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Reservation Operations
There have been some major developments in computerized reservation systems, especially with regard to
development of some independent reservations systems. The Holiday Inn and Sheraton chains for example have
not only developed their own systems but also have used them as a selling tool to further expand the scope &
size of their chains, particularly in franchising.
Central Reservation Offices or CRO’s are the heart of a reservation system, and more important, a method by
which the public has access to the system. Such offices can be located in areas of the country where wage levels
are low, and locating them in cities or regions where the chain has no hotel is an advantage.
1. Reservations give the hotel a chance to equate the guest enquiry with room availability;
2. It gives the hotel sufficient time to arrange and prepare the most suitable accommodation for them.
3. It gives an indication of what level of business the hotel may get in the future.
4. It helps in forecasting room revenue generation, so useful when preparing Room Revenue Budgets.
5. A hotel can plan schedules of staff, since reservations help to project a clear picture of what loads of peak
or low periods of business the hotel is expected to get.

BASIC RESERVATION ACTIVITIES CHART:

RECEIVING ENQUIRIES

DETERMINING ROOM AVAILIBILITY

ACCEPTING OR DENYING REQUESTS FOR RESERVATIONS

DOCUMENTING RESERVATIONS DETAILS

CONFIRMING RESERVATIONS

MAINTAINING RESERVATION RECORDS

COMPILING RESERVATION REPORTS

Reservations handling depends mainly on size, type, and nature of the hotel. The choice of system of recording
reservations depends on the Management of the Hotel. Rooms are considered to be one of the most perishable
commodities. If a room lies vacant one particular night, the revenue is lost forever, while an expense in its
maintenance remains the same.

MODES OF RESERVATIONS:

The most important element in handling reservations is time. The acceptance of a reservation on phone should
take up a minimum amount of time so that the line is free to accommodate maximum reservation calls.
Reservation requests may be made by a prospective guest either verbally or in writing; this means that the
prospective guest may either make a telephone call or may contact the hotel personally (either he himself or
someone on his behalf). Both these are classified as verbal modes. Secondly, the guest may send a letter, fax,
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telegram, or email to the hotel requesting for accommodation. All such ways of communication can be termed
as written modes of reservations.

MODES OF RESERVATIONS

VERBAL WRITTEN
(Telephone or in person) (Letter, fax, telegram, e. mail)

SOURCES OF RESERVATIONS:

Requests for reservations of rooms come from various avenues:

The most common are:

a) A direct reservation ( meaning the guest either calls or comes in person )

b) Reservation network systems
c) Various other agencies

To explain the above: DIRECT reservations mean those bookings received directly by the hotel from the guest.
For example an independent traveler makes a phone directly to the hotel; individuals or groups make bookings
by telephone; use of fax & email to make bookings – perhaps the quickest & most popular method today.

NETWORKS: Many hotels get bookings from a CRO or Central Reservations Office which are in different
cities & locations. Otherwise another reservations networks independent of the hotel may be contracted for this
purpose. LRI or Loews Reservations International is one such network Company not affiliated to any hotel; in
fact Oberoi Hotels used them for their Marketing and Reservation Offices located in London & in New York
although they have their own network as well.

AGENCIES like Travel Agents play a major role in giving room bookings to hotels. Often the Agent collects
the advance payment for room & meals, or room only from the guests on behalf of the hotel. The guest then is
handed a TA voucher specifying the Type & No. of rooms booked, dates of arrival & departure, no. of nights,
and meal instructions. Usually telephones, Laundry and A la carte meals and beverages are not covered by the
Travel agent voucher. The guest can settle all such charges directly with the hotel.
In return, the Travel Agent deducts his commission from the part payment and sends the balance to the hotel
when the bills are received. Commission is usually on Room rate only.

