Chapter 7
Guest Registration
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter Focus Points
 Importance of the first guest
contact
 Capturing guest data
 Guest registration procedures
 Registration with a property
management system
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Importance of the First Guest
Contact
 Tone which is set at registration
 What constitutes warm hospitality?
 Recent experiences during registration at a
hotel
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Components of the Registration Process
Capturing Guest Data
– Importance of capturing this data for guest
messages, guest requests for service from other
departments, and credit verification
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Registration Procedures (p.187)
 Discuss ways to project a
feeling of hospitality
o eye contact
o warm smile
o an inquiry about travel
experience or weather
o an offer for assistance with
the luggage
 Discuss ways to retrieve
guest reservations - via
PMS
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Registration Procedures
(cont’d.)
 Review completeness
of registration card
(refer to Fig. 7-1; p.
189) from the PMS or
electronic folio
– Handwriting:
– Spelling of names,
addresses, zip code,
license plate
identification
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Registration Procedures (cont’d.)
– Correctness of phone numbers, anticipated
departure date, number of people in the room,
room rate, and method of payment
– Note any blank areas for possible “fraud” –
example: no credit card because it is in the lost
suit case
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Credit
Credit card types
• Bank cards (VISA, MasterCard, or JCB)
• Commercial cards (Diners Club)
• Private label cards (J.C. Penney)
• Intersell cards (Ramada)
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Credit (cont’d.)
 Discount rate – a percentage of the total sale
that is charged by the credit card agency to
the commercial enterprise for the
convenience of accepting the credit card.
 Rate depends upon volume of sales
transactions, amount of individual sales
transaction, expediency with which
vouchers are turned into cash, etc.
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Credit (cont’d.)
 Related economic impact upon the profit
and loss statement (refer to math model in
text book) p. 190
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Credit (cont’d.)
 Credit Card
Processing
– Use of credit card
imprinter and credit
card validater
– This step establishes
credit limit for the
guest stay
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Credit (cont’d.)
 Proof of identification
 Outline the importance of this step:
– valid driver’s license with a photo
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Guest Credit (cont’d.)
 Process of using a Bill-To-Account
– Personal extension of pre-approved credit with
the hotel; the hotel processes the bill after the
sale
– Advantages and disadvantages to the guest and
the hotel
• Guest perceives bill-to-account as prestigious
• Hotel saves discounting of guest bill
• Hotel must act as billing and collection agency
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Components of Registration Process
cont’d.
 Room selection concepts
– Blocking procedure – process of placing rooms
from inventory into various reservation status.
– Review of confirmed and guaranteed
reservations
– Review of expected check outs for a particular
day
– pp. 192-193 – blocking process
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Meeting Guest Requests
 Special accommodations (bed requirements)
- K, Q, D, T
 Location – views, “away from,” levels
 Layout and décor – suites, Murphy bed,
 Ancillary equipment – business meetings
 Special needs – hearing-impaired, ramps, visual
devices
 Availability – special request
 Price – as a primary concern
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
The Components of a Well-Organized Room
Inventory
Reservation Status
- Open
- Confirmed 4 P.M.
- Confirmed 6 P.M.
- Guaranteed
- Repair
Housekeeping Status
– Available, Clean, or
Ready
– Occupied
– Stayover
– Dirty or On Change
– Out of Order
Sleeper – a room that is thought to
be occupied but in fact is
vacant.
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Communication system between the front
desk and other departments
(Housekeeping, maintenance, and
reservation staff)
 Scheduled times for releasing rooms by
housekeeping rooms requires a system
whereby the individual room attendants
report the cleaned rooms to the floor
supervisor on a timely basis.
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Room Rate Establishment
 Room rates pivotal in providing income for administrative,
overhead, and utility expenses.
 Commentary on p. 196 – “Clearly, room rates involve
many factors …”
– manipulation of projected sales and related expenses
– market competition
– marketing and sales efforts
– operations
– price sensitivity
– tax investment opportunities
– seasonality
– tourism
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Room Rate Establishment (cont’d.)
