the profit - and - loss statement and the greenbacks period of the hotel. The controller's office is responsible for the accounting process of the nib - to - account clients. This can involve many hours of clerical work and calculator processing time. This extra labor should exist evaluated when deciding if the 3 – 10 per centum discount charged past the credit - card – issuing agency is more cost - effective than internal accounting of guest charges. Since some of the credit - bill of fare – issuing agencies offer firsthand cash tender to the hotel'south bank account, some hotels may prefer this method of payment and so they can meet firsthand financial obligations (employee payroll, vendor accounts, tax payments, and the similar). Room Selection Office of the registration process includes the front desk clerk's selection of a guest room,which can exist confusing for the front desk clerk and frustrating for the guest. This selection involves blocking guest rooms prior to a guest'south arrival, meeting the guest's needs, and maintaining a room inventory system. If the guest is assigned a room that does not meet his or her personal requirements, the guest then requests a different room. The front end desk clerk responds with a list of available options that seem to satisfy the guest's request. Blocking Prodcedure The blocking procedure is very of import in ensuring an even menstruum of processing guests who want to check in. Blocked rooms allow the forepart desk-bound clerk to immediately assign a room to a guest without searching through confirmed and guaranteed reservations too as available room inventory. Otherwise, desk clerks would take to review reservations and available rooms at the guest's arrival. The blocking procedure begins with a review of confirmed and guaranteed reservations as well every bit expected checkouts for a particular day. For example, if a 200 - room hotel has 125 rooms occupied on the night of November i with 25 room checkouts scheduled for the morning of Nov 2, the front office manager would determine that 100 rooms are bachelor for guests to utilize on Nov 2, as follows: From this 100 - room inventory, the front end part manager or a designated front office staff person is able to determine which room should be assigned to which invitee reservation. Continuing with the previous example, if at that place are 90 guest reservations for the evening of November two and 35 of them have indicated an early arrival of 10:00 a.1000., then the person who is blocking the rooms for November 2 will block their rooms from the rooms unoccupied on Nov 1. The remaining 55 reservations tin can have their rooms blocked into the remaining bachelor room inventory. In some hotels, no specific lucifer is made between a guest reservation and guest room. Instead, the person who is blocking rooms will provide a list to forepart desk-bound clerks that indicates that certain rooms with two double beds, king - size bed, facilities for the handicapped, and the like, are held for guests with reservations. Hence, the offset - come, start - served concept of matching reservation with bachelor room is followed. Meeting Guest Requests Guests' needs commonly include bed requirements, room location, floor program arrangements, ancillary equipment, rooms designed and equipped for special needs, firsthand availability, and price. If the invitee has a reservation, the room selection will be blocked prior to the guest's arrival. The walk - in guest presents opportunities to the front desk-bound clerk to optimize a auction and meet the needs of the invitee. Opportunities to sell are discussed after in this department. Special Accomodations The first issue in room selection is meeting the invitee's requests for special accommodations. The general trend in designing hotel rooms includes placing two beds, usually rex - size, queen - size, or double, in ane room, which can accommodate the single guest, business people sharing a room, a family of two adults and three children, and various other guest parties. This design permits the front desk clerk more than freedom in assigning a room, since so many unlike needs can be met. Hotels with some rooms containing 2 twin beds or i twin bed and one double bed or one king - size bed with no room for a roll away restrict the forepart desk clerk in assigning rooms and therefore affect the lesser line income from each room. New hotels offer more opportunities for front desk-bound clerks to meet guests' requests for various bed arrangements and maximize room income. The hotelier must provide the front end desk clerks with several options offer various bed sizes and charge per unit flexibility. The front office manager who discusses invitee preferences with the reservationist and the front end desk clerks and reviews guest comment cards is able to determine which bed accommodations should be made available. Location Guests frequently asking a certain room location: on the lower level of a hotel, near the parking lot, away from the elevator shaft, in the corner of the building, far from a convention. Likewise, certain views of the area may be requested - for example, bounding main, bay, lake, or metropolis square. Rooms with special views are usually priced higher, as the guest is willing to pay more, feeling this will enhance the visit. Although these rooms are limited by the design and location of the edifice, they add a certain character to a lodging property. The marketing and sales department will usually promote these rooms very heavily. Sometimes, guests' requests for specific locations or views tin be hands met; other times, a lack of available rooms volition forcefulness the guest to compromise. Layout and Decor The guest may request a sure flooring plan or room decor. If a business person wants to utilize the room as a small meeting room equally well as a sleeping area, a room with a Spud bed , a bed that is hinged