Hotel Front office- Reservation

FRONT
OFFICE –
RESERVATION
SASIKUMAR NATARAJAN
SHASI28KUMAR@GMAIL.COM

Reservations Reservation in the hotel industry is defined as ‘blocking a particular type of guest room (e.g.,
single room, double room, deluxe room, executive room, suite, etc.), for a definite duration of time
(i.e., number of days of stay), for a particular guest’.
Reservation of the hotel accommodation is one of the important responsibilities of the front
office department. A potential guest contacts a hotel for availability of the desired type of
accommodation and any allied services that the hotel offers
reservation increases the chances of a better deal for assured accommodation on arrival. For a
hotel, reservation can enable a better management of guest experience during usual as well as
peak seasons. Reservation procedure varies depending on the size and brand of the hotel and
the reservation system employed.
SASIKUMAR NATARAJAN - EDUCATIONALIST & HOSPITALITY TRAINER

TYPES OF RESERVATION
Tentative
Reservation:
Waitlisted
Reservation
Confirmed
Reservation

Tentative Reservation
It is a reservation request that a prospective guest makes on a tentative basis for particular stay dates. The hotel holds
the room for the guest till a cutoff date, by which the guest should confirm the reservation. Upon confirmation from the
guest the hotel changes the tentative reservation to a confirmed reservation, otherwise it cancels the tentative
reservation, and updates its records accordingly.
Wait listed Reservation
A reservation is wait listed when the requested category of room is not available for the requested dates. The waitlisted
reservation is confirmed when the hotel receives a cancellation request for a room of the same category. This way the
hotel ensures that its rooms will not remain vacant in case of cancellations. The hotel does not guarantee a room for
waitlisted reservations; it is understood that the guest will be assigned a room only in the case of a cancellation or a no
show.
Confirmed Reservation
Once a guest confirms a reservation request, the hotel blocks a room for specified stay dates and sends a written
confirmation of the same to the guest. A confirmed reservation can be of the following two types:
▪Guaranteed reservation
▪Non-guaranteed reservation

Guaranteed Reservation ; A guaranteed reservation is a confirmation that the hotel will hold the reserved room for the
guest and not release it to any other guest even if the guest doesn’t arrive on time. This requires the guest to make an
advance payment (part or full, depending on the hotel policy and the hotel occupancy for the requested stay dates),
irrespective of whether the guest avails the reservation or not, unless the reservation is cancelled according to the
hotel’s cancellation procedures The guaranteed reservation can be obtained through one of the following ways:
Pre-payment, Credit Card, Contractual agreement- Corporate, Travel agencies/Tour operators, Allotment, Advance
Deposit.
A guaranteed reservation requires the payment of the room rent or a specified amount in advance, known as pre-
payment. As the hotel holds the room for the guest even after the cancellation hours, pre-payment protects the hotel
from any loss of revenue in case of a last moment cancellation or a no-show. Pre-payment can be made by sending
demand draft or depositing cash at the hotel. Cash deposit is the most preferred mode of accepting guaranteed
reservation Contractual agreement: A hotel may have a contract with an individual or a company for providing
guaranteed reservations. According to such a contract, the hotel confirms the reservation for the individual or a person
referred by the company on a guaranteed basis, and the person or the company agrees to pay for the reservation, even
in the case of a no-show. Hotels may have contractual agreement with the following: Travel agencies/Tour operator:
Travel Agencies/Tour Operators: Travel agencies and tour operators make bulk purchases of rooms at a relatively low
contracted price. They guarantee the hotel a minimum number of room nights in a particular period and agree to pay
the room charges even if they are unable to fill the number of rooms as per their agreement with the hotel. Corporate
Houses: In this case, a company or a corporate body may enter into a contract with a hotel, whereby the company
guarantees payment for its employees or sponsored guests and accepts the financial responsibilities for any no-shows.
Non-guaranteed Reservation : When a guest confirms her reservation at a hotel but does not guarantee it with an
advance deposit, it is treated as a non-guaranteed reservation. In this type of reservation, the hotel agrees to hold the
room for the guest till the cancellation hour, unless the guest informs the hotel about her late arrival. The cancellation
hour is the time fixed by a hotel after which a non-guaranteed reservation stands cancelled and the room is released to
a walk-in guest—it is generally 6 p.m.

