Rooms Division Operations

3. Selling Strategies

There are several different selling strategies when it comes to reservation sales.

The “top down” strategy is the most widely used. This strategy has the agent quoting a rate for the hotel’s best room type (i.e., most expensive) and moving down to a lower rate if not accepted. This strategy is used in situations where the hotel wants to drive rate. It is not successful in a highly competitive market with low guest room demand. It is successful when buyer confidence is high. Hotels with a reputation for high quality and service invoke buyer confidence.

The “bottom up” strategy is just the opposite of the “top down” strategy. The agent begins by quoting a rate corresponding to the lowest room type (least attractive or least expensive of the available rooms). The agent then lets the caller know that better rooms (i.e., more expensive) are also available. The agents inform the guest of the incremental rate increases corresponding to the next level of guest room. This bottom-up strategy is also called “menu quoting” because it gives the caller a choice of different rate options. This strategy is the best way for agents to upsell.

The “mid-range” strategy suggests that the agent quotes a rate from middle room type, going either up or down taking into consideration how the guest accepts his offers. Agents using this strategy have the flexibility to tailor their approach to the guest. Experienced agents are best suited for this strategy, because it requires experience and the ability to implement either the top-down or bottom-up strategy as needed.

Different agents may have varying success with each strategy. It is usually best to allow the latitude to find the selling method best suited for each agent. This would not apply, of course, if the hotel’s yield management strategy dictated a specific course of action (e.g., drive rate or increase occupancy). The director of transient sales should make every effort to inform the reservations agents when changes in strategy will occur. If new rate triggers are to be imposed, agents should be informed – to avoid surprises.

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4. Increasing Average Room Rates

One of the possible ways of raising revenue is to get the guest to spend more. There are a number of simple techniques of doing this.

•Sell hospitality. Smile, make your customer like you. Be interested in the other person and concerned about him.

•Use the guest’s name. People respond well to “Sir” or “Madam”, but these terms are rather impersonal. Addressing somebody by their name, for example, Mr Johnson still shows respect, but adds a touch of personal recognition as well. Never call them by their room number (Hey, you in 337!)

•Sell value. Offering a room, do not say “We have some singles at $ 55”, say “we have singles with excellent views of the lake at $55”. There is always something good to say about the facilities on offer.

•“Show the rooms”. Some hotels use photos of rooms, others rely on the receptionist’s descriptive powers, the best hotels display video tours of the hotel on their sites.

•Sell high. If there are 2 types of rooms, do not start with the lowest price. First describe the advantages of the more expensive room, if the customer doubts then it’s possible to offer a cheaper room.

•Assume that the perspective client WANTS to stay at your hotel. For these purposes two main rules are necessary:

1.KNOW your product.

2.Believe in your product.

5.Property Management Systems

Hotels use a variety of computer systems to manage the operations of their front office. Called a property management system (PMS), these computer systems manage a variety of tasks. A hotel PMS manages a guest’s check-in and check-out, cash transactions at the front desk, outlet/ancillary transactions, reservations, housekeeping, night audit, and other tasks. The PMS impacts the rooms division before, during, and after the arrival chronology .

A hotel was said to be a “manual hotel” if all room status reconciliation, guest registration, and accounting were done by hand. Hotel rooms were laid out behind the front desk in what was

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called a room rack. The room rack would identify each room type and configuration at a glance. Managers would mark each room on the rack (usually with some form of color-coding) to note the room’s status (occupied, vacant, dirty, etc.). Messages, letters, and other guest correspondence were kept in the room rack until retrieved. Today, it is rare to find any hotel operating in a manual environment. Many hotels use PMS.

Each PMS workstation will include the software, hardware, and computer monitor. In the modern hotel, many of these workstations are also loaded with additional software. Depending on the needs of the end user, other applications (such as e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets, and Internet access) might be available at a particular workstation. These additional applications must also be considered when determining the hardware needs.

PMS workstations will need to be placed in many areas of the hotel. The workstations are most often located in the front office (at the front desk; behind the front desk; in reservations, PBX, and accounting). However, additional workstations are generally needed at the bellstand, concierge desk, in housekeeping, and at the various outlets throughout the hotel.

A PMS network also referred to as a local area network (LAN) allows each station to communicate with the other. This communication is vital, as hotels must know the status of their facility in real time. That is, every PMS station will know the status of every room and every guest. The PMS station will show a room as checked out as soon as the front desk employee completes the transaction. The housekeeping department will instantly realize that they have another room to clean. Once that room is cleaned, the front desk will immediately determine that they have another room to sell. The efficiencies created by PMS networks are very valuable in maximizing revenue.

Most PMS’s are organized based on a series of menus. Within the PMS, the guest account tracks all the data that pertains to an individual guest. The guest account contains two separate menus. The guest registration menu contains all the pertinent information garnered from the initial reservation and during the stay (i.e., name, arrival/departure, room preferences, method of payment, and other

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miscellaneous information). The guest accounting menu will be used to track all credit/debit transactions related to the guest’s stay.

Guest Registration Menu

The data contained within the guest registration menu helps track all the information pertinent to the guest’s stay. Each PMS will contain this information in some format. Though the order and verbiage may differ, the following lists the information contained within the registration menu:

•Guest Name: Name of individual’s account

•Arrival Date: Date of check-in

•Departure Date: Date of checkout

•Address: Address of guest

•Phone: Phone of guest

•Reservation Status: This field is unique in that it lists different information on one line. A guest’s reservation status will indicate two things: (1) Prior to check-in, it will indicate what type of reservations was made; (2) After check-in, it will list the status of the guest’s stay. Prior to check-in the reservation status line will list a credit card for a guaranteed reservation or a number (4 or 6) which would indicate a non-guaranteed reservation (i.e., 4 or 6 p.m. hold). Once the guest has checked in, the reservations line may indicate I , which means they are in-house. An O would indicate they checked out. D would indicate a deleted reservation, which might happen if the guest cancels the reservation, or there was an obvious error in the reservation itself (i.e.: duplicate reservation).

•Room Number: Actual room assigned

•Room: Lists the room type, configuration, and designation

•Room Rate: Actual rate paid Room Status: Lists the current room status of the room reserved (i.e., V/R, O/D)

•Method of Payment: Cash, check, credit, or direct billing

•Billing Method: EPO (Each Pays Own), SRT (Sign Room and Tax), SAC (Sign All Charges). Note, some PMSs may combine billing method and method of payment on the same line like this: CA/EPO (Cash/Each Pays Own) or CC/SRT (Credit Card/Sign Room and Tax), etc.

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•Guest Loyalty #: Frequent stay program number Frequent Flier #: Airline incentive partnership

•Special Requests: Early/late check-in or checkout requests for an upgrade, etc.

•Comments: This field is generally a “free form” field that lets front desk personnel communicate to one another regarding a specific guest. This field may be used to notify the front desk that the guest has a message waiting, or that a credit card has expired.

•Market Code: The market code is used to track the accuracy of the guest room rate.

Guest Accounting Menu

The guest accounting menu will contain a limited amount of information relating to the guest’s reservation. Its primary purpose is to document every financial transaction relating to the guest. Each time a charge is posted, a credit issued, or a payment made, it will be reflected in this display. The remainder of the accounting menu summarizes the financial transactions of the guest. Each transaction is issued a line number so that the record is easy to follow. The date of the transaction is also recorded. A reference space is usually provided as a free-form cell for any additional information needed to document the transaction. The final item of note is the record of the employee who made the transaction.

Guest Accounting Menu Displays

•Guest Name

•Room Number

•Arrival Date

•Payment Billing Method

•Departure Date

•Reservation Status

•Room Rate

•Room Tax

•Check Out

•Balance Due

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TESTS AND GLOSSARY

1. Room Division Tests

TEST 1.

