RECEIVING AND PROCESSING Prepared by:

RESERVATION Phoebe Joyce C. Villanueva, MSTM

RESERVATION
is the process of booking rooms before the
arrival of the guests in order to ensure the
availability of a room at the time the guests
check-in.
RESERVATION SECTION
handles reservations for room bookings either
through the Telephone or direct personal contact.
TWO KINDS OF RESERVATION SYSTEMS
1. Manual Reservation
are primitive but effective reservation system with the
use of a combination of cards and charts displayed on a
wall, blocked out on the room status board commonly
called room rack recorded in a reservation book, a
ledger or a calendar book, or providing a rack card for
each room.
The traditional way of accepting reservation may be
time consuming and tiresome on the part of the
reservation clerk.
TWO KINDS OF RESERVATION SYSTEMS
2. Computerized Reservations
technology supports a new form of organization that
empowers employees by granting better access to
information, the marriage of technology and communication
has changed so much the business climate.
Central Reservations Services are computer based or
WATS (Wide Area Telephone System) line which receives
and documents reservations for a chain, franchise network or
referral organization.
TYPES OF RESERVATIONS
1. Regular Reservations – refers to agreement that a hotel makes
to hold a room until cut-off date and time. If the guest does not
arrive by that time, the room maybe sold to other guests.
2. Confirmed Reservations – applies when the terms of
reservation have been verified. Both the hotel and the reserving
party agree on the dates, rates and billing arrangement, room
type and other arrangement. This type of reservation is confirmed
to the guest verbally or in writing through mail, e- mail or fax.
TYPES OF RESERVATIONS
3. Guaranteed reservation – is an agreement that the hotel
makes to hold a room for a guest until the guest arrival and
check out time. In return, the guest assures Payment for the
room by credit card, company account or pre – payment.
Unless the reservation is properly cancelled, the guest is billed
for the room and taxed according to hotel policies and
procedures.
 PROCESSING RESERVATION ON FULL HOUSE
Full House – all rooms are occupied; no one is left for sale.

