Professional Front Office Management: Pearson New International Edition

654 Pages·2013·17.143 MB·English

by  Robert Woods, Jack D. Ninemeier, David K. Hayes, Michele A. Austin

Pearson New International Edition

Professional Front Office Management
Robert Woods Jack D. Ninemeier
David K. Hayes Michele A. Austin
First Edition
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ISBN 10: 1-292-02698-7
ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02698-5
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ISBN 10: 1-292-02698-7
ISBN 10: 1-269-37450-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02698-5
ISBN 13: 978-1-269-37450-7
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P E A R S O N C U S T O M L I B R AR Y
Table of Contents
Glossary
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 1
1. Overview of the Lodging Industry
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 23
2. Front Office and the Guests: Planning for Quality Service
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 75
3. Overview of the Front Office Department
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 113
4. Front Office Property Management System
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 165
5. Managing Forecast Data
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 211
6. Revenue Management
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 259
7. Distribution Channel Management
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 315
8. Management of Data-Generating Front Office Subsystems
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 361
9. Reservation, Reception, and Room Assignment Management
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 401
10. Front Office and the Guests: Delivering Quality Service
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 443
11. Guest Charges, Payment, and Check-Out
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 495
12. Night Audit and Report Management
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 545
I
568491
13. Front Office: Hub of the Hotel
Robert H. Woods/Jack D. Ninemeier/David K. Hayes/Michele A. Austin 589
Index 641
II
Glossary
From the Glossary of Professional Front Office Management,First Edition,Robert H.Woods,
Jack D.Ninemeier,David K.Hayes,Michele A.Austin.Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education,Inc.
Published by Pearson Prentice Hall.All rights reserved.
1
Glossary
Abandoned property Property that is given up by someone who does not intend to reclaim it.
Acceptance (contract) Agreement by the second party in a contract to the terms and
conditions of the offer.
Accessible (guestroom) Guestroom that is designed to accommodate persons with disabilities
by removing barriers that otherwise limit or prevent them from obtaining the services that
are offered.
Account Device used to show increases or decreases in the asset, liability, or owner’s
equity sections of the fundamental accounting equation.Because of the visual appearance
of accounts,accountants refer to them as T accounts.
Accountability Obligation created when a staff member is delegated duties and responsi-
bilities from higher levels of management.
Accounting Process of summarizing and reporting financial transactions.
Accounts payable (A/P) Money owed by a hotel.
Accounts receivable (A/R) Money owed to a hotel.
Address verification service (AVS) Company that,for a fee,allows access to its database
of current addresses.
ADR index Ratio measure computed as
ADR of selected hotel
= ADR index
ADR of that hotel’s competitive set
Advance deposit Partial or full payment made for guestroom rental before the guest’s arrival.
Advance deposit account Account used by a hotel to record prepayments by guests.
Aging accounts receivable report Detailed list of accounts receivable based on the length
of time the receivable has been owed.Often these reports group accounts receivable into
categories of less than 30 days,30 to 60 days,60 to 90 days,and more than 90 days.
All-inclusive (rate) Special rate that typically includes all guest meals and unlimited beverages
as well as the use of specifically identified hotel amenities and services.
All-suite hotel Lodging property in which all guestrooms are suites.
American Plan (AP) Special rate that includes specifically identified guest meals (typically,
breakfast,lunch,and dinner).
Archive Process of preserving records or documents (when used as a verb). Records or
documents that have been preserved (when used as a noun).
Arrival An arriving guest. Arrivals are typically counted by the number of individuals.
Used as in,“There will be 300 arrivalstonight,including 150 children.”
Arrival list PMS report that details the number and names of guests arriving at the hotel
during the report period. The arrival list often contains additional information such as
each guest’s departure date,room type requests,and room rate.
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GLOSSARY
Asset Item owned by a business, for example; cash on hand, money in checking or other
accounts,money owed to the business,inventories,property,equipment and furnishings.
Atrium Large, central, and open lobby area of a hotel designed to project an ornate and
spectacular reception for guests and others entering the property.
Attorney Trained and licensed person who represents others in issues related to laws.
Attrition Difference between the original room request and the actual purchase of a group.For
example,a group might reserve 100 rooms but use only 50 rooms.A hotel’s standard contract
for group rooms may stipulate that the group must pay an attrition penalty for over-reserving.
Audit Process of verifying records for correctness and completeness.
Authorize payment card To ensure a card’s validity and payment ability and capacity.
