Hotel Operations Management Glossary

Glossary

Abandoned Property Property that is given up by someone who does not intend to reclaim it

Acceptance An agreement by the second party in a contract to the terms and conditions of the offer.

Accessible A guest room that is designed to accommodate persons with disabilities by removing barriers that otherwise limit or prevent them from obtaining the services that are offered.

Account A form in which financial data are accumulated and summarized

Accountability An obligation created when a person is delegated duties/responsibilities from higher levels of management.

Account aging A method for tracking past due accounts according to the date of charges originated

Account Allowance Either a decrease in a folio balance as compensation for unsatisfactory service or as a rebate for a coupon discount; or a correction of a posting error detected after the close of business

Account Balance A summary of an account in terms of its resulting monetary amount; specifically, the difference between the total debits and the total credits to an account

Accounts Payable The sum total of all invoices owed by the hotel to its vendors for credit purchases made by the hotel. Also called “AP”

Account Payable Module

Back office computers which track the hotel’s purchases and helps the hotel maintain sufficient cash flow to satisfy its debts.

Accounts Receivable Money owed to the hotel because of sales made on credit. Sometimes referred to as "AR" for short.

Accounts Receivable Aging

A process by which the average length of time money owed to the hotel because of sales made on credit is determined.

Account Receivable Voucher

see Charge Purchase Voucher

Accounts Receivable Ledger

A grouping of accounts receivable, including the guest ledger and the city ledger

Accounts Receivable Module

A back office computer which monitors guest accounts and account billing and collection when integrated with the front office accounting module.

ADA Short for American with Disabilities Act. ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities.

Address Verification Service

A company that, for a fee, allows access to its database of current addresses.

Adjacent Rooms Rooms close to each other, perhaps across the hall

Adjoining Rooms Rooms with common wall but no connecting door. Not all adjoining rooms are connecting, however, every connecting rooms are adjoining.

Advance Deposit Guarantee

A type of reservation guarantee which requires the guest to furnish a specified amount of money in advance of arrival.

ADR Short for "average daily rate," the average selling price of all guest rooms for a given time period. The formula for ADR is Total Room Revenue/Total Number of Rooms Sold = ADR.

ADR Index ADR of our hotel/ADR of the competitive set.

Affiliated Hotel One of a chain, franchise, or referral system, the membership of which provides special advantages

Affiliate Reservation Network

A hotel chain’s reservation system in which all participating properties are contractually related.

Afternoon Tea A light snack comprised of delicate sandwiches and small sweets served with tea, or even sherry.

Agency Ledger A division of the city ledger dealing with travel agency accounts

Agency Problem Exists when top managers attempt to maximize their own self-interests at the expense of shareholders.

AH&LA Short for American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Air Handler The fans and mechanical systems required to move air through ducts and to vents. (HVAC)

Alliance An arrangement between two or more firms that establishes an exchange relationship but that has no joint ownership involved.

Allowance Voucher A voucher used to support an account allowance.

Allowances and Adjustments

Reductions in sales revenue credited to guests because of errors in properly recording sales or to appease a guest for property shortcomings.

Amenities Hotel products and services designed to attract guests.

American Plan A billing arrangement under which room charges include the guestroom and three meals. Also called Full American plan or full board.

Antitrust Laws Established by governments to keep organizations from getting large and powerful enough in one industry to engage in monopoly pricing and other forms of noncompetitive or illegal behavior

Appraisal The establishment of (real estate) value.

Arbitrage The nearly simultaneous purchase of a product at a low price and reselling of it at a higher price with the intention of keeping the difference in price

Area of Protection (AOP) [ Franchise]

The geographic area, which is designated by a franchisor, and granted to a franchisee, in which no directly competing franchisees will be sold.

ARR Short for Average Room Rate, see also ADR.

Arrival Date The date a guest plans to register at the hotel.

Assets Items owned by a business including cash on hand, money in checking or other accounts, money owed to the business, inventories, property, equipment, and furnishings.

Attrition The difference between the original request and the actual purchases of a group. For example, a group might reserve one hundred rooms, but actually use only fifty. The hotel's standard group contract may, in such a case, stipulate that the group pay a penalty for "over-reserving."

At-Will Employment The employment relationship that exists when employers can hire any employee as they choose and dismiss that employee with or without cause at any time. The employee can also elect to work for the employer or terminate the work relationship anytime he or she chooses.

Audiovisual Equipment Those items including DVD players, laptops, LCD projectors, microphones, sound systems, flip charts, overhead projectors, slide projectors, TVs, and VCRs that are used to communicate information to meeting attendees during the meetings.

Audit The process of verifying records for correctness and completeness.

Auditor The individual(s) who conducts an independent verification of financial records.

Audit Trail An organized flow of source documents detailing each step in the processing

of a transaction.

Audit Work Time

The period from the end of day until the completion of the audit. (FO Night Audit)

Authority The power to tell others to do or not to do something in efforts to attain the hotel's objectives.

Authorization Code A code generated by an on-line credit card verification service, indicating that the requested transaction has been approved.

Authorize To validate.

AV Short for Audiovisual Equipment.

Availability Forecast An estimate of the number of rooms that remain to be sold.

Availability Report A report which contains expected arrival and departure information for the next several days, typically prepared as part of the night audit.

Average Daily Rate An occupancy ratio derived by dividing net rooms revenue by the number of rooms sold.

Average Rate Per Guest

An occupancy ratio derived by dividing net rooms revenue by the number of guests.

Avoidance Strategy Competitive strategy in which a firm avoids confrontation completely by focusing on a particular niche in the market in which other firms have little interest.

B B

Back Office Accounting

The process of summarizing and documenting the financial activities and condition of the entire hotel.

Back Office Applications

Computer software designed for specific back office uses. Typical back office applications include accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll accounting, and financial reporting modules.

Back Office System The accounting system used by the controller to prepare the hotel's financial documents such as the balance sheet, income statement, and so on.

Back of the House The functional areas of a hotel in which personnel have little or no direct guest contact, such as engineering, accounting, and personnel.

Backsourcing When firms bring an outsourced service or good back in-house, often because costs have begun to rise in contrast to the primary benefit of outsourcing.

Back to Back A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged by tour operators so rooms are never vacant; bb., a floor plan design that brings the piping of adjacent bath into a common shaft

Backup Generator Equipment used to make limited amounts of electricity on-site. Utilized in times of power failure or when the hotel experiences low supply from the usual provider of electricity.

Backup Systems Redundant hardware and/or software operated in parallel to the system it serves. Used in times of failure or power outages, these are often operated by battery systems. For example, a backup system to the hotel's telephones would enable outside calling even if the main digital telephone system were to shut down.

Balance Sheet An official financial listing of assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity.

Bank see Cash Bank.

Banquet A food and/or beverage event held in a function room.

Banquet Event Order (BEO)

A form used by the sales, catering, and food production areas to detail all requirements for a banquet. Information provided by the banquet client is

summarized on the form, and it becomes the basis for the formal contract between the client and the hotel.

BAR Short form of Best Available Rate.

Bargaining Power Economic power that allows a firm or group of firms to influence the nature of business arrangements for factors such as pricing, availability of products or services, purchase terms, or length of contract

Barista A barista (from the Italian for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffee-house employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.

Bed Board A board placed under the mattress to provide a firmer sleeping surface.

Behavioral Control A special set of controls used to motivate employees to do things that the organization would like them to do, even in the absence of direct supervision; they include bureaucratic controls, clan control, and human resources systems.

Bell Captain The supervisor of the bell-persons and other uniformed service personnel; bb,: a proprietary in-room vending machine

Bell Staff Those uniformed attendants responsible for guest services, including luggage handling, valet parking, airport transportation, and related guest services. The tide originally arose because, in earlier years, the staff would come to the "front" (desk) to assist a guest when a bell was rung as a summons to them.

Benchmarking The search for best practices and an understanding about how they are achieved in efforts to determine how well a hospitality organization is doing.

Benefits Indirect financial compensation consisting of employer-provided rewards and services other than wages or salaries.

BEO Short for Banquet Event Order.

Bid An offer by the hotel to supply sleeping rooms, meeting space, food and beverages, or other services to a potential client at a stated price. If the bid is accepted, the hotel will issue the client a contract detailing the agreement made between the hotel and the client.

Biohazard Waste Bag A specially marked plastic bag used in hotels. Laundry items that are blood or bodily fluid stained and thus need special handling in the OPL are placed into these bags for transporting to the OPL.

Biometrics An individual electronic measurement of uniqueness of a human being such as voice, handprint, or facial characteristics.

Blackout Total loss of electricity.

Black-out Date Specific days in which the hotel is "sold-out" and/or is not accepting normal reservations.

Block Rooms reserved exclusively for members of a specific group. As in, "We need to create a block of fifty rooms for May 10 and 11 for the Society of Antique Furniture Appraisers."

Block (Funds) The amount by which a card’s available credit (if a credit card) or balance (if a debit card) is reduced; also called a “hold.”

Blood-Borne Pathogen Any microorganism or virus, carried by blood that can cause a disease.

Board of Directors In publicly owned companies, a group of individuals who are elected by the voting shareholders to monitor the behavior of top managers, therefore protecting their rights as shareholders

Bond(ing) Purchasing an insurance policy against the possibility that an employee will steal.

Bonified Occupational Qualifications (BOQ!)

Qualifications to perform a job that are judged reasonably necessary to safely or adequately perform all tasks within the job.

Booking Hotel jargon for making a confirmed sale. As in, "What is the current booking volume for the month in the Food and Beverage department?" or "How many out-of-state tour buses were booked into the hotel last month?"

Booking Pace Often shortened simply to “Pace,” this term refers to the amount of future demand for rooms.

Bookkeeping The process of initially recording financial transactions.

Bottom-up Selling Method

A selling approach that seeks to sell an entity’s lowest priced items prior to the sale of its higher priced items.

Boutique Hotels Sometimes called “design hotels” or “lifestyle hotels,” they differentiate themselves from larger chain or branded hotels by their intense focus on the physical space through the design of their facilities.

Box Reservation term that allows no reservations from either side of the boxed dates to spill through.

Brand The name of a hotel chain. Sometimes referred to as a "flag."

Brand Proliferation Over-saturation of the market with different brands.

Brand Standard A hotel service or feature that must be adopted by any property entering a specific hotel brand's system. Used, for example, in, "The franchisor has determined that 'free local telephone calls' will become a new brand standard effective January 1st."

Break-Even Point The point at which a firm’s revenues exactly equal its expenses (costs).

Broadband Communications

A communications network that allows for simultaneous transmission of signals such as voice, data, or video.

Broad Environment Forms the context in which the firm and its operating environment exist, including socio-cultural influences, global economic influences, political/legal influences, and technological influences

Broker An entity that, for a fee, lists (offers) hotels for sale on behalf of the hotels' owners and solicits buyers for the hotels it lists. Used, for example, in, "I know that hotel is listed with Joe Johnson, a broker with Mid-State Hotel Brokers."

Brownouts Partial loss of electricity.

Bucket Check Industry jargon for a systematic examination of guests’ folios to ensure the accuracy of guest information. Bucket checks typically include rate verification, credit monitoring, and confirmation of departure date and guest room assignment.

Budget It is a plan utilizing resources of all kinds, including cash, tools and materials, and labor, to operate the hotel in its most effective manner.

Buffering Techniques designed to stabilize and predict environmental influences and therefore soften the jolts that might otherwise be felt as the organization interacts with members of its external environment

Bundling Combining individual products and/ or services into groupings that are sold for a single price, usually lower than the sum of the prices charged if the same included items were purchased individually.

Business Definition A description of the business activities of a firm, based on its products and services, markets, functions served, and resource conversion processes

Business-format Franchising

A popular form of franchising in hospitality firms; this approach to franchising involves a franchisor selling a way of doing business to its franchisees

Business Plan A written document that details an owner/manager's strategy for operating a hotel.

Business Traveler Those who travel primarily for business reasons (often on an expense account to defray the reasonable travel costs that are incurred).

Buyout An arrangement in which both parties to a contract agree to end the contract early as a result of one party paying the other an agreed-upon financial compensation.

C C

Calibration The adjustment of equipment to maximize its effectiveness and operational efficiency.

Call Accounting The system within the hotel used to document and charge guests for their use of the telephone.

Call Around A telephone “shopping” technique in which a hotel staff member calls competitive hotels to inquire about room rates and availability. The information is used by the calling hotel to help determine room rates.

Call Brand Beverages High-priced and higher-quality alcoholic beverages that are sold by name (such as Johnny Walker Red Scotch or Bombay Gin) rather than sold by type of liquor (scotch or gin) only.

Cancellation A reservation voided at the request of the guest.

Cancellation Number A series of numbers and/or letters that serve to identify the cancellation of a specific hotel reservation.

Cap Rate Short for Capitalization Rate.

Capital Expenditure The purchase of equipment, land, buildings, or other fixed assets necessary for the operation of the hotel.

Capital Intensity The extent to which the assets of an organization are primarily associated with plants, equipment, and other fixed assets.

Capitalization Rate A measure of investor return on investment. The computation for a cap rate is Net Income/Property Sales Price= Cap Rate %

Cardex See under Registry Card.

Career Ladder A plan that projects successively more responsible professional positions within an organization/industry. Career ladders also allow one to plan/schedule developmental activities judged necessary to assume more responsible positions.

Cash Advance Voucher

A voucher used to support cash flow out of the hotel, either directly to or on behalf of the guest.

Cash Voucher A voucher used to support a cash payment transaction at the front desk.

Cash Bank An amount of money given to a cashier at the start of each work shift so that he or she can handle the various transactions that occur. The cashier becomes responsible for this cash bank, and for all cash, checks, and other negotiable instruments received during the work shift.

Cash Bars A beverage service alternative where guests desiring beverages during a banquet function pay for them personally.

Casino Hotel A hotel with gambling facilities.

Catering The process of selling and carrying out the details of a banquet event.

Central Processing Unit

The control centre of a computer system.

Centralized Accounting A financial management system that collects accounting data from an individual hotel(s), then combines and analyzes the data at a different (central) site.

Centralized Electronic Locking System

An electronic locking system which operates through a master console at the front desk which is wired to every guestroom door.

Central Reservation System (CRS)

A network for communicating reservations in which each property is represented in a computer system database and is required to provide room

availability data to the reservations system on a timely basis.

CEO Short for Chief Executive Officer

CEO Duality Occurs when the CEO also chairs the board of directors

Certified Public Accountant (CPA.)

An individual designated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as competent in the field of accounting.

CGM Short for Consumer Generated Media

CHHE Short for Certified Hospitality Housekeeping Executive. Certification for executive housekeepers offered through the Education Institute of AH&LA

Chamber of Commerce An organization whose goal is the advancement of business interests within a community or larger business region.

Chambermaid See room attendants.

Charge Back Credit card charges refused by the credit card company for one reason or another.

Charge Voucher A voucher used to support a charge purchase transaction, which takes place somewhere other than the front desk. Also referred to as an account receivable voucher.

Check Average The mean amount spent per visit by each restaurant guest during a designated time period (e.g., by day part (lunch or dinner) or calendar period (daily, weekly, or monthly).

Check-out (C/O) The procedures involved in the departure of a guest from a property, including settlement of the guest’s account. Also, a room status term indicating, that the guest has settled his or her account, returned the room keys, and left the hotel.

