Hotel Terminology

Amendments Changes in particulars against original

reservation.

Amenities Goods and services given to the guest without

extra charge (e.g. soap, stationary etc.)

American Breakfast choice of ham, bacon or sausage, eggs,

oatmeal or cereal, toast ,Danish or breakfast
rolls, fruit juice or fresh fruit, coffee or tea.

Approval Code Series of numbers which guarantees

validity of credit card and ensures
availability of credit.

Compilation of all expected guests for the day.

Arrival List Includes guest’s name, rate ,room type,
background and requests.
Arrival Time Hour by which guest specifies he will arrive
(Sometimes referred as check-in time).

Availability Hotel’s capacity to accommodate room

reservations.

Baby Cot Portable utility bed for babies.

Front Office’s area located behind the Front

Back Office Desk which is responsible for coordinating all
support services, Managerial Activities, and
Accounting Tasks.

Back to Back Heavy check-out and check-in on the same day.

 Contains the records of all undesirable guests,
Blacklist
companies and travel agents.

Book Out/Bump Off Providing guests with alternative accommodation(to

include complimentary transfers) in another
unavailability of rooms.

Individual:
Bookings Reservations made and guaranteed by corporations
duly registered with the hotel.

Guaranteed:
Reservations for which payment has been promised or
received even if the guest fails to arrive.

Corporate:
Reservations made directly by the guest which is not
endorsed nor guaranteed by any company or travel
agency.
 Refers to expenses due to damages of hotel property
Breakage & Loss or overlooked the transaction by the staff which to
result to loss of profit.

Buried Rooms Check-out rooms for the day, cleaned and assigned to
the guest consequently checked in on the same
day .Hence, generating double revenue.

Cancellation A reservation voided upon the request of the guest.

Different types of reservations are subject to various
cancellation requirements.

Close Out Dates Period when the hotel is fully booked. Additional
reservation are declined.
Compendium Guest folder containing the hotel’s different
stationary paraphernalia found in the guest
room writing desk.

room accommodation or services provided free of

Comp (Complimentary) charge (FOC) to certain individuals to promote
goodwill or as an incentive to guest to stay in the
hotel. Approval obtained from Resident Manager
beforehand.

Confirmation Slips Official written statement issued by the Hotel to the

guest upon their request to verify their reservation.

That which commits the hotel to provide the

Confirmed Reservation
accommodation at the quoted rate.

Choice of fruit juice or fruits ,breakfast rolls

Continental Breakfast ,jam, coffee or tea.
Contracted Rate Result of an agreement between a certain travel agent
and the hotel for room rate at a special reduced
rate.Confidential information guest is never told of
this rate.

Convention Assembly or meeting of a large group utilizing

certain hotel facilities.

Corporate Account Corporations duly registered with the hotel

and accorded specially reduced rates.

Corporate Rate Rate at which certain corporation who have

consistent dealings with the hotel are accorded
specially reduced rates for rooms.

Written agreement between hotel and guest

Correspondence
containing reservation particulars.
Current room availability Updated percentage of vacant rooms for sale.

Use of the hotel room for a few hours for guests

Day Use who request so.

Departure Report List containing all in –house guest expected to

check-out on a given day.

Statement which free the hotel from any

Disclaimer Clause
responsibility or liability which may occur.

Given to guest who check-in with reservations by

Discounted Rate
companies which have corporate agreement or
account with the hotel. Discounts are also applied to
holders of diplomatic passports, hoteliers, airline crew
and travel agents ,applied at the discretion of the
management and automatically to long stay guests.
Discrepancy Report A. Rate:
Where variance in room changes are
reflected.

B. Room
Where variance in number of guest rooms
occupied are reflected

DNM (Do Not Move) Room blocking subject to change without prior
approval.

DND-(Do Not Disturb) Indicate by guest who require privacy .For Cases
wherein the DND sign has been up too long the Front
Desk Manager may be required to check the room and
ensures safety of the guest.

Double Occupancy Room occupied by two 2 people at a time.

Due Out Complete list of guest checking out on a given
day with their expected departure time, if any.

Early Arrival A guest who arrives before the date his /her
reservation.

Early Departure A guest who checks out before the original

scheduled .

ETA Expected Time of Arrival of guest.

ETD Expected Time of Departure of guest.

Extended Stay Guest chooses to prolong his stay in the hotel

beyond his original departure date.
F&B Food and Beverage

Facilities Business Center, Gym, Spa, Salon, Swimming Pool

FAM Tour/Trip A program designed to acquainted travel agents

and /or airline personnel with the facilities available
at a tourist destination area.

Arrangement whereby a family (2 adults,2 children

Family Plan under 12) share 1 room an extra room, the single rate
applies event if more than one person occupies it.

F.I.T Frequent Individual Traveler

Flight Reconfirmation Verification of guest’s airline booking.

FOC Free of Charge

Protected occupancy based on actual reservations plus a

Forecast percentage of walk-ins and pick-ups minus a no
show/cancellation percentage.

Forex Foreign Currency Exchange

Full House All rooms occupied; no rooms left for sale

GM General Manager

Guest Client, our source of business

Guest History File Record of previous guest’s visits, room assignments,
dates, special requirements and remarks.

