Glossary

Term Explanation
Reservation A reservation is a booking or request for some time in the future. It involves
obtaining all the necessary information needed to satisfy this request.
FIT - Fully/free A person travelling who is not part of a group or tour who
independent is paying full rate.
Package A package is a combination of goods and services at a
discounted price.
Overbooked Selling more of a good or service than you have available.
Usually done to compensate for no shows.
No show A person who has made a reservation but does not turn
up.
Under-stay A person who departs earlier than the reservation date.
Suggestive selling Involves selling your products by offering alternatives.
Describe how the product would meet the customer's
needs, highlight any special features.
Up-selling Offer more than the guest is asking for. Sell up your price
Range
Cross-selling Suggesting accommodation at another one of your
properties.
Down-selling Down-selling is basically the opposite to up-selling
whereby you start the selling process at the most
expensive item and work down to the lowest price.
Waitlist A listing of reservations waiting for cancellations in order
to be accepted.
Peak season Time of high occupancy.
Off peak season Time of low occupancy
Guest history profile Term used to record all the details about a guest who has
used the establishment’s goods and services.
Honorific The title used to describe people.
Receipt A document issued in exchange for payment
Voucher A document handed over as a form of payment to pay for
a good or service.
Company charge A service that allows an account to be sent to the
company for billing purposes
Guaranteed booking A reservation that is held all night because the service is paid for.
Non-guaranteed booking A reservation held until the 6 p.m. release time or agreed time.
Internal use documents Documents used within an establishment.
External use documents Documents than either come in or are sent out to another organization.
Policy A statement about an establishment's position on an issue.
Procedure Step by step guide to define a task.
Facsimile (Fax) Machine A machine that copies a document and transmits it to
another fax machine.
Jargon Establishment’s abbreviations for terms – PAX – number
of guests, POA – pay own account, FOC – free of charge.
Amenity Items in the room for guest use
Availability Amount of rooms available for sale
Briefing A meeting to discuss an upcoming shift
Bumping a guest Where a guest needs to be transferred to another hotel
due to non availability
Complaint A comment made by the customer in relation to a failure
of a product or service provided
Constructive feedback Feedback given by management with the aim of
identifying actual performance with suggestions for
improvement
Counseling Discussions and analysis of personal and work problems
that affect an employee’s work performance in an
attempt to find a solution
Deviation Where there is a difference in expected and actual
activities, information or figures
ETA Estimated time of arrival
ETD Estimated time of departure
Forecast A prediction of future events
Hand-over A period of time in which different shifts will have time to exchange information that
will benefit and ensure the smooth continuation of the department.
In-house A person who is a registered guest in the hotel
Monitor To watch, observe or evaluate an activity or process
No show A guest who has made a booking, but did not show up.
Occupancy The term described to identify amount of rooms sold or
occupied by guests
Operations The combination of products and services provided to a
customer
Rate The price offered for an accommodation room
Registration The process of collecting and confirming information and
signing a guest into the room
Reservations Where a person has reserved a guest room
Room facilities The furniture and equipment in a guest room
Room inventory Amount of guest rooms in a hotel
Scope of authority Given guidelines as to what action a person can take in
the workplace without having to get special permission
from higher management
VIP Very Important Person