Auto-attendant System in which incoming calls transferred from the telephone system are
answered automatically as they are received.In most cases,callers are asked to select where
they want the system to direct (route) their call from a list of options.
Automated wake-up System in which guests (or front office staff) may use the hotel’s
telephone system to program a prerecorded call to be received in a guest’s room at a time
requested by the guest.
Availability forecast Estimate of the number of rooms that remain to be sold.
Average daily rate (ADR) Average selling price of all guestrooms for a given time period.
The formula for ADR is as follows:
Total room revenue (cid:2) Total number of rooms sold
Back-office accounting Process of summarizing and documenting the financial activities
and condition of the entire hotel.
Back-office accounting system Automated (or manual) system of data collection and
reporting used by a hotel to summarize and document its financial activity and position.
Bar For-profit business serving alcoholic beverages to guests seated at a counter (bar).
Limited table service may be available.
Bed and breakfast inn Very small (one to several guestrooms) property owned and managed
by person living on-site. These businesses typically offer at least one meal daily. Also
called B&B.
Bell services attendant Entry-level hotel employee who assists guests with luggage and who
may deliver newspapers, dry cleaning, and other guest-related incidentals to guestrooms.
Also called bell staff.
Benchmarking Search for best practices and an understanding of how they are achieved in
efforts to determine how well a hospitality organization is doing.
Best practice Process or practice unofficially considered to be an industry standard that is
used by professionally operated properties.
Blackout date Any day in which the hotel will not honor a negotiated rate.Blackout dates
should be identified at the same time the hotel and the client agree on a negotiated rate.
Common blackout dates include New Year’s Eve and other times the hotel believes its best
interests are served by disallowing the negotiated rate.
Block Rooms reserved exclusively for members of a specific group.A block consists of all
rooms held (reserved) by the hotel for the exclusive use of that group.To set aside rooms
in this manner effectively creates a “block” of reservations for the group. Sometimes
referred to as a group block.
Block (funds) Amount by which a card’s available credit (if a credit card) or balance (if a
debit card) is reduced.Also called a hold.
Bona fide occupational qualification (BOQ) Qualification to perform a job that is judged
reasonably necessary to safely or adequately perform all tasks within the job.
Bonding Purchasing an insurance policy against the possibility that an employee will steal.
Booking pace Term that refers to the amount of future demand for rooms (or for hotel
services such as catering).Often shortened to pace.
Bookkeeping Process of initially recording financial transactions.
Bottom-up selling Tactic to first sell the hotel’s least expensive rooms.
3
GLOSSARY
Brand loyalty Interest of guests or potential guests to revisit and recommend a hotel (or
restaurant).
Brand proliferation Oversaturation of the market with different brands.
Bucket check Industry term for a systematic examination of guests’ folios to ensure the
accuracy of information.Bucket checks typically include rate verification,credit monitoring,
and confirmation of departure date and guestroom assignment.
Budget (economy) limited-service hotel Lodging property within the limited-service
segment that offers low-priced guestrooms and few,if any,amenities other than a compli-
mentary continental breakfast or coffee service.
Business case Advantages that are objectively presented whenever possible in support of a
proposal to improve business.
Business plan Plan of goals and activities that will be addressed within the next 12 months
to move the organization toward attainment of its mission.
Business traveler Person who travels primarily for business reasons.Such guests often have
an expense account to defray reasonable travel costs.
Call accounting system System in a hotel used to establish telephone charges,document
calls made,and determine the amount to be assessed to guests for use of the telephone.
Call-around Telephone “shopping”technique in which a hotel staff member calls competitive
hotels to inquire about room rates and availability.The information is used by the calling
hotel to help determine room rates.
Call records Listing of the source, length, and destination of each telephone call made
within a hotel during a specific time period.
Camp/park lodge Sleeping accommodations in parks and other nature conservation
areas owned by government agencies and often operated by for-profit management
companies.
Cancellation number Series of numbers,letters,or both,that identifies the cancellation of
a specific hotel reservation.
Career ladder Plan that projects successively more responsible professional positions
within an organization or industry.Career ladders allow an employee to plan and schedule
developmental activities judged necessary to assume higher-level positions.
Carrier (telephone) Company providing a hotel’s telephone service.In many areas this will
be a local carrier (for local calls) and a separate, designated, long-distance carrier. The
telecommunications industry continues to consolidate services;thus,some hotels now use
the same carrier for local and long-distance calls.