Modes of Reservation
The process of reservation begins with an inquiry. A guest may contact a hotel for reservation
either through:
•Written Mode
•Verbal Mode
Written Mode
When a reservation request reaches the hotel in writing, the mode is classified as a written mode
of reservation. The advantages of the written mode of reservations are that they are clear,
unambiguous, and provide a written record for the hotel, which can be referred to in case of any
miscommunication or confusion. The correspondence with the guest is filed for future reference.
The various written mode for reservation request are as under:
•Letter, Fax, Telex, E-mail
Verbal Mode
Reservation requests may also be made through oral communication known as verbal mode of
reservation request The advantage of oral communication is that it is fast, convenient, and
generates immediate response or feedback; and one can get the complete information and clear
any doubts through oral communication. The disadvantage is that it does not provide a
permanent record. The various modes of verbal reservation request are as under:
•Telephone
•In person

Sources of Reservation
A hotel receives reservation requests from different sources like:
❖Direct reservation
❖Central reservation system
❖Inter-sell agencies
❖Global distribution system
❖Corporate bodies
❖Government sector
❖Hotel websites

Direct Reservation
A reservation request that a hotel receives directly from an individual or a group without a
mediator is known as a direct reservation. The direct reservation request is processed by the
reservation manger and his team of reservation assistant in large hotel. In case of a small
hotel the same may be processed even by receptionist
Central Reservation System
Central reservation system (CRS) is a computer-based reservation system, which enables
guests to make reservations in any of the participating lodging properties at any destination in
a single call. The central reservation office typically deals with direct guests, travel agents,
corporate bookers, etc. by means of toll-free telephone numbers. The CRS is of two types:
Affiliated system: In affiliated reservation systems, all the participating hotel units belong to
the same chain or group, like Welcome net by Welcome group of Hotels, Holidex by Holiday Inn
Hotels.
Non-affiliated system: Non-affiliated system is a subscription-based system, designed to
connect independent or non-chain properties, like the Leading Hotels of the World (LHW),
Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH). This enables non-chain properties to enjoy the
benefits of CRS.

Global Distribution System
Global distribution system (GDS) is a worldwide computerized reservation network, which is used as a single point of access for
reserving hotel rooms, airline seats, rental cars, and other travel-related items by travel agents, online reservation sites, and large
corporations. GDS provides a bundle of products and services to the prospective user across geographical boundaries
Intersell Agencies
An intersell agency is an agency that deals with many products such as hotel reservations, car rentals, travel arrangements, tour
operations, airline reservations, railway bookings, etc.
Corporate Bodies
Hotels also receive bookings from companies (MNC, FMCGs, pharmaceutical, etc.), non-governmental organizations and institutions
(which may be educational, financial, banking, etc.).
Government Sector
Hotels receive bookings from government sectors such as public sector undertakings, embassies, and consulates.
Hotel Websites
A hotel’s website is another potential source for receiving reservations. The website contains a link for reservation requests. By clicking
the link, guests can make a hotel reservation as per their requirements from the comforts of their house/office/cyber cafe.

Processing
Reservation
Request
Receiving Reservation
Determining Room
Accepting or Denying Reservation
Amending Reservation
Cancellation of Reservation
Reservation Reports

Importance of Reservation
Reservation is important for guest as well as for the hotel too. The reservation process is of vital importance to a
hotel as it:
▪Gives the first impression of the hotel to guests.
▪Sells the main product of a hotel (accommodation).
▪Generates customers for other departments.
▪Provides important management information to other departments.
Importance of Reservation for the Guest: A confirmed reservation has the following advantages for the guest:
▪Assurance about accommodation:
▪Choice in the type of accommodation
▪Type of room or suite as per the guest’s Preference of floor, view, and personal choice or low-floor room; sea
view/pool view/garden view/monument view room; smoking/non-smoking room; etc.
▪Receive correspondence at the hotel address

