How to handle reservations in the hotel?

Reservations in a hotel are handled through the reservation agent. In some hotels, the reservation is handled by the receptionist. The person conducting the reservation should know very well about that task. By taking the reservation correctly, the hotel can sell more rooms. It can bring substantial economic benefits. But careless reservation handling can cause financial and reputational damage to the hotel. This article explains how to handle a hotel reservation correctly.

What is a reservation?

A reservation is a transaction between the hotel and the guest based on an agreement. Generally, guest reservation from a hotel is for things like rooms, banquet hall, function hall, hotel taxis, and lunch or dinner order. In a reservation, the guest reserves something mentioned above in the hotel. Then, the guest can use the booked item during the relevant period. Within that time limit, the hotel also provides a guarantee for it.

What are the types of reservations?

Reservations can be divided into two parts.

They are guaranteed reservations and non-guaranteed reservations. It is called a guaranteed reservation because the reservation is confirmed. To explain further, the guest has paid for the reservation, and the hotel has agreed to the guest’s request. In guaranteed reservation, the hotel does not have any serious risk. But in the case of a non-guaranteed reservation, the guest does not confirm his booking. No payment is made for that. For example, if a guest booked a room from a hotel as non-guaranteed, the hotel gives the guest a certain period to confirm the booking. If the guest cannot confirm the booking within that time frame, the hotel can sell the relevant room to another guest.

What are the ways to get a reservation for the hotel?

Mainly a hotel gets reservations through a telephone line. In the same way, through a travel agent, email, hotel websites, online room reservation websites, or search engines, hotel reservations can be received in person.

How to handle reservations in the hotel as a reservation agent?

A reservation agent is a responsible person in a hotel. In small hotels, you do not see a reservation agent, and there are cases where the work done by the reservation agent is done by the receptionist. After coming to work as a reservation agent, there are several tasks that you need to perform. That way, you can do your daily work efficiently and accurately. They are:

You should attend the briefing and pay attention to the information received.

It would be best to pay attention to the room count of the day. Similarly, there should be knowledge about how many more rooms should be reserved for the same day. Similarly, there should be knowledge about yesterday’s booking and the number of bookings that can be obtained. Likewise, you should know about the hotel’s facilities, room rates, and special events etc., in the hotel.

You can study the hotel’s reservation operation system to learn about the room count and how many rooms can be sold. That way, you can learn about the room size available today and the bookings and room sizes in the coming months.

After you make a reservation for a room for a guest, you must update the reservation operation system. That way, everyone else can know about that booking.

If a guest contacts you by phone, email or any other method to make a reservation, you should pay close attention to their behaviour. First, you should pay attention to the dates and room size they want to book, room type, meal plan, no of pax etc. There are times when the hotel is fully booked on some dates. If all reservations are confirmed on such dates, there is no point in getting a new booking. But getting the guest’s contact details is very important. If some bookings for the dates requested by the guests are cancelled, they can be given the number of rooms they want.

Next, attention should be paid to the special requests requested by the guest. For example, vegetarian or gluten-free foods, early breakfast or breakfast packets, a baby cot, and an extra bed. If so, mention it in the reservation form.

Always try to get advance payment or full payment. If the guest wants to do something other than do so, give them time to pay.

If the guest agrees to the payment and everything, arrange for them to receive the booking confirmation via email or any other method the hotel follows.

If a guest needs to change an existing booking, do it if possible. For example, things like room size, dates, and special requests.

What information should a reservation agent obtain from a guest?

The reservation agent should update the reservation form. The most important steps to be followed while getting a booking are mentioned above. Follow those steps and enter the information obtained in the reservation form. A sample reservation form is shown below. This varies from hotel to hotel.

What information should a reservation agent obtain from a guest?

The reservation agent should update the reservation form. The most important steps to be followed while getting a booking are mentioned above. Follow those steps and enter the information obtained in the reservation form. A sample reservation form is shown below. This varies from hotel to hotel. The data mentioned in the reservation form must be studied and approved by the reservation manager or a responsible person. After that, it has to be entered into the reservation operating system. But in some hotels, a reservation operating system is not known, and reservation files can be seen instead. There are 12 files related to the 12th month of the year, and those files are separated so that they are related to the 31st day of the month. The reservation manager or a responsible person studies and approves the reservation form and puts it in the relevant file on the date and month. In addition to these files, several other files are also used for ease of work. They are called today’s reservation file, tomorrow’s reservation file, no-shows and cancellation file. Today’s reservation is in today’s reservation file, and tomorrow’s reservation is in the file. The No shows and cancellation file is used to place the reservation form in cases where a guest has confirmed a booking and cancelled it for some reason. Likewise, a no-show is when a guest has made a reservation for the hotel room but arrives after the applicable time limit. Therefore, in such cases, the reservation form is also put in the No shows and cancellation file for future studies.

Another aspect you should pay attention to as a reservation agent is the booking vouchers travel agents provide. In many hotels, bookings from travel agents are more common. This is because the hotel offers a special room rate for travel agents. In the same way, travel agents book a large number of rooms. Similarly, some travel agents request different booking changes at other times. For example, things like room count and meal plan. It is the reservation agent’s responsibility to make those changes if possible. But before making the changes, the travel agent should give an amendment voucher to the hotel regarding the relevant changes. Once it is received, the difference becomes more appropriate.

Similarly, there are cases where the travel agent hangs the allotment for future room booking. Allotments often mean non-guaranteed reservations and the travel agent claims and requests that a large number of rooms should be blocked for their guests. If your hotel deals with many travel agents, give the allotment proportionately. These allotments should be given for a certain period, and if the travel agent cannot confirm within that time, the rooms should be given to other guest reservations.

This article focuses on handling a hotel reservation and what should be considered. Please comment below if you have any other information besides the relevant information in this article.