GLOSSARY OF FRONT OFFICE TERMS
1. Accounts Receivable : A company, organization or individual, registered or not, who has an outstanding bill with the hotel.
2. Adjoining Rooms : Two rooms side by side with a common wall without a door on the common wall.
3. Advance Deposit : Payment of money by the guest on a room reservation that the hotel is holding.
4. After Departure : (AD) A late charge.
5. Allowance : A reduction to the folio, as an adjustment either for unsatisfactory service or for a posting error. Also called a “REBATE”.
6. American Hotel and Lodging Association : (AH & LA) A federation of regional and state associations composed of individual hotel and motel properties throughout the Americas.
7. American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) : A professional association of travel agents and tour operators.
8. Average Room Rate or Average Daily Rate : Computed by dividing the rooms revenue by the number of rooms occupied.
9. Back to Bank : A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged by tour operators so rooms are never vacant.
10. Bank : Coins and small bills given to a cashier for making change.
11. Bed and Breakfast : (B & B). The room tariff includes the charge for the room and a continental breakfast.
12. Bed Board : A wooden board placed under the mattress to provide a firmer sleeping surface.
13. Blanket Reservation : A block of rooms held for a particular group with individual members requesting assignments from that block.
14. Bucket : The file that holds the guest folio, often recessed in the counter top. Also known as “Cashier’s Well”
15. Cabana or Kababa : A room on the beach or near the swimming pool separated from the main building, used for changing.
16. Cancellation : A guests request to the hotel to void a reservation previously made.
17. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) : A television screen or monitor that displays information put out by the computer.
18. Check-in : All the procedures involved in receiving the guest and completing the registration sequence.
19. Check-out : All the procedures involved in the departure of the guest and the settlement of the account.
20. City Ledger : An accounts receivable ledger of non registered guests.
21. Commercial Hotel : A transient hotel catering to a business clientele.
22. Commercial Rate : A reduced room rate given to business persons to promote occupancy.
23. Confirmed Reservation : The hotels agreement, usually in writing, to the guest’s reservation request.
24. Cut off Date : That date on which the block of unreserved rooms are released for general sale.
25. Day Rate : A reduced charge for occupancy of less than overnight; usually half the daily rate, for less than six hours arrival before check-out time, also used when the party arrives and departs the same day.
26. Did not Stay (DNS) : Means the guest left almost immediately after registering.
27. Duplex : Two rooms on two different floors with a private staircase connecting the two rooms.
28. Efficiency Room : Accommodations that include kitchen facilities.
29. Fam Trip : Familiarization trip taken by travel agents at little or no cost to acquaint themselves with properties and destinations.
30. Folio : A weekly bill of the hotel for keeping transient account receivable records. Also called “Guest Bill” or “Account Card”
31. Guest History Card : A record of the guests visits including rooms assigned, rates, special needs and credit rating.
32. Hard Copy : Computer term for material that has been printed on a paper rather than merely displayed on the monitor.
33. Hollywood Bed : Twin beds joined by a common headboard.
34. Hospitality Room : A room hired by a hotel guest on an hourly basis in order to entertain his own guests.
35. Hot List : A list of lost or stolen credit cards furnished to hotels and other retailers by credit card companies.
36. House Count : The number of registered guests in the hotel.
37. Housekeeper’s Report : A linen room summary of the status of guest rooms used by the front office to verify the accuracy of the room rack.
38. Hubbart Room Rate Formula : A basis for determining room rates.
39. Information Rack : An alphabetical listing of registered guests.
40. Junior Suite : One large room with a partition separating the living room furnishings from the bed room furnishings.
41. Lanai : A Hawaiian term for veranda: A room with a balcony usually overlooking gardens or swimming pool.
42. Late Charge : A departmental charge that arrives at the front desk for billing after the guest has checked out.
43. Late Checkout : A departing guest who remains beyond the checkout hour with permission of the front desk and thus without charge.
44. Lockout : Denying the guest access to his room, usually because of an unpaid bill.
45. Log Book : A record of activities maintained by several operating departments. Also used to record guest complaints.
46. Mail and Key Rack : A piece of front office equipment where both mail and keys are stored by room number.
47. Master Key : One key controlling several pass keys and opening all the guest rooms on one floor; also called a Floor Key.
48. Miscellaneous Charge Order (MCO) : Airline voucher authorizing the sale of services to the guest named on the form, with payment due from the airline.
49. Morning Call : A wake-up telephone call made by the telephone operator at the guest’s request.
50. Murphy Bed : A standard bed that folds or swings into a wall or cabinet in a closetlike fashion.
51. NCR 2000 : A front office posting machine manufactured by the National Cash Register Company, USA.
52. Night Audit : A daily reconciliation of accounts receivable that is completed during the night shift.
53. Off-Season Rate : A reduced room rate charged by resort hotels when demand is lowest.
54. On Change : The status of a room recently vacated but not yet cleaned for a new occupant.
55. Out-Of-Order (OOO) : The room is not available for sale because of some planned or unexpected shutdown of facilities.
56. Over and Short : A discrepancy between the cash on hand and the amount that should be on hand.
57. Overstay : A guest who wishes to extend his stay beyond the scheduled date of departure.
58. Paid In Advance (PIA) : A room charge that is collected prior to the arrival of the guest : it is the usual procedure when a guest is unknown and has scanty baggage, and wit some motels it is standard procedure for all guests.
