Front Office Registration Activity, BHMCT Notes, IHM Notes

Front Office Registration Activity
Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Front Office Registration Activity, BHMCT Notes, IHM Notes, Registration, Pre-registration Activity, The Registration Record, Room and Rate Assignment, Room Status

Registration

Registration begins when the front desk agent extends a sincere welcome to the guest. A warm greeting sets the tone for everything that follows. The front desk agent moves into the registration process after determining the guest’s reservation status. To a great degree, registration relies on the information contained in a reservation record. Front office personnel will find registration simpler and smoother when accurate and complete information has been captured during the reservations process.

The registration process can be divided into six steps:

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• Pre-registration activity

• Creating the registration record

• Assigning the room and rate

• Establishing the method of payment

• Verifying Guest Identity

• Issuing the room key

• Fulfilling special requests

1. Pre-registration Activity

Through the reservations process, a guest provides nearly all the information needed to complete registration. In other words, guests who make reservations will likely experience a more rapid check-in. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Pre-registration activities (registration activities that occur before the guest arrives at the property) help accelerate the registration process. Guests can be re-registered using the information collected by reservations agents during the reservations process. Typically, pre-registered guests only need to verify information already entered onto a registration card and provide a valid signature in the appropriate place on the registration card.

Pre-registration normally involves more than merely producing a registration card in advance of guest arrival. Room and rate assignment, creation of a guest folio, and other functions may also be part of the registration process. However, some front office managers may be reluctant to assign a specific room to a guest in advance of check-in since reservations are sometimes canceled or modified. Specific room assignments often become jumbled when last-minute changes in reservation status are made. In addition, assigning a large percentage of vacant rooms in advance of arrival may limit the number of rooms available to guests who are not pre-registered. This imbalance can slow down the registration process and create a negative impression of the hotel. Hotels will tend to develop pre-registration policies based on operational experience.

Pre-registration tasks are performed manually in non-automated and semi-automated front office systems. Consequently, pre-registration services may be limited to specially designated or VIP guests or groups. With a computerized system, pre-registration activities can be conducted for all expected arrivals. Since data recorded during the reservations process serve as the basis for pre-registration, computer systems can reformat a reservation record into a registration record. Front Office Registration Activity

Pre-registration lends itself to innovative registration options. For instance, a hotel courtesy van might pick up a guest arriving at the airport who has a hotel reservation. The driver of the van, equipped with appropriate information and forms, could request the guest’s signature on a prepared registration card, imprint the guest’s credit card, and give the guest a pre-assigned room key-all before the guest arrives at the hotel.

Another variation on pre-registration for air travelers involves actual services at the airport. Some luxury hotels have arrangements with nearby airports to provide guests with convenient check-in services. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

2. The Registration Record

After a guest arrives at the hotel, the front desk agent creates a registration record, a collection of important guest information. Front Office Registration Activity

Registration cards facilitate the registration process in non-automated and semi-automated hotels. The registration card requires a guest to provide his or her name, address, telephone number, company affiliation (if appropriate), and other personal data. Such a statement may be required by state law. The registration card usually contains a space for the guest’s signature. In some states, a guest’s signature is a legal prerequisite to establishing a guest relationship with the hotel. Front Office Registration Activity

Even in automated properties, guests may be asked to sign a preprinted registration card either to comply with statutory requirements or to verify that the registration document is accurate. Although a state or local municipality may require a signed registration card, the electronic information record, not the registration card, establishes the basis for registration processing. Guests arriving without reservations (i.e. walk-ins) will experience a different registration routine. Front desk agents will need to collect guest data and subsequently input those data into a computer terminal at the front desk. Most registration information may be assembled from a registration card or from guest responses during check-in.

Registration cards or their computer generated equivalent, request guests to indicate their intended method of settlement for rooms and other hotel goods and services. In addition, front desk agents should confirm the guest’s planned departure date and pre-assigned room rate. These elements are critical to rooms and revenue management. Clarifying the room rate at registration minimizes confusion and adjustments to the guest’s folio at checkout. In non-automated and semi-automated hotels, the guest’s registration card is either filed in the room rack or attached to the guest’s folio and placed in a folio tray. Many registration cards also contain some form of acknowledgement on the part of the guest that he or she is personally responsible for payment in case the credit card or direct billing is not accepted. In a computerized hotel, the registration card is stored by itself in the folio tray and the information is electronically stored in a computer file.

