Module 3 Receive & Process Reservations
Module 3 Receive & Process Reservations
Receive and
Process
Reservation
Module 3
Introduction
A reservation is a booking or request for some time in the
future.
Reservation details may include, but are not limited to special requests, timing
details, special needs, payment arrangements, details of other services being used,
information on a style of customer, e,g: special interest group, VIP status etc.
The most important outcome of the reservation process is having a guest room
ready and waiting when the guest arrives.
Reservation Process Activities
1. Conduct reservation inquiry
2. Determine Room and rate availability
3. Ability to offer alternatives when the requested booking is
not available
4. Provide information on the costs and product features.
5. Create reservation record or record the details and
requirements of the persons making the reservations.
6. Record the acceptable method of payment.
7. Provide confirmation of reservation records and details.
8. Maintain reservation record.
9. Produce reservation reports.
10. Research, plan, and monitor reservations.
Elements of the Reservation System
The two types of reservation system as discussed below:
● Accommodation Suppliers
● Aircraft
● Cruise Ships
● Coaches or Buses
● Limousines (rental car/van)
● Day/extended tours
● Dining and meal reservation
● Entertainment
● Tourist Attractions Events
Ways in Which Reservation May Be Received
Reservations can be received by an establishment in many ways depending on where they are, what they
are offering and what technologies they have available. The following ways in which reservations may
be received:
● Letter or main
● Email or internet access
● Facsimile (fax)
● Over the Telephone Call
● In person
● Travel Agency
● Airport Desk
● Call Centers
● Global Distribution System
● Via Central reservation or
booking service
● Third Party Reservations
● Same Chain Referral
● Other Venues
The business customer is a person who
travels for the sole purpose of
conducting business and the leisure
customer is someone who travels for
pleasure.
When greeting a customer over the phone your establishment will have specific
greeting they will prefer you to use. This greeting must be sound friendly and
approachable, be polite and let them know where they have been put through to. It is
also advisable to give your name to the potential customer.
Examples of greetings are:
Reservation
The reservation is initiated by a Check availability &
prospective guest, travel agent, quote rates
or other who contacts the Confirm rates and gather
reservation office. The request reservation data
For example, you will need to find out the following information from the potential customer if they are making
a booking for accommodation:
● Required dates/length of stay
● The number required
● Number of guests
● Name of guest/s
● Number of rooms
● Required type/s of room
An example of confirmation:
Sales Agent: “Just to confirm your reservations, Nr. Wiseman. We have you picking up the car on
Tuesday 17th August at 10:00 o’clock and returning it on Friday 20th at 10:00 o’clock. You have requested
the Audi A1 at a cost of $120.00 per day including insurance. Your license number is 0123456789 and your
address is 56 Stanley Street, Queenstown New Zealand. Your contact number is 0415-562-356 and you are
paying by Visa card number 4569-2365-2365, expiry date 03 2020. Is that all correct?”
Guest: “Yes, thanks Thommy that is great, you have been very helpful”
Sales Agent: “Thanks Mr. Wiseman, we look forward seeing you on Tuesday”
The sales agent used a suitable closing phrase, thanked the customer, used his name, and provided
personal service. This is essential to make sure the customer is satisfied and that you have offered
professional service.
Availability of Requested Bookings
Your reservation system should allow you to instantly check availability and know what you have to
sell. You will need to know what is available right down to the type or hotel rooms, type and model of
cars you have, number of tours that are available, have spaces to sell and even number of special
dishes left. This is what enables you to “sell” your goods and services to the customer. Without
knowing your availability you don’t know what you have to sell and can’t meet the customer’s needs.
Special Conditions
Minimum length of stay or hire, payment policies, minimum number of guests. License requirements.
Special conditions are suitable Allotment is full (such as a package rate or groups
and tour bookings, airline packages)
Doesn;t want to be added to a wait list Already overbooked for the requested date
Overbooking: Overbooking is common practice in hotels when they accept more reservations for
rooms than they have rooms available.
A hotel may overbook between 5-20% (based on the organization's historical figures) in order to allow
no-shows and under stay. A;though, this might seem strange practice, the hotel needs to do this to
maximize the number of rooms sold on any given day.
Offer Alternatives if requested Booking is
Unavailable
If the requested reservation cannot be accommodated due to unsuitable dates or the
product is not available you can:
Simply don’t assume you can’t help the customer if their original request cannot be
accommodated.