59. Paid-Outs : Money disbursed to guests either as advances or loans or to balance the account, charged to their account like other departmental charges.
60. Parlour : A living room not used as a bedroom.
61. Pass Key : A submaster key limited to a set of rooms (12-16) and allowing access to no other rooms; usually given to chambermaids.
62. PBX : Private Branch Exchange. A telephone switchboard
63. Penthouse : A luxurious suite of rooms located at the topmost floor of the hotel, opening onto the terrace. It may have a skylight.
64. POS : Point of Sale
65. Preassign : Reservations are assigned and specific rooms blocked before the guest arrives.
66. Preregistration : A procedure in which the hotel completes the registration prior to the guest’s arrival; used with groups and tours to reduce congestion at the front desk.
67. Rack Rate : The standard rate quoted on the printed tariff card.
68. Referral : A reservation system for independently owned properties developed to counter the reservation advantages of the chains and their affiliates.
69. RNA - Registered, Not Assigned. A guest who has registered but is waiting for a specific room assignment until space becomes available.
70. Residential Hotels : A hotel catering to long term guests who have made the property their home or residence. Payment is on monthly basis.
71. Resort : A hotel that caters to vacationing guest providing recreational and entertainment facilities.
72. Rollaway Bed : A portable bed with wheels that can be put in a room as an extra bed.
73. Room Count : The number of occupied rooms in the hotel.
74. Rooming a Guest : The entire precedure by which the desk greets and assigns new arrivals and the bell staff directs them to their rooms.
75. Rooming List : The list of names furnished by a group in advance of arrival and used by the hotel to preregister and preassign the party.
76. Room Rack : A piece of front office equipment representing the guest rooms in the form of metal pockets arranged floorwise in the same sequence, with colour coding and symbols to identify the type of room and their facilities.
77. Room Service : Food and beverage service provided in the privacy of the guest room by the designated room service waiter.
78. Service Charge : A percentage (usually from 10 - 20 per cent) added to the bill for distribution to service employees in lieu of direct tipping.
79. Skipper : A guest who leaves the hotel without settling his bill.
80. Sleeper : 1. A departed guest whose room rack slip remains in the rack giving the appearance of an occupied room.
2. A person staying in the hotel room without the knowledge of the hotel.
3. A red slip put on the room rack to block a room for the arrival of a VVip.
81. Sleep out : A room that is taken, occupied and paid for but the guest does not sleep in it during the night.
82. SPATT (Special Attention) : A label assigned to important guests designated for special treatment. Also used for physically challenged visually impaired etc. guests.
83. Stayover : All registered guests who remain overnight.
84. Turn Away : To refuse walk-in business because rooms are unavailable; the guest so refused.
85. Turn-down : An evening service rendered by the house-keeping department which replaces soiled bathroom linen and prepares the bed for use.
86. Turn-in : The sum deposited with the general cashier by the departmental cashier at the close of each shift.
87. Understay : A guest who checks out before the scheduled date of departure.
88. Upgrade : To move a registered guest to a better room or class of service.
89. VIP (Very Important Person)
90. Voucher : The form used by the operating departments to notify the front desk of the charges incurred by a particular guest; A form furnished by a travel agent as a receipt for a client’s advance reservation payment.
91. Walking a Guest : To refuse accommodation to a guest with a confirmed reservation due to unavailability of rooms and who is sent to another hotel of similar standard for a day.
92. Walk-in : A guest without a reservation who requests for accommodation.
93. Credit Limit : This is the limit of amount of money up to which the guest is allowed credit facility. After the limit is reached the hotel requests the guest to clear his bill either partly or fully.
94. D.G.C.A. Director General of Civil Aviation.
95. D.O.T. Department of Tourism.
96. D.N.A. Did Not Arrive/
97. E.C.O. Express Check Out. An activity which involves compilation and early morning distribution of guest folios to all those guests who are expected to check out that morning.
98. F.E.R.A. Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.
99. F.H.R.A.I. Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India.
100. F.I.T. Free Independent Traveller.
101. Franking Machine : A machine used for printing postage stamp value on the envelope.
102. G.I.T. Group Inclusive Tour.
103. G.O.I. Government of India.
104. I.A.A.I. International Airports Authority of India.
105. I.A.T.A. International Air Transport Association
106. I.C.A.O. International Civil Aviation Organisation
107. I.D.D. International Direct Dialling.
108. I.L.O. International Labour organisation
109. I.C. Integrated Circuit.
110. T.A.A.I. Travel Agents Association of India.
111. U.F.T.A.A. Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association.
112. W.T.O. World Tourism Organisation.
REPORTING AND PRESENTING STATISTICS
1. Potential room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of lettable rooms * 100
2. Actual room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms available * 100
3. House count = (No. of guests) brought forward + arrivals of the day – Departure for the day
House count is the total no. of guests staying in a hotel on a particular day at a given point of time.
4. Double occupancy % is the % of rooms occupied by two persons.
Double occupancy % = house count- No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms sold* 100
5. Bed occupancy % = No. of beds occupied / Total no. of beds * 100
6. Single occupancy % = 100 – Double occupancy %
7. Local occupancy % = local in house / house count * 100
8. Foreign occupancy % = foreigners in house / house count * 100
If either local or foreign occupancy % is given the following formulae may also be used:
Foreign occupancy % = 100 – local occupancy %
Local occupancy % = 100 – foreign occupancy %
9. Ave. rate per room = Total revenue from room sales / total no. of rooms sold
10. Ave. rate per guest = Total revenue from room sales / house count
11. Percentage no- shows = No. of room no shows / No. of room reservations * 100
12. % walk ins = No. of room walk ins / total no. of room arrivals * 100
13. % overstays = No. of overstay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100
14. % understays = No. of understay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100
15. Occupancy % = No. of rooms occupied / No. of rooms available * 100
16. Potential ave. double rate = double room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as doubles
17. Potential ave. single rate = Single room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as singles * 100
18. Forecasted rooms revenue = rooms available * occ. % * ave. daily rate
MECHANICAL BILLING
N.C.R. (National Cash Register) Machine:
In many hotels today, the tabular ledger has been replaced by a N.C.R. machine which is capable of recording and storing all charges incurred by the guest, producing individual bills for the presentation of guest and maintain daily summary totals. The main advantage if this method of keeping guests account is that it eliminates duplication of work (in a tab sheet every transaction is recorded twice. Once in the tab sheet, second time transfer to the guest bill).
Merits:
1. It eliminates duplication of work
2. Need for a separate receipt is eliminated
3. Arithmetical accuracy is ensured
4. The bills are neat and clean
5. The charges are printed on the audit roll which helps the control department
6. The machine shows the total of every department separately
Duties and responsibilities of the cashier:
• Dispose with petty cash
• Authorize V.P.O.
• Give charges to customers
• Accept advance deposit
• Custody of safe deposit
• Authorized movement of luggage by signing the bell boys errand cards after settling the bill
• Render accounts through cash envelope at the end of the shift.
The types of machine now normally employed are equipped with analysis key. The machine has the following visible parts:
1. Amount keys
2. Room number keys
3. Control keys for printing the names of departments or heads of revenue :
a. Identification keys : Room, Bar, Restaurant, Laundry, Local, Trunk Call
b. Debit balance key
c. Credit balance key
d. Debit pick up key
e. Credit pick up key
f. Plus & minus key
g. Debit transfer key
h. Credit transfer key
i. Allowance key
j. Paid in full key
k. Paid key
l. Total key
m. Sub-to all and misc. key
n. Date change key
o. Audit roll tape
p. Left printer
q. Right printer
As the charges are posted to the guest bill, they are automatically added so that at all times the guest bill is up to date provided no charges are left to be posted. The charges are printed on the audit roll simultaneously department wise which helps the control department.
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VISITOR TABULAR LEDGER
A hotel maintains various types of ledgers to keep the record of the debtors, creditors, purchases, sales, assets, expenses etc. Visitors Tabular Ledger is one of these ledgers. As its very name shows , it is a ledger meant for keeping the records of registered guests in an analysed form. It serves the purpose of the day book on the one hand and registered guest’s personal account on the other. It is maintained for keeping the record of all transactions relating to sales of goods and services to registered guests In a systematically analysed and chronological order. There are two types of ledgers-one, horizontal Tabular Ledger and the other, vertical Tabular Ledger. On one side of this ledger, one column is provided to each registered guest and on the other side one column is provided for each item of sale of food, beverages, services etc. As in this ledger several columns are drawn to keep the record of the guest on the one hand and the record of sales of different items to guest on the other, therefore, it is known as Visitor Tabular Ledger.
Visitor Tabular Ledger is maintained in loose-leaf form. A separate ledger is maintained for each day. The number of tabular sheets used for the day depends upon the number of columns in the sheet and the number of rooms available for guests.
The tabular sheet used in some hotels contain only the debit side. So it fails to give the data of the credit side at a glance. For credits transactions other books are to be seen and referred. But in other hotels the tabular sheet contains both debit and credit side. Such Visitors Tabular Ledger records all aspect of both debit and credit transactions either on upper and lower sections or on the left and right section. Such visitors tabular ledger does not confine itself only to sales but it also includes all transactions that concern sales. This implies that amount paid by customer against outstanding debits, allowances and transfer to other ledgers are also recorded. Thus both debit and credit transactions relating to customers are recorded in the their respective columns. In such tabular Ledger if one column is provided for cash sales, it can give the picture of the total sales of the hotel(both cash and credit) of the day.
Tabular Ledger is maintained in the bill office. It is written up on the basis of voucher or checks received by them. As and when the transaction with the guest relating to sale or receipt or allowance or transfer etc. takes place the concern department prepares a check and sends the original copy of the check to the bill department. The bill department immediately posts the check in the customer account in the visitors tabular ledger and in his individual bill. Thus the sales record and the customers account are always complete to the minute.
The customer account, in day’s Tabular Ledger, is closed as soon as as he checks out either after making the bill payment or with the permission of the management even without settling the bill. In case of customers, who continue their stay, their accounts for the day are closed at 12 midnight by the bill clerk on the night duty . the balance carried forward is calculated and transferred to the respective accounts in the new Tabular Ledger which is opened for the coming day.
The completed Visitors Tabular Ledger gives the following formation
(a) The sales of each department and total sale of the hotel of a particular day. Not only this, the sale of each type of meal, beverages and services
(b) The total debit balance of a departed guest transferred to ledger account or transferred to other guest accounts.
(c) Cash paid by guest during the day and allowances given to them.
(d) The details of individual customer account and the total owing by resident guest at the close of the day.
Advantages of visitor tabular ledger
The advantages of visitors Tabular Ledger can be summed up as under-
(1) All personal accounts of the registered guests are opened in daily visitors tabular ledger(sheets) so the names of all the registered customers and the number of rooms and room number occupied can be seen at one glance
(2) On personal accounts of registered guest are opened in daily visitors tabular ledger and transactions relating to them for the day are recorded in their accounts in the tabular sheet, therefore, the days detail of each personal account can be seen without wasting time it save the necessity of opening personal accounts of registered guest in the debtors ledger.
(3) Each customer’s personal account is debited directly with the help of vouchers known as “checks” without first entering the amount into the journal or book of prime entry, so they are less chances of mistakes
(4) The posting is done directly so it takes less time
(5) By opening customer’s account in the visitors tabular ledger the account of each guest is always complete up to the minute. Therefore the bill can be prepared easily at the time of the checking out of the guest
(6) Every department sends the original copy of check to the bill clerk for posting, so the original copy of check are available with the bill clerk. In case of need they can be seen and verified.
(7) In case of controversy, between the hotel guests and bill clerk/cashier, over certain payments, the tabular sheet can prove helpful to the solution of such problem because it indicates the receipt side also
(8) The tabular sheet is prepared with original copy of the check and each department prepares a statement or summary of its day’s sales or services with the help of duplicate copy so the control and checking of the account can be done efficiently.
(9) In tabular ledger the items of sales are recorded in an analysed form. It shows at a glace how much income has been derived from different departments such as restaurant, bar, telephone, tobacco, laundry, etc.
(10) If one column of chance (cash) sale is added then the management can the total business of the hotel for the day and the credit position.
(11) It provides the control a ready guide to check the term and condition settled with each and every resident guest, the room rates agreed upon and whether the rates inclusive of or without board.
(12) It serves as a guide for the minute wise accumulation of debit item under each personal account. Any personal account showing abnormally high debit balance can be referred to the credit department which looks after the interest of the establishment in order to ensure safeguard of the credit facilities.
(13) Allowances given to the customers are recorded in Visitors Tabular Ledger; so it is easy to know the total allowance given to customers and whether It was approved and recorded in correct accounts.
(14) Visitors Tabular Ledger is kept in loosed-leaf form using the required number of sheets for each day and carrying forward all the totals from page to page to the final total for the day. Thus the grand totals can be found in the last sheet with the loose leaf method. The entire Visitors Tabular Ledger for one day can be sent to the control department without disturbing the next day’s work.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantages of visitors tabular ledger can be mentioned as under
(1) the tabular sheets which are used for guests accounts are unwieldy in dimension.
(2) The columns are too many in the tabular sheet and they are close to each other.there is every lity of wrong posting.
(3) If any mistake is commited, then it is difficult to locate it till the customer points it out. Such errors, lead to wrong summary and wrong postings in other ledgers.
(4) In the V.T.L. there is no provision for narration like journal, so it is difficult to know why the customer’s account has been debited. So is the case with V.P.O. column. As no explanation is given so it is not known on account of which the money has been paid by the front office to an outsider on behalf of the customer.
Hints for writing up the daily Visitors Tabular Ledger
The following points may be useful for a person writing Visitors Tabular Ledger (VTL):-
1. Use ink ¬ pencil.
2. Use capital letters for writing the names of the guest.
3. The information regarding the room nos., no. of guest, plan, rate, etc. should be written as soon as the account is opened.
4. The writing should be clear & legible.
5. Make small but clear figures, especially several items are to be charged to the same room number on the same day. Use the top position of the line for the first item and leave space for subsequent items.
6. Don not use noughts in case there is no figure of rupee paisa because it may give scope for manipulating accounts. Put dashes (-) instead of noughts.
7. A complete VTL has two sides – one debit and the other Credit. Enter the amount in guests account as per rules given below-
(a) Service write the amount on the debit side in the guests account in the laundry column.
(b) If the guest makes the payment, write it in the guests account on the credit side in cash/deposit column
(c) If the guest checks out without settling the bill and the amount is to be collected either from his office or from travel agency etc., write the amount on the credit side in the ledger column.
(d) If the guest checks out without settling the bill and other guest is willing to pay the bill, write the amount on the credit side in transfer column in outgoing guest’s account. Write it on the debit side in transfer column of the guest who Is willing to pay the bill.
8. either when the guest checks out or at the end of the day charge sales tax,service charge, surcharge etc. and apartment if it has not been charged so far.
9. after debiting the guest account for all the charges, calculate Daily Total.
10. add balance b/f in the daily total and find out grand total.
11. find the total of the credit side. It should tally with the grand total.
12. calculate the total of each item of sale and credits on the opposite side. Totals of the vertical columns must reconcile with the totals of horizontal columns. This is to check the arithmetical accuracy.