The guest’s intended method of payment may determine the guest’s point-of-sale charge status. For example, a guest paying cash in advance at registration is likely to have a no-post status in the hotel’s sales outlets. In other words, the guest may not be allowed to charge purchases to a room account. A guest presenting a valid credit card during registration may be allowed point-of-sale charge privileges. The decision to give charge privileges to a guest depends on the establishment of an acceptable method of credit at check-in.

At checkout, the information captured on a guest’s registration card may be used as the primary source for creating a guest history record. This record may then become part of the data base to be used in the future by the hotel’s sales and marketing efforts. The information contained in a guest history data base can be analyzed to assist management in developing marketing strategies, marketing lists, and detailed reports. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

3. Room and Rate Assignment

Room assignment is an important part of the registration process. Room assignment involves identifying and allocating an available room in a specific room category to a guest. When the guest request is ambiguous, or when a room is unavailable in the guest’s preferred category, a front desk agent may conduct a survey of all room categories to identify an acceptable available room. Front Office Registration Activity

On the basis of reservation information, specific rooms and rates may be pre-assigned (before the guest’s arrival). Pre-assigning a specific room depends on the room’s forecasted availability status and how appropriately the room meets the guest’s needs. Room assignments are finalized during the registration process.

Front desk agents must be aware of each room’s rate category, current occupancy status, furnishings, location, and amenities in order to best satisfy guest requests. Future reservation commitments must also be considered during room assignment so that rooms are not assigned in conflict with near-future reservation needs. Front Office Registration Activity

The front desk agent’s ability to determine room status and an appropriate room rate is critical to an effective registration process. Each of these important topics is addressed separately. Front Office Registration Activity

Room Status

Room status information is usually discussed along two time lines. In the long term (beyond the present night), a room’s readiness is described by its reservation status. In the short term, a room’s readiness is described by its housekeeping status, which refers to its

Availability for immediate assignment. Knowing whether the room is occupied, vacant, on-change, out of order, or in some other condition is important to rooms management.

Changes in a room’s housekeeping status should be promptly communicated to the front desk in order to maximize room sales. Maintaining timely housekeeping status information requires close coordination and cooperation between the front desk and housekeeping department. A room status discrepancy occurs when the housekeeping status information used by the housekeeping department differs from the room status information used by the front desk to assign rooms. Room status discrepancies can seriously affect a property’s ability to satisfy guest needs and maximize rooms revenue. Room status discrepancies should be identified and resolved as quickly as possible. Front Office Registration Activity

A tremendous aid to the registration of early-arriving guests is the prompt relay of housekeeping information to the front desk. This is typically true during high-occupancy or full-occupancy (sold-out) periods. The more efficient the registration process, the more impressed with the hotel’s efficiency of operation an incoming guest is likely to be. At most properties, the front desk agent is not authorized to assign a guestroom until the room has been cleaned, inspected and released by the housekeeping department. Even though a guest arriving early may have to wait for a room, he or she will perceive the wait for a readied room as a better opinion than simply receiving a room key to a room that has not been properly prepared. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Room Rack: The front desk may use a room rack to track the current housekeeping status of guestrooms. A room rack slip containing the guest’s name, departure date, room rate, and other information is normally completed during the registration process and placed in the room rack slot corresponding to the room number assigned to the guest. The presence of a room rack slip indicates that the room is occupied. When the guest checks out, the rack slip is removed and the room’s status shifts to on-change. An on-change status indicates that the room requires housekeeping services before it can be resold. As unoccupied rooms are cleaned and inspected, the housekeeping department notifies the front desk which, in turn, updates the room’s status to available for sale. Front Office Registration Activity

Room status discrepancies can occur in non-automated front office systems for two reasons. First, the cumbersome nature of tracking and comparing housekeeping and front desk room status information often leads to mistakes. For example, if a room racks slip is mistakenly left in the rack even though the guest has checked out, front desk staff may falsely assume than a vacant room is still occupied. Potential revenue from the future sales of the room may be lost. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Room status discrepancies may also arise from delays in communicating housekeeping status information from the housekeeping department to the front desk. Communication between the front desk and the housekeeping department may be spoken, written, or conveyed through a communication device like a tele-writer. Spoken communication, normally accomplished via the telephone, is used to relay status information quickly, but without supporting documentation. A written report has the advantage of documenting the information, but is time-consuming because it may require hand-delivery.

