Hotel Operations Management Glossary
Glossary
Abandoned Property
Acceptance
Accessible
Account
Accountability
Account aging
Account Allowance
Account Balance
Accounts Payable
Account Payable
Module
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Receivable
Aging
Account Receivable
Voucher
Accounts Receivable
Ledger
Accounts Receivable
Module
ADA
Address Verification
Service
Adjacent Rooms
Adjoining Rooms
Advance Deposit
Guarantee
ADR
ADR Index
Property that is given up by someone who does not intend to reclaim it
An agreement by the second party in a contract to the terms and conditions
of the offer.
A guest room that is designed to accommodate persons with disabilities by
removing barriers that otherwise limit or prevent them from obtaining the
services that are offered.
A form in which financial data are accumulated and summarized
An obligation created when a person is delegated duties/responsibilities from
higher levels of management.
A method for tracking past due accounts according to the date of charges
originated
Either a decrease in a folio balance as compensation for unsatisfactory
service or as a rebate for a coupon discount; or a correction of a posting
error detected after the close of business
A summary of an account in terms of its resulting monetary amount;
specifically, the difference between the total debits and the total credits to an
account
The sum total of all invoices owed by the hotel to its vendors for credit
purchases made by the hotel. Also called “AP”
Back office computers which track the hotel’s purchases and helps the hotel
maintain sufficient cash flow to satisfy its debts.
Money owed to the hotel because of sales made on credit.
Sometimes referred to as "AR" for short.
A process by which the average length of time money owed to the hotel
because of sales made on credit is determined.
see Charge Purchase Voucher
A grouping of accounts receivable, including the guest ledger and the city
ledger
A back office computer which monitors guest accounts and account billing
and collection when integrated with the front office accounting module.
Short for American with Disabilities Act. ADA prohibits discrimination against
people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public
accommodation, communications, and governmental activities.
A company that, for a fee, allows access to its database of current
addresses.
Rooms close to each other, perhaps across the hall
Rooms with common wall but no connecting door. Not all adjoining rooms
are connecting, however, every connecting rooms are adjoining.
A type of reservation guarantee which requires the guest to furnish a
specified amount of money in advance of arrival.
Short for "average daily rate," the average selling price of all guest rooms for
a given time period. The formula for ADR is Total Room Revenue/Total
Number of Rooms Sold = ADR.
ADR of our hotel/ADR of the competitive set.
Affiliated Hotel
Affiliate Reservation
Network
Afternoon Tea
Agency Ledger
Agency Problem
AH&LA
Air Handler
Alliance
Allowance Voucher
Allowances
and Adjustments
Amenities
American Plan
Antitrust Laws
Appraisal
Arbitrage
Area of Protection
(AOP) [ Franchise]
ARR
Arrival Date
Assets
Attrition
At-Will Employment
Audiovisual Equipment
Audit
Auditor
Audit Trail
One of a chain, franchise, or referral system, the membership of which
provides special advantages
A hotel chain’s reservation system in which all participating properties are
contractually related.
A light snack comprised of delicate sandwiches and small sweets served
with tea, or even sherry.
A division of the city ledger dealing with travel agency accounts
Exists when top managers attempt to maximize their own self-interests at the
expense of shareholders.
Short for American Hotel and Lodging Association.
The fans and mechanical systems required to move air through ducts and to
vents. (HVAC)
An arrangement between two or more firms that establishes an exchange
relationship but that has no joint ownership involved.
A voucher used to support an account allowance.
Reductions in sales revenue credited to guests because of errors in properly
recording sales or to appease a guest for property shortcomings.
Hotel products and services designed to attract guests.
A billing arrangement under which room charges include the guestroom and
three meals. Also called Full American plan or full board.
Established by governments to keep organizations from getting large and
powerful enough in one industry to engage in monopoly pricing and other
forms of noncompetitive or illegal behavior
The establishment of (real estate) value.
The nearly simultaneous purchase of a product at a low price and reselling of
it at a higher price with the intention of keeping the difference in price
The geographic area, which is designated by a franchisor, and granted to a
franchisee, in which no directly competing franchisees will be sold.
Short for Average Room Rate, see also ADR.
The date a guest plans to register at the hotel.
Items owned by a business including cash on hand, money in checking or
other accounts, money owed to the business, inventories, property,
equipment, and furnishings.
The difference between the original request and the actual purchases of a
group. For example, a group might reserve one hundred rooms, but actually
use only fifty. The hotel's standard group contract may, in such a case,
stipulate that the group pay a penalty for "over-reserving."
The employment relationship that exists when employers can hire any
employee as they choose and dismiss that employee with or without cause
at any time. The employee can also elect to work for the employer or
terminate the work relationship anytime he or she chooses.
Those items including DVD players, laptops, LCD projectors, microphones,
sound systems, flip charts, overhead projectors, slide projectors, TVs, and
VCRs that are used to communicate information to meeting attendees during
the meetings.
The process of verifying records for correctness and completeness.
The individual(s) who conducts an independent verification of financial
records.
An organized flow of source documents detailing each step in the processing
Audit Work Time
Authority
Authorization Code
Authorize
AV
Availability Forecast
Availability Report
Average Daily Rate
Average Rate Per
Guest
Avoidance Strategy
B
Back Office
Accounting
Back Office
Applications
Back Office System
Back of the House
Backsourcing
Back to Back
Backup Generator
Backup Systems
Balance Sheet
Bank
Banquet
Banquet Event Order
(BEO)
of a transaction.
The period from the end of day until the completion of the audit.
(FO Night Audit)
The power to tell others to do or not to do something in efforts to attain the
hotel's objectives.
A code generated by an on-line credit card verification service, indicating that
the requested transaction has been approved.
To validate.
Short for Audiovisual Equipment.
An estimate of the number of rooms that remain to be sold.
A report which contains expected arrival and departure information for the
next several days, typically prepared as part of the night audit.
An occupancy ratio derived by dividing net rooms revenue by the number of
rooms sold.
An occupancy ratio derived by dividing net rooms revenue by the number of
guests.
Competitive strategy in which a firm avoids confrontation completely by
focusing on a particular niche in the market in which other firms have little
interest.
B
The process of summarizing and documenting the financial activities and
condition of the entire hotel.
Computer software designed for specific back office uses. Typical back office
applications include accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll
accounting, and financial reporting modules.
The accounting system used by the controller to prepare the hotel's financial
documents such as the balance sheet, income statement, and so on.
The functional areas of a hotel in which personnel have little or no direct
guest contact, such as engineering, accounting, and personnel.
When firms bring an outsourced service or good back in-house, often
because costs have begun to rise in contrast to the primary benefit of
outsourcing.
A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged
by tour operators so rooms are never vacant;
bb., a floor plan design that brings the piping of adjacent bath into a common
shaft
Equipment used to make limited amounts of electricity on-site. Utilized in
times of power failure or when the hotel experiences low supply from the
usual provider of electricity.
Redundant hardware and/or software operated in parallel to the system it
serves. Used in times of failure or power outages, these are often operated
by battery systems. For example, a backup system to the hotel's telephones
would enable outside calling even if the main digital telephone system were
to shut down.
An official financial listing of assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity.
see Cash Bank.
A food and/or beverage event held in a function room.
A form used by the sales, catering, and food production areas to detail all
requirements for a banquet. Information provided by the banquet client is
BAR
Bargaining Power
Barista
Bed Board
Behavioral Control
Bell Captain
Bell Staff
Benchmarking
Benefits
BEO
Bid
Biohazard Waste Bag
Biometrics
Blackout
Black-out Date
Block
Block (Funds)
Blood-Borne Pathogen
Board of Directors
Bond(ing)
Bonified Occupational
Qualifications (BOQ!)
summarized on the form, and it becomes the basis for the formal contract
between the client and the hotel.
Short form of Best Available Rate.
Economic power that allows a firm or group of firms to influence the nature of
business arrangements for factors such as pricing, availability of products or
services, purchase terms, or length of contract
A barista (from the Italian for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffee-house
employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.
A board placed under the mattress to provide a firmer sleeping surface.
A special set of controls used to motivate employees to do things that the
organization would like them to do, even in the absence of direct supervision;
they include bureaucratic controls, clan control, and human resources
systems.
The supervisor of the bell-persons and other uniformed service personnel;
bb,: a proprietary in-room vending machine
Those uniformed attendants responsible for guest services, including
luggage handling, valet parking, airport transportation, and related guest
services. The tide originally arose because, in earlier years, the staff would
come to the "front" (desk) to assist a guest when a bell was rung as a
summons to them.
The search for best practices and an understanding about how they are
achieved in efforts to determine how well a hospitality organization is doing.
Indirect financial compensation consisting of employer-provided rewards and
services other than wages or salaries.
Short for Banquet Event Order.
An offer by the hotel to supply sleeping rooms, meeting space, food and
beverages, or other services to a potential client at a stated price. If the bid is
accepted, the hotel will issue the client a contract detailing the agreement
made between the hotel and the client.
A specially marked plastic bag used in hotels. Laundry items that are blood
or bodily fluid stained and thus need special handling in the OPL are placed
into these bags for transporting to the OPL.
An individual electronic measurement of uniqueness of a human being such
as voice, handprint, or facial characteristics.
Total loss of electricity.
Specific days in which the hotel is "sold-out" and/or is not accepting normal
reservations.
Rooms reserved exclusively for members of a specific group. As in, "We
need to create a block of fifty rooms for May 10 and 11 for the Society of
Antique Furniture Appraisers."
The amount by which a card’s available credit (if a credit card) or balance (if
a debit card) is reduced; also called a “hold.”
Any microorganism or virus, carried by blood that can cause a disease.
In publicly owned companies, a group of individuals who are elected by the
voting shareholders to monitor the behavior of top managers, therefore
protecting their rights as shareholders
Purchasing an insurance policy against the possibility that an employee will
steal.
Qualifications to perform a job that are judged reasonably necessary to
safely or adequately perform all tasks within the job.
Booking
Booking Pace
Bookkeeping
Bottom-up Selling
Method
Boutique Hotels
Box
Brand
Brand Proliferation
Brand Standard
Break-Even Point
Broadband
Communications
Broad Environment
Broker
Brownouts
Bucket Check
Budget
Buffering
Bundling
Business Definition
Business-format
Franchising
Business Plan
Business Traveler
Hotel jargon for making a confirmed sale. As in, "What is the current booking
volume for the month in the Food and Beverage department?" or "How many
out-of-state tour buses were booked into the hotel last month?"
Often shortened simply to “Pace,” this term refers to the amount of future
demand for rooms.
The process of initially recording financial transactions.
A selling approach that seeks to sell an entity’s lowest priced items prior to
the sale of its higher priced items.
Sometimes called “design hotels” or “lifestyle hotels,” they differentiate
themselves from larger chain or branded hotels by their intense focus on the
physical space through the design of their facilities.
Reservation term that allows no reservations from either side of the boxed
dates to spill through.
The name of a hotel chain. Sometimes referred to as a "flag."
Over-saturation of the market with different brands.
A hotel service or feature that must be adopted by any property entering a
specific hotel brand's system. Used, for example, in, "The franchisor has
determined that 'free local telephone calls' will become a new brand standard
effective January 1st."
The point at which a firm’s revenues exactly equal its expenses (costs).
A communications network that allows for simultaneous transmission of
signals such as voice, data, or video.
Forms the context in which the firm and its operating environment exist,
including socio-cultural influences, global economic influences, political/legal
influences, and technological influences
An entity that, for a fee, lists (offers) hotels for sale on behalf of the hotels'
owners and solicits buyers for the hotels it lists. Used, for example, in, "I
know that hotel is listed with Joe Johnson, a broker with Mid-State Hotel
Brokers."
Partial loss of electricity.
Industry jargon for a systematic examination of guests’ folios to ensure the
accuracy of guest information. Bucket checks typically include rate
verification, credit monitoring, and confirmation of departure date and guest
room assignment.
It is a plan utilizing resources of all kinds, including cash, tools and materials,
and labor, to operate the hotel in its most effective manner.
Techniques designed to stabilize and predict environmental influences and
therefore soften the jolts that might otherwise be felt as the organization
interacts with members of its external environment
Combining individual products and/ or services into groupings that are sold
for a single price, usually lower than the sum of the prices charged if the
same included items were purchased individually.
A description of the business activities of a firm, based on its products and
services, markets, functions served, and resource conversion processes
A popular form of franchising in hospitality firms; this approach to franchising
involves a franchisor selling a way of doing business to its franchisees
A written document that details an owner/manager's strategy for operating a
hotel.
Those who travel primarily for business reasons (often on an expense
account to defray the reasonable travel costs that are incurred).
Buyout
C
Calibration
Call Accounting
Call Around
Call Brand Beverages
Cancellation
Cancellation Number
Cap Rate
Capital Expenditure
Capital Intensity
Capitalization Rate
Cardex
Career Ladder
Cash Advance
Voucher
Cash Voucher
Cash Bank
Cash Bars
Casino Hotel
Catering
Central Processing
Unit
Centralized Accounting
Centralized Electronic
Locking System
Central Reservation
System (CRS)
An arrangement in which both parties to a contract agree to end the contract
early as a result of one party paying the other an agreed-upon financial
compensation.
C
The adjustment of equipment to maximize its effectiveness and operational
efficiency.
The system within the hotel used to document and charge guests for their
use of the telephone.
A telephone “shopping” technique in which a hotel staff member calls
competitive hotels to inquire about room rates and availability. The
information is used by the calling hotel to help determine room rates.
High-priced and higher-quality alcoholic beverages that are sold by name
(such as Johnny Walker Red Scotch or Bombay Gin) rather than sold by type
of liquor (scotch or gin) only.
A reservation voided at the request of the guest.
A series of numbers and/or letters that serve to identify the cancellation of a
specific hotel reservation.
Short for Capitalization Rate.
The purchase of equipment, land, buildings, or other fixed assets necessary
for the operation of the hotel.
The extent to which the assets of an organization are primarily associated
with plants, equipment, and other fixed assets.
A measure of investor return on investment. The computation for a cap rate
is Net Income/Property Sales Price= Cap Rate %
See under Registry Card.
A plan that projects successively more responsible professional positions
within an organization/industry. Career ladders also allow one to
plan/schedule developmental activities judged necessary to assume more
responsible positions.
A voucher used to support cash flow out of the hotel, either directly to or on
behalf of the guest.
A voucher used to support a cash payment transaction at the front desk.
An amount of money given to a cashier at the start of each work shift so that
he or she can handle the various transactions that occur. The cashier
becomes responsible for this cash bank, and for all cash, checks, and other
negotiable instruments received during the work shift.
A beverage service alternative where guests desiring beverages during a
banquet function pay for them personally.
A hotel with gambling facilities.
The process of selling and carrying out the details of a banquet event.
The control centre of a computer system.
A financial management system that collects accounting data from an
individual hotel(s), then combines and analyzes the data at a different
(central) site.
An electronic locking system which operates through a master console at the
front desk which is wired to every guestroom door.
A network for communicating reservations in which each property is
represented in a computer system database and is required to provide room
availability data to the reservations system on a timely basis.
CEO
Short for Chief Executive Officer
CEO Duality
Occurs when the CEO also chairs the board of directors
Certified Public
An individual designated by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountant (CPA.)
Accountants as competent in the field of accounting.
CGM
Short for Consumer Generated Media
CHHE
Short for Certified Hospitality Housekeeping Executive. Certification for
executive housekeepers offered through the Education Institute of AH&LA
Chamber of Commerce An organization whose goal is the advancement of business interests within
a community or larger business region.
Chambermaid
See room attendants.
Charge Back
Credit card charges refused by the credit card company for one reason or
another.
Charge Voucher
A voucher used to support a charge purchase transaction, which takes place
somewhere other than the front desk. Also referred to as an account
receivable voucher.
Check Average
The mean amount spent per visit by each restaurant guest during a
designated time period (e.g., by day part (lunch or dinner) or calendar period
(daily, weekly, or monthly).
Check-out (C/O)
The procedures involved in the departure of a guest from a property,
including settlement of the guest’s account. Also, a room status term
indicating, that the guest has settled his or her account, returned the room
keys, and left the hotel.
