Chapter 07

Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Chapter 7
Guest Registration

Chapter Focus Points
 Importance of the first guest
contact
 Capturing guest data
 Guest registration procedures
 Registration with a property
management system

Importance of the First Guest
Contact
Tone which is set at registration
What constitutes warm hospitality?
Recent experiences during registration at a
hotel

Components of the Registration Process
Capturing Guest Data
– Importance of capturing this data for guest
messages, guest requests for service from other
departments, and credit verification

Process
1. Guest requests to check into the hotel.
2. Front desk clerk projects hospitality
toward the guest.
3. Front desk clerk inquires about guest
reservation.
4. Guest completes registration card.
5. Front desk clerk reviews completeness of
registration card.

Process
 6. Front desk clerk verifies credit.
 7. Front desk clerk makes room selection.
 8. Front desk clerk makes room assignment.
 9. Front desk clerk assigns room rate.
 10. Front desk clerk discusses sales
opportunities for hotel products and services
 with guest.
 11. Front desk clerk provides room key.

Guest Registration Procedures (p.187)
 ways to project a feeling of
hospitality
o eye contact
o warm smile
o an inquiry about travel
experience or weather
o an offer for assistance with
the luggage
 ways to retrieve guest
reservations - via PMS

Guest Registration Procedures
(cont’d.)
 Review completeness
of registration card
from the PMS or
electronic folio
– Handwriting:
– Spelling of names,
addresses, zip code,
license plate
identification

Guest Registration Procedures (cont’d.)
– Correctness of phone numbers, anticipated
departure date, number of people in the room,
room rate, and method of payment
– Note any blank areas for possible “fraud” –
example: no credit card because it is in the lost
suit case

Guest Credit
Credit card types
• Bank cards (VISA, MasterCard, or JCB)
• Commercial cards (Diners Club)
• Private label cards (J.C. Penney)
• Intersell cards (Ramada)

Guest Credit (cont’d.)
Discount rate – a percentage of the total
sale that is charged by the credit card
agency to the commercial enterprise for the
convenience of accepting the credit card.
 Rate depends upon volume of sales
transactions, amount of individual sales
transaction, expediency with which
vouchers are turned into cash, etc.

Related economic impact upon the profit
and loss statement

 Credit Card
Processing
– Use of credit card
imprinter and credit
card validater
– This step establishes
credit limit for the
guest stay

Proof of identification
Outline the importance of this step:
– valid driver’s license with a photo

Process of using a Bill-To-Account
– Personal extension of pre-approved credit with
the hotel; the hotel processes the bill after the
sale
– Advantages and disadvantages to the guest and
the hotel
• Guest perceives bill-to-account as prestigious
• Hotel saves discounting of guest bill
• Hotel must act as billing and collection agency

Components of Registration Process
cont’d.
Room selection concepts
– Blocking procedure – process of placing rooms
from inventory into various reservation status.
– Review of confirmed and guaranteed
reservations
– Review of expected check outs for a particular
day
– blocking process

Meeting Guest Requests
 Special accommodations (bed requirements)
- K, Q, D, T
 Location – views, “away from,” levels
 Layout and décor – suites, Murphy bed,
 Ancillary equipment – business meetings
 Special needs – hearing-impaired, ramps, visual
devices
 Availability – special request
 Price – as a primary concern

The Components of a Well-Organized Room
Inventory
Reservation Status
- Open
- Confirmed 4 P.M.
- Confirmed 6 P.M.
- Guaranteed
- Repair
Housekeeping Status
– Available, Clean, or
Ready
– Occupied
– Stayover
– Dirty or On Change
– Out of Order
Sleeper – a room that is thought to
be occupied but in fact is
vacant.

Communication system between the front
desk and other departments
(Housekeeping, maintenance, and
reservation staff)
Scheduled times for releasing rooms by
housekeeping rooms requires a system
whereby the individual room attendants
report the cleaned rooms to the floor
supervisor on a timely basis.

Room Rate Establishment
 Room rates pivotal in providing income for administrative,
overhead, and utility expenses.
 “Clearly, room rates involve many factors …”
– manipulation of projected sales and related expenses
– market competition
– marketing and sales efforts
– operations
– price sensitivity
– tax investment opportunities
– seasonality
– tourism

 General Rule-of-Thumb Method that stipulates that the
room rate should be two dollars for every thousand dollars
of construction costs
 Hubbart formula (p. 199 math example) takes into
consideration such factors as operating expenses, desired
return on investment, income from various departments in
the hotel and room income
– Figure 7-4 (p. 199) Room Rate Survey as a method of
maintaining current on the room rates of competitors
Room Rate Establishment (cont’d.)

Types of Room Rates
 Rack rate – highest rate charged by the hotel
 Corporate rate – offered to business persons of a
corporation who are frequent visitors
 Commercial rate – rate offered to infrequent
business persons
 Military/Educator rate – rates offered to a price
sensitive market yet attractive for a large volume of
repeat business
 Group rate – offered to travelers who attend en
masse
 Family rate – rate which is price sensitive yet
attractive for many families

Types of room rates (cont.d)
 Package rate – rates used to lure guests into a hotel during
low sales periods
– American Plan (AP) – includes meals with room rate
quote
– Modified American Plan (MAP) – includes one meal
with room rate quote
– European plan (EAP)– room rate and food and
beverage sales are kept separate
– Half-day rate – room rate for half-day rental
– Complimentary rate – no charge to the guest

Maximizing room rates - presenting
various room rates in a manner that
reflect the positive features of the
product
 Developing a pre-planned
sales pitch based on product
knowledge
– Room furnishings, special
features, layout, and rate ranges
– Desk clerk training in use of
descriptive words needed
– Desk clerk practice sessions in
salespersonship techniques

Maximizing Room Rates (cont’d.)
Coaching the Shy Employee in Sales Skills
– Desk clerk training in picking up on subtle cues
from guests
– Incentive programs for desk clerk motivation
– Bottom-up and top-down sales methods

Maximizing room rates (cont’d.)
 Sales opportunities
– hotel services
– additional reservations
during the registration
process
 Management’s plan to sell
additional room
reservations
– salesperson skills
– incentive programs
– complementary in-house
advertising from other
departments

Components of Registration Process cont’d.
 Room Key Assignment
– Need for accuracy
– Need for discretion for security in issuing key
– Maintenance of security of keys
– area for holding keys
• hard key – proof of guest identification required
• electronic – new combination for each new guest
• request for proof of registration for duplicate key
requests

Self-check in
Reasons for consideration of offering self-
check in
– Capital expenditures
– Decreased labor costs
– Increased speed of registration
– Delivery of hospitality
– Opportunity for selling additional hotel services
within the hotel

Self-check in (cont’d.)
– Procedure a guest would use
– Use of personal credit or debit card
• Registration by a wireless
communications
– Hiltons OnQ™
Technology
• Remote, web-based check-in 24 hrs.
prior to arrival
• Electronic folio access
• Check-in kiosks (100) within 45 Hilton
Family Hotels in metro and airport
markets
• High-Speed Internet Access available

Chapter 07

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