Computer-based communication at automated properties can be accomplished in a number of ways. Some systems, for example, interface in-room telephones with the hotel’s computer system so that housekeepers can enter room status information over the telephone system. Other systems may require housekeepers to use a computer terminal in the housekeeping department to update room status information. In any case, the electronic transmittal of information is quick and easy. Computerized systems are discussed in greater detail below. Front Office Registration Activity

In many properties, a front desk agent is responsible for producing a daily front office report called the occupancy report. The daily occupancy report lists rooms occupied for the night and indicates those guests expected to check out the following day. The executive housekeeper receives a copy of this report early in the morning and schedules occupied rooms for cleaning. The rooms occupied by guests expected to check out are usually scheduled to be cleaned last since guests tend to use their room until just prior to departure. If these rooms are cleaned early, they may have to be cleaned again. Checked-out rooms usually require more cleaning time than stay over rooms. If a guest checks out before the stated departure date, the front desk must notify housekeeping that the room should no longer be classified as a stay over. A special housekeeping routine coordinated with the front desk is often needed for cleaning and inspecting early checkout rooms.

At the end of a work shift, the housekeeping department prepares a housekeeping status report based on a physical check of all guestrooms. This report indicates the current housekeeping status of each room. It should be compared with the front desk occupancy report, and any room status discrepancies should be brought to the attention of the front office manager. This process helps ensure that front desk agents with an accurate and up-to-date room rack, which is especially important when processing late check-ins.

Computerized System: In a computerized room status system, housekeeping and the front desk often have instantaneous access to room status information. For example, when a guest checks out, the process of settling the account in the computer automatically updates the room status to vacant and on-charge. Housekeeping, in turn, is alerted that the room needs cleaning through a remoter terminal located in the housekeeping department. A recent innovation connects a pager Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

To the computerized room status system. The pager is worn by the room attendant and is activated automatically when the guest leaves. This allows even faster response by the housekeeping team. Room attendants then clean the room and notify the housekeeping department when it is ready for inspection. Housekeeping inspects the room and enters the room’s status into the computer system via the housekeeping department’s computer terminal or through the guestroom telephone if the hotel is properly equipped. This entry, in turn, updates rooms status information stored in the front office computer.

4. Room Rates: A room rate is price a hotel charges for overnight accommodation. The cost structure of the hotel dictates the minimum rate for a room and competition helps the hotel establish its maximum rate. The room rate range is the range of values between the minimum and maximum rates. A hotel will usually designate a standard rate for each room. This rate is typically called the rack rate because traditionally the standard rate was the one posted on or near the room rack. The rack rate is considered the retail rate for the room. In most cases, rate discounts provided by the hotel are discounts to the rack rate.

Room rates are often confirmed as part of the reservations process. This is becoming the preferred way of doing business by most business travelers and travel agents. Assigning rates for walk-in guests is left to the front desk agent according to the hotels policy guidelines. Front desk agents may sometimes be allowed to offer a room at a lower price than a standard rack rate. Normally, this occurs when management deems if appropriate. For eg, Hotel management may be expecting low occupancy. In order to attract as much business as possible to the hotel, walk-in guest may be offered a rate below the rack rate to entice them to stay. Some hotels establish seasonal rate schedules in order to anticipate business fluctuations. The objective is to provide greater value during low demand periods and to maximize room revenue during high demand periods (a form of revenue management). Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Other room rate schedules may reflect variations in the number of guests assigned to the room, service level, and room location. For eg,

room rates may cover billing arrangements for meals. Under the AMERICAN PLAN (AP), room charges include the cost of the guest room and free meals per day. Under the Modified American Plan (MAP), the daily rate includes charges for the guest room and two meals per day (typical breakfast and dinner). Sometimes, the phrase full pension is used in place of American plan, and semi-pension in place of Modified American Plan. Under the European plan, meals are priced separately from guest rooms. Resorts frequently use either AP or MAP most non-resorts hotels in the United States set their rates according to the EP.

Special room rates may include:

• Commercial or cooperate rates for frequent guests.