Check-Out Time
The hour by which departing guests must check out of a property.
CIO
Short for chief information officer (CIO) A high-level manager who oversees
the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information.
City Account
See non-guest account.
City Ledger
The collection of all non-guest accounts, including house accounts and
unsettled departed guest accounts.
CKO
Short for chief knowledge officer (CKO) An organizational position
responsible for ensuring that the organization can get maximum value from
its knowledge, intangible assets, and best practices.
Closed
The status of a date for which a reservation system will not accept additional
reservations.
Closed-Circuit
A camera and monitor system that displays, in real time, the activity within
Television (CCTV)
the camera's field of vision. A CCTV consisting of several cameras and
screens showing the camera's fields of vision may be monitored in a single
hotel location.
Closing
The legal process of transferring property ownership from a seller to a buyer.
Used, for example, in, "The closing for our new hotel is set for May 22 at the
Trans American Title Company offices on Main Street."
Coaching
A process, whose goal is helping staff members, and the hotel team, reach
their highest possible levels of performance.
Code of Conduct
Principles, values, standards, or rules of behavior that guide the decisions,
procedures and systems of an organization in a way that (a) contributes to
the welfare of its key stakeholders, and (b) respects the rights of all
constituents affected by its operations. A code of conduct for employees sets
out the procedures to be used in specific ethical situations, such as conflicts
of interest or the acceptance of gifts, and delineate the procedures to
determine whether a violation of the code of ethics occurred and, if so, what
remedies should be imposed.
Code of Ethics
Communicates the values of the corporation to employees and other
stakeholders.
Codified Knowledge
Knowledge that can be communicated completely via written means.
Coding
The process of assigning incurred costs to predetermined cost centers or
categories.
Cold Calling
Making a sales visit/presentation to a potential client without having
previously set an appointment to do so.
Collaborative-style
The CEO works with other managers to create a strategy; participants are
Leadership
then responsible for implementing the strategy in their own areas.
Collusion
Secret cooperation between two or more hotel employees for the purpose of
committing fraud.
Commercial Food
Food Services offered in hotels and restaurants and other organizations
Service Operation
whose primary purpose for existence involves generation of profits from the
sale of food and beverage products.
Commercial Hotel
A property, usually located in downtown, or business district, that caters
primarily to business clients. Also called transient hotel.
Commercial Rate
A special room rate agreed upon by a company and a hotel for frequent
guests. Also called corporate rate.
Commissionable
An indication that the hotel will pay travel agents the standard fee for
business placed.
Commission Agent
A summary of reservation transactions for which commissions are owed to
Report
travel agents.
Commoditization
The process by which a product (or service) reaches a point in its
development where one brand has no features that differentiate it from other
brands, and consumers buy on price alone.
Complaint
A statement about expectations that have not been met.
Complaint
Complaint management is a multi-step process of ensuring client
Management
satisfaction. It consists of data collecting, taking action, communicating
feedback, refining changes, and finally following-up i.e. making sure that
clients are satisfied with the resolution.
COO
Short for Chief Operational Officer
Comp
Short for "complimentary" or "no-charge" for products or services.
Compensation
All financial and non-financial rewards given to management and nonmanagement employees in return for the work they do for the hotel.
Compensatory
Also known as actual damages, this monetary amount is intended to
Damages
compensate injured parties for actual losses or damage they have incurred.
This typically includes items such as medical bills and lost wages.
Competitive Advantage Exists when a firm has a long-lasting business advantage compared to rival
firms that is a significant edge over the competition; usually this means that
the firm can do something competitors can’t do or has something
competitors lack
Competitive Edge
See Competitive Advantage
Competitive Dynamics The moves and countermoves of firms and their competitors.
Competitive Set
The group of competing hotels to which an individual hotel's operating
performance is compared.
Complimentary
A room status term indicating that the room is occupied, but the guest is
assessed no charge for the use.
Compressed Work
A method of working full-time hours in fewer than the traditional five days- for
Schedule
Concierge
Concierge Level
Condominium Hotel
Conference Center
Confirmation Number
Conglomerate
Connecting Rooms
ConPAR
Consideration
Consumer Generated
Media
Consortia
Consortia Rate
Constrained Supply
Consumer Surplus
Contact Alarms
Continental Breakfast
Continuous Quality
Improvement (CQI)
Contract
Contribution Margin
Control Folio
Controller
instance, four 10-hour days.
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.
A section of a hotel (usually with restricted access) reserved for special
guests paying higher room rates and receiving special amenities.
See Time-share hotel.
A property specifically designed to handle group meetings. Conference
centers are often located outside metropolitan areas and may provide
extensive leisure facilities, most offer overnight accommodations.
A series of numbers and/or letters that serve to identify a specific hotel
reservation.
A large, highly diversified firm.
Rooms with individual entrance doors from the outside and connecting door
between. Guests can move between rooms without going through the
hallway.
Short for Contribution Per Available Room.
An element in a legal contract that relates to money, property, or a promise
exchanged for the promise made in a contract.
Various online venues such as forums, blogs, wikis, and reviewer sites where
those seeking to research and buy products can use information and
opinions posted by other consumers before making their buying decisions.
Groups of hotel service buyers organized for the purpose of reducing their
client's travel-related costs. A single such group is a consortium.
A hotel room rate given to a guest whose room is booked by selected travel
agencies.
Supply may be constrained due to physical limitations (number of chairs in a
barbershop, rooms in a hotel, or seats at a concert). Supply may also be
constrained by the duration of use, (seat hours available in a restaurant, tee
times available at a golf course or hours spent using the facilities at a water
park).
The difference between the amount a buyer would be willing to pay for a
product or service and the amount they are charged.
A warning system that notifies (contacts) an external entity such as the fire or
police department if the alarm is activated.
A small meal, which usually includes a beverage, rolls, butter, and jam or
marmalade.
Ongoing efforts within the hotel to better meet (or exceed) guest
expectations and define ways to perform work with better, less costly, and
faster methods. See also TQM.
An agreement between two or more parties that will be enforceable in a court
of law.
The amount that remains after the product (food) cost of a menu item is
subtracted from its selling price.
An accounting document used internally by a front office computer to support
all account postings by department during a system update.
The individual responsible for recording, classifying, and summarizing the
hotel's business transactions. In some hotels, this position is referred to as
the comptroller.
Control Systems
Convention
Convention and
Visitors Bureau
Conversion
Conversion (WEB)
Conversion Rate
Copyright
Core Activities
Core Competency
Core Values
Corkage Fee
Corporate Culture
Corporate Guarantee
Corporate Rate
Correction Voucher
Cost Center
Systems used to measure and monitor firm activities and processes, as well
as motivate or encourage behaviors that are conducive to desired
organizational outcomes; the tools of strategy implementation.
Convention is a meeting of delegates for action on particular matters.
Participants called delegates. These may be matters of politics, trade,
science, technology, etc.
Structure: General sessions and supplementary smaller meetings, either with
or without exhibits.
An organization, generally funded by taxes levied on overnight hotel guests
that seek to increase the number of visitors to the area it represents.
Properly utilized, non-electronic distribution channels help reduce
commoditization. Also called the "CVB" for short.
The process of changing a hotel's flag from one franchisor to another. Also
known as "reflagging." For example, "We need a GM experienced in
managing a hotel conversion." As a noun: The term used to describe a hotel
that has changed its flag from one franchisor to another. For example, "Has
this hotel always been a (brand name), or is it a conversion?"
The proportion of web site visitors who actually make a guest room
purchase.
Percentage of site visitors that perform a particular action such as making a
purchase. For example: if a site receives 100 hits that result in two bookings,
the site’s conversion rate is 2%.
Literally “the right to copy ” an original creation and constitutes a set of
exclusive rights to the use of an idea or information.
The primary activities in a firm’s value chain; for a hotel, these activities
might include site development and construction (by local owner), marketing
and sales (by brand, regional office, and property), service delivery and
operations (i.e., check-in, check-out, and in-room services at property level
and by management company), service monitoring and post stay service
enhancement.
A resource or capability that meets the conditions of being valuable, unique,
non-substitutable, or difficult to imitate; if it can also be applied to more than
one business area, it is also called a capability.
The underlying philosophies that guide decisions and behavior in a firm; also
called organizational values.
A charge levied by a hotel when a guest brings a bottle (e.g., of a special
wine) to the hotel for consumption at a banquet function or in the hotel’s
dining room.
The generally accepted values and shared meanings that determine how
employees within an organization will act.
A type of reservation guarantee in which a corporation signs a contractual
agreement with the hotel to accept financial responsibility for may no-show
business travelers it sponsors.
This segment represented by business travelers that make up a large portion
of the traveling public. As this segment is paying among the highest rooms
rates the hotel will be able to achieve, thence catering their needs is very
important.
A voucher used to support the correction of a posting error which is rectified
before the close of business day it was made.
A hotel department that incurs costs in support of a revenue center. Two
Cost per Key
Cost per Occupied
Room
CPA
CPOR
CPU
Credit
Credit Balance
Credit Card
Credit Card Guarantee
Credit Card Imprinter
Credit Card Invoice
Credit Limit Report
Credit Manager
Crisis Management
CRM
Cross-Selling
Cross Training
CRT
CTA
Curb Appeal
Cultural Intelligence
Culture
Current Data
Customer-based
Structure
Customer-Centric
Revenue Management
Customer Relationship
examples are the housekeeping and maintenance departments.
The average purchase price of a hotel’s guest room expressed in thousands
of dollars.
Those rooms-related costs incurred directly as a result of selling a guest
room. Examples include labor costs, room supplies, and room amenities.
Also referred to as room-related occupancy cost, occupied room cost, or cost
per occupied room (CPOR).
Short for Certified Public Accountant. An individual designated by the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as competent in the field of
accounting.
Short for cost per occupied room.
Short for Central Processing Unit.
An entry on the right side of an account.
An amount owed to guests by the hotel.
A system by which banks loan money with interest to consumers as
purchases are made. Merchants accepting the cards for payment are
charged a fee by the banks for the charges made by their customers with the
credit card.
A type of reservation guarantee supported by credit card companies, who
guarantee participating properties payment for reserved rooms that remain
unoccupied.
A device used to press a credit card invoice against a credit card, recording
card information for use in billing and collection procedures.
The form designated by a credit card company to be used for imprinting a
credit card and recording the amount charged. Also called credit card
voucher.
A comparison of a guest’s folio balances to the amount of credit established
for that guest.
The person responsible for establishing and enforcing the hotel’s credit
policies.
Processes associated with preventing, detecting, or recovering from crises.
Short for Customer Relations Management.
Messages designed to advertise the availability of other hotel services.
Training employees for performing multiple tasks and jobs.
Cathode Ray Tube- see Display Screen.
Short for ‘Closed to Arrival’. In this situation, the hotel declines reservations
for guests attempting to arrive on this specific date.
The term used to indicate the initial visual impression the hotel's parking
areas, grounds, and external building aesthetics create for an arriving guest.
An aptitude that enables outsiders to interpret unfamiliar gestures and
actions as though they were insiders; it can be acquired.
An evolving set of shared beliefs, values, and attitudes that help shape how
a social group thinks, sees, acts, and reacts to various events and situations.
Data related to events that are entered into the PMS but have yet to occur.
Organization structures its major units around the characteristics or types of
customer.
A revenue management philosophy that places customer gain ahead of
short-term revenue maximization in revenue management decision making.
A system that allows hotel managers to integrate technology to support
Management
Cut-off Date
Cut-off Hours
CVB
D
Daily Function Board
Daily Operations
Report
Daily Transcript
Damages
Database
Data Mining
Data Processing
Day Rate
Day Shift
Day Use
D Card
Debit
Debit Card
Decentralized
Accounting
Deep Cleaning
Defibrillator
Delayed Check-In
Delegation
Demand
customer service techniques that provides top-notch customer service. It is a
widely implemented model for managing a company's interactions with
customers, clients, and sales prospects.
The date agreed upon between a group and a property after which all
unreserved rooms in the group’s block will be released.
That time at which the day’s unclaimed reservations are released for sale to
the general public.
Short for Convention and Visitors Bureau
D
The place(s) in the lobby and other locations within the hotel used to post
information such as name of function, time, and room number for events
scheduled on a specific date.
A report typically prepared by the night auditor, which summarizes the hotel’s
financial activities during a 24-hour period and provides insight into
revenues, receivables, operating statistics, and cash transactions related to
the front office. Also known as the manager’s report.
A detailed report of all guest accounts that indicates each charge transaction
that affected a guest account that day, used as a worksheet to detect posting
errors.
The actual amount of losses or costs incurred due to the wrongful act of a
liable party.
A computerized collection of related facts and figures designed to serve a
specific purpose.
Using technology to analyze guest (and other) related data to make better
marketing decisions.
The transformation of raw data into timely, accurate, and useful information.
A special room rate for less than an overnight stay.
A hotel work shift, generally 7:00 am to 3:00 pm
A room status term indicating that the room will be used for less than an
overnight stay.
An auditor’s report used in semi-automated front office accounting system.
(DR) An entry on the left side of an account.
A payment system in which money collected by a merchant (hotel) is
automatically (electronically) deposited into the merchant’s local bank
account. As with bank and T&E cards, merchants accepting the cards are
assessed a fee for the right to do so.
A financial management system that collects accounting data from an
individual hotel site and combines and analyzes that data at the same site.
The intensive cleaning of a guestroom, typically including the thorough
cleaning of items such as drapes, lamp shades, carpets, furniture, walls, and
the like.
A machine used to deliver an electrical shock to the heart in case of cardiac
arrest (heart attack) in efforts to re-establish a normal heartbeat.
A procedure by which guests are assigned a room, but the issuing of a key is
delayed.
The process of assigning authority (power) to others to enable subordinates
to do work that a manager at a higher organizational level would otherwise
do.
The total amount of a good or service consumers want to buy at a specific
Demand Generator
Demand Drain
Demi Pension
Denial Code
Department
Departmentalization
Depreciation
Depressed Market
Design Hotel
Desk Clerk
Detained Property
Dialog Training
Differentiation
Differential Pricing
Direct Bill
Direct Channel
Direct Mail Letters
Discipline
Discrepancy Report
Disk Drive
Displace (Revenue)
Displacement Analysis
price.
An organization, entity, or location that creates a significant need for hotel
services. Examples in a community include large businesses, tourist sites,
sports teams, educational facilities, and manufacturing plants.
A circumstance that produces a significant decrease in business.
The French version of half board.
A code generated by an on-line credit card verification service, indicating that
the requested transaction has not been approved.
A department is a part of a larger organization with a specific responsibility.
Departmentalization is the process of grouping together people and jobs into
work units.
The part of a fixed asset's cost that is recognized as an expense in each
accounting period because it is assumed to have been "used up" during that
period.
The term used to describe a hotel market area where occupancy rates
and/or ADRs are far below their historic levels. Used, for example, in, "The
permanent closing of the military base in that town resulted in depressed
market conditions in the entire county."
See also Boutique Hotels.
The person who verifies guest reservations, registers guests, assigns rooms,
distributes keys, communicates with housekeeping staff, answers
telephones, gives information about and directions to local attractions,
accepts cash and gives change, and acts as liaison between the lodging
establishment and the guest as well as the community.
Personal property of a guest that is held by a hotel until payment is made for
the purchase of lawful products/services.
Teaching employees about what to say in conversations and/or how to
respond to common situations that occur on the job.
Requires the firm to distinguish its products or services on the basis of an
attribute such as higher quality, more innovative features, greater selection,
better service after sale, or more advertising.
The practice of a seller charging different prices to different buyers for the
same product or slightly different versions of the same product.
An arrangement whereby a guest is allowed to purchase hotel services and
products on credit terms.
A system of selling to consumers without the use of an intermediary.
Letters sent directly to individuals in a targeted market group in a marketing
effort.
Activities designed to reinforce desired performance (positive discipline) or to
correct undesired performance (negative discipline).
A daily comparison between the status of rooms as listed by the PMS at the
front office, and the status of rooms as listed by the housekeeping
department.
A piece of computer hardware, which writes data to and reads data from a
floppy disk or hard disk.