1. Accounts Receivable : A company, organization or individual, registered or not, who has an outstanding bill with the hotel.
2. Adjoining Rooms : Two rooms side by side with a common wall without a door on the common wall.
3. Advance Deposit : Payment of money by the guest on a room reservation that the hotel is holding.
4. After Departure : (AD) A late charge.
5. Allowance : A reduction to the folio, as an adjustment either for unsatisfactory service or for a posting error. Also called a “REBATE”.
6. American Hotel and Lodging Association : (AH & LA) A federation of regional and state associations composed of individual hotel and motel properties throughout the Americas.
7. American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) : A professional association of travel agents and tour operators.
8. Average Room Rate or Average Daily Rate : Computed by dividing the rooms revenue by the number of rooms occupied.
9. Back to Bank : A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged by tour operators so rooms are never vacant.
10. Bank : Coins and small bills given to a cashier for making change.
11. Bed and Breakfast : (B & B). The room tariff includes the charge for the room and a continental breakfast.
12. Bed Board : A wooden board placed under the mattress to provide a firmer sleeping surface.
13. Blanket Reservation : A block of rooms held for a particular group with individual members requesting assignments from that block.
14. Bucket : The file that holds the guest folio, often recessed in the counter top. Also known as “Cashier’s Well”
15. Cabana or Kababa : A room on the beach or near the swimming pool separated from the main building, used for changing.
16. Cancellation : A guests request to the hotel to void a reservation previously made.
17. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) : A television screen or monitor that displays information put out by the computer.
18. Check-in : All the procedures involved in receiving the guest and completing the registration sequence.
19. Check-out : All the procedures involved in the departure of the guest and the settlement of the account.
20. City Ledger : An accounts receivable ledger of non registered guests.
21. Commercial Hotel : A transient hotel catering to a business clientele.
22. Commercial Rate : A reduced room rate given to business persons to promote occupancy.
23. Confirmed Reservation : The hotels agreement, usually in writing, to the guest’s reservation request.
24. Cut off Date : That date on which the block of unreserved rooms are released for general sale.
25. Day Rate : A reduced charge for occupancy of less than overnight; usually half the daily rate, for less than six hours arrival before check-out time, also used when the party arrives and departs the same day.
26. Did not Stay (DNS) : Means the guest left almost immediately after registering.
27. Duplex : Two rooms on two different floors with a private staircase connecting the two rooms.
28. Efficiency Room : Accommodations that include kitchen facilities.
29. Fam Trip : Familiarization trip taken by travel agents at little or no cost to acquaint themselves with properties and destinations.
30. Folio : A weekly bill of the hotel for keeping transient account receivable records. Also called “Guest Bill” or “Account Card”
31. Guest History Card : A record of the guests visits including rooms assigned, rates, special needs and credit rating.
32. Hard Copy : Computer term for material that has been printed on a paper rather than merely displayed on the monitor.
33. Hollywood Bed : Twin beds joined by a common headboard.
34. Hospitality Room : A room hired by a hotel guest on an hourly basis in order to entertain his own guests.
35. Hot List : A list of lost or stolen credit cards furnished to hotels and other retailers by credit card companies.
36. House Count : The number of registered guests in the hotel.
37. Housekeeper’s Report : A linen room summary of the status of guest rooms used by the front office to verify the accuracy of the room rack.
38. Hubbart Room Rate Formula : A basis for determining room rates.
39. Information Rack : An alphabetical listing of registered guests.
40. Junior Suite : One large room with a partition separating the living room furnishings from the bed room furnishings.
41. Lanai : A Hawaiian term for veranda: A room with a balcony usually overlooking gardens or swimming pool.
42. Late Charge : A departmental charge that arrives at the front desk for billing after the guest has checked out.
43. Late Checkout : A departing guest who remains beyond the checkout hour with permission of the front desk and thus without charge.
44. Lockout : Denying the guest access to his room, usually because of an unpaid bill.
45. Log Book : A record of activities maintained by several operating departments. Also used to record guest complaints.
46. Mail and Key Rack : A piece of front office equipment where both mail and keys are stored by room number.
47. Master Key : One key controlling several pass keys and opening all the guest rooms on one floor; also called a Floor Key.
48. Miscellaneous Charge Order (MCO) : Airline voucher authorizing the sale of services to the guest named on the form, with payment due from the airline.
49. Morning Call : A wake-up telephone call made by the telephone operator at the guest’s request.
50. Murphy Bed : A standard bed that folds or swings into a wall or cabinet in a closetlike fashion.
51. NCR 2000 : A front office posting machine manufactured by the National Cash Register Company, USA.
52. Night Audit : A daily reconciliation of accounts receivable that is completed during the night shift.
53. Off-Season Rate : A reduced room rate charged by resort hotels when demand is lowest.
54. On Change : The status of a room recently vacated but not yet cleaned for a new occupant.
55. Out-Of-Order (OOO) : The room is not available for sale because of some planned or unexpected shutdown of facilities.
56. Over and Short : A discrepancy between the cash on hand and the amount that should be on hand.
57. Overstay : A guest who wishes to extend his stay beyond the scheduled date of departure.
58. Paid In Advance (PIA) : A room charge that is collected prior to the arrival of the guest : it is the usual procedure when a guest is unknown and has scanty baggage, and wit some motels it is standard procedure for all guests.