Offer Advice and Information About Available Products,
Services and Facilities
Selling techniques
● Up-selling
● Suggestive Selling
● Down-Selling
● Extras and add-ons
1am 0100 hrs Zero one hundred hours 1pm 1300 hrs Thirteen hundred hours
2am 0200 hrs Zero two hundred hours 2pm 1400 hrs Fourteen hundred hours
3am 0300 hrs Zero three hundred hours 3pm 1500 hrs Fifteen hundred hours
4am 0400hrs Zero four hundred hours 4pm 1600 hrs Sixteen hundred hours
5am 0500 hrs Zero five hundred hours 5pm 1700 hrs Seventeen hundred hours
6am 0600 hrs Zero six hundred hours 6pm 1800 hrs Eighteen hundred hours
7am 0700 hrs Zero seven hundred hours 7pm 1900 hrs Nineteen hundred hours
8am 0800 hrs Zero eight hundred hours 8pm 2000 hrs Twenty hundred hours
9am 0900 hrs Zero nine hundred hours 9pm 2100 hrs Twenty one hundred hours
10am 1000 hrs Zero ten hundred hours 10pm 2200 hrs Twenty two hundred hours
11am 1100 hrs Zero eleven hundred hours 11pm 2300 hrs Twenty three hundred hours
12am 1200 hrs Zero twelve hundred hours 12pm 200 hrs Twenty four hundred hours
● Number of Rooms Required
➔ Number of Adults and Children
➔ Rate Code
➔ Market Segment
➔ Address
➔ Contact Details
➔ Passport Number, date and place if issue
➔ Comments/Special Requests
➔ Confirmation Number
➔ Date and Taken by
People make reservations for convenience and security. Many people like to plan out their holiday
or business trip to feel secure in the knowledge that they have a room waiting for them; they have a
flight booked to take them back to their home or next destination, and know they have seen all the
attractions of the city during their stay. The role of the reservation staff is to ensure that they
process all reservations in an efficient and professional manner.
Sample reservation chart
Greeting Establish if
● Inquiry
● Reservation
● Cancellation
● Amendment
(How may I help you)
Transfer of Information
Many business use technology to record details that are downloaded or transferred from another source
and consequently, care has to be taken that information is accurate and relevant. Data entry that is
inaccurate is described by IT technicians (help desk) as PICNIC - Problem In Chair Not In
Computer - it is a person feeding in the data that is the problem not the system (human error)
Payment
● Many customers are requested to make a payment or advanced deposit in order to guarantee the
reservation. These deposits are usually made by credit card over the phone or over the the
internet.
● Some guest may wish to pay by cash, cheques (checks) or bank transfers. Payment methods are
changing rapidly.
● Guarantees and warranties may apply when making a reservation. Make sure the customer is
aware of the conditions that apply to each reservation.
● Let the guest know about cancellation policy - such as how much notice is required for a full
refund, and how much may be forfeited for late notification/cancellation.
● Some travel agencies if you pay by credit card there is a percentage commission or surcharge
added onto the amount.
● Payments may be made at different time intervals which can also be known as progress
payments. A guaranteed reservation will not be released or cancelled as it is paid in full.
● When accepting payment in some cases you will need to add on taxes and surcharges for
particular goods and services.
Refunds and Exchange Policy
Make sure you are familiar with details of the practice of refunds or exchange policies at your establishment.
It is the responsibility of the establishment to make sure the customer is aware of the policies.
Cancellations
From time to time, a guest or travel agent will contact the reservations section to cancel a confirmed
reservation. The following events occur when a cancellation is received.
1. A cancellation number may be issued to the clients as proof that the reservation was cancelled
2. The room type is returned to the availability pool so that it may be offered for sale again.
3. The guest reservation is deleted from the reservation system.
Group Reservations
The primary activity of the reservations function is handling transient sales. These
transient sales are individual reservations for business travellers and leisure guests. A group
sale requires special handling and is usually the responsibility of the sales department.
Whereas individual reservations are specific, group reservations are usually based on
estimates. The estimated number of rooms that will be required is called a room block. A
negotiated rate is called group rate is set based on the size of the block.
Group bookings must be treated with extra care and one person, or a special department
within reservations is responsible. In small to medium hotels the front office supervisor or the
hotel manager may take all the bookings for groups.
Careful monitoring of the reservation is required. Many rooms are booked at once and a
late cancellation or no show of a non-guarantee group can be disastrous.
Basic steps involved in accepting group reservations:
Procedure Policy
Obtain basic information Does your hotel have any restriction on types of groups or
● Group Name maximum number of rooms per group allocation?
● Arrival Date
● Length of Stay Maximum number of groups at any one time?
● No. of Pax
● Room types
Confirm Do you have enough of the required room types for the
● Group Type group?
