Guest registration procedures

1. Receive the guest with a smile, a wish according to the time.2. Check if he/she is holding reservation3. If there is a reservation, then no problem, otherwise check foravailability of rooms4. Get he guest registration card and fill it up5. Fill up the key and the welcome card6. If the guest is a foreigner, get the C form and fill it up.7. Allot the accommodation8. Fill the arrival register9. Make information slips and send them to telephones, room serviceand housekeeping (if the hotel has PMS then do not required10. Open guest folio11. Incase of VIP, CIP etc inform all the departments 12. Lastly inform the bellboys to carry the luggage and escort theguest to the room and wish a comfortable stay in the hotel.

Registration begins when the front desk agent extends a sincerewelcome to the guests. Warm greeting sets the tone for everythingthat follows. The front desk agent moves to the registration processafter determining the guests reservation status. To a great degreeregistration relies on the information contained in a reservation record.Front office personnel will find registration simpler and smoother whenaccurate and complete information has been captures during thereservation process.

The registration process can be divided into six steps

Pre registration activity Creating the registration record Assigning the room and the rate Establishing method of payment Issuing the room key Fulfilling the special requests

Pre registration activity

Through the reservation process, a guest provides nearly all theinformation needed to complete registration. In other words, guestswho make reservations will likely experience a more rapid check in.

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Pre registrations activities (registration activities that occur before theguest arrives at the property) help accelerate the registration process.Typically pre registered guests only need to verify informationcollected by reservations agents during the reservations process.Typically pre registered guests only need to verify information alreadyentered onto a registration cared and provide a valid signature in theappropriate place on the registration card.Pre registration involves room and rate assignment and creation ofguest folio apart from producing registration card. However in someproperties they are reluctant to do room assignment as if there aresome last minute cancellations then may create an imbalance in thestatus of vacant rooms.Pre registration tasks are done in non-automated and semi automatedfront office systems also. But in many of such properties the preregistration services may be limited to specially designated, VIPs orgroups.

Pre registration helps plan for special requirements of guests as well asof the hotel. For example, frequent guests may have specialrequirements of guests as well as of the hotel. And guests withdisabilities may need rooms outfitted to their special needs. By preregistering these guests, the front desk agent can be sure to satisfythem. In addition pre registration help as managers when they knowthat the hotel will be in full occupancy in next several days.

The registration record

After a guest arrives at the hotel, the front desk agent creates aregistration record, a collection of important guest information.

Registration cards facilitate the registration process and require gueststo provide his/her name, address, telephone number, companyaffiliation and other personal data. The registration card usuallycontains a space for guests signature. Generally this is a legalprerequisite to establishing guests relationship with the hotel. Inautomated properties the registration card can be preprinted whereinthe guests can verify and then sign. At the time of check in. the frontdesk agents needs to reconfirm the pre assigned rate and the planneddeparture date. The registration card is either filed in the room rack orattached with the guest folio.

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In an automated system the details will automatically getcommunicate to the required departments where in otherwise it needsto be passed on so that the guest is able o do credit purchases againstthe room account.

At check out, the information captures on guest registration card maybe used as the primary source for creating a guest history record. Thisrecord may then become part of the data base to be used in the futureby the hotels sales and marketing efforts. The information containedin a guest history database can be analyzed to assist management indeveloping marketing strategies, marketing lists and detailed reports.

Guest registration card

As the name suggests the registration is done in the card form.Normally three copies are made with carbon papers. The original copyalong with C-form is send to the police, second copy is for hotelsrecords and the third one is kept along with the guest folio.But many times C-form is a separate document.

Room assignment is an important pat of the registration process.Room assignment involves identifying and allocating an available roomin a specific category to the guest. When the guest request isambiguous, or when a room is unavailable to the guests preferredcategory, a front desk agent may conduct a survey of all roomcategories to identify an acceptable available room.On the basis of reservation information, specific rooms and rates maybe pre assigned before the guests arrival. Pre assigning a specificroom depends on the rooms forecasted availability status and howappropriately the room meets the guests needs. Room assignmentsare finalized during the registration process.Determine the guests needs by room type are often insufficient.Hotels typically offer a variety of room rates for similar types of rooms.Room rates or rooms with identical room configuration may vary basedