GLOSSARY OF FRONT OFFICE TERMS

1. Accounts Receivable : A company, organization or individual, registered or not, who has an

outstanding bill with the hotel.
2. Adjoining Rooms : Two rooms side by side with a common wall without a door on the
common wall.
3. Advance Deposit : Payment of money by the guest on a room reservation that the hotel is
holding.
4. After Departure : (AD) A late charge.
5. Allowance : A reduction to the folio, as an adjustment either for unsatisfactory service or for
a posting error. Also called a “REBATE”.
6. American Hotel and Lodging Association : (AH & LA) A federation of regional and state
associations composed of individual hotel and motel properties throughout the Americas.
7. American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) : A professional association of travel agents
and tour operators.
8. Average Room Rate or Average Daily Rate : Computed by dividing the rooms revenue by
the number of rooms occupied.
9. Back to Bank : A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged
by tour operators so rooms are never vacant.
10. Bank : Coins and small bills given to a cashier for making change.
11. Bed and Breakfast : (B & B). The room tariff includes the charge for the room and a
continental breakfast.
12. Bed Board : A wooden board placed under the mattress to provide a firmer sleeping
surface.
13. Blanket Reservation : A block of rooms held for a particular group with individual members
requesting assignments from that block.
14. Bucket : The file that holds the guest folio, often recessed in the counter top. Also known as
“Cashier’s Well”
15. Cabana or Kababa : A room on the beach or near the swimming pool separated from the
main building, used for changing.
16. Cancellation : A guests request to the hotel to void a reservation previously made.
17. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) : A television screen or monitor that displays information put out
by the computer.
18. Check-in : All the procedures involved in receiving the guest and completing the registration
sequence.
19. Check-out : All the procedures involved in the departure of the guest and the settlement of
the account.
20. City Ledger : An accounts receivable ledger of non registered guests.
21. Commercial Hotel : A transient hotel catering to a business clientele.
22. Commercial Rate : A reduced room rate given to business persons to promote occupancy.
23. Confirmed Reservation : The hotels agreement, usually in writing, to the guest’s
reservation request.
24. Cut off Date : That date on which the block of unreserved rooms are released for general
sale.
25. Day Rate : A reduced charge for occupancy of less than overnight; usually half the daily
rate, for less than six hours arrival before check-out time, also used when the party arrives and
departs the same day.
26. Did not Stay (DNS) : Means the guest left almost immediately after registering.
27. Duplex : Two rooms on two different floors with a private staircase connecting the two
rooms.
28. Efficiency Room : Accommodations that include kitchen facilities.
29. Fam Trip : Familiarization trip taken by travel agents at little or no cost to acquaint
themselves with properties and destinations.
30. Folio : A weekly bill of the hotel for keeping transient account receivable records. Also
called “Guest Bill” or “Account Card”
31. Guest History Card : A record of the guests visits including rooms assigned, rates, special
needs and credit rating.
32. Hard Copy : Computer term for material that has been printed on a paper rather than
merely displayed on the monitor.
33. Hollywood Bed : Twin beds joined by a common headboard.
34. Hospitality Room : A room hired by a hotel guest on an hourly basis in order to entertain
his own guests.
35. Hot List : A list of lost or stolen credit cards furnished to hotels and other retailers by credit
card companies.
36. House Count : The number of registered guests in the hotel.
37. Housekeeper’s Report : A linen room summary of the status of guest rooms used by the
front office to verify the accuracy of the room rack.
38. Hubbart Room Rate Formula : A basis for determining room rates.
39. Information Rack : An alphabetical listing of registered guests.
40. Junior Suite : One large room with a partition separating the living room furnishings from
the bed room furnishings.
41. Lanai : A Hawaiian term for veranda: A room with a balcony usually overlooking gardens or
swimming pool.
42. Late Charge : A departmental charge that arrives at the front desk for billing after the guest
has checked out.
43. Late Checkout : A departing guest who remains beyond the checkout hour with permission
of the front desk and thus without charge.
44. Lockout : Denying the guest access to his room, usually because of an unpaid bill.
45. Log Book : A record of activities maintained by several operating departments. Also used to
record guest complaints.
46. Mail and Key Rack : A piece of front office equipment where both mail and keys are stored
by room number.
47. Master Key : One key controlling several pass keys and opening all the guest rooms on one
floor; also called a Floor Key.
48. Miscellaneous Charge Order (MCO) : Airline voucher authorizing the sale of services to
the guest named on the form, with payment due from the airline.
49. Morning Call : A wake-up telephone call made by the telephone operator at the guest’s
request.
50. Murphy Bed : A standard bed that folds or swings into a wall or cabinet in a closetlike
fashion.
51. NCR 2000 : A front office posting machine manufactured by the National Cash Register
Company, USA.
52. Night Audit : A daily reconciliation of accounts receivable that is completed during the night
shift.
53. Off-Season Rate : A reduced room rate charged by resort hotels when demand is lowest.
54. On Change : The status of a room recently vacated but not yet cleaned for a new occupant.
55. Out-Of-Order (OOO) : The room is not available for sale because of some planned or
unexpected shutdown of facilities.
56. Over and Short : A discrepancy between the cash on hand and the amount that should be
on hand.
57. Overstay : A guest who wishes to extend his stay beyond the scheduled date of departure.
58. Paid In Advance (PIA) : A room charge that is collected prior to the arrival of the guest : it is
the usual procedure when a guest is unknown and has scanty baggage, and wit some motels it
is standard procedure for all guests.
59. Paid-Outs : Money disbursed to guests either as advances or loans or to balance the
account, charged to their account like other departmental charges.
60. Parlour : A living room not used as a bedroom.
61. Pass Key : A submaster key limited to a set of rooms (12-16) and allowing access to no
other rooms; usually given to chambermaids.
62. PBX : Private Branch Exchange. A telephone switchboard
63. Penthouse : A luxurious suite of rooms located at the topmost floor of the hotel, opening
onto the terrace. It may have a skylight.
64. POS : Point of Sale
65. Preassign : Reservations are assigned and specific rooms blocked before the guest arrives.
66. Preregistration : A procedure in which the hotel completes the registration prior to the
guest’s arrival; used with groups and tours to reduce congestion at the front desk.
67. Rack Rate : The standard rate quoted on the printed tariff card.
68. Referral : A reservation system for independently owned properties developed to counter
the reservation advantages of the chains and their affiliates.
69. RNA - Registered, Not Assigned. A guest who has registered but is waiting for a specific
room assignment until space becomes available.
70. Residential Hotels : A hotel catering to long term guests who have made the property their
home or residence. Payment is on monthly basis.
71. Resort : A hotel that caters to vacationing guest providing recreational and entertainment
facilities.
72. Rollaway Bed : A portable bed with wheels that can be put in a room as an extra bed.
73. Room Count : The number of occupied rooms in the hotel.
74. Rooming a Guest : The entire precedure by which the desk greets and assigns new
arrivals and the bell staff directs them to their rooms.
75. Rooming List : The list of names furnished by a group in advance of arrival and used by the
hotel to preregister and preassign the party.
76. Room Rack : A piece of front office equipment representing the guest rooms in the form of
metal pockets arranged floorwise in the same sequence, with colour coding and symbols to
identify the type of room and their facilities.
77. Room Service : Food and beverage service provided in the privacy of the guest room by
the designated room service waiter.
78. Service Charge : A percentage (usually from 10 - 20 per cent) added to the bill for
distribution to service employees in lieu of direct tipping.
79. Skipper : A guest who leaves the hotel without settling his bill.
80. Sleeper : 1. A departed guest whose room rack slip remains in the rack giving the
appearance of an occupied room.
2. A person staying in the hotel room without the knowledge of the hotel.
3. A red slip put on the room rack to block a room for the arrival of a VVip.
81. Sleep out : A room that is taken, occupied and paid for but the guest does not sleep in it
during the night.
82. SPATT (Special Attention) : A label assigned to important guests designated for special
treatment. Also used for physically challenged visually impaired etc. guests.
83. Stayover : All registered guests who remain overnight.
84. Turn Away : To refuse walk-in business because rooms are unavailable; the guest so
refused.
85. Turn-down : An evening service rendered by the house-keeping department which replaces
soiled bathroom linen and prepares the bed for use.
86. Turn-in : The sum deposited with the general cashier by the departmental cashier at the
close of each shift.
87. Understay : A guest who checks out before the scheduled date of departure.
88. Upgrade : To move a registered guest to a better room or class of service.
89. VIP (Very Important Person)
90. Voucher : The form used by the operating departments to notify the front desk of the
charges incurred by a particular guest; A form furnished by a travel agent as a receipt for a
client’s advance reservation payment.
91. Walking a Guest : To refuse accommodation to a guest with a confirmed reservation due to
unavailability of rooms and who is sent to another hotel of similar standard for a day.
92. Walk-in : A guest without a reservation who requests for accommodation.
93. Credit Limit : This is the limit of amount of money up to which the guest is allowed credit
facility. After the limit is reached the hotel requests the guest to clear his bill either partly or fully.
94. D.G.C.A. Director General of Civil Aviation.
95. D.O.T. Department of Tourism.
96. D.N.A. Did Not Arrive/
97. E.C.O. Express Check Out. An activity which involves compilation and early morning
distribution of guest folios to all those guests who are expected to check out that morning.
98. F.E.R.A. Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.
99. F.H.R.A.I. Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India.
100. F.I.T. Free Independent Traveller.
101. Franking Machine : A machine used for printing postage stamp value on the envelope.
102. G.I.T. Group Inclusive Tour.
103. G.O.I. Government of India.
104. I.A.A.I. International Airports Authority of India.
105. I.A.T.A. International Air Transport Association
106. I.C.A.O. International Civil Aviation Organisation
107. I.D.D. International Direct Dialling.
108. I.L.O. International Labour organisation
109. I.C. Integrated Circuit.
110. T.A.A.I. Travel Agents Association of India.
111. U.F.T.A.A. Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association.
112. W.T.O. World Tourism Organisation.

