Front Office
The department within the hotel responsible for the management of guest reservations, service, and payment, as well as guest-related data collection and security
Front Office Manager
The individual in a hotel responsible for managing the front-office staff, room reservations, guest services, and the night audit
Concierge
The individual(s) within a full-service hotel responsible for providing guests with detailed information regarding local dining and attractions, as well as assisting with related guest needs
Bell Staff
Those uniform attendants responsible for guest services, inlcuding luggage handling, valet parking, airport transportation, and related guest services.
Sell Out
(1) a situation in wihich all rooms are sold or oversold. (2) A period of time in which management attempts to maximize ADR
Folio
The detailed list of a hotel guest's room charges and other charges authorized by the guest or legally imposed by the hotel.
Room Type
The term used to designate specific configurations of guest rooms
Reservations Agent
A front-office employee whose job consists primarily of taking and entering individual and group reservations into the hotel's PMS
Cut-Off Date
The date on which any unreserved rooms remaining in a group's block are returned to a hotel's general rooms, inventory and thus are available for sale to others.
Global Distribution Systems
- the network connects those travel professionals worldwide who reserve rooms with those hotels offering rooms for sale
GDS
Private Branch Exchange
- The system within the hotel used to process incoming, internal, and outgoing telephone calls
PBX
THISCO Switch
a computer switch that linked the individual chains' reservations with airline global distribution systems
Walk-In
A guest seeking a room who arrives at the hotel without an advance reservation
Curb Appeal
The term used to indicate the initial visual impression that the hotel's parking areas, grounds, and external building aesthetics create for an arriving guest
Registration Card
A document that provides details such as guest's name, arrival date, room rate, departure date, and other information related to the guest's stay
Valet
Originally a term used to identify an individual who cared for the clothes of wealthy travelers
Credit Card Authorization
To confirm that a payment card is valid and can be changed for the amount requested by the card holder
Keycards
The electromagnetic card or smart card used in a recodable locking system
Post
To enter a guest's charges into the PMS, thus creating a permanent reord of the sale
Bucket Check
A manual procedure used to verify, for each guest, the accuracy of that guest's registration information
Night Audit
the process of reviewing for accuracy and completeness the accounting transactions from one day to conclude or close that day's sales information in preparation for posting the transactions of the next day
Recodable Locking Systems
A hotel guest room locking system designed such that when a guest inserts or swipes a key into the guest room lock for the first time, the lock is immediately recoded, canceling entry authorization for the previous guest's key and thus enhancing guest saf
House Phone
A publicly located telephone within the hotel used to call the front desk and, in some cases, guest rooms as well
Point of Sale
- A location, excluding the front desk, at which hotel goods and services are purchased.
POS
Minibars
Small, in-room refrigerated or unrefrigerated cabinets used to store beverages and snacks