Check-Out Time The hour by which departing guests must check out of a property.

CIO Short for chief information officer (CIO) A high-level manager who oversees the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information.

City Account See non-guest account.

City Ledger The collection of all non-guest accounts, including house accounts and unsettled departed guest accounts.

CKO Short for chief knowledge officer (CKO) An organizational position responsible for ensuring that the organization can get maximum value from its knowledge, intangible assets, and best practices.

Closed The status of a date for which a reservation system will not accept additional reservations.

Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV)

A camera and monitor system that displays, in real time, the activity within the camera's field of vision. A CCTV consisting of several cameras and screens showing the camera's fields of vision may be monitored in a single hotel location.

Closing The legal process of transferring property ownership from a seller to a buyer. Used, for example, in, "The closing for our new hotel is set for May 22 at the Trans American Title Company offices on Main Street."

Coaching A process, whose goal is helping staff members, and the hotel team, reach their highest possible levels of performance.

Code of Conduct Principles, values, standards, or rules of behavior that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of an organization in a way that (a) contributes to the welfare of its key stakeholders, and (b) respects the rights of all constituents affected by its operations. A code of conduct for employees sets out the procedures to be used in specific ethical situations, such as conflicts of interest or the acceptance of gifts, and delineate the procedures to determine whether a violation of the code of ethics occurred and, if so, what

remedies should be imposed.

Code of Ethics Communicates the values of the corporation to employees and other stakeholders.

Codified Knowledge Knowledge that can be communicated completely via written means.

Coding The process of assigning incurred costs to predetermined cost centers or categories.

Cold Calling Making a sales visit/presentation to a potential client without having previously set an appointment to do so.

Collaborative-style Leadership

The CEO works with other managers to create a strategy; participants are then responsible for implementing the strategy in their own areas.

Collusion Secret cooperation between two or more hotel employees for the purpose of committing fraud.

Commercial Food Service Operation

Food Services offered in hotels and restaurants and other organizations whose primary purpose for existence involves generation of profits from the sale of food and beverage products.

Commercial Hotel A property, usually located in downtown, or business district, that caters primarily to business clients. Also called transient hotel.

Commercial Rate A special room rate agreed upon by a company and a hotel for frequent guests. Also called corporate rate.

Commissionable An indication that the hotel will pay travel agents the standard fee for business placed.

Commission Agent Report

A summary of reservation transactions for which commissions are owed to travel agents.

Commoditization The process by which a product (or service) reaches a point in its development where one brand has no features that differentiate it from other brands, and consumers buy on price alone.

Complaint A statement about expectations that have not been met.

Complaint Management

Complaint management is a multi-step process of ensuring client satisfaction. It consists of data collecting, taking action, communicating feedback, refining changes, and finally following-up i.e. making sure that clients are satisfied with the resolution.

COO Short for Chief Operational Officer

Comp Short for "complimentary" or "no-charge" for products or services.

Compensation All financial and non-financial rewards given to management and non-management employees in return for the work they do for the hotel.

Compensatory Damages

Also known as actual damages, this monetary amount is intended to compensate injured parties for actual losses or damage they have incurred. This typically includes items such as medical bills and lost wages.

Competitive Advantage Exists when a firm has a long-lasting business advantage compared to rival firms that is a significant edge over the competition; usually this means that the firm can do something competitors can’t do or has something competitors lack

Competitive Edge See Competitive Advantage

Competitive Dynamics The moves and countermoves of firms and their competitors.

Competitive Set The group of competing hotels to which an individual hotel's operating performance is compared.

Complimentary A room status term indicating that the room is occupied, but the guest is assessed no charge for the use.

Compressed Work A method of working full-time hours in fewer than the traditional five days- for

Schedule instance, four 10-hour days.

Concierge The individual(s) within a full-service hotel responsible for providing guests with detailed information regarding local dining and attractions, as well as assisting with related guest needs.

Concierge Level A section of a hotel (usually with restricted access) reserved for special guests paying higher room rates and receiving special amenities.

Condominium Hotel See Time-share hotel.

Conference Center A property specifically designed to handle group meetings. Conference centers are often located outside metropolitan areas and may provide extensive leisure facilities, most offer overnight accommodations.

Confirmation Number A series of numbers and/or letters that serve to identify a specific hotel reservation.

Conglomerate A large, highly diversified firm.

Connecting Rooms Rooms with individual entrance doors from the outside and connecting door between. Guests can move between rooms without going through the hallway.

ConPAR Short for Contribution Per Available Room.

Consideration An element in a legal contract that relates to money, property, or a promise exchanged for the promise made in a contract.

Consumer Generated Media

Various online venues such as forums, blogs, wikis, and reviewer sites where those seeking to research and buy products can use information and opinions posted by other consumers before making their buying decisions.

Consortia Groups of hotel service buyers organized for the purpose of reducing their client's travel-related costs. A single such group is a consortium.

Consortia Rate A hotel room rate given to a guest whose room is booked by selected travel agencies.

Constrained Supply Supply may be constrained due to physical limitations (number of chairs in a barbershop, rooms in a hotel, or seats at a concert). Supply may also be constrained by the duration of use, (seat hours available in a restaurant, tee times available at a golf course or hours spent using the facilities at a water park).

Consumer Surplus The difference between the amount a buyer would be willing to pay for a product or service and the amount they are charged.

Contact Alarms A warning system that notifies (contacts) an external entity such as the fire or police department if the alarm is activated.

Continental Breakfast A small meal, which usually includes a beverage, rolls, butter, and jam or marmalade.

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)

Ongoing efforts within the hotel to better meet (or exceed) guest expectations and define ways to perform work with better, less costly, and faster methods. See also TQM.

Contract An agreement between two or more parties that will be enforceable in a court of law.

Contribution Margin The amount that remains after the product (food) cost of a menu item is subtracted from its selling price.

Control Folio An accounting document used internally by a front office computer to support all account postings by department during a system update.

Controller The individual responsible for recording, classifying, and summarizing the hotel's business transactions. In some hotels, this position is referred to as the comptroller.

Control Systems Systems used to measure and monitor firm activities and processes, as well as motivate or encourage behaviors that are conducive to desired organizational outcomes; the tools of strategy implementation.

Convention Convention is a meeting of delegates for action on particular matters. Participants called delegates. These may be matters of politics, trade, science, technology, etc. Structure: General sessions and supplementary smaller meetings, either with or without exhibits.

Convention and Visitors Bureau

An organization, generally funded by taxes levied on overnight hotel guests that seek to increase the number of visitors to the area it represents. Properly utilized, non-electronic distribution channels help reduce commoditization. Also called the "CVB" for short.

Conversion The process of changing a hotel's flag from one franchisor to another. Also known as "reflagging." For example, "We need a GM experienced in managing a hotel conversion." As a noun: The term used to describe a hotel that has changed its flag from one franchisor to another. For example, "Has this hotel always been a (brand name), or is it a conversion?"

Conversion (WEB) The proportion of web site visitors who actually make a guest room purchase.

Conversion Rate Percentage of site visitors that perform a particular action such as making a purchase. For example: if a site receives 100 hits that result in two bookings, the site’s conversion rate is 2%.

Copyright Literally “the right to copy ” an original creation and constitutes a set of exclusive rights to the use of an idea or information.

Core Activities The primary activities in a firm’s value chain; for a hotel, these activities might include site development and construction (by local owner), marketing and sales (by brand, regional office, and property), service delivery and operations (i.e., check-in, check-out, and in-room services at property level and by management company), service monitoring and post stay service enhancement.

Core Competency A resource or capability that meets the conditions of being valuable, unique, non-substitutable, or difficult to imitate; if it can also be applied to more than one business area, it is also called a capability.

Core Values The underlying philosophies that guide decisions and behavior in a firm; also called organizational values.

Corkage Fee A charge levied by a hotel when a guest brings a bottle (e.g., of a special wine) to the hotel for consumption at a banquet function or in the hotel’s dining room.

Corporate Culture The generally accepted values and shared meanings that determine how employees within an organization will act.

Corporate Guarantee A type of reservation guarantee in which a corporation signs a contractual agreement with the hotel to accept financial responsibility for may no-show business travelers it sponsors.

Corporate Rate This segment represented by business travelers that make up a large portion of the traveling public. As this segment is paying among the highest rooms rates the hotel will be able to achieve, thence catering their needs is very important.

Correction Voucher A voucher used to support the correction of a posting error which is rectified before the close of business day it was made.

Cost Center A hotel department that incurs costs in support of a revenue center. Two

examples are the housekeeping and maintenance departments.

Cost per Key The average purchase price of a hotel’s guest room expressed in thousands of dollars.

Cost per Occupied Room

Those rooms-related costs incurred directly as a result of selling a guest room. Examples include labor costs, room supplies, and room amenities. Also referred to as room-related occupancy cost, occupied room cost, or cost per occupied room (CPOR).

CPA Short for Certified Public Accountant. An individual designated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as competent in the field of accounting.

CPOR Short for cost per occupied room.

CPU Short for Central Processing Unit.

Credit An entry on the right side of an account.

Credit Balance An amount owed to guests by the hotel.

Credit Card A system by which banks loan money with interest to consumers as purchases are made. Merchants accepting the cards for payment are charged a fee by the banks for the charges made by their customers with the credit card.

Credit Card Guarantee A type of reservation guarantee supported by credit card companies, who guarantee participating properties payment for reserved rooms that remain unoccupied.

Credit Card Imprinter A device used to press a credit card invoice against a credit card, recording card information for use in billing and collection procedures.

Credit Card Invoice The form designated by a credit card company to be used for imprinting a credit card and recording the amount charged. Also called credit card voucher.

Credit Limit Report A comparison of a guest’s folio balances to the amount of credit established for that guest.

Credit Manager The person responsible for establishing and enforcing the hotel’s credit policies.

Crisis Management Processes associated with preventing, detecting, or recovering from crises.

CRM Short for Customer Relations Management.

Cross-Selling Messages designed to advertise the availability of other hotel services.

Cross Training Training employees for performing multiple tasks and jobs.

CRT Cathode Ray Tube- see Display Screen.

CTA

Short for ‘Closed to Arrival’. In this situation, the hotel declines reservations for guests attempting to arrive on this specific date.

Curb Appeal The term used to indicate the initial visual impression the hotel's parking areas, grounds, and external building aesthetics create for an arriving guest.

Cultural Intelligence An aptitude that enables outsiders to interpret unfamiliar gestures and actions as though they were insiders; it can be acquired.

Culture An evolving set of shared beliefs, values, and attitudes that help shape how a social group thinks, sees, acts, and reacts to various events and situations.

Current Data Data related to events that are entered into the PMS but have yet to occur.

Customer-based Structure

Organization structures its major units around the characteristics or types of customer.

Customer-Centric Revenue Management

A revenue management philosophy that places customer gain ahead of short-term revenue maximization in revenue management decision making.

Customer Relationship A system that allows hotel managers to integrate technology to support

Management customer service techniques that provides top-notch customer service. It is a widely implemented model for managing a company's interactions with customers, clients, and sales prospects.

Cut-off Date The date agreed upon between a group and a property after which all unreserved rooms in the group’s block will be released.

Cut-off Hours That time at which the day’s unclaimed reservations are released for sale to the general public.

CVB Short for Convention and Visitors Bureau

D D

Daily Function Board The place(s) in the lobby and other locations within the hotel used to post information such as name of function, time, and room number for events scheduled on a specific date.

Daily Operations Report

A report typically prepared by the night auditor, which summarizes the hotel’s financial activities during a 24-hour period and provides insight into revenues, receivables, operating statistics, and cash transactions related to the front office. Also known as the manager’s report.

Daily Transcript A detailed report of all guest accounts that indicates each charge transaction that affected a guest account that day, used as a worksheet to detect posting errors.

Damages The actual amount of losses or costs incurred due to the wrongful act of a liable party.

Database A computerized collection of related facts and figures designed to serve a specific purpose.

Data Mining Using technology to analyze guest (and other) related data to make better marketing decisions.

Data Processing The transformation of raw data into timely, accurate, and useful information.

Day Rate A special room rate for less than an overnight stay.

Day Shift A hotel work shift, generally 7:00 am to 3:00 pm

Day Use A room status term indicating that the room will be used for less than an overnight stay.

D Card An auditor’s report used in semi-automated front office accounting system.

Debit (DR) An entry on the left side of an account.

Debit Card A payment system in which money collected by a merchant (hotel) is automatically (electronically) deposited into the merchant’s local bank account. As with bank and T&E cards, merchants accepting the cards are assessed a fee for the right to do so.

Decentralized Accounting

A financial management system that collects accounting data from an individual hotel site and combines and analyzes that data at the same site.

Deep Cleaning The intensive cleaning of a guestroom, typically including the thorough cleaning of items such as drapes, lamp shades, carpets, furniture, walls, and the like.

Defibrillator A machine used to deliver an electrical shock to the heart in case of cardiac arrest (heart attack) in efforts to re-establish a normal heartbeat.

Delayed Check-In A procedure by which guests are assigned a room, but the issuing of a key is delayed.

Delegation The process of assigning authority (power) to others to enable subordinates to do work that a manager at a higher organizational level would otherwise do.

Demand The total amount of a good or service consumers want to buy at a specific

price.

Demand Generator An organization, entity, or location that creates a significant need for hotel services. Examples in a community include large businesses, tourist sites, sports teams, educational facilities, and manufacturing plants.

Demand Drain A circumstance that produces a significant decrease in business.

Demi Pension The French version of half board.

Denial Code A code generated by an on-line credit card verification service, indicating that the requested transaction has not been approved.

Department A department is a part of a larger organization with a specific responsibility.

Departmentalization Departmentalization is the process of grouping together people and jobs into work units.

Depreciation The part of a fixed asset's cost that is recognized as an expense in each accounting period because it is assumed to have been "used up" during that period.

Depressed Market The term used to describe a hotel market area where occupancy rates and/or ADRs are far below their historic levels. Used, for example, in, "The permanent closing of the military base in that town resulted in depressed market conditions in the entire county."

Design Hotel See also Boutique Hotels.

Desk Clerk The person who verifies guest reservations, registers guests, assigns rooms, distributes keys, communicates with housekeeping staff, answers telephones, gives information about and directions to local attractions, accepts cash and gives change, and acts as liaison between the lodging establishment and the guest as well as the community.

Detained Property Personal property of a guest that is held by a hotel until payment is made for the purchase of lawful products/services.

Dialog Training Teaching employees about what to say in conversations and/or how to respond to common situations that occur on the job.

Differentiation Requires the firm to distinguish its products or services on the basis of an attribute such as higher quality, more innovative features, greater selection, better service after sale, or more advertising.

Differential Pricing The practice of a seller charging different prices to different buyers for the same product or slightly different versions of the same product.

Direct Bill An arrangement whereby a guest is allowed to purchase hotel services and products on credit terms.

Direct Channel A system of selling to consumers without the use of an intermediary.

Direct Mail Letters Letters sent directly to individuals in a targeted market group in a marketing effort.

Discipline Activities designed to reinforce desired performance (positive discipline) or to correct undesired performance (negative discipline).

Discrepancy Report A daily comparison between the status of rooms as listed by the PMS at the front office, and the status of rooms as listed by the housekeeping department.

Disk Drive A piece of computer hardware, which writes data to and reads data from a floppy disk or hard disk.

Displace (Revenue) To substitute one source of revenue for another.

Displacement Analysis A structured examination of the relative merits of choosing among alternative pieces of business for the purpose of identifying the piece that optimizes revenue.

Display Screen An output device of a computer system, which is usually capable of displaying both text and graphics. Also called a monitor, a CRT, or simply a screen.

Distressed Market An economic condition that results in revenue levels that are significantly (10 percent or more) below historic norms.

Distribution Channel A distinct and definable source of hotel rooms or services sales. For example, the Internet is one distribution channel, and meeting planners are another.

Diversification Occurs when a firm expands its business operations into new products, functions served, markets, or technologies.

DNCO Did not check-out. A room status term indicating that the guest made arrangements to settle his or her account (and thus is not a skipper), but has left without informing the front office.

DOSM Short for "Director of Sales and Marketing." Variations include DOS (Director of Sales) and DOM (Director of Marketing).

Double A room assigned to two people, may have one or more beds.

Double Bed A bed approximately 54 inches by 75 inches (140-150X190-200 cm)

Double-Double A room with two double (or perhaps queen) beds, may be occupied by one or more people. Also called a twin-double.

Double-Entry Bookkeeping

A system for recording financial transactions in which every transaction creates entries that affect at least two accounts.

Double Occupancy Ratio

See multiple occupancy ratios.

Downsizing Reducing the number of employees and/or labor hours for cost-containment purposes.

Dram Shop Laws A provision in the U.S. legal code that allows an injured party to seek damages from an intoxicated person who caused the injury and from the person who provided the alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person.

Drop In A potential buyer (guest) who arrives at the hotel without an appointment. See also Walk-In.

Duct A passageway, usually built of sheet metal, which allows fresh, cold, or warm air to be directed to various parts of a building.

Due Back A situation that occurs when a cashier pays out more than he or she receives, the difference is due back to the cashier’s cash bank. In the front office, due backs usually occur when a cashier accepts many checks and large bills during a shift, such that he or she cannot restore the initial bank at the end of the shift without using checks or large bills.

Due Diligence (a) The British equivalent of Reasonable Care (Security& Safety).

Due Diligence (b) Involves a complete examination of a merger or acquisition, including such areas as management, equity, debt, sale of assets, transfer of shares, environmental issues, financial performance, tax issues, human resources, customers, and markets (Strategic Management).

Due Out A room status term indicating, that the room is expected to become vacant after the following day’s checkout time.

Duration Control Duration rules and limitations related to guests’ arrival dates, departure dates and minimum stay lengths. Also known as stay controls.

Duty of Care An obligation imposed by law that requires a specific standard of conduct.

E E

Early Arrival A guest who arrives at a property before the date of his or her reservation.

Early Check-In A request by a guest to take possession of a room prior to the hotel’s normally established check-in time.

Early Departure A guest who checks out of the hotel before his or her originally scheduled check-out date.

Early Out A clause in a franchisee agreement that grants both the franchisor and the franchisee the right, with proper notification, to terminate the agreement after it has been in effect for a relatively short period of time. When this clause exists, a window may be granted after only one, two, or three years.

EBITDA Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.

E-Commerce A system of conducting business activities using the Internet and other information technologies. Refers to using computer networks to conduct business, including buying and selling online, electronic funds transfer, business communications, and other activities associated with the buying and selling of goods and services online.

Economy/Limited Service

A level of service emphasizing clean, comfortable, inexpensive rooms and meeting the most basic needs of guests. Economy hotels appeal primarily to budget-minded travelers.

E-distribution Channel A generic term used to indicate all “E” (electronic) methods of advertising and selling guest rooms. Also known as “E-commerce.”

E-Fridge A cabinet usually including both refrigerated and non-refrigerated sections designed with an electronic processing unit that allows direct PMS interface.

E.I. (Educational Institute of AH&LA) The shortened version of the name given to the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA). Located in Orlando, Florida, and Lansing, Michigan, E.I. is the professional development and certification subsidiary of the AH&LA.

E-Key Short for emergency key.

Electric Discharge Lamp

A lamp in which light is generated by passing electrical current through a space filled with a special combination of gases. Examples include fluorescent, mercury vapor, metal halide, and sodium.

Electronic Locking System

A locking system which replaces traditional mechanical locks with sophisticated computer based guestroom access devices.

Embezzlement The theft of a company's financial assets by an employee.

Emergency Key A key which opens all guestroom doors, even when they are double locked.

Emergency Plan A document describing a hotel's pre-determined, intended response to a safety/security threat encountered by the hotel.

Emergent Strategy Implies that the existing strategy is not necessarily planned or intended, but rather a result of learning through a process of trial and error.

Employee Folio A folio used to chart transactions on an account assigned to an employee with charge purchase privileges.

Employee Handbook Written policies and procedures related to employment at a hotel. Also sometimes called an employee "manual."

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Reward system in which employees are provided with an attractive method for acquiring stock in the companies where they work. (ESOP)

Employer-of-Choice The concept that the hospitality operation is a preferred place of employment within the community by those who have alternative employment opportunities.

Employment Agreement

A document specifying the terms of the work relationship between the employer and employee that indicates the rights and obligations of both parties.

Empowerment The act of granting authority to employees to make key decisions within the

employees' areas of responsibility.

End of Day An arbitrary stopping point for the business day, established so that the audit can be considered complete that time.

Energy Management Specific policies and engineering, maintenance, and facility design activities intended to control and reduce energy usage.

Engineering Designing and operating a building to ensure a safe and comfortable atmosphere.

Entrepreneur A person who assumes the risk of owning and operating a business in exchange for the financial rewards the business may produce.

Equity The value of an asset beyond the total amount owed on it for mortgages and other loans.

Ethics Standards used to judge the "right" and "wrong" (or fairness) of one's actions when dealing with others.

Europe(an) Plan A room rate that does not include guest meals. A billing arrangement under which meals are priced separately from rooms.

Evening Shift A hotel work shift, generally 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Executive Floor A floor of a hotel which offers world-class service. Also called the tower concept or concierge floor.

Executive Housekeeper

The individual responsible for the management and operation of the housekeeping department.

Executive Operating Committee (EOC)

Those members of the hotel's management team (generally department heads) responsible for departmental leadership and overall property administration.

Expatriate A citizen of one country who is employed in another country.

Expected Arrival List A daily report showing the number and names of guests expected to arrive.

Expected Departure List

A daily report showing the number and names of guests expected to depart as well as the number of stayovers.

Expenses The amount of money spent to generate revenues.

Express Check-Out A pre-departure activity which involves the production and early morning distribution of guest folios for guests expected to check out that morning.

External Audit An independent verification of financial records performed by accountants who are not employed by the organization operating the hotel.

External Environment Stakeholders and forces outside the traditional boundaries of the firm; they can be divided into the broad and operating environments.

External Recruiting Tactics designed to attract persons who are not current hotel employees for vacant positions.

External Storage Device

A piece of computer hardware that retains data and/or programs that can be accessed by the central processing unit.

E-Wholesaler A room reseller that obtains reduced (wholesale) room prices and inventory commitments directly from a hotel or through an agreement with the hotel’s corporate brand managers. It then publishes “retail rates” on its websites, usually at a markup of 20% to 40%.

F F

Fade Rate A reduced rate authorized for use when a guest seeking a reservation exhibits price (rate) resistance. Sometimes called as flex-rate.

Fair (Market) Share Beside the importance of a company’s production capacity, the fair market share analysis (FMS) does not give much information regarding its profitability. However, it becomes the standard for comparison with the market share of the actual production (profit, revenues, room nights, seat

sales, etc.).

Family Rate A special room rate for parents and children in the same room.

FAM Tours or Trips Short for familiarization tours. Complimentary visits sponsored by the lodging property that host representatives of travel organizations, bus associations, social and nonprofit organizations, and local corporate traffic managers. In Central & Eastern Europe is much in evidence as Study Tour.

Fax (Facsimile) A copier-like machine which transmits full-page documents over telephone lines.

F&B Shortened term for "food and beverage." Used, for example as in the following: "Please let the F&B Director know about the changes the guest has requested."

Feasibility Study A determination that a proposed (hotel) development will (or will not) meet the expectations of its investors. The study should include the estimated market demand for the property, as well as its economic viability.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The FTC enforces federal antitrust and consumer protection laws. It also seeks to ensure that the nation's business markets function competitively and are free of undue restrictions caused by acts or practices that are unfair or deceptive. [US]

Feedback Control Provides managers with information concerning outcomes from organizational activities.

Feeder Market A geographic location that includes a significant number of travelers using a hotel’s services.

FF&E

The term used to refer to the furniture, fixtures, and equipment used by a hotel to service its guests. FF&E Reserve Funds set aside by management today for the future furniture, fixture, and equipment replacement needs of a hotel.

Fiduciary A relationship based upon trust and the responsibility to act in the best interest of another when performing tasks.

First Tier Management companies that operate hotels for owners using the management company's trade name as the hotel brand. Hyatt, Hilton, and Sheraton are examples.

FIT (Free Independent Traveler our Foreign Independent Tour): A guest coming to the hotel as an individual and not part of a group. (a traveler who is not group affiliated)

Five Forces (of Industry Competition)

Forces that largely determine the type and level of competition in an industry and, ultimately, the industry’s profit potential; they include customers, suppliers, entry barriers, substitute products or services, and rivalry among existing competitors.(Porter’s Five)

Fixed Costs Fixed costs are expenses that have to be paid by a company, independent of any business activity (such as occupancy). It is one of the two components of the total cost of a good or service, along with variable cost.

Fixed Labor Costs The minimum number of labor hours and associated labor costs that are required to operate the food service operation whenever it is open regardless of the number, if any, of guests that are served.

Flag A term used to refer to the specific brand with which a hotel may affiliate. Examples of currently popular flags include brands such as Comfort Inns, Holiday Inn Express, Ramada Inns, Hampton Inns, Residence Inns, Best Western, and Hawthorn Suites. The hotels affiliated with a specific flag are sometimes referred to as a chain.

Flash Report Daily information provided to the GM that reports key financial information

from the previous day (often accumulated for the month and/or year-to-date and compared to actual data from previous years).

Flat Organization Chart The collapse/combination of positions within an organization to reduce the number of management layers in efforts to improve communication, increase operating efficiencies, and reduce costs.

Flat Rate Flat rate, refers to a pricing structure that charges a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of usage. Rarely, it may refer to a rate that does not vary with usage or time of use.

Flextime A program of flexible work hours which allows employees to vary their times of starting and ending work.

Float The delay in payment from an account after using a credit card or personal check.

Floor Attendant See floor supervisor or inspector.

Floor Limit A limit assigned to hotels by credit card companies indicating the maximum amount in credit card charges the hotel is permitted to accept from a card member without special authorization. In on-line surroundings it’s been withdrawn from use.

Floor Supervisor The individual(s) responsible for physically checking the room status of guest rooms, as well as other tasks as assigned by the executive housekeeper.

Floppy Disk An external storage medium for a computer. Also called a diskette.

Flow-Through The relative change in profit dollars expressed as a percentage of the change in revenue dollars.

FOC (Franchise Offering Circular)

A franchise disclosure document that is prepared by a franchisor and then is registered and filed with the state governmental agency responsible for administering franchise relationships in that date.

Folio The detailed list of a hotel guest's room charges, as well as other charges authorized by the guest or legally imposed by the hotel.

Folio Tray A bin used to store guest folios. In non-automated and semi-automated properties, folios remain in the tray throughout occupancy, except when they are used in posting transactions. Also called a folio bucket.

FOM Short for front office manager.

Food and Beverage Director

The individual responsible for the operation of a hotel's F&B program(s).

Foot-candle A measure of illumination. One foot-candle equals one lumen per square foot. (The European counterpart of the foot-candle is the Lux, a light intensity of one lumen per square meter.)

Forecasting Projecting room sales for a specific period.

Foreseeable (Legal Concept)

The concept that the liability of a party should be limited to acts that a reasonable would be able to predict or expect as the results of his or her actions.

Foreclose The process in which a lender terminates the borrower's interest in a property after a loan is defaulted.

Franchise An arrangement whereby one party (the brand) allows another (the hotel owners) to use its logo, name, systems, and resources in exchange for a fee.

Franchise Agreement The legal contract between the hotel's owners (the franchisee) and the brand managers (the franchisor), which describes the duties and responsibilities of each in the franchise relationship.

Franchisee Those who own the hotel and buy the right to use the brand name for a fixed period of time and at an agreed-upon price.

Franchisor Those who manage the brand and sell the right to use the brand name.

Fraud Purposeful deception (deceit) that results in legal injury to a person.

Free-to-Guests A service provided at no additional charge (beyond normal room rental charges) to the hotel guest. Examples could include making local telephone calls, access to premium cable television channels such as HBO or Showtime, and use of the hotel's pool or workout facilities. (Ultimately, the hotel must absorb the cost(s) of providing these services to guests, but guests are not charged on a per usage basis. Therefore, the term does not mean that the services that are provided are free to the hotel.)

Fringe Benefits Fringe Benefits are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. Examples of these benefits include: housing (employer-provided or employer-paid), group insurance health, dental, life etc.), disability income protection, retirement benefits, daycare, tuition reimbursement, sick leave, vacation (paid and non-paid), social security, profit sharing, funding of education, and other specialized benefits.

Front Desk The area within the hotel used for guest registration and payment.

Front Desk Agent A front office employee whose responsibilities centre on the registration process, but also typically include preregistration activities, room status coordination, and mail, message, and information requests.

Front Office A department of rooms division which is the most visible department in a hotel, with the greatest amount of guest contact. Traditional front office functions include reservations, registration, room and rate assignment, room status, maintenance and settlement of guest accounts, and creation of guest history records. Also, the physical location at which front-of-the house activities are coordinated.

Front Office Accounting Formula

The formula used in posting transactions to front office accounts: Previous balance+ Debits-Credits= Net outstanding balance.

Front Office Applications

Computer software designed for specific front office uses. Typical front office applications include reservations, rooms management, guest accounting, and general management modules.

Front Office Cashier A front office employee whose responsibilities centre on the guest accounting cycle.

Front Office Cash Sheet

A form completed by front office cashiers which lists each receipt or disbursement of cash during a work shift. It is used to reconcile actual cash on hand with the transactions which occurred during the shift.

Front Office Ledger see Guest ledger.

Front of The House The functional areas of the hotel in which employees have extensive guest contact, such as food and beverage facilities and the front office.

FSD (Franchise Services Director)

The representative of a franchise hotel brand who interacts directly with the franchised hotel's GMs.

Full-Service Hotel A hotel is considered "full-service" when it provides guests with extensive food and beverage products and services.

Full-Service Restaurants

Restaurants that offer eat–in service, expansive menus, and prices that range from low to high; these restaurants are divided into three segments: family, grill-buffet, and dinner houses.

Fully Automated A computer-based system of front office record keeping which eliminates the need for many handwritten and machine-produced forms common in non- and semi-automated systems.

Function Room Public space such as meeting rooms, conference areas, and ballrooms

(which can frequently be subdivided into smaller spaces) that are available in the hotel for banquet, meeting, or other group rental purposes.

Futon Japanese sleeping arrangement made of many layers of cotton-quilted batting that is rolled up when not in use.

Future Data Data related to events that have yet to occur and will not be found in the PMS. While this data is unknown, it can be estimated.

G G

GAAPs Short for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Garni Hotel Non-US designation for hotels without restaurant service, except for continental breakfast. US equivalent is limited-service hotel.