59. Paid-Outs : Money disbursed to guests either as advances or loans or to balance the account, charged to their account like other departmental charges.
60. Parlour : A living room not used as a bedroom.
61. Pass Key : A submaster key limited to a set of rooms (12-16) and allowing access to no other rooms; usually given to chambermaids.
62. PBX : Private Branch Exchange. A telephone switchboard
63. Penthouse : A luxurious suite of rooms located at the topmost floor of the hotel, opening onto the terrace. It may have a skylight.
64. POS : Point of Sale
65. Preassign : Reservations are assigned and specific rooms blocked before the guest arrives.
66. Preregistration : A procedure in which the hotel completes the registration prior to the guest’s arrival; used with groups and tours to reduce congestion at the front desk.
67. Rack Rate : The standard rate quoted on the printed tariff card.
68. Referral : A reservation system for independently owned properties developed to counter the reservation advantages of the chains and their affiliates.
69. RNA - Registered, Not Assigned. A guest who has registered but is waiting for a specific room assignment until space becomes available.
70. Residential Hotels : A hotel catering to long term guests who have made the property their home or residence. Payment is on monthly basis.
71. Resort : A hotel that caters to vacationing guest providing recreational and entertainment facilities.
72. Rollaway Bed : A portable bed with wheels that can be put in a room as an extra bed.
73. Room Count : The number of occupied rooms in the hotel.
74. Rooming a Guest : The entire precedure by which the desk greets and assigns new arrivals and the bell staff directs them to their rooms.
75. Rooming List : The list of names furnished by a group in advance of arrival and used by the hotel to preregister and preassign the party.
76. Room Rack : A piece of front office equipment representing the guest rooms in the form of metal pockets arranged floorwise in the same sequence, with colour coding and symbols to identify the type of room and their facilities.
77. Room Service : Food and beverage service provided in the privacy of the guest room by the designated room service waiter.
78. Service Charge : A percentage (usually from 10 - 20 per cent) added to the bill for distribution to service employees in lieu of direct tipping.
79. Skipper : A guest who leaves the hotel without settling his bill.
80. Sleeper : 1. A departed guest whose room rack slip remains in the rack giving the appearance of an occupied room.
2. A person staying in the hotel room without the knowledge of the hotel.
3. A red slip put on the room rack to block a room for the arrival of a VVip.
81. Sleep out : A room that is taken, occupied and paid for but the guest does not sleep in it during the night.
82. SPATT (Special Attention) : A label assigned to important guests designated for special treatment. Also used for physically challenged visually impaired etc. guests.
83. Stayover : All registered guests who remain overnight.
84. Turn Away : To refuse walk-in business because rooms are unavailable; the guest so refused.
85. Turn-down : An evening service rendered by the house-keeping department which replaces soiled bathroom linen and prepares the bed for use.
86. Turn-in : The sum deposited with the general cashier by the departmental cashier at the close of each shift.
87. Understay : A guest who checks out before the scheduled date of departure.
88. Upgrade : To move a registered guest to a better room or class of service.
89. VIP (Very Important Person)
90. Voucher : The form used by the operating departments to notify the front desk of the charges incurred by a particular guest; A form furnished by a travel agent as a receipt for a client’s advance reservation payment.
91. Walking a Guest : To refuse accommodation to a guest with a confirmed reservation due to unavailability of rooms and who is sent to another hotel of similar standard for a day.
92. Walk-in : A guest without a reservation who requests for accommodation.
93. Credit Limit : This is the limit of amount of money up to which the guest is allowed credit facility. After the limit is reached the hotel requests the guest to clear his bill either partly or fully.
94. D.G.C.A. Director General of Civil Aviation.
95. D.O.T. Department of Tourism.
96. D.N.A. Did Not Arrive/
97. E.C.O. Express Check Out. An activity which involves compilation and early morning distribution of guest folios to all those guests who are expected to check out that morning.
98. F.E.R.A. Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.
99. F.H.R.A.I. Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India.
100. F.I.T. Free Independent Traveller.
101. Franking Machine : A machine used for printing postage stamp value on the envelope.
102. G.I.T. Group Inclusive Tour.
103. G.O.I. Government of India.
104. I.A.A.I. International Airports Authority of India.
105. I.A.T.A. International Air Transport Association
106. I.C.A.O. International Civil Aviation Organisation
107. I.D.D. International Direct Dialling.
108. I.L.O. International Labour organisation
109. I.C. Integrated Circuit.
110. T.A.A.I. Travel Agents Association of India.
111. U.F.T.A.A. Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association.
112. W.T.O. World Tourism Organisation.
REPORTING AND PRESENTING STATISTICS
1. Potential room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of lettable rooms * 100
2. Actual room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms available * 100
3. House count = (No. of guests) brought forward + arrivals of the day – Departure for the day
House count is the total no. of guests staying in a hotel on a particular day at a given point of time.