TYPES OF RESERVATIONS:

a) Guaranteed reservations:
Various terms are used to distinguish between the different types of reservations a hotel receives. A guaranteed
reservation occurs when a guest agrees to ‘guarantee his arrival at the hotel on a specific date by making an
advance payment of one room night charges or by contractual agreement. Hence if the guest does not arrive on
the day, the hotel does not lose one night’s revenue and can then sell the room the next day to someone else.
In return, the hotel promises to hold the room for the guest till the check-out time the next day.
Thus, guaranteed reservations protect the hotel from ‘no shows’.

b) Non-guaranteed reservations
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In this case a guest would have booked a room verbally & confirmed that he will arrive. In such a case, the hotel
would hold the booking till 6 p.m. (maximum) on the date of arrival of the guest, after which it is released for
sale to someone else.

c) Credit card Guarantee

Most often, the guest has a credit card today. This serves as a preferred method of providing a guarantee to the
hotel. The guest gives his credit card number to the hotel which is recorded on the reservation form. If the guest
is a no show, the hotel submits a charge slip with a dummy bill showing the guests room charges and name.
This is billed and money is not lost.

d) Corporate or Company Reservation

Refers to bookings made by Company’s for their guests. The Company must however have a written contract
with the hotel by which it gets preferential rates (discount) and may have a credit facility. All reservations from
that Company must originate from the Company Office and must be followed up by a written communication.
Billing letters must be on Company letter-heads and signed by the authority that has entered into contract with
the hotel.

e) Tentative Reservation:
Where-in a guest is not sure of his arrival date at the hotel, and requests the hotel to ‘tentatively’ book a room
for a particular date or dates. E.g. – either 12th or 13th Feb.

CANCELLATION & AMENDMENTS OF BOOKINGS

It is a common phenomenon in any hotel…that is some percentage of cancellations of bookings, especially in

hotels which have over 300 rooms and therefore, a large number of reservations daily.
The cancellation policy of various hotel chains may differ in small detail, but the principle is the same to
minimize the prospect of loss of revenue due to cancellation. Therefore, all hotels communicate their
cancellation policy to people they do business with, like Travel Agents & Tour Operators, Group Organizers
and Individual guests. When advance deposits are taken for room bookings, it is important to tell the guest
about the policy in order to avoid any legal problem or guest complaint.

A hotel charges one night’s room charges to ‘no-shows ‘when they do not turn up; this is called “Retention
Charge”. Usually down-town hotels do not charge retention to guests who inform them about cancellation of
accommodation 24 hours before the date of arrival. If they inform a CRO, the notice must be 48 hrs minimum.

AMENDMENTS are changes in the booking date requested by guests who change their travel plans due to one
reason or another. The change may be in the number of rooms requested or the type of room as well. The
Reservation department needs to see if they have accommodation on the new dates; if the hotel has rooms, then
the guest is informed that his new request is accepted. An Amendment form is filled to record such a change.

GROUP RESERVATIONS

A GROUP may be described as a number of people traveling together and booking a number of rooms in
advance. Since groups mean many rooms and many guests all at one time, it is a major responsibility for the
hotel, and thus requires a lot of planning and organization.
Sources of Group bookings are normally Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Convention and Conference
Bureaus, Government Ministries, Consulates and Embassies, and Corporate Business Houses.
Travel Agents plan the movements of the group much in advance. This is because it involves factors as diverse
as ground and air transportation, transit stops and stays, meals and sightseeing trips, and travel formalities for a
large number of people.
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The process of booking a number of rooms for a group is called “Block Booking’. While taking a reservation
for a group, take down as many details as possible on the ‘Group Reservation Form’. The group is given a code
number which features in all correspondence .Since most groups are accommodated on the Modified American
Plan (MAP) it is important to get the ‘meal break-up’ of the group as soon as possible so as to plan their seating
venue’s and menu’s.

The acceptance or refusal of a group booking depends on hotel policy. However, larger groups can be
accommodated in the Off Season while smaller groups on a discounted tariff can be taken for the high season.
When a booking is registered on form or computer, the Reservation Dept. gives the Travel Agent a ‘cut-off’
date (usually 30 days prior to the arrival of the group). If the group does not confirm the booking by then, the
rooms are made available to anyone else. If after the cut-off date, the Travel Agent or anyone else wants to
reduce the number of rooms blocked, they are liable to be charged for them
Along with the rooming list, meal plan, the Travel Agent or any other source will also send a Travel Agent
Voucher or a letter of billing. The Voucher or letter gives details of the facilities included in the package.
Anything else consumed needs to be collected directly from the individuals themselves. This Travel voucher is
kept ready on the date of arrival; when the group arrives, the Group Leader hands a duplicate copy to the
Reception. The Hotel Copy is tallied with that one.
Hotels offer incentives to Travel Agents for group bookings. A hotel may have its own policy, but generally the
following may be given complimentary:

(i) 10-14 full paying PAX= 50% discount for one person. ( room charges)
(ii) 15-30 full paying pax= one single complimentary ( room only)
(iii) 31-45 full paying pax= Two singles complimentary (room charges)

GROUPS are checked in by Front Office a little differently;

While all individuals register themselves at the Reception Counter, it is the Group Leader who does all the
formalities of the Registration Card, providing Passport details, time for wake-up calls etc. the Group leader
collects the room keys which are placed inside key envelopes along with a copy of the rooming list showing
room numbers allocated and the ‘meal coupons’ for each room/ person. While the Group relaxes in the
Lobby ,the Group leader takes a briefing and hands over the keys to each room occupant .Then the Group
members identify their luggage placed near the Bell captain’s desk and then proceed to their rooms or if it is
a meal time, to the venue.
The Bell staff mark the luggage by attaching a Baggage tag and sticker to each suitcase and writing the
Room number boldly with a marker. Using a baggage trolley, the luggage is sent to the guest rooms and
placed within. If the guest is not present, a master key may be used to enter and place the luggage.

Front Office makes a Group master Folio to record all the room and meal charges as per the Travel Agent
Voucher, and the folio is placed in the Group Leader’s name and room number. For all group members
individual ‘extras’ folio’s are opened in their respective names & room numbers On departure, the Group
leader signs the Master Folio while all other extra folio’s are paid for in Cash or Credit Card by each group
member.

TYPES OF GROUPS

The group market comprises of the following:

(i) Holiday Makers
(ii) Conference & Convention delegates.
(iii) Sports teams
(iv) Businessmen attending trade fairs
(v) Sales meetings delegates
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Hotels classify groups as follows:

1. Series Group: For a year, the same number of rooms, meal arrangements, and number of
persons needing accommodation remain the same whenever the groups arrive on pre-determined
dates. A large discount may be offered to the Travel Agent for series groups.
2. Ad-hoc Group: These are one-time groups booked to avail a group discount.
3. Incentive Group: This category consists of guests sent to the hotel by multinational Companies.
The staff are given incentives for good performance or meeting targets, and sent for a free
holiday as the Company pays their expenses.
4. FAM groups: Short for ‘familiarization’ Tours this Group is composed of Travel Agents,
Travel writers, Tour operators etc who come to a particular city to see for themselves how
feasible is the destination to bring their groups. They study the Hotel infrastructure, the city’s
road and transport system, sightseeing areas of the city and food quality. They are generally
provided complimentary rooms.

For sightseeing, and land transport in the city, the Tour operator organizes an ‘escort’ or ‘guide’ who travels
with the bus, liaises with the hotel for wake-up calls and departure for sightseeing trips. He is also
knowledgeable about the city’s attractions and gives a running commentary while sightseeing.

CENTRAL RESERVATION OFFICES (CRO’S)

CRO’S are the heart of a Reservation system and more important, a method by which the Public can get
access to the Hotel’s Rooms. The use of a single large CRO provides potential savings in terms of time and
payroll costs especially when a Hotel or a chain can not afford to have Sales Offices in every major city. CRO’s
have toll-free phone numbers by which the guest can call from anywhere, even a neighboring city or region, and
not have to pay for the call. For example, Sheraton Hotels use a toll free number -800-325-3535 , where-in
reservation calls made from any part of the USA (country) flow into just one office, where they are handled by
a large body of ‘Reservationists.’ Another advantage of a one number system is the role it can play in the
advertising campaigns of a chain. This system provides a constant factor, the telephone number that can be used
as a focal point for all chain advertising.

A disadvantage is that having all reservations flow into one destination area makes the entire system
dependable on the effectiveness of the telephone system in that area. Should the circuits become overloaded or
the system fails for any reason, the whole reservation process simply stops dead. Also a CRO’s reservation
processing tends to become extremely impersonal for its guests.
The success of a CRO depends on the efficient communication with the hotels it represents. Any change in
room status etc. must be communicated to them immediately. Reference material should be made available to
them. Cancellations and amendments should be done at both places, hotel and CRO. No show reports should be
communicated to the CRO for all bookings originated thru them.

Some Global Reservation Networks like Utell International (UI) and Loews Reservations International (LRI)
represent between 5000 to 10000 hotels each. Through Utell, any property can be featured in the reservations
system spanning 500,000 reservation terminals world-wide.

INSTANT RESERVATIONS:
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This is usually an independent division of a chain of Hotels. For example, Oberoi Hotels have Instant
Reservations Offices located in the Lobby of all their big-city hotels; like The Oberoi in Mumbai, The Grand in
Kolkata, the Oberoi in Bangalore and the Oberoi in New Delhi.
While the reservations department of one hotel takes reservations for that hotel only, the IR (Instant
Reservations) takes bookings for all hotel units in the chain. IR offices take down reservations in triplicate. One
copy for the IR records, while one copy is sent to the hotel (or faxed). The Original goes to the guest. Many of
the hill resorts sell their packages in cities, where-in the IR offices take bookings on advance payment for the
entire package. If in doubt about hotels room availability, the IR assistant calls up the hotel’s FOM to check the
status before confirming in writing the accommodation requested.
The differences between IRS and CRO are:
1) A CRO does not have to be located in a hotel unit. An IR office must be located within.
2) IRS is useful to guests who are staying within a hotel, while a CRO caters to the public at large. A free
telephone call can be made to the CRO while to the hotel it is a local or long distance call.

DETERMININING ROOM AVAILABILITY: FORECASTING:

Before a reservation assistant can confirm a booking, he or she must know the room position or status of
accommodation on the particular date. Hotels use various methods for this. Today, PMS have made the job
more efficient and a lot quicker. Let us study the manual systems:

1. Advance Letting Chart: (ALC)

An old system followed by small hotels. Charts are used on a monthly basis for each day of the month; the
chart has 31 vertical columns (maximum days in a month).dates is mentioned while the horizontal column
has the room numbers. Abbreviations like SR and DR for single room and double room are mentioned.
When a booking is received, the assistant draws a line in pencil against a room number covering all the
dates requested. Provisional bookings are shown as a dotted line. Rooms out of order are mentioned on the
chart to avoid including them for sale.

2. Density Control Chart

Where no computers were installed in large hotels, this system was followed.
The chart was designed on the principle that each reservation reduces the number of rooms available and
each cancellation increases the number of rooms available. Here all rooms of a particular type are grouped
together in one chart irrespective of their location; e. g all single rooms on one chart, double rooms on
another.
All vertical columns have dates 1-31.
The first vertical column on the left does not have a date, but no. of rooms. of a particular type which are
written in descending order. This chart does not book individual rooms but rooms of a particular type.

DOUBLE BEDDED ROOMS WITH ATTACHED BATH (DENSITY CHART)

No: of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Rooms

25 / / /

24 / / /

23 / /

22 / /
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3. Room Status Board / Perpetual Planner

This Board shows the room booking status for one year on a continuous basis.
The status is shown in three categories: SOLD OUT, ON REQUEST and FREE SALE by three different
coloured plastic discs. Red of course is Sold Out which means no bookings may be taken on those dates as
the hotel is expected to be full.
On request means that the guests reservation can be waitlisted and confirmed upon receiving a cancellation.
Free Sale means, rooms are available for booking.

What to do when a hotel is full:

Don’t panic. It’s the worst thing that can happen to you if you are on duty. Position like 100% occupancy is
what every hotel desires; however, you are bound to find a regular guest who wants a room or has a booking
and you can not accommodate him.
This is called a bounced or bumped reservation. As early as possible, book a few rooms using your contacts
with nearby hotels that have your type of standard. You would do the same for them. Inform the hotel
concerned that you are going to need their help to satisfy the guest who would be sent there and the
circumstances of the case.
When a guest comes to your counter, be pleasant and patient. Explain the due to some unexpected ‘stay-over’
rooms were not released and you have been unable to keep a room for the guest. Say that you have blocked a
good hotel room nearby and that you will transport the guest there and then bring him back the next day
morning.
You must get hotel transport to take the guest to the nearby hotel, and then ensure you block a good room, even
up-grade the guest when he comes the next morning.
Up-grading means providing the guest with a better, higher-priced room at the same (lower) rate. E.G. - A suite
given for the price of a single. Send fruits and flowers to the guest and inform the GRE to contact the guest
during his stay. This will ensure you do not lose the guest to another hotel.