To substitute one source of revenue for another.
A structured examination of the relative merits of choosing among alternative
pieces of business for the purpose of identifying the piece that optimizes
revenue.
Display Screen
Distressed Market
Distribution Channel
Diversification
DNCO
DOSM
Double
Double Bed
Double-Double
Double-Entry
Bookkeeping
Double Occupancy
Ratio
Downsizing
Dram Shop Laws
Drop In
Duct
Due Back
Due Diligence (a)
Due Diligence (b)
Due Out
Duration Control
Duty of Care
E
Early Arrival
An output device of a computer system, which is usually capable of
displaying both text and graphics. Also called a monitor, a CRT, or simply a
screen.
An economic condition that results in revenue levels that are significantly (10
percent or more) below historic norms.
A distinct and definable source of hotel rooms or services sales. For
example, the Internet is one distribution channel, and meeting planners are
another.
Occurs when a firm expands its business operations into new products,
functions served, markets, or technologies.
Did not check-out. A room status term indicating that the guest made
arrangements to settle his or her account (and thus is not a skipper), but has
left without informing the front office.
Short for "Director of Sales and Marketing." Variations include DOS (Director
of Sales) and DOM (Director of Marketing).
A room assigned to two people, may have one or more beds.
A bed approximately 54 inches by 75 inches (140-150X190-200 cm)
A room with two double (or perhaps queen) beds, may be occupied by one
or more people. Also called a twin-double.
A system for recording financial transactions in which every transaction
creates entries that affect at least two accounts.
See multiple occupancy ratios.
Reducing the number of employees and/or labor hours for cost-containment
purposes.
A provision in the U.S. legal code that allows an injured party to seek
damages from an intoxicated person who caused the injury and from the
person who provided the alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person.
A potential buyer (guest) who arrives at the hotel without an appointment.
See also Walk-In.
A passageway, usually built of sheet metal, which allows fresh, cold, or warm
air to be directed to various parts of a building.
A situation that occurs when a cashier pays out more than he or she
receives, the difference is due back to the cashier’s cash bank. In the front
office, due backs usually occur when a cashier accepts many checks and
large bills during a shift, such that he or she cannot restore the initial bank at
the end of the shift without using checks or large bills.
The British equivalent of Reasonable Care (Security& Safety).
Involves a complete examination of a merger or acquisition, including such
areas as management, equity, debt, sale of assets, transfer of shares,
environmental issues, financial performance, tax issues, human resources,
customers, and markets (Strategic Management).
A room status term indicating, that the room is expected to become vacant
after the following day’s checkout time.
Duration rules and limitations related to guests’ arrival dates, departure dates
and minimum stay lengths. Also known as stay controls.
An obligation imposed by law that requires a specific standard of conduct.
E
A guest who arrives at a property before the date of his or her reservation.
Early Check-In
Early Departure
Early Out
EBITDA
E-Commerce
Economy/Limited
Service
E-distribution Channel
E-Fridge
E.I.
E-Key
Electric Discharge
Lamp
Electronic Locking
System
Embezzlement
Emergency Key
Emergency Plan
Emergent Strategy
Employee Folio
Employee Handbook
Employee Stock
Ownership Plan
Employer-of-Choice
Employment
Agreement
Empowerment
A request by a guest to take possession of a room prior to the hotel’s
normally established check-in time.
A guest who checks out of the hotel before his or her originally scheduled
check-out date.
A clause in a franchisee agreement that grants both the franchisor and the
franchisee the right, with proper notification, to terminate the agreement after
it has been in effect for a relatively short period of time. When this clause
exists, a window may be granted after only one, two, or three years.
Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.
A system of conducting business activities using the Internet and other
information technologies. Refers to using computer networks to conduct
business, including buying and selling online, electronic funds transfer,
business communications, and other activities associated with the buying
and selling of goods and services online.
A level of service emphasizing clean, comfortable, inexpensive rooms and
meeting the most basic needs of guests. Economy hotels appeal primarily to
budget-minded travelers.
A generic term used to indicate all “E” (electronic) methods of advertising
and selling guest rooms. Also known as “E-commerce.”
A cabinet usually including both refrigerated and non-refrigerated sections
designed with an electronic processing unit that allows direct PMS interface.
(Educational Institute of AH&LA) The shortened version of the name given to
the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association
(AH&LA). Located in Orlando, Florida, and Lansing, Michigan, E.I. is the
professional development and certification subsidiary of the AH&LA.
Short for emergency key.
A lamp in which light is generated by passing electrical current through a
space filled with a special combination of gases. Examples include
fluorescent, mercury vapor, metal halide, and sodium.
A locking system which replaces traditional mechanical locks with
sophisticated computer based guestroom access devices.
The theft of a company's financial assets by an employee.
A key which opens all guestroom doors, even when they are double locked.
A document describing a hotel's pre-determined, intended response to a
safety/security threat encountered by the hotel.
Implies that the existing strategy is not necessarily planned or intended, but
rather a result of learning through a process of trial and error.
A folio used to chart transactions on an account assigned to an employee
with charge purchase privileges.
Written policies and procedures related to employment at a hotel.
Also sometimes called an employee "manual."
Reward system in which employees are provided with an attractive method
for acquiring stock in the companies where they work. (ESOP)
The concept that the hospitality operation is a preferred place of employment
within the community by those who have alternative employment
opportunities.
A document specifying the terms of the work relationship between the
employer and employee that indicates the rights and obligations of both
parties.
The act of granting authority to employees to make key decisions within the
End of Day
Energy Management
Engineering
Entrepreneur
Equity
Ethics
Europe(an) Plan
Evening Shift
Executive Floor
Executive
Housekeeper
Executive Operating
Committee (EOC)
Expatriate
Expected Arrival List
Expected Departure
List
Expenses
Express Check-Out
External Audit
External Environment
External Recruiting
External Storage
Device
E-Wholesaler
F
Fade Rate
Fair (Market) Share
employees' areas of responsibility.
An arbitrary stopping point for the business day, established so that the audit
can be considered complete that time.
Specific policies and engineering, maintenance, and facility design activities
intended to control and reduce energy usage.
Designing and operating a building to ensure a safe and comfortable
atmosphere.
A person who assumes the risk of owning and operating a business in
exchange for the financial rewards the business may produce.
The value of an asset beyond the total amount owed on it for mortgages and
other loans.
Standards used to judge the "right" and "wrong" (or fairness) of one's actions
when dealing with others.
A room rate that does not include guest meals. A billing arrangement under
which meals are priced separately from rooms.
A hotel work shift, generally 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
A floor of a hotel which offers world-class service. Also called the tower
concept or concierge floor.
The individual responsible for the management and operation of the
housekeeping department.
Those members of the hotel's management team (generally department
heads) responsible for departmental leadership and overall property
administration.
A citizen of one country who is employed in another country.
A daily report showing the number and names of guests expected to arrive.
A daily report showing the number and names of guests expected to depart
as well as the number of stayovers.
The amount of money spent to generate revenues.
A pre-departure activity which involves the production and early morning
distribution of guest folios for guests expected to check out that morning.
An independent verification of financial records performed by accountants
who are not employed by the organization operating the hotel.
Stakeholders and forces outside the traditional boundaries of the firm; they
can be divided into the broad and operating environments.
Tactics designed to attract persons who are not current hotel employees for
vacant positions.
A piece of computer hardware that retains data and/or programs that can be
accessed by the central processing unit.
A room reseller that obtains reduced (wholesale) room prices and inventory
commitments directly from a hotel or through an agreement with the hotel’s
corporate brand managers. It then publishes “retail rates” on its websites,
usually at a markup of 20% to 40%.
F
A reduced rate authorized for use when a guest seeking a reservation
exhibits price (rate) resistance. Sometimes called as flex-rate.
Beside the importance of a company’s production capacity, the fair market
share analysis (FMS) does not give much information regarding its
profitability. However, it becomes the standard for comparison with the
market share of the actual production (profit, revenues, room nights, seat
Family Rate
FAM Tours or Trips
Fax (Facsimile)
F&B
Feasibility Study
Federal Trade
Commission (FTC)
Feedback Control
Feeder Market
FF&E
Fiduciary
First Tier
FIT
Five Forces (of
Industry Competition)
Fixed Costs
Fixed Labor Costs
Flag
Flash Report
sales, etc.).
A special room rate for parents and children in the same room.
Short for familiarization tours. Complimentary visits sponsored by the lodging
property that host representatives of travel organizations, bus associations,
social and nonprofit organizations, and local corporate traffic managers. In
Central & Eastern Europe is much in evidence as Study Tour.
A copier-like machine which transmits full-page documents over telephone
lines.
Shortened term for "food and beverage." Used, for example as in the
following: "Please let the F&B Director know about the changes the guest
has requested."
A determination that a proposed (hotel) development will (or will not) meet
the expectations of its investors. The study should include the estimated
market demand for the property, as well as its economic viability.
The FTC enforces federal antitrust and consumer protection laws. It also
seeks to ensure that the nation's business markets function competitively
and are free of undue restrictions caused by acts or practices that are unfair
or deceptive. [US]
Provides managers with information concerning outcomes from
organizational activities.
A geographic location that includes a significant number of travelers using a
hotel’s services.
The term used to refer to the furniture, fixtures, and equipment used by a
hotel to service its guests. FF&E Reserve Funds set aside by management
today for the future furniture, fixture, and equipment replacement needs of a
hotel.
A relationship based upon trust and the responsibility to act in the best
interest of another when performing tasks.
Management companies that operate hotels for owners using the
management company's trade name as the hotel brand. Hyatt, Hilton, and
Sheraton are examples.
(Free Independent Traveler our Foreign Independent Tour): A guest coming
to the hotel as an individual and not part of a group. (a traveler who is not
group affiliated)
Forces that largely determine the type and level of competition in an industry
and, ultimately, the industry’s profit potential; they include customers,
suppliers, entry barriers, substitute products or services, and rivalry among
existing competitors.(Porter’s Five)
Fixed costs are expenses that have to be paid by a company, independent of
any business activity (such as occupancy). It is one of the two components of
the total cost of a good or service, along with variable cost.
The minimum number of labor hours and associated labor costs that are
required to operate the food service operation whenever it is open regardless
of the number, if any, of guests that are served.
A term used to refer to the specific brand with which a hotel may affiliate.
Examples of currently popular flags include brands such as Comfort Inns,
Holiday Inn Express, Ramada Inns, Hampton Inns, Residence Inns, Best
Western, and Hawthorn Suites. The hotels affiliated with a specific flag are
sometimes referred to as a chain.
Daily information provided to the GM that reports key financial information
from the previous day (often accumulated for the month and/or year-to-date
and compared to actual data from previous years).
Flat Organization Chart The collapse/combination of positions within an organization to reduce the
number of management layers in efforts to improve communication, increase
operating efficiencies, and reduce costs.
Flat Rate
Flat rate, refers to a pricing structure that charges a single fixed fee for a
service, regardless of usage. Rarely, it may refer to a rate that does not vary
with usage or time of use.
Flextime
A program of flexible work hours which allows employees to vary their times
of starting and ending work.
Float
The delay in payment from an account after using a credit card or personal
check.
Floor Attendant
See floor supervisor or inspector.
Floor Limit
A limit assigned to hotels by credit card companies indicating the maximum
amount in credit card charges the hotel is permitted to accept from a card
member without special authorization. In on-line surroundings it’s been
withdrawn from use.
Floor Supervisor
The individual(s) responsible for physically checking the room status of guest
rooms, as well as other tasks as assigned by the executive housekeeper.
Floppy Disk
An external storage medium for a computer. Also called a diskette.
Flow-Through
The relative change in profit dollars expressed as a percentage of the
change in revenue dollars.
FOC (Franchise
A franchise disclosure document that is prepared by a franchisor and then is
Offering Circular)
registered and filed with the state governmental agency responsible for
administering franchise relationships in that date.
Folio
The detailed list of a hotel guest's room charges, as well as other charges
authorized by the guest or legally imposed by the hotel.
Folio Tray
A bin used to store guest folios. In non-automated and semi-automated
properties, folios remain in the tray throughout occupancy, except when they
are used in posting transactions. Also called a folio bucket.
FOM
Short for front office manager.
Food and Beverage
The individual responsible for the operation of a hotel's F&B program(s).
Director
Foot-candle
A measure of illumination. One foot-candle equals one lumen per square
foot. (The European counterpart of the foot-candle is the Lux, a light intensity
of one lumen per square meter.)
Forecasting
Projecting room sales for a specific period.
Foreseeable (Legal
The concept that the liability of a party should be limited to acts that a
Concept)
reasonable would be able to predict or expect as the results of his or her
actions.
Foreclose
The process in which a lender terminates the borrower's interest in a
property after a loan is defaulted.
Franchise
An arrangement whereby one party (the brand) allows another (the hotel
owners) to use its logo, name, systems, and resources in exchange for a fee.
Franchise Agreement
The legal contract between the hotel's owners (the franchisee) and the brand
managers (the franchisor), which describes the duties and responsibilities of
each in the franchise relationship.
Franchisee
Those who own the hotel and buy the right to use the brand name for a fixed
period of time and at an agreed-upon price.
Franchisor
Fraud
Free-to-Guests
Fringe Benefits
Front Desk
Front Desk Agent
Front Office
Front Office
Accounting Formula
Front Office
Applications
Front Office Cashier
Front Office Cash
Sheet
Front Office Ledger
Front of The House
FSD (Franchise
Services Director)
Full-Service Hotel
Full-Service
Restaurants
Fully Automated
Function Room
Those who manage the brand and sell the right to use the brand name.
Purposeful deception (deceit) that results in legal injury to a person.
A service provided at no additional charge (beyond normal room rental
charges) to the hotel guest. Examples could include making local telephone
calls, access to premium cable television channels such as HBO or
Showtime, and use of the hotel's pool or workout facilities. (Ultimately, the
hotel must absorb the cost(s) of providing these services to guests, but
guests are not charged on a per usage basis. Therefore, the term does not
mean that the services that are provided are free to the hotel.)
Fringe Benefits are various non-wage compensations provided to employees
in addition to their normal wages or salaries. Examples of these benefits
include: housing (employer-provided or employer-paid), group insurance
health, dental, life etc.), disability income protection, retirement benefits,
daycare, tuition reimbursement, sick leave, vacation (paid and non-paid),
social security, profit sharing, funding of education, and other specialized
benefits.
The area within the hotel used for guest registration and payment.
A front office employee whose responsibilities centre on the registration
process, but also typically include preregistration activities, room status
coordination, and mail, message, and information requests.
A department of rooms division which is the most visible department in a
hotel, with the greatest amount of guest contact. Traditional front office
functions include reservations, registration, room and rate assignment, room
status, maintenance and settlement of guest accounts, and creation of guest
history records. Also, the physical location at which front-of-the house
activities are coordinated.
The formula used in posting transactions to front office accounts: Previous
balance+ Debits-Credits= Net outstanding balance.
Computer software designed for specific front office uses. Typical front office
applications include reservations, rooms management, guest accounting,
and general management modules.
A front office employee whose responsibilities centre on the guest
accounting cycle.
A form completed by front office cashiers which lists each receipt or
disbursement of cash during a work shift. It is used to reconcile actual cash
on hand with the transactions which occurred during the shift.
see Guest ledger.
The functional areas of the hotel in which employees have extensive guest
contact, such as food and beverage facilities and the front office.
The representative of a franchise hotel brand who interacts directly with the
franchised hotel's GMs.
A hotel is considered "full-service" when it provides guests with extensive
food and beverage products and services.
Restaurants that offer eat–in service, expansive menus, and prices that
range from low to high; these restaurants are divided into three segments:
family, grill-buffet, and dinner houses.
A computer-based system of front office record keeping which eliminates the
need for many handwritten and machine-produced forms common in nonand semi-automated systems.
Public space such as meeting rooms, conference areas, and ballrooms
(which can frequently be subdivided into smaller spaces) that are available in
the hotel for banquet, meeting, or other group rental purposes.
Futon
Japanese sleeping arrangement made of many layers of cotton-quilted
batting that is rolled up when not in use.