at the base of the headboard and swings upward into the wall for storage (such as the SICO brand wall bed), should be assigned, if available. A guest who is on an extended business trip may request a room with a kitchenette. Several people sharing a room for a visit may appreciate a room in which the sleeping and living areas are separate. The newly revived suite design meets various guest needs. Rooms with balconies or various themes and decors are ofttimes requested to heighten a special occasion. Equipment Guests also request various ancillary equipment and civilities. Although cable television and telephones are at present standard room effects, big - screen televisions, video cassette recorders, satellite reception, figurer and Cyberspace jacks, extra phone jacks, and more than one phone may be requested. Some hotels provide computers, fax machines , equipment for facsimile reproduction via telephone lines, and / or convertible desks, which accommodate a business person'southward demand for work infinite. The availability of upscale amenities - such every bit terry cloth robes, fragrant soaps and shampoos, well - stocked accolade confined and snack bins, gratis local and national newspapers,and popular weekly magazines - often plays a role in the guest's decision to stay at a hotel. If guests are not sure y'all offer these amenities, they may asking them. This room is equipped with such civilities as a computer and in-room fax to facilitate the business invitee'southward stay. (Photograph courtesy of Westin Hotels and Resorts.) Special Needs Guests often request rooms designed and furnished with equipment to meet special needs. Rooms equipped for the hearing - impaired and guests in wheel chairs are very mutual. Advances in hotel marketing, building design and construction, and electronic condom features allow the guest with a physical disability to enjoy the facilities of the hotel. Hotel owners who maintain ambitious marketing and sales departments realize the growing number of active people in the labor force who are physically challenged and who travel. Legislation may besides constitute an impetus to provide accommodations for the physically challenged. Ramps, specially designed bathroom facilities, and electronic visual devices that alarm the hearing - impaired to burn danger tin can be located on the lower floors of a hotel. Smoking and nonsmoking guest rooms are also oftentimes requested by guests. Availability Immediate availability is of groovy concern to most guests. Usually the traveler has spent many hours in transit and wants to unload luggage, freshen upward, and motility on to other activities. For other guests, registration is the last cease before collapsing from a wearying day of travel and activeness. The invitee is very vulnerable at this time, frequently willing to have a room with a higher rate that meets his or her firsthand needs. Still, the front desk clerk should do all that is possible to locate a room that is ready for occupancy before trying to pitch a higher - priced room. Long lines of people waiting to register and delayed availability of rooms tin can make room selection very difficult for the front desk clerk. A delay by the housekeeper in releasing rooms for occupancy often causes guests to expect. Sometimes the desk clerk must inquire of the housekeeping department whether rooms are ready for occupancy. Guests who insist they be admitted to a room - whatsoever room - considering of special circumstances make the front end desk clerk's room pick determination very circuitous. When the reputation of the hotel is at risk, a quick conference with the front office managing director may speed up the decision - making process for the forepart desk clerk (if desk-bound clerks have not been empowered to make such decisions). In such a instance, the forepart office manager and the general manager should aid the housekeeping department in working out any rough spots and streamline the advice organization between housekeeping and the front part. Price Constraints Price is ofttimes some other invitee concern. Guests with budget constraints may request a room for the everyman price; this is their master concern. Room location, flooring programme, room arrangements, ancillary equipment, and immediate occupancy play bottom roles in their room selection. When guests request the least expensive room available, a front desk clerk should endeavour to accommodate them from the available inventory of rooms. Depending on the projected occupancy for the night, the front office manager may instruct the forepart desk staff to accommodate all such guests within reason; a sale that brings in 10– 20 percent less than the designated rates is meliorate than several rooms left unsold. Communication between front desk clerks and forepart function managers and the training of front desk clerks to sell rooms underlie the effectiveness of providing guests with acceptable room rates. Room Inventory Maintaining a room inventory system involves constantly updating and checking a database that specifies housekeeping status , a term that indicates availability of a room, such equally occupied (invitee or guests are already occupying a room), stay over(invitee volition non be checking out of a room on the current mean solar day), dirty or on change (a guest has checked out of the room, but the housekeeping staff has not released the room for occupancy), out - of - order (the room is not available for occupancy because of a mechanical malfunction), and bachelor, clean or ready (the room is gear up to be occupied). This facet of registration requires abiding communication efforts among front end office, housekeeping, maintenance, and reservation staffs. The following lists of reservation statuses and housekeeping statuses are offered every bit a review and a means to differentiate housekeeping status from reservation status. Accurate, up - to - date room status reports are vital to the functioning of a front desk for providing guest hospitality and financial viability. The desk clerk who assigns a muddy room to a guest conveys incompetence. Assigning a room that already has occupants creates hostility and embarrassment for both the new and the current guests. Conversely, a room that is thought to be occupied simply in fact is vacant is defined as a sleeper . This is a lost sales opportunity that cannot be re - created the adjacent twenty-four hour period. The housekeeping department must communicate the housekeeping status in an accurate, orderly, and speedy mode. The floor supervisor of the housekeeping department must inspect each room to determine if guests have indeed vacated the room, to ensure the cleanliness and servicing of the room, and to notation any physical repairs that are needed earlier the room is released to the front desk for rental. An orderly organization whereby the housekeeping department transfers this data to the front end desk - through regularly scheduled communications from the flooring supervisor, maid, or houseman via the telephone, PMS, or personal visits to the front desk-bound - is necessary to maintain the integrity of the organisation. Delays in transferring this information will tiresome down the process of providing hospitality to the guest. The reservations staff must also exist aware of the demand to coordinate the immediate requirement of a business person for a small meeting room at the last minute with that of an incoming guest for a sitting room for a small gathering, the latter requiring confirmation when the reservation is made. Adequately meeting these requests is important to delivering hospitality to the guest. When the guest arrives to annals and finds that these essential facilities are unavailable, hostility toward the hotel - specifically directed at the front desk-bound clerk - results. Standard operating procedures must be established to ensure the accuracy of room status. Room Rates The marketing plan of a hotel volition include pricing programs for room rates, based on many intricate and market - sensitive factors. Courses in hospitality marketing and hotel operations volition help you develop an understanding of their relationship to toll. This introduction to room rates discusses the importance of establishing and monitoring effective room rates to ensure maximization of profit. Room sales projections are based on room rates and market sensitivity to these rates ESTABLISHING ROOM RATES The rental accuse for a room provides income to pay for hotel expenses generated in other areas, such as administrative costs, overhead, and utilities. Often students try to compare the efficiencies (control of food price and labor costs, marketing techniques, etc.)of a freestanding restaurant with the sometimes seeming inefficiencies of a hotel restaurant. In a hotel, the general managing director may plan for some of the turn a profit from room rental to be applied to food and beverage operations. In a freestanding eating place, the manager does not have that luxury. When hotel existent manor developers perform feasibility studies, they base the profitability of the enterprise on sales projections and other related factors, such as investment opportunities, investment portfolio balance, and current income tax laws. A consulting firm will survey market need for room sales and room rates, which will course a basis for a room sales projection. Of grade, aligning of market need because of the entrance of this new hotel into the market is calculated. An example of a room sales projection is shown in Figure. The three room sales projections at various average room rates shown in Effigy give the real manor developers some idea of room income, provided direction and operations are able to produce and service the sales. The investors in the Jump Time Hotel projection volition want to decide projected sales in all departments (such every bit food and drinkable, garage, gift shop, athletic facilities, and rentals). This full income effigy will provide the basis for full projected sales. Further consideration must be given to related expenses, such as food and drink costs, furnishings, labor, administrative costs, loan repayments, overhead, utilities, and advertising. These costs are assembled in a standard profit - and - loss statement. With the reckoner awarding of electronic spreadsheets, information technology is piece of cake to determine whether anticipated income will exist adequate to cover incurred costs and provide profit. If the projected income is inadequate, the investors will manipulate the average room rate - raising it, for example, from $70 to $75 or from $90 to $95 and analyze the results. While the income generated may seem favorable, the price sensitive market where the hotel will be located may not be able to produce the number of projected sales at the higher room rates. Clearly, room rates involve many factors, including manipulation of projected sales and related expenses along with realistic considerations of market competition, marketing and sales efforts, operations, price sensitivity, and taxation investment opportunities. The room rate set for one season may be adjusted up or down for a different season. If a competitor lowers or raises room rates, the front part manager will have to consult with the owners, general manager, and other department heads. The conclusion to lower or raise rates or offer a special package will depend on the effect this activity will accept on the profit - and loss statement. In areas saturated with hotel rooms and experiencing a slowdown in tourism or business action, cost wars tin spell disaster to a hotel performance. Projecting a hotel's fiscal success using room sales alone does not have into business relationship the possibility of over saturation of rooms in an area at a later time. When room