RESERVATION AND ITS TYPES , MODES

                                            RESERVATION 

Reservation is the activity of booking the room in advance for a prospective guest on his request for future, which may be from a few days to month in advance.

   There are two types of reservation and they are.

• Guaranteed reservation

In this guest confirms the booking by paying a conformational charge and on another hand hotel also hold the room request until specific due dates and time of arrival. It protects hotel revenue in case of no show until cancellation is done as per hotel rules.

• Non –guaranteed reservation

A conditional reservation or simple agreement between guest and the hotel in which hotel agrees to hold the room until 6 pm on the date of arrival. If the guest fails to attain within cancellation hours, the room will be released for resale.

                                            Reservation Procedure Chart

1. The enquiry for reservation

When a reservation request is received then reservationist must determine reservation details and guest purpose of stay. The details are;

Name of guest, address of guest, date of arrival, date of departure, desire of room type, contact address, desired room rate, etc

2. Determining the room availability

The next step is to find out whether the requested room is available on requested date or not. Room availability can be determined through forecast board, computers, and reservation chart.

3. Accepting or denying reservation request

If the room and rate are at par then accept the room request. If the room is not available then apologize the guest and offer any other alternatives.

4. Documenting the room request

After accepting reservation request, guest details are fill up on form as well as on computers.

5. Confirming the reservation request

When client and hotel agree on room and rates then reservation assistant confirms reservation request.

6. Maintaining whitney rack

Whitney rack means reservation rack. It is the series of a rack with small slots to hold reservation slip that is displayed on reservation office. Reservation slip is made of two copies, one goes to Whitney rack and another one is attached with reservation form or file. Reservation slip may be color coated. Every color is separated into the types of guest for example;

Pink reservation slip for free individual travellers, red reservation slip for groups and crews guest, yellow reservation slip for very important guest(VIPs), green reservation slip for guest brought by travel agents.

7. Blocking rooms on reservation chart

A reservation chart is based on the basis of a reservation system. Each page represents a month. The vertical column represents each day of a month while the horizontal columns represent the room in the hotel. The number of horizontal columns depends on upon the number of rooms in a hotel. Each block is created in a matrix then represent the room on a particular day of the month. Or in other words in this process, the reservationist block the requested room on the requested date on reservation chart.

                         

                 Sources of reservation

Request for room reservation may come from a number of sources by a prospective guest. The most common sources of reservation are as follows:

1. Travel agent

Travel agent acts as a middleman between guest and hotel by making a reservation for a guest. A travel agent may make a reservation for FITs (Free individual travelers) or chance guests.

2. Companies/corporate houses

The companies may book rooms or other services for their visitors, executives, delegators or clients in a hotel at special rates.

3. Airlines

Different airlines book hotel rooms for their regular crew members or for their clients in case of cancellation of their onward flights and also for the use of their executives.

4. Embassies/consulates

They provide large business in capital cities for their visiting dignitaries, executive, officers etc

5. NGOs/INGOs

These group book hotel rooms directly for conducting seminars, research, training programmes etc.

6. Government Office and Ministries

The can be a good source of reservation of rooms for several visiting dignitaries, executive, officers from different countries to participate conference and seminars conducted and hosted by government officials.

7. Personal approach

The may directly give their reservation to the hotel. They are also termed as FITs (Free individual travelers) or chance guest. Those guest are also termed as walk-in guests.

                        Modes of reservation

The reservation may come from the guest directly through different organization but the medium through which the reservation requests reach the hotel are also different and they are as follows:

1. Letter

A return request for room, reservation is sent directly to hotel reservation section through the post office, hand delivery or by courier.

2. Telephone

Today's most common system is a telephonic reservation. These are a faster way of getting confirmation and are handled directly by reservation staff. Guest can directly reserve hotel rooms through the telephone.

3. FAX (Far access Xerox)

The most common and cheapest modes of reservation in which written statement and graphics are transmitted over telephone lines.

4. CRS (central reservation system)

Many hotels have their own CRS network which allows direct reservation access to a travel agent, clients through their own network.

5. In person

A person can directly arrive at the hotel to seek reservation which is usually low in practice.

6. E-mail / internet

Due to fast advancement and development of internet all over the world, today most of the hotel allows reservation online on the internet through their websites. Even reservation sent on e-mail is accepted.

                                 Factors Affecting Reservation

• Confirmation

It is legal document indicating acceptance of room request made by a guest and the hotel. It may be either guaranteed or non-guaranteed reservation. It affects room occupancy by if a guest does not check in or check out on time.

• Cancellation

This means the room which was previously booked again becomes available for resale due to personal reasons or natural rules then guest has to pay a certain compensation and remaining amount are refunded.

• Overbooking

It is the tendency of booking more room than the room available in the hotel. It is a strategy adopted to maximize room revenue and in order to prevent no show, last minute cancellation. Overbooking must be practiced carefully in case of overbooked room guest must be transferred to same standard hotel and the extra burden should be handled by the hotel itself.

• Walk-in

Walking refers to a guest who arrives at the hotel without reservation. They are always called chance guest. Walk-in should be handled carefully and accommodated by following walking formalities with secure advance deposit. If walk-in could not be accommodated they should be referred to a similar hotel nearby. Walk-in generates revenue but also bear risk to the hotel.

• No-show

A guest who doesn't arrives to pick up the reservation and for which formal cancellation is not done by them. In this case of no-show, a hotel will compensate some amount of money and remain money is refunded. In a case of natural circumstances like an earthquake, flight delayed total money are refunded. Generally no-show occurs in small number in a hotel, but it can affect the reservation and hotel business as well as hotel revenue.

• Over and Under stay guest

If a guest stays in hotel rooms beyond the scheduled departure date that is called overstay. Guest who check out before scheduled departure date then it is called under the stay. This types of guest in the hotel can affect the normal operation of a hotel.

REFERENCE NOTES...BOOKS