REPORTING AND PRESENTING STATISTICS

1. Potential room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of lettable rooms * 100

2. Actual room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms available * 100

3. House count = (No. of guests) brought forward + arrivals of the day – Departure for the
day

House count is the total no. of guests staying in a hotel on a particular day at a given
point of time.
4. Double occupancy % is the % of rooms occupied by two persons.

Double occupancy % = house count- No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms sold* 100

5. Bed occupancy % = No. of beds occupied / Total no. of beds * 100

6. Single occupancy % = 100 – Double occupancy %

7. Local occupancy % = local in house / house count * 100

8. Foreign occupancy % = foreigners in house / house count * 100

If either local or foreign occupancy % is given the following formulae may also be used:

Foreign occupancy % = 100 – local occupancy %

Local occupancy % = 100 – foreign occupancy %

9. Ave. rate per room = Total revenue from room sales / total no. of rooms sold
10. Ave. rate per guest = Total revenue from room sales / house count

11. Percentage no- shows = No. of room no shows / No. of room reservations * 100

12. % walk ins = No. of room walk ins / total no. of room arrivals * 100
13. % overstays = No. of overstay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100

14. % understays = No. of understay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100

15. Occupancy % = No. of rooms occupied / No. of rooms available * 100

16. Potential ave. double rate = double room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as
doubles

17. Potential ave. single rate = Single room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as
singles * 100

18. Forecasted rooms revenue = rooms available * occ. % * ave. daily rate

CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS (Star Classification)