• Complimentary rates (no charge) for business promotion

• Group rates for a pre-determined number of affiliated guests

• Family rates for parents and children sharing the same room

• Day rates for less than an overnight stay (usually check-in and check-out on the same day) Front Office Registration Activity

• Package-plan rates for guestrooms sold in package that includes special events or activities Front Office Registration Activity

• Frequent traveler rates for guests earning discounts through the hotel’s frequent traveler program Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

5. Room Locations

When assigning guestrooms, a front desk agent must be aware of the characteristics of each room type. In most hotel built in the last fifty years, guestrooms within each room category tend to be approximately the same size. Older hotels, due to different construction techniques and materials, often had rooms varying significantly in size and configuration. Difference between two guestrooms generally lies in their furnishing, amenities, and location. Front desk agents should be familiar with various guestroom configurations, as well as the hotel’s floor plan, in order to satisfy guestroom requests.

Individual guests or groups of guest may specify certain room locations in the hotel as part of their reservations requests. Groups may be Promised their preferred rooms by the department that booked their business, usually the sales and marketing department or catering department. However, the booking department should be careful to check room availabilities with reservations before promising or committing specific facilities to an incoming group. Although the reservations department may block the desired rooms in advance, it is the responsibility of the front desk to assign guestrooms from the preferred block of rooms at registration. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Future Blocks

A primary concern in the room assignment phase of registration is knowing what rooms will be available in the near future of based on reservation blocks. Usually, a reservations agent or the front office supervisor blocks reserved rooms on a calendar, wall chart, control book, room rack, or computer reservations file. If for any reason reserved rooms are incorrectly blocked or inadvertently overlooked, information discrepancies and/ or rooming conflicts may result. Front Office Registration Activity

Many guests believe that once they occupy a room there is little that the hotel can do to change their status. Any attempt to move a registered guest to another room is often resisted; bad feelings may arise even if the guest agrees to move. Consequently, the incoming guest, who was promised a particular room, will probably be in convinced and may be vary of the front desk’s control over its room assignment process. These and related reasons make it imperative for the front office to be aware of all future guestroom commitments. Front Office Registration Activity

4. Method of Payment

Regardless of whether the guest intends to pay by cash, check, Credit card or other acceptable method, the hotel should take precautionary measures to ensure payment. Effective account settlement depends on the steps taken during registration to determine the guest’s method of payment. The establishment of proper settlement or credit authorization at the time of registration will greatly reduce the potential for unauthorized settlement and subsequent collection problems. Just as hotels vary in size, structure, and organization, so do the guidelines for establishing the guest’s method of payment. The registration process plays an important role in front office guest accounting since front desk agents are responsible for gathering information at check-in on the intended method of payment. Common methods of room rate payment include: cash, personal checks, credit cards, direct billings, and special programs. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Cash

Some guests prefer to pay guestroom charges during registration, in advance of occupancy. Revenue outlets are usually given PIA (paid-in-advance) lists of cash-paying guests who are not authorized to have charge purchases posted to their guestroom accounts (no post status). Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Banks also consider cashier’s checks, traveler’s checks, and money orders equivalent to cash. A hotel that accepts such forms of legal tender should require proper guest identification. Front desk agents should compare the picture and signature on the guest’s identification with the appearance and signature of the person presenting the tender.

Personal Checks

Although a hotel has no obligation to accept personal checks, it cannot refuse to accept a personal check on the basis or sex, race, or other grounds that would warrant illegal discrimination. Some hotels allow guests to cash personal checks as long as they have a credit card that provides a check-cashing guarantee, and as long as the amount of the check is within the credit card company’s established credit limit. Front Office Registration Activity

Hotels that accept personal checks should require proper identification. Properties can also protect themselves against potential losses incurred through acceptance of fraudulent or bogus personal checks by following some basic guidelines:

• Do not refund cash if the original transaction was settled by personal check. If possible, return the guest’s original personal

Check and, when appropriate, require an alternate form of payment. Some properties do not write a refund check, even if a refund is warranted, until the guest’s bank verifies that the personal check in question has cleared.

• Do not accept undated or post-dated personal checks – that is, checks carrying no date or a future date instead of the current date.