 Figure 7-3 as it relates to the projection of a hotel’s income
(p.198)
 General Rule-of-Thumb Method that stipulates that the
room rate should be two dollars for every thousand dollars
of construction costs
 Hubbart formula (p. 199 math example) takes into
consideration such factors as operating expenses, desired
return on investment, income from various departments in
the hotel and room income
– Figure 7-4 (p. 199) Room Rate Survey as a method of
maintaining current on the room rates of competitors
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Types of Room Rates
 Rack rate – highest rate charged by the hotel
 Corporate rate – offered to business persons of a




corporation who are frequent visitors
Commercial rate – rate offered to infrequent
business persons
Military/Educator rate – rates offered to a price
sensitive market yet attractive for a large volume of
repeat business
Group rate – offered to travelers who attend en
masse
Family rate – rate which is price sensitive yet
attractive for many families
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Types of room rates (cont.d)
 Package rate – rates used to lure guests into a hotel during
low sales periods
– American Plan (AP) – includes meals with room rate
quote
– Modified American Plan (MAP) – includes one meal
with room rate quote
– European plan (EAP)– room rate and food and
beverage sales are kept separate
– Half-day rate – room rate for half-day rental
– Complimentary rate – no charge to the guest
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Maximizing room rates - presenting
various room rates in a manner that reflect
the positive features of the product
 Developing a pre-planned
sales pitch based on product
knowledge
– Room furnishings, special
features, layout, and rate ranges
– Desk clerk training in use of
descriptive words needed
– Desk clerk practice sessions in
salespersonship techniques
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Maximizing Room Rates (cont’d.)
 Coaching the Shy Employee in Sales Skills
– Desk clerk training in picking up on subtle cues
from guests
– Incentive programs for desk clerk motivation
– Bottom-up and top-down sales methods
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Maximizing room rates (cont’d.)
 Sales opportunities
– hotel services
– additional reservations
during the registration
process
 Management’s plan to sell
additional room
reservations
– salesperson skills
– incentive programs
– complementary in-house
advertising from other
departments
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Components of Registration Process cont’d.
 Room Key Assignment
– Need for accuracy
– Need for discretion for security in issuing key
– Maintenance of security of keys (refer to figures 7-5
and 7-6) p. 206
•
•
•
•
area for holding keys
hard key – proof of guest identification required
electronic – new combination for each new guest
request for proof of registration for duplicate key
requests
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Registration with a PMS (p. 205)
 Retrieval of completed version of guest data
Reservation on a PMS (Figure 7-7) p. 207
 Advance Registration Form (Figure 7-8) p. 207
 Retrieval of reservation
 Group registration (Figures 7-9 and 7-10 p. 209 )
 Checking of room inventory options for guests
who have a reservation but the room has not been
blocked
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Registration with a PMS
(cont’d.)
 Room Inventory Screen (Figure 7-11 p. 210)
 Room Inventory Housekeeping Status (Figure 7-
12 p. 211)
 Walk-in Registration (Figure 7-13 p. 212)
 Walking a guest when a reservation can not be
honored
 Verifying room rate with guest
 Issuing electronic key (Figure 7-14 p. 213)
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Registration with a PMS
(cont’d.)
 Various reports that assist in PMS
registration
–
–
–
–
–
Registered Guests (Figure 7-15 p. 214)
Guest arrival Report (Figure 7-16 p. 214)
Group arrival Report (Figure 7-17 p.215)
Vacant room Report (Figure 7-18 p.215)
Room status Report (Figure 7-19 p. 216)
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Self-check in
 Reasons for consideration of offering self-
check in
–
–
–
–
–
Capital expenditures
Decreased labor costs
Increased speed of registration
Delivery of hospitality
Opportunity for selling additional hotel services
within the hotel
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Self-check in (cont’d.)
– Procedure a guest would use (Figure 7-20 p.
217)
• Use of personal credit or debit card
• Registration by a wireless
communications
– Hiltons OnQ™ Technology
• Remote, web-based check-in 24 hrs.
prior to arrival
• Electronic folio access
• Check-in kiosks (100) within 45 Hilton
Family Hotels in metro and airport
markets
• High-Speed Internet Access available
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved