GROUP RESERVATIONS

• Group reservations, whether of tourist groups or corporate groups, are often very attractive because they represent ‘volume’ business for the hotel.
• A sizeable number of rooms may be booked, increasing occupancy.
• Groups are often booked in well in advance, which helps the hotel manage its occupancy, and gives it a measure of security.
• Groups may be booked on the same flat room rate which may increase the average room rate.
• Groups tend to be booked in and paid for in single transactions conducted by the tour organiser, operator or agent (rather than requiring individual transactions for each member of the group), which cuts down on administrative time, effort and cost.
• Groups will tend to have uniform arrangements: the hotel can anticipate their arrival, departure and having meals at broadly the same time.
• Groups tend to be accompanied by a leader or organiser, who can liaise and help organise some of the administrative tasks of the guest cycle.
• Groups generate added revenue through their spending in other departments of the hotel (e.g. in the restaurant).
• Groups often offer the potential for repeat business, through the company, travel agent or tour operator.

On the other hand, however, large groups can be challenging especially in terms of finding space and handling mass simultaneous check-ins and check-outs. In addition, groups change the ‘atmosphere’ of the hotel and may alienate independent travellers (particularly if the group is paying a discounted ‘package’ rate for the same rooms and facilities). A hotel will usually have worked out a desirable ratio of FIT:GIT (that is, Free Independent Traveler or Tourist to Group Inclusive Tour) guests, to use as its ‘sales mix’, depending on the type of hotel, the most common type of business, the most profitable type of business, and patterns of weekly or seasonal demand. Groups often represent higher occupancy but lower average revenue per room (because of discounted group rates).

GROUP PACKAGE NEGOTIATION

A group or conference organiser is often in a strong bargaining position, compared to an individual guest, because of the volume of business (and potential repeat business) they represent. Groups are therefore generally offered a discounted rate, by negotiation with the group organiser. Obviously, the group organiser may be aiming for rooms in a peak period at the lowest possible rate while the hotel will be trying to increase occupancy in slack periods at the highest possible rate. This is what negotiation is for to find an agreed solution that is acceptable to both parties. If the group requirement is for a slack period when the hotel would otherwise struggle to fill the rooms, the hotel will be prepared to offer lower terms to get the business. How low could it go? It will need to make a profit on the rooms, so the lowest possible price will be what it costs the hotel to let the room: basically, the cost of any extra labour and consumables (e.g. laundry costs, stationery used, soap used, electricity costs) which would not be incurred if the room was empty. (This is called the ‘marginal cost’ of letting the room). However, the hotel also has to bear in mind (a) the need to make a profit, and (b) the ‘opportunity cost’ of letting a room at a lower rate, when it might be able to let it at a higher rate.

If the group requirement is for a peak period when the hotel knows it can fill the rooms with customers who will pay the full rack rate, the hotel will be in a stronger bargaining positioning to demand a higher group rate. However, it will also bear in mind the attractiveness of the group’s business, and may accept a lesser amount for one peak period booking in order to ‘win’ repeat or volume bookings for slacker periods. The level of discount offered may be attached to the number of rooms booked over a year or in ‘off-peak’ periods. It may also take into account the total value of the group’s business, including expenditure on meals and other extras: the hotel may try to ‘lock in’ extra revenue by negotiating an inclusive package rate to include discounted table d’hôte or set price meals.

GROUP BOOKING PROCEDURES

Group bookings require special attention and protocols for several reasons:-

Cancellation or ‘no show’ by a group represents a serious loss for the hotel. Reservation clerks must therefore take even stricter steps: to check the reliability and credit-worthiness of the group organiser or agency; to establish firm contracts with the organisers, enabling the hotel to gain compensation from losses suffered as a result of breach of contract; to impose strict cancellation periods and penalties; to ‘chase’ unconfirmed bookings; and to keep records of unreliable organisers (who may be blacklisted, or subject to payment guarantees). Cancellation deadlines are generally set in stages. For example:

• Cancellation more than 90 days prior to arrival may incur no charge or penalty
• Cancellation less than 60 days before arrival may incur a charge of 25% of the bill
• Cancellation less than 30 days before arrival may incur a charge of 50% of the bill
• Cancellation less than 14 days before arrival may incur a charge of 75% of the bill
• Cancellation less than 7 days before arrival may require full payment.

The long lead time for booking makes it difficult for group organisers to forecast accurately in advance exactly how many rooms they will need: they may reserve too many, resulting in last minute cancellations or non-arrivals. (The hotel should include this likelihood in its planned overbooking.) The hotel should request more accurate updates from the organiser or agency as the arrival date approaches, with final confirmed ‘rooming list’ supplied seven days before arrival. The rooming list should include:-

• Names of group members
• Types of rooms requested
• The organiser’s allocation of room shares, single occupancy requests, adjacent room requests etc: if the hotel has reserved a specific block of rooms, the organiser may pre-allocate them
• Special food requirements/allergies (if meals are included in the package)
• Nationalities and passport numbers of guests (if available) to facilitate pre-registration.