1. 1. The Front Office Room’s Division Manager must make sure that
the availability board reflects the days date either “on request” or
“close”.
2. All reservations for the day are not confirmed except for Top
Accounts for which permission to confirm will be asked from the
Resident Manager. Unconfirmed reservation will be waitlisted and
placed in the WAITLIST FORLDER BY DATE.
3. The Resident Manager / Rooms Manager will countercheck all
reservations with flight reservation and call up the companies
concerned. He reminds the company of the policy of the hotel
(6:00 P.M. Policy/ on arrival or GID arrival).
BOOKING OUT DURING FULL HOUSE
When there are limited rooms available, priority is
given to VIP (Very Important Person/Guests),
regular patrons and valued corporate accounts.
Others are booked out, meaning referred to other
hotels or properties. The Hotel would rather book the
guests who are likely to return and would have less
impact on sales.
THE SIX O’CLOCK POLICY
The six o’clock policy means that the guest with
reservation is expected to arrive not later than 6
o’clock P.M. of the arrival date. If the guest does not
show up with the cut-off date and time, the hotel has
the right to give his reserved room to waitlisted
guests using the room reserve for him. However,
some hotels may consider late arrivals if they are
not informed ahead of time especially when the
room is prepaid as in the case of guaranteed
bookings, the 6 o’clock policy does not apply.
 OVERBOOKING AND UNDERBOOKING
Overbooking happens when there are more
reservations accepted than the hotel rooms’
available capacity.
This situation is apparent of how inefficient the charting
(manual) or encoding (computerized) of reservation
bookings is being mismanaged.
Overbooking is practiced by the hotel to obtain maximum
occupants and safeguard them from cancellation, early
departure, and no – show.
 OVERBOOKING AND UNDERBOOKING
happens when three are so many rooms available and
very few reservations are coming into the hotel.
This situation occurs when the hotel is not aggressively
marketed.
Both exercises can cause loss to the capacity of the hotel to
generate revenue.
reservations section therefore should not underestimate its
responsibilities and the position it holds in the success of the
front office department system and procedure must be go
hand in hand with the people who are in-charged of manning
this section.
SOURCES OF RESERVATION
A source is classified as an individual or a body that
actually pays a hotel for its services. A reservation
agent has a large market from which he/she receives
reservations.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
1. GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (GDS)
which is a network of providers that brings products and
services geographically spread to the doorstep of consumer
anywhere in the world.
The notable GDS are the Sabre computer system, Amadeus
computer system, Galileo central reservation system,
Worldspan and the Scandinavian Multi Across Reservation for
Travel Agents (SMART).
These are computerized networks that can be accessed by any
traveler or other service providers to book rooms anywhere in
the world.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
1. GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (GDS)
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
2. TOUR OPERATORS
package tour programs and sells them in bulk worldwide.
They are wholesalers who coordinate with hotels, surface
transporters, airlines, cruise ships, tourist offices, etc. to put
together an all inclusive trip to a destination.
These programs are compiled by tour operators who market
them to travel agents.
Hotels prefer to deal with tour operators as room business
come in bulk.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
2. TOUR OPERATORS
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
3. TRAVEL AGENTS
are retailers located in convenient places in cities and up
country.
 They take a commission from the tour operators to sell their
travel packages.
Ordinary citizens would find attractive posters and brochures
displaying these travel packages in their show window.
 In addition to selling tour packages, travel agents also
independently promote hotel accommodation and airline
bookings taking advantage of special discounts and
commissions from these establishments.
Give 10% commission usually on rooms.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
4. AIRLINES
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
4. AIRLINES
business is sought after by hotels for the image factor and
certain volume business throughout the year.
Airline crews bring a lot of glamour to a property and
though the airline squeezes as much of discounts of room
rates because of their business, hotels still pursue them to get
business.
Airline contracts are negotiated by the management who
welcome such business.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
5. CORPORATE HOUSES
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
5. CORPORATE HOUSES
are another source of volume business because they
have better funds.
Rates are negotiated for minimum room nights a year.
The more the business the better is the rate.
The sales and marketing department of the hotel
actively pursues this business as they are lucrative and
reliable. Other aspects of the corporate business are
the company training programs and corporate meetings.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
6. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
6. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES
are source of lucrative business for hotels located at cities
where they have established office.
Diplomatic officials travel throughout the year and a good
hotel would like to capture that business.
 Under this category, come the United Nations employees
who visit the city on assignment. The local UN office would
