Non-Automated Non-Automated front office recordkeeping systems rely solely on handwritten forms. Some small hotels may still find this method of recordkeeping sufficient to meet their information needs. The elements of handwritten systems have determined the structure of many front office processes. Techniques common to non-automated systems can be found in even the most advanced automated systems. Pre-arrival activities. Reservations agents enter requests into a loose-leaf notebook or onto index cards. Non-automated hotels typically accept reservations for six months into the future (called a six-month reservation horizon) and are unlikely to commit space beyond that time. Reservation confirmations, pre-registration activities, and occupancy forecasts are not common in non-automated hotels. Reservation information may also be placed on a density chart or graph to illustrate future room availabilities and help managers identify high and low room demand periods. A density board is usually set up as a matrix, with days of the month for rows and number of available rooms for columns. As rooms are blocked or booked, the matrix cells that correspond to the dates of stay and number of rooms are colored in. These colored squares reflect the density or concentration of rooms reserved. Arrival activities. Upon arrival, guests are asked to sign a page in a registration book or complete a registration card. Room assignments are made using a manual card replacement technique involving a room rack and, sometimes, color-coded flags indicating the housekeeping status for each room in the property. A room rack is an array of metal file pockets that displays guest and room status information in room number order. The registration card is often timestamped during check-in and may be placed in the room rack to indicated occupancy. Occupancy activities. Multiple-copy registration slips, which may be part of the registration card, allow copies of the guest’s personal data to be distributed to the room rack, switchboard operators, and uniformed service personnel. The original registration card often doubles as a guest account folio. Revenue outlets send documentation (vouchers) of charges to the front desk for posting to guest folios. The revenue outlet also maintains a sales record of all charged transactions so that guest account postings can be cross-checked as part of the night audit routine. Although adding machines may be used to facilitate accounting procedures, monitoring guest activities within a manual process may become repetitive, cumbersome, and tedious. Departure activities. At check-out, guests settle their accounts and return their room keys; the cashier notifies the housekeeping department of departures. Registration cards or rack slips are removed from the room rack and marked to indicate departure. The registration card or rack slip may then be filed in a card-board box and serve as the hotel’s guest history file. If the registration card was time-stamped at check-in, it should also be time-stamped at check-out. Semi-Automated A semi-automated, or electro-mechanical, front office system relies upon both handwritten and machine-produced forms. Semi-automated systems and equipment are becoming less common in small and mid-size hotels. Advantages of a semi-automated system over a non-automated system include automatically generated and easy-to-read documents that detail the steps of a transaction. These documents represent what is known as an audit trail. The disadvantages of semi-automated equipment include the complexities of operating and controlling devices that are not integrated with other systems and that are subject to frequent maintenance problems. Pre-arrival activities. Guests making reservations may call a national reservations network or contact the hotel directly. When reservation requests grow beyond the front desk’s ability to handle them efficiently, many hotels create a reservations department. Pre-registration activities include preparation of registration cards, guest folios, and information slips. Room assignments are usually made based on room rack status, as in a non-automated process. As in non-automated hotels, semi-automated properties may also opt to maintain a manual reservation density board. Arrival activities. When guests with reservations arrive at the hotel, they simply verify the previously recorded registration information and sign a pre-printed registration card. Walk-in guests generally complete a multiple-copy registration card. Copies are distributed to the room rack, the switchboard operator, and the information rack. Occupancy activities. The use of semi-automated systems may not significantly reduce the paperwork needed to chart the hotel guest cycle. Vouchers are used to communicate charge purchases to the front desk, and revenue outlets rely on sales record entries to prove transactions. Mechanical and electronic cash registers and front office posting machines are used to process many of the records formerly processed by hand. The use of this equipment enables the front office to handle guest accounting transactions more accurately and rapidly. A night audit procedure based on posting machine records is used to verify account entries and balances. Departure activities. A more thorough audit routine, made possible by a semi-automated system, leads to faster and smoother guest check-outs. Front desk agents experience fewer discrepancies in guest accounts and are able to efficiently reconcile guest accounts. They are also able to relay room status information to housekeeping much more quickly than they could in a nonautomated system. Registration cards may be collected and placed in the property’s guest history files for future reference. Fully Automated Front office record keeping is computer-based in fully automated hotels. Computer systems designed for use in the hospitality industry were first