Terms and Definitions for the Hospitality Industry

Terms and Definitions for the Hospitaliy Industry
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Access Aisle
An Aisle That Is A Necessary Part Of An Accessible Parking Space. The Aisle Allows Disabled Individuals With A Device, Such As A Wheelchair, To Enter And Exit Vehicles And Travel To The Sidewalk Or Building Entrance. See Accessible Parking Space.
Accessible Parking Space
A Parking Space, Specially Designed For Disabled Persons, That Meets Or Exceeds The Requirements Of The People With Disabilities Act. It Should Have A Minimum Width Of 13 Feet (4 Meters)--8 Feet (2.4 Meters) For The Vehicle And 5 Feet (1.5 Meters) For An Access Aisle.
Accessible Route
A Route That Connects The Accessible Parking Area To An Accessible Entrance Of The Building The Parking Lot Serves. An Accessible Route Should Be A Minimum Of 36 Inches (91 Centimeters) Wide And Have No Abrupt Surface Transitions (From Sidewalks To Streets, For Example) Or Obstructions That Would Present Hazards To A Visually Impaired Person.
Acoustics
Sound Absorption Or Sound Reflection Quality Of Certain Materials, Usually In Ceilings, Walls, Or Floors.
Actual Beverage Cost Percentage
Net Beverage Cost Divided By Total Bar Sales.
Ad Valorem Tax
A Tax Based On The Assessed Value Of The Asset Itself, Usually A Fixed Percentage Of The Value.
Adjoining Rooms
Guestrooms Located Side By Side Without A Connecting Door Between Them.
Affiliate Reservation System
A Hotel Chain's Reservation System In Which All Participating Properties Are Contractually Related. Each Property Is Represented In The Computer System Database And Is Required To Provide Room Availability Data To The Reservation Center On A Timely Basis.
Affiliated Hotel
A Hotel That Is A Member Of A Chain, Franchise, Or Referral System. Membership Provides Special Advantages, Particularly A National Reservation System.
Airline-Related Guests
Airplane Crew Members And Passengers Who Need Emergency Accommodations.
Airport Hotel
A Hotel Located Near A Public Airport. Although Airport Hotels Vary Widely In Size And Service Levels, They Are Generally Full-Service And Are More Likely Than Other Hotels To Have In-Room Movies, Computerized Property Management Systems, And Call Accounting Systems.
Ala Carte Menu
A Food And Beverage Menu In Which Each Item Is Listed And Priced Separately.
Alcoholic Beverage Menu
A Menu That Lists Cocktails, Wines, And Other Alcoholic Beverages An Operation Offers To Guests. Alcoholic Beverages Can Be Listed On A Separate Menu Or Included On The Regular Menu. Restaurants With A Large Selection Of Wines May Have A Separate Wine List. Many Beverage Menus Also Include No- Or Low-Alcohol Drinks.
All-Expense Tour
A Tour Offering All Or Most Services--Transportation, Lodging, Meals, Sight-Seeing, And So On--For A Pre-Established Price. The Terms "All-Expense" And "All-Inclusive" Are Much Misused. Virtually No Tour Rate Covers Everything. The Terms And Conditions Of A Tour Contract Should Specify Exactly What Is Covered.
American Plan (AP)
A type of room rate which includes the price of the room, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Also known as full pension.
Apartment Hotel

Accommodation in apartment-style units rather than rooms: with minimum or expanded in-suite cooking facilities. Defined by legislation for licensing and classification purposes.
Available Rooms (suites, beds)
The number of rooms normally available on a day to day basis, LESS those permanently used for some purpose other than guest occupancy.
Average Daily Rate (ADR)
The total room revenue for a given period (day, month to date, month, year to date), divided by the number of rooms occupied for the same period. Frequently used as a measure of economic performance.
Bed and Breakfast (B&B)
A type of room rate which includes the price of the room and breakfast. Also known as Continental Plan.
Boutique Hotel
Historical, classic buildings, remodeled into boutique hotels with usually have less than 30 rooms.
Central Reservation System (CRS/CReS)
The ability of guests to make a reservation for one out of a number of hotels by contacting one agency, contracted by the hotels acting as a group, to operate this "central" reservation service.
Complimentary Room
An occupied guest room for which no price is charged. This may include a room occupied by a hotel employee.
Condominium Hotels
Customers purchase fee-simple equity in the units - the hotel's guestrooms. Unit owners may live in the hotels permanently or use them as second and third homes. Depending on the hotel's policy, unit owners may rent their units independently or through the management company's rental program and derive income through a revenue-sharing arrangement. Unit owners also incur budgeted maintenance and operating expenses. Depending on the management company, unit owners have varying degrees of access to their hotel's amenities and services.
Credit Card Commissions
A fee paid to credit card companies based upon a contracted percentage of credit card charges accepted.