4. Double occupancy % is the % of rooms occupied by two persons.
Double occupancy % = house count- No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms sold* 100
5. Bed occupancy % = No. of beds occupied / Total no. of beds * 100
6. Single occupancy % = 100 – Double occupancy %
7. Local occupancy % = local in house / house count * 100
8. Foreign occupancy % = foreigners in house / house count * 100
If either local or foreign occupancy % is given the following formulae may also be used:
Foreign occupancy % = 100 – local occupancy %
Local occupancy % = 100 – foreign occupancy %
9. Ave. rate per room = Total revenue from room sales / total no. of rooms sold
10. Ave. rate per guest = Total revenue from room sales / house count
11. Percentage no- shows = No. of room no shows / No. of room reservations * 100
12. % walk ins = No. of room walk ins / total no. of room arrivals * 100
13. % overstays = No. of overstay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100
14. % understays = No. of understay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100
15. Occupancy % = No. of rooms occupied / No. of rooms available * 100
16. Potential ave. double rate = double room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as doubles
17. Potential ave. single rate = Single room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as singles * 100
18. Forecasted rooms revenue = rooms available * occ. % * ave. daily rate
MECHANICAL BILLING
N.C.R. (National Cash Register) Machine:
In many hotels today, the tabular ledger has been replaced by a N.C.R. machine which is capable of recording and storing all charges incurred by the guest, producing individual bills for the presentation of guest and maintain daily summary totals. The main advantage if this method of keeping guests account is that it eliminates duplication of work (in a tab sheet every transaction is recorded twice. Once in the tab sheet, second time transfer to the guest bill).
Merits:
1. It eliminates duplication of work
2. Need for a separate receipt is eliminated
3. Arithmetical accuracy is ensured
4. The bills are neat and clean
5. The charges are printed on the audit roll which helps the control department
6. The machine shows the total of every department separately
Duties and responsibilities of the cashier:
• Dispose with petty cash
• Authorize V.P.O.
• Give charges to customers
• Accept advance deposit
• Custody of safe deposit
• Authorized movement of luggage by signing the bell boys errand cards after settling the bill
• Render accounts through cash envelope at the end of the shift.
The types of machine now normally employed are equipped with analysis key. The machine has the following visible parts:
1. Amount keys
2. Room number keys
3. Control keys for printing the names of departments or heads of revenue :
a. Identification keys : Room, Bar, Restaurant, Laundry, Local, Trunk Call
b. Debit balance key
c. Credit balance key
d. Debit pick up key
e. Credit pick up key
f. Plus & minus key
g. Debit transfer key
h. Credit transfer key
i. Allowance key
j. Paid in full key
k. Paid key
l. Total key
m. Sub-to all and misc. key
n. Date change key
o. Audit roll tape
p. Left printer
q. Right printer
As the charges are posted to the guest bill, they are automatically added so that at all times the guest bill is up to date provided no charges are left to be posted. The charges are printed on the audit roll simultaneously department wise which helps the control department.
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VISITOR TABULAR LEDGER
A hotel maintains various types of ledgers to keep the record of the debtors, creditors, purchases, sales, assets, expenses etc. Visitors Tabular Ledger is one of these ledgers. As its very name shows , it is a ledger meant for keeping the records of registered guests in an analysed form. It serves the purpose of the day book on the one hand and registered guest’s personal account on the other. It is maintained for keeping the record of all transactions relating to sales of goods and services to registered guests In a systematically analysed and chronological order. There are two types of ledgers-one, horizontal Tabular Ledger and the other, vertical Tabular Ledger. On one side of this ledger, one column is provided to each registered guest and on the other side one column is provided for each item of sale of food, beverages, services etc. As in this ledger several columns are drawn to keep the record of the guest on the one hand and the record of sales of different items to guest on the other, therefore, it is known as Visitor Tabular Ledger.
Visitor Tabular Ledger is maintained in loose-leaf form. A separate ledger is maintained for each day. The number of tabular sheets used for the day depends upon the number of columns in the sheet and the number of rooms available for guests.
The tabular sheet used in some hotels contain only the debit side. So it fails to give the data of the credit side at a glance. For credits transactions other books are to be seen and referred. But in other hotels the tabular sheet contains both debit and credit side. Such Visitors Tabular Ledger records all aspect of both debit and credit transactions either on upper and lower sections or on the left and right section. Such visitors tabular ledger does not confine itself only to sales but it also includes all transactions that concern sales. This implies that amount paid by customer against outstanding debits, allowances and transfer to other ledgers are also recorded. Thus both debit and credit transactions relating to customers are recorded in the their respective columns. In such tabular Ledger if one column is provided for cash sales, it can give the picture of the total sales of the hotel(both cash and credit) of the day.
Tabular Ledger is maintained in the bill office. It is written up on the basis of voucher or checks received by them. As and when the transaction with the guest relating to sale or receipt or allowance or transfer etc. takes place the concern department prepares a check and sends the original copy of the check to the bill department. The bill department immediately posts the check in the customer account in the visitors tabular ledger and in his individual bill. Thus the sales record and the customers account are always complete to the minute.
The customer account, in day’s Tabular Ledger, is closed as soon as as he checks out either after making the bill payment or with the permission of the management even without settling the bill. In case of customers, who continue their stay, their accounts for the day are closed at 12 midnight by the bill clerk on the night duty . the balance carried forward is calculated and transferred to the respective accounts in the new Tabular Ledger which is opened for the coming day.