WHITNEY RESERVATION SYSYEM:

The diary system was useful to small hotels, but not suitable for large hotels. In 1970, Whitney duplicating &
Check Company of New York developed a new system called Whitney System for Reservations and Reception
for large hotels. This system involves metal racks with ‘slip carriers’ .The metal is aluminum.
The operation involves the following tools and stationery:
Aluminum racks called Whitney racks. The System involves Whitney Racks in three sections of front Office:
1. Reservations rack
2. Room rack at reception
3. Information Rack at Information desk.

The rack is 4 inches in width and 24 inches in length (2 ft.) but it can vary in length from hotel to hotel. The
rack’s inner depth is approx. 1.5 inches for moving Whitney slip carriers. Whitney slip carriers are also called
‘Shannon’ carriers’. It is an aluminum metal plate 4 ins. wide and 1.5 ins. long. The depth is just enough to hold
the Whitney slip.
Typewriters are used to type information and mount on the carriers which are then placed in the racks in a
sliding motion.
To identify the status of a guest, hotels use different color codes. For example white Whitney slips for FIT’s,
Blue for Airline Crew, Pink for VIP’s and Yellow for Travel Agents.

PROCEDURE:
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Whitney Racks are maintained by the Reservations dept on one full wall where they are hung. Information is
maintained for one calendar year. The racks are therefore labeled Date-wise for a full month and kept month-
wise for an entire year in sequence. As soon as a reservation comes in, a Shannon is typed in duplicate. One
goes on the rack as per the date of arrival and the other is stapled to the reservation form, and kept in a
correspondence file. Every morning one rack moves to Reception while the old one returns to the back Office.
This way the racks move ahead each day.
THE ROOM RACK is a Whitney system of racks maintained by Reception. It gives the status of rooms at any
given time. Fixed on a window on the left are room numbers printed numerically. Whitney slips after typing are
mounted on them.
THE INFORMATION RACK is the same Whitney system maintained alphabetically by the information
counter. Thus when a guest calls to find out if his friend is staying in the hotel, the information is easy to find
through the Name of the guest which is for example under “S’ for a surname like Singh.

IMPORTANCE OF RESERVATION RECORDS

The reservation form and Whitney slip, letters in the mail and fax bookings form an important base on which
the hotel agrees to give its rooms to guests. Every day for the month, a correspondence file is maintained which
contains such records; date-wise, where all guests who have reservations on that day have some supporting
documents.
Reservation records can be referred to by accounts dept. when they need to check a reference to the booking
made, or when a bill remains unsettled. It is an important database of information on the guest’s profile, and
booking profile.
Most importantly, it must be noted that because Reservations constitute both legal and moral responsibilities on
a hotel, it calls for additional and accurate records. The records maintained should be such that the staffs are
able to refer to any individual reservation quickly and easily. Also the records should be able to indicate the
reserved accommodation details for any one day, a week or month and as such be able to indicate the booking
status of rooms. The arrangement made by both the hotel guest and the management of the hotel must be
honored by both parties. If any of the two parties default, the other party can claim compensation. If a guest
does not honor the contract like he does not turn up, the hotel may charge ‘retention’ charges. However the
decision to charge or not to charge depends on Management from hotel to hotel.
Sometimes hotels may not be able to provide rooms to guests who have confirmed reservations. In such cases it
becomes a legal and moral responsibility of the hotel to provide him accommodation at some other hotel of the
same standard and preferably, price.
As part of the reservation section, it is important to have a proper filing system, even as we now are computer
assisted. Storage space for documents like filing racks, and cabinets, trays holding reservation forms,
confirmation letters, files for various categories of guests like crew, groups etc , a fax machine , internet on a
computer terminal , telephones and status boards.

Airline & Car Hotel / Motel etc.

Rental Agencies

Tour Operators GUEST Travel Agents

Hotel Company Travel Department

Representatives
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Reservation requests route from prospective guests to a hotel