The department of Tourism classification functioning hotels under the star system, into five categories from
1-star to 5-star for this purpose a permanent Committee, the Hotel and Restaurant Approval and Classification
Committee has been set up which inspects the applicant hotels to assess their suitability or otherwise for
award of the star category and are placed on the approved list of the Department. Approved hotels become
eligible to various fiscal relief and benefits. The department intercedes on behalf of such hotels whenever
necessary to ensure that their needs get priority consideration from various concerned authorities. These
hotels also get worldwide publicity through tourist literature published by the Department of Tourism and
distributed by the Government of India Tourist Offices in India and abroad. Approved hotels become eligible
for foreign exchange for their import of essential equipment and provisions and for their advertising, publicity
and promotion under the Hotel Incentive Quota Scheme.

To be eligible to apply for classification hotel must fulfill the following minimum basic requirements:

i) The Hotel must have at least 10 lettable bedrooms.

ii) Carpet areas in respect of rooms and areas of bathroom should by and large adhere to the following
limits: -

Categories of Hotel Area standard for bedrooms/bathrooms

 • 5 Star/5 Star Deluxe Hotels 180 sq.ft.

Single - 200 sq.ft.

Double - 45 sq.ft.

Bathrooms -
• 4 Star & 3 Star Hotels 120 sq.ft.

Single A/C and 140 sq.ft.

Single Non A/C - (Extra area may be provided if twin beds are to be
provided)
Double A/C and
36 sq.ft.
Double Non A/C -

Bathrooms -
• 2 Star & 1Star Hotels 100 sq.ft.

Single A/C and 120 sq.ft.

Single Non A/C - (All rooms should have proper ventilation

Double A/C and And ceiling fans)

Double Non A/C - 30 sq.ft. Or

Bathrooms - subject to local bye-laws

Failure to satisfy these conditions will disqualify a hotel for consideration.

TYPES OF ROOMS

1. SINGLE ROOM :

Room having a single bed. Room meant for one person. Abbreviation - or s.

2. DOUBLE ROOM :

Room having a double bed (one large bed). It is meant for two persons. Abbreviation + or D.

3. TWIN ROOM :
Room having two single beds, separated from each other. The room is meant for two persons. Abbreviation
= or T.

4. TWIN DOUBLE ROOM :

Room with two double beds, separated from each other and meant for four persons. It is also called as double
double room.

5. HOLLYWOOD TWIN ROOM :

Room with two single beds having common head board. It is meant for two persons.

6. PARLOR :

Sitting or living room not used as a bed room.

7. STUDIO ROOM :

Parlor set-up with one or two studio beds or sofa-cum-beds.

8. SUITE :

Parlor connected with one or more bedrooms. Expensive, being larger with more rooms for privacy. Has more facilities like TV, fridge,
mini bar, extra complementary, etc.

9. LANAI :

Hawaiian term for a room with a balcony that overlooks a garden or swimming pool.

10. JUNIOR SUITE :

One large room partitioned into a parlor and a bed room.

11. EFFICIENCY ROOM :

Room with a kitchenette attached. Mainly found in motels and residential hotels.

12. DUPLEX :

Set of rooms which are not at the same level but are situated on two different floors. The parlor and the bed
room are connected with a staircase. One of the most expensive suites.

13. PENTHOUSE SUITE :

Suite located to on the topmost floor of the hotel. A part of the room can be open to the sky or with a glass
roof. Very expensive and exclusive suite.

14. CABANA :
Located close to the swimming pool or beach. Has shower and changing facilities. May have been furnished in
bamboo for attractive appearance.

15. INTERCONNECTING ROOMS :

Two adjacent rooms allowing entry from one to the other through a connecting door. The connecting door is
kept locked if the rooms have to be sold to two different guests separately.

16. HOSPITALITY ROOM : A room hired by a guest on hourly basis to entertain his guest. It is generally a
banquet room.

17. ADJOINING ROOMS :

Rooms with a common wall but no connecting door.

18. ADJACENT ROOMS :

Rooms close to each other, perhaps across the hall or the corridor.

ADJOINING ROOMS:

Guest rooms located side by side without a connecting door between them

AFFILIATED HOTEL:
A hotel that is a member of a chain, franchise, or referral system. Membership
provides special advantages, particularly a national reservation system.

AIRLINE-RELATED GUESTS:
Airplane crew members and passengers who need emergency
accommodations.

ACCESS AISLE:
An aisle that is a necessary part of an accessible parking space.The aisle allows
disabled individuals with a device, such as a wheelchair, to enter and exit
vehicles and travel to the sidewalk or building entrance.

AIRPORT HOTEL:
A hotel located near a public airport. Although airport hotels vary widely in
size and service levels, they are generally full-service and are more likely than
other hotels to have in-room movies, computerized property management
systems, and call accounting systems.

ALL-EXPENSE TOUR:
A tour offering all or most services transportation,lodging, meals, sight-
seeing, and so on for a pre-established price. The terms"all-expense" and "all-
inclusive" are much misused. Virtually no tour rate covers everything. The
terms and conditions of a tour contract should specify exactly what is covered.

ALL-SUITE HOTEL:
A hotel that features suites. A suite is an accommodation larger than the
typical hotel room, with a living space separate from the bedroom. A suite can
also have a kitchenette or whirlpool.

AMENITY:
Service or item offered to guests or placed in guest rooms for the comfort and
convenience of guests, and at no extra cost. Examples are various guest
services (such as in-room entertainment systems, automatic check-out,free
parking, concierge services, and multilingual staff) in addition to an array
of personal bathroom items offered by most hotels and motels. Amenities are
designed to increase a hotel's appeal, enhance a guest's stay, and encourage
guests to return.

AMERICAN PLAN:
A room rate that includes three meals.

ATRIUM:
A guest room floor configuration in which rooms are laid out off a single-loaded
corridor encircling a multistory lobby space; also the multistory lobby space,
usually with a skylight.

AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION OF OUTWARD DIALING:

A feature of a call accounting system that immediately identifies the extension
from which an out going call is placed.

AUTOMATIC ROOM/RATE ASSIGNMENT:

Computerized assignment made through algorithms based on parameters
specified by hotel management officials. Rooms may be selected according to
predetermined floor zones (similar to the way in which guests are seated in a
dining room), or according to an index of room usage and depreciation.

AVERAGE OCCUPANCY:
A ratio that shows rooms sold over a fixed period of time as a percentage of
total available rooms in a property over the same period of time.

AVERAGE OCCUPANCY PER ROOM:

A ratio that shows the average number of paid guests for each room sold.
Calculated by dividing number of paid room guests by number of rooms sold.
Measures management's ability to use the lodging facilities.

AVERAGE ROOM RATE:

A ratio that indicates average room rate, and to what extent rooms are being
up-sold or discounted; calculated by dividing rooms revenue by number of
rooms sold. Also called average daily rate or ADR.

BACK OF THE HOUSE:

The functional areas of a hotel or restaurant in which employees have little or
no direct guest contact, such as kitchen areas,engineering and maintenance,
and the accounting department.

BAY:
The principal compartment, generally of a suite, that is the space equivalent
of a standard guestroom. A suite may have a single-bay or multiple-bay living
room

BED & BREAKFAST (B&B):

A small inn or lodge that provides a room and a breakfast. Often a B&B is in
a residential home setting and/or a historic building converted to a quaint
lodging facility.

BILLED-TO-ROOM CALL:
An operator-assisted call that allows guests to have an operator place their
calls and then advise the hotel of the charges.

BILLING CLERK:
The person responsible for charging to hotel guests all vouchers representing
food, beverages, room service, and merchandise purchases.

CABANA:
A guest room adjacent to the pool area, with or without sleeping facilities

CALL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM:

A system that is part of the telephone equipment that prices telephone calls
made by hotel guests and sends the information to the property management
system (PMS) for billing.
CALLING CARD:
A credit card for making telephone calls; issued by either the local phone
company or a long-distance company.

CALLING CARD CALL:

A call typically billed to a code number on a calling card issued by either the
local phone company or a long-distance company, usually with a per-call
surcharge.

CANCELLATION:
A reservation voided by a guest.

CANCELLATION HOUR:
A specific time after which a property may release for sale all unclaimed non-
guaranteed reservations, according to property policy.

CANCELLATION NUMBER:
A number issued to a guest who properly cancels are servation, proving that
a cancellation was received and acted upon.

CARD KEY:
A plastic card, resembling a credit card, used in place of a metal key to open
a guest room door. Card keys require electronic locks.

CASINO HOTEL:
A hotel that features legal gambling, with the hotel operation subordinate to
the gambling operation.

CENTER CITY HOTEL:

Full-service hotel located in a downtown area.
CENTRAL RESERVATION OFFICE:
Part of an affiliate reservation network. A central reservation office typically
deals directly with the public, advertises a central (usually toll-free) telephone
number, provides participating properties with necessary communications
equipment, and bills properties for handling their reservations.

CHAIN OPERATING COMPANY:

A firm that operates several properties, such as Holiday Inn Worldwide or
Hilton Hotels Corporation. Such an operator provides both a trademark and a
reservation system as an integral part of the management of its managed
properties.

CHECK-IN:
The procedures for a guest's arrival and registration.

CHECK-OUT:
The procedures for a guest's departure and the settling of his or her
account.(2) A room status term indicating that the guest has settled his or her
account,returned the room keys, and left the property.

COMMERCIAL AGENCY:
A travel agency that specializes in commercial business and usually has little
or no walk-in clientèle

COMMERCIAL HOTEL:
A property, usually located in a downtown or business district, that caters
primarily to business clients. Also called a transient hotel.

COMMERCIAL TRAVEL:
Travel for business purposes, not for pleasure.

COMPLIMENTARY OCCUPANCY PERCENTAGE :

A ratio that shows the percentage of occupied rooms that are complimentary
and generate no revenue;calculated by dividing complimentary rooms for a
period by total available rooms for the same period. Sometimes referred to
simply as complimentary occupancy.

COMPLIMENTARY ROOM:
A complimentary or "comp" room is an occupied room for which the guest is
not charged. A hotel may offer comp rooms to a group in ratio to the total
number of rooms the group occupies. One comp room may be offered for each
fifty rooms occupied, for example.

CONCIERGE:
An employee whose basic task is to serve as the guest's liaison with hotel and
non-hotel attractions, facilities, services, and activities.

CONDOMINIUM HOTEL:
A hotel in which an investor takes title to a specific hotel room, which remains
in the pool to be rented to transient guests when ever the investor is not using
the room. The investor expects to receive a gain from the increase in value of
the hotel over time, as well as receive ongoing income from the rental of his
or her room.

CONDUCTED TOUR:
A pre - arranged travel program, usually for a group,that includes escort
service.
A sight-seeing program, such as a city tour, conducted by a guide. Also called
an escorted tour.
CONFERENCE CENTER:
A specialized hotel, usually accessible to major market areas but in less busy
locations, that almost exclusively books conferences,executive meetings, and
training seminars. A conference center may provide extensive leisure facilities.

CONFIRMED RESERVATION:
An oral or written statement by the supplier (a carrier, hotel, car rental
company, etc.) that he or she has received and will honor a reservation. Oral
confirmations have virtually no legal worth. Even written or telegraphed
confirmations have specified or implied limitations. For example, a hotel is not
obligated to honor a confirmed reservation if the guest arrives after 6 p.m.,
unless late arrival is specified. Confirmed reservations maybe either
guaranteed or non-guaranteed.