Cashier’s drawer Cash,checks,payment card copies,and other financial records for which
an employee (cashier) is responsible.
CAT 5 cable Category five cable;the preferred cable quality to use when providing certain
forms of high-speed Internet access to a standard computer.
Caterer For-profit business that produces food for groups at off-site locations.Some caterers
have banquet space available for on-site use by groups desiring foodservices.
Central reservation system (CRS) Entity,operated by a franchisor or independently affili-
ated,that offers potential guests the opportunity to make reservations at the entity’s affiliated
(branded) hotels by telephone,fax,or the Internet.Used as in,“What percentage of our tran-
sient business last month was generated through the CRS?”
Centralized accounting system Financial management system that collects accounting data
from one or more hotels and combines and analyzes the data at a different (central) site.
Certified public accountant (CPA) Designation given to an individual who has passed a
national qualifying examination related to accounting practices and principles.CPA designa-
tions are granted and administered by state boards of accountancy.
Chapter (association) Group that is a subset of an association.Chapters are often formed on
the basis of geography (e.g.,a state association chapter is a subset of a national association).
Chargeback Payment card charges disallowed (reversed) when a cardholder successfully
protests the legitimacy of the charge or because the hotel made an error in processing a
charge.When a chargeback request is initiated by a cardholder, the hotel must respond
promptly,or else the request will usually be granted.
4
GLOSSARY
Check guarantee service Service that ensures checks accepted by a merchant (e.g.,hotel)
that follows specific procedures will be collectible.
Check verification service Process of matching check writers with databases of acceptable
and unacceptable accounts to minimize the acceptance of bad checks.
City ledger Set of accounts used to record charges to and payments from a hotel’s nonreg-
istered guests.Examples include persons not staying in the hotel who purchase the hotel’s
meeting space,food,or beverages.
Civil laws Laws (rules) that are primarily established by governmental edict or legislation.
Many civil laws evolved from the time of the Roman Empire.
Commercial foodservice operation Foodservices offered in hotels and restaurants and
other organizations whose primary financial goal involves generation of profits from the
sale of food and beverage products.
Common laws Laws (rules) that evolved from customs in the Middle Ages in England
and that form the foundation for many contemporary laws in the United States.
Comp Short for complimentaryor no chargefor a product (room) or service.
Compensatory damages Monetary amount intended to compensate injured parties for
actual losses or damage they incurred (e.g.,medical bills and lost wages).Also known as
actual damages.
Competitive set Group of competing hotels to which an individual hotel’s operating
performance is compared.Often referred to as the comp set.
Concierge Individual or individuals within a full-service hotel responsible for providing
guests with detailed information about local dining and attractions as well as assisting
with related guest needs.
Concierge level Section of a hotel (usually with restricted access) reserved for special
guests who pay a higher rate.
Condominium Lodging property in which units are individually owned. In some condo-
minium properties, units can be placed into a rental pool with resulting guest fees split
between the owner and the company managing the units.Also called condo.
Condotel Hotel with several floors dedicated to condominium units.Condo owners typically
have access to the property’s amenities.
Conference center Specialized hospitality operation specifically designed for and dedicated to
the needs of small- and medium-size meetings of from 20 to 100 people.
Confirmation number Number (or combination of numbers and letters) that identifies a
specific guest reservation.
Consideration (contract) Element in a legal contract that relates to money,property,or a
promise exchanged for the promise made in a contract.
Consortia rate Room rate given to a guest whose room is booked by selected travel agencies.
Continental breakfast Morning meal that includes coffee,juices,and pastries.An upscale
continental breakfast may include additional items such as fruit,hot and cold cereals,and
milk and yogurt.Most limited-service hotels offer a complimentary continental breakfast
as a guest amenity.
Continuous quality improvement (CQI) Ongoing efforts within the hotel to better meet
(or exceed) guests’expectations and to find ways to perform work with better,less costly,
and faster methods.
Contract Legally enforceable agreement or promise involving two or more parties.
Contract (express) Contract that involves oral or written words.
Contract (implied) Agreement that is not in writing but that is created by the behavior of
both parties who suggest that they are acting under an agreement.
Contract-management company-operated noncommercial foodservices Type of non-
commercial foodservices operation in which the program is managed and operated by a
for-profit management company.
Controller Individual (or department) in a hotel responsible for maintaining the back-office
accounting system.
Convention and visitors bureau (CVB) Organization generally funded by taxes levied on
overnight hotel guests that seeks to increase the number of visitors to the area it represents.
5