Future Data
Data related to events that have yet to occur and will not be found in the
PMS. While this data is unknown, it can be estimated.
G
G
GAAPs
Short for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
Garni Hotel
Non-US designation for hotels without restaurant service, except for
continental breakfast. US equivalent is limited-service hotel.
Gateway
A term relating to a location (airport or hotel, for example) where there is
significant activity involving international travelers.
GDS
Short for Global Distribution System.
Generally Accepted
Standards and procedures that have been adopted by those responsible for
Accounting Principles
preparing business financial statements for the purpose of ensuring
uniformity.
General Ledger
The primary ledger that contains all of a hotel’s accounts and that is used to
create its income (profit and loss) statement.
General Management
A front office computer application, usually a report-generating package
Module
which depends on data collected through reservations, rooms management,
and guest accounting modules.
General Manager (GM) The traditional title used to identify the individual at a hotel property who is
responsible for final decision making regarding property-specific operating
policies and procedures. Also the leader of the hotel's management team.
Global Distribution
Referred to as the GDS for short, this system consists of the companies
System
(SABRE, Galileo, Apollo, Amadeus, and Worldspan) that connect hotels
offering rooms for sale with individuals and travel professionals worldwide
who will potentially purchase them.
Global Integration
The process through which a multinational organization integrates its
worldwide activities into a single world strategy through its network of
affiliates and alliances.
Globalization
The condition in which countries and communities within them throughout the
world are becoming increasingly interrelated.
Goal
A definition of the purpose of a department or division, which directs the
actions of employees and the functions of the department or division toward
a hotel’s mission.
GOP
Short for gross operating profit. This popular term is taken from a pre-1990
version of the Uniform System of Accounts for Hotels (USAH) published by
the New York Hotel Association. It refers to hotel revenue less those
expenses typically controlled at the property level. It is generally expressed
on the income statement and in the industry as both a dollar figure and
percent of total revenue.
GOPPAR
Total revenues less management-controllable operating expenses/ number
of available rooms.
Government Rate
A special room rate available at some hotels for government employees.
Grandmaster (Key)
One key that opens all guest rooms except those locked from within.
Grand Opening
An event held at a hotel that marks the "official" opening of that hotel. It can
be held several days or even weeks after the hotel actually opens and is
intended to market the hotel to its client base and the local community.
Graveyard
A work shift beginning about midnight.
Greens Fee
Group Contract
Group Coordinator
Group History
Group Rate
Group Sale
Group Sales
Guarantee
Guaranteed
Reservation
Guest
Guest Account
Guest Accounting
Module
Guest Check Average
Guest Cycle
Guest Folio
Guest Essentials
Guest Expendables
Guest History File
Guest History Record
A charge for the use of the golf course.
A legal document used to summarize the agreement between a hotel and its
group client.
Group coordinator is a professional who directs, plans, and puts together
various events for a particular group.
The number of rooms blocked for and ultimately used by a group during
similar events held in the past.
A special room rate for a number of affiliated guests.
A large sale (in number of rooms or dollar volume) of the hotel's rooms or
services. The sales and marketing department, not the front desk, book sales
of this type.
Rooms and services sold primarily through the efforts of the hotel's sales and
marketing department, and given to the front office for recording and
servicing.
A contractual agreement about the number of meals to be provided at a
banquet event. Typically, a guarantee must be made several days in
advance of the event. At that time, the entity contracting with the hotel for the
event agrees to pay for the larger of the actual number of guests served or
the number of guests guaranteed.
A reservation which assures the guest that a room will be held until checkout time of the day following the day of arrival. The guest guarantees
payment for the room, even if it is not used, unless the reservation is properly
cancelled. Types of guaranteed reservations include prepayment, credit
card, advance deposit, travel agent, and corporate.
A hotel visitor. Most guests rent rooms and/or purchase food or beverages in
a hotel outlet or a banquet function.
b., A person who rents a guest room for a short time period with no intention
of becoming a permanent resident.
A record of financial transactions occurs between a guest and the hotel.
A front office computer application which maintains guest accounts
electronically, eliminating the need for folio cards, folio trays, and posting
machines.
The average amount spent by a guest in a room service or dining room
order. The guest check average typically includes the food and alcoholic
beverage sales. Guest check average = total revenue/total number of guests
served.
A division of the flow of business through a hotel which identifies the physical
contacts and financial exchanges between guests and hotel employees.
A folio used to chart transactions on an account assigned to an individual
person or guestroom.
Items serving for the guest’s needs and convenience, normally not used up
or taken away.
Items serving for the guest’s needs and convenience, expected to use up or
to take away upon departure. Branded or with own logo
A collection of guest history records constructed from expired registration
cards or created through sophisticated computer-based systems which
automatically direct information about departing guests into a guest history
database.
A record of personal and financial information about hotel guests which is
relevant to marketing, sales, and servicing the guest’s return. State law may
Guest Ledger
Guest Ledger Report
Guest Loan
Guest Relations
Manager
Guestroom Key
Guest Service Agent
H
Half Board
Half-Day Rate
Handicap Room
Hard Copy
Hardware
Head Table
Headquarter Hotel
Hideabed
High Balance Account
High Tea
Historical Data
Horizon
Horizontal
Communication
Hospitality
Hospitality Suites
Host Hotel
Hosted Bars
Hosted Events
Hot Spot
require retention of certain guest data for some period of time.
The set of accounts for all guests currently registered in the hotel. Also called
the front office ledger, transient ledger, or room ledger.
A report which carries the current account balances of all registered guests,
typically prepared as part of the night audit.
Equipment loaned to guests upon request and at no charge.
The primary goal of a guest relations manager is to make guests feel
welcome and ensure their satisfaction. A guest relations manager needs to
work well with people, be able to handle stressful situations and maintain a
positive attitude.
A key which opens a single guestroom door if it is not double-locked.
An employee working in the front desk area of the hotel. Also referred to by
some in the industry as a "desk clerk."
H
See also Modified American Plan.
A special rate that typically includes 1-4 hours (but not overnight) use of the
room.
A room with special features designed for handicapped guests. See also
ADA.
A printed paper copy of information, as opposed to information on a display
screen. Also, the last page in a set of folio copies which is the hotel’s copy of
folio.
The physical equipment of a computer system. Computer hardware is visible,
movable, and easy to identify.
Special seating at a banquet reserved for guests of honor.
The hotel that hosts the main group of attendees during an event in which
there are multiple host hotels.
See sofa bed
A report which identifies guests who are approaching an account credit limit,
typically prepared by the night auditor.
A fairly substantial late afternoon or early evening meal.
Data related to events that have already occurred. Sometimes referred to as
“actual data.”
The future time frame for which a property accepts reservations.
Communication between individuals at the same organizational level.
Defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as the reception and entertainment
of guests, visitors, or strangers with liberality and goodwill.
A guest room rented by a supplier/vendor usually during conventions/
conferences to provide complimentary food and/or beverages to invited
guests.
A property that serves as the headquarters for a group when multiple hotels
must be used to house all group members. (Headquarter Hotel)
A beverage service alternative in which the host of a function pays for
beverages during all or part of the banquet event; also called an "open" bar.
Functions served by a hotel, which are complimentary to invited guests
because costs are borne by the event's sponsor.
A Wi-Fi area that allows for high-speed wireless Internet access or other data
Hotel Broker
Hotel Chain
Hoteliers
House Account
House Brand
Beverages
House Count
Housekeeping
Housekeeping Status
Housekeeping Status
Report
House Limit
Houseman
House Person
House Phone
House Use
House/Convention
Bureau
HR
Hubbart Formula
Human Relations
Human Resource
Management
HVAC
I
Ideal Average Rate
Identity Theft
IDS
Impact Study
In Balance
Incandescent Lamp
transmission
A person who sells hotel room prize packages to corporations, sweepstakes
promoters, game shows, and other sponsors.
A group of hotels with the same brand name.
Those who work in the hotel business.
An account whose entries are assessed to another hotel entity.
Alcoholic beverages that are sold by type (scotch, gin, etc.) rather than by
brand name and that are served when a call brand beverage is not
requested. Sometimes referred to as "Well" brands.
An estimate of the number of guests staying in a hotel on a given day.
The department within the rooms division which inspects rooms for sale,
cleans occupied and vacated rooms, and coordinates room status with the
front office. In some hotels, the housekeeping function is considered an
independent hotel division.
See as Room Status.
A report prepared by the housekeeping department which indicates the
current housekeeping status of each room, based on physical check.
A credit limit established by the hotel.
See House Person.
The individual responsible for the cleaning of public spaces (the house). Also
sometimes referred to as a PA (public area cleaner) or porter.
A publicly located telephone within the hotel used to call the front desk, or in
some cases, the front desk and guest rooms.
A room status term indicating that the room is being used by someone on the
hotel staff at no charge.
A reservations office which coordinates room requirements at several hotels
for large conventions.
Short for human resources.
A method used to compute room rates that consider such factors as
operating expenses, desired return on investment, and income from various
departments in the hotel. Named after Mr.Hubbard – a former hotel owner in
Chicago (in the 40s).
Skills needed to understand and effectively interact with other people.
Support activities of the value chain associated with human-based activities
such as recruiting, hiring, training, and compensation.
A shorthand term for "heating, ventilating, and air conditioning."
I
A rooms statistics which indicates the point at which rooms are sold at the
best rate for the type of guests accommodated by a property.
A crime that occurs when someone obtains and uses another individual’s
personal information to commit fraud and/or theft.
Short for Internet Distribution System.
An in-depth evaluation of the effect on occupancy percent and ADR that a
new hotel in a given market will have on an existing hotel(s) in that same
market.
A term used to describe the state when the totals of debit amounts and credit
amounts for a set of accounts are equal.
A lamp in which a filament inside the lamp's bulb is heated by electrical
current to produce light.
Incentive Rate
A special room rate for guests in affiliated travel and tourism organizations
because of the potential referral business they can generate for the hotel.
Incentive Travel
Travel financed by a business as an employee incentive.
Incident Report
A document prepared to record the details of an accident, injury, or
disturbance, and the hotel's response to it.
Inclusive
A single price that includes all charges.
Income
This is net earnings after all expenses for an accounting period are
subtracted from all revenues recognized during that period.
Income Statement
See statement of income.
Indemnification
To reimburse someone for a loss that has been incurred.
Independent Hotel
A hotel with no ownership or management affiliation with other properties.
Indirect Channel
A system of selling to consumers utilizing one or more intermediaries.
Indirect Cost
A cost that is not easily assigned to a specific operating unit or department.
Induction
The process of informing new employees about matters related to the
department in which they will work.
Information Book
A collection of information kept at the front desk for front desk agents to use
in responding to guests requests, including simplified maps of the area, taxi
and airline company telephone numbers, bank, theatre, church, and store
locations, and special event schedules.
Information Rack
An alphabetical index of registered guests used in routing, telephone calls,
mail, messages, and visitor inquiries. The information rack normally consists
of aluminum slots designed to hold information rack slips.
Information Rack Slip
A slip containing a guest’s name, room number, room rate, and departure
date.
Innovation
A new idea, a recombination of old ideas, or a unique approach that is
perceived as new by the individuals involved; innovation is the combination
of both invention and commercialization.
Input/output Unit
A piece of computer hardware which allows a user to interact with the
computer system. Input/output units include keyboards, display screens, and
printers.
In-Room Beverage
A system which dispenses beverages within a guestroom, monitors sales
Service System
transactions, and determines inventory replenishments quantities. Two
popular systems are non-automated honor bars and microprocessor-based
vending machines.
In-Room Folio Review A system which allows guests to use in-room computers to access guest
and Check-Out
folio data and approve and settle their accounts.
In-Room Movie System A system which provides guestroom entertainment through a dedicated
television pay channel. Automatic posting of charges to the appropriate guest
folio may be possible.
Inspector (Inspectress) The individual(s) responsible for physically checking the room status of guest
rooms, as well as other tasks as assigned by the executive housekeeper.
See also as floor attendant, or floor-supervisor.
Institutional Food
Those food services provided by health care, educational, military, religious,
Service Operation
and numerous other organizations whose primary reason for existence is not
(Noncommercial)
to generate a profit from the sale of food/beverage products but rather is to
support another organizational purpose.
Intangible Benefit
Lacking material qualities, not able to be touched or seen, but nonetheless
perceived.
Intangible Resources
Organizational assets that are difficult to quantify, such as knowledge, skills,
Integrated Software
Interface Applications
Interfaced
Intermediary
Internal Alarms
Internal Audit
Internal Control
Internal Recruiting
Internet Distribution
System
Intersell Agency
Interstate Commerce
Interview Evaluation
Form
Intrapreneurship
J
Job Breakdown
Job Description
Job List
Job Sharing
Job Specification
Joining Rooms
Joint Venture
Journal Form
Judgment
Junior Suite
K
abilities, stakeholder relationships, and reputations.
Software which allows several programs to use the same database.
Stand-alone computer software packages which may be linked to a front
office management system, including point-of-sale systems, call accounting
systems, and electronic locking systems.
The term used to describe the process in which one data generating system
shares its data electronically with another system.
An entity that acts as a communication or service link between buyers and
sellers that are unable or unwilling to deal directly.
A warning system that notifies an area within the hotel if the alarm is
activated.
An independent verification of financial records performed by members of the
organization operating the hotel.
The policies, procedures, and equipment used in a business to safeguard its
assets and promote operational efficiency.
Tactics to identify and attract currently employed staff members for job
vacancies that represent promotions or lateral transfers to similar positions.
The group of online reservation systems and travel portals that utilize the
Internet to connect travel-related businesses such as hotels with those
individuals and companies seeking to buy from them. (IDS)
A central reservation system that handles reservations for more than one
product line, such as airline companies, car rental companies, and hotel
properties.
The commercial trading or transportation of people or property that occurs
between and/or among states.
A form used by the (front office) manager to evaluate an applicant’s
strengths and weaknesses.
Corporate entrepreneurship, or the creation of new business ventures within
existing corporations.
J
A specification of how each task on a job list should be performed.
A list of tasks that an employee working in a specific position must be able to
effectively perform.
A list of tasks that must be performed for a front office position.
An arrangement by which two or more part-time employees share the
responsibilities of one full-time position.
A list of the personal qualities judged necessary for successful performance
of the tasks required by the job description.
Rooms with individual entrance doors from the outside and connecting door
between. Guests can move between rooms without going through the
hallway. (See also Connecting rooms)
Partnership comprised of organizations such as corporations, governments,
and/or other entities that is formed to develop a lodging brand or property.
An account recording format in which each entry includes a description of the
affected account, the charge or payment entry, and the resulting account
balance. Journal form is typically used for front office accounting documents.
A court’s decision about a matter that has been presented to it.
see Mini-Suite
K
KAM
Key Account
Management
Keycards
Key Fob
Key Performance
Indicator
Key Rack
King
King Bed
Knowledge Economy
L
LAN
Lanai
LAR
Late Arrival
Late Charge
Late Check-Out
Late Check-Out Fee
Laundry Par Levels
Law of Demand
Law of Supply
Lawsuit
Lead
Lead Time
Leadership
Leadership Style
Short for Key Account Management.
Special attention given to customers who are producing the largest share of
the revenue and profits or who have the potential to do so.
The electromagnetic card used in a recodable locking system.
A decorative or descriptive plastic or metal tag attached to a hard key.
Key Performance Indicators - also known as KPI or Key Success Indicators
(KSI),are quantifiable measurements, agreed to beforehand, that reflect the
critical success factors of an organization. They will differ depending on the
organization.
An array of numbered compartments used to maintained guestroom keys.
A room with a king-size bed may be occupied by one or more people.
A bed approximately 78 inches by 80 inches. (200x200 v. 198x205)
Refers to the importance of intangible people skills and intellectual assets to
developed economies.
L
Short for Local Area Network. A communications network that connects
computers and other terminals within a geographically limited area (typically
within adjacent buildings or complexes). A LAN requires a LAN server and
allows resources to be shared.
Hawaiian term for veranda; a room with a porch or balcony usually
overlooking gardens or water.
Short for Last Available Rate (Corporate Clients).
A guest with a reservation who expects to arrive after the hotel’s designated
cancellation hour and so notifies the hotel.
A transaction requiring posting to a guest account that does not reach the
front office until the guest has checked out and left the hotel.
A room status term indicating that the guest is being allowed to check out
later than the hotel’s standard check-out time.
A charged imposed by some hotels on guests who do not check out by the
established check-out time.
The amount of laundry in use, in process, and in storage. See also Par level.
The concept of economics that recognizes, when supply is held constant, an
increase in demand results in an increase in selling price. Conversely, with
supply held constant, a decrease in demand leads to a decreased selling
price.
The concept of economics that recognizes, when demand is held constant,
an increase in supply leads to a decreased selling price. Conversely, with
demand held constant, a decrease in supply leads to an increased selling
price.
A legal action in a court of law based upon a complaint that a person or
company (hotel) failed to perform a required duty and that failure resulted in
harm to the person filing the complaint.
Information about a prospect that is likely to buy from the hotel.
The sell-in time or materialization time of a group from the first request up to
the arrival.
Leadership is the process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish
important tasks.
The mix of attitudes and/or behaviors that a supervisor can use to direct the
work of employees.
Least-Cost Routing
Ledger
Leisure Traveler
Length-of-Stay
Letter of Confirmation
Leverage
Liabilities
Liable
Light Baggage
Limited Partnership
Limited-Service Hotel
Lien (The Right of)
Line Departments
Line-Level
Linen
Link
Link Strategy
Liquidity
Litigation
Lobby Foodservices
Lock-Out
Log Book
LOS
Lost Property
Lost and Found
Procedures
Low Balling
A feature of an active call accounting system that directs calls over the least
costly available line, regardless of carrier.
A grouping of account.
Those who travel primarily for personal reasons; these guests use private
funds for travel expenses and are often sensitive to the prices charged.
The number of nights a hotel’s individual guests use their rooms. (LOS)
A letter sent to a guest to verify that a reservation has been made and that its
specifications are accurate.
The use of borrowed funds to increase purchasing power.
Debts owed by a business.
Legally bound to compensate for loss or injury.
Insufficient luggage in quantity or quality on which to extend credit; the guest
pays in advance.
A business form in which the partners ’ management responsibility and legal
liability are limited.
A lodging property that offers no or very limited food services; sometimes a
complimentary breakfast is served, but there is no table service restaurant
see also Economy (Service) or Garni Hotel.
The legal right of one party to retain or sell the property of another as
security for or payment of a lawful claim of charges.
Hotel divisions that are in the "chain of command" and are directly
responsible for revenues (such as front office and food/beverage) or for
property operations (such as housekeeping and maintenance and
engineering).
Those employees whose jobs are considered entry level or non- supervisory.
These are typically positions where the employee is paid an hourly (rather
than salary) compensation. Examples include positions such as guest
service agents, room attendants, and food and beverage servers.
A generic term for the guest room sheets and pillowcases and tablecloths
and napkins washed and dried in the laundry area.
A relationship between two Web sites. When Web site users select a link at
one site, they are taken to another Web site address. An external link leads
to a Web page other than the current one; an internal link leads elsewhere
on the current page.
The identification and linking of complimentary sites (especially high-traffic
sites) that improve the hotel’s SERP ranking in response to a keyword query.
A measure of a firm’s ability to pay short-term obligations.
The process of suing someone for damages caused by a wrongful act.
A term describing the food services offered by many limited-service hotels.
A room status term indicating that the room has been locked so that the
guest cannot re-enter until he or she is cleared by a hotel official.
A journal in which important front office events and decisions are recorded
for reference during subsequent shifts.
Short for Length-of-Stay.
Personal property that has been unintentionally placed somewhere and is
then forgotten about by the rightful owner.
All items found in a lodging property to be deposited and controlled by the
housekeeping department.
Developing forecasts that are unrealistically conservative (low) for the
express purpose of more easily achieving or exceeding them.
Lowest Rate
A program that assures travelers the lowest available rate for a specific room
Guarantee
type on a specific date will be found on the franchisor’s website.
Loyalty
A deeply held commitment to re-buy or repatronize a preferred product or
service consistently in the future. See CRM.
Loyalty Programs
These programs are structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore
encourage, loyal buying behavior — behavior which is potentially beneficial
to the firm. Participants will be rewarded for their behavior in terms of points.
These points can then be converted, for example into online gift vouchers.
LVPAR
Life-time Value Per Available Room (Loyalty).
M
M
Magnetic Strip Reader A device which reads data magnetically encoded and stored on the magnetic
tape strip on the back of a credit card and transmits these data to a credit
card verification service.
Magnetic Tape
An external storage medium for a computer which is used much like a
standard cassette tape.
Mail and Information
A once-common front office position, responsible for distributing mail and
Clerk
messages to guests and answering requests for information.
Mail, Message, and
An array of numbered compartments used to maintain guestroom keys and
Key Rack
to store messages and mail being held for guests.
Maintenance
The activities required to keep a building and its contents in good repair.
Maître d’hôtel
A maître d’hôtel generally supervises the waiting staff, welcoming guests and
assigning them to tables, taking reservations, and ensuring that guests are
satisfied. In large organizations such as hotels or cruise ships with multiple
restaurants, the maître d'hôtel is often responsible for the overall dining
experience including room service and buffet services, while headwaiters or
supervisors are responsible for the specific restaurant or dining room they
work in.
Management
The process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling, and
evaluating human, financial, and physical resources for the purpose of
achieving organizational goals.
Management Company An organization that operates a hotel(s) for a fee. Also some times called a
"Contract Company."
Management Contract An agreement between a hotel's owners and a hotel management company
under which, for a fee, the management company operates the hotel. Also
sometimes known as a management agreement.
Manager’s Daily
A summary of a hotel’s daily revenue generation that can include additional
operating data as requested by the manager.
MAP
short form of Modified American Plan
Margin
The difference between a product's (or service's) selling price and the cost of
production.
Market Code
Guest types differentiated by sales source. Typical market codes include
transient and group.
Market Segmentation
Efforts to focus on a highly defined (smaller) group of travelers.
Market Share
The percentage of the total market (typically in dollars spent) captured by a
property.
Marketing Plan
A calendar of specific activities designed to meet the hotel's sales goals.
Market Value
The estimated worth of a hotel. Hotels may, of course, be purchased below,
at, or above market value.
Master Folio
Master Key
Material Safety Data
Sheet (MSDS)
M-Commerce
Mentor
Merchant Model
Merchant Service
Provider
Merger
MICE
Microcomputer
Micro-Fitted Electronic
Locking System
Mid-Range Service
Minibar(s)
Minimum ADR Sales
Point Formula
Minimum Length of
Stay
Minimum Wage
Mini-Suite
A folio used to chart transactions on an account assigned to more than one
person or guestroom, usually reserved for group accounts. A master folio
collects charges not appropriately posted elsewhere.
A key which opens all guestroom doors which are not double-locked.
A written statement describing the potential hazards of; and best ways to
handle, a chemical or toxic substance. An MSDS is provided by the
manufacturer of the chemical or toxic substance to the buyer of the product
and must be posted and made available in a place where it is easily
accessible to those who will actually use the product.
Mobile Commerce. Refers to using mobile devices to conduct business,
including buying and selling online, electronic funds transfer, business
communications, and other activities associated with the buying and selling
of goods and services online.
A senior employee of a hotel who provides advice and counsel to less
experienced staff members about matters relating to the job, organization,
and profession.
A system in which an intermediary obtains rooms inventory at a wholesale
rate and then acts as a merchant by selling the rooms to buyers at retail
rates.
An entity that, for a fee, manages payment card acceptance and funds
collection for businesses (hotels). (MSP)
Occurs when two organizations combine into one; acquisitions are the most
common type of merger
Short for Meetings/Incentive/Conference/Event.
The smallest type of computer available, which meets the data processing
needs of many hospitality businesses. Also called personal computer.
An electronic locking system which operates as individual units. Each door
has its own microprocessor which contains a predetermined sequence of
codes; a master console at the front desk stores code sequences for each
door.
A modest but sufficient level of service which appeals to the largest segment
of the travelling public. Mid-range property may offer uniformed service,
airport limousine service, and food and beverage room service; a specialty
restaurant, coffee shop, and lounge; and special rates for certain guests.
Small, in-room refrigerated or unrefrigerated cabinets used to store
beverages, snacks, and other items the hotel wishes to offer for sale to
guests.
The lowest room rate that can be charged and still generate enough revenue
to pay all rooms-related occupancy costs plus the cost of any distribution
channel commissions and franchise-related fees and royalties paid to create
the sale.
A revenue management strategy that instructs reservationists to decline any
room reservation request that does not equal or exceed the predetermined
minimum number of nights allowed.
The lowest amount of compensation that an employer may pay to an
employee covered by the FLSA or applicable state law. Minimum wage
provisions cover most hotel employees; however, exceptions can include
youthful employees being paid a training wage for the first ninety days of
employment and some tipped employees.
A single room with a bed and sitting area. The sleeping area may be in
Minutes per Room
Mislaid Property
Mission
MLOS
MOD
Modified American
Plan (MAP)
Moments of Truth
Monopoly
Moonlighter
Mortgage
Motel
Motivation
MTD
Multiple Occupancy
Statistics
N
Negotiated Rate
Net ADR Yield
Net Cash Receipts
Net Operating Income
Net Operating Profit
Net Rate
bedroom separate from the parlor or living room. Also called junior suite.
The average number of minutes required to clean a guest room. Determined
by the following computation: total number of minutes worked by room
attendants/total number of guest rooms cleaned = minutes per room.
Personal property that has been purposefully placed somewhere but is then
forgotten about by the rightful owner.
The unique purpose that sets a hotel apart from other hotels. A mission
expresses the underlying philosophy that gives meaning and direction to the
hotel’s actions, and addresses the interests of guests, management and
employees.
Short for Minimum Length of Stay
The short form of Manager on Duty. The individual on the hotel property
responsible for making any management decisions required during the
period he or she is MOD.
A billing arrangement under which the daily rate includes charges for the
guestroom and two meals – typically breakfast and dinner. See also halfboard or demi-pension.
Any (and every) time that a guest has an opportunity to form an impression
about the hotel. Moments of truth can be positive or negative.
An industry in which one firm is the only significant provider of a good or
service.
A person who holds a full-time job at one organization and a part-time job at
another organization.
A legal document that specifies an amount of money a lender will lend for the
purchase of a real estate asset (hotel), as well as the terms for the loan's
repayment.
A lodging facility that caters primarily to guests arriving by automobile.
An inner drive that a person has to attain a goal.
Short for Month-to-Date.
Occupancy ratios, indicating either a multiple occupancy percentage or the
average number of guests per room sold, used to forecast food and
beverage ratios, indicate clean linen requirements, and analyze average
daily room rates.
N
An agreement to provide a select group of travelers, subject to availability,
rooms at and agreed on and discounted rate. The discounted rate is in effect
for the term of the negotiated rate agreement.
Net ADR Yield is the percentage of the normal or standard room rate that is
actually realized by a hotel after subtracting from the selling price the cost of
fees and assessments associated with the specific distribution channel
responsible for a room’s sale.
The amounts of cash and checks in the cashier’s drawer, minus the amount
of the initial cash bank.
The income before interest and taxes found on a restaurant or hotel income
statement. (NOI)
Net operating profit represents the profitability of a company after accounting
for cost of goods sold and operating expenses. (NOP)
The amount per room actually received by a hotel when selling its rooms
through an intermediary. Also referred to as wholesale rate.
Networking
The development of personal relationships for a business-related purpose.
For example, a Chamber of Commerce-sponsored breakfast open to all
community business leaders interested in improving local traffic conditions
would be an excellent example of a networking opportunity for a member of a
hotel's sales team.
Neutrality Agreement
A hotel signing one of these agreements promises to stay neutral if the union
decides to organize the property; the neutrality agreement means that the
hotel does not have the right to contest union organization, and the
employees do not have the right to vote in a secret ballot to determine
whether they wish to be represented. (US)
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.
Night Auditor
An employee who checks the accuracy of front office accounting records and
compiles a daily summary of hotel financial data as part of a night audit. In
many hotels, the night auditor is actually an employee of the accounting
division.
Night Shift
A hotel work shift, generally 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
No-Arrival
See CTA (Closed To Arrival).
Non-Affiliate
A central reservation system which connects independent (non-chain)
Reservation Network
properties.
Non-Automated
A system of front office record keeping characterized by the exclusive use of
handwritten forms. The elements of non-automated systems have
determined the structure of many front office processes in even the most
advanced automated facilities.
Non-Guaranteed
A reservation arrangement where the hotel agrees to hold a room for the
Reservation
guest until a stated reservation cancellation hour on the day of arrival. The
property is not guaranteed payment in the case of no-shows.
Non-Guest Account
An account created to track the financial transactions of a local business or
agency with charge privileges at the hotel, a group sponsoring a meeting at
the hotel, or a former guest whose account was not satisfactorily settled at
the time of departure.
Non-Guest Folio
A folio used to chart transactions on an account assigned to a non-guest
business or agency with hotel charge purchase privileges.
Non-Guest Ledger
See City Ledger.
No-Post Status
A term used to indicate a guest who is not allowed to charge purchases to
his or her room account.
Non-programmed
Decisions that occur infrequently and require creative and unique decisionDecisions
making abilities.
No-Show
A guest who makes a confirmed room reservation but fails to cancel the
reservation or arrive at the hotel on the date of the confirmed reservation.
NOP
Short for Net operating profit.
O
O
Objective
A measurable end which an organization must achieve in order to effectively
carry out its mission.
Occupancy
A commonly used measure of hotel performance; occupancy is calculated by
dividing the number of rooms sold by the number of rooms available and
multiplying by 100.
Occupancy Index
Occupancy rate of our hotel/Occupancy Rate of our Hotel’s Comp Set
Occupancy Percentage An occupancy ratio which indicates the proportion of rooms sold to rooms
Occupancy Rate
Occupancy Ratio
Occupancy Report
Occupancy Tax
Occupied
Offer
Offshoring
Off-the-Shelf
Off-the-Street
Oligopoly
On-Change
On-Line
On-the-Books
On-the-Job Training
O-O-O
Opaque Model
Open
Operating Costs
Operations
OPL
Opt-Out
available for sale during a period of time.
The ratio of guest rooms sold (including comps) to guest rooms available for
sale in a given time period. Always expressed as a percentage, the formula
for occupancy rate is Total Rooms Sold/Total Rooms Available = Occupancy
Percent (%).
A measurement of success of the hotel in selling rooms. Typical occupancy
ratios include average daily rate, average rate per guest, multiple occupancy
statistics, and occupancy statistics.
A report prepared each night by a front desk agent which lists rooms
occupied that night and indicates those guests expected to check out the
following day.
Money paid by a hotel to a local taxing authority. The room revenue
generated by the hotel determines the amount paid. This tax is also known,
in some areas, as the "bed" tax. For example, "In our city, the occupancy tax
is 2 percent."
A room status term indicating that guest is currently registered to the room.
An element in a legal contract that indicates what one entity is willing to do
and what that entity expects in return.
When a company outsources to a supplier in a foreign country.
a.: Standardized, not customized computer software.
b.: A term relating to a generic product (such as a training resource) that is
developed for general industry use rather than specifically developed for a
unique property. c.: Prepare for training.
see as Walk-in.
An industry characterized by the existence of a few very large firms.
A room status term indicating that the guest has departed, but the room has
not yet been cleaned and readied for sale.
A condition in which a piece of hardware is capable of interacting directly
with the central processing unit.
Hotel jargon for cumulative “current” data. The term is used most often in
reference to reservations data.
(OJT) Learning activities designed to enhance the skills of current
employees. OJT programs are typically offered by management with the
intent of improving guest service and employee performance at the hotel.
There is generally no charge to the employee for the training.
Short form of Out-of-Order.
A system in which the room buyer does not know the name of the hotel they
have chosen until after they have committed to the purchase price of the
room.
The status of a date for which a reservation system can still accept
reservations.
Costs directly incurred to generate revenue that vary by the amount of
revenue (business volume) and that are usually within control of the
applicable manager.