Gateway A term relating to a location (airport or hotel, for example) where there is significant activity involving international travelers.

GDS Short for Global Distribution System.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

Standards and procedures that have been adopted by those responsible for preparing business financial statements for the purpose of ensuring uniformity.

General Ledger The primary ledger that contains all of a hotel’s accounts and that is used to create its income (profit and loss) statement.

General Management Module

A front office computer application, usually a report-generating package which depends on data collected through reservations, rooms management, and guest accounting modules.

General Manager (GM) The traditional title used to identify the individual at a hotel property who is responsible for final decision making regarding property-specific operating policies and procedures. Also the leader of the hotel's management team.

Global Distribution System

Referred to as the GDS for short, this system consists of the companies (SABRE, Galileo, Apollo, Amadeus, and Worldspan) that connect hotels offering rooms for sale with individuals and travel professionals worldwide who will potentially purchase them.

Global Integration The process through which a multinational organization integrates its worldwide activities into a single world strategy through its network of affiliates and alliances.

Globalization The condition in which countries and communities within them throughout the world are becoming increasingly interrelated.

Goal A definition of the purpose of a department or division, which directs the actions of employees and the functions of the department or division toward a hotel’s mission.

GOP Short for gross operating profit. This popular term is taken from a pre-1990 version of the Uniform System of Accounts for Hotels (USAH) published by the New York Hotel Association. It refers to hotel revenue less those expenses typically controlled at the property level. It is generally expressed on the income statement and in the industry as both a dollar figure and percent of total revenue.

GOPPAR Total revenues less management-controllable operating expenses/ number of available rooms.

Government Rate A special room rate available at some hotels for government employees.

Grandmaster (Key) One key that opens all guest rooms except those locked from within.

Grand Opening An event held at a hotel that marks the "official" opening of that hotel. It can be held several days or even weeks after the hotel actually opens and is intended to market the hotel to its client base and the local community.

Graveyard A work shift beginning about midnight.

Greens Fee A charge for the use of the golf course.

Group Contract A legal document used to summarize the agreement between a hotel and its group client.

Group Coordinator Group coordinator is a professional who directs, plans, and puts together various events for a particular group.

Group History The number of rooms blocked for and ultimately used by a group during similar events held in the past.

Group Rate A special room rate for a number of affiliated guests.

Group Sale A large sale (in number of rooms or dollar volume) of the hotel's rooms or services. The sales and marketing department, not the front desk, book sales of this type.

Group Sales Rooms and services sold primarily through the efforts of the hotel's sales and marketing department, and given to the front office for recording and servicing.

Guarantee A contractual agreement about the number of meals to be provided at a banquet event. Typically, a guarantee must be made several days in advance of the event. At that time, the entity contracting with the hotel for the event agrees to pay for the larger of the actual number of guests served or the number of guests guaranteed.

Guaranteed Reservation

A reservation which assures the guest that a room will be held until check-out time of the day following the day of arrival. The guest guarantees payment for the room, even if it is not used, unless the reservation is properly cancelled. Types of guaranteed reservations include prepayment, credit card, advance deposit, travel agent, and corporate.

Guest A hotel visitor. Most guests rent rooms and/or purchase food or beverages in a hotel outlet or a banquet function. b., A person who rents a guest room for a short time period with no intention of becoming a permanent resident.

Guest Account A record of financial transactions occurs between a guest and the hotel.

Guest Accounting Module

A front office computer application which maintains guest accounts electronically, eliminating the need for folio cards, folio trays, and posting machines.

Guest Check Average The average amount spent by a guest in a room service or dining room order. The guest check average typically includes the food and alcoholic beverage sales. Guest check average = total revenue/total number of guests served.

Guest Cycle A division of the flow of business through a hotel which identifies the physical contacts and financial exchanges between guests and hotel employees.

Guest Folio A folio used to chart transactions on an account assigned to an individual person or guestroom.

Guest Essentials Items serving for the guest’s needs and convenience, normally not used up or taken away.

Guest Expendables Items serving for the guest’s needs and convenience, expected to use up or to take away upon departure. Branded or with own logo

Guest History File A collection of guest history records constructed from expired registration cards or created through sophisticated computer-based systems which automatically direct information about departing guests into a guest history database.

Guest History Record A record of personal and financial information about hotel guests which is relevant to marketing, sales, and servicing the guest’s return. State law may

require retention of certain guest data for some period of time.

Guest Ledger The set of accounts for all guests currently registered in the hotel. Also called the front office ledger, transient ledger, or room ledger.

Guest Ledger Report A report which carries the current account balances of all registered guests, typically prepared as part of the night audit.

Guest Loan Equipment loaned to guests upon request and at no charge.

Guest Relations Manager

The primary goal of a guest relations manager is to make guests feel welcome and ensure their satisfaction. A guest relations manager needs to work well with people, be able to handle stressful situations and maintain a positive attitude.

Guestroom Key A key which opens a single guestroom door if it is not double-locked.

Guest Service Agent An employee working in the front desk area of the hotel. Also referred to by some in the industry as a "desk clerk."

H H

Half Board See also Modified American Plan.

Half-Day Rate A special rate that typically includes 1-4 hours (but not overnight) use of the room.

Handicap Room A room with special features designed for handicapped guests. See also ADA.

Hard Copy A printed paper copy of information, as opposed to information on a display screen. Also, the last page in a set of folio copies which is the hotel’s copy of folio.

Hardware The physical equipment of a computer system. Computer hardware is visible, movable, and easy to identify.

Head Table Special seating at a banquet reserved for guests of honor.

Headquarter Hotel The hotel that hosts the main group of attendees during an event in which there are multiple host hotels.

Hideabed See sofa bed

High Balance Account A report which identifies guests who are approaching an account credit limit, typically prepared by the night auditor.

High Tea A fairly substantial late afternoon or early evening meal.

Historical Data Data related to events that have already occurred. Sometimes referred to as “actual data.”

Horizon The future time frame for which a property accepts reservations.

Horizontal Communication

Communication between individuals at the same organizational level.

Hospitality Defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers with liberality and goodwill.

Hospitality Suites A guest room rented by a supplier/vendor usually during conventions/ conferences to provide complimentary food and/or beverages to invited guests.

Host Hotel A property that serves as the headquarters for a group when multiple hotels must be used to house all group members. (Headquarter Hotel)

Hosted Bars A beverage service alternative in which the host of a function pays for beverages during all or part of the banquet event; also called an "open" bar.

Hosted Events Functions served by a hotel, which are complimentary to invited guests because costs are borne by the event's sponsor.

Hot Spot A Wi-Fi area that allows for high-speed wireless Internet access or other data

transmission

Hotel Broker A person who sells hotel room prize packages to corporations, sweepstakes promoters, game shows, and other sponsors.

Hotel Chain A group of hotels with the same brand name.

Hoteliers Those who work in the hotel business.

House Account An account whose entries are assessed to another hotel entity.

House Brand Beverages

Alcoholic beverages that are sold by type (scotch, gin, etc.) rather than by brand name and that are served when a call brand beverage is not requested. Sometimes referred to as "Well" brands.

House Count An estimate of the number of guests staying in a hotel on a given day.

Housekeeping The department within the rooms division which inspects rooms for sale, cleans occupied and vacated rooms, and coordinates room status with the front office. In some hotels, the housekeeping function is considered an independent hotel division.

Housekeeping Status See as Room Status.

Housekeeping Status Report

A report prepared by the housekeeping department which indicates the current housekeeping status of each room, based on physical check.

House Limit A credit limit established by the hotel.

Houseman See House Person.

House Person The individual responsible for the cleaning of public spaces (the house). Also sometimes referred to as a PA (public area cleaner) or porter.

House Phone A publicly located telephone within the hotel used to call the front desk, or in some cases, the front desk and guest rooms.

House Use A room status term indicating that the room is being used by someone on the hotel staff at no charge.

House/Convention Bureau

A reservations office which coordinates room requirements at several hotels for large conventions.

HR Short for human resources.

Hubbart Formula A method used to compute room rates that consider such factors as operating expenses, desired return on investment, and income from various departments in the hotel. Named after Mr.Hubbard – a former hotel owner in Chicago (in the 40s).

Human Relations Skills needed to understand and effectively interact with other people.

Human Resource Management

Support activities of the value chain associated with human-based activities such as recruiting, hiring, training, and compensation.

HVAC A shorthand term for "heating, ventilating, and air conditioning."

I I

Ideal Average Rate A rooms statistics which indicates the point at which rooms are sold at the best rate for the type of guests accommodated by a property.

Identity Theft A crime that occurs when someone obtains and uses another individual’s personal information to commit fraud and/or theft.

IDS Short for Internet Distribution System.

Impact Study An in-depth evaluation of the effect on occupancy percent and ADR that a new hotel in a given market will have on an existing hotel(s) in that same market.

In Balance A term used to describe the state when the totals of debit amounts and credit amounts for a set of accounts are equal.

Incandescent Lamp A lamp in which a filament inside the lamp's bulb is heated by electrical current to produce light.

Incentive Rate A special room rate for guests in affiliated travel and tourism organizations because of the potential referral business they can generate for the hotel.

Incentive Travel Travel financed by a business as an employee incentive.

Incident Report A document prepared to record the details of an accident, injury, or disturbance, and the hotel's response to it.

Inclusive A single price that includes all charges.

Income This is net earnings after all expenses for an accounting period are subtracted from all revenues recognized during that period.

Income Statement See statement of income.

Indemnification To reimburse someone for a loss that has been incurred.

Independent Hotel A hotel with no ownership or management affiliation with other properties.

Indirect Channel A system of selling to consumers utilizing one or more intermediaries.

Indirect Cost A cost that is not easily assigned to a specific operating unit or department.

Induction The process of informing new employees about matters related to the department in which they will work.

Information Book A collection of information kept at the front desk for front desk agents to use in responding to guests requests, including simplified maps of the area, taxi and airline company telephone numbers, bank, theatre, church, and store locations, and special event schedules.

Information Rack An alphabetical index of registered guests used in routing, telephone calls, mail, messages, and visitor inquiries. The information rack normally consists of aluminum slots designed to hold information rack slips.

Information Rack Slip A slip containing a guest’s name, room number, room rate, and departure date.

Innovation A new idea, a recombination of old ideas, or a unique approach that is perceived as new by the individuals involved; innovation is the combination of both invention and commercialization.

Input/output Unit A piece of computer hardware which allows a user to interact with the computer system. Input/output units include keyboards, display screens, and printers.

In-Room Beverage Service System

A system which dispenses beverages within a guestroom, monitors sales transactions, and determines inventory replenishments quantities. Two popular systems are non-automated honor bars and microprocessor-based vending machines.

In-Room Folio Review and Check-Out

A system which allows guests to use in-room computers to access guest folio data and approve and settle their accounts.

In-Room Movie System A system which provides guestroom entertainment through a dedicated television pay channel. Automatic posting of charges to the appropriate guest folio may be possible.

Inspector (Inspectress) The individual(s) responsible for physically checking the room status of guest rooms, as well as other tasks as assigned by the executive housekeeper. See also as floor attendant, or floor-supervisor.

Institutional Food Service Operation (Noncommercial)

Those food services provided by health care, educational, military, religious, and numerous other organizations whose primary reason for existence is not to generate a profit from the sale of food/beverage products but rather is to support another organizational purpose.

Intangible Benefit Lacking material qualities, not able to be touched or seen, but nonetheless perceived.

Intangible Resources Organizational assets that are difficult to quantify, such as knowledge, skills,

abilities, stakeholder relationships, and reputations.

Integrated Software Software which allows several programs to use the same database.

Interface Applications Stand-alone computer software packages which may be linked to a front office management system, including point-of-sale systems, call accounting systems, and electronic locking systems.

Interfaced The term used to describe the process in which one data generating system shares its data electronically with another system.

Intermediary An entity that acts as a communication or service link between buyers and sellers that are unable or unwilling to deal directly.

Internal Alarms A warning system that notifies an area within the hotel if the alarm is activated.

Internal Audit An independent verification of financial records performed by members of the organization operating the hotel.

Internal Control The policies, procedures, and equipment used in a business to safeguard its assets and promote operational efficiency.

Internal Recruiting Tactics to identify and attract currently employed staff members for job vacancies that represent promotions or lateral transfers to similar positions.

Internet Distribution System

The group of online reservation systems and travel portals that utilize the Internet to connect travel-related businesses such as hotels with those individuals and companies seeking to buy from them. (IDS)

Intersell Agency A central reservation system that handles reservations for more than one product line, such as airline companies, car rental companies, and hotel properties.

Interstate Commerce The commercial trading or transportation of people or property that occurs between and/or among states.

Interview Evaluation Form

A form used by the (front office) manager to evaluate an applicant’s strengths and weaknesses.

Intrapreneurship Corporate entrepreneurship, or the creation of new business ventures within existing corporations.

J J

Job Breakdown A specification of how each task on a job list should be performed.

Job Description A list of tasks that an employee working in a specific position must be able to effectively perform.

Job List A list of tasks that must be performed for a front office position.

Job Sharing An arrangement by which two or more part-time employees share the responsibilities of one full-time position.

Job Specification A list of the personal qualities judged necessary for successful performance of the tasks required by the job description.

Joining Rooms Rooms with individual entrance doors from the outside and connecting door between. Guests can move between rooms without going through the hallway. (See also Connecting rooms)

Joint Venture Partnership comprised of organizations such as corporations, governments, and/or other entities that is formed to develop a lodging brand or property.

Journal Form An account recording format in which each entry includes a description of the affected account, the charge or payment entry, and the resulting account balance. Journal form is typically used for front office accounting documents.

Judgment A court’s decision about a matter that has been presented to it.

Junior Suite see Mini-Suite

K K

KAM Short for Key Account Management.

Key Account Management

Special attention given to customers who are producing the largest share of the revenue and profits or who have the potential to do so.

Keycards The electromagnetic card used in a recodable locking system.

Key Fob A decorative or descriptive plastic or metal tag attached to a hard key.

Key Performance Indicator

Key Performance Indicators - also known as KPI or Key Success Indicators (KSI),are quantifiable measurements, agreed to beforehand, that reflect the critical success factors of an organization. They will differ depending on the organization.

Key Rack An array of numbered compartments used to maintained guestroom keys.

King A room with a king-size bed may be occupied by one or more people.

King Bed A bed approximately 78 inches by 80 inches. (200x200 v. 198x205)

Knowledge Economy Refers to the importance of intangible people skills and intellectual assets to developed economies.

L L

LAN Short for Local Area Network. A communications network that connects computers and other terminals within a geographically limited area (typically within adjacent buildings or complexes). A LAN requires a LAN server and allows resources to be shared.

Lanai Hawaiian term for veranda; a room with a porch or balcony usually overlooking gardens or water.

LAR Short for Last Available Rate (Corporate Clients).

Late Arrival A guest with a reservation who expects to arrive after the hotel’s designated cancellation hour and so notifies the hotel.

Late Charge A transaction requiring posting to a guest account that does not reach the front office until the guest has checked out and left the hotel.

Late Check-Out A room status term indicating that the guest is being allowed to check out later than the hotel’s standard check-out time.

Late Check-Out Fee A charged imposed by some hotels on guests who do not check out by the established check-out time.

Laundry Par Levels The amount of laundry in use, in process, and in storage. See also Par level.