Guest Request Service requirements of a guest while staying in house

or when patronizing one of the outlets.

Bookings whose period of reservation covers a closed

Half Bookings period or blocked dates. These are neither accepted
nor confirmed. These are waitlisted or offered
alternatives.

Handicap Rooms Room specially designed for handicapped guests.

HFA (Hold For Arrival) items received and kept by the Hotel until guest
arrival.
A term used to indicate the total no. of rooms, total no.
House Count of in house guest and total no of vacant rooms
House Use Rooms allocated for the staff use or for any
other official purpose without any charges.

House( Hotel)

All departments not in direct contact with

a.)Back-of-the-House guests.

b.)Front-of-the-House All department in direct contact with the

guest. All guest areas

In House Within the hotel

Services and facilities provided by the hotel for all

In House guests for leisure purposes.
Entertainment

In House Guest List Computer printout of all registered guests staying in

the hotel at the time at the list was made.
Joiner Prostitutes(lady/male ) or extra companions

Late Charges Guest charges that might not be included on the guest
folio because of a delay in posting by other department.

Later Reservation A reservation made for the same day’s arrival

Indicator of guest’s whereabouts, length of stay in the

Locator particular place, and the time he expected back in his
room.

A diary wherein all-important events for each shift is

Log Book reported. Also used for endorsement of all pending
work to be handled during the next shift.

Lost and Found A section of the housekeeping Department where

misplaced items are surrendered for retrieval.

A guest with a reservation who expects to arrive after

Late Arrival
the hotel’s usual check-in time.
Late check Out (LCO) Guest departs from the hotel beyond the established
checkout time of 12 noon.
Make Up Room Also called “tidy room”. Sign indicating guest wants his
room to be cleaned. Phraseology used for vacant rooms
needed to be cleaned for arrival.
Market Segment Identifiable group of customers with similar needs for
products and services.

New Reservation A reservation made by a booking source/party with no

prior correspondence.
Night Audit the control process whereby the financial activity of
guest’s accounts is maintained and balanced on a daily
basis.
Overcharge Situation where a guest is erroneously charged a higher
rate and is subject to rate change.

Out of Order ( OOO) Term applied to hotel rooms deemed unfit for
accommodation of guests for a long period of time. not
included is house count.
Overbooking Is making a commitment to provide more rooms to
potential guests than are actually available.
Paid Out Cash Advance released by the hotel chargeable to
the guest’s account.
Pax Another term for people or guest

Pending All matters which have not been acted upon, or

completed.
Petty Cash Cash Float

Pre-Payment Full payment including tax given to the hotel prior to

guest’s arrival. Usually forfeited in a guest fails to
register 48 hours after reservation date.
Property management A generic term for applications of computer hardware and
System software used to manage a hotel by networking
reservation and registration databases, point of sales
system, accounting system and other office software.
Point of Sale An outlet in the hotel that generates income such as a
restaurant, gift shop, spa etc

Priority Check In Fast and smooth check in accorded to VIP,

regardless of occupancy.
RAB (Rollaway Bed) Portable extra bed for an additional person in a
guest room.

Rebates Money Returned or credited to a guest due to incorrect

charge.

Refused Service Guest does not require his room to be

cleaned.

Regcard A Form completed and signed by the guest at the time of

(Registration Card) arrival giving the guest’s name , address, business
affiliation and other data.

Registered Guest In-house guest that has undergone check-in process

Reservation Agreement between the hotel and the customer

that the hotel will hold a specific room type for a
particular date and length of stay.
Rack Rate The highest room rate category offered by a hotel.

Return Guest Guest whom have previously stayed in the hotel.

Room Allocation Daily number of rooms reserved for travel agents and
airlines only until a cut off time stipulated in the
contract.
Room Blocking Assigning a room for a particular guest not
subject to change.

Service Charge Fees paid for services rendered equivalent to 10% of

total charges incurred by the guest 85% of total
monthly service charge is divided and distributed
equally among all regular employees of the hotel.

Share With (s/w) Situation wherein 2 or more guests are occupying the
same room but is holding separate folios.
Showroom Room assigned by the reception desk as part of
ocular inspection for tours and potential clients.

Skipper Term used for guests who leave the hotel without
settling their account.

Stayovers currently registered guest who wish to extend their

stay beyond the time for which they made
reservations.
Tariff Card hotel’s room types and its published rates.
containing
Traveler’s Checks Prepaid checks that have been issued by a bank or
other financial organization.

Undercharge Guest is billed below actual incurred amount.

Upsell Act of convincing guest to utilize hotel products of a

higher category in order to generate higher revenue.
 VIP Very Important Person. The Guest Relations Officers
handle guests with such status. Warrants special guest
attention and handling.

Voucher Written receipt or coupon issued by the travel agents

and airlines indicating the room type, meals and/ or
other special services included if any .Used by the
guest in settling his bills.

Waitlist Status of reservation which cannot be confirmed by the

hotel due to room unavailability

Wake up Call Service requested by the guest to the operator

indicating the time he wants to be awakened.

Walk In Guest Guest without prior reservations who request for

accommodation
Phonetics
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