Term
| 1. How do resort hotels distinguish themselves from other types of hotels? |
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Definition
- usually a planned destination
- extensive food and beverage options
- leisurely and relaxed
- long term guests
- special amenities |
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Term
| 2. What are the characteristics of guests who usually book meetings at an airport hotel? |
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Definition
| Emergency international last minute business meetings |
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Term
| 3. What is the usual size and characteristics of bed and breakfast hotels? |
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Definition
- 20 – 30 guestrooms
- Owner lives on the premises
- Intimate personal service for leisure travelers
- Offers lodging and limited food services
- Limited services = lower prices than a full service hotel |
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Term
| 4. What are executive floors? |
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Definition
- Floors the provide non-standard guestroom furnishings and additional guest services
- Are designed with larger, deluxe guestrooms that may contain a number of unique amenities
- Concierge or personal butler may be stationed on each executive floor
- May require special elevator keys |
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Term
| 5. What is an upscale service hotel? |
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Definition
- Not luxury service
- World class = the best
- For travelers seeking exceptional service and accommodation but not at world class level
- Multiple food services and dining experiences
- Guests provided with modern amenities
- Housekeeping twice daily
- Evening turn-down service |
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Term
| 6. What is the difference between an independent property and a chain property? |
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Definition
Independent Property: Family Owned
- No identifiable ownership/manual agreement of affiliation with other properties
- Have no relationship to other hotels regarding policies, procedures, marketing, financial obligations
Chain Property: Contract
- Chain ownership imposes certain minimum standards, rules, policies and procedures to restrict affiliate activities |
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Term
| 7. What is the role of a travel management company? |
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Definition
| They use bundle buying power to negotiate discount pricing for rooms |
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Term
| 8. What is LEED and what does it stand for? |
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Definition
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LEED is a rating system that ensures buildings meet a standard of energy efficiency, conservation, and community sensitivity. |
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Term
| 9. What is the purpose of a mission statement? |
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Definition
| Addresses hotels guest, management team, and employees. |
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Term
| 10. What is the definition of a measurable goal? |
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Definition
What can and can't be measured.
Measurable goal example: Raised by 5% |
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Term
| 11. What is the difference between dotted and solid lines on an organizational chart? |
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Definition
Solid line: Direct accountability
Dotted line: Relationship involves co-operation, but no direct reporting |
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Term
| 12. What positions are in the uniformed services department? |
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Definition
| Concierge is in the uniformed services department. |
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Term
| 13. Are revenues from gaming at casino hotels greater than or less that the revenue from hotel operations? |
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Definition
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Term
| 14. What is the human resources department responsible for in a hotel? |
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Definition
Human resources responsibilities include:
- Employment (external recruiting and internal reassignment)
- Training
- Employee relations (including quality assurance)
- Compensation
- Benefits
- Administration (Including employee policies)
- Labor relations
- Safety |
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Term
| 15. Why should the hotel sales staff check with the revenue manager before quoting room rates for groups interested in staying at the hotel? |
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Definition
- Don't want to quote too high or too low
- Needs to talk to someone who knows because room rates fluctuate quickly |
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Term
| 16. What is the difference between job sharing and flextime? |
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Definition
Job sharing:
A couple of people take on one full time job
Flex time:
Allows variance in start/end to cover busiest times |
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Term
| 17. What is the difference between a job description and job specification? |
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Definition
Job description:
A list of all the tasks required of a work position
Job Specification:
A list of the personal qualities, skills, and traits an employee needs to be successfully preform the task.
Ex. general knowledge, education, work experience. |
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Term
| 18. What is usually the largest single charge on a guest account? |
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Definition
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Term
| 19. What are adjoining rooms? |
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Definition
| Rooms with a common wall but no connecting door. |
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Term
| 20. A hotel’s property management system and associated automated devices located within the properly allow for what? |
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Definition
| Allows for guest accounts to be current and updated. Still need auditor to check. |
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Term
| 21. Telephone calls placed and connected over the internet, instead of over common carrier networks, tend to be more/less/about the same cost? |
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Definition
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Term
| 22. What does a guest accounting module do? |
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Definition
Accounting software. Don't need folio card. More streamline.
- Monitors predetermined guest credit limits and provides flexibility through multiple folio formats |
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Term
| 23. Internet access through the guest room television is an example of what type of interface? |
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Definition
| Guest operated interface. |
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Term
| 24. What information is typically included in a non-guaranteed reservation record? |
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Definition
- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- Email
Basically all information that you can use to get in contact when them. |
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Term
| 25. Guaranteed reservations are usually made with what? |
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Definition
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Term
| 26. What type of hotel usually required full payment prior to a guest’s arrival? |
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Definition
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Term
| 27. What is a business that handles reservation services for airlines, car rentals, and hotels? |
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Definition
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Term
| 28. What information should be specified in a contract for group business? |
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Definition
A contract for group business must include:
- Exact number of rooms required
- Quoted rates
- Main groups arrival/departure dates
- Special considerations ex. Suites/Complementary Rooms
- Method of reservation
- Group and individual billing arrangements
- Early arrival
- Late departure
- ***Group cut off dates for room availability *** |
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Term
| 29. What is a cancellation number and why is it important? |
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Definition
A cancellation number allows for guests to properly cancel a reservation.