Law of Demand The concept of economics that recognizes, when supply is held constant, an increase in demand results in an increase in selling price. Conversely, with supply held constant, a decrease in demand leads to a decreased selling price.

Law of Supply The concept of economics that recognizes, when demand is held constant, an increase in supply leads to a decreased selling price. Conversely, with demand held constant, a decrease in supply leads to an increased selling price.

Lawsuit A legal action in a court of law based upon a complaint that a person or company (hotel) failed to perform a required duty and that failure resulted in harm to the person filing the complaint.

Lead Information about a prospect that is likely to buy from the hotel.

Lead Time The sell-in time or materialization time of a group from the first request up to the arrival.

Leadership Leadership is the process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish important tasks.

Leadership Style The mix of attitudes and/or behaviors that a supervisor can use to direct the work of employees.

Least-Cost Routing A feature of an active call accounting system that directs calls over the least costly available line, regardless of carrier.

Ledger A grouping of account.

Leisure Traveler Those who travel primarily for personal reasons; these guests use private funds for travel expenses and are often sensitive to the prices charged.

Length-of-Stay The number of nights a hotel’s individual guests use their rooms. (LOS)

Letter of Confirmation A letter sent to a guest to verify that a reservation has been made and that its specifications are accurate.

Leverage The use of borrowed funds to increase purchasing power.

Liabilities Debts owed by a business.

Liable Legally bound to compensate for loss or injury.

Light Baggage Insufficient luggage in quantity or quality on which to extend credit; the guest pays in advance.

Limited Partnership A business form in which the partners ’ management responsibility and legal liability are limited.

Limited-Service Hotel A lodging property that offers no or very limited food services; sometimes a complimentary breakfast is served, but there is no table service restaurant see also Economy (Service) or Garni Hotel.

Lien (The Right of) The legal right of one party to retain or sell the property of another as security for or payment of a lawful claim of charges.

Line Departments Hotel divisions that are in the "chain of command" and are directly responsible for revenues (such as front office and food/beverage) or for property operations (such as housekeeping and maintenance and engineering).

Line-Level Those employees whose jobs are considered entry level or non- supervisory. These are typically positions where the employee is paid an hourly (rather than salary) compensation. Examples include positions such as guest service agents, room attendants, and food and beverage servers.

Linen A generic term for the guest room sheets and pillowcases and tablecloths and napkins washed and dried in the laundry area.

Link A relationship between two Web sites. When Web site users select a link at one site, they are taken to another Web site address. An external link leads to a Web page other than the current one; an internal link leads elsewhere on the current page.

Link Strategy The identification and linking of complimentary sites (especially high-traffic sites) that improve the hotel’s SERP ranking in response to a keyword query.

Liquidity A measure of a firm’s ability to pay short-term obligations.

Litigation The process of suing someone for damages caused by a wrongful act.

Lobby Foodservices A term describing the food services offered by many limited-service hotels.

Lock-Out A room status term indicating that the room has been locked so that the guest cannot re-enter until he or she is cleared by a hotel official.

Log Book A journal in which important front office events and decisions are recorded for reference during subsequent shifts.

LOS Short for Length-of-Stay.

Lost Property Personal property that has been unintentionally placed somewhere and is then forgotten about by the rightful owner.

Lost and Found Procedures

All items found in a lodging property to be deposited and controlled by the housekeeping department.

Low Balling Developing forecasts that are unrealistically conservative (low) for the

express purpose of more easily achieving or exceeding them.

Lowest Rate Guarantee

A program that assures travelers the lowest available rate for a specific room type on a specific date will be found on the franchisor’s website.

Loyalty A deeply held commitment to re-buy or repatronize a preferred product or service consistently in the future. See CRM.

Loyalty Programs These programs are structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior — behavior which is potentially beneficial to the firm. Participants will be rewarded for their behavior in terms of points. These points can then be converted, for example into online gift vouchers.

LVPAR Life-time Value Per Available Room (Loyalty).

M M

Magnetic Strip Reader A device which reads data magnetically encoded and stored on the magnetic tape strip on the back of a credit card and transmits these data to a credit card verification service.

Magnetic Tape An external storage medium for a computer which is used much like a standard cassette tape.

Mail and Information Clerk

A once-common front office position, responsible for distributing mail and messages to guests and answering requests for information.

Mail, Message, and Key Rack

An array of numbered compartments used to maintain guestroom keys and to store messages and mail being held for guests.

Maintenance The activities required to keep a building and its contents in good repair.

Maître d’hôtel A maître d’hôtel generally supervises the waiting staff, welcoming guests and assigning them to tables, taking reservations, and ensuring that guests are satisfied. In large organizations such as hotels or cruise ships with multiple restaurants, the maître d'hôtel is often responsible for the overall dining experience including room service and buffet services, while headwaiters or supervisors are responsible for the specific restaurant or dining room they work in.

Management The process of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling, and evaluating human, financial, and physical resources for the purpose of achieving organizational goals.

Management Company An organization that operates a hotel(s) for a fee. Also some times called a "Contract Company."

Management Contract An agreement between a hotel's owners and a hotel management company under which, for a fee, the management company operates the hotel. Also sometimes known as a management agreement.

Manager’s Daily A summary of a hotel’s daily revenue generation that can include additional operating data as requested by the manager.

MAP short form of Modified American Plan

Margin The difference between a product's (or service's) selling price and the cost of production.

Market Code Guest types differentiated by sales source. Typical market codes include transient and group.

Market Segmentation Efforts to focus on a highly defined (smaller) group of travelers.

Market Share The percentage of the total market (typically in dollars spent) captured by a property.

Marketing Plan A calendar of specific activities designed to meet the hotel's sales goals.

Market Value The estimated worth of a hotel. Hotels may, of course, be purchased below, at, or above market value.

Master Folio A folio used to chart transactions on an account assigned to more than one person or guestroom, usually reserved for group accounts. A master folio collects charges not appropriately posted elsewhere.

Master Key A key which opens all guestroom doors which are not double-locked.

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

A written statement describing the potential hazards of; and best ways to handle, a chemical or toxic substance. An MSDS is provided by the manufacturer of the chemical or toxic substance to the buyer of the product and must be posted and made available in a place where it is easily accessible to those who will actually use the product.

M-Commerce Mobile Commerce. Refers to using mobile devices to conduct business, including buying and selling online, electronic funds transfer, business communications, and other activities associated with the buying and selling of goods and services online.

Mentor A senior employee of a hotel who provides advice and counsel to less experienced staff members about matters relating to the job, organization, and profession.

Merchant Model A system in which an intermediary obtains rooms inventory at a wholesale rate and then acts as a merchant by selling the rooms to buyers at retail rates.

Merchant Service Provider

An entity that, for a fee, manages payment card acceptance and funds collection for businesses (hotels). (MSP)

Merger Occurs when two organizations combine into one; acquisitions are the most common type of merger

MICE Short for Meetings/Incentive/Conference/Event.

Microcomputer The smallest type of computer available, which meets the data processing needs of many hospitality businesses. Also called personal computer.

Micro-Fitted Electronic Locking System

An electronic locking system which operates as individual units. Each door has its own microprocessor which contains a predetermined sequence of codes; a master console at the front desk stores code sequences for each door.

Mid-Range Service A modest but sufficient level of service which appeals to the largest segment of the travelling public. Mid-range property may offer uniformed service, airport limousine service, and food and beverage room service; a specialty restaurant, coffee shop, and lounge; and special rates for certain guests.

Minibar(s) Small, in-room refrigerated or unrefrigerated cabinets used to store beverages, snacks, and other items the hotel wishes to offer for sale to guests.

Minimum ADR Sales Point Formula

The lowest room rate that can be charged and still generate enough revenue to pay all rooms-related occupancy costs plus the cost of any distribution channel commissions and franchise-related fees and royalties paid to create the sale.

Minimum Length of Stay

A revenue management strategy that instructs reservationists to decline any room reservation request that does not equal or exceed the predetermined minimum number of nights allowed.

Minimum Wage The lowest amount of compensation that an employer may pay to an employee covered by the FLSA or applicable state law. Minimum wage provisions cover most hotel employees; however, exceptions can include youthful employees being paid a training wage for the first ninety days of employment and some tipped employees.

Mini-Suite A single room with a bed and sitting area. The sleeping area may be in

bedroom separate from the parlor or living room. Also called junior suite.

Minutes per Room The average number of minutes required to clean a guest room. Determined by the following computation: total number of minutes worked by room attendants/total number of guest rooms cleaned = minutes per room.

Mislaid Property Personal property that has been purposefully placed somewhere but is then forgotten about by the rightful owner.

Mission The unique purpose that sets a hotel apart from other hotels. A mission expresses the underlying philosophy that gives meaning and direction to the hotel’s actions, and addresses the interests of guests, management and employees.

MLOS Short for Minimum Length of Stay

MOD

The short form of Manager on Duty. The individual on the hotel property responsible for making any management decisions required during the period he or she is MOD.

Modified American Plan (MAP)

A billing arrangement under which the daily rate includes charges for the guestroom and two meals – typically breakfast and dinner. See also half-board or demi-pension.

Moments of Truth Any (and every) time that a guest has an opportunity to form an impression about the hotel. Moments of truth can be positive or negative.

Monopoly An industry in which one firm is the only significant provider of a good or service.

Moonlighter A person who holds a full-time job at one organization and a part-time job at another organization.

Mortgage A legal document that specifies an amount of money a lender will lend for the purchase of a real estate asset (hotel), as well as the terms for the loan's repayment.

Motel A lodging facility that caters primarily to guests arriving by automobile.

Motivation An inner drive that a person has to attain a goal.

MTD Short for Month-to-Date.

Multiple Occupancy Statistics

Occupancy ratios, indicating either a multiple occupancy percentage or the average number of guests per room sold, used to forecast food and beverage ratios, indicate clean linen requirements, and analyze average daily room rates.

N N

Negotiated Rate An agreement to provide a select group of travelers, subject to availability, rooms at and agreed on and discounted rate. The discounted rate is in effect for the term of the negotiated rate agreement.

Net ADR Yield Net ADR Yield is the percentage of the normal or standard room rate that is actually realized by a hotel after subtracting from the selling price the cost of fees and assessments associated with the specific distribution channel responsible for a room’s sale.

Net Cash Receipts The amounts of cash and checks in the cashier’s drawer, minus the amount of the initial cash bank.

Net Operating Income The income before interest and taxes found on a restaurant or hotel income statement. (NOI)

Net Operating Profit Net operating profit represents the profitability of a company after accounting for cost of goods sold and operating expenses. (NOP)

Net Rate The amount per room actually received by a hotel when selling its rooms through an intermediary. Also referred to as wholesale rate.

Networking The development of personal relationships for a business-related purpose. For example, a Chamber of Commerce-sponsored breakfast open to all community business leaders interested in improving local traffic conditions would be an excellent example of a networking opportunity for a member of a hotel's sales team.

Neutrality Agreement A hotel signing one of these agreements promises to stay neutral if the union decides to organize the property; the neutrality agreement means that the hotel does not have the right to contest union organization, and the employees do not have the right to vote in a secret ballot to determine whether they wish to be represented. (US)

Night Audit The process of reviewing for accuracy and completeness the accounting transactions from one day to conclude or "close" that day's sales information in preparation for posting the transactions of the next day.

Night Auditor An employee who checks the accuracy of front office accounting records and compiles a daily summary of hotel financial data as part of a night audit. In many hotels, the night auditor is actually an employee of the accounting division.

Night Shift A hotel work shift, generally 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

No-Arrival See CTA (Closed To Arrival).

Non-Affiliate Reservation Network

A central reservation system which connects independent (non-chain) properties.

Non-Automated A system of front office record keeping characterized by the exclusive use of handwritten forms. The elements of non-automated systems have determined the structure of many front office processes in even the most advanced automated facilities.

Non-Guaranteed Reservation

A reservation arrangement where the hotel agrees to hold a room for the guest until a stated reservation cancellation hour on the day of arrival. The property is not guaranteed payment in the case of no-shows.

Non-Guest Account An account created to track the financial transactions of a local business or agency with charge privileges at the hotel, a group sponsoring a meeting at the hotel, or a former guest whose account was not satisfactorily settled at the time of departure.

Non-Guest Folio A folio used to chart transactions on an account assigned to a non-guest business or agency with hotel charge purchase privileges.

Non-Guest Ledger See City Ledger.

No-Post Status A term used to indicate a guest who is not allowed to charge purchases to his or her room account.

Non-programmed Decisions

Decisions that occur infrequently and require creative and unique decision-making abilities.

No-Show A guest who makes a confirmed room reservation but fails to cancel the reservation or arrive at the hotel on the date of the confirmed reservation.

NOP Short for Net operating profit.

O O

Objective A measurable end which an organization must achieve in order to effectively carry out its mission.

Occupancy A commonly used measure of hotel performance; occupancy is calculated by dividing the number of rooms sold by the number of rooms available and multiplying by 100.

Occupancy Index Occupancy rate of our hotel/Occupancy Rate of our Hotel’s Comp Set

Occupancy Percentage An occupancy ratio which indicates the proportion of rooms sold to rooms

available for sale during a period of time.

Occupancy Rate The ratio of guest rooms sold (including comps) to guest rooms available for sale in a given time period. Always expressed as a percentage, the formula for occupancy rate is Total Rooms Sold/Total Rooms Available = Occupancy Percent (%).

Occupancy Ratio A measurement of success of the hotel in selling rooms. Typical occupancy ratios include average daily rate, average rate per guest, multiple occupancy statistics, and occupancy statistics.

Occupancy Report A report prepared each night by a front desk agent which lists rooms occupied that night and indicates those guests expected to check out the following day.

Occupancy Tax Money paid by a hotel to a local taxing authority. The room revenue generated by the hotel determines the amount paid. This tax is also known, in some areas, as the "bed" tax. For example, "In our city, the occupancy tax is 2 percent."

Occupied A room status term indicating that guest is currently registered to the room.

Offer An element in a legal contract that indicates what one entity is willing to do and what that entity expects in return.

Offshoring When a company outsources to a supplier in a foreign country.

Off-the-Shelf a.: Standardized, not customized computer software. b.: A term relating to a generic product (such as a training resource) that is developed for general industry use rather than specifically developed for a unique property. c.: Prepare for training.

Off-the-Street see as Walk-in.

Oligopoly An industry characterized by the existence of a few very large firms.

On-Change A room status term indicating that the guest has departed, but the room has not yet been cleaned and readied for sale.

On-Line A condition in which a piece of hardware is capable of interacting directly with the central processing unit.

On-the-Books Hotel jargon for cumulative “current” data. The term is used most often in reference to reservations data.

On-the-Job Training (OJT) Learning activities designed to enhance the skills of current employees. OJT programs are typically offered by management with the intent of improving guest service and employee performance at the hotel. There is generally no charge to the employee for the training.

O-O-O Short form of Out-of-Order.

Opaque Model A system in which the room buyer does not know the name of the hotel they have chosen until after they have committed to the purchase price of the room.

Open The status of a date for which a reservation system can still accept reservations.

Operating Costs Costs directly incurred to generate revenue that vary by the amount of revenue (business volume) and that are usually within control of the applicable manager.

Operations Primary activities of the value chain that refer to transforming inputs into the final product.

OPL Short for "On Premise Laundry."

Opt-Out To make e-mails stop by expressing the desire that unsolicited e-mails are unwelcome e-mails.

