Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

SOURCES OF RESERVATIONS 135more readily available the information concerning the lodging property, tourist attractions,and the community, the easier it will be for the planner to choose a property.Pleasure TravelersPleasure travelers are people who travel alone or with others to visit points of interestor relatives, or for other personal reasons. These travelers, who are often unrestricted bydeadlines or schedules, are more flexible in their travel plans than are corporate clientsand group travelers. They are more willing to seek someplace to stay along the way;however, some of the people in this group may want to obtain guaranteed reservationsto ensure a trip with no surprises. This group is very fragmented and consists of manysubgroups, including singles, married couples, young families, senior citizens, and students.Some of the various methods the pleasure traveler can use to secure room reservationsare travel agencies, toll-free numbers, reservation/referral systems, and the Internet.Although using travel agents to place reservations may not be as common with pleasuretravelers as it is with businesspeople, the ease of “one-stop shopping” that travelagents offer encourages hotels to develop strong business relationships with them. MelindaBush of Murdoch magazines states, “Hotels are viewing [travel] agents as extensionsof their sales and marketing departments.” 7 The fee a lodging facility pays for acceptinga reservation placed by a travel agent is usually 10 percent or more of the room rate, aminimal sum compared to the increase in volume and subsequent profits that an agentcan generate for a property.Another method used by the pleasure traveler to make reservations is the toll-freephone number. Calling these numbers, which are listed in travel guides and the phonebook, provides pleasure travelers with up-to-the-minute room rates and reservation availabilitystatus.The third method available for the pleasure traveler is the reservation/referral system.This option offers the traveler a quick way to contact a particular hotel, via a nationalor an international reservation/referral system. Travelers planning trips for a long periodof time or visits to unfamiliar areas usually prefer some semblance of assurance thataccommodations will be available, clean, safe, and comfortable. The quality assuranceprovided by name recognition built up over a period of time by a chain convinces thetraveler to place room reservations through its reservation/referral system.A fourth method used by the pleasure market segment to make reservations is via theInternet. Travelers can visit the Web site of the participating hotels to investigate accommodationsand pricing as well as to make reservations. Considering the popularity ofhome computers and their connection to the Internet, this method will grow.Current GuestsOne of the often overlooked areas for attracting room reservations is through currentguests, guests who are registered in the hotel. (Although this topic is covered in moreTLFeBOOK