rates are adapted to compete with those of other hotels, hotel revenues will be affected. Other hotel operations that are not cost - effective will and then drain the profits from the total operation. Several methods are used to establish room rates. Each provides guidelines for the hotel real estate developer. These are only guidelines and should be reviewed with the previous word in mind. The front office manager must stay in bear on with the general director and controller to monitor room rate effectiveness. The full general rule - of - thumb method for determining room rates stipulates that the room rate should be $ane for every $one,000 of construction costs. (This figure is from the 1960s; the current effigy is $2 for every $1,000 of construction costs.) For case (using the $one for every $1,000 of construction costs formula), if a new hotel is constructed at a cost of $45,000 per room, the room rate would initially be $45 per dark. Clearly, this is a very general method of guesstimating room rates and should not be relied on alone. The Hubbart formulaconsiders such factors as operating expenses, desired render on investment, and income from various departments in the hotel to establish room rates. This method relies on the front office to produce income that will comprehend operating expenses, overhead, and return on investment for the hotel operation. The post-obit instance applies these factors: A hotel with $iv,017,236 of operating expenses (various departmental operating expenses and overhead), a desired render on investment of $1,500,000 and additional A room rate survey compares room rates of competing hotels income of $150,000 from other sources (food and beverage, rentals, telephone) with projected room sales of 47,680 room nights would prepare its room rate at $113. Once again, these methods are guidelines only. Room rates must exist constantly monitored with regard to market conditions of supply and demand. The forepart part manager will accept to actively survey the room rates of competing hotels to determine the competitiveness of the hotel'south rates. Effigy is an example of a weekly room rate survey. This subsection on room rates is presented to show you, kickoff hand, the complexities of establishing a room rate. The market factors, structure costs, operating expenses, desired return on investment, efficiencies of operations, and marketing programs combine to produce a very complex concept. Front function managers must constantly monitor the effects of established room rates on the profit - and - loss statement. Other department managers in the hotel must likewise be aware of their importance to the overall fiscal success of the hotel. TYPES OF ROOM RATES Hotels have developed various room rate categories to attract different markets. These rates will depend on seasons, number of potential sales in a marketplace, and other factors. Providing constant feedback on the effectiveness of room rates in alluring business and evaluating the connected demand for each of these categories are the responsibilities of the front office director and managing director of marketing and sales. Normally used room rate categories are rack rate, corporate charge per unit, commercial rate, military / educational rate, grouping rate, family rate, package rate, American program, half - twenty-four hours charge per unit, and complimentary charge per unit. A rack rate , the highest room charge per unit charged past a hotel, is the rate given to a guest who does not fall into any detail category, such as a walk - in who requests a room for the dark. Rack rates are commonly the highest rates charged by the hotel, but they do not necessarily produce the nearly income for the hotel. Charging a group $5 less than the rack charge per unit to encourage repeat business may garner more income for the hotel in the long run. Corporate rates are room rates offered to business people staying in the hotel. This category tin be further broken down into business people who are frequent guests (a specified number of visits per calendar week or per month) and guests who are employees of a corporation that has contracted for a rate that reflects all business from that corporation. Commercial rates are room rates for business people who represent a visitor and have infrequent or desultory patterns of travel. Collectively this grouping tin can be a major segment of hotel guests and thus warrants a special charge per unit. The peddler's club , a marketing program to encourage repeat business by frequent business guests, was adult to encourage business organization people who do not have any set schedule for visiting a city to stay at a specific hotel. A card is issued, which is validated with each visit. After a specified number of visits, the guest is awarded a gratuitous room night.Currently, there are many variations of this concept. Marketing and sales departments of big hotel corporations accept developed sophisticated frequent - visitor marketing programs to encourage guests to stay with them. Military and educational rates are room rates established for military personnel and educators, because they travel on restricted travel expense accounts and are price conscious. These groups are a source of meaning room sales because their frequent visits may supply a sizable amount of repeat business. Group rates are room rates offered to big groups of people visiting the hotel for a mutual reason. The marketing and sales department usually negotiates this charge per unit with a travel agency or with a professional person organization. For example, a travel or bout agent may be granted a group rate for a bus group of 40 tourists. A meeting planner may request a grouping charge per unit for 400 convention delegates. This is a very lucrative source of potential concern for a hotel. Family rates , room rates offered to encourage visits by families with children, are offered