CONNECTING ROOMS:
Two or more guest rooms with private connecting door spermitting guests
access between rooms without their having to go into the corridor.

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST:
A small morning meal that usually includes a beverage, rolls, butter, and jam
or marmalade.

CONTINENTAL PLAN:
A room rate that includes continental breakfast.

CORPORATE HOTEL CHAIN:

Hotel organization that has its own brand or brands, which may be managed
by the corporate chain or by a conglomerate.
CROUPIER:
A casino employee who collects and pays bets and conducts game sat gaming
tables. Also called a dealer.

CRUISE SHIPS:
Passenger ships designed for vacationers. Today's cruise ships feature a
variety of activities and entertainment and can be thought of as floating resort
hotels.

CRUISE-ONLY AGENCY:
A travel agency that sells only cruises.

DAY RATE:
A special room rate for less than an overnight stay

DOMESTIC TOURISM:
Travel within the traveler's country of residence

DOORKNOB MENU:
A type of room service menu that a housekeeper can leave in the guest room.
A doorknob menu lists a limited number of breakfast item sand times of the
day that the meal can be served. Guests select what they want to eat and the
times they want the food delivered, and then hang the menu outside the door
on the doorknob. The menus are collected and the orders are prepared and
sent to the rooms at the indicated times.

DOUBLE:
A guest room assigned to two people.
In beverage operations, a drink prepared with twice the standard measure
of alcohol in one glass.
DOUBLE OCCUPANCY PERCENTAGE:
See Multiple Occupancy Percentage.

DOUBLE OCCUPANCY RATE:

A rate used for tour groups that bases the per-person charge on two to a
room.

DOUBLE-LOADED SLAB:
A guest room floor configuration in which rooms are laid out on both sides of
a central corridor.

DOUBLE-LOCKED ROOM:
An occupied room for which the guest has refused housekeeping service by
locking the room from the inside with a dead bolt.Double-locked rooms cannot
be accessed by a room attendant using a standard passkey

EARLY ARRIVAL:
A guest who arrives at the property before the date of his or her reservation.

EARLY MAKEUP:
A room status term indicating that the guest has reserved a nearly check-in
time or has requested his or her room to be cleaned as soon as possible.

ECO TOURISM:
Low-impact tourism that avoids harming the natural or normal environment.
In this relatively new approach to promoting enjoyment, as well as protection,
of the environment, tourists seek out environmentally-sensitive travel and/or
tours or vacations which, in some way, improve or add to their knowledge of
an environment
ESCORT:
A person, usually employed by a tour operator, who accompanies atour from
departure to return and serves as guide, trouble-shooter, etc.

ESCORTED TOUR:
A group of travelers traveling with a guide who has travel experience and has
set up an itinerary for the group.

EUROPEAN PLAN:
A room rate that does not include any meals.

EXECUTIVE FLOOR:
A floor of a hotel that offers exceptional service to business and other
travelers. Also called a business floor or the tower concept.

EXPECTED ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE REPORT:

A daily report showing the number and names of guests expected to arrive
with reservations, as well as the number and names of guests expected to
depart.

EXPECTED ARRIVALS LIST:

A daily report showing the number of guests and the names of guests expected
to arrive with reservations.

EXPECTED DEPARTURES LIST:

A daily report showing the number of guests expected to depart, the number
of stay-overs (the difference between arrivals and departures), and the names
of guests associated with each transaction.
FAMILIARIZATION (FAM) TOUR:
A reduced-rate, often complimentary, trip or tour offered to travel agents,
wholesalers, incentive travel planners, travel writers, broadcasters, or
photographers to promote a hotel or a destination.

FAMILY LIFE CYCLE:

A series of stages used to distinguish between types of travelers; variables
used to determine family life cycle stages are age, marital status, and
presence and ages of children.

FAMILY RATE:
A special room rate for parents and children occupying one guestroom

FLY CRUISING:
A travel trend in which tourists fly to a destination to begin a cruise, generally
as part of a travel package

FOLIO:
The guest's bill that all hotel and incidental charges are posted to.

FOREIGN INDEPENDENT TOUR (FIT):

A tour created for individuals or families who walk into a travel agency and
tell an agent what country or are at hey would like to visit and what they
would like to see

FRONT DESK:
The focal point of activity within the hotel, usually prominently located in the
hotel lobby. Guests are registered, assigned rooms, and checked out at the
front desk.
FRONT DESK AGENT:
A hotel employee whose responsibilities center on the registration process,
but also typically include preregistration activities, room status coordination,
and mail, message, and information requests.

FRONT OF THE HOUSE:

The functional areas of a hotel or restaurant in which employees have
extensive guest contact, such as the front desk (in hotels) and the dining
room(s).

FRONT OFFICE:
A hotel's command post for processing reservations, registering guests,
settling guest accounts, and checking guests in and out

FULL-SERVICE AGENCY:
A travel agency that handles all types of travel for consumers.

FULL-SERVICE HOTEL:
A hotel with a full range of services service and amenities which may include
some or all; on site restaurant and lounge, meeting facility, pool, fitness
center, business center, etc.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (GDS):

A network of internet reservation systems that provide a central place where
travelers and travel agents can check availability and reserve travel related
products like hotels, airline, car rentals, cruises, rail. Formed and managed by
the airline industry and includes system like Sabre, Apollo, Amadeus, and
Pegasus.