Organization Chart A schematic representation of the relationships between positions within an organization, showing where each position fits into the overall organization and illustrating the divisions of responsibility and lines of authority.

Organizational Culture The system of shared values of an organization ’s members.

Organizational Ethics A value system that has been widely adopted by members of an organization; often used interchangeably with the term organizational values.

Orientation The process of providing basic information about the hotel which must be known by all of its employees.

OSHA Short for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (US). A federal agency established in 1970 that is responsible for developing and enforcing regulations related to assuring safe and healthful working conditions.

OTA Short for Online Travel Agency

Other Revenue Revenue derived from the sale of hotel products and services that are not classified as rooms, food, or beverages.

Out-of-Balance A term used to describe the state when the totals of debit amounts and credit amounts for a set of accounts are not equal.

Out-of-Order A room status term indicating that the room cannot be assigned to a guest. A room may be out-of-order for maintenance, refurbishing, extensive cleaning, or other reasons.

Outsourcing Contracting with another firm to provide goods or services that were previously supplied from within the company; similar to subcontracting

Over A situation in which cashiers have more money in their cash drawer than the official sales records indicate. Thus, a cashier with 110 more in the cash drawer than the sales record indicates is said to be 110 "over."

Overage An imbalance that occurs when the total of cash and checks in a cash register drawer is greater than the initial bank plus net cash receipts.

Over and Short A discrepancy between the cash on hand and the amount that should be on hand.

Overbooking A situation in which the hotel has more guest reservations for rooms than it has rooms available to lodge those guests. Sometimes referred to as "oversold."

Overbuilt The condition that exists when there are too many hotel guest rooms available for the number of travelers wanting to rent them. See also proliferation.

Overflow Facility A property selected to receive central reservation requests after room availabilities in chain properties within a geographic region have been exhausted.

Overhead cost See indirect cost.

Overstay A guest who stays after his or her stated departure date.

Overtime The number of hours of work after which an employee must receive a premium pay rate. This premium rate is generally one and one-half times the basic hourly rate.

Owner/Manager Structure

In this form, the owner is the top manager, and the business is run as a sole proprietorship

Owner’s Equity What remains after subtracting what the business owes others (its liabilities) from what the business owns (its assets).

P P

Pace Report A document summarizing confirmed (group) sales made by the sales and

marketing department.

P&L Short for the profit and loss statement, also a synonym for the income and expense statement. The P&L records total hotel revenues and expenses for a specific time period.

Package A group of hospitality services (such as hotel rooms, meals and airfare) sold for one price. For example, a Valentine's Day getaway package to Las Vegas offered by a T.A. might include airfare, lodging, meals, and show tickets for two people at one inclusive price.

Package Plan Rate Special rate for a room as part of a combination of events or activities.

Paid-Out Cash disbursed by the hotel on behalf of a guest and charged to the guest account as a cash advance.

Par Level Inventory levels of recycled items are measured in par numbers. Mostly linen. Par means the standard number of inventoried item that must be on hand to support daily, routine housekeeping operations. One par is also referred to as a house setup.

Parent Company Hotel A property which is owned and operated by a multiple-unit company. Parent company hotels often carry the same name, and their managers report to a central or corporate headquarters. The parent company typically establishes standard operating procedures.

Patent Legal protection that prevents other companies from using a firm’s innovation.

Payroll Accounting Module

A back office computer application which processes such data as time and attendance records, pay distribution, and tax withholdings.

PBX (Short form of Private Branch Exchange) The system within the hotel used to process incoming, internal, and outgoing telephone calls. In other words: A hotel’s telephone switchboard equipment. Also, the telephone switchboard department or function.

Peak Night The night when the most guest rooms for a group are sold.

Penthouse Accommodations, usually suites, located on the top floor(s) of the hotel.

Per Key A term used to describe the cost of a hotel acquisition based on the number of rooms (keys) purchased. Its value comes in allowing comparison between hotels of unequal size (number of rooms).

Petty Cash A small amount of cash available on-site that is not co-mingled with cash banks for revenue centers and is used to make small, miscellaneous purchases.

Petty Cash Control A technique controlling petty cash disbursements by which a special small cash fund is used for minor cash payments and periodically reimbursed.

Phishing A play on the word "fishing" - is an attempt to steal clients’ password and private account info. Phishers can set up fake web sites that look like those of trusted companies like Yahoo!

PIA (Short form for Paid in Advance) A guest who pays his or her room charges in cash during registration. PIA guests are often denied in-house credit.

Pickup The actual number of rooms used by a client in a defined time period. Or - The proportion of previously reserved rooms that are ultimately occupied.

Pick-Up Error En error on a posting machine which occurs when the user enters an incorrect previous balance in the process of posting.

Pilferage Petty theft of small, less than full package (case) amounts from inventory.

PIP Short form of Product Improvement Plan. A document detailing the property upgrades and replacements that will be required if a hotel is to be accepted as one of a specific brand's franchised properties. Used, for example, in, "We

estimate the PIP on the property to be $4,000,000 if we decide to go with that brand." [Franchise]

Plant An outside person hired by a hotel to experience hotel services and report the findings to management.

PM Short form of Preventative Maintenance Program. A specific inspection and activities schedule designed to minimize maintenance-related costs and to prolong the life of equipment by preventing small problems before they become larger ones.

PM Checklist A tool developed to list all of the critical areas that should be inspected during a PM (Preventive Maintenance) review of a room, area, or piece of equipment.

PMS Short for "property management system." This term refers to the computerized system used by the hotel to manage its rooms revenue, room rates, room assignments, and reservations, as well as other selected guest service functions.

Point of Sale A computer system that contains its own input and output components and, perhaps, some memory capacity but without a central processing unit.

Point-of-Sale System A computer network which allows electronic cash registers at the hotel’s point of sale to communicate directly with a front office guest accounting module.

POM Short for "Property Operation and Maintenance." The term is taken from the Uniform System of Accounts for Hotels and refers to the segment of the income statement that details the costs of operating the E&M department.

Portals A gateway or entrance to a room or space. A Web portal is a Web site that offers a broad range of services, resources, and links for various interests or for a specified area of interest.

POS Short for Point-of-Sale.

POS Terminal A computer system containing its own input and output components and, perhaps, some memory capacity without a central processing unit.

Post To enter a guest's charges into the PMS, thus creating a permanent record of the sale, as in "Please post this meeting room charge to Mr. Walker's folio."

Posting Machine See Account Posting Machine.

P&P Manual Short for policies and procedures manual. A publication that provides an outline of how the specific duties of each job are to be performed.

Preferred Vendors Often provide products or services with special terms or lower prices, in exchange for long-term contracts.

Pre-Key Making an electronic key for a guest room prior to the actual arrival of the guest who will be assigned to that room.

Premium Brand Beverages

The highest-priced and highest-quality beverages generally available. Examples include Johnny Walker Black Scotch and Bombay Sapphire Gin; these brands are sometimes referred to as "Super Call" brands.

Prepaid Expenses Expenditures made for items prior to the accounting period in which the item's actual expense is incurred.

Prepayment Guarantee A type of reservation guarantee which requires a payment in full made before the day of arrival.

Pre-Registration A process by which sections of a registration card or its equivalent are completed for guests arriving with reservations. Room and rate assignment, creation of a guest folio, and other functions may also be part of preregistration activity.

Price Band The span from lowest to highest price in a range of prices.

Price Fence The specific requirements that describes who is and is not eligible for a special pricing offer. (Yield Management)

Price Management The strategies and tactics employed by revenue managers to best match rates or prices charged with prospective customers’ willingness to pay.

Prime Cost The sum of the product cost and labor cost required to produce a menu item.

Printer An output device of a computer system that produces hard-copy output on paper.

Probabilistic Modeling The application of statistical formulas to past events for the purpose of predicting the likelihood of future events.

Product/Service Differentiation

Attributes associated with a product or service that cause customers to prefer it over competing products or services.

Product Usage Report A report detailing the amount of an inventoried item used by a hotel in a specified time period (i.e., week, month, quarter, year).

Profitability Revenue-Expenses = Profit. The GM's assignment of specific revenues and expenses to a given department will, in great measure, dictate profit levels in that department.

Profitability Ratios A common measure of overall financial success; they provide a barometer for management with regard to how well strategies are working, and they may also provide warning of downward trends and thus the need for more-dramatic changes; external stakeholders pay critical.

Program A set of instructions that command a computer system to perform useful tasks.

Programmed Decisions Routine or repetitive decisions that can be made after considering policies, procedures, or rules.

Progressive Discipline A process of negative discipline in which repeated infractions result in an increasingly severe penalty.

Promotional Rate A special room rate offered to promote future business.

Property Direct A method of communicating reservation requests directly to a hotel, by telephone, mail, property-to-property link, telex, cable, or another method.

Property Management system (PMS)

A computer software package which supports a variety of applications related to front office and back office activities. See also Front Office Applications.

Proprietary Web site A web address whose content is 100 percent controlled by a hotel’s own management team.

ProPSF Short for Profit Per Square Foot. (Revenue Management)

Prospect An individual or group who, while not currently using the hotel, are considered potential clients with a good likelihood of using the hotel in the future.

Public Space Those areas within the hotel that can be freely accessed by guests and visitors. Examples include lobby areas, public rest rooms, corridors, and stairwells.

Pull Marketing Asks the target audience's permission to send marketing message or present message in such an attractive way to pull the audience towards it like Opt-in Marketing or Permission Marketing.

Pull-out Industry slang for an in-room sofa that converts to a bed.

Punitive Damages This monetary amount is assessed to punish liable parties and to serve as an example to the liable party as well as others not to commit the wrongful act in the future.

Push Marketing A collection of Internet marketing techniques that is used to present and send data to the online visitor.

Q Q

Quad A room assigned to four people, may have two or more beds.

Quality The degree of excellence of something as measured against other similar things.

Quality Assurance An approach to ensuring the consistent delivery of services.

Quality Inspection Scores

Sometimes called quality assurance (QA) scores, these scores are the result of annual (or more frequent) inspections conducted by a franchise company to ensure that franchisor-mandated standards are being met by the franchisee. In some cases, management companies or the property itself may establish internal inspection systems as well. In general, however, it is the franchise company's quality inspection score that is used as a measure of the effectiveness of the GM, the hotel's management team, and the owner's financial commitment to the property.

Quarter A three-month period. Often used to summarize accounting data. Used, for example; in, "What is our sales forecast for the first quarter of next year?"

Queen A room with queen-size bed; may be occupied by one or more people.

Queen Bed A bed approximately 60 inches by 80 inches (150x200 cm)

Questionnaire A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents.

Quick C/I or C/O A computerized system usually located in the hotel lobby, which allows the guest with credit cards to check-in while keeping-off the Front Desk.

Quick-service Restaurants

Eat-in or take-out operations with limited menus, low prices, and fast service; these restaurants are commonly called fast-food or fast-service restaurants; examples include McDonald ’s, Burger King, KFC, and Taco Bell.

R R

Rack Rate The price at which a hotel sells its rooms when no discounts of any kind are offered to the guest. Often shortened to "rack."

Rate Code A property-specific notation used by a hotel’s PMS to specify the price of a unique room product. Also known as a rate plan.

Rate Integrity (Parity) The degree to which a hotel’s room rates are comparable regardless of the distribution channel on which they are found.

Rate Resistance Refusal to make a reservation because the rate quoted is perceived to be too high.

Ratio Analysis The analysis of financial statements and operating results using ratios.

Read In reference to computers, to take data in for processing.

Real Estate Investment Trust

A public corporation that sells stock to raise money (capital) that is then used to purchase real estate, including hotels. (REIT)

Reasonable Care A legal concept identifying the amount of care a reasonably prudent person would exercise in a specific situation.

Recodable Locking System

A hotel guest room locking system designed such that when a guest inserts their "key" (typically an electromagnetic card) into the guest room lock for the first time, the lock is immediately recoded, canceling entry authorization for the previous guest's key and thus enhancing guest safety.

Recourse The right to demand assets as payment for a loan. Loans can be full recourse, limited recourse, or non-recourse.

Reengineering Reorganizing hotel departments or work sections within departments.

Reference Price The price perceived by consumers to be the normal price for a product or a service.

Referral Group A group of independent hotels which have banded together for the common good. Hotels within the group refer their guests to other affiliated properties.

Referral Site A Web site the searches for and reports information found on other Web sites. Also known as a scrapping site or meta search site.

Reflag To change a hotel from one franchise brand to another (see Conversion). Used, for "example”, in, "We can buy the property, reflag it, and reposition it in the upper-scale transient market."

Refurbishment A process that involves the major cleaning and redecoration of hotel areas.

Refusal Report See Turn-away Report.

Registration The procedure by which an incoming guest signifies his or her intent to stay at a property by completing and signing a registration card.

Registration Card (RegCard)

A document that provides details such as guest's name, arrival date, 'rate to be paid, departure date, and other information related to-the guest's stay.

Registration Record A collection of important guest information created by the front desk agent following the guest’s arrival. The registration record includes the guest’s name, address, telephone number, and company affiliation; method of payment; and date of departure.

REIT Short for Real Estate Investment Trust

Remote Printer A unit in the kitchen preparation area that receives and prints orders entered through a point-of-sale terminal located in the dining room, room service order taker's workstation, or other area.

Renovation The process of making repairs that brings a building to a good condition.

Repeat Business Revenues generated from guests returning to a commercial operation such as a hotel as a result of positive experiences on previous visits.

Replace as Needed A parts or equipment replacement plan that delays installing a new, substitute part until the original part fails or is in near failure. For example, most chief engineers would use a "replace as needed" plan for the maintenance of refrigeration compressors.

Reputation An economic asset that signals observers about the attractiveness of a company’s offerings based on past performance.

Reservation An agreement between the hotel and a guest that the hotel will hold a specific type of room for a particular date and lengths of stay.

Reservation Confirmation

An oral or written verification of the information contained in a reservation record. See also Letter of Confirmation.

Reservation Confirmation Number

A code which provides a unique reference to a reservation record and assures the guest that the reservation record exists.

Reservation File A computer-based collection of reservation records.

Reservation Inquiry A formulation of a reservation request which collects the proposed date of arrival, date of departure, type and number of rooms, room rate code, and number of persons in party.

Reservation Racks Racks which store lists of anticipated arrivals, In and advance reservation rack, reservation rack slips are arranged by the guests’ scheduled dates of arrival and, within each day’s grouping, alphabetically by the guests’ or groups’ names. A current reservation rack is portable subset of the advance reservation rack used by front desk agents during registration. (Non-computerized administration)

Reservation Rack Slip A slip used in a reservation rack.

Reservation Record A collection of data that identifies a guest and his or her anticipated occupancy needs before arrival at the property, and enables the hotel to personalize guest service and appropriately schedule needed staff.

Reservation Agent An employee, either in the front office or in a separate department within the rooms division, who is responsible for all aspects of reservations processing.

Reservations Control Book

A binder with tally page for each day of the year, used in non-computerized hotels to track reservations.

Reservations History A collection of statistics on all aspects of the reservations process, including the number of guests, occupied rooms, reservations by source, no-shows, walk-ins, overstays, and understays.

Reservations Module A front office computer application which enables a hotel to rapidly process room requests and generate timely and accurate rooms, revenue, and forecasting reports.

Reservation Status An indicator of a room’s long-term availability for assignment.