• Require that personal checks written to settle an account be made payable to the hotel, not to “Cash”. When a guest is allowed to write a personal check to obtain cash, not to pay a bill that check should be made out to “Cash”. This practice may prevent a non-paying guest (skipper) from later claiming his or her personal check made out to “Cash” was used as payment against his r her hotel account. Front Office Registration Activity

Second- and Third-Party Checks: In general, hotels will not accept second- or third-party checks. A second-party check is one made out to the guest presenting the check. A third-party check is one made out to someone who has in turn signed the check over to the guest presenting it. Front Office Registration Activity

Check-Guarantee Services: A personal check guarantee service can be a valuable asset for the hospitality industry. When such a service is available, a front desk agent usually telephones the service or uses a small, desktop terminal, and provides data from the tendered check and the amount of the transaction. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Credit Cards

Careful authorization and verification of credit cards are as important to front office cash flow as the precautions taken with any other method of payment. The front office usually complies a set of steps for processing credit card transactions. In addition, credit card companies often require explicit procedures in order to ensure transaction settlement. Credit card companies also provide helpful tips for avoiding fraud and implementing sound processing procedures. Hotels should have an attorney review their credit card procedures to be sure the hotel Front Office Registration Activity

adheres to state and federal laws and to the specifications contained in credit card company contracts. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Expiration Date: When a guest presents a credit card, the front desk handling the transaction should immediately check the credit card’s expiration date. If the date shows that the credit card has expired, the front desk agent should point this out to the guest and request an alternative method of payment. Since credit card companies are not required to honor transactions made with an expired card, the acceptance of an expired card places the hotel in an untenable position. If the hotel inadvertently accepts an expired credit card, it may not be able to collect payment for the guest’s charged purchases.

On-Line Authorization: After checking a credit card’s expiration date, the front desk agent should make sure the credit card isn’t listed as stolen or otherwise invalid. Many hotels validate credit cards through an on-line computer service accomplished through a telephone interface. Once the telephone connection is complete, the required credit card and transaction data maybe spoken, entered on a touch-tone ley pad, or automatically captured through a magnetic strip reader. On the basis of the entered data, the credit card verification service consults an account data base and generates either an authorization code or a denial code for the guest’s transaction. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

On-line authorization services have the advantage of allowing the front desk agent to proceed with other tasks while the service verifies the transaction. The front desk agent can later check the authorization terminal to obtain and record the authorization or denial code number. It is important to note that on-line authorization services often charge a transaction processing fee. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Cancellation Bulletins: in properties without on-line credit card authorization, the front desk agent should validate a credit card by consulting the credit card company’s current cancellation bulletin. Expired cancellation bulletins should also be retained and filed in case a disputer eventually arises between a credit card company and the hotel. The hotel can refer to previous cancellation bulletins to provethat a credit card number was valid at the time the credit card was accepted for payment. An attorney can advise the hotel on how long to retain such documentation. Front Office Registration Activity

Invalid Card: Front desk employees should follow established front office and credit card company procedures when a credit card appears to be invalid. The card may appear to be invalid because it has been tampered with or the signature on the credit card does not match the signature on the hotel registration card. Normally, it is appropriate for staff to politely request an alternate form of payment. Front desk agents should not draw attention to or embarrass the guest in any way. If the guest has no other acceptable means of payment, front desk agents typically will refer the situation to the front office credit manager or hotel general manager for resolution. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

If a guest presents a card that appears stolen, then front desk agent might be advised to call the hotel security. Although the federal government has made credit card fraud a criminal offense, lodging properties should exercise care in detaining guest they suspect of theft of fraud. Such detention, especially if unjustified or improperly instituted, might expose the property to a lawsuit based on false imprisonment and slander. The hotel’s attorney should provide advice on handling invalid credit cards and on the hotel’s vulnerability to related lawsuits.

Imprinting the Voucher: Front desk agents imprint approved, valid credit cards onto credit card vouchers. Some hotels require front desk agents to circle the card’s expiration date and initial the validation number on the imprinted voucher as proof that procedures have been followed. The imprinted credit card voucher is normally attached to the guest’s registration card, to the guest folio, or placed in a voucher file for safekeeping. Usually, the guest is not asked to sign the credit card voucher until account settlement or checkout time. More recently, credit card companies are requiring the swipe of the credit through a reader to capture the data. It is a more accurate process for them, as imprinted vouchers may be unreadable. Credit card companies requiring credit card swipes often provide an incentive to the hotel by reducing the fee they charge for processing the credit card. When this is done, it is not necessary to also imprint the card on a credit card voucher. However, imprinting the card on the back of the guest’s registration card is appropriate.