during seasonal or promotional times. For example, children under a certain age are not charged if they stay in a room with an adult. Franchise organizations accept promoted this concept very well through television and display advertising. Package rates , room rates that include goods and services in addition to rental of a room, are adult by marketing and sales departments to lure guests into a hotel during low sales periods. A conjugal suite packet may include complimentary champagne, a cheese - and - cracker basket, flowers, and / or a complimentary breakfast. A Weekend in the Metropolis package may include dejeuner in the hotel dining room, tickets to the theater, a belatedly night snack, and / or tickets to an fine art gallery or a sporting event. If these packages are advertised and promoted, they will become a regular source of business organisation for depression - volume weekends. A variation of the bundle rate is the American plan , a room rate that includes meals— normally breakfast and the evening meal— too as the room rental. The modified American plan, a room rate that offers one meal with the cost of a room, is very common in resorts, where in that location is a more leisurely footstep. (The system in which food and beverages are kept divide from room charges is called the European Plan .) A frequently used rate classification is the one-half - day charge per unit , a room rate based on length of invitee stay in a room, which is applied to guests who utilize a room for only 3 or four hours of a twenty-four hour period (not overnight) to rest afterwards sightseeing or shopping or between air flights. Business people may want to rent a room for a brusque business meeting. Lawyers may want to hire a room to maintain privacy while taking a deposition from a witness. The room is and so rented again that evening. If a hotel has guaranteed reservations for late arrivals,the front desk clerk tin can accept half - day guests for those rooms from i through v p.m. A proficient communication arrangement with the housekeeping department is essential, then the room can exist cleaned for the guest with a guaranteed reservation. The hotel that offers a one-half day rate must establish reservations blocking procedures that signal which rooms are available for half - day rentals. If rooms will be needed by a convention group in the early afternoon following another convention group that checked out that morning, this blazon of auction is not recommended. The concluding rate category is a gratuitous rate (comp) , a charge per unit for which there is no charge to the invitee. The management of the hotel reserves the correct to grant comp rooms for various reasons. Guests who are function of the hotel's management hierarchy or personnel group may receive a comp room every bit a fringe do good. Management may offer comp rates to tour directors and / or passenger vehicle drivers of the bout group, travel agents, tour operators, and local dignitaries who are vital to the public relations program of the hotel. This rate does cost the hotel, but the cost is ordinarily outweighed by the goodwill generated. These charge per unit categories have variations in all hotels. The purpose of the rate categories is to attract groups of guests who will supply repeat concern and help ensure total occupancy. MAXIMIZING ROOM RATES The front end desk-bound clerk and reservationist take the opportunity to present various room rates in a mode that reflects the positive features of the product. Guests who are assigned a room at the highest or lowest rate without any choice are non given the opportunity to participate in the sales conclusion. Guests who may want to relish the best accommodations might look as though they could afford only the everyman - priced room. Other guests who look every bit though they could afford the Governor's Suite may have budgeted just plenty for the lowest - priced room. Reservations that are placed by phone practise non bias the reservationist co-ordinate to the personal advent of the future guest. A preplanned sales pitch to maximize room rates for all guests must exist formulated and taught to the forepart part staff. Knowledge of room furnishings, special features, layout, and rate ranges is necessary to establish a room charge per unit maximization plan. In addition, these features should exist described in a way that enhances them and tempts the guest. The nearly important part of this program is to ensure that the front desk-bound staff can deport it out; not everyone enjoys selling, and the staff must be encouraged to develop the proper attitude toward sales. Employee incentive programs are helpful in motivating front desk staff. The desk-bound clerk or reservationist who handles the walk - in guest, the guest with a reservation,or a guest making a reservation must be extremely knowledgeable nigh the production being sold. Familiarity with room effects, special features, floor plans, views, and rate ranges is obtained through experience and training. The training of a new person in the forepart office must include visits to the various guest rooms and public areas of the hotel. These visits should be reinforced with written copies of general categories of room inventories that annotation the various room furnishings, special features, and floor diagrams. Room rate ranges may be printed on special brochures for the guests. However, applying room rates in special cases must exist supported by articulate policies and communicated to the special staff. The front office managing director must develop case studies that illustrate exceptions to the stated rate ranges. Situational applications appropriate to periods of low projected occupancy, 100 percent occupancy, and an overbooked business firm can be of great assist in training. The staff not but must know the hotel's features but should exist able to entice guests with positive