Reservations Wall Chart

A specially designed chart which displays hotel rooms vertically and days of the month horizontally. When accommodations are available, the reservations agent can assign a specific room by taping over the line that represents a room. Also called reservations density chart.

Reservation Transaction Report

A summary of daily reservations activity in items of record creation, modification, and cancellation.

Resident Manager A manager in a large hotel who is directly responsible to the GM for the property’s operating departments that include F&B, purchasing, engineering and maintenance, front office and security.

Residential Hotel A hotel whose guest quarters generally include a sitting room, bedroom, and kitchenette for permanent or semi permanent guests. Many other types of hotels also offer residential accommodations, and residential hotels may offer short-term accommodations.

Resort Hotel A hotel which provides scenery and activities unavailable at most other properties, and whose guests are typically vacationers. Resort hotels are planned destination of the guest.

Resources Something of value to the organization. Typical resources include money, labor, time, equipment, food/beverage products, supplies, and energy.

Restoration Returning a hotel to its original (or better than original) condition.

Retained Earnings Profits earned but not paid (disbursed) to the business owners.

Retention (Employee) The use of organizational and supervisory policies and procedures designed to encourage employees to remain with the property rather than to leave it.

Retrenchment A turnaround strategy that involves tactics such as reducing the workforce, closing unprofitable plants, outsourcing unprofitable activities, implementing tighter cost or quality controls, or implementing new policies that emphasize quality or efficiency.

Revenue Money the hotel collects from guests for the use of rooms or from the purchase of hotel goods and services.

Revenue Center A hotel department that generates revenue. Two examples are the front office and food and beverage departments.

Revenue Forecast Report

A projection of future revenue calculated by multiplying predicted occupancies by current room rates.

Revenue Management The application of disciplined tactics that predict buyer response to prices, optimize product availability, and yield the greatest business income.

Revenue Manager The individual or team responsible for ensuring that a company’s prices match a customer’s willingness to pay. These techniques are always

customer-needs driven, not company-needs driven.

Revenue Optimization The application of disciplined tactics that predict buyer response to prices, optimize product availability, and yield the greatest business profits.

Revenue Per Occupied Room

Room-related occupation costs; those rooms-related costs incurred directly as a result of selling a guest room. Examples include labor costs, room supplies, and room amenities. Also referred to as room-related occupancy cost, occupied room cost, or cost per occupied room (CPOR).

RevPAC Revenue Per Available Customer.

RevPAR Short for "Revenue Per Available Room," the average sales revenue generated by each guest room during a given time period. The formula for RevPar is Occupancy % (x)ADR = RevPAR.

RevPAR Index RevPAR of our Hotel/RevPAR of the competitive set.

RevPASH Short for Revenue per Available Seat Hours. It is the revenue generated during a specified time period divided by the number of seat hours available during that period. (F&B)

RevPASM Short for Revenue Per Available Seat Mile (Airline)

RevPAT Short for Revenue Per Available Treatments (Spa)

RevPATI Short for Revenue Per Available Time-based Inventory Unit.

RevPATT Short for Revenue Per Available Tee Time (Golf)

RevPOR Short for Revenue Per Occupied Room

RevPSF Short for Revenue Per Square Foot. An operation’s total annual revenue divided by the number of square feet occupied by the operation. Also referred to as sales per square foot. RPSF

Reward A positive stimulus that can be presented in the process of reinforcing a repeat-buying behavior.

RFP Short for "Request for Proposal." An RFP is a request from a potential client for the hotel to submit its pricing offer (proposal) to the client in writing. An RFP may include questions about the hotel's features and services in addition to the prices it is offering.

Rich Media Refers to any online ad that allows for transactions, streaming media, and interactive communication directly in the ad space without leaving the homepage where the ad is being placed. Rich media marketing tries to take advantage of one of the most powerful features of the Internet interactivity.

ROGR Catering Revenue Per Occupied Group Room

ROH Short for Run-of-the House Rate (Corporate Clients)

ROI Short for "return on investment." The percentage rate of return achieved on the money invested in a hotel property.

ROL Short for Return On Loyalty

Role-model The act of behaving in a manner that is consistent with the behavior that is desired of others.

Role-play A training activity that allows trainees to practice a skill by interacting with each other in simulated roles (such as pretending that one trainee is a guest and the other is an employee interacting with the guest).

Room Assignment The identification and allocation to a guest of an available room in a specific room category, finalized as part of the registration process.

Room Attendant Cart A wheeled cart that contains all of the items needed to properly and safely clean and restock a guest room.

Room Attendants The individual(s) responsible for cleaning guest rooms. Sometimes referred to as "housekeepers" or GRAs (guest room attendants)

Room Code A property-specific, shorten description used to identify a specific room product in a hotel.

Rooming The procedures involved in greeting a guest, assigning a room, and escorting or directing the guest to the room

Rooming List A list or roster of guests and their lodging needs presented to a hotel by a group prior to a meeting.

Room Mix The ratio of room types contained in a hotel. For example, the number of double-bedded rooms compared with king-bedded rooms, the number of smoking permitted rooms to no smoking permitted rooms, and the number of suites compared with standard rooms.

Room Night One room occupied for one night.

Room Rack An array of metal file pockets designed to hold room rack slips arranged by room number. The room rack summarizes the current status of all room in the hotel. (Non-computerized administration).

Room Rack Slip A form which contains the guest’s name and other relevant information, completed during the registration process and placed in the room rack slot corresponding to the room number assigned to the guest.

Room Rate The price a hotel charges for overnight accommodation.

Room Rate Economics The process by which revenue managers price rooms while considering how consumers may react to the pricing strategies that are used.

Room Rate Change The range of values between limits dictated by the cost structure of the hotel.

Room Revenue and Count Report

A report which shows the rack rate for each room and the actual rate at which the room was sold, providing an opportunity to analyze room revenues.

Rooms Division The division of a hotel which includes the front office, reservations, telephone switchboard, housekeeping, and uniformed service departments and functions. The rooms division plays an essential role in providing the services guests expect during a hotel stay.

Rooms Division Manager

An individual in a hotel responsible for the management of both the front office and the housekeeping departments. (This position does not exist in every hotel.)

Rooms Ledger See Guest Ledger.

Rooms Management Module

A front office computer application which maintains current information on the status of rooms, assists in the assignment of rooms during registration, and helps coordinate guest services.

Room Service Food and beverage services delivered to a guest's room.

Room Status The up-to-date (actual) condition (occupied, vacant, dirty, etc.) of the hotel's individual guest rooms.

Room Status Discrepancy

A situation in which the housekeeping department’s description of a room’s status differs from the room status information which guides front desk employees in assignment rooms to guests.

Room Status Report A report which allows front desk agents tom identify vacant and ready rooms, typically prepared as part of the night audit.

Room Type The term used to designate specific configurations of guest rooms. For example, smoking versus nonsmoking, king bed versus double beds, or suite versus regular sleeping room. Commonly abbreviated (i.e., K for King, NS for Nonsmoking, etc.), the hotel's holding of the proper room type is often as important to guests as whether the hotel, in fact, has a room for them.

Room Variance Report A report listing any discrepancies between front desk and housekeeping room statuses, as well as rooms which have not been sold at rack rates.

Run-of-the-House Rate

A special group rate generally midpoint of the rack rate with a single, flat price applying to any room, suites excepted, on a best available basis (rack rates on the best available basis) ROH

Ryokan Traditional Japanese inn.

S S

S’s (Long list of tourists) S’s = Sun, sea, sand, surf, snow and sex.

Safety Protection of an individual's physical well-being and health.

Safety and Security Committee

An interdepartmental task force consisting of hotel managers, supervisors and hourly employees charged with the responsibility of monitoring and refining a hotel's safety and security efforts.

Salary Pay calculated at a weekly, monthly, or annual rate rather than at an hourly rate.

Sales and Marketing Committee

The group of individuals responsible for coordinating the hotel's sales and marketing effort.

Sales Call A meeting arranged for the purpose of selling the hotel's products and services.

Sales Mix Ratio The sales mix ratio is the acceptable percentage of transient (individual) business in relation to group business.

Salesman-type Culture These firms are excellent marketers who create successful brand names and distribution channels and pursue aggressive advertising and innovative packaging.

Salon European designation for parlor.

SBA Short for the United States Small Business Administration. Established in 1953, the SBA provides financial, technical and management assistance to help Americans start, run, and expand their businesses. The SBA is the nation's largest single financial backer of small businesses.

S Corporation Formerly called the Subchapter S corporation, this corporate form allows tax advantages in the United States that are similar to those associated with a partnership (US).

Schedule A departmental income statement referenced on the hotel’s statement of income.

Search Engine An Internet searching tool that uses categories and classifications or spidering and crawling techniques to find the information the user is looking for.

Search Engine Result Page

The listing of Web pages returned by a search engine in response to a keyword query (SERP)

Seasonal Hotel A hotel whose revenue and expenditures vary greatly depending on the time (season) of the year the hotel is operating. Examples include hotels near ski resorts, beaches, theme parks, some tourist areas, sporting venues, and the like.

Second-Party Check A check made out to the person presenting the check.

Second Tier Management companies that operate hotels for owners who have entered into an agreement to use one of a franchisor's flags as the hotel brand. American General Hospitality, Summit Hotel Management, and Winegardner and Hammons, Inc. are examples.

Security Protection of an individual or business's property or assets.

Security Monitor A closed-circuit television monitor which allows front office employees to monitor security and safety throughout the hotel from central location.

Segmentation A subgroup of people or organizations that share characteristics in common.

Selection The process of evaluating job applicants to determine those more qualified (or potentially qualified) for vacant positions.

Self Check-In Process A procedure that requires the guest to insert a credit card with a magnetic stripe containing personal and financial data into a self-check-in terminal and answer a few simple questions concerning the guest stay.

Self Check-In/ Check-out Terminal

A piece of computer hardware typically located in the lobby of a fully automated hotel. Some resemble automated bank teller machines, while others are unique in design and may poses both video and audio capability.

Self Check-Out A computerized system usually located in the hotel lobby, which allows the guest to review his or her folio and settle the account to the credit card used at check-in.

Self Registration A computerized system which automatically registers a guest and dispenses a key, based on the guest reservation and credit card information. See also Self C/I process.

Sell-out A situation in which all rooms are sold or oversold. A hotel, area, or entire city may, if demand is strong enough, sell-out. bb.: A period of time in which management attempts to maximize ADR.

Sell Up Convince the arriving guest to take a higher priced room than was planned or reserved

Semi-Automated A system of front office record keeping characterized by the use of both handwritten and machine produced forms and electro-mechanical equipment such as posting machines.

Semi-Permanent Folio See Non-Guest Folio.

SEO Short for Search Engine Optimization.

SERP Short for Search Engine Result Page.

Service The process of moving food and beverage products from service staff to the guests.

Service Bureau A data-processing business which enables properties to enjoy the benefits of automation without having to support in-house computer systems.

Service Charges A mandatory amount added to a guest's bill for services performed by a hotel staff member(s).

Servicemark The same as a trademark but distinguishes services versus products.

Service Recovery A sequence of steps used by hotel staff members to address guest complaints and problems in a manner that yields a “win-win” situation for both the guest and the property.

Serving The process of moving food and beverage products from production personnel (cooks and bartenders) to food and beverage servers who will serve them to guests.

Settlement (Account) The collection of a payment for an outstanding account balance. Settlement may involve the guest paying cash or charging the account balance to a valid payment card or another hotel-approved account.

Short A situation in which cashiers have less money in their cash drawer than the official sales records indicate. Thus, a cashier with S10 less in the cash drawer than the sales record indicates is said to be $10 "short."

Shortage An imbalance that occurs when the total of cash and checks in a cash register drawer is less than the initial bank plus net cash receipts.

Shoulder Period or Season

The time period just prior to, or just after, a peak demand period. In a restaurant, the period just before or just after lunch is a shoulder period. In a resort, the weeks just before and just after the resort’s peak season are shoulder periods.

Sign-In/Sign-Out Program

An arrangement in which individuals taking responsibility for hotel assets (such as hand tools, power equipment, or keys to secured areas) must document their responsibility by placing their signature as well as the date and time on a form developed to identify who last had possession of; and thus responsibility for, the asset.

Single A room assigned to one person; may have one or more beds.

Single Bed A bed approximately 36 inches by 75 inches (90-100X200 cm)

Site Tour or Site Inspection

A physical trip (tour) around the hotel, usually hosted by a sales and marketing staff member, for the purpose of introducing potential clients and other interested parties to the hotel's features.

Six Sigma A philosophy based on minimizing the number of defects found in a manufacturing operation or service function

Skip The term used to refer to a hotel guest who vacates a guest room without paying the bill incurred for its rental and for other charges made to the room. See also skipper.

Skipper A room status term indicating that the guest has left the hotel without making arrangements to settle his or her account.

Sleeper A room status term indicating that the guest has settled his or her account and left the hotel, but the front office staff has failed to properly update the room’s status. The room is vacant, but believed to be occupied.

Sleep-Out A room status term indicating that the guest is registered to the room, but the bed has not been used.

Slide The transcription error caused by a misplaced decimal, as when 362 is written 3620

Smart Card A credit card or other card containing a microprocessor capable of interacting with PMSs or other computer configurations

SMERF Short for social, military, educational, religious, or fraternal organizations as in, "We should assign Vernon to work the SMERF market next year because he has extensive contacts with these groups."

Social Responsibility The duty of an organization, defined in terms of its economic, legal, and moral obligations, as well as discretionary actions that might be considered attractive from a societal perspective.

SOF Short for “Signature on File”; refers to a signature obtained from a guest at check-in.

Soft Copy Output on a display screen which cannot be handled by the operator or removed from the computer.

Software A set of programs that controls the operation of the hardware components of a computer system. Software tells the computer what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.

Solvency The ability of a hotel to pay its debts as they come due.

Source of Business Literally ‘Who are our customers?’ or ‘Where are our customers coming from?’ The assessment and evaluation of different sources of business (corporate, different distribution channels, etc.) are important for improved decision making

Source Reduction The effort by product manufactures to design and ship products so as to minimize waste resulting from the product's shipping and delivery to a hotel.

SPALT Short for Special Attention List. See also VIP list.

Spam Sending mass e-mails to people who have not indicated interest in receiving e-mails from you.

Span of Control The number of people one supervisor can effectively manage.

Special Event Rate An above–rack room rate typically implemented during single day or multiday periods of extremely high demand for rooms.

Split Folio An arrangement whereby a guest’s charges are separated into two or more folios.

Split Rate A room rate that changes during a guest’s stay based upon room demand.

Spread Rate Assignment of group members or conventioneers using the standard rate distribution, although prices might be less than rack rates.

Staff Departments Hotel divisions that provide technical, supportive assistance to line departments.

Stakeholders Groups or individuals who can significantly affect or are significantly affected by an organization’s activities.

Standard of Care The level of performance that is determined to be reasonably acceptable by the industry to fulfill a duty of care.

STAR Report Short for the Smith Travel Accommodations Report. Produced by Smith Travel Research, this report is used to compare a hotel's sales results to those of its selected competitors. The reports are generated for occupancy and average room rate figures on a daily as well as weekly, monthly, and annual basis.

Statement of Cash-Flows

A projection of income from income-generating areas of the hotel.

Statement of Income A financial statement which provides important information about the results of hotel operations for a given period of time.