Types of
Hotel
Reservation
Systems
Whitney System of Reservation
It was developed in 1940 by Whitney Paper Corporation from New York,
hence the name. This is a conventional manual reservation system the
hotels used to follow during pre-computer days in the hotels. It contains
the following setup for reservation −
•Slip for request of accommodation reservation
•Whitney slip that records guest name, accommodation type, number, and
duration of stay
•Temporary/Permanent arrival slip
•Guest bill
•Guest registration card
•Correspondence file
Bedroom journal that records daily occupancy of the guest with date,
guest name, room type, and room number

There is no specific number of people to be considered as a group. Normally at least ten persons or more should amount of
business. So, a special discount is normally allowed for them. The group leader should be given special facilities; sometime his
discount depends on the number of persons of the group and the length of stay. While handling group reservation, we should
keep in mind finally at the last moment if the reservation is cancelled, the hotel will lose the normal business. So, considering the
reliability of the company/should be taken or not. While confirming the group reservation, it should be noted down that the party
has to give at least 15 days advance condition should be there saying that equivalent to one night’s stay of the group will be
charged. But this charge can be exempted considering
▪Number of persons of the group.
▪The volume of business you did and you are expecting to do in the future.
▪Relation between the party and the hotel.
Group reservations can involve a variety of contacts: guests, meeting planners, convention and visitors bureaus, tour operators,
and travel agents. Group reservations typically involve intermediary agents and require special handling. A group’s
representative deals with the hotel’s sales or reservations department. If enough rooms are available for the group, an agreed-
upon number of guestrooms, called a block, is set aside for the group’s members. Group members may be given a special
reservation identification code or reservation web address to use to reserve their rooms within the group’s assigned block. As
group members reserve rooms, the rooms in the group block are moved from “blocked” status to “booked” status. Unbooked
rooms in the group block may be released to the hotel’s available rooms inventory at a predetermined date—the cut-off date.
Group Reservation

Overbooking is a situation 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. In other words it is the number of additional reservations
need to achieve 100% occupancy. Overbooking for hotels is a revenue management strategy that helps to
maximize the total capacity and increase the Room revenue. But on the other hand overbooking for guests means
waiting and inconvenience that result in their dissatisfaction with the services. Below statistical and historical
data should be stored and processed by the reservation manager or revenue manager to calculate optimum
overbooking levels.
▪Total number of rooms available.
▪Confirmed reservations vs no-shows based on historical data.
▪Credit Card / Guaranteed reservations vs no-shows based on historical data.
▪Expected cancellations.
▪Predicted stay overs and predicted under stays.
▪Predicted Walk-in guests.
▪Room type wise overbooking levels.
Overbooking

▪Helps the hotel to achieve 100% occupancy by hedging against guests who do not arrive or cancel their
reservations.
▪Maximize expected revenue.
▪Optimizes the operations efficiency by increasing profitability.
▪Long term revenue and profit increases
▪Overbooking is a Low risk and the oldest most commonly used method to increase profitability.
▪Widely used strategy in hotel revenue management.
▪When overbooking done based on past statistics then chances of miscalculation decreases.
▪Compensation are normally cheaper than keeping a room empty.
▪Rules of refusing are predetermined and also acceptable.
▪Because hotel rooms are considered as perishable products, overbooking yields considerable impact on hotels
revenue.
Advantages of Overbooking:

❑ Do not justify the guest expectations which result to bad experience and reputation.
❑Additional financial loss for example guest staying at the hotel might have used other hotel facilities.
❑Guests can be negatively affected by it and therefore it is not good long-term strategy for hotels.
❑Negative reviews on internet eg. Social media, Tripadvisor,
❑Requires professionally trained and experienced staff to reduce risk of miscalculation.
❑Guests need to be walked to other hotels in case predicted overbooking is more than actual availability.
❑Reservations must be closely monitored to control overbooking.
❑Loss of room and other potential revenue.
❑Decreased customer loyalty.
❑Loss of hotel reputation.
❑Potential risk of denied services.
❑Lost future business from walked guest.
❑Negative word-of-mouth publicity.
❑If communicating compensation and process is not appropriate there is a risk of significant financial loss.
Disadvantages of Overbooking

CONTACT
SASIKUMAR NATARAJAN
EDUCATIONALIST & HOSPITALTIY TRAINER
Shasi28kumar@gmail.com

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