● No. of Rooms
● Configuration
Check Are there any other groups occupying the hotel for the given
● Availability time?
Advise This is the date you require finalized lists for the group
● Cut Off Date including Roominglist and is some cases payment
Basic steps involved in accepting group reservations:
Procedure Policy
Obtain additional information What time do they arrive and depart so we can advise
● ETA/ETD Housekeeping?
● MOP
● Contact Name/Number Charges for porterage?
● Special Requirements
❖ Porterage Do they require wake-up calls, etc.?
❖ Wake-up calls
❖ Bags out
Selling Skills You could sell the services and facilities of your hotel
● Meal Requirements such as breakfast requirements, table d’ hote dinner
etc,
Collect Relevant Paper Collect all relevant paperwork from guest ledger
Ask for any outstanding charges Ask if guest had any late charge not on the account:
Mini Bar, Breakfast, Telephone
Sample of guest departure procedure:
Settle account Finalized (settle) the account and bring total to zero
Issues Receipt Hand the finalized copy of the account to the guest
including any credit card sales voucher copies. Neatly
attached all paperwork to the account.
Collect guest keys For security reasons it is important to make sure that the
guest does not take the key.
Safety deposits Ask the guest if the safety deposit facilities were used,
return the valuables, obtain signature and key.
Sample of guest departure procedure:
Forward reservations The guest may ask for a forward reservation for the next stop on the
journey. If possible offer assistance.
Arrange transportation Ask the guest if you can offer assist with organizing transportation.
Coordination of luggage The guest luggage may need to be collected from the room or
stored for a few hours or days.
Record and action messages If the guest wishes to have mall and messages forwarded to the next
address, take the details.
Farewell Guest Make guest feel important and express the hope that the guest will
return to the hotel. React to any adverse or positive remarks.
Finalize paperwork Complete and file all paperwork as required by hotel management
File Reservation
Most establishment generate a large amount of printed and manual documentation. It is essential that you are
able to retrieve this date so file logically for ease of reference and security. Processing a range documents and
maintaining a document filing system requires expertise in clerical and administrative duties.
Filing is the process of storing and arranging documents according to a particular classification.
When the Reservation Slip (or Booking Slip) has been written it is filled in date of arrival order only.
The current month is divided 1 to 31, and subsequent months are in month order only.
At the end of the month, all the bookings are filed in a monthly box that is clearly labelled in the
outside, and stored in the archives for 5 years, in case of any discrepancies. For example, if a guest
complaints that he has been charged incorrectly, you can retrieve the booking from the archive, check
the claim and make any necessary adjustments.
The information is carefully entered into the appropriate computer fields. The computer will allocate a
confirmation or reservation number, which is recorded onto the manual reservation sheet.
Update Reservations
It is unreasonable to imagine that a reservation will be made without having to be changed or cancelled. Therefore, the reservation
system you are using must be able to follow for ease of changing and updating information as well as processing cancellations and
refunds.
Change Reservations
Reservations can be changed for many reasons such as:
● Changing length of stay or date
● Altering flight or travel details
● Changing times and customer numbers
● Updating customer contact
● Altering billing details or making a payment
● Changing or adding special requests.
Process to follow to change reservations:
● Locate original reservations
● Verify original information
● Identify required changes
● Check availability and/or make cancellations
● Confirm changes or offer
● Quote change of rate or customer details
● Follow-up on previous special requests that were made earlier
● Thank caller (if possible)
Cancel Reservations
Adjust records discounts After the customer’s reservation to Inform the accounts department of
reflect the account. change to quoted rate.
Apply cancellation fees Cancel reservation and make a Process the payment in the accounts
change against the credit card or department
cash paid.
Apply refunds Cancel the reservation and arrange to Accounts department send refund to
forward refund to customer customers.
Updating internal records
Issues to update Updating records Other department affected
Computer system prompt - for ex; PMS Notify the customer and obtain the new credit Reservations
(property management system) prompt that card details - record into guest history profile
the credit card we have has reached its
expiry date.
Point of sale records store customers/ Expenses are added to guest history profile to Sales and marketing
expenses be used for sales and marketing activities.
Guest provides additional data on Reception staff update the history profile by Reception
registration cards updating this information.
A butler on a floor might notice that the Update onto guest history profile - added Notify reception to update records.
customer constantly requests a particular special request details.
good or service.
Guest history data Guest history file is updated with the record of This data is sent to Sales and
nights the guest has stayed at the property. Marketing for promotional activity.
Examples of Filing
Before filing any documents, you need to:
● Collect all relevant documents
● Inspect the quality of the documents
● Cross-reference your files
● Code the files
● Sort the files; then
● File the documents