Managing Rooms Division Operations Report 2022

Hotel Reservation1
Managing Rooms Division Operations
Students’ Name
University
Course
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Hotel Reservation2
Executive summary
The report will start by assessing the key issues facing the Hotel Company like inaccurate
records keeping by the reservation clerks. Secondly, it will describe the appropriate reservation
procedure which the Hotel staffs should follow. Then discuss difficulties faced by reservation
staff while using this procedure. Finally, it will give recommendations which can improve the
Hotel reservation performance.

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Table of Content
Contents
Executive summary.....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................4
Issues facing the hotel reservation process..............................................................................................4
Procedures which reservation staffs should use......................................................................................5
The reservation procedure difficulties faced by the Hotel......................................................................6
Recommendations to improve the hotel reservation...............................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Hotels rooms are mostly booked by travelers who make reservations using various procedures
like a telephone call. Room reservation is a crucial factor in the marketing of a business. The
organization's design and layout of the hotel attract travelers. For guest’s attractions, the hotels
should use reservation methods like the internet through websites and telephone calls. To make
profits, hotels need a continuous flow of guests and travelers. Therefore, hotel managers provide
efficient accessibility, processing, and information confirmation methods. Hotels should adopt
efficient reservation systems, which will bring positive impression to the clients (Masiero and
Law 2016). This paper examines current group reservation procedures in the Hotel Co. Ltd,
present controlling room procedures, issues facing room reservations, and the necessary
improvements to make to the present system. The discussion also includes a recommendation for
room reservations.
Issues facing the hotel reservation process
The reservation manager identified some problems facing the hotel room reservation, which can
produce a negative impression on guests. These issues are an inaccurate recording of room
availability, unskilled reservation clerks, lack of recording the correct reservation information,
mishandling of the reservation facilities like reservation diaries, failure to allocate rooms and
deduct it from the rooms available, and finally lack of confirmation of reservation details. To
identify the above issues, I conducted an experiment by making reservation as a guest. As a local
travel agent, I called the hotel and made a group reservation of ten single rooms and five double
rooms under the name of Sunlight travel. After some minutes, I called again and made a
reservation of one double room for two nights.

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In both the group and individual ticket, the clerk asked for necessary details like the arrival date.
Later, I decided to go and cross-check the records made for his bookings. I found out that though
he said the group reservation to be under sunlight travel, the reservation clerk put it under the
wrong name. The clerk did not deduct the booked rooms from the available rooms. These are
issues facing the hotel. Sometimes the reservation clerks don't keep records of some reservations.
Lack of records result in adverse effects like disappointing customers in case rooms are allocated
to other guests since no records kept (Radzi et al 2017).
Procedures which reservation staffs should use
As the hotel reservation manager, I will provide strict procedures which the clerks must follow.
As the manager, I would recommend this reservation procedure. First, the reservation clerks
should make inquiries about the reservation to understand what the customer needs. Inquiry for
reservation involves a short question-answer section between the clerk and the client (Chan et al
2017). In this step, the reservation clerk should take note of various details like the name of the
guest, date of arrival, date of departure, desired room type and rate, desired room number and
plan, and finally, contact address and telephone number. With these details, the hotel can
improve customer satisfaction by providing what the customer demands (Vinod, 2019).
After inquiry, the next step is the determination of room availability. Reservation clerks should
check whether the room which meets the specifications is available from forecast charts, density,
or conventional chart. If the room is available, the next step is acceptance, but if not, deny the
reservation or convince the customer to pick another room close to their specifications.
Reservation clerks should not accept the booking of a room which is not available in the hotel.
After acceptance, the reservation clerks should document all necessary reservation details.

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After documentation, the next step is confirmation of the reservation request. Verification is
done by dispatching a confirmation message to the guests. The confirmation can include
information on the guaranteed or non-guaranteed reservation (Lee, 2018). Them after approval,
maintain a reservation record of all bookings made. Documentation of the original and
modification of the reservation processes are used to keep records. The first method involves
keeping the details as they are in the reservation form while the second makes some changes.
The last step in this reservation procedure is a compilation of reservation reports. Reservation
clerks are required to prepare reservation reports on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. The
reports show the progress and performance of the reservations by outlining the number of rooms
reserved for a certain period and the amount of revenue earned.
The reservation procedure difficulties faced by the Hotel
Controlling room inventory in the hotel will be hard because of some problems encountered such
as cancellation, room blocking, and capture of the wrong information. Cancellation difficulties
occur in case the guest plans change and have to cancel. Reservation staffs encounter difficulties
in adjusting and making necessary changes. Though there is a cancellation period, some may
cancel at the last minute, making it hard to make adjustments. Cancellations affect business
returns and repeat business. Blocking is another difficulty. After making reservations, reservation
staff is required to block the room from the inventory so that it may not be booked or given to
another guest. This is a challenge since let’s say the reservation was for next week, and today
guest books and no more remaining, the blocked room cannot be assigned as it is not in
inventory. It becomes hard to find a place for guests in case the system says all rooms are
occupied when there is an unoccupied room. Therefore, room inventory management becomes