The completed Visitors Tabular Ledger gives the following formation
(a) The sales of each department and total sale of the hotel of a particular day. Not only this, the sale of each type of meal, beverages and services
(b) The total debit balance of a departed guest transferred to ledger account or transferred to other guest accounts.
(c) Cash paid by guest during the day and allowances given to them.
(d) The details of individual customer account and the total owing by resident guest at the close of the day.
Advantages of visitor tabular ledger
The advantages of visitors Tabular Ledger can be summed up as under-
(1) All personal accounts of the registered guests are opened in daily visitors tabular ledger(sheets) so the names of all the registered customers and the number of rooms and room number occupied can be seen at one glance
(2) On personal accounts of registered guest are opened in daily visitors tabular ledger and transactions relating to them for the day are recorded in their accounts in the tabular sheet, therefore, the days detail of each personal account can be seen without wasting time it save the necessity of opening personal accounts of registered guest in the debtors ledger.
(3) Each customer’s personal account is debited directly with the help of vouchers known as “checks” without first entering the amount into the journal or book of prime entry, so they are less chances of mistakes
(4) The posting is done directly so it takes less time
(5) By opening customer’s account in the visitors tabular ledger the account of each guest is always complete up to the minute. Therefore the bill can be prepared easily at the time of the checking out of the guest
(6) Every department sends the original copy of check to the bill clerk for posting, so the original copy of check are available with the bill clerk. In case of need they can be seen and verified.
(7) In case of controversy, between the hotel guests and bill clerk/cashier, over certain payments, the tabular sheet can prove helpful to the solution of such problem because it indicates the receipt side also
(8) The tabular sheet is prepared with original copy of the check and each department prepares a statement or summary of its day’s sales or services with the help of duplicate copy so the control and checking of the account can be done efficiently.
(9) In tabular ledger the items of sales are recorded in an analysed form. It shows at a glace how much income has been derived from different departments such as restaurant, bar, telephone, tobacco, laundry, etc.
(10) If one column of chance (cash) sale is added then the management can the total business of the hotel for the day and the credit position.
(11) It provides the control a ready guide to check the term and condition settled with each and every resident guest, the room rates agreed upon and whether the rates inclusive of or without board.
(12) It serves as a guide for the minute wise accumulation of debit item under each personal account. Any personal account showing abnormally high debit balance can be referred to the credit department which looks after the interest of the establishment in order to ensure safeguard of the credit facilities.
(13) Allowances given to the customers are recorded in Visitors Tabular Ledger; so it is easy to know the total allowance given to customers and whether It was approved and recorded in correct accounts.
(14) Visitors Tabular Ledger is kept in loosed-leaf form using the required number of sheets for each day and carrying forward all the totals from page to page to the final total for the day. Thus the grand totals can be found in the last sheet with the loose leaf method. The entire Visitors Tabular Ledger for one day can be sent to the control department without disturbing the next day’s work.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantages of visitors tabular ledger can be mentioned as under
(1) the tabular sheets which are used for guests accounts are unwieldy in dimension.
(2) The columns are too many in the tabular sheet and they are close to each other.there is every lity of wrong posting.
(3) If any mistake is commited, then it is difficult to locate it till the customer points it out. Such errors, lead to wrong summary and wrong postings in other ledgers.
(4) In the V.T.L. there is no provision for narration like journal, so it is difficult to know why the customer’s account has been debited. So is the case with V.P.O. column. As no explanation is given so it is not known on account of which the money has been paid by the front office to an outsider on behalf of the customer.
Hints for writing up the daily Visitors Tabular Ledger
The following points may be useful for a person writing Visitors Tabular Ledger (VTL):-
1. Use ink ¬ pencil.
2. Use capital letters for writing the names of the guest.
3. The information regarding the room nos., no. of guest, plan, rate, etc. should be written as soon as the account is opened.
4. The writing should be clear & legible.
5. Make small but clear figures, especially several items are to be charged to the same room number on the same day. Use the top position of the line for the first item and leave space for subsequent items.
6. Don not use noughts in case there is no figure of rupee paisa because it may give scope for manipulating accounts. Put dashes (-) instead of noughts.
7. A complete VTL has two sides – one debit and the other Credit. Enter the amount in guests account as per rules given below-
(a) Service write the amount on the debit side in the guests account in the laundry column.
(b) If the guest makes the payment, write it in the guests account on the credit side in cash/deposit column
(c) If the guest checks out without settling the bill and the amount is to be collected either from his office or from travel agency etc., write the amount on the credit side in the ledger column.
(d) If the guest checks out without settling the bill and other guest is willing to pay the bill, write the amount on the credit side in transfer column in outgoing guest’s account. Write it on the debit side in transfer column of the guest who Is willing to pay the bill.
8. either when the guest checks out or at the end of the day charge sales tax,service charge, surcharge etc. and apartment if it has not been charged so far.
9. after debiting the guest account for all the charges, calculate Daily Total.
10. add balance b/f in the daily total and find out grand total.
11. find the total of the credit side. It should tally with the grand total.
12. calculate the total of each item of sale and credits on the opposite side. Totals of the vertical columns must reconcile with the totals of horizontal columns. This is to check the arithmetical accuracy.
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