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F I G U R E 7 - 1 1 The room inventory screen of a PMS tells front desk staff the

reservation status.

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Checking Room Status Option

The desk clerk also needs to know which rooms are ready for occupancy; this can be determined by activating the room status option of the PMS (Figure 7-12). This option is similar to the room inventory option but does not include rates and has a column on status, telling the desk clerk which rooms are being cleaned and serviced by housekeeping (ON CHG), which are being repaired (OUT OF ORDR), which are occupied by another guest (OCC), and which are available for guest occupancy (READY). The integrity of

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F I G U R E 7 - 1 2 The room status screen of a PMS tells front desk staff the

housekeeping status.

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this information is maintained with constant input and updates from the housekeeping and maintenance departments. This communication is also enhanced with the use of an intranet. Staff members in housekeeping and the front office can send messages quickly informing each other of room status of rooms with a few keystrokes.

If a room is available and the front desk clerk is fairly sure the hotel will not be full that night, the guest without a confirmation number or reservation is handled as a walkin guest. The guest data option of the registration module allows the front desk clerk to enter guest registration information (Figure 7-13). Note this option prompts the desk clerk to inquire if the guest needs additional reservations for future visits.

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F I G U R E 7 - 1 4

An electronic device is used to prepare new electronic room keys for guests.

Photo courtesy of the author.

credit card, made of plastic) encoded with a different electronic combination for each new guest. The combination for the door lock is controlled through the hotel’s security system.

Obtaining Reports from the PMS

The PMS can also produce an alphabetical listing of the guests and their room numbers. This option, a variation of the registered guests report option shown in Figure 7-15, is available to the switchboard operator.

The front office manager can access report options of the registration module for effective front office management. The registration module options just discussed provide the basis for gathering and organizing information the front office manager needs to monitor. For example, the guest arrivals report option informs the front office manager of the guests with reservations who are expected to arrive (Figure 7-16). The group arrivals report option lists the groups with reservations that are expected to arrive (Figure 7-17).

These data can be arranged by different categories—room number, date of registration, checkout date, room rate, guest name—according to the front office manager’s needs. These report options, often referred to as data sorts, which indicate groupings of information, vary with the type of software used for the PMS. The room inventory report option, which gives the front office manager a list of vacant rooms (Figure 7-18), is useful in achieving maximum occupancy. Variations of this option include listings of

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F I G U R E 7 - 1 5 Registered guests can be listed alphabetically with a PMS.

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