Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

COMPONENTS OF THE REGISTRATION PROCESS 183waits in the hotel’s lobby or lounge until 4:00 p.m. This time, the stage is set for anunpleasant visit. Mr. Traveler will probably choose another hotel the next time he hasbusiness in the area.These two scenarios are repeated frequently in the hospitality industry. The latter, toooften the norm, gives rise to discussions of overpriced accommodations and unfriendlyand unhelpful hotel staff. A system must be in place to ensure that all travelers are extendedhospitality as a standard operating procedure. The first guest contact is too essentialto the delivery of a well-managed guest stay to leave it to the personal discretion ofan individual.Components of the Registration ProcessThe registration process is one of the many points of interaction with the guest andultimately the cornerstone of delivering service before, during, and after the guest stay.Early in this section, we discuss the importance of capturing guest data that is confirmedfrom the previous reservation process or initiated with a walk-in guest. While guests arein our care, we can communicate with them, maintain an accurate accounting record,and later on respond to any inquiries with regard to financial concerns or follow up onservice.The registration process follows a rather succinct procedure of offering guest hospitality,retrieving a reservation, reviewing the registration card for completeness, extendingcredit, selecting a room to meet the needs of the guest, checking room status, confirmingroom rates, promoting additional room sales, assigning room keys, and processing theguest folio. All these steps occur within the space of several minutes, but the organizationbehind the scenes of the registration process is essential. Let’s take a look at how the hoteloperational policies and procedures are developed to support the ease of a smooth registrationprocess.Capturing Guest DataIt is important to note at the outset the value of capturing guest data at registration.This information is used by many employees in the hotel to provide service and hospitalityto the guest. It will be used to transfer messages to the guest, to inform the staff of theguest’s needs, to check credit background, and to process charges.Guests will undoubtedly receive phone calls, phone messages, mail, and/or fax transmissionsthat the hotel must deliver. Recording the proper spelling of a guest’s name,including the middle initial, during registration will assist the telephone operator andbellhop in locating the correct guest. A person with a common last name such as Smithshould not miss an important message just because more than one Thomas Smith isregistered at the hotel.Hotel employees also need to know who each person is in the hotel so standard op-TLFeBOOK