GRAND TOUR, THE:

An extended trip across the European continent that served as part of the
education of young British aristocrats. A typical tour began in England and had
the major cultural cities of Italy as its destination. In its early years, a tour
could last as long as 40 months. By the end of the Grand Tour era,the age of
the traveler had increased, and the length of the tour decreased;individuals
traveled more for pleasure than for an extended educational tour. The Grand
Tour era lasted from about 1500 to 1820.

GROUP PICK-UP:
The guest rooms that are actually rented by a group that are help in a Group
Reservation.

GROUP RESERVATIONS:
A block of multiple guest rooms that are being held under an individual or
business' name at a particular hotel for a specific date or range of dates.
Generally used for conventions, conferences, meetings,receptions, weddings,
etc.

GUEST COMMENT CARD:

Short questionnaires that lodging properties and food service establishments
ask their guests to fill out. Guest comments are used by the property to define
current markets and to improve the operation.

GUEST HISTORY CARD:

A record of the guest's visits including rooms as signed rates, special needs,
and credit rating.

GUEST HISTORY FILE:

A file containing guest history cards. It is maintained for marketing purposes
and is referred to for return visits.
GUEST INFORMATION SERVICES:
Automated information devices in public hotel areas that enable guests to
obtain information about in-house events and local activities.
.
GUEST PROFILE:
A list of the characteristics that a property's guests have in common. The
guest profile helps management to identify which market segments the
property appeals to and which segments the property wants to attract.

GUEST RELATIONS:
The establishment of personal rapport and goodwill with guests through
service and attention to individual guest needs. In a narrower sense, the
promotion of in-house products and services,the entertainment of VIPs, and
the handling of social functions--especially in are sort hotel.

GUARANTEED RESERVATIONS:
A reservation that is guaranteed by the guest to be paid even if the guest fails
to arrive. Often this guarantee is made by a company or with a credit card.

GUEST SERVICE MANAGER (GSM):

Manager of the guest services department.

GUEST SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (GSR):

Employees who provide check-in check-out, mail, key, message, and
information services for guests.

GUESTROOM CONTROL BOOK:

A book used to monitor the number of guestrooms committed to groups. It
controls guest room booking activity by providing the sales office with the
maximum number of guest rooms it can sell to groups on a given day. The
remaining guest rooms (and any unsold guest rooms allotted to groups) are
available for individual guests.

GUESTROOM KEY:
A key that opens a single guest room door if it is not double-locked.

GUESTROOM MAINTENANCE:
A form of preventive maintenance involving the inspection of a number of
items in the guest room, minor lubrication of doors and other equipment,
repair of obvious small problems and, when needed, the initiation of a work
order for more substantial problems or needs.

HOSPITALITY:
The cordial and generous reception of guests. Derived from the Latin term
hospes, "a guest."

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY:
Lodging and food service businesses that provide short-term or transitional
lodging and/or food.

HOSPITALITY SUITE:
A room used for entertaining (e.g., a cocktail party); usually a function room
or parlor.

HOTEL:
A large lodging facility, generally a hotel is full service and a multi-story
building with interior entrance guest rooms.

HOTEL CHAIN:
A group of affiliated hotels.

HOTEL GUEST CYCLE:

The sequence of phases that begins with pre- sale events, continues through
point-of-sale activities, and concludes with post-sale transactions. The phases
identify the physical contacts and financial exchanges that occur between
guests and various revenue centers within a lodging operation.

HOTEL MANAGEMENT COMPANY:

A company that is hired to professionally manage a hotel(s) for other owners.

HOTEL REPRESENTATIVE:
An individual who offers hotel reservations to wholesalers, travel agents, and
the public. A hotel representative or "rep" maybe paid by the hotels he or she
represents on a fee basis or by commission.Many hotel reps also offer
marketing and other services.

HOUSE LIMIT:
A guest credit limit predetermined by management officials.

HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT:
A department of the rooms division,responsible for cleaning the hotel's guest
rooms and public areas

INCENTIVE TRAVEL:
Travel financed by a business as an employee incentive.

INCLUSIVE TOUR:
A tour in which specific elements--air fare, hotels,transfers, etc.--are included
for a flat rate. An inclusive tour rate does not necessarily cover all costs.
INDEPENDENT FOOD SERVICE OPERATION:
An operation owned by an owner or owners with one or more properties having
no chain relationship.Menus, food purchase specifications, operating
procedures, etc. may differ among the owned properties.

INDEPENDENT HOTEL:
A hotel with no chain or franchise affiliation. It may be owned by an individual
proprietor or a group of investors.

IN-ROOM GUEST CONSOLE:

A multi-feature phone that may include such functions as two-way speaker
phone capability; a jack for portable computer use; an alarm clock; radio;
remote control of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning, television, and
room lights; energy management; and a theft alarm.

IN-ROOM MOVIE SYSTEM:

Guest room entertainment provided through a dedicated television pay
channel. Charges for the use of this in-room entertainment are posted to the
appropriate guest folio.

INN:
A smaller lodging facility, generally an inn is limited service and one to three
stories.

INTERNATIONAL TOURISM:
Travel people make outside their country of residence.

KING BED:
A bed approximately 78 inches by 80 inches
.
LANAI:
A guest room with a balcony or patio, overlooking water or a garden.

LANDMARK:
Distinguishing feature that stands out and provides a reference point for
orientation. Landmarks also provide travelers with information about direction
and distance.

LATE ARRIVAL:
A guest holding a reservation who plans to arrive after the property's
designated cancellation hour and so notifies the property.

LATE CHECK-OUT:
A guest who is being allowed to check out later than the property's standard
check-out time.

LIMITED SERVICE HOTEL:

A lodging facility that offers no or very few amenities, services or extra
facilities such as restaurants, pools, meeting rooms,etc. Generally an inn or
motel is limited service

LONG-TERM STAY/RELOCATION GUESTS:

Those individuals or families relocating to an area who require lodging until
permanent housing can be found.

LODGE:
A lodging facility that is generally small and often designed in located in a
rustic outdoors environment or activities such as; fishing, skiing,boating, Eco-
tours.
LODGING FACILITY: A
business that rents guest rooms to the public on a nightly or shorter term
range of dates, i.e. weekly, month to month.

LODGING INDUSTRY:
Lodging and food service businesses that provide short-term or transitional
lodging.

LUXURY HOTEL:
A hotel with high room rates that features exceptional service and amenities.

MASS TOURISM:
Wide-scale travel by a large number of people--not just the elite--brought
about by the increase in leisure time, discretionary income,and reliable and
inexpensive modes of transportation such as the automobile and airplane.

MASS TOURISTS:
Travelers participating in wide-scale travel designed for large numbers of
people.

MASTER FOLIO:
A bill that all charges for the members of a group are posted to.

MASTER KEY:
A key that can open all guest room doors that are not double-locked

MID-PRICE/EXTENDED-STAY HOTELS:
Hotel that caters mostly to persons who must be in an area for a week or
longer. The guest rooms of mid-price/extended-stay hotels have more living
space than regular hotel guestrooms, and may also have cooking facilities.
Guest rooms in these hotels tend to be less expensive than guest rooms in
full-service or all-suite hotels.

MID-RANGE SERVICE:
A modest but sufficient level of service that appeals to the largest segment of
the traveling public. A mid-range property may offer uniformed service,
airport limousine service, and food and beverage room service; a specialty
restaurant, coffee shop, and lounge; and special rates for certain guests

MOTEL:
A smaller lodging facility, generally a motel is limited service and one to two
stories with exterior entrance rooms that guest can drive up to. Often referred
to as motor hotel.

NATIONAL TOURISM OFFICE:

Primary government agency responsible for implementing national goals and
public policy with respect to tourism, and for providing information services to
international travelers

OCCUPANCY REPORT:
A report prepared each night by a front desk agent that lists rooms occupied
that night and also lists those guests expected to check out the following day.

OCCUPIED:
A room status term indicating that a guest is currently registered to the room
.
ONLINE RESERVATION SYSTEM:
An internet based system used by hotels that allows prospective hotel guests
to check availability and make reservations at the hotel.
OVERBOOKING:
Accepting reservations that exceed available rooms
.
OVERSTAY:
A guest who remains at the property after his or her stated departure date.

PACKAGE:
A special offering of products and services created by a hotel to increase sales.
There are weekend packages, honeymoon packages, sports packages, and so
on. A typical package might, for a special price, include the guest room, meals,
and the use of the property's recreational facilities.

PACKAGE TOUR:
A tour put together by a tour packager or operator.Travelers who buy the
package make the trips by themselves rather than with a large group. The
package offers, at an inclusive price, several travel elements which a traveler
would otherwise purchase separately--any combination of lodging; sight-
seeing; attractions; meals; entertainment; car rental; and transportation by
air, motor coach, rail, or even private vehicle. A package tour may include
more than one destination.

POINT OF SALE SYSTEM (POS):

Computerized systems that retail outlets such as restaurants, gift shops, etc,
enter orders and maintain various accounting information. The POS generally
interfaces with the property management system (PMS).

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PMS):

A computerized front desk system that manages hotel room inventory, guest
billing and interfaces with various other systems such as telephone, call
accounting, point of sale (POS),entertainment, etc.

PROPRIETARY BOOKING ENGINE:

A internet reservation system that is owned and operated by an individual
hotel or group of hotels to allow them to take reservation on their own website
without paying a fee to the GDS, third party booking engines or franchise
reservation systems

QUAD:
A guest room assigned to four people; may have two or more beds.

QUALITY GROUP:
The group of travelers for whom the quality of their vacation is of paramount
importance. They want and are willing to pay for first-class accommodations
and service.

QUEEN:
A bed approximately 60 inches by 80 inches

RACK RATE:
The current rate charged for each accommodation as established by the
property's management

RESERVATIONS:
A guest room that being held under an individual or business' name at a
particular hotel for a specific date or range of dates.

RESERVATIONS AGENT:
An employee, either in the front office or in a separate department, who is
responsible for all aspects of reservations processing.

RESERVATIONS DEPARTMENT:
A department within a hotel's rooms division staffed by skilled telemarketing
personnel who take reservations over the phone, answer questions about
facilities, quote prices and available dates,and sell to callers who are shopping
around.

RESIDENT MANAGER:
The manager in charge of the rooms division in amid-size to large hotel.
Sometimes resident managers are also in charge of security.

RESORT HOTEL:
A hotel, usually located in a desirable vacation spot, that offers fine dining,
exceptional service, activities unavailable at most other properties, and many
amenities.

ROOM BLOCK:
An agreed-upon number of rooms set aside for members of a group planning
to stay at a hotel.

ROOM DATA CARD:

A card used to record information concerning the basic characteristics and
major elements of an individual guest room

ROOM OCCUPANCY SENSOR:

A device that uses infrared light or ultrasonic sound waves to sense the
physical occupancy of a room. Sensors have the ability to turn on devices and
appliances such as lights, air conditioning, and heating whenever a guest
enters a space, and to turn these devices and appliances off when the guest
leaves.

ROOM RACK:
A card index system that is constantly updated to reflect occupied and vacant
rooms. In the evening, the room rack contains forms for only those registered
guests remaining for the night who are to be charged for rooms. A daily room
report can be prepared from the room rack.

ROOM RATE:
The price a hotel charges for overnight accommodation. See also Rack Rate.

ROOM STATUS:
Information about current and future availability of guestrooms in a lodging
property. Current availability is determined through housekeeping data.
Future availability is determined through reservations data.
Information about availability data which extends several days into the future
is important because it may affect the length of stay of in-house guests.

