Rooms Division Operations
GLOSSARY
ACCOUNT
A form in which financial data are accumulated and summarized.
ACCOUNT AGING
A method for tracking past due accounts according to the date the charge originated. ACCOUNT ALLOWANCE
Either a decrease in a folio balance as compensation for unsatisfactory service or as a rebate for a coupon discount; or a correction of a posing error detected after the close of business. ACCOUNT BALANCE
A summary of an account in terms of its resulting monetary amount; specifically, the difference between the total debits and total credits to an account.
ACCOUNT RECEIV ABLE
An amount owed to the hotel.
ACCOUNT RECEIV ABLE VOUCHER
See Charge V oucher.
ACCOUNTS RECEIV ABLE LEDGER
A grouping of accounts receivable , including the guest ledge and the city ledger. ACHIEVEMENT FACTOR
The percentage of the rack rate that a hotel actually receives, found by dividing the actual average room rate by the potential average rate. Also called the rate potential percentage.
ADJACENT ROOMS
Rooms close to each other , such as across the hall.
ADJOINING ROOMS
Rooms with a common wall but no connecting door.
ADV ANCE DEPOSIT GUARANTEE
A type of reservation guarantee that requires the guest to pay a specified amount of money to the hotel in advance of arrival.
AFFILIATE RESERV ATION NETWORK
A hotel chain’s reservation systems in which all participating properties are contractually related.
ALLOWANCE VOUCHER
A voucher used to support an account allowance.
AMERICAN PLAN (AP )
A billing arrangement under which room charges include the guestroom and three meals. Also called full pension. See also Modified American Plan, European Plan
ARRIVIAL DATE
The date a guest plans to register at the hotel.
AUDIT WORK TIME
The period from the end of day until the completion of the audit.
AUDITING
The process of verifying front office accounting records as to accuracy and completeness
AUTHORIZATION CODE
A code generated by an on-line credit card verification service, indicating that the requested transaction has been approved.
A V AILABILITY REPORT
A report that contains expected arrival and departure information for the next several days, typically prepared as part of the night audit.
A VERAGE DAILY RATE
An occupancy ratio derived by dividing net rooms revenue by the number of rooms sold.
A VERAGE ROOM RATE PER GUEST
An occupancy ratio derived by dividing net rooms revenue by the number of guests.
BACK OF THE HOUSE
The functional areas of a hotel in which personnel have little or no direct guest contact, such as the engineering , accounting, and human resources divisions.
BACK OFFICE APPLICATION MODULES
Computer software designed for specific back office uses. Typical back office modules include accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll accounting, and financial reporting.
Rooms Division Operations
BANK
See Cash Bank
BED AND BREAKFAST(B&B)
A small lodging operation whose owner usually lives on the premises and serves a breakfast for guest.
BLOCK
An agreed-upon number of rooms set aside for members of a group planning to stay at a hotel.
