1. Importance of Reports Throughout each shift, front office personnel are required to keep statistics about arriving and departing guests, room occupancy, and charges owed to the hotel. Reports prepared from these statistics keep management informed about the current status of the hotel and enable accurate forecasts of future availability. Other reports prepared by other departments are routinely routed to the front desk to keep the staff informed of current room status, charges owed by guests, and so forth.

2. The Front Desk Log Most front desk staff maintains a log in which routine information. As well as noteworthy events may be recorded for the benefit of the next shift. The purpose of the log is to maintain continuity between shifts and to communicate useful information. The following are some of the entries made for the front desk log:  Reservations received during the shift  Check-ins and check-outs  Early arrivals and departures  Overstays and understays  Scheduled arrivals and departures  Guest problems or complaints

3. The log may also be used to record accounting information, such as the total amount of guest account balances at the end of the shift, and the total amount of guest payments received during the shift.

4. Monitoring Room Status One of the front office’s most important responsibilities is monitoring room status. The room rack should reflect the current status of every room at any given time. When a room is unoccupied and available for sale, a tag or label should be visible in the slot, indicating the room type, location, and bedding. When a room is occupied or assigned in advance, a rack slip is inserted in the room slot, accompanied by the reservation data or guest folio. When a room is vacant, but is not yet available to occupy, a room status tag is inserted in the rack slot. The room status contains a code or description indicating the current condition of the room.

5. Room Status Codes VR – Vacant and ReadyHL –Heavy Luggage VC – Vacant and CleanedLL – Light Luggage VD – Vacant and DirtyNL – No Luggage OR – Occupied and ReadyDL –Double Lock OC – Occupied and CleanCL – Chain Lock OD – Occupied and DirtyHU – House Use CO – Check-outNCI – Newly Checked-In OOO – Out of OrderNS – No Show DND – Do Not Disturb SO – Slept Out V/ O or O/ V – Status unclearBLO – Blocked LO – lock OutV - Vacant DO – Due Out VCI – Vacant, Cleaned and Inspected

6. Monitoring Account Balances Daily room charge, tax and auxiliary charges, such as restaurant or gift shop purchases, are posted to the guest account as they incurred. Any advance payments or deposits made by the guest are subtracted from the total charges to determine the balance. Daily room charge, tax and auxiliary charges, such as restaurant or gift shop purchases, are posted to the guest account as they incurred. Any advance payments or deposits made by the guest are subtracted from the total charges to determine the balance. A high balance report is used to monitor guest accounts that exceed the guest’s credit allowance. The credit allowance is the maximum amount that has been authorized by the credit card company. If the allowance is exceeded, authorization for an additional amount must be obtained. If the guest paid in advance the allowance is the amount of the deposit or prepayment.

7. A house limit is a set credit limit established by the hotel, in lieu of a deposit or credit card. The account balance is the current total of all charges incurred by the guest but for which payment has not yet been received. The high balance report shows which guests, if any, have insufficient credit to pay for all of their room charges.

8. When a guest accounts appears on the high balance report, the following procedures are taken: 1.For credit card payments, the credit card company should be contacted to obtain authorization for an additional amount. The additional amount should take into consideration the excess charges, as well as any room charges that might be incurred before the stay is concluded; 2.For cash payments, the front office manager should contact the guest to request an additional deposit. A note may be placed under the guest’s room door, or the client may be contacted directly by telephone

9. Monitoring Availability Room Availability is the actual or projected number of rooms not yet occupied or reserved on a given date. A room availability report is an estimate based on information about past reservations and occupancy.

10. The following information is required to prepare an accurate room availability report: 1.Room inventory – the total number of rooms that could theoretically be sold on a given date. The inventory does not include rooms that are out of order. 2.Previous night’s occupancy – the total number of rooms that were occupied by guests on the previous night. 3.Departures – guests who are scheduled to check out on the current date. 4.Stayovers – guests who occupied a room on the previous night and intends to remain on the current night.

11. 5.Cancellations – The average cancellation rate of a typical hotel is about 2 percent of reservations. 6. No-shows – besides cancellations a small percentage of people who make reservations never check in. The average no-show rate is about 5 percent of reservations. 7. Early arrivals – there is also a possibility that a guest will check in prior to the estimated arrival date.

12. Rooms Statistics One of the functions of the Front Office is to provide room statistics of the hotel and other competitive hotels for purposes of gauging the soundness of operations and to serve as a basis for future management decisions relating to marketing trust and for other related hotel operations.

13. Some forms of statistics: Occupancy percentage = Total rooms sold x 100 Total rooms available Total rooms available Average room rate = Total revenue Total rooms sold Total rooms sold

14. Forecasting Room Availability Rooms availability forecasts are used to help manage the reservation process and to guide front office staff in effective room sales on nights when a full house (100% occupancy) is possible. A room availability forecast can also be used as occupancy forecast. Since there is a fixed number of rooms in the hotel, forecasting the number of rooms available for sales also forecasts the number of rooms expected to be occupied on a given date.