then be the source for bookings.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
6. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES
are source of lucrative business for hotels located at cities
where they have established office.
Diplomatic officials travel throughout the year and a good
hotel would like to capture that business.
 Under this category, come the United Nations employees
who visit the city on assignment. The local UN office would
then be the source for bookings.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
7. FREE INDIVIDUAL TRAVELERS (FIT)
FIT’s are individual guests who book rooms directly with
the hotel.
 They choose property based on the quality of service,
recommendations of others, image of the establishment,
budget and convenience.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
8. CENTRAL RESERVATION OFFICES (CRS)
These establishments are one-stop-shops and have
reservation tie-ups with all corners of the world.
 The central reservation system is ideal for independent
operators who have limited budgets to promote their
property worldwide.
 They register with Non-Affiliate reservation systems on a
subscription basis, like the Leading Hotels of the World,
Preferred Hotels, Distinguish Hotels, Steigenberger
Reservation System etc.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
9. HOTEL WEBSITES
Hotels have spent a lot of investment in making hotel
websites user friendly.
Guests can fill on-site reservation forms and send to the
hotel directly with all the relevant details.
They can also get instant confirmations.
 Websites have reached a level of sophistication that
offers virtual tours of the hotel before they choose a room.
TYPICAL HOTEL ROOMS TYPES
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
Adjacent Room: Two rooms beside each other across the
corridors.
Adjoining Room: Two rooms beside each other.
Cabana: A room with a sofa cum bed ideally situated beside
swimming pools or beaches.
Connecting Room: Two rooms with an interconnecting door, ideal
for a family.
Double Room: A room with a one King size double bed.
Executive Room: A room with one additional features like internet
connection, computer points, mini bars, etc. specially designed for the
business executive.
Single room: A room with a single room.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
Studio: A room with sofa-cum-bed.
Triplet: A double room with one extra rollaway bed.
Room Twin: A room with two single beds.
Quad: A room for four people fitted with twin beds and two
rollaway beds.
Queen: A room with a queen-sized bed for single or double
occupancy.
Junior Suite: A room with a seating parlor and a bed.
Double Suite: Two rooms, one serving as a living cum dining area
and a double bed.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF RESERVATION ARE:
Duplex Suite: Two suites on two floors with an interconnecting
stairs.
Executive Suite: Suite specially fitted for business executives.
Single Suite: Two rooms, one serving as a living cum dining area
and a single bed.
Tourist Huts: An independent suite detached from the main hotel.
They will be found in resorts for greater privacy and exclusively.
Some suites have independent mini-kitchen.
TYPES OF RATES AND PLANS
European plan (EP) : Charges for the room only
American plan (AP): Charges for room and meals
only.
Modified American plan (MAP): Charges for room plus
breakfast and lunch or dinner.
Continental plan: Charges for room and a continental
breakfast.
Bed and breakfast: Charges for room and English
breakfast.
MEAL MENUS RELATED TO PLANS.
A la Carte Menu
This is a menu in which each food item is separately
priced to give the guest choice to suit his or her taste
and budget.
Table d’hote Menu
This is a menu which prices the entire meal, irrespective
of whether the guest avails of the entire meal or not.
MEAL MENUS RELATED TO PLANS.
Breakfast Menu
There are three types of breakfast menus:
The English breakfast – juices, cereals, eggs to order, breakfast
meat like bacon, sausage or ham, toasts, and breads and
preserves like jam. Marmalade, and honey followed by tea.
The Continental breakfast – assorted rolls, preserves, tea or
coffee
American breakfast – an English breakfast with the addition of
waffles or pancake with maple syrup for the sweet toothed,
followed by coffee.
MEAL MENUS RELATED TO PLANS.
Lunch Menu -These can vary from elaborate meals or
light meals depending on the purpose and culture of the
guest.
Dinner menus - These are elaborate as guests have
more time and leisure for eating.
Buffet Service - It is a self-service where food is
displayed on the table.
 CODE STANDS FOR Room Status Report
OCC Occupied Occupied by paying guest
VR Vacant Ready Vacant room, already made up and ready for
occupancy
VD Vacant Dirty Vacated but not ready for occupancy since it is still
dirty or still being made up. It is also termed as
ON-CHANGE.
OOO Out of Order Room Room is under renovation or not fit for occupancy
since it requires repair or maintenance work
BLO Blocked Reserved for a guest who is expected to arrive
within the day.
NS No Show Room is reserved but not used or the reservation has
been cancelled.
SO Slept out Guest is assigned a room but did not sleep on his
bed.
HU House Use Occupied or reserved for hotel officers or staff.
CODE STANDS FOR Room Status Rack
Green for vacant clean ready for sale
Yellow vacant dirty not yet ready
for sale
Red occupied room

Orange reserved or blocked

for expected arrival
White out of order room
 CODE STANDS FOR Reservations & Hotel
Operations
SGL single standard (1 bed)
TWI twin standard (2 single bed)
DBL STD double standard (1 double bed)
DBL DE LUXE Double bed with luxe amenities
SUITE room with luxury amenities
R – red code, occupied
Y yellow code, vacant dirty
G green code, vacant ready
O orange code, blocked for arriving guest
W white code, out of order room