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hard. The consequence of the difficulty is low reservation performance due to high costs
(Pimentel et al 2019).
Blocking difficulties also occur after reservation cancellations. It will be challenging to include
the canceled room into inventory. The last difficult is recording the wrong information like room
type, dates, and the number of rooms. Since the reservation is through telephone calls, the
capture of incorrect details due to interruptions or lack of concentration. The procedure involves
a lot of activities that may tire reservation staff, reducing their attention when making reservation
inquiries. Wrong information leads to improper room allocation, which may cause problems like
guest complaints due to dissatisfaction. These consequences lower hotel revenue because of low
performance. Inaccurate information affects the hotel reputation resulting in flat sales and
reservation numbers because of reduced guests. Lousy reputation will scare aware travelers from
the hotel (Makki et al 2016).
Recommendations to improve the hotel reservation
There are various solutions and methods which can be adopted to improve the hotel reservation
process. The first recommendation is the use of a computerized reservation system. The hotel
should terminate manual reservation methods and make use of automated reservation systems.
The system facilitates the accessibility of the hotel by providing a telephone number, which,
when dialed by guests, there are available agents to speak with. Reservation made through
telephone calls is valid and fast (Akazue, 2016). The systems have full records of the available
rooms in the hotel and will automatically block any reserved room from inventory. In
cancellations, the system unblocks the room and sent a cancellation code to guests as a
confirmation cancellation of the reservation. The system reduces the difficulties encountered
while following the procedure mentioned above. Computerized reservation systems follow an

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effective process by comparing, customer needs with available company rooms, and immediately
accepted the request if there is a room which matches those demands. The system strictly follows
the reservation lead times, by allocating the room to other guests in case the client who made
reservation does not arrive in time. The automatic allocation and selling of rooms increase the
hotel income. The system offers reservation assurance by sending advanced, guaranteed, and
confirmed reservations to the guests (Williams, and Micheal, 2018).
To improve the hotel reservation, the hotel can practice outsourcing reservations. Outsourcing
reservations refers to hiring other organizations to market your business. In outsourcing
reservations, guests find information about the hotel online and make inquiries still online on
different websites (Wang et al 2016). Outsourcing reservation is significant as it provides 24/7
services. Outsourcing reservations involve hiring a call center to manage guest’s queries.
Outsourcing reservations is suitable in some situation like when the hotel is dealing with cost
pressures or customer complaints caused by inefficient reservation processes. Outsourcing is
very beneficial as it improves service quality, customer experience in the hotel, and eliminates
risks associated with the reservation. Since guests come from different parts, outsourcing
provides multilingual, multicultural, and multichannel support to guests. Another
recommendation is training the reservation staff on how to deal with guests (Block et al 2019).

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Conclusion
Effective management of room division is essential. Reservation clerks should follow a precise
procedure that starts with reservation inquiries by engaging in a question-answer session with the
guests. In this step, the reservation staff can understand the needs and specifications of the
clients. The next steps are checking availability of the specified room, accepting or denying the
request, documentation, confirmation, and compilation of reservation reports. Cancellations and
capturing of inaccurate data are the difficulties faced in room reservation procedure. These
problems can be solved using computerized reservation systems and outsourcing reservations
(Moon et al 2019). Because of the issues identified, I recommend the hotel should to adopt an
automated reservation system as it automatically keeps records, and returns blocked rooms to
inventory in case of cancellations.

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References
Akazue, M.I., 2016. Enhanced hotel management information system for multiple reservation
booking. International Management Review, 12(1), p.52.
Block, D., Volny, J., Brotz, S.A. and Mueller, S.A., Airportamerica LLC, 2019. Automated
internet based interactive travel planning and management system. U.S. Patent Application
10/296,853.
Chan, G.S.H., Hsiao, A.C.H. and Tang, I.L.F., 2017. Word of Mouth Communication Influence
of Online Hotel Room Reservation Confirmation: Case Study of Individual Travelers in Hong
Kong. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 9(3), pp.76-87.
Lee, M., 2018. Modeling and forecasting hotel room demand based on advance booking
information. Tourism Management, 66, pp.62-71.
Makki, A.M., Singh, D. and Ozturk, A.B., 2016. HotelTonight usage and hotel profitability.
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 7(3), pp.313-327.
Masiero, L. and Law, R., 2016. Comparing reservation channels for hotel rooms: A behavioral
perspective. Journal of travel & tourism marketing, 33(1), pp.1-13.
Moon, S., Kim, M.Y. and Bergey, P.K., 2019. Estimating deception in consumer reviews based
on extreme terms: Comparison analysis of open vs. closed hotel reservation platforms. Journal of
Business Research, 102, pp.83-96.
Pimentel, V., Aizezikali, A. and Baker, T., 2019. Hotel Revenue Management: Benefits
of Simultaneous Overbooking and Allocation Problem Formulation in Price Optimization.
Computers & Industrial Engineering, p.106073.
Radzi, F.A.M., Ismail, W.R.W., Nor, N.M., anderson Ngelambong, H.F.A. and Zahari, M.S.M.,
2017. Measuring the Factors Affecting Hotel Online Reservation: A Structural Equation Modelling

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Approach.
Vinod, B., 2019. Hotel retailing with attribute-based room pricing and inventory control. Journal
of Revenue and Pricing Management, pp.1-5.
Wang, C.K. and Hsieh, C.H., Obook Holdings Inc and Obook Inc, 2019. Blockchain-based room
inventory management system. U.S. Patent Application 16/197,150.
Wang, Y.S., Li, H.T., Li, C.R. and Zhang, D.Z., 2016. Factors affecting hotels' adoption of
mobile reservation systems: A technology-organization-environment framework. Tourism
Management, 53, pp.163-172.
Williams, K. and Micheal, A., 2018. Design and Implementation of Reservation Management
System Case Study: Grand Ville Hotels. J Inform Tech Softw Eng, 8(243), p.2.