This presentation explains the operation of a Front Office.

1. Ms. Roma Gandhi
Dr. BMN College of Home Science
NAAC Accredited ‘A+’ Grade CGPA 3.69/4
UGC Status: College for Potential of
Excellence

2. • Reservation is the process of booking a room prior to the
arrival of a guest so that the room is available at the time
the guest checks in.
• Earlier, a reservation agent acted as a booking clerk who
would check whether rooms were available and
confirmed the reservation if they were.
• The reservation department is the nerve centre for room
revenues and profitability.

3. • Allowances
• Amendments
• Cancellations
• Check in
• Confirmation
• Double occupancy
• Group
• Guaranteed booking
• Guest
• Forecast
• Free sale
• FIT
• GIT
• Lay over
• On request
• Overbooking
• Pox
• Revision
• Room availability
• Room blocking

4. • Room night
• Sale
• Sold out
• Single occupancy
• Waitlist

5. A ‘source’ is classified as any individual or body that
actually pays a hotel for its services. A reservation agent
ahs a large market from which he/she receives
reservations. The principle sources of reservations are:
1. TOUR OPERATORS

6. 2. TRAVEL AGENTS
Hotels usually follow the following practice in dealing with
travel agents:
Give 10% commission on rooms
Give commission on boarding and lodging charges for
bookings on an American Plan
Give the commission on room only for bookings on
European Plan
Commission is payable for the entire day of the guest
unto a maximum of 21 days
Commission is payable on the rack rate. However, if
discounts are given on room charges the hotel has the
right to deny the commission

7. Hotels planning a partnership with travel agents are
obliged to fill any questionnaire submitted by the travel
agent
Either party cannot place a condition to advertise each
other. The partnership a purely on a relationship basis.
Travel agents are forbidden to quote rates in excess of
rates agreed upon
Travel agents must get at least one month notice before
a revision of room tariffs
Hotels agree to give one complimentary room to a
bonafide tour leader for a group comprising 15 members
and above. A discount of 50% is given to the tour leader
of the group is less than 15 but more than 10 members
Should a hotel not be able to give the room negotiated, it
is obliged to give a superior room at the rate of the
original booking. If an inferior room is given, then the
lower price is charged

8. • Hotels operating on European Plan only, may accept
bookings on American Plan provided it is a group booking
of 15 persons or more.

9. 3. AIRLINES

10. 4. CORPORATE HOUSES

11. 5. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES

12. 6. FREE INDIVIDUAL TRAVELLERS (FIT’s)
They provide the bread and butter of the business on
a regular basis.
FIT’s are guests who book their rooms directly with
the hotels
Hotels try to get their repeat business through
recognition programs and by maintaining guest
history records
FIT’s are now becoming greater source of business
because of all information available on web

13. 7. HOTEL WEBSITES

14. 8. GOVERNMENT OFFICES
9. REFERRAL HOTELS

15. • Email
• Post
• Telex
• Cables
• Websites
• Telephone calls
• Personal visit by local representative of the
guests

16. • CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS
Booking in writing
Prepayment
Credit card
Advance deposit
Penalty charges
Miscellaneous charge vouchers (MCO’s)

17. • NON CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS
Non confirmed reservations are those who have
not secured their room bookings in writing or by
other instruments.
Such guests have to wait for the check out time at
12 noon to secure a room.
A no show would be the best opportunity for the
guest to secure a room around the cancellation
hour of 4 pm.

18. •GROUP RESERVATIONS
Groups may be classified as:
Tour groups, convention groups, participants of
seminar or training program, political
delegations, performing artists, military troops,
fashion show organizers and models, reunions,
sports teams and delegations, airline crews,
Government delegations etc.

19. THANK YOU