ROOM STATUS DISCREPANCY:

A situation in which the housekeeping department's description of a room's
status differs from the room status information that guides the front desk
employee in assigning rooms to guests.Discrepancies can seriously affect a
property's ability to satisfy guests and maximize room’s revenue.

ROOMING LIST:
A list of the guests who will occupy reserved accommodations. This list is
submitted in advance by the buyer.

ROOMS ALLOTMENT REPORT:

A report that summarizes rooms committed (booked or blocked), by future
date

ROOMS CHECKLIST:
A list, used for guest room (preventive)maintenance, of all the items in the
guest room with a brief notation opposite each item of the type of inspection,
repair, lubrication, adjustments, or cleaning activity to be performed.

ROOMS DISCREPANCY REPORT:

A report that notes any variances between front desk and housekeeping room
status updates. It often alerts management to investigate the possibility of
sleepers. See Sleeper.

ROOMS DIVISION:
The largest, and usually most profitable, division in a hotel. It typically consists
of four departments: front office, reservations,housekeeping, and uniformed
service.

ROOMS HISTORY REPORT:

A computer-based report that depicts there venue history and use of each
room by room type. This report is especially useful to those properties
employing an automatic room assignment function.

ROOMS STATUS REPORT:

A report that indicates the current status of rooms according to housekeeping
designations, such as: on-makeup, on-change,out-of-order, clean, and ready
for inspection.

SCIENCE TOURISM:
A subgroup of ecotourism in which laypersons travel with scientists and
students to help with scientific work at various sites throughout the world.
Science tourists often work very hard (even though they are paying for the
vacation) and make a contribution to a body of scientific knowledge.

SERVICE CHARGE:
A percentage of the bill (usually 10% to 20%) added to the guest charge for
distribution to service employees in lieu of direct tipping.

SIDE-BY-SIDE SUITE:
A suite that consists of two small bays, each with windows to the outside.

SINGLE BED:
A bed approximately 36 inches by 75 inches.

SKIPPER:
A guest who leaves without paying.

SLEEPER:
A vacant room that is believed to be occupied because the roomr ack slip or
registration card was not removed from the rack when the previous guest
departed.

SPA:
A mineral spring, or a locality or resort hotel near such a spring, to which
people resorted for cures (from Spa, a watering place in eastern Belgium).To
day, the word spa is used more loosely to refer to any fashionable resort
locality or hotel.

STAY OVER:
A room status term indicating that the guest is not checking out and will
remain at least one more night

STUDIO:
A guest room having one or two couches that convert into beds.

SUITE:
(1) A guest room with a parlor area in addition to a sleeping room,and
perhaps a kitchenette.
(2) Several pieces of furniture of similar design, usually sold together to
outfit a complete room.

SUITE HOTEL:
A hotel whose sleeping rooms have separate bedroom and living room or
parlor areas, and perhaps kitchenettes

TOUR:
Any pre-arranged (but not necessarily prepaid) journey to one or more places
and back to the point of origin.

TOUR BROKER:
An individual licensed and bonded by the Interstate Commerce Commission
to operate motor coach tours in the United States and, in some cases, Canada,
as permitted by the scope of his or her license. Also known as a motor coach
broker or tour operator.

TOUR OPERATOR:
A business that puts together travel tours and sells them directly to individuals
or through travel agencies.
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT:
The long-term process of preparing for the arrival of tourists; entails planning,
building, and managing attractions,transportation, accommodation, services,
and facilities that serve the tourist.

TOURISM ENCLAVE:
Self-contained resort complex that caters to all the needs of tourists who
arrive as part of a tour or other type of package.

TOURISM PLANNING:
The process of preparing for tourism development;a tool for addressing the
choices associated with tourism development.

TOWER:
A guest room floor configuration in which rooms are grouped around a central
vertical core.

TRANSIENT HOTEL:
Lodging operation that caters primarily to businesspeople; transient hotels
tend to be busiest Monday through Thursday.

TRAVEL CLUB:
A type of travel agency that charges an annual fee to its members and in
return offers packaged vacations to members at reduced prices.

TWIN:
A guest room with two twin beds.

TWIN BED:
A bed approximately 39 inches by 75 inches.
UNDER STAY:
A guest who checks out before his or her stated departure date

UPGRADE:
To move to a better accommodation or class of service.

VACANT:
A room status term indicating that the room has been cleaned and inspected,
and is ready for the arriving guest.

VILLAGE STAY:
An alternative form of tourism in which the tourist can experience life in a
rural place--fishing village, farm, historic village, etc.--by staying in the home
of a resident, in a dormitory, or in some other type of accommodation

VOICE MAIL:
A system that is part of the telephone equipment which provides for hotel
guests and staff to retrieve a message left by a caller.

WALK-IN GUEST:
A guest who arrives at a hotel without a reservation

WALKING A GUEST:
A situation in which a hotel is unable to honor a guest's reservation and helps
the guest find accommodation elsewhere.

WATER PARK HOTEL:

A hotel that offers a large recreational water elements such large pools,
multiple pools, slides or other water related venues.
YACHT CLUB:
A private club located near a large body of water, whose main purpose is to
provide facilities such as marinas to boat owners.

0 - CALL (Zero - Call):

A telephone call placed with an operator's assistance. Examples may include
calling- and credit-card calls, collect calls, and third-party calls.

ZONE LIGHTING:
Lighting designed to facilitate traffic from one space to another.

THIRD PARTY BOOKING ENGINE:

An internet site that provides a booking engine where a traveler can search a
large number of lodging facilities for availability and reserve a room. The
lodging facilities are not affiliated with the site and pay a fee for the business
that the third party site generates.Examples of third party sites include;
hotels.com, price line.com