Primary activities of the value chain that refer to transforming inputs into the
final product.
Short for "On Premise Laundry."
To make e-mails stop by expressing the desire that unsolicited e-mails are
unwelcome e-mails.
Organization Chart
Organizational Culture
Organizational Ethics
Orientation
OSHA
OTA
Other Revenue
Out-of-Balance
Out-of-Order
Outsourcing
Over
Overage
Over and Short
Overbooking
Overbuilt
Overflow Facility
Overhead cost
Overstay
Overtime
Owner/Manager
Structure
Owner’s Equity
P
Pace Report
A schematic representation of the relationships between positions within an
organization, showing where each position fits into the overall organization
and illustrating the divisions of responsibility and lines of authority.
The system of shared values of an organization ’s members.
A value system that has been widely adopted by members of an
organization; often used interchangeably with the term organizational
values.
The process of providing basic information about the hotel which must be
known by all of its employees.
Short for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (US). A federal
agency established in 1970 that is responsible for developing and enforcing
regulations related to assuring safe and healthful working conditions.
Short for Online Travel Agency
Revenue derived from the sale of hotel products and services that are not
classified as rooms, food, or beverages.
A term used to describe the state when the totals of debit amounts and credit
amounts for a set of accounts are not equal.
A room status term indicating that the room cannot be assigned to a guest. A
room may be out-of-order for maintenance, refurbishing, extensive cleaning,
or other reasons.
Contracting with another firm to provide goods or services that were
previously supplied from within the company; similar to subcontracting
A situation in which cashiers have more money in their cash drawer than the
official sales records indicate. Thus, a cashier with 110 more in the cash
drawer than the sales record indicates is said to be 110 "over."
An imbalance that occurs when the total of cash and checks in a cash
register drawer is greater than the initial bank plus net cash receipts.
A discrepancy between the cash on hand and the amount that should be on
hand.
A situation in which the hotel has more guest reservations for rooms than it
has rooms available to lodge those guests. Sometimes referred to as
"oversold."
The condition that exists when there are too many hotel guest rooms
available for the number of travelers wanting to rent them. See also
proliferation.
A property selected to receive central reservation requests after room
availabilities in chain properties within a geographic region have been
exhausted.
See indirect cost.
A guest who stays after his or her stated departure date.
The number of hours of work after which an employee must receive a
premium pay rate. This premium rate is generally one and one-half times the
basic hourly rate.
In this form, the owner is the top manager, and the business is run as a sole
proprietorship
What remains after subtracting what the business owes others (its liabilities)
from what the business owns (its assets).
P
A document summarizing confirmed (group) sales made by the sales and
P&L
Package
Package Plan Rate
Paid-Out
Par Level
Parent Company Hotel
Patent
Payroll Accounting
Module
PBX
Peak Night
Penthouse
Per Key
Petty Cash
Petty Cash Control
Phishing
PIA
Pickup
Pick-Up Error
Pilferage
PIP
marketing department.
Short for the profit and loss statement, also a synonym for the income and
expense statement. The P&L records total hotel revenues and expenses for
a specific time period.
A group of hospitality services (such as hotel rooms, meals and airfare) sold
for one price. For example, a Valentine's Day getaway package to Las Vegas
offered by a T.A. might include airfare, lodging, meals, and show tickets for
two people at one inclusive price.
Special rate for a room as part of a combination of events or activities.
Cash disbursed by the hotel on behalf of a guest and charged to the guest
account as a cash advance.
Inventory levels of recycled items are measured in par numbers. Mostly
linen. Par means the standard number of inventoried item that must be on
hand to support daily, routine housekeeping operations. One par is also
referred to as a house setup.
A property which is owned and operated by a multiple-unit company. Parent
company hotels often carry the same name, and their managers report to a
central or corporate headquarters. The parent company typically establishes
standard operating procedures.
Legal protection that prevents other companies from using a firm’s
innovation.
A back office computer application which processes such data as time and
attendance records, pay distribution, and tax withholdings.
(Short form of Private Branch Exchange) The system within the hotel used to
process incoming, internal, and outgoing telephone calls. In other words: A
hotel’s telephone switchboard equipment. Also, the telephone switchboard
department or function.
The night when the most guest rooms for a group are sold.
Accommodations, usually suites, located on the top floor(s) of the hotel.
A term used to describe the cost of a hotel acquisition based on the number
of rooms (keys) purchased. Its value comes in allowing comparison between
hotels of unequal size (number of rooms).
A small amount of cash available on-site that is not co-mingled with cash
banks for revenue centers and is used to make small, miscellaneous
purchases.
A technique controlling petty cash disbursements by which a special small
cash fund is used for minor cash payments and periodically reimbursed.
A play on the word "fishing" - is an attempt to steal clients’ password and
private account info. Phishers can set up fake web sites that look like those
of trusted companies like Yahoo!
(Short form for Paid in Advance) A guest who pays his or her room charges
in cash during registration. PIA guests are often denied in-house credit.
The actual number of rooms used by a client in a defined time period. Or The proportion of previously reserved rooms that are ultimately occupied.
En error on a posting machine which occurs when the user enters an
incorrect previous balance in the process of posting.
Petty theft of small, less than full package (case) amounts from inventory.
Short form of Product Improvement Plan. A document detailing the property
upgrades and replacements that will be required if a hotel is to be accepted
as one of a specific brand's franchised properties. Used, for example, in, "We
estimate the PIP on the property to be $4,000,000 if we decide to go with
that brand." [Franchise]
Plant
An outside person hired by a hotel to experience hotel services and report
the findings to management.
PM
Short form of Preventative Maintenance Program. A specific inspection and
activities schedule designed to minimize maintenance-related costs and to
prolong the life of equipment by preventing small problems before they
become larger ones.
PM Checklist
A tool developed to list all of the critical areas that should be inspected
during a PM (Preventive Maintenance) review of a room, area, or piece of
equipment.
PMS
Short for "property management system." This term refers to the
computerized system used by the hotel to manage its rooms revenue, room
rates, room assignments, and reservations, as well as other selected guest
service functions.
Point of Sale
A computer system that contains its own input and output components and,
perhaps, some memory capacity but without a central processing unit.
Point-of-Sale System
A computer network which allows electronic cash registers at the hotel’s
point of sale to communicate directly with a front office guest accounting
module.
POM
Short for "Property Operation and Maintenance." The term is taken from the
Uniform System of Accounts for Hotels and refers to the segment of the
income statement that details the costs of operating the E&M department.
Portals
A gateway or entrance to a room or space. A Web portal is a Web site that
offers a broad range of services, resources, and links for various interests or
for a specified area of interest.
POS
Short for Point-of-Sale.
POS Terminal
A computer system containing its own input and output components and,
perhaps, some memory capacity without a central processing unit.
Post
To enter a guest's charges into the PMS, thus creating a permanent record
of the sale, as in "Please post this meeting room charge to Mr. Walker's
folio."
Posting Machine
See Account Posting Machine.
P&P Manual
Short for policies and procedures manual. A publication that provides an
outline of how the specific duties of each job are to be performed.
Preferred Vendors
Often provide products or services with special terms or lower prices, in
exchange for long-term contracts.
Pre-Key
Making an electronic key for a guest room prior to the actual arrival of the
guest who will be assigned to that room.
Premium Brand
The highest-priced and highest-quality beverages generally available.
Beverages
Examples include Johnny Walker Black Scotch and Bombay Sapphire Gin;
these brands are sometimes referred to as "Super Call" brands.
Prepaid Expenses
Expenditures made for items prior to the accounting period in which the
item's actual expense is incurred.
Prepayment Guarantee A type of reservation guarantee which requires a payment in full made before
the day of arrival.
Pre-Registration
A process by which sections of a registration card or its equivalent are
completed for guests arriving with reservations. Room and rate assignment,
creation of a guest folio, and other functions may also be part of
preregistration activity.
Price Band
Price Fence
The span from lowest to highest price in a range of prices.
The specific requirements that describes who is and is not eligible for a
special pricing offer. (Yield Management)
Price Management
The strategies and tactics employed by revenue managers to best match
rates or prices charged with prospective customers’ willingness to pay.
Prime Cost
The sum of the product cost and labor cost required to produce a menu item.
Printer
An output device of a computer system that produces hard-copy output on
paper.
Probabilistic Modeling The application of statistical formulas to past events for the purpose of
predicting the likelihood of future events.
Product/Service
Attributes associated with a product or service that cause customers to
Differentiation
prefer it over competing products or services.
Product Usage Report A report detailing the amount of an inventoried item used by a hotel in a
specified time period (i.e., week, month, quarter, year).
Profitability
Revenue-Expenses = Profit. The GM's assignment of specific revenues and
expenses to a given department will, in great measure, dictate profit levels in
that department.
Profitability Ratios
A common measure of overall financial success; they provide a barometer
for management with regard to how well strategies are working, and they
may also provide warning of downward trends and thus the need for moredramatic changes; external stakeholders pay critical.
Program
A set of instructions that command a computer system to perform useful
tasks.
Programmed Decisions Routine or repetitive decisions that can be made after considering policies,
procedures, or rules.
Progressive Discipline A process of negative discipline in which repeated infractions result in an
increasingly severe penalty.
Promotional Rate
A special room rate offered to promote future business.
Property Direct
A method of communicating reservation requests directly to a hotel, by
telephone, mail, property-to-property link, telex, cable, or another method.
Property Management A computer software package which supports a variety of applications
system (PMS)
related to front office and back office activities. See also Front Office
Applications.
Proprietary Web site
A web address whose content is 100 percent controlled by a hotel’s own
management team.
ProPSF
Short for Profit Per Square Foot. (Revenue Management)
Prospect
An individual or group who, while not currently using the hotel, are
considered potential clients with a good likelihood of using the hotel in the
future.
Public Space
Those areas within the hotel that can be freely accessed by guests and
visitors. Examples include lobby areas, public rest rooms, corridors, and
stairwells.
Pull Marketing
Asks the target audience's permission to send marketing message or present
message in such an attractive way to pull the audience towards it like Opt-in
Marketing or Permission Marketing.
Pull-out
Industry slang for an in-room sofa that converts to a bed.
Punitive Damages
This monetary amount is assessed to punish liable parties and to serve as
an example to the liable party as well as others not to commit the wrongful
act in the future.
Push Marketing
A collection of Internet marketing techniques that is used to present and
send data to the online visitor.
Q
Q
Quad
A room assigned to four people, may have two or more beds.
Quality
The degree of excellence of something as measured against other similar
things.
Quality Assurance
An approach to ensuring the consistent delivery of services.
Quality Inspection
Sometimes called quality assurance (QA) scores, these scores are the result
Scores
of annual (or more frequent) inspections conducted by a franchise company
to ensure that franchisor-mandated standards are being met by the
franchisee. In some cases, management companies or the property itself
may establish internal inspection systems as well. In general, however, it is
the franchise company's quality inspection score that is used as a measure
of the effectiveness of the GM, the hotel's management team, and the
owner's financial commitment to the property.
Quarter
A three-month period. Often used to summarize accounting data. Used, for
example; in, "What is our sales forecast for the first quarter of next year?"
Queen
A room with queen-size bed; may be occupied by one or more people.
Queen Bed
A bed approximately 60 inches by 80 inches (150x200 cm)
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions
and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from
respondents.
Quick C/I or C/O
A computerized system usually located in the hotel lobby, which allows the
guest with credit cards to check-in while keeping-off the Front Desk.
Quick-service
Eat-in or take-out operations with limited menus, low prices, and fast service;
Restaurants
these restaurants are commonly called fast-food or fast-service restaurants;
examples include McDonald ’s, Burger King, KFC, and Taco Bell.
R
R
Rack Rate
The price at which a hotel sells its rooms when no discounts of any kind are
offered to the guest. Often shortened to "rack."
Rate Code
A property-specific notation used by a hotel’s PMS to specify the price of a
unique room product. Also known as a rate plan.
Rate Integrity (Parity)
The degree to which a hotel’s room rates are comparable regardless of the
distribution channel on which they are found.
Rate Resistance
Refusal to make a reservation because the rate quoted is perceived to be too
high.
Ratio Analysis
The analysis of financial statements and operating results using ratios.
Read
In reference to computers, to take data in for processing.
Real Estate Investment A public corporation that sells stock to raise money (capital) that is then used
Trust
to purchase real estate, including hotels. (REIT)
Reasonable Care
A legal concept identifying the amount of care a reasonably prudent person
would exercise in a specific situation.
Recodable Locking
A hotel guest room locking system designed such that when a guest inserts
System
their "key" (typically an electromagnetic card) 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 safety.
Recourse
The right to demand assets as payment for a loan. Loans can be full
recourse, limited recourse, or non-recourse.
Reengineering
Reorganizing hotel departments or work sections within departments.
Reference Price
Referral Group
Referral Site
Reflag
Refurbishment
Refusal Report
Registration
Registration Card
(RegCard)
Registration Record
REIT
Remote Printer
Renovation
Repeat Business
Replace as Needed
Reputation
Reservation
Reservation
Confirmation
Reservation
Confirmation Number
Reservation File
Reservation Inquiry
Reservation Racks
Reservation Rack Slip
The price perceived by consumers to be the normal price for a product or a
service.
A group of independent hotels which have banded together for the common
good. Hotels within the group refer their guests to other affiliated properties.
A Web site the searches for and reports information found on other Web
sites. Also known as a scrapping site or meta search site.
To change a hotel from one franchise brand to another (see Conversion).
Used, for "example”, in, "We can buy the property, reflag it, and reposition it
in the upper-scale transient market."
A process that involves the major cleaning and redecoration of hotel areas.
See Turn-away Report.
The procedure by which an incoming guest signifies his or her intent to stay
at a property by completing and signing a registration card.
A document that provides details such as guest's name, arrival date, 'rate to
be paid, departure date, and other information related to-the guest's stay.
A collection of important guest information created by the front desk agent
following the guest’s arrival. The registration record includes the guest’s
name, address, telephone number, and company affiliation; method of
payment; and date of departure.
Short for Real Estate Investment Trust
A unit in the kitchen preparation area that receives and prints orders entered
through a point-of-sale terminal located in the dining room, room service
order taker's workstation, or other area.
The process of making repairs that brings a building to a good condition.
Revenues generated from guests returning to a commercial operation such
as a hotel as a result of positive experiences on previous visits.
A parts or equipment replacement plan that delays installing a new,
substitute part until the original part fails or is in near failure. For example,
most chief engineers would use a "replace as needed" plan for the
maintenance of refrigeration compressors.
An economic asset that signals observers about the attractiveness of a
company’s offerings based on past performance.
An agreement between the hotel and a guest that the hotel will hold a
specific type of room for a particular date and lengths of stay.
An oral or written verification of the information contained in a reservation
record. See also Letter of Confirmation.
A code which provides a unique reference to a reservation record and
assures the guest that the reservation record exists.
A computer-based collection of reservation records.
A formulation of a reservation request which collects the proposed date of
arrival, date of departure, type and number of rooms, room rate code, and
number of persons in party.
Racks which store lists of anticipated arrivals, In and advance reservation
rack, reservation rack slips are arranged by the guests’ scheduled dates of
arrival and, within each day’s grouping, alphabetically by the guests’ or
groups’ names. A current reservation rack is portable subset of the advance
reservation rack used by front desk agents during registration. (Noncomputerized administration)
A slip used in a reservation rack.
Reservation Record
Reservation Agent
Reservations Control
Book
Reservations History
Reservations Module
Reservation Status
Reservations Wall
Chart
Reservation
Transaction Report
Resident Manager
Residential Hotel
Resort Hotel
Resources
Restoration
Retained Earnings
Retention (Employee)
Retrenchment
Revenue
Revenue Center
Revenue Forecast
Report
Revenue Management
Revenue Manager
A collection of data that identifies a guest and his or her anticipated
occupancy needs before arrival at the property, and enables the hotel to
personalize guest service and appropriately schedule needed staff.
An employee, either in the front office or in a separate department within the
rooms division, who is responsible for all aspects of reservations processing.
A binder with tally page for each day of the year, used in non-computerized
hotels to track reservations.