The group may be accompanied by a courier or tour leader, and perhaps also a coach driver. These representatives may be accommodated free or at reduced rates, especially if they are co-opted to help with group check-ins, payments, check-outs and so on. Any such arrangements will have to be clearly specified in advance.

Other departments of the hotel need to be notified well in advance of group reservations, to ensure that preparations can be made. Housekeeping may need extra staff or different rosters to ensure that all rooms are available at the same time; porters must be available to distribute luggage; the restaurant will need to know about group meals; and so on. Group reservation forms tend therefore to be a bit different from individual ones.

CONFERENCE ACCOMMODATION BOOKINGS

Hotels with meetings and entertainment rooms offer a convenient venue for conferences and conventions, seminars and workshops of various kinds, especially if they extend over several days or involve participants from different regions or countries, who require overnight accommodation. Conference organisers may be focused primarily on the meetings and conference facilities of the hotel, they may, or may not, make accommodation bookings on behalf of delegates. Hotels offering conference facilities will probably have specialist staff to handle the requirements and liaise with conference organisers as the event is planned and prepared.

In terms of accommodation, conferences are similar to large group bookings, so the procedures for handling them will be similar. However, unlike group tours, conference delegates may arrive (and depart) independently, at different times. They will, therefore, be checked in individually, and may also be billed individually (depending on whether accommodation is included in the conference package price). They may make a reservation to stay on as independent guests after the conference, either at the time of booking for the conference or by extending their stay during the conference. Such extensions may require the juggling of room allocations, and separate billing perhaps at a higher rate than the discounted rate negotiated for the conference (to reflect the fact that the room could be let at a higher rate to other incoming guests). All these issues will need to be considered. In addition, a conference may involve the hotel in providing a wider range of facilities and services, and front office staff may need to give thought to:-

1. The booking of bedrooms for delegates plus accommodation for the conference itself: a main conference or seminar room; plus ‘break-away’ meeting or discussion rooms; plus a welcome or registration area; plus possibly banqueting or other rooms for social events attached to the conference.
2. The reservation and/or hiring of presentation equipment (e.g. microphones, data projectors, speaker’s lectern), furniture (chairs and tables), signage (announcing the time and location of conference sessions for delegates) and back-up services (e.g. e-mail, fax, telephone, photocopying and so on). These requirements will have to be discussed well in advance with the conference organisers, and detailed checklists drawn up and communicated to guest services and other relevant departments.
3. Food and beverage requirements: in addition to any formal catered events (which will need to be arranged by liaison with the banqueting manager), the conference organisers may request refreshment facilities (e.g. bottled water, tea/coffee making facilities) and/or scheduled morning or afternoon tea, to be arranged with the food and beverage department.
4. VIP and partner arrangements: conference organisers may delegate or share with the hotel the tasks of meeting and welcoming important guest speakers, and/or planning a programme of activities for the partners and children of delegates. These responsibilities (and appropriate charges) need to be carefully negotiated beforehand.

The events management or conference co-ordinator of the hotel will have to be suitably equipped to provide information packs containing:-

• Details of the hotel location and transport accessibility
• Descriptions (and perhaps photos) of conference and banqueting facilities
• Maps of conference and meetings rooms (showing entrances and exits, power points and so on)
• An inventory of furniture, presentation aids and equipment available for booking/hire (or obtainable by the hotel with advance notice)
• Sample menus and packages for conference catering
• Support services (business services, signage, flower arrangements, assistance with VIP and partner programmes)
• Descriptions of accommodation, dining/entertainment and other services and facilities of the hotel which might be relevant to delegates.

SYSTEMS OF RESERVATION

Depending upon the needs and volume of business a hotel may adopt one of the following systems of reservation:-

1. Manual system
2. Automatic system

MANUAL SYSTEM OF RESERVATION: In this system all reservation records are maintained manually. This is oldest system of recording reservations. This system of reservation is suitable for the small property where the number of rooms is less and the volume of reservation request is fewer. A hotel operating on manual system of reservation can follow one of the following two types:-

1. Diary System of Reservation: This is a manual system of reservation. This is just what the name suggests: a daily diary in which the reservation assistant lists all arrivals due on a particular day. It is usually kept on loose-leaf basis. The top page represents the current date of arrival and is removed and sent to front desk for receiving the guest. A new blank sheet is added at the back of the diary. The hotel booking diary may be hard bound also. Diary system of reservation is suitable for very small properties. The tools used in diary system of reservation are as under:-
   • Booking diary
   • Room status board/ reservation journal
   • Expected arrival list/ Movement list
   • Cancellation Register ( if required, for taking cancellation)
   • Black list (if required to refuse the reservation to undesirable guest)
2. Whitney System of Reservation: This system can be used in small and medium property having up to 150 rooms. This system for room reservation of hotel was developed by the American Whitney Duplicating and Check Company. This system is based on use of standard size slips, known as Whitney slips or Shannon slips, which can be held on metallic carrier on Whitney racks. The Shannon slips may be colour coded to identify the status of guest like FIT, group, crew, VIPs, Commercially Important Person etc. the top line of the slip contains the essential information as this part remains visible after placing slip in the metallic carrier. The Whitney system uses the racks vertically mounted over the walls. Thirty one racks are kept for the current month (one for each day) and eleven for the next months and last one for the next year. The thirty one racks are arranged as per the date of the months. As soon as reservation request is received the reservation request is processed and Whitney slips are made in duplicate and original is placed in the Whitney rack. The Whitney slips can be arranged in alphabetical order on Whitney rack. The advantages of using Whitney system is as under:-

