reservation
TRANSCRIPT
Rasheed Khlifat
© 2012 Rasheed Khlifat ®
What is a reservation?It is a booking in advance for a space for a specified
period of time.
E.g. Hotel ballroom, restaurant booking, airline seat, a theatre seat, a hotel guestroom, a doctor’s appointment.
IntroductionFrom a guest’s point of view, the most important
outcome of the reservations process is having a guestroom ready and waiting when the guest arrives.
To achieve these outcomes, the hotel must have efficient reservation procedures in place.
Here are the reservation process activities:-
• Conduct reservation inquiry.
· Determine room and rate availability.
· Create reservation record.
· Confirm reservation record.
· Maintain reservation record.
· Produce reservation reports.
· Research, plan, and monitor reservations.
Reservation Activities
Types of Reservations
• 1. Guaranteed Reservation: Insures that the hotel will hold a room for the guest until a specific time of guest’s scheduled arrival date .
• The guest must provide us a method of payment.• If the guest does not show up or cancel properly, the guest will be charged for one night
accommodation.
In order to guarantee a reservation, guests can choose one of the following methods:
The reservation can be guaranteed by
• Prepayment
· Credit card
· Advance deposit
• Travel agent voucher/miscellaneous charge order (MCO)
· Corporate (direct billing account)
Guaranteed Reservations
Non-guaranteed Reservation
2. Non-guaranteed Reservation: Insures that the hotel agrees to hold a room for the guest until a stated reservation cancellation hour (Usually 6 p.m.) on the day of arrival.
It is common for hotels planning on full occupancy or nearing full occupancy to accept only guaranteed reservation once a specified number of expected arrivals is achieved.
Reservation Inquiry
• Guests can communicate their reservation inquiries in person, over the telephone, via mail, through facsimile, telex, e-mail…
• While getting a reservation inquiry, the reservation staff shall obtain the following guest-related information:
• Guest’s name, address and telephone number• Company or travel agency name• Date of arrival and departure• Type and number of rooms requested
cont.
Desired room rateNumber of people in the group, if applicableMethod of payment and/or guaranteeAny other special requests• Most of the above mentioned information is used to create
a reservation record.
The seven steps reservation sales process
• 1. Greet the caller. ( thank you for calling Holiday inn. This is Mary speaking How can I help you today?)
• 2. Identify caller’s need ( arrival date, departure date, preference ....)
• 3. Provide an overview of the hotel’s feature ( number of restaurant, swimming pool )
• 4. Make a room recommendation and room rate.• 5. Ask for the sales ( Would you like me to book the
reservation for you?
cont.• 6. Create a reservation record according to the hotel
procedures.• 7. Thank the caller. Closing a call as warmly as opening
a call, leaves the caller with a sense of confidence that they have made the correct decision.
• Central Reservation System
· Global Distribution System
· Intersell Agencies (for example flight centre)
· Property Direct
· Internet
Sources of Reservations
Central Reservation System (CRS)
A central (or computerised) reservation system that controls and maintains the reservations for several hotels in one location, and automatically redirects the reservation to the required hotel.
Central reservation systems
• The majority of hotel groups belong to one or more Central Reservation Systems
• • A central reservation system is composed of a central reservation office, member hotels connected together via communication devices, and potential guests.
• It exchanges room availability information with members hotel.
• • Central Reservation Office [CRO] offers its services via a 24-hours toll free telephone number(s) [Green Numbers].
continued
On return, central reservation offices charges a fee for the utilization of its services which might take the form of a flat fee and a variable fee, or a flat percentage of potential room revenue, actual room revenue, and/or Rooms Division gross profit…
•Computerized system by which reservation-related information is stored and retrieved for multiple organizations.
• Global Distribution Systems [GDS]⇒ System including several Central Reservation Offices connected to each other.
• Selling hotel rooms is accomplished by connecting the hotel reservation system with the GDS system.
• GDSs have become a powerful force in hotel reservation.
Global Distribution Systems
Property Direct Reservation System: Even though many of the five-star hotels rely heavily on
central reservation offices and intersell agencies, some potential guests still find it convenient, and personal to call directly the hotel to communicate a reservation inquiry.
Property direct reservations are made in a several ways
· Telephone
· Property-to-property
· FAX
Property Direct Reservations
Group Bookings
Types of groups� Tour groups� Conference/convention� Charity groups (fund raising)� Flight crews� School groups� Sporting groups
Reasons for Travel
BusinessPleasureEducationFamilyReligiousSpecial events (e.g.Olympic Games)
Types of Market Sources
F.I.T. – free/fully independent travellerGroupCorporateGovernmentPackage
Room Rate Factors$ Location (CBD, Country)$ Hotel Rating (Star/Flag/Crown)Room attributes/aspectsHotel facilities$ Competition$ Time of year$ Intended client
Room Rate Types
RackCorporateGovernmentAirline (delayed flights, crew, package)Travel Agents (package, familiarisation, group,
F.I.T.)Groups/conferencePackages (honeymoon, weekend, midweek)
Five steps to selling
• Know your product• Know your guest• Match the guest to the best alternative• Be aware you are part of the sales team• Always sell the product before the price
Guest HistoryAssist with marketing strategiesEnsure future reservations are more efficientEnsure a quicker check-inEnsure guest’s needs are metAssist with check-out
History data
Reservation formsRegistration cardsGuest folios on check-out
History can be stored and maintained:ManuallyComputerised
CancellationRetrieve original reservationNote date and time cancellation receivedRecord contact name of person cancellingUpdate manual and computer recordsFile cancelled reservationApply cancellation fee as per hotel policyThank caller
AmendmentsRetrieve original reservationNote date and time amendment receivedRecord contact name of person amendingUpdate manual and computer recordsFile amended reservationThank caller
Departments concerned with reservations report
HousekeepingTo enable accurate staff rosteringBudgeting, planning for refurbishment, ordering of
suppliesFood and BeverageAs above
Departments concerned with reservations report
MaintenanceTo enable accurate staff rosteringBudgeting, planning for refurbishment, ordering of
suppliesConcierge/Porters/Front DeskAs above
Types of ReportsOccupancy ArrivalsCancellationsSpecial requestsV.I.P.SBlack listsMarket SegmentsGuest history
Black List
“Bad” debts (previous accounts remain unsettled)Malicious damage to hotel propertyTheft of hotel propertyVerbal/physical assault of staff members
Potential Reservation Problems • 3 main common problems that might be encountered:• 1) Errors in a reservation record:a. Record a wrong arrival or departure dateb. Misspell the guest’s name or reverse itc. Reserve for the caller instead of the guest
Potential Reservation Problems
2) Misunderstandings due to industry jargon:Confirmed versus guaranteed reservationDouble room versus 2 bedsConnecting rooms versus adjacent rooms
Potential Reservation Problems
3) Miscommunications with external reservation systems:Book a guest in the wrong hotelBook a guest in the wrong city [ex: Novotel, Melbourne versus
Novotel, Sydney]
Opera Reservation System
Risk Management & Insurance
Rasheed Khlifat