Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

194 CHAPTER 7: GUEST REGISTRATIONRESERVATION STATUSOpenConfirmed 4 p.m.Confirmed 6 p.m.GuaranteedRepairHOUSEKEEPING STATUSAvailable, Clean or ReadyOccupiedStayoverDirty or On ChangeOut-of-orderAccurate, up-to-date room status reports are vital to the operation of a front desk forproviding guest hospitality and financial viability. The desk clerk who assigns a dirty roomto a guest conveys incompetence. Assigning a room that already has occupants createshostility and embarrassment for both the new and the current guests. Conversely, a roomthat is thought to be occupied but in fact is vacant is defined as a sleeper. Thisisalostsales opportunity that cannot be re-created the next day.The housekeeping department must communicate the housekeeping status in an accurate,orderly, and speedy manner. The floor supervisor of the housekeeping departmentmust inspect each room to determine if guests have indeed vacated the room, to ensurethe cleanliness and servicing of the room, and to note any physical repairs that are neededbefore the room is released to the front desk for rental. An orderly system whereby thehousekeeping department transfers this information to the front desk—through regularlyscheduled communications from the floor supervisor, maid, or houseman via the telephone,PMS, or personal visits to the front desk—is necessary to maintain the integrityof the system. Delays in transferring this information will slow down the process ofproviding hospitality to the guest.The reservations staff must also be aware of the need to coordinate the immediaterequirement of a businessperson for a small meeting room at the last minute with that ofan incoming guest for a sitting room for a small gathering, the latter requiring confirmationwhen the reservation is made. Adequately meeting these requests is important todelivering hospitality to the guest. When the guest arrives to register and finds that theseessential facilities are unavailable, hostility toward the hotel—specifically directed at thefront desk clerk—results. Standard operating procedures must be established to ensurethe accuracy of room status.Room RatesThe marketing plan of a hotel will include pricing programs for room rates, based onmany intricate and market-sensitive factors. Courses in hospitality marketing and hoteloperations will help you develop an understanding of their relationship to price. Thisintroduction to room rates discusses the importance of establishing and monitoring effectiveroom rates to ensure maximization of profit.TLFeBOOK