Destination Clubs
The newest entrant to lodging, this niche most closely resembles country clubs in ownership structure. While developers of destination clubs expect to branch out into other price segments, for now this niche targets the most affluent of travelers. Customers pay initiation fees that can run as high as $500,000 and annual dues running as high as $25,000. In return, customers get to stay for weeks at a time in multi-million dollar residences and villas in prime urban and resort locations and enjoy a full range of amenities and services.
Facilities
Core physical features: accommodation, restaurants, bars, and meeting rooms.
Five Star Hotel
Luxury hotels; most expensive hotels/resorts in the world; numerous extras to enhance the quality of the client's stay (for example: some have private golf courses and even a small private airport).
Four Star Hotel
First class hotels; expensive (by middle-class standards); has all of the previously mentioned services; has many "luxury" services (for example: massages or a health spa).
Franchise
The right to market a service and/or product often exclusive for a specified area, as granted by the manufacturer, developer or distributor in return for a fee: prevalent in the fast food industry but increasingly adopted within the hotel community.
Frequent Independent Traveler (FIT)
Designation which applies to visitors who arrive on their own as opposed to being a part of an organized group.
Front Office
An office usually situated in the lobby, always located inside the main entrance, whose primary function is to control the sale of guest rooms, provide keys, mail, information service for guests, maintain guest accounts, render bills, receive payments as well as providing information to other departments within the hotel.
Guest Account
An itemized record of a guest's charges and credits, which is maintained in the front office until departure. Also referred to as a guest bill, guest folio, and/or guest statement.
Guest Amenities
Not to be confused with "amenities", this is the term given to the range of disposable items provided in guest room bathrooms and includes such items as shampoo, lotion, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, shower caps, etc… The cost of these items are built into room rate.
Guest Check (Restaurant)
The invoice presented to restaurant and bar patrons for food and beverage consumed during a visit. Also referred to as a waiter's check or restaurant check.
Guest History
A record maintained for each guest who has stayed at the hotel with a separate entry for each visit and details of pertinent preferences. This is a valuable reference tool for reservations, marketing, and credit departments. Guest histories are now more readily available through the increased utilization of computers and technology.
Guest House
A personal residence with a small amount of overnight accommodation sometimes limited by legislation and residence constraints. Typically provides breakfast which is included within the room rate but no other meals. Not licensed to provide alcoholic beverages commercially.
Guest Service Directory
A documented listing of all of the features of a hotel together with general and pertinent information about the community within which the property is located. Directories are usually provided within each guest room.
High (Peak) Season / Shoulder Season
The period of consecutive months during which optimum revenues, room/suite occupancy and average room rates are generated. In the Rajasthan this is generally October through March.
Hotel
Minimum number of available rooms, services, and amenities, usually defined by legislation for licensing and classification purposes as well as eligibility for fiscal incentives in some jurisdictions. May provide food and beverage services on site but not always within the accommodation building(s): usually by in-house staff but occasionally through an outside food and beverage contractor. May or may not provide a range of recreation and other amenities on site or by arrangement with others off site. Includes motor hotel, resort hotel or resort, and commercial hotel.
Hotel Representative
An individual or firm with the responsibility to facilitate market accessibility to the hotel property by the travel trade.
Ingress and Egress
Ingress/Egress relates to the Civil Authority coverage part of the Business Income/EE forms. If one is unable to enter or exit by direction of civil authority.
Innkeepers Statutes
Statutes that limit the common law liability of innkeepers.
Intelligent Hotels
Hotels that are identified because they have state of the art technology systems for their operations. These hotels have replaced the traditional systems to reduce their energy cost and usually have integrated systems which join analog and digital systems to achieve an effective communication in their hotels. The return on investment is reflected in the energy-cost savings and the comfort they provide to their guests.
Limited Service Hotels
Brand hotels with franchise memberships of recognized hotels, built within limited areas without a restaurant. These hotels are located near business areas such as industrial parks, cities, and airport terminals.
Loss of Attraction
"Loss of Attraction" falls under the Business Income and Extra Expense coverage form although coverage is rarely included as it is hard to prove. For example, if a fire occurred at a hotel in Las Vegas, there may be other hotels in the surrounding area that will have lost income as a result of the reduction in tourism. For those hotels that have not suffered direct damage to the property, Business Income claims would fall under “Loss of Attraction.” Loss of Attraction coverage is not common and can be difficult to identify the loss resulting from a disaster and that which could have resulted from poor management or other uninsured factors. Physical damage to insured property is the primary trigger for business interruption claims; however, additional triggers of coverage outside of physical damage include acts of civil authority, ingress/egress, contingent business interruption and loss of attraction.
Low (off-peak) Season
The consecutive months during which the lowest revenues, room/suite occupancy and average room rates are generated. In the Rajasthan this is generally April to September.
M.O.D.
Manager On Duty.
Mini Bar
A specially designed small floor mounted refrigerator containing a variety of beverages and snacks located in guest rooms, with individual guest room key access. This amenity serves as a more credible and profitable substitute for room service.
Motel
Overnight accommodation originally targeted to automobile travelers and therefore, situated at roadside locations. A more contemporary definition would be the provision of accommodation only, with no other amenities and services provided by the motel.
Night Manager
Evening Manager.
No Category Hotels
These hotels include motels, cottages, bungalows and others with limited services. Nevertheless, these hotels represent 41% of the total hotel market share.
Occupancy (Occ. %) (Occ Rate)
The percentage of available rooms occupied for a given period of consecutive time. This figure is calculated by dividing the number of rooms occupied for a period by the number of rooms available for the same period and is expressed as a percentage.
One Star Hotel
Low budget hotels; inexpensive; may not have maid service or room service.
Overbooking
A situation in which more room reservations have been taken by a hotel than what the hotel is able to accommodate. Hotels that use overbooking as a policy are increasingly being targeted by tour wholesalers and operators in an attempt to better control and minimize the serious adverse marketing effects which overbooking has for all stakeholders.
Package
The name given to an assembly of components under a one price system. Typically, the core package price would include: return transportation, ground transfers, baggage handling, accommodation, one or more meals per day, and applicable taxes. Car rentals, recreation and entertainment and gratuities may also be included, but are more often supplementary to the core package price.
Rack Rate
The full, undiscounted published room rate (price).
Registration Card (Reg. Card)
A form on which arriving guests record their names, addresses, and other details including mode of transportation used, nationality, purpose of visit (usually business or pleasure), method of payment, and length of stay. A space is also provided for signature, room rate and room number. Additional questions may be included as a part of the hotel's market research platform.
Resort Hotels & Spas
A hotel that caters primarily to vacationers and tourist and typically offers more recreational amenities and services, in a more aesthetically pleasing setting, than other hotels. These hotels are located in attractive and natural tourism destinations and their clientele are groups and couples that like adventure with sophistication and comfort. The attractions vary depending on the region and some might offer golf, tennis, scuba diving and, depending on the natural surrounding, may also arrange other recreational activities.
Revenue Per Available Room (REVPAR)
Revpar is the key measure in the performance of the core business of hotels-selling rooms. Revenue per available room (revpar) is the key indicator of performance for hotels and can be broken down into two parts reflecting occupancy and rates: Revpar = occupancy (percentage of available rooms occupied) × average room rate per night. Trends in revpar are very important. Revpar can be used to compare companies but only if they have broadly similar hotels - i.e. similarly priced in similar locations. This is less unlikely than it may seem as most hotels companies give regional breakdowns of revpar and this can be compared.
Room Block
A predetermined number of rooms reserved in advance for group (conference, tour) use.
Room Service
Food and beverage delivered and served in a guest room.
Safety Deposit Boxes
Individual boxes provided for the safekeeping of guest valuables. Located either in a central, secure, and supervised location or in individual guest rooms.
Shoulder Season
The period between peak and low season.
Three Star Hotel
Middle class hotels; moderately priced; has daily maid service, room service, and may have dry-cleaning, Internet access, and a swimming pool.
Timeshare (Vacation Ownership)
A marketing and equity financing concept which permits participants to enjoy vacation accommodation for a fixed, one time amount for life, or shorter contracted period. According to the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), timeshare consumers make a one-time purchase of furnished resort accommodations, at a fraction of whole ownership costs, and pay an annual maintenance fee. Each condominium, or unit, of a vacation ownership resort is divided into intervals, either by the week or points equivalent, which are sold separately. The accommodations are priced according to a variety of factors, including size of the unit, resort amenities, location, and season. The purchaser owns the vacation accommodations, but only for the amount of time he or she plans to use it - typically one or two weeks each year. With time-share, the owner has all the benefits of a vacation home without the year-round costs. From its origin, the idea behind time-sharing was to give people the ability to purchase their future vacation - at current prices. Fractional is a variation of timeshare in which the purchaser owns longer intervals, from four to 12 weeks a year. Costs of fractional are significantly higher, ranging to more than $600,000. Major branded hotel companies participate in fractional timeshare, though not to the extent of independent operators.
Tour Operator
An organization or individual who actively manages and escorts tours and tour packages to FIT and group visitors.
Traditional Lodging
Guests pay nightly rates for single rooms or suites and have full access to the hotels' range of amenities and services. Rates begin at "rack," but vary widely, based on time of week and season and nearby events and attractions.
Transfer
This refers to the transportation of visitors between their point of arrival and selected hotel, and back again on departure day.
Two Star Hotel
Budget hotels; slightly more expensive; usually has maid service daily.
Wake Up call
A call made by front office, usually by telephone, to a guest room at the time requested by a room guest to be wakened.
Walk In Guest
Who checks-in without an advance reservation.
Walked Guests
When a hotel is overbooked and a guest room is not available for a confirmed guest, the hotel has “walk the guest” to a nearby hotel. This usually includes paying for transportation to the hotel and covering any difference in the room rate at the hotel the guest was “walked” to.