1.What is a main purpose of any hotel? a) to have a good reputation

b) to be trendy

c) to maintain a high occupancy rate d) to have long off seasons

2.Which are two factors used to determine lodging classifications?

a) guest type and location b) price and reputation c) price and season

d) reputation and ownership

3.The concept that allows a company to expand more rapidly by using other people’s money than if it had to acquire its own financing is called:

a) franchising b) partnership c) leasing

d) syndicates

4.Which of the following is part of the room division?

a)concierge

b)front office

c)housekeeping

d)all of the above

5. Which of the following concerns are not the responsibilities of the room division manager?

a)guest services

b)situation of the marketing mix

c)financial responsibility for room division

d)gift shop

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6.In a lodging facility, what is the most important task of the front-desk staff?

a) greeting guests

b) providing guests with the correct room key c) providing exemplary service

d) balancing the books

7.What is the title of a hotel staff member who performs all the functions of a desk clerk, concierge and a valet?

a) front desk manager b) guest service agent c) bell captain

d) none of the above

8.Who performs the following duties: checking the night clerk report, reviewing the previous night’s occupancy, and checking complimentary rooms?

a) sommelier b) night auditor

c) front office manager d) concierge

9.Staff members that come in direct contact with guests are known as:

a) front-of-the-house staff b) back-of-the-house staff c) managers

d) internal customers

10.Back-of-the-house refers to:

a)the money earned that is not recorded

b)hotel rooms that face the back of the hotel

c)performing duties behind the scenes

d)people who wait for customers

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TEST 2.

1.The organizational structure of the Front Office is influenced by the following three factors:

a) the location of the hotel, the occupancy, and guests b) the reservations, guests, ADR

c) the size of the hotel, the standards of the service and the type of guests

d) the management, services provided, profit

2.The difference between confirmed and guaranteed reservation is:

a) guaranteed reservation guarantees a room number, confirmed reservation guarantees a room

b) confirmed reservations are booked on the phone, guaranteed reservations are booked in person

c) confirmed reservations are generated by a computer indicated number, guaranteed reservations guarantee a room for late arrival, usually with a credit card

d) guaranteed reservations are booked on the phone, confirmed reservations are booked by the Internet

3.When government workers travel, they often stay at budget hotels in order to avoid spending more than they are allowed each day, a sum is known as the

a) government rate b) rack rate

c) allowance d) per diem

4.One of the main reasons for carrying out prearrival activities at check-in is:

a) it helps to prepare daily reports b) it speeds up the check-in process

c) it gives the staff a feeling of importance d) it helps to train news employees

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5. The rack rate is:

a)the discounted hotel room rate

b)the percentage of no-shows

c)the published hotel room rate

d)the profit margin

6.A present number of rooms held in a reserve by a hotel to prevent overbooking is known as:

a) room block b) room rack c) group rate d) reserve block

7.Which of the following status code would allow a clerk to check a guest into a room?

a) S/O b) OOO c) DNCO d) V/R

8.Room service is known as:

a)meal service to a hotel room

b)a room cleaning service

c)cleaning a room in the afternoon

d)none of the above

9.Which is the largest department in terms of the number of people employed?

a) reservations b) F&B

c) recreation

d) housekeeping

10.What percent of a hotel’s employees tend to work in the housekeeping department?

a) 50% b) 15% c) 90% d) 5%

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TEST 3.

1.The assignment of rooms to an individual housekeeper is called:

a) a lodging

b) maintenance c) a discrepancy d) a section

2.Each housekeeper at the hotel carries with her a key that opens all the rooms in her assigned section. This key is known as:

a) a skeleton key

b) a section master key c) a housekeeper’s key d) the manager’s key

3.An example of a guest loan item is:

a)clean linens

b)the Front Desk

c)a robe provided in every room

d)a parking lot

4.When an item needs to be repaired in a guest room the housekeeper fills out a:

a) preventive maintenance order b) section housekeeper’ s report c) maintenance work order

d) folio

5.The meaning of par is:

a)a couple

b)standard quantity of items

c)housekeeping operation

d)engineering system

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