Reservation

Officer
 Learning Objective

● To have a better understanding of reservation officer

responsibilities and tasks duties

● To understand working procedures of reservation officer

● To understand about operating between reservation and OTAs.

● To apply the reservation procedure into practice in a real-world

hotel situation.
 The following are the everyday responsibilities of a
reservation clerk who works in the reservations
department:

1. Implement the reservation procedure.

● Accept and handle hotel reservations via
phone, email, internet, OTA, and TA channels...
Booking inquiries are guaranteed to be
handled within 48 hours.
● Follow the hotel's reservation guidelines.
● To book correctly, pay attention to bookings
from VIP guests, loyal clients, corporate
customers, and so on.
● Make sure you know everything there is to
RESERVATION know about the hotel's services and
promotions so you can tell guests about them.
OFFICER
Duties & Responsibilities
RESERVATION
OFFICER
Duties & Responsibilities

2. Confirmation, modification, cancellation of booking

● Booking confirmation with visitors: Ideally, the system would
automatically send a booking confirmation email to the client
with all of the booking details right after the guest's booking is
done.

● Hotel personnel can aggressively call guests to confirm again

if they are more cautious. When it comes to calling
confirmation time, each hotel has its own set of restrictions.
However, for lone travelers, it is normally 3 days before to
check-in, and for groups, it is usually 15 days prior to check-in.

● Customers' requests are received, and reservations are

modified and cancelled in compliance with hotel policies.

● Ensure that each booking confirmation, update, and

cancellation is entered separately.
 RESERVATION
OFFICER
Duties & Responsibilities

3. A
● Make a list of the visitors who are scheduled to check in and out during the day to
summary
pass along to the reception and housekeeping departments so that an appropriate
of the room cleaning may be planned.
day's ● It is critical to notify the front desk and room department ahead of time when VIP
booking customers make booking requests so that reception can be more attentive.
status
RESERVATION
OFFICER
Duties & Responsibilities

4. Update booking records

● Keep track of a customer's

bookings so that promotional
information can be sent to
them in the future.

● Ensure that reservation

records are updated and
saved on a regular basis.
RESERVATION
OFFICER
Duties & Responsibilities

5. Other jobs
● Coordinate with related departments to handle customer
booking requests.
● Management of feedback and complaints regarding the
quality of hotel services should be reported.

● When necessary, provide new employees with direction and

professional training.

● In the Log Book, record working information for the shift, and
hand over the work at the end of the shift.
● Fully participate in department meetings and refresher courses
when facilitated by the hotel.
● Perform other tasks when requested by superiors
 Reservation Service Standard
Step 1: Receive booking request
The first step, the reservation officer receives the guest's booking
information. Information to be recorded includes:
1. Guest's name
2. Number of people
3. Time and date come
4. Number of nights of stay
5. Kind of room
6. Room Rates
7. Number of rooms
8. Other special requests
9. Contact address (phone number, email)
 Reservation Service Standard

Step 2: Determine room availability

● The second step in booking is to determine exactly which rooms are
available. A hotel management software will help booking staff easily
check this with just a few clicks.

Step 3: Negotiate the reservation or refuse

● Once the room is available, the staff needs to make a decision with the
guest.
● If the hotel has a room that matches the needs of the guest, then
proceed to confirm the reservation.
● If the hotel is out of rooms, the staff will notify the guest again, then
suggest other rooms for the guest to choose from.
 Reservation Service Standard

Step 4: Enter the booking information on the system

● After the reservation agreement is completed with the guest, the staff will correctly
enter the booking information on the management software.

Step 5: Confirm the booking information with the guest

● After completing the booking procedure, the staff needs to confirm the booking
information with the guest via a confirmation email or phone number.

Step 6: Store the reservation record

● All of the day's booking records will be saved in the software and transferred to the
appropriate departments in order to prepare for greeting and guest service.
 Reservation Service Standard

Step 7: Compilation of booking reports

● The hotel management software will automatically aggregate booking information by

day, week, month, and year, allowing managers to quickly assess the hotel's operating
performance and make informed decisions.