descriptions. A room described as " busy in pastels; contains 2 king size beds with comforters, overstuffed chairs, and a well - stocked minibar and refreshment cabinet; overlooks the bay side of the Charles River; and provides complete privacy" tempts the guest to want this luxurious experience. Not everyone, of grade, is a born salesperson. Indeed, well-nigh people are by and large shy about selling. Desk clerks who are not comfy selling rooms must be encouraged to develop these skills by practicing them until they become natural. How tin can a front part manager foster such skills? People are reluctant to sell because they feel they are pushing the heir-apparent to purchase something. They can be made more comfortable in selling when they believe they are offering a service or product that will benefit the guest. Each of the room's features should be highlighted as a reason for the guest to select the room. This reason will relate to guest satisfaction. For example, if the clerk promotes a guest room with an additional pocket-sized meeting room (at a college rate) equally an attractive characteristic, the person who is registering perchance grateful to acquire about this valuable pick, considering he or she tin can conduct corporate business organization without renting 2 rooms. Front end desk-bound clerks should be trained to recognize subtle clues to a invitee's needs. Clues are commonly present in both confront - to - face up situations and during telephone calls. Not all people recognize these clues because they are not trained to listen for them. A training procedure should be developed and presented to the front office staff. When the front desk clerk feels comfortable in existence able to satisfy the guest's needs with a certain type of room, so a good sales attitude has been fostered. The thought that "I have to sell" is replaced with "I desire to brand the invitee's experience the best information technology tin can be." If a caller mentions that a reservation is an anniversary gift to her parents, the reservationist may want to suggest "a bay side room that overlooks the Charles River or a room that looks out on or the cute mountain ranges of the Poconos in Pennsylvania." A forepart office manager should likewise devise an incentive program for the staff to maximize room rates. Incentives should be related to the needs of the employee. If money is the motivator, then a financial reward (based on the average daily rate achieved for the evening higher up the standard average daily rate) is presented as a bonus to the desk clerk. This bonus could also consist of preference in scheduling, additional vacation or personal days, or consideration for promotions. If employees know that their private efforts in achieving room rate maximization will exist recognized, they will be more enthusiastic about selling. Equally with all incentive programs, the financial expenditures for the rewards must be toll - effective. The staff with the proper knowledge, vocabulary, and attitude volition maximize room rates amend than the staff that is simply told to sell from the bottom up, a sales method that involves presenting the least expensive rate first, or from the top down, a sales method that involves presenting the most expensive rate first. These principles are important in achieving a maximum room rate. Nonetheless, if the desk clerk or reservationist is armed with facts about the product (rooms), familiar with words that accentuate the positive features of the product, and comfortable with selling as a procedure that improves the guest'due south stay, so he or she is probable to generate higher room rates and encourage repeat business. Sales Opportunities The front desk clerk has an unparalleled opportunity to promote the services of the hotel during guest registration. The front end part managing director who has adopted a marketing likewise every bit a front role focus will understand the benefits of developing a front end office staff that is comfortable with salesmanship. The word here focuses on additional room reservations that can be garnered at registration and the promotion of additional room reservations. Time to come RESERVATIONS The front office manager should consider developing procedures for front desk-bound clerks to follow that encourage a guest to volume additional reservations during the check - in process. Suggesting additional reservations during registration may remind the business organization person of the need for room accommodations the following calendar week, when he or she will visit a metropolis with a hotel that is affiliated with the same concatenation. Information technology may inspire the traveler who has not made reservations for the rest of his or her trip and finds your rates very attractive to stay in a chain member property. This promotion of member properties can be a very profitable marketing concept. Front office managers in independent hotels will also find this concept profitable. Independent hotels have the reward of offering unique lodging experiences. Guests who are frequent visitors to a urban center may desire to secure reservations for their next trip. Unless the request for a future reservation is made, information technology probably will not exist received. Developing a Plan for Promoting Future Reservations Maximizing sales opportunities also requires a program in which the front desk clerks actively participate, making it profitable for the hotel. The previous word on sales opportunities also applies to developing a plan for promoting future reservations. The forepart office director who wants to develop a plan to sell rooms at the time of guest registration must consider the opportunities for booking additional rooms, salesmanship skills, incentive plans, and furnishings on the turn a profit - and - loss statement. During registration,the front desk clerk should ask guests if they will need