Stay Control See Stay Restrictions

Stay-over A guest that is not scheduled to check out of the hotel on the day his or her room status is assessed. That is, the guest will be staying at least one more day.

Stay Restrictions Duration rules and limitations related to guests’ arrival dates, departure dates and minimum stay lengths. Also known as stay controls.

Strategy A method or a plan developed to achieve a long-range goal.

Strategic Leadership Generally refers to leadership behaviors associated with creating organizational vision, establishing core values, developing strategies and a management structure, fostering organizational learning, and serving as a steward for the firm.

Strategic Management A process through which organizations analyze and learn from their internal and external environments, establish strategic direction, create strategies that are intended to move the organization in that direction, and implement those strategies, all in an effort to satisfy key stakeholders.

Strategic Pricing The application of data and insight to effectively match prices charged with buyer’s perceptions of value.

Studio A room with a studio bed – a couch which can be converted into a bed; may also have an additional bed.

Subcontracting Acquiring goods and services that used to be produced in-house from external companies.

Suite While there is no universally agreed-upon definition, in most cases this term refers to a guest room consisting of at least two physically separated rooms or, at the very least, a hotel room that is extra large when compared with the hotel's standard guest room.

Suite Hotel A hotel whose guestrooms have separate bedroom and living room or parlor areas, and perhaps a kitchenette.

Supplemental A detailed report of all non-guest accounts that indicates each charge

Transcript transaction that affected a non-gust account that day, used as a worksheet to detect posting errors.

Supply The total amount of a good or service available for sale.

Support Center An operating division or department which does not generate direct revenue, but plays a supporting role to the hotel’s revenue centers. Support centers include the housekeeping, accounting, engineering and maintenance, and personnel functions.

Surcharge Rates Telephone rates for adding service charges for out-of-state long-distance telephone service.

Sustainability The idea of providing for current needs without sacrificing the needs of future generations.

Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Exists when a firm enjoys a long-lasting business advantage compared to rival firms.

Switchboard Operator An employee. In either the front office or a separate telephone department within the rooms division, who handles calls coming into the hotel and takes and distributes messages for guests.

Synergy Occurs when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

System Update A fully automated audit routine which accomplishes many of the same functions as a non-computerized night audit routine and more. Daily system updates enable file reorganization, system maintenance, and report production, and provide an end-of-day time frame.

System-wide The term used to describe all hotels within a given brand. Used for example, in: "Last year, the systemwide ADR for the brand was $115.20, with an occupancy rate of 63.7%."

T T

T-account A two-column account recording format (resembling the letter T) in which charges are posted to the left side and payments to the right side.

Tacit Knowledge Knowledge that is difficult to articulate in a way that is meaningful and complete.

Tactic An action or method used to attain a short-term objective.

Tangible Resources Organizational assets that can be seen, touched, and/or quantified, such as plants, money, or products.

T-Commerce T-commerce denotes television commerce. T-commerce to become the mainstay of business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce, however, anything to do with tablets is m-commerce (mobile commerce).

T&E Card Short for Travel and Entertainment card; a payment system by which the card issuer collects full payment from the card users each month. The card companies do not typically assess interest charges to consumers. Instead, they rely on fees collected from merchants accepting the cards.

Team A group of individuals who place the goals of the group above their own.

Technology Human knowledge about products and services and the way they are made and delivered.

Telephone Operator The person who handles incoming and outgoing telephone calls, locates registered guests and management staff, deals with emergency communication.

Telewriter A device which transmits handwritten messages using a specially designed writing surface.

Telex An international communication network often used to communicate reservation requests. Telex communication is faster than the postal service and more reliable than the telephone since the hotel receives a written

message. (Facsimile= telefax replaced telex rapidly.)

Tenant (Hotel) A person who rents a hotel guest room for an extended time period with the intent of establishing a permanent residency.

Terry A generic term for the bath towels, hand towels, and washcloths washed and dried in the laundry area.

Terminal An input/output device of a computer system composed of a keyboard and a display screen or printer.

Test Calls Calls made to a toll-free number or other reservation system to verify the accuracy of information about a specific hotel and/or about the quality of selling done by the reservation center's staff.

Third-Party Check A check made out to someone who has been signed the check over the person presenting the check.

Third-Party Liability A legal concept that holds the second party (the hotel serving alcohol) responsible for acts caused by the first party (the drinker), if the drinker subsequently causes harm to a third party (the victim of an accident).

Time-Share Hotel A group of condominium units whose owners associate and hire a management company to operate their units as a hotel. The condominium units normally contain bedrooms, living room, dining area, and kitchen.

Time Stamp A device to record the current time and date on folios, mail, and other front office paperwork.

Top-Down Selling Method

A selling approach that seeks to sell an entity’s highest priced items prior to the sale of its lower priced items.

Top-Management Team (TMT)

Typically a heterogeneous group of three to ten top executives selected by the CEO; each member brings a unique set of skills and a unique perspective.

Total Replacement A parts or equipment replacement plan that involves installing new or substitute parts based on a predetermined schedule. For example, most chief engineers would use a "total replacement" approach to the maintenance of light bulbs in high-rise exterior highway signs.

Tour Group A group of people who have had their accommodations, transportation, and related activities arranged for them.

Tourism Clusters Geographic concentrations of competing, complementary, and interdependent firms that work together to provide the tourism experience.

Tourism Industry All businesses that cater to the needs of the traveling public.

Tower Concept See Executive Floor.

Trace System A methodical process used to record what has been done in the past and what must be done in the future to maximize sales effectiveness. An effective trace system includes a "contact management" component that allows records to be kept for each individual client (contact).

Track Code Guest types differentiated by traveler demographics.

Traditional Approach to Strategic Management

Analysis of the internal and external environments of the organization to arrive at organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), which form the basis for developing effective missions, goals, and strategies.

Training Objective A description of a task which a trainee will be expected to demonstrate at the end of a training session.

Transaction The exchange of merchandise, property, or services for cash or a promise to pay.

Transaction Costs The resources used to create and enforce a contract.

Transactional Accounting system

An accounting system in which the occurrence of transaction initiates activity.

Transactional Documentation

Paperwork which identifies the nature and amount of a transaction, and is the basis for data input to a front office accounting system.

Transfer Voucher A voucher used to support a reduction in balance on one folio and an equal increase in balance on another. Transfer vouchers are used for transfers between guest accounts and for transfers from guest accounts to non-guest accounts when they are settled by the use of credit cards.

Transient Guests that are neither part of a group booking or tour group. Transient guests can be further subdivided by traveler demographic to gain more detailed information about the type of guest staying in the property.

Transient Hotel See Commercial Hotel.

Transient Ledger See Guest Ledger.

Transient Sales Rooms and services sold primarily through the efforts of the front office and its staff.

Transposition A transcription error caused by reordering the sequence of digits, as when 389 written as 398

Travel Agent A hospitality professional that assists clients in planning travel. Also known as TA.

Travel Agent Guarantee

A type of reservation guarantee under which the hotel generally bills the travel agency after a guaranteed reservation has been classified a no-show.

Travel and Tourism Industry

A variety of interrelated businesses that provide services to travelers; the tourism industry includes a broad range of businesses such as airlines, bars, cruise lines, car rental firms, casinos, entertainment firms, hotels, restaurants, travel agents, timeshares, tour operators, and recreational enterprises

Traveler’s Check A prepaid check sold by banks and other financial institutions which is considered equivalent to cash.

Travel Wholesaler A large-volume travel industry intermediary who sells to other, smaller-volume travel intermediaries.

Tray Service The fee charged American plan guests for room service.

Trends Usually capture long-term changes or movements that are substantial to the society and last.

Trend Line The documentation (usually displayed on a graph or chart) of changes in data values. Trend lines may show increases, decreases, or no change in comparative data values.

Trespass Unlawful entry into or possession of another party’s property.

TrevPAR Short for Total RevPAR. The average rooms and non-rooms revenue generated by each available guest room during a specific period of time.

Trial Balance A first effort to determine whether a set of debits was posted with a corresponding and equal set of credit postings. (Night Audit)

Tricolumned Statement An income statement that lists (1) actual hotel operating results from a specific time period, as well as (2) budgeted operating estimates for the same time period, and, finally (3) the actual operating results from the prior year's same time period.

Triple A room assigned to three people, may have two or more beds.

Tourism Clusters Geographic concentrations of competing, complementary, and interdependent firms that work together to provide the tourism experience.

Turnaround Strategies Sometimes called retrenchment; can involve workforce reductions, selling

assets to reduce debt, outsourcing unprofitable activities, implementation of tighter cost or quality controls, or new policies that emphasize quality or efficiency; turnaround can occur at the corporate level of a company or on a property-by-property basis.

Turnaround Time The time which elapses between data input and information output in the data processing cycle.

Turn-Away Report A report which tracks the number of guests refused because rooms were not available as requested. Also called a refusal report.

Turn-Downs An evening service rendered by the housekeeping department, which replaces soiled bathroom linen and prepares the bed for use.

Turnover Rate A measure of the proportion of a workforce that is replaced during a designated time period (i.e., month, quarter, year). Number of employees separated/Number of employees in the workforce = Employee turnover rate.

Turn(table) The number of times a table (or seat) is used during the same dining period.

Twin A room with two twin beds; may be occupied by one or more people.

Twin Bed A bed approximately 39 inches by 75 inches (90/100x190/200).

Twin-Double See Double-double.

Two-Tiered Price A pricing strategy in which the buyer must pay a price for the ability to make additional purchases.

U U

Understay A guest who checks out before his or her stated departure date.

Unemployment Claim A claim made by an unemployed worker to the appropriate state agency asserting that the worker is eligible for unemployment benefits.

Unemployment Insurance

Funds provided by employers to make available temporary financial benefits to employees who have lost their jobs.

Unemployment Rate The number usually expressed as a percentage, of employable persons who are out of work and looking for jobs.

Uniformed Service A department within the rooms division including parking attendants, door attendants, porters, limousine drivers, and bell persons.

Uniform System of Accounts for Hotels

These standardized industry accounting systems provide many supplementary operating statements covering budgeting and forecasting; the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) and the Uniform System of Accounts for Restaurants (USAR) are designed with the special needs of the industry in mind and permit comparisons with industry standards.

Unity of Command Each employee should report to/be accountable to only one boss for a specific activity.

Universal Process of Management

The concept that, at their most basic level, the principles of planning, organizing, coordinating, staffing, controlling, and evaluating are the same (or similar) in any type of business or organization.

Upgrade Move a reservation or registered guest to a better accommodation or class of service.

Upselling Tactics used to increase the hotel's average daily rate (ADR) by encouraging guests to rent higher-priced rooms with better or more amenities (view, complimentary breakfast and newspaper, increased square footage, etc.) than those provided with lower-priced rooms.

Upside Potential The possibility that, with the proper investment and management, a hotel will yield significant increases in real estate value and/or operational profitability.

USALI Short for Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry. A standard

set of accounting procedures used to record a hotel’s financial transactions and condition.

Utilitarian Perspective The most appropriate actions generate the greatest benefits for the largest number of people.

V V

Vacancy Occupancy of less than a full house so rooms are available for sale.

Vacant and Ready A room status term indicating that the room has been cleaned and inspected, and is ready for an arriving guest.

Valet Originally a term used to identify an individual who cared for the clothes of wealthy travelers; bb.: its most common usage now is in reference to those individuals responsible for parking guest vehicles.

Value Chain A representation of organizational processes, divided into primary and support activities that create value for the customer.

Venture Capitalists Individuals or groups of investors that seek out and provide capital to entrepreneurs.

Vertical Communication

Communication between individuals that flows up and down throughout the organization.

VIP Guests Short for Very Important Person.VIP status is granted to persons who expect special treatment, or celebrities or officials who need to spend minimal time checking in.

VIP List A list of VIP clients prepared on daily basis.

Viral Marketing Refers to a process in which consumers voluntarily spread a message about a company, a product, or a service based on their own experience. It is the Internet version of word-of-mouth marketing.

Vision Expresses what the organization wants to be in the future

Vision Statement A forward-looking statement of what a firm wants to be in the future; an ideal and unique picture of the future.

Visionary Leadership Pertains to envisioning what the organization should be like in the future, communicating the vision, and empowering followers to enact.

Voucher A document detailing a transaction to be posted to a front office account, used to communicate information from a point of sale to the front office. Common vouchers include cash, charge, transfer, allowance, and paid-out vouchers. Also, a form provided by travel agent to their clients as a receipt for advance registration payments. See also Credit Card Voucher

Voucher Rack A container storing vouchers for future reference and verification during the night audit.

W W

Wage Pay calculated on an hourly basis.

Wake-up Device A specially designed clock which allows multiple alarm settings to remind front desk agents or telephone operators to place wake-up calls.

Walk To turn away guest due to lack of rooms.

Walked A situation in which a guest with a reservation is relocated from the reserved hotel to another hotel because no room was available at the reserved hotel. Or to relocate a guest with a confirmed reservation at a hotel to an alternative property.

Walk- In A guest seeking a room who arrives at the hotel without an advance reservation.

Walk-through A thorough examination of the property by a hotel executive, franchise

inspector, prospective buyer, etc.

Warm Body Syndrome An often-used but ineffective selection technique that involves hiring (almost) anyone who applies without regard to qualifications for the vacant position.

WATS Wide Area Telephone Service, long distance telephone lines provided at special rates to large users.

Whistle-Blower An employee or manager who reveals wrongdoing; an attempt to force the organization to cease a behavior that society finds unacceptable or to incorporate a practice that is in keeping with a new social value, if value changes in society are not voluntarily incorporated into a firm.

Wi-Fi Short for Wireless Fidelity. An Internet access technology that does not utilize a building’s wiring system when providing users Internet access.

Wi-Fi Certified (Wireless Fidelity Certified) Refers to any products tested and approved as “Wi-Fi Certified” by the Wi-Fi Alliance and certified as interoperable with each other.

Window A clause in a franchisee agreement that grants both the franchisor and the franchisee the right, with proper notification, to terminate the agreement.

Word-of-Mouth Advertising

Informal conversations between persons as they "discuss" their positive or negative experiences at a hotel.

Work Order A form used to initiate and document a request for maintenance.

World-Class Service A level of service which stresses the personal attention given to guests. Hotels offering world-class service provide upscale restaurants and lounges, exquisite décor, concierge service, opulent rooms, and abundant amenities.

Write In reference to computers, to send processed data out as information.

X Report The term commonly used to indicate the total revenue generated by a revenue-producing department during one part of a specific time period. (NA)

Yield Management Demand forecasting systems designed to maximize revenue by holding rates high during times of high guest room demand and by decreasing room rates during times of lower guest room demand.

YTD Short for "year to date." Used when comparing performance from the beginning of the year up through, and including, the present period.

Z Report The term commonly used to indicate the total revenues generated during an entire time period. Producing a Z report includes re-setting the continuous total feature of a POS or other electronic register system to “zero” to begin recording the next period’s revenues. (NA)

Zero Defects A goal of no guest-related complaints that is established when guest service processes are implemented.

Zero Out To settle in full the balance of a folio account as the guest checks out.

Zero Tolerance The total absence of behavior that is objectionable from the perspectives of discrimination or harassment. This is done through the issuing of appropriate policies, the conduct of applicable workshops, the development of procedures for employees alleging discrimination or harassment to obtain relief and written protocols for reporting, investigating and resolving incidences and grievances.