A collection of statistics on all aspects of the reservations process, including
the number of guests, occupied rooms, reservations by source, no-shows,
walk-ins, overstays, and understays.
A front office computer application which enables a hotel to rapidly process
room requests and generate timely and accurate rooms, revenue, and
forecasting reports.
An indicator of a room’s long-term availability for assignment.
A specially designed chart which displays hotel rooms vertically and days of
the month horizontally. When accommodations are available, the
reservations agent can assign a specific room by taping over the line that
represents a room. Also called reservations density chart.
A summary of daily reservations activity in items of record creation,
modification, and cancellation.
A manager in a large hotel who is directly responsible to the GM for the
property’s operating departments that include F&B, purchasing, engineering
and maintenance, front office and security.
A hotel whose guest quarters generally include a sitting room, bedroom, and
kitchenette for permanent or semi permanent guests. Many other types of
hotels also offer residential accommodations, and residential hotels may
offer short-term accommodations.
A hotel which provides scenery and activities unavailable at most other
properties, and whose guests are typically vacationers. Resort hotels are
planned destination of the guest.
Something of value to the organization. Typical resources include money,
labor, time, equipment, food/beverage products, supplies, and energy.
Returning a hotel to its original (or better than original) condition.
Profits earned but not paid (disbursed) to the business owners.
The use of organizational and supervisory policies and procedures designed
to encourage employees to remain with the property rather than to leave it.
A turnaround strategy that involves tactics such as reducing the workforce,
closing unprofitable plants, outsourcing unprofitable activities, implementing
tighter cost or quality controls, or implementing new policies that emphasize
quality or efficiency.
Money the hotel collects from guests for the use of rooms or from the
purchase of hotel goods and services.
A hotel department that generates revenue. Two examples are the front
office and food and beverage departments.
A projection of future revenue calculated by multiplying predicted
occupancies by current room rates.
The application of disciplined tactics that predict buyer response to prices,
optimize product availability, and yield the greatest business income.
The individual or team responsible for ensuring that a company’s prices
match a customer’s willingness to pay. These techniques are always
customer-needs driven, not company-needs driven.
Revenue Optimization The application of disciplined tactics that predict buyer response to prices,
optimize product availability, and yield the greatest business profits.
Revenue Per Occupied Room-related occupation costs; those rooms-related costs incurred directly
Room
as a result of selling a guest room. Examples include labor costs, room
supplies, and room amenities. Also referred to as room-related occupancy
cost, occupied room cost, or cost per occupied room (CPOR).
RevPAC
Revenue Per Available Customer.
RevPAR
Short for "Revenue Per Available Room," the average sales revenue
generated by each guest room during a given time period. The formula for
RevPar is Occupancy % (x)ADR = RevPAR.
RevPAR Index
RevPAR of our Hotel/RevPAR of the competitive set.
RevPASH
Short for Revenue per Available Seat Hours. It is the revenue generated
during a specified time period divided by the number of seat hours available
during that period. (F&B)
RevPASM
Short for Revenue Per Available Seat Mile (Airline)
RevPAT
Short for Revenue Per Available Treatments (Spa)
RevPATI
Short for Revenue Per Available Time-based Inventory Unit.
RevPATT
Short for Revenue Per Available Tee Time (Golf)
RevPOR
Short for Revenue Per Occupied Room
RevPSF
Short for Revenue Per Square Foot. An operation’s total annual revenue
divided by the number of square feet occupied by the operation. Also
referred to as sales per square foot. RPSF
Reward
A positive stimulus that can be presented in the process of reinforcing a
repeat-buying behavior.
RFP
Short for "Request for Proposal." An RFP is a request from a potential client
for the hotel to submit its pricing offer (proposal) to the client in writing. An
RFP may include questions about the hotel's features and services in
addition to the prices it is offering.
Rich Media
Refers to any online ad that allows for transactions, streaming media, and
interactive communication directly in the ad space without leaving the
homepage where the ad is being placed. Rich media marketing tries to take
advantage of one of the most powerful features of the Internet interactivity.
ROGR
Catering Revenue Per Occupied Group Room
ROH
Short for Run-of-the House Rate (Corporate Clients)
ROI
Short for "return on investment." The percentage rate of return achieved on
the money invested in a hotel property.
ROL
Short for Return On Loyalty
Role-model
The act of behaving in a manner that is consistent with the behavior that is
desired of others.
Role-play
A training activity that allows trainees to practice a skill by interacting with
each other in simulated roles (such as pretending that one trainee is a guest
and the other is an employee interacting with the guest).
Room Assignment
The identification and allocation to a guest of an available room in a specific
room category, finalized as part of the registration process.
Room Attendant Cart
A wheeled cart that contains all of the items needed to properly and safely
clean and restock a guest room.
Room Attendants
The individual(s) responsible for cleaning guest rooms. Sometimes referred
to as "housekeepers" or GRAs (guest room attendants)
Room Code
Rooming
Rooming List
Room Mix
Room Night
Room Rack
Room Rack Slip
Room Rate
Room Rate Economics
Room Rate Change
Room Revenue and
Count Report
Rooms Division
Rooms Division
Manager
Rooms Ledger
Rooms Management
Module
Room Service
Room Status
Room Status
Discrepancy
Room Status Report
Room Type
Room Variance Report
A property-specific, shorten description used to identify a specific room
product in a hotel.
The procedures involved in greeting a guest, assigning a room, and
escorting or directing the guest to the room
A list or roster of guests and their lodging needs presented to a hotel by a
group prior to a meeting.
The ratio of room types contained in a hotel. For example, the number of
double-bedded rooms compared with king-bedded rooms, the number of
smoking permitted rooms to no smoking permitted rooms, and the number of
suites compared with standard rooms.
One room occupied for one night.
An array of metal file pockets designed to hold room rack slips arranged by
room number. The room rack summarizes the current status of all room in
the hotel. (Non-computerized administration).
A form which contains the guest’s name and other relevant information,
completed during the registration process and placed in the room rack slot
corresponding to the room number assigned to the guest.
The price a hotel charges for overnight accommodation.
The process by which revenue managers price rooms while considering how
consumers may react to the pricing strategies that are used.
The range of values between limits dictated by the cost structure of the hotel.
A report which shows the rack rate for each room and the actual rate at
which the room was sold, providing an opportunity to analyze room
revenues.
The division of a hotel which includes the front office, reservations, telephone
switchboard, housekeeping, and uniformed service departments and
functions. The rooms division plays an essential role in providing the services
guests expect during a hotel stay.
An individual in a hotel responsible for the management of both the front
office and the housekeeping departments. (This position does not exist in
every hotel.)
See Guest Ledger.
A front office computer application which maintains current information on
the status of rooms, assists in the assignment of rooms during registration,
and helps coordinate guest services.
Food and beverage services delivered to a guest's room.
The up-to-date (actual) condition (occupied, vacant, dirty, etc.) of the hotel's
individual guest rooms.
A situation in which the housekeeping department’s description of a room’s
status differs from the room status information which guides front desk
employees in assignment rooms to guests.
A report which allows front desk agents tom identify vacant and ready rooms,
typically prepared as part of the night audit.
The term used to designate specific configurations of guest rooms. For
example, smoking versus nonsmoking, king bed versus double beds, or suite
versus regular sleeping room. Commonly abbreviated (i.e., K for King, NS for
Nonsmoking, etc.), the hotel's holding of the proper room type is often as
important to guests as whether the hotel, in fact, has a room for them.
A report listing any discrepancies between front desk and housekeeping
room statuses, as well as rooms which have not been sold at rack rates.
Run-of-the-House Rate A special group rate generally midpoint of the rack rate with a single, flat
price applying to any room, suites excepted, on a best available basis (rack
rates on the best available basis) ROH
Ryokan
Traditional Japanese inn.
S
S
S’s
(Long list of tourists) S’s = Sun, sea, sand, surf, snow and sex.
Safety
Protection of an individual's physical well-being and health.
Safety and Security
An interdepartmental task force consisting of hotel managers, supervisors
Committee
and hourly employees charged with the responsibility of monitoring and
refining a hotel's safety and security efforts.
Salary
Pay calculated at a weekly, monthly, or annual rate rather than at an hourly
rate.
Sales and Marketing
The group of individuals responsible for coordinating the hotel's sales and
Committee
marketing effort.
Sales Call
A meeting arranged for the purpose of selling the hotel's products and
services.
Sales Mix Ratio
The sales mix ratio is the acceptable percentage of transient (individual)
business in relation to group business.
Salesman-type Culture These firms are excellent marketers who create successful brand names and
distribution channels and pursue aggressive advertising and innovative
packaging.
Salon
European designation for parlor.
SBA
Short for the United States Small Business Administration. Established in
1953, the SBA provides financial, technical and management assistance to
help Americans start, run, and expand their businesses. The SBA is the
nation's largest single financial backer of small businesses.
S Corporation
Formerly called the Subchapter S corporation, this corporate form allows tax
advantages in the United States that are similar to those associated with a
partnership (US).
Schedule
A departmental income statement referenced on the hotel’s statement of
income.
Search Engine
An Internet searching tool that uses categories and classifications or
spidering and crawling techniques to find the information the user is looking
for.
Search Engine Result
The listing of Web pages returned by a search engine in response to a
Page
keyword query (SERP)
Seasonal Hotel
A hotel whose revenue and expenditures vary greatly depending on the time
(season) of the year the hotel is operating. Examples include hotels near ski
resorts, beaches, theme parks, some tourist areas, sporting venues, and the
like.
Second-Party Check
A check made out to the person presenting the check.
Second Tier
Management companies that operate hotels for owners who have entered
into an agreement to use one of a franchisor's flags as the hotel brand.
American General Hospitality, Summit Hotel Management, and Winegardner
and Hammons, Inc. are examples.
Security
Protection of an individual or business's property or assets.
Security Monitor
A closed-circuit television monitor which allows front office employees to
monitor security and safety throughout the hotel from central location.
Segmentation
A subgroup of people or organizations that share characteristics in common.
Selection
Self Check-In Process
Self Check-In/ Checkout Terminal
Self Check-Out
Self Registration
Sell-out
Sell Up
Semi-Automated
Semi-Permanent Folio
SEO
SERP
Service
Service Bureau
Service Charges
Servicemark
Service Recovery
Serving
Settlement (Account)
Short
Shortage
Shoulder Period or
Season
The process of evaluating job applicants to determine those more qualified
(or potentially qualified) for vacant positions.
A procedure that requires the guest to insert a credit card with a magnetic
stripe containing personal and financial data into a self-check-in terminal and
answer a few simple questions concerning the guest stay.
A piece of computer hardware typically located in the lobby of a fully
automated hotel. Some resemble automated bank teller machines, while
others are unique in design and may poses both video and audio capability.
A computerized system usually located in the hotel lobby, which allows the
guest to review his or her folio and settle the account to the credit card used
at check-in.
A computerized system which automatically registers a guest and dispenses
a key, based on the guest reservation and credit card information. See also
Self C/I process.
A situation in which all rooms are sold or oversold. A hotel, area, or entire
city may, if demand is strong enough, sell-out.
bb.: A period of time in which management attempts to maximize ADR.
Convince the arriving guest to take a higher priced room than was planned or
reserved
A system of front office record keeping characterized by the use of both
handwritten and machine produced forms and electro-mechanical equipment
such as posting machines.
See Non-Guest Folio.
Short for Search Engine Optimization.
Short for Search Engine Result Page.
The process of moving food and beverage products from service staff to the
guests.
A data-processing business which enables properties to enjoy the benefits of
automation without having to support in-house computer systems.
A mandatory amount added to a guest's bill for services performed by a hotel
staff member(s).
The same as a trademark but distinguishes services versus products.
A sequence of steps used by hotel staff members to address guest
complaints and problems in a manner that yields a “win-win” situation for
both the guest and the property.
The process of moving food and beverage products from production
personnel (cooks and bartenders) to food and beverage servers who will
serve them to guests.
The collection of a payment for an outstanding account balance. Settlement
may involve the guest paying cash or charging the account balance to a valid
payment card or another hotel-approved account.
A situation in which cashiers have less money in their cash drawer than the
official sales records indicate. Thus, a cashier with S10 less in the cash
drawer than the sales record indicates is said to be $10 "short."
An imbalance that occurs when the total of cash and checks in a cash
register drawer is less than the initial bank plus net cash receipts.
The time period just prior to, or just after, a peak demand period. In a
restaurant, the period just before or just after lunch is a shoulder period.
In a resort, the weeks just before and just after the resort’s peak season are
shoulder periods.
Sign-In/Sign-Out
Program
Single
Single Bed
Site Tour or
Site Inspection
Six Sigma
Skip
Skipper
Sleeper
Sleep-Out
Slide
Smart Card
SMERF
Social Responsibility
SOF
Soft Copy
Software
Solvency
Source of Business
Source Reduction
SPALT
Spam
Span of Control
An arrangement in which individuals taking responsibility for hotel assets
(such as hand tools, power equipment, or keys to secured areas) must
document their responsibility by placing their signature as well as the date
and time on a form developed to identify who last had possession of; and
thus responsibility for, the asset.
A room assigned to one person; may have one or more beds.
A bed approximately 36 inches by 75 inches (90-100X200 cm)
A physical trip (tour) around the hotel, usually hosted by a sales and
marketing staff member, for the purpose of introducing potential clients and
other interested parties to the hotel's features.
A philosophy based on minimizing the number of defects found in a
manufacturing operation or service function
The term used to refer to a hotel guest who vacates a guest room without
paying the bill incurred for its rental and for other charges made to the room.
See also skipper.
A room status term indicating that the guest has left the hotel without making
arrangements to settle his or her account.
A room status term indicating that the guest has settled his or her account
and left the hotel, but the front office staff has failed to properly update the
room’s status. The room is vacant, but believed to be occupied.
A room status term indicating that the guest is registered to the room, but the
bed has not been used.
The transcription error caused by a misplaced decimal, as when 362 is
written 3620
A credit card or other card containing a microprocessor capable of interacting
with PMSs or other computer configurations
Short for social, military, educational, religious, or fraternal organizations as
in, "We should assign Vernon to work the SMERF market next year because
he has extensive contacts with these groups."
The duty of an organization, defined in terms of its economic, legal, and
moral obligations, as well as discretionary actions that might be considered
attractive from a societal perspective.
Short for “Signature on File”; refers to a signature obtained from a guest at
check-in.
Output on a display screen which cannot be handled by the operator or
removed from the computer.
A set of programs that controls the operation of the hardware components of
a computer system. Software tells the computer what to do, how to do it, and
when to do it.
The ability of a hotel to pay its debts as they come due.
Literally ‘Who are our customers?’ or ‘Where are our customers coming
from?’ The assessment and evaluation of different sources of business
(corporate, different distribution channels, etc.) are important for improved
decision making
The effort by product manufactures to design and ship products so as to
minimize waste resulting from the product's shipping and delivery to a hotel.
Short for Special Attention List. See also VIP list.
Sending mass e-mails to people who have not indicated interest in receiving
e-mails from you.
The number of people one supervisor can effectively manage.
Special Event Rate
Split Folio
Split Rate
Spread Rate
Staff Departments
Stakeholders
Standard of Care
STAR Report
Statement of CashFlows
Statement of Income
Stay Control
Stay-over
Stay Restrictions
Strategy
Strategic Leadership
Strategic Management
Strategic Pricing
Studio
Subcontracting
Suite
Suite Hotel
Supplemental
An above–rack room rate typically implemented during single day or multiday
periods of extremely high demand for rooms.
An arrangement whereby a guest’s charges are separated into two or more
folios.
A room rate that changes during a guest’s stay based upon room demand.
Assignment of group members or conventioneers using the standard rate
distribution, although prices might be less than rack rates.
Hotel divisions that provide technical, supportive assistance to line
departments.
Groups or individuals who can significantly affect or are significantly affected
by an organization’s activities.
The level of performance that is determined to be reasonably acceptable by
the industry to fulfill a duty of care.
Short for the Smith Travel Accommodations Report. Produced by Smith
Travel Research, this report is used to compare a hotel's sales results to
those of its selected competitors. The reports are generated for occupancy
and average room rate figures on a daily as well as weekly, monthly, and
annual basis.