Floor Limits: Credit card companies assign hotels a floor limit. A floor limit is the maximum amount in credit card charges the hotel can accept without requesting special authorization on behalf of a credit card holder. If the amount a guest wants to charge to his or her credit card account exceeds the hotel’s floor limit, the front office should contact the credit card company to request approval for transaction. Front Office Registration Activity

In some cases, the penalty to the hotel for not obtaining authorization for charges exceeding the floor limit is forfeiture of the entire amount charged, not just the amount above the floor limit. A computerized system that monitors guest account balances can help identify guest credit card accounts approaching the floor limit. Some lodging properties ask credit card companies to assign unusually high floor limits, given the hotel’s room rates and other pricing structures. By receiving a higher floor limit, front desk agents will not have to inconvenience guests by frequently authorizing transactions or by having to secure alternate methods of payment. Front Office Registration Activity

Reserving Credit: The front office may reserve a specified amount of pre-authorizes credit in a guest’s credit card account to ensure payment for goods and services. For instance, a guest who arrives and plans to stay for several nights will be expected to incur room charges in excess of the hotel’s floor limit. To avoid a potential credit authorization problem, the front office may want to reserve a credit line of at least an amount equal to the anticipated charges in the guest’s credit card accounts. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

The Newest Technology to Establish Credit: The newest technology to establish credit combines many of the issues above. When a guest arrives to check in, the front desk agent asks for the credit card before looking into the computer system and retrieving the registration card. The agent then puts the card through a credit card reader, which is attached to the front desk computer system. The computer reads the card and attempts to identify the arriving guest by displaying the registration record to the agent or providing a list of possible matches. Once the agent has identified the proper guest, the computer automatically calculates the amount to be reserved and calls the credit card company without any additional action by the agent. By the time the registration is completed, the hotel has an approved code already on the guest record or a denial. In addition, most credit card companies do not require the imprint of the credit card on a voucher in this situation, so the speed of the check-in process is also improved. Front Office Registration Activity

Direct Billing

Direct Billing arrangements are normally established through correspondence between the guest or company and the front office in advance of the guest’s arrival. A potential guest or a sponsoring company representative may be asked to complete the hotel’s application for credit.

Denying a Credit Request

When a front desk agent discovers that a guest has a poor credit rating, he or she must exercise extreme care in denying the guest’s credit request. A person’s credit involves more than money; it often involves self-esteem. In discussing problematic credit issues, the agent must be as diplomatic as possible. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

5. Issuing the Room Key

By issuing the room key, the front desk agent completes the registration process. Room keys must be very carefully controlled. If the hotel provides bell service, the front desk agent should ask whether the guest would like assistance from a bell person. If so, the front desk agent should introduce the bell person to the guest, hand the bell person the guest’s room key, and ask him or her to show the guest to the room. 6. Fulfilling Special Requests

For example, the guests may have requested connecting rooms during the reservations process. A couple arriving with a young child may request a crib. If the room was not pre-set with a crib, the front desk agent should contact housekeeping to arrange for prompt delivery of a crib. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Sometimes, special requests are made by another person on behalf of the guest. For example, the General Manager may want to welcome a frequent guest by placing a fruit basket in the guest’s room. Travel agents may order a bottle of champagne to be delivered to the guestroom of their client. Honeymooning couples may request that champagne and flowers are in their rooms when they arrive. Front Office Registration Activity

Creative Options

• Eliminating the Front Desk: Instead a host waits in the reception area with a list of expected guests and their pre-assigned rooms. The host identifies guests, completes an abbreviated registration process, and sometimes escorts guests to their rooms. Marriott, Hilton, and several other hotel companies are currently using this procedure at selected hotels. Credit is established at the time the reservation is made through a special interface between the central reservation computer and the credit card company. With everything else in place, all the hotel has to do is preregister the guest and attach a room key to the registration card. When the guest arrives, a simple verification of the information on the registration card completes the process.

• Having a hotel greeter register guests at a special lobby location: The regular front desk is screened off and used only for sorting and filing records and, with the screen temporarily removed, for settlement at peak check-out time.

• Creating a unique, separate registration area for VIP guests: This approach is similar to the hotel greeter concept just mentioned, but is only available to VIPs.

• Combining the hotel registration with the meeting in a separate area of the building: Separating non-group guests from group enables the hotel to offer more personalized service. Front Office Registration Activity

The challenge is to make the hotel registration process innovative, while treating guests with expediency and care. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

The rooming process can further be simplified for corporate gatherings, tour groups, and convention groups. The group’s coordinator or the front desk computer can supply the staff with a rooming list that contains the names of members of an expected group. Room numbers can then be pre-assigned before the group arrives, and guestroom keys can personally be addressed and placed in envelopes with a welcoming note from the manager. A separate desk can be set up in the lobby, away from the front desk area, for the purpose of quickly distributing envelopes to arriving guests. Front desk agents still handle registration, but group representatives are nearby to welcome group members, provide convention information, or distribute meeting materials. Front Office Registration Activity

Some hotel front office services include temporary luggage storage for guests who arrive during heavy check-out periods. In addition, front desk agents may offer complimentary food or beverages to guests who may be inconvenienced. These guests may be directed to the hotel’s lounge or restaurant to enjoy a more relaxed and leisurely wait while their guestrooms are being readied. Front Office Registration Activity

Self Registration

A relatively new concept in front office registration is self-registration. Self-registration terminals are usually located in the lobbies of fully automated hotels. These terminals can vary in design: some resemble automated bank teller machines (ATM). While others possess both video and audio capability. Recent technological advances allow hotels to place self-registration terminals at off-premises locations such as airports and car rental agencies. Regardless of which kind of guest-operated device is used, self-registration terminals can significantly reduce front office and guest registration time. Front Office Registration Activity

Selling the Guestroom

Front desk agents will not have the chance to use efficient or innovative registration techniques if the guest is not convinced of the value of renting a hotel room. Part of the front desk agent’s job is to create consumer acceptance of the hotel’s products: guestrooms, facilities, and services. Front desk agents can take several approaches to selling guests on the value of staying at the hotel. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Upselling refers to the efforts of reservations agents and the front desk agents to convince guests to rent rooms in categories above standard rate accommodations. Hotels normally have several rate categories based on such factors such as décor, size, location, view, and furnishings. Sometimes, the rack rate difference between two similar guestrooms can be substantial. Front Office Registration Activity

To upsell, front office and reservations staff must be trained to be more than simply order-takers. They must be trained to be professional salespeople. These sales personnel must see that they can upsell rooms in much the same way that a food server can sell an extra food item such as an appetizer or dessert. Front office staff should learn effective techniques for suggesting room options to guests. This involves knowing how and when to ask for a sale in a non-pressuring way and how to direct the sale from the guest’s perspective.

Offering guestroom options is the key to the reservations and registration sales process, and it requires thoughtful planning and practice. Although the majority of upselling is conducted during the reservations process, the front desk agents are likely to have similar sales opportunities with walk-in guests. Some hotels, as a matter of policy, offer registering guests more than one room option and then let them sate their preferences. To create guest acceptance, the front desk agent must know how to describe the hotel’s facilities and services in a positive manner. Front Office Registration Activity

A guest will probably provide several clues about what is acceptable for his or her stay; some information may already be available on a reservation record. Front desk agents should mention the physical features as well as the benefits and conveniences of alternative, available rooms. A guest may select a room immediately after it is described, or may wait until the front desk agent describes all the room options. Front Office Registration Activity

When Guests cannot be accommodated

In general, a hotel is obligated to accommodate guests. Discrimination is prohibited in places of public accommodation on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin. Legitimate reasons for refusing to accommodate a guest may include lack of available rooms, or the potential guest’s disorderly conduct or unwillingness to pay for accommodations or services. In addition, state law may stipulate other reasons for guest denial. A front desk agent should not be the person who determines whether someone will be roomed or not. This is the responsibility of the front office management. Management is also responsible for informing the person that he or she has to be turned away. Management, with the advice of legal counsel and the state hotel association, should instruct front office staff on policies and procedures concerning the acceptance or rejection of potential guests.

Walk-In Guests

The classic nightmare for the tired walk-in guest is to travel for miles and miles only to find that the hotel is fully occupied. Hotels have no obligation to accommodate guests who arrive without a reservation when no rooms are available for the night. If a walk-in guest cannot be accommodated, front desk agents can make the situation a little easier for the guest by suggesting and providing directions to alternative hotels nearby.

The extra care paid to turned away guests helps create an industry wide atmosphere of concern and goodwill. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

The situation may be a little more difficult when a walk-in guest believes he or she has a reservation. A hotel might take the following steps to clarify the situation:

• If the guest presents a letter of conformation, verify the date and the name of the hotel; the guest may have arrived on a different date or at the wrong property. Most confirmation letters have a confirmation number which will help the front desk agent locate the reservation record.

• Ask whether another person might have made the reservation for the guest; the reservation may be at another property, or it may me misfiled under the caller’s name, not the guest’s name. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

• Re-check the reservation file or computer system in view of the guest; perhaps the reservation was incorrectly filed or otherwise mishandled.

• Double-check the reservations file for another spelling of the guest’s last name. For instance, B, P, and T may have been confused when the reservation was made during a telephone conversation. Also, check to see if the guest’s first and last names were inadvertently reversed in the reservation file.

• If the reservation was made through a travel agency or representative, allow the guest to call the originating source for clarification. Front Office Registration Activity

• Ask the guest to confirm his or her arrival date; the guest may be arriving on a different day or a day late. Many hotels hold no-show registration cards from the previous day in front of the registration file just in case a no-show arrives a day late. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

If there seems no alternative to walking (turning away) the guest, a manager, not a front desk agent, should explain the matter in a private office.

Guests with Non-Guaranteed Reservations

A number of situations or circumstances can delay a guest’s scheduled arrival. Guests frequently do not have the chance to change a non-guaranteed reservation to a guaranteed reservation by the time they realize they will arrive past the hotel’s reservation cancellation hour. As a result, the hotel may not hold the room for the guest may not have a room available when the guest arrives. If the hotel cannot provide a guestroom, the front office management must be extremely tactful when informing the guest. Blame should not be placed on either party since the lack of accommodations is neither the guest’s or the hotel’s fault. Astro Motive Astrology by Astrologer Dr. C K Singh

Guests with Guaranteed Reservations

If reservations are carefully handled and sound forecasting procedures are followed, the property should not have to deny accommodations to a guest with a guaranteed reservation. Nonetheless, a property should have a policy for front desk staff to follow in such situations.

The front office manager should take charge and make necessary decisions when it appears the property will not have accommodations for a guest with a guaranteed reservation. The manager may: Front Office Registration Activity

• Review all front desk transactions to ensure full occupancy.

• Re-take an accurate count of rooms occupied, using all relevant data.

• Compare the room rack, housekeeper’s report, and guest folios for any discrepancy in occupancy status.

• Telephone due-outs (guests expected to check-out today) who have not yet checked out and confirm their departure time. If they do not answer the telephone, the rooms department should visit the guestroom to verify continued occupancy. The guest may have left the hotel without

Stopping at the front desk or properly completing check-out. The guest may have expected to be billed, or may have paid in advance, or simply forgot to check out at the front desk. Finally, an early discovery of a skipper (a guest who leaves with no intention of paying for the room) will allow the guestroom to be assigned to another guest.

• Personally check the current status of rooms listed as out-of-order. Perhaps an out-of-order room might be readied for sale. If the guest is willing to occupy an out-of-order room, perhaps its rate could be appropriately adjusted. These decisions must be made by front office management.

• Identify rooms pre-blocked for one or two days in the future and preregister guests arriving today who will depart in time to honor the blocks.

Front desk staff should be consistent when discussing the lack of accommodations with arriving guests. Helpful suggestions include: Front Office Registration Activity

• Guests may be encouraged to return to the hotel at the earliest date of availability. Upon their return, they may be placed on a VIP list, provided a complimentary room upgrade, or be presented with a small gift as compensation for the inconvenience of being turned away.

• Management should prepare a follow-up letter to be sent to guests who arrived with a reservation but could not be accommodated, apologizing again for the inconvenience and encouraging the guest to consider returning to the hotel (with appropriate incentives).

• If a member of a convention block cannot be accommodated, the group’s meeting planner should be notified. The planner may be able to solve the problem by arranging for some attendees to alter their current rooming status. In such situations, it is important for the

front office staff to have strong working relationship with the meeting planner.

• If a member of a tour group cannot be accommodated, the tour organizer should be notified immediately and the situation explained. This notification may better enable the organizer to properly deal with the problem and subsequent membership complaints.

• The hotel may pay the transportation expenses associated with having the guest travel to an alternate property. Financial considerations are especially important when walking a guest with a guaranteed reservation. The hotel may also notify its telephone department of the change to another hotel so that incoming calls and faxes can be redirected without confusion or concern on the part of the caller or the relocated guest.