additional reservations for the remainder of their trips. Once again during the checkout, the front end desk-bound clerk should inquire if the guests need additional reservations. If these inquiries are reinforced with printed materials in guest rooms and elevators that annunciate the value and offering an incentive to make additional reservations, or if echo business is rewarded with a frequent company incentive program, so the possibility of securing boosted reservations is realistic. If desk clerks encourage future reservations because they believe they are helping the guest with travel plans, they will be more comfortable and successful in persuading guests to brand reservations. The forepart office manager should develop an incentive program that will assist desk clerks in trying to achieve boosted reservations at the time of registration. The effects of such a program on the turn a profit - and - loss statement are usually easy to decide. Additional room sales will generate additional income. The controller of the hotel will observe the increase in sales. The costs of administering the incentive program should exist compared to the income produced past the boosted reservations; such costs may include financial bonuses and additional vacation. Assigning Room Keys During the invitee registration process, a room cardinal is issued to the guest. This is a adequately simple task; however, the procedure does involve security and maintenance of keys. Later in this affiliate, the computerized method of room key assignment is discussed. After the front desk clerk has determined the room assignment and the guest has agreed to the room rate, the primal or keys are obtained for the guest. The central beingness issued must be checked against the room number assigned on the registration carte du jour before information technology is handed to the guest. A central for room 969 can expect like 696 if information technology is viewed upside down. The fundamental for room 243 could mistakenly be picked up for room 234. These errors occur when the forepart desk staff is busy checking people in and out. Giving the room key to the guest should exist handled with utmost discretion, for the invitee's safety. The forepart desk-bound clerk should not loudly announce, "Hither is your key to room 284." It is meliorate to say, simply, "Here is your key" or "Your room number is written on the inside of your check - in packet." It is besides important to instruct a guest on the procedure for using an electronic central , a plastic - cardinal with electronic codes embedded on a magnetic strip. If there is a special waiting flow or a certain - colored indicator lite on the guest room door, this should exist pointed out. Security of the Key System Maintaining the security of the keys requires that they be stored in a safety identify. The familiar pigeon pigsty key and mail rack organization is still common in some hotels. Some have adopted a cardinal drawer, located below the forepart desk. Other hotels with electronic locking systems produce a new key for each new guest. The electronic combination is inverse each fourth dimension at the front desk. Guests who lose their keys during a stay may ask for a duplicate. Proof of identification and proof of registration should be required. This protects the invitee who is registered in the room equally well every bit other guests of the hotel. Most guests do non heed providing these proofs of identification. They are usually satisfied to know their security is a priority at the hotel. Maintaining the Cardinal System The maintenance of a hard - cardinal system requires the front office staff and housekeeping staff to return keys to their storage area, a time - consuming job when several hundred keys must be returned to their pigeon holes or slots in a cardinal drawer (a drawer located underneath the counter of the front desk that holds room keys in slots in numerical lodge)after a total firm has checked out. If the housekeeping staff notices a key left in a room after a guest has checked out, information technology should exist returned to the front desk. Some hotels use a key fob , a decorative and descriptive plastic or metal tag attached to a hard key (a metal device used to trip tumblers in a mechanical lock) that lists the name and address of the hotel, to encourage the finder of a key to mail it back. Other hotels do non attach such a key fob because they believe that if a central is found (or actively sought) by a person with criminal intentions, guest security is at gamble. Keys and locks that accept become worn must exist replaced, a responsibility of the maintenance department. Replacement of room keys and locks can be done but with an authorized purchase order from the controller, initiated by the front end role or maintenance department. The security department maintains control of fundamental replacement action. A fundamental fob and invitee room primal are used in hotels with mechanical locks Electronic fundamental cards are used to protect guests Maintaining the electronic locking system is much simpler than maintaining the hard key system. On checkout, when the guest'due south folio is cleared in the PMS, the plastic key is rendered invalid. When the next guest registers for that room, a new electronic combination will be fix and an electronic key will be issued. Encoding the electronic combination on a magnetic strip on a credit - bill of fare – type key is besides possible. After the guest receives the room cardinal, the front desk clerk should ask if the invitee needs assistance carrying luggage and other personal furnishings to the room. If assist is needed, a bellhop is summoned to escort the guest to the room. If the invitee does not require assist, the front desk clerk should provide clear directions to the room.Hotel Registration Process in Front Office
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