A projection of income from income-generating areas of the hotel.
A financial statement which provides important information about the results
of hotel operations for a given period of time.
See Stay Restrictions
A guest that is not scheduled to check out of the hotel on the day his or her
room status is assessed. That is, the guest will be staying at least one more
day.
Duration rules and limitations related to guests’ arrival dates, departure dates
and minimum stay lengths. Also known as stay controls.
A method or a plan developed to achieve a long-range goal.
Generally refers to leadership behaviors associated with creating
organizational vision, establishing core values, developing strategies and a
management structure, fostering organizational learning, and serving as a
steward for the firm.
A process through which organizations analyze and learn from their internal
and external environments, establish strategic direction, create strategies
that are intended to move the organization in that direction, and implement
those strategies, all in an effort to satisfy key stakeholders.
The application of data and insight to effectively match prices charged with
buyer’s perceptions of value.
A room with a studio bed – a couch which can be converted into a bed; may
also have an additional bed.
Acquiring goods and services that used to be produced in-house from
external companies.
While there is no universally agreed-upon definition, in most cases this term
refers to a guest room consisting of at least two physically separated rooms
or, at the very least, a hotel room that is extra large when compared with the
hotel's standard guest room.
A hotel whose guestrooms have separate bedroom and living room or parlor
areas, and perhaps a kitchenette.
A detailed report of all non-guest accounts that indicates each charge
Transcript
transaction that affected a non-gust account that day, used as a worksheet to
detect posting errors.
Supply
The total amount of a good or service available for sale.
Support Center
An operating division or department which does not generate direct revenue,
but plays a supporting role to the hotel’s revenue centers. Support centers
include the housekeeping, accounting, engineering and maintenance, and
personnel functions.
Surcharge Rates
Telephone rates for adding service charges for out-of-state long-distance
telephone service.
Sustainability
The idea of providing for current needs without sacrificing the needs of future
generations.
Sustainable
Exists when a firm enjoys a long-lasting business advantage compared to
Competitive Advantage rival firms.
Switchboard Operator An employee. In either the front office or a separate telephone department
within the rooms division, who handles calls coming into the hotel and takes
and distributes messages for guests.
Synergy
Occurs when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
System Update
A fully automated audit routine which accomplishes many of the same
functions as a non-computerized night audit routine and more. Daily system
updates enable file reorganization, system maintenance, and report
production, and provide an end-of-day time frame.
System-wide
The term used to describe all hotels within a given brand. Used for example,
in: "Last year, the systemwide ADR for the brand was $115.20, with an
occupancy rate of 63.7%."
T
T
T-account
A two-column account recording format (resembling the letter T) in which
charges are posted to the left side and payments to the right side.
Tacit Knowledge
Knowledge that is difficult to articulate in a way that is meaningful and
complete.
Tactic
An action or method used to attain a short-term objective.
Tangible Resources
Organizational assets that can be seen, touched, and/or quantified, such as
plants, money, or products.
T-Commerce
T-commerce denotes television commerce. T-commerce to become the
mainstay of business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce, however, anything to
do with tablets is m-commerce (mobile commerce).
T&E Card
Short for Travel and Entertainment card; a payment system by which the
card issuer collects full payment from the card users each month. The card
companies do not typically assess interest charges to consumers. Instead,
they rely on fees collected from merchants accepting the cards.
Team
A group of individuals who place the goals of the group above their own.
Technology
Human knowledge about products and services and the way they are made
and delivered.
Telephone Operator
The person who handles incoming and outgoing telephone calls, locates
registered guests and management staff, deals with emergency
communication.
Telewriter
A device which transmits handwritten messages using a specially designed
writing surface.
Telex
An international communication network often used to communicate
reservation requests. Telex communication is faster than the postal service
and more reliable than the telephone since the hotel receives a written
message. (Facsimile= telefax replaced telex rapidly.)
Tenant (Hotel)
A person who rents a hotel guest room for an extended time period with the
intent of establishing a permanent residency.
Terry
A generic term for the bath towels, hand towels, and washcloths washed and
dried in the laundry area.
Terminal
An input/output device of a computer system composed of a keyboard and a
display screen or printer.
Test Calls
Calls made to a toll-free number or other reservation system to verify the
accuracy of information about a specific hotel and/or about the quality of
selling done by the reservation center's staff.
Third-Party Check
A check made out to someone who has been signed the check over the
person presenting the check.
Third-Party Liability
A legal concept that holds the second party (the hotel serving alcohol)
responsible for acts caused by the first party (the drinker), if the drinker
subsequently causes harm to a third party (the victim of an accident).
Time-Share Hotel
A group of condominium units whose owners associate and hire a
management company to operate their units as a hotel. The condominium
units normally contain bedrooms, living room, dining area, and kitchen.
Time Stamp
A device to record the current time and date on folios, mail, and other front
office paperwork.
Top-Down Selling
A selling approach that seeks to sell an entity’s highest priced
Method
items prior to the sale of its lower priced items.
Top-Management
Typically a heterogeneous group of three to ten top executives selected by
Team (TMT)
the CEO; each member brings a unique set of skills and a unique
perspective.
Total Replacement
A parts or equipment replacement plan that involves installing new or
substitute parts based on a predetermined schedule. For example, most
chief engineers would use a "total replacement" approach to the
maintenance of light bulbs in high-rise exterior highway signs.
Tour Group
A group of people who have had their accommodations, transportation, and
related activities arranged for them.
Tourism Clusters
Geographic concentrations of competing, complementary, and
interdependent firms that work together to provide the tourism experience.
Tourism Industry
All businesses that cater to the needs of the traveling public.
Tower Concept
See Executive Floor.
Trace System
A methodical process used to record what has been done in the past and
what must be done in the future to maximize sales effectiveness. An effective
trace system includes a "contact management" component that allows
records to be kept for each individual client (contact).
Track Code
Guest types differentiated by traveler demographics.
Traditional Approach to Analysis of the internal and external environments of the organization to
Strategic Management arrive at organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
(SWOT), which form the basis for developing effective missions, goals, and
strategies.
Training Objective
A description of a task which a trainee will be expected to demonstrate at the
end of a training session.
Transaction
The exchange of merchandise, property, or services for cash or a promise to
pay.
Transaction Costs
The resources used to create and enforce a contract.
Transactional
Accounting system
Transactional
Documentation
Transfer Voucher
An accounting system in which the occurrence of transaction initiates activity.
Paperwork which identifies the nature and amount of a transaction, and is
the basis for data input to a front office accounting system.
A voucher used to support a reduction in balance on one folio and an equal
increase in balance on another. Transfer vouchers are used for transfers
between guest accounts and for transfers from guest accounts to non-guest
accounts when they are settled by the use of credit cards.
Transient
Guests that are neither part of a group booking or tour group. Transient
guests can be further subdivided by traveler demographic to gain more
detailed information about the type of guest staying in the property.
Transient Hotel
See Commercial Hotel.
Transient Ledger
See Guest Ledger.
Transient Sales
Rooms and services sold primarily through the efforts of the front office and
its staff.
Transposition
A transcription error caused by reordering the sequence of digits, as when
389 written as 398
Travel Agent
A hospitality professional that assists clients in planning travel. Also known
as TA.
Travel Agent
A type of reservation guarantee under which the hotel generally bills the
Guarantee
travel agency after a guaranteed reservation has been classified a no-show.
Travel and Tourism
A variety of interrelated businesses that provide services to travelers; the
Industry
tourism industry includes a broad range of businesses such as airlines, bars,
cruise lines, car rental firms, casinos, entertainment firms, hotels,
restaurants, travel agents, timeshares, tour operators, and recreational
enterprises
Traveler’s Check
A prepaid check sold by banks and other financial institutions which is
considered equivalent to cash.
Travel Wholesaler
A large-volume travel industry intermediary who sells to other, smallervolume travel intermediaries.
Tray Service
The fee charged American plan guests for room service.
Trends
Usually capture long-term changes or movements that are substantial to the
society and last.
Trend Line
The documentation (usually displayed on a graph or chart) of changes in
data values. Trend lines may show increases, decreases, or no change in
comparative data values.
Trespass
Unlawful entry into or possession of another party’s property.
TrevPAR
Short for Total RevPAR. The average rooms and non-rooms revenue
generated by each available guest room during a specific period of time.
Trial Balance
A first effort to determine whether a set of debits was posted with a
corresponding and equal set of credit postings. (Night Audit)
Tricolumned Statement An income statement that lists (1) actual hotel operating results from a
specific time period, as well as (2) budgeted operating estimates for the
same time period, and, finally (3) the actual operating results from the prior
year's same time period.
Triple
A room assigned to three people, may have two or more beds.
Tourism Clusters
Geographic concentrations of competing, complementary, and
interdependent firms that work together to provide the tourism experience.
Turnaround Strategies Sometimes called retrenchment; can involve workforce reductions, selling
Turnaround Time
Turn-Away Report
Turn-Downs
Turnover Rate
Turn(table)
Twin
Twin Bed
Twin-Double
Two-Tiered Price
U
Understay
Unemployment Claim
Unemployment
Insurance
Unemployment Rate
Uniformed Service
Uniform System of
Accounts for Hotels
Unity of Command
Universal Process of
Management
Upgrade
Upselling
Upside Potential
USALI
assets to reduce debt, outsourcing unprofitable activities, implementation of
tighter cost or quality controls, or new policies that emphasize quality or
efficiency; turnaround can occur at the corporate level of a company or on a
property-by-property basis.
The time which elapses between data input and information output in the
data processing cycle.
A report which tracks the number of guests refused because rooms were not
available as requested. Also called a refusal report.
An evening service rendered by the housekeeping department, which
replaces soiled bathroom linen and prepares the bed for use.
A measure of the proportion of a workforce that is replaced during a
designated time period (i.e., month, quarter, year). Number of employees
separated/Number of employees in the workforce = Employee turnover rate.
The number of times a table (or seat) is used during the same dining period.
A room with two twin beds; may be occupied by one or more people.
A bed approximately 39 inches by 75 inches (90/100x190/200).
See Double-double.
A pricing strategy in which the buyer must pay a price for the ability to make
additional purchases.
U
A guest who checks out before his or her stated departure date.
A claim made by an unemployed worker to the appropriate state agency
asserting that the worker is eligible for unemployment benefits.
Funds provided by employers to make available temporary financial benefits
to employees who have lost their jobs.
The number usually expressed as a percentage, of employable persons who
are out of work and looking for jobs.
A department within the rooms division including parking attendants, door
attendants, porters, limousine drivers, and bell persons.
These standardized industry accounting systems provide many
supplementary operating statements covering budgeting and forecasting; the
Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) and the
Uniform System of Accounts for Restaurants (USAR) are designed with the
special needs of the industry in mind and permit comparisons with industry
standards.
Each employee should report to/be accountable to only one boss for a
specific activity.
The concept that, at their most basic level, the principles of planning,
organizing, coordinating, staffing, controlling, and evaluating are the same
(or similar) in any type of business or organization.
Move a reservation or registered guest to a better accommodation or class of
service.
Tactics used to increase the hotel's average daily rate (ADR) by encouraging
guests to rent higher-priced rooms with better or more amenities (view,
complimentary breakfast and newspaper, increased square footage, etc.)
than those provided with lower-priced rooms.
The possibility that, with the proper investment and management, a hotel will
yield significant increases in real estate value and/or operational profitability.
Short for Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry. A standard
Utilitarian Perspective
V
Vacancy
Vacant and Ready
Valet
Value Chain
Venture Capitalists
Vertical
Communication
VIP Guests
VIP List
Viral Marketing
Vision
Vision Statement
Visionary Leadership
Voucher
Voucher Rack
W
Wage
Wake-up Device
Walk
Walked
Walk- In
Walk-through
set of accounting procedures used to record a hotel’s financial transactions
and condition.
The most appropriate actions generate the greatest benefits for the largest
number of people.
V
Occupancy of less than a full house so rooms are available for sale.
A room status term indicating that the room has been cleaned and inspected,
and is ready for an arriving guest.
Originally a term used to identify an individual who cared for the clothes of
wealthy travelers;
bb.: its most common usage now is in reference to those individuals
responsible for parking guest vehicles.
A representation of organizational processes, divided into primary and
support activities that create value for the customer.
Individuals or groups of investors that seek out and provide capital to
entrepreneurs.
Communication between individuals that flows up and down throughout the
organization.
Short for Very Important Person.VIP status is granted to persons who expect
special treatment, or celebrities or officials who need to spend minimal time
checking in.
A list of VIP clients prepared on daily basis.
Refers to a process in which consumers voluntarily spread a message about
a company, a product, or a service based on their own experience. It is the
Internet version of word-of-mouth marketing.
Expresses what the organization wants to be in the future
A forward-looking statement of what a firm wants to be in the future; an ideal
and unique picture of the future.
Pertains to envisioning what the organization should be like in the future,
communicating the vision, and empowering followers to enact.
A document detailing a transaction to be posted to a front office account,
used to communicate information from a point of sale to the front office.
Common vouchers include cash, charge, transfer, allowance, and paid-out
vouchers. Also, a form provided by travel agent to their clients as a receipt
for advance registration payments. See also Credit Card Voucher
A container storing vouchers for future reference and verification during the
night audit.
W
Pay calculated on an hourly basis.
A specially designed clock which allows multiple alarm settings to remind
front desk agents or telephone operators to place wake-up calls.
To turn away guest due to lack of rooms.
A situation in which a guest with a reservation is relocated from the reserved
hotel to another hotel because no room was available at the reserved hotel.
Or to relocate a guest with a confirmed reservation at a hotel to an
alternative property.
A guest seeking a room who arrives at the hotel without an advance
reservation.
A thorough examination of the property by a hotel executive, franchise
Warm Body Syndrome
WATS
Whistle-Blower
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi Certified
Window
Word-of-Mouth
Advertising
Work Order
World-Class Service
Write
X Report
Yield Management
YTD
Z Report
Zero Defects
Zero Out
Zero Tolerance
inspector, prospective buyer, etc.
An often-used but ineffective selection technique that involves hiring (almost)
anyone who applies without regard to qualifications for the vacant position.
Wide Area Telephone Service, long distance telephone lines provided at
special rates to large users.
An employee or manager who reveals wrongdoing; an attempt to force the
organization to cease a behavior that society finds unacceptable or to
incorporate a practice that is in keeping with a new social value, if value
changes in society are not voluntarily incorporated into a firm.
Short for Wireless Fidelity. An Internet access technology that does not
utilize a building’s wiring system when providing users Internet access.
(Wireless Fidelity Certified) Refers to any products tested and approved as
“Wi-Fi Certified” by the Wi-Fi Alliance and certified as interoperable with each
other.
A clause in a franchisee agreement that grants both the franchisor and the
franchisee the right, with proper notification, to terminate the agreement.
Informal conversations between persons as they "discuss" their positive or
negative experiences at a hotel.
A form used to initiate and document a request for maintenance.
A level of service which stresses the personal attention given to guests.
Hotels offering world-class service provide upscale restaurants and lounges,
exquisite décor, concierge service, opulent rooms, and abundant amenities.
In reference to computers, to send processed data out as information.
The term commonly used to indicate the total revenue generated by a
revenue-producing department during one part of a specific time period. (NA)
Demand forecasting systems designed to maximize revenue by holding rates
high during times of high guest room demand and by decreasing room rates
during times of lower guest room demand.
Short for "year to date." Used when comparing performance from the
beginning of the year up through, and including, the present period.
The term commonly used to indicate the total revenues generated during an
entire time period. Producing a Z report includes re-setting the continuous
total feature of a POS or other electronic register system to “zero” to begin
recording the next period’s revenues. (NA)
A goal of no guest-related complaints that is established when guest service
processes are implemented.
To settle in full the balance of a folio account as the guest checks out.
The total absence of behavior that is objectionable from the perspectives of
discrimination or harassment. This is done through the issuing of appropriate
policies, the conduct of applicable workshops, the development of
procedures for employees alleging discrimination or harassment to obtain
relief and written protocols for reporting, investigating and resolving
incidences and grievances.