introduced in the early 1970s, but were not considered viable until the late 1970s. These initial systems tended to be expensive, making them attractive to only the largest hotel properties. During the 1980s, computer equipment became less expensive, more compact, and easier to operate. User-friendly software packages evolved for various hotel functions and applications which did not require the sophisticated technical training demanded by earlier computer systems. The development of versatile personal computers encouraged system vendors to approach smaller lodging properties. By the late 1980s, computer systems were cost-effective for hotels of all sizes. Pre-arrival activities. The reservations software of an in-house computer system may directly interface with a central reservations network and automatically quote rates and reserve rooms according to a pre-determined pattern. The reservations software may also automatically generate letters of confirmation, produce requests for guest deposits, and handle pre-registration activities. Electronic folios can be established and pre-registration transactions can be processed for guests with confirmed reservations. A reservations software package may also generate an expected arrivals list, occupancy and revenue forecasts, and a variety of informative reports. Arrival activities. Guest information collected during the reservation process may be automatically transferred from the computer’s reservation record to the front desk. For walk-in guests, guest information is entered manually into the computer by a front desk agent. The agent may then present a computer-prepared registration card to the guest for verification and signature. The installation of on-line credit card authorization terminals enables front desk personnel to receive timely credit card approval. Registration data, stored electronically in the computer, can be retrieved whenever necessary, thereby making a room rack unnecessary. Electronic guest folios are also maintained and accessed through the computer’s memory. A recent innovation in technology is the self check-in/check-out terminal. In fact, these terminals have been in existence for many years, but they either have been too expensive or have not had strong customer acceptance. This has changed recently, as the cost of technology has been significantly reduced. In addition, the acceptance of automated teller machines (ATMs) used by most banks has had a direct impact on guests, who are now more willing to accept self-help equipment in lodging establishments. To use one of these terminals, the guest inserts a credit card into the machine, which reads the magnetic strip on the credit card and communicates with the central property management system. The central system locates the guest’s reservation and returns the information to the terminal. The guest is asked to verify name, departure date, rate, and room type on the display. Some systems allow changes to this information and some require that the guest go to the front desk if any changes are necessary. If the information is correct, the system assigns a room with the property management system and prints out a rooming slip with the room number. Guests then take the slip to a special line at the front desk and receive a key. The most advanced systems provide electronic room keys that are individually created when the guest checks in. Most world-class service hotels do not use self check-in/check-out terminals because they want to keep personal contact between the hotel staff and the guest. Self check-in terminals are being accepted in large convention hotels where long check-in and check-out lines can diminish a guest’s experience. These terminals are used to reduce these long lines and get guests to their rooms faster. The need for personal service is not as high in these hotels. Other hotels, such as economy-priced hotels and some mid-range hotels that do not provide a lot of personal service, also are using these systems. One additional advantage of these systems in economy and mid-range hotels is that they may eliminate the need for a night shift at the front desk. The equipment can handle all check-ins and check-outs. Occupancy activities. With a fully automated front office system, non-automated room racks and electro-mechanical or electronic posting machines are replaced by computer terminals throughout the front office. As guests charge purchases at revenue outlets, the charged amounts are electronically transferred to the front office computer from the point-of-sale location. These charges are then automatically posted to the proper electronic guest folio. Instantaneous postings, simultaneous guest account and departmental entries, and continuous trial balances free the insight auditor to spend time on auditing, rather than focusing primarily on guest account balancing. Departure activities. A neatly printed electronic folio helps assure the guest that the statement is complete and accurate. Depending on the method of settlement, the computer system may automatically post the transactions to appropriate accounts. For a guest account that requires billing, the system is capable of producing a bill to be sent to the guest. Once the guest’s account is settled and the postings are considered complete, departed guest information is used to create an electronic guest history record. Off-premises service bureaus may enable hotel operations to enjoy some of the benefits of automation without having to support an in-house computer system. A service bureau requires the hotel to provide the bureau’s offices with data for processing. A popular application has been payroll accounting. Employee time records are sent to the service bureau to convert into paychecks and payroll reports for management. However, service bureaus, which focus primarily on back office functions, are not a feasible option for front office activities.