● To manage reservations, the majority of hotels now employ software. The program will
update the associated room status whenever there is a change in booking information,
such as a new tenant, a check-out guest, or a room changer. Reservationists need to
be informed of these statuses in order to respond to guests quickly.
 RESERVATION
SERVICE
STANDARD
The following are the most common booking statuses in the hotel industry:
● Confirmed:
● Operational: The reservation has been confirmed and the guest is staying in the hotel.
● Completed: The reservation has been confirmed, after the guest has checked-out.
● Canceled: The reservation has been cancelled.
● Cancelled With Penalty: The reservation has been canceled and the guest is fined according to the hotel policy.
● No Show: The guest has made a reservation but did not come to check-in.
● No Show With Penalty: Guests who have made a reservation but do not come to check in will be fined according to the
hotel's regulations.
● On Request: Receiving a reservation, but the hotel is currently no longer available.
● Unsuccessful: Booking that exceeds the check-in and check-out time.
 RESERVATION
SERVICE
STANDARD

Booking sources:
● Direct booking source: Direct guests to the hotel; phone calls; sending mail, fax,
electronic mail (email); via the website...
● Sources of guests booking rooms through intermediaries: travel agents, online
travel agencies, airlines, local tourism offices.
● Source of visitors through central booking system: A central booking system is
frequently set up between hotels in the same group or between separate hotel
groups to make it easier for consumers to book hotel rooms.
 RESERVATION
SERVICE
STANDARD
Types of reservation:

1. Guaranteed Reservation (Guaranteed Reservation)

● A guaranteed reservation is an agreement between the hotel and the guest that the hotel will retain the room for the guest
until the next day's check-out time, which is computed based on the passenger's arrival date. According to hotel regulations,
if a guest does not utilize the accommodation and does not notify the hotel of the cancellation, the guest must compensate
the hotel.
● Prepayment for the lodging (Prepayment); deposit (Deposit); credit card (Credit card); travel agencies, companies are all
guaranteed methods.
1. Non-guaranteed reservation (Non - guaranteed reservation)

● Non-guaranteed reservation occurs when a person makes a reservation in advance, but the hotel only reserves the room for
them until a particular time (typically 18.00pm – cancellation hour) on the scheduled arrival date, depending on the hotel's
policies.
Operating With OTA
An OTA (Online Travel Agent) is a website that offers hotel rooms online, such as
Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, and others.

They will offer hotel room information on their website to assist the hotel in reaching
clients, and they will charge a commission on each room booked through their
website, usually between 15-20%.
THE In the current era of rapid internet development, an online business is
a must-have and a location to communicate with the millions of
ADVANTAGES OF Vietnamese and foreigners who use it. As a result, reserving rooms
through OTA channels allows the hotel to reach out to more clients
HOTELS and generate money, a lot of benefit
COLLABORATING 1. The hotel benefits from OTA's marketing assistance. The OTA
WITH OTAS channels will assist the hotel in displaying on the OTA channels'
websites as a result of their relationship and collaboration. This
aids the hotel in marketing its image and brand to the OTA
channel's enormous client base. It's a great method to promote
the hotel.
2. Save marketing costs.Connecting with an OTA allows customers
all around the world to see your property. This is the most cost-
effective method of publicizing the hotel's brand.
3. Increase the hotel's revenue. According to current statistics, the
number of rooms booked through OTA channels is increasing
every day, making it a substantial source of revenue for hotels
today.
HOW DO 1. COMMISSION
ONLINE TRAVEL
AGENCIES MAKE
MONEY? This is the most well-known array. The OTAs take a cut of
the revenue generated by the rooms sold on their site.
Each OTA has its own commission percentage, and the
commission might fluctuate up and down based on the
market and the hotel group's negotiation power. Some
OTAs (like as Booking.com) even have a premium partner
program that essentially entails "raising commissions while
improving visibility." In exchange for a top spot in the OTA
search engine, the hotel must pay a greater commission
than usual.
2. MARKETING FEE

