Introduction and Importance of the Reservation Department
The term reservation is defined as
‘blocking a particular room type for a guest, for a definite period of time,
for a particular guest'. To ensure a safe and secure place to stay during their
visit to another town, guests generally prefer to make advance reservations
in hotels and other
types of accommodation units.
All hotels will readily accept advance reservations and booking in order
to achieve high occupancy and to maximize their room revenue. When a guest
makes an advance reservation for a definite time period it is expected that the
hotel will accept and honour its commitment by a contract between the hotel and
the guest.
A reservation, therefore, is this bilateral contract between a hotel and
a guest, according to which the hotel must provide the specified room type to
the guest and the guest must agree to pay all relevant charges. This is also
known as a contract of booking or
a confirmation letter for the reservation.
If either the hotel or the guest wishes to alter or cancel the
reservation, this can be done only through a mutual agreement. If a guest fails
to inform the hotel about their cancellation the hotel
property may decide to retain the advance deposit received from the guest
earlier to cover up for any
loss of accommodation revenue.
The amount forfeited when a guest does not inform about their
cancellation to the hotel is termed as the Retention Charges.
Alternatively, if the hotel is unable to accommodate the guest at the time of
their arrival, the hotel has to provide alternative accommodation of similar
standard in another hotel and pay for any differences in room rates and any
additional expenses the guest may have to incur.
The reservation department handles all reservation requests for
accommodation, interacts with the customers and constantly monitors the room status and the reservation status.
The Hierarchy Chart
or Organization Chart of the Reservation Department:
Depending upon the size and classification of the
hotel, the hierarchy of the reservation department may be changed. Now in
recent time, an added functionality has also come under the reservation that is
managing the rates and inventory of the hotel in all online channels.
Typically, in a large hotel, this function is done
by the Revenue Management department, but in case of a small hotel, such task
is also done by the reservation team. Additionally, depending upon the
operation size the reservation team might either report to the sales &
marketing director or the front office manager. In a
large hotel or full-service hotel, the reservation and revenue team will
directly report to the hotel's, general manager.
The Importance of
the Reservation Department
The role of the reservation department is not limited to making a
reservation. It maintains records of the hotel occupancy, which help in
planning sales and marketing strategies etc. The reservation department plays
an important function for both the guest and the hotel. Below are some of the
important functions of the reservation department in the hotels day to day
operations.
Importance of
reservation department for the guests:
1. Ensures room on arrival - A guest who
makes a prior reservation is ensured of the required type of room, no of rooms
for his entire stay in the city. This saves him from the difficulty of finding
accommodation on arrival especially during peak seasons when most of
the hotels are full.
2. Budgeting - As he is informed of the tariff at the time
of reservation, he is able to budget his holiday or tour, taking in account
the amount he spends on his stay, food, entertainment etc.
3. Plan Holiday or Rooms - He is able to plan his holiday
or tour without worrying about the basic needs of accommodation and food. Any
business trip, sightseeing tour or excursions may be planned separately after
fixing the accommodation.
4. Other facilities - The guest is ensured of certain
facilities offered by the hotel which can be confirmed by making the
reservation e.g. sightseeing tours, a business centre offering secretarial
services, entertainment etc. He is also able to give the hotel address to his
associates for any meetings, correspondence transfers to and from the hotel.
Importance of
reservation department for the hotel:
1. Forecasting - Prior reservation gives the
hotel an indication of the level of business likely to be encountered during
any particular period. The reservations manager knows the amount of business
ensured during that period from the confirmed reservations. It enables him to
forecast future revenue generation and take necessary action to improve the
amount of revenue expected.
2. Rate Floating - The reservation department make
sure that the hotel's rates are available on online and offline channels
without any rate parity.
3. Availability - The reservation department is
also responsible to maintain the hotels available on all online and offline
channels.
4. Guest satisfaction - The hotel is able to plan its
activities and be prepared to receive an expected guest. They are able to
provide the necessary services and facilities like security, transfers,
preference of rooms to known guests, providing complimentary and any
particular service asked by the guest at the time of making the reservation.
5. Planning - The front office manager is
able to make the necessary decision regarding the no of walk-instant that can
be accommodated on a particular day. Rooms requiring be repairing or taking off
for redecoration can be blocked during the slack period as shown by the
reservations. The no of rooms to be blocked for such purposes will also be
determined according to the expected guest arrivals.
6. Scheduling of staff - Hotel staff may be scheduled
more accurately to void understaffing
or overstaffing problems.
Hospitality Guide(For All Department information)
www.hospitalityguidebd.blogspot.com
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