Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

PMS APPLICATIONS 119Figure 4-21. Marketing and sales module.1. Guest History2. Word-processing3. Client Files4. Banquet Files5. Desktop Publishing6. Reports7. Travel Agencies8. Room Status—Meeting RoomsMarketing and SalesThe marketing and sales department makes extensive use of the PMS (Figure 4-21).This department can retrieve guest histories—information on guests’ previous stays thatreveals geographic origin, telephone information, organizational affiliation, credit-cardusage, personal room accommodation preferences, and the like—from reservation andregistration files. The source of the reservation (secretary, group, travel agent), type ofaccommodation requested, and zip code of business office or personal domicile are onlysome of the data that can be obtained from the reservation files. Additional marketingdata (newspapers read on a regular basis, radio stations listened to on a regular basis,source of recommendation) can be collected at the time of registration to give the marketingand sales department information on advertising media for target markets.Another PMS application that the marketing and sales department can use is the abilityto produce direct-mail letters, which are letters sent directly to individuals in a targetedmarket group. Individual letters advertising certain products and services, together withmailing labels, can be prepared. Weekly function sheets, listings of the daily events in ahotel such as meetings, banquets, receptions, and so forth, can be produced by assessingvarious individual banquet sheets, listings of the details of an event at which food andbeverages are served. Information on clients can be stored and updated as required. Contractscan also be produced. Tickler files on upcoming events are a great asset in keepingan edge on the competition. In addition, monthly newsletters can be produced throughthe word-processing and desktop-publishing applications. This module provides a greatorganizational feature in maintaining reserved occupancy status of meeting and banquetrooms.PersonnelThe maintenance of personnel files is greatly enhanced by using a PMS (Figure 4-22).Information concerning job category, date of hire, record of orientation and training, rateof pay, last evaluation date, promotions, pay increases, payroll deductions, and the likewill assist management in developing a well-operated human resources department. TheTLFeBOOK