15. Room availability forecasts can be useful to the front office manager attempting to schedule the necessary number of employees for an expected volume of business. Forecasting is a difficult skill to develop. The skill is acquired through experience, effective records keeping and accurate counting methods.

16. The following types of information will be helpful in room availability forecasting: A through knowledge of the hotel and the surrounding area; A through knowledge of the hotel and the surrounding area; Profiles of the markets the property serves; Profiles of the markets the property serves; The occupancy history of the hotel for the past several months, and for the corresponding period of the previous year; The occupancy history of the hotel for the past several months, and for the corresponding period of the previous year; Knowledge of reservation trends, such as the history of lead-time for reservation received; Knowledge of reservation trends, such as the history of lead-time for reservation received;

17. A listing of events scheduled in the area at a time during the forecasted period; A listing of events scheduled in the area at a time during the forecasted period; Profiles of specific groups blocked for the dates in question; Profiles of specific groups blocked for the dates in question; The number of non-guaranteed and guaranteed reservations booked for specific dates, and the typical number of no-shows and last minute cancellations; The number of non-guaranteed and guaranteed reservations booked for specific dates, and the typical number of no-shows and last minute cancellations; The percentage of rooms reserved to date and the cut-off date for any room blocks held for the dates in question; The percentage of rooms reserved to date and the cut-off date for any room blocks held for the dates in question;

18. The existence of city-wide or multi-hotel groups and their potential impact on the dates in question (overrun facility support); The existence of city-wide or multi-hotel groups and their potential impact on the dates in question (overrun facility support); Plans for remodeling or renovating the hotel, which would change the number of available rooms; Plans for remodeling or renovating the hotel, which would change the number of available rooms; Remodeling or renovating plans for competitive hotels in the area, and /or information on the opening of new hotels in the area. Remodeling or renovating plans for competitive hotels in the area, and /or information on the opening of new hotels in the area.

19. The process of forecasting room availability generally relies on historical occupancy data. To facilitate, the following daily occupancy data should be recorded: The number of arrivals; The number of arrivals; The number of walk-ins The number of walk-ins The number of stay-over (rooms occupied on previous nights that will remain occupied for the night in question); The number of stay-over (rooms occupied on previous nights that will remain occupied for the night in question); The number of no-shows; The number of no-shows; The number of under-stays (check-outs before originally expected departure date); The number of under-stays (check-outs before originally expected departure date); The number of check-outs. The number of check-outs.

20. Percentage of No-Shows The percentage of no-shows indicates the proportion of guests with reservations who failed to register on their arrival date. This ratio helps the front office manager decide when to sell rooms to early walk-ins. It also indicates a potential “ball out” factor for those nights when the hotel has mistakenly overbooked. Hotels with high no-show ratios will have significantly more difficulty in accurately forecasting available rooms.

21. The percentage of no-shows is calculated by dividing the number of no-shows for a specific period of time (day, week, month, or year) by the total number of reservations for the same period. Percentage of no-shows = Number of no-shows Number of reservations

22. Percentage of Walk-Ins The percentage of walk-ins is calculated by dividing the number of walk-ins for a specific period of time by the total number of arrivals for the same period. Percentage of walk – ins = Number of walk-ins Total number of walk-ins

23. The higher the percentage of walk-ins, the more difficulty a hotel may have in accurately forecasting room availability. Walk-ins help fill rooms which are not reserved in advance. Often, properties can sell rooms to walk-in guests at a different rate since these guests have had less opportunity to “shop around” at other properties.

24. Percentage of overstays Overstays represent rooms occupied by guests who continue their stays beyond their originally scheduled departure dates. Overstays may have arrived with guaranteed or non-guaranteed reservations, or as walk-ins. Overstays should not be confused with stayovers. Stayovers are guests who arrived to occupy a room before a given day and whose scheduled departure dates are after that day.

25. The percentage of overstays is calculated by dividing the number of overstays for a specific period of time by the total number of check-outs for the same period. The higher the percentage of overstays, the more difficulty a hotel may experience in forecasting room availability. Percentage of overstays = Number of overstays Total number of check-outs

26. To help control overstays, many hotels ask guests to verify their departure date when they heck in. Such verification can be critical – especially when the hotel is full and no overstays can be allowed. Overstays may also cause problems when rooms have been blocked for incoming guests. This is especially important for suites of other rooms that may have special value to the incoming guests.

27. Percentage of understays Understays represent rooms occupied by guests who check out before their scheduled departure dates. Understays may have arrived at a property with guaranteed or non-guaranteed reservations, or as walk-ins.

28. The percentage of understays is calculated by dividing the number of understays for a specific period of time by the total number of check-outs for the same period. The higher the percentage of understays, the more difficulty a hotel my experience in accurate forecasting. Percentage of understays = Number of understays Total number of check-outs

29. Forecast Formula: Once relevant occupancy statistics have been gathered, the number of rooms available for sale on any given date can be determined by the following formula: Total number of guestrooms Total number of guestrooms - Number of out-of-order guestrooms - Number of stayovers - Number of reservations + Number of reservations x Percentage of no-shows + Number of understays - Number of overstays = Rooms available for sale