It is important because it can prove that a hotel received the cancellation number.
In the case of a guarantee reservation, a cancellation number can relieve the guest of an obligation to pay any charges posted against the guarantee. |
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Term
| 30. What is the purpose of a regrets and denials report? |
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Definition
It is a way of classifying business.
Can help the hotel. Ex.
Regret: If a hotel gets too many regrets because of room rate, management needsto adjust the room rate.
Denial:
Helps management decide things such as if the property needs to add more rooms of a certain type.
Can help managers decide how many rooms for a group. |
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Term
| 31. 31. What is a Regret? What is a Denial? What is a No-Show? |
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Definition
Regrets: Recorded when a guest chooses not to make a reservation because of room rate, room type, availability location and other factors.
Denials: Recorded when the hotel is unable to accept a reservation request due to room availability/other restrictions.
No-Show: A guest who made a room reservation but did not register or cancel. |
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Term
| 32. What is online dynamic package pricing? |
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Definition
| Bundle to create a unique package and generate a unique package price. |
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Term
| 33. What does the term “run of the house” mean? |
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Definition
Run of the house: Room assignment based on room availability at the time of check in.
Usually for walk in guests or online guests. |
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Term
| 34. What determines a guest’s point of sale charge status? |
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Definition
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Term
| 35. What type of guest usually spends the most time registering at a hotel? |
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Definition
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Term
| 36. What is another term for the standard rate at a hotel? |
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Definition
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Term
| 37. What is the difference between an occupancy report and a room status discrepancy report? |
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Definition
Occupancy report:
What rooms are full that night, and who is leaving tomorrow.
Room Status Discrepancy Report:
"I think this room is clean, do you think so too?"
A situation in which the housekeeping department’s description of a room’s status differs from the room status information that guides from desk employees in assigning rooms to guests. |
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Term
| 38. What is a cashier’s check and a money order? |
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Definition
- they are both like cash
- guaranteed from the bank |
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Term
| 39. What is the recommended strategy for up selling rooms to walk in guests? |
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Definition
# Offer guestroom options
# State the benefits
# swag |
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Term
| 40. What is an information directory? What is a log book? |
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Definition
Information Directory:
Bunch of tourist-y stuffs in a binder.
It answers guests questions.
Log book:
What happened on my shift that is important to tell the next front desk agent. |
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Term
| 41. What is a group master account? |
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Definition
An account for a group that the group leader is willing to pay for.
So charges go directly to master, some go to individual guest folios. |
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Term
| 42. What should happen to mail that is not claimed by a guest prior to check out? |
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Definition
| Time stamp and try to send it back to the sender. |
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Term
| 43. What does the call broadcast feature on a phone allow the front desk to do? |
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Definition
| Allows them to make calls to all guestrooms listed as occupied. Some equipment can be selective, calling only certain guests. Ex. A group leader would like to make a call to all group so they are updated about the meeting time change. |
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Term
| 44. What is a split folio and what type of guests normally requests a split folio? |
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Definition
| Split folios are most often requested by business travelers A split folio separates guest charges onto two or more separate folio accounts. One folio may be set up to record room and tax charges, this part of the folio may be billed tot the guest’s company. |
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Term
| 45. What do the majority of guests complaints result from? |
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Definition
Mechanical complaints.
Ex. Furnace is broken. |
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Term
| 46. How do hotels usually identify the most frequent guest complaints? |
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Definition
- By reviewing a properly kept front office transaction file or log book, management can often identify and address recurring complaints and problems
- By evaluating guest comment cards or questionnaires. |
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Term
| 47. What is posted on each side of a T account? |
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Definition
Charges = left
Payments = right
Diagram: |
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Term
| 48. What is a master folio? |
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Definition
| Accounts assigned to more than one person or guestroom; usually reserved for group accounts. |
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Term
| 49. What is meant by a “house limit”? |
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Definition
| A house limit is a guest credit limit established by the hotel. |
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Term
| 50. What usually documents charge purchase transactions? |
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Definition
A voucher to say this happened.
The guest receives good and services from the hotel, but does not pay for them at the time they are provided, A charge purchase transaction increases the outstanding balance of a folio account. |
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Term
| 51. What type of front office transaction generally requires management approval? (choose from account allowance, account transfer or account correction |
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Definition
| Account allowance = needs management approval. |
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Term
| 52. What department is responsible for collection of a no-show guest billing? |
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Definition
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Term
| 53. When does a late charge occur for a guest? |
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Definition
When they leave and check out.
When they depart. |
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Term
| 90. What is the difference between a halo effect and a devil’s horns effect? |
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Definition
Devils Horns Effect:
If the interviewer has a poor first impression of the candidate, everything they say will be negative.