This is a service provided by most OTAs. This is precisely how pay-per-click auctions, such as
Google Ads, are used to purchase sponsored ads. Take Expedia as an example: a hotel tops up its
account, sets its own daily cost limit (clicks start at $0.25), and generates its own ad template. Each
time a guest clicks on that ad, the hotel must pay a fee. Note that money is spent per click, not per
booking; that is, the hotel may lose money even if customers click on the ad but do not buy a room.
(Expedia TravelAds can be seen here.)
 Many of you will be startled to find that some online travel agencies
3. PROFIT FROM A
(particularly Expedia) even pre-purchase hotel rooms. The merchant
WHOLESALE-TO-RETAIL model, which roughly translates to "the merchant," is a form of
TRANSACTION business (business model). Simply said, they acquire rooms and
airline tickets in bulk from hotels and airlines, put together a package
trip, and sell it to customers at a higher price. This tour package is
touted as being less expensive than the hotel's official retail price,
and the OTA profits from the difference.
 WHICH DEPARTMENT WORKS WITH OTAS?
Most of the work linked to OTAs will be performed by one person or a team in the small hotels. It could be the
hotel owner, manager, or a sales manager, reservation manager, or front office manager in charge. The title of
that person may change from hotel to hotel in general, although there are no precise requirements.

For the larger hotels in the group, such as 4 star, 5 star, and especially large hotels, there will be more than
one department dealing with OTAs, depending on the department's job.

For example:

● Revenue team or E-commerce work with OTA market manager on issues related to selling prices such as
system errors, False pricing, marketing methods, and programs…
● The marketing team (particularly, E-commerce) or reservation team is responsible for keeping hotel
photos and information up to date on OTA channels.
● Each hotel will have an account with the OTA, and it will be the hotel's responsibility to keep their
information up to date on those channels, not the OTA's.
 POPULAR OTAS
&
PAYMENT METHODS
Room tenants pay directly to TripAdvisor, and
the hotel receives payment from TripAdvisor
after the commission is deducted.

Payment can be made via a credit card, a direct

debit card, or an automatic clearing system.
Booking
The hotel will receive money directly from the guest and give
Booking the agreed-upon percentage of the commission.
some special bookings will required to receive online
prepayments from tenants.
Pay by virtual credit card/international payment card (visa,
master, JCB…) or international payment gateway (paypal) or
bank transfer
Booking allow to be Flexible in the change/cancellation policy
Agoda
The hotel will receive
payment from Agoda
after deducting the
commission from guests
who rent the
accommodation straight
through Agoda.

Guests can Pay with a

credit card (Visa,
Mastercard, JCB, etc.) or
through an international
payment gateway
(paypal)
Expedia
After receiving payment from the consumer, Expedia
will send the card code to the hotel over the extranet
system so that the card can be processed

(the amount after deducting the corresponding

commission percentage)

Hotel allow guest to pay by credit card

LUXSTAY
Luxstay collects payment for the tenant's room. Then, they minus the commission % as agreed and transfers the
remaining amount to the hotel.

Guests could do Payment in advance in one of the following ways:

– Domestic ATM card (domestic debit/payment/prepaid card);

– International payment cards, credit cards (visa, master, JCB, amex);

– Cash transferred into the company's bank account

 APPLICATION

● Students practice activities involving

bookings such as: Booking
confirmation, alteration, and
cancellation, as well as the updating
of booking records.

● Students practice writing a

summary of the status of their
reservations.

● Students practice dealing with

issues that arise during the
booking process.
 BEHAVIORAL
GUIDELINES
1. Enhance their accuracy when communicating and documenting consumer
information.
2. Promote communication and information exchange with different
departments.
3. Improve confidence and speed in their ability to work with Hotel Software.
4. Students enhance their capacity to deal with difficult scenarios.