• • Booking can be kept in order of date of arrival
  • Booking records may be arranged in alphabetical order
  • The racks and carriers can be used over and over again. The running expense is of the slips.
  • The Whitney racks are placed vertically saving the storage space.

Room Availability Records used in Manual System

The processing a reservation request requires a tool which can assist to ascertain the availability of room for the desired duration. The following room availability records are used in manual system:-

1. Bed room journal
2. Conventional chart/ Advance Letting Chart
3. Standard density chart

Bed room journal: It very similar to the reservation diary. Each page of the journal contains room no. and type of room in a property. The page is titled according to the date of arrival. The format of bed room journal. The name of guest is entered in each date of their stay against the room number. The major disadvantage in using this availability record is requirement of clerical labour.

Conventional chart: Conventional chart is a development of the bedroom journal. It is also known as Advance letting chart. It is simple to understand. The format of conventional chart is shown in figure 10.4. The chart is prepared for each month. Thus only 12 such charts are required for the one year. The room number and type of room is mentioned in one columns and it consists of another 28 to 31 column depending upon the number of days in the month. The name of guest is written between the days of their stay. The name is written between the < and > Sign < represent the date of arrival and sign >represent the date of departure. The major disadvantages associated in use of conventional charts are:-

1. Long name short stay problem
2. Chart becomes untidy with cancellation and amendments
3. Limited to use with medium size hotel
4. Counting of available room is difficult
5. No over booking can be taken
6. Room is pre assigned to guest (Creates problem in case of overstay)

Standard density chart: In an attempt to overcome the problems and drawback of conventional chart development of standard density chart came into existence. The density chart is prepared for each category of rooms for the duration of one month. The vertical column indicates the date and horizontal column represent individual rooms. An indicative mark (/) is put in the appropriate boxes for indicating the reservation. The minus sign indicates that one can take overbooking using the density chart. The following advantages associated with the density chart:-

1. Long name short stay problem is solved as one does not have to enter name.
2. Chart will remain tidy even in case of cancellation and amendments
3. The large hotels may also use this system
4. Counting of available room is easy
5. Over booking can be taken

AUTOMATIC SYSTEM

Automated reservation system is based on computer software. The information gathered is the same as in manual system. The processing of reservation request does not require manual turning the pages of bed room journals, looking in density charts or conventional chart. One can see the availability by clicking the link to display the same at the visual display units.  The reservation information is keyed-in through the keyboard to the electronic format of the reservation form. The system automatically blocks the room for the desired duration of time and removes the room from the availability records. Using the automated system one does not have to manually update the records as the same is carried out by the system itself. Central reservation system and global distribution system are the examples of automated system.

TERMS USED IN RESERVATION

• Walk in guest: Walk-in guests are known as chance guest. Because hotel don‘t have any prior information about such guest due to which they cannot process or forecast. Normally in walk in condition all the activities of registration and reservation are conducted on the spot where and the guest is only taken if rooms are available and he/she is in a fit condition to be taken and is ready to pay advance deposit.
• Confirmation: Without confirmation, reservation staffs will not provide the hotel room. Confirmation is handled by front office staffs. Guaranteed reservation is performed for confirmation. Confirmation should be in written form. After confirmation, reservation letter will be provided by reservation assistance to the guest.
• Cancellation: Cancellation is the process of cancelling the booking rooms. For the cancellation process, guest should send the letter to the hotel and after getting the letter of the guest, reservation assistance will reply the letter. The information is sent to front office manager and general manager. Cancellation slip is maintained in triplicate copies and first copy is sent to reception.
• No-Show: No-Show is one of the situation in which the guest does not arrive at the proper time and does not provide any information to the hotel. Due to No-Show, overbooking can be occurred.
• Overbooking: Overbooking is the result of No-Show. Skillful staffs will handle the overbooking by shifting the guest to others hotel or under the same hotel. Overbooking is handled by reservation manager.
• Out of order: The room which is under maintenance known as out of order. Out of order rooms cannot be sold.
• Over Stay: If a guest stays in hotel rooms beyond the scheduled departure date that is called overstay.
• Under Stay: Guest who checks out before scheduled departure date then it is called under the stay. This type of guest in the hotel can affect the normal operation of a hotel.