Halo Effect:
Interviewer forms a favorable impression, everything they say after is viewed favorably. |
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Term
| 91. What is the difference between a closed-ended and open-ended interview question? |
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Definition
Closed ended:
Yes, no, or other short answers.
Open ended:
Requires fuller, more detailed response. |
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Term
| 92. What is a job breakdown? |
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Definition
| A written description that details how the technical duties of a job should be preformed. |
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Term
| 89. What are advantages of using current employees as referral sources for job applicants? |
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Definition
- Improves the moral of promoted employees
- Managers can better assess the abilities of internal recruits
- Helps reinforce a company's internal career ladder
- Lower costs than external recruiting
- Reduces training costs |
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Term
| 93. What is an example of a compressed schedule? |
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Definition
| When employees work the same number of hours in fewer number of days. |
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Term
| 80. What are some tactics hotels use in order to minimize group attrition? |
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Definition
- Many groups restrict attendance at meetings to those who stay in approved hotels.
- Some city-wide groups will not provide transportation to attendees who do not stay in the host hotels
- Sometimes group registration fees are significantly higher for attendees who do not stay in the host hotels |
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Term
| 81. FORMULA: ROOM RATE ACHIEVEMENT FACTOR |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| 71. Know how to calculate using the rule of thumb approach to pricing. |
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Definition
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Term
| 63. What are the functions of the front office audit? |
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Definition
- Verifying posted entries to guest and non-guest accounts
- Balancing all front office accounts
- Resolving room status and rate discrepancies
- Reviewing guest credit transactions against established limits
- Generating operational and managerial reports |
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Term
| 64. What is the purpose of a bucket check? |
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Definition
| The night auditor’s check of room rate postings on guest folios against the housekeeping department’s report of occupied rooms and the registration cards in the file. This procedure helps ensure that rates have been posted for all occupied rooms and helps reduce the occupancy errors cause when front desk agents do not properly complete check-in and check-out procedures. |
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Term
| 65. What is a supplemental transcript use to record? |
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Definition
| A supplemental transcript is a detailed report of all non-guest accounts that indicates each charge transaction that affected a non-guest account that day, used as a worksheet to detect posting errors. |
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Term
| 56. What should hotels do in order to minimize late check outs? |
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Definition
| Apply a late check out fee and inform guests about it. |
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Term
| 87. What is a sell through room availability strategy and when is it effective? |
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Definition
- Arrivals on certain dates are okay as long as they stay for a specified number of nights
- Most effective when a peak in occupancy on one day may otherwise adversely affect reservations on either side of the peak day |
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Term
| 86. What are some strategies that can be used by hotels during low-demand periods to maximize occupancy? |
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Definition
- Sell value and benefits instead of just quoting rates
- Offer packages to increase room nights
- Accept discount options to encourage room nights
- Encourage upgrades – move guests to better accommodation to encourage them to come back to the property again
- Offer stay sensitive price incentives – discounts for guests who stay longer
- Remove stay restrictions so guests are not limited as to when they can arrive or depart
- Involve your staff – create incentive contests to increase occupancy and room nights
- Establish relationships with competitors – to help with refferals and to carry out cross marketing efforts
- Lower rates |
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Term
| 79. What is the purpose of capacity management? |
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Definition
| Capacity management balances the risk of overselling guestrooms against the potential loss of revenue arising from room spoilage. |
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Term
| 73. Fun fact! It is important to consider room types and availability when setting room prices. |
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Definition
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Term
| 69. In what type of hotel do centralized front office audits usually work best? |
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Definition
| Centralized front office audits usually work best in limited service hotels where there are few revenue outlets and all departments are closed before the start of the audit process. |
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Term
| 62. What are common uses of the guest history file? |
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Definition
| The guest history can be used to look at demographics, spending habits, and special requests in order to plan for future hotel purchases and advertisements in order to appeal to guests. It gives the hotel a knowing of where to bring their efforts. |
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Term
| 67. What best defines a room status discrepancy? |
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Definition
| The difference between the housekeeping department’s description of a room’s status and the room status information the front desk staff uses to assign guestrooms. |
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Term
| 68. How often are system updates preformed? |
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Definition
| System updates are preformed daily to enable system file reorganization, system maintenance, and report production, and to provide an end of day closure. |
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Term
| 77. What is a summary of the hotel’s financial activity during a 24-hour period called? |
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Definition
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Term
| 72. When would a hotel offer to sell a guestroom at a distressed inventory rate? |
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Definition
| during a time of low occupancy. |
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Term
| 59. What type of guest should not be offered an express check out? |
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Definition
- A guest that did not provide credit card information
- A guest that had not credit established at registration |
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Term
| 60. What type of account is older than 30 days? |
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Definition
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Term
| 61. What is meant by a group’s pick up rate? |
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Definition
| The number of group rooms actually booked compared to the number originally blocked is called the pick-up rate. |
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Term
| 66. In posting no-show charges, what should the night auditor be careful to verify? |
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Definition
| The front office auditor must be careful to verify that the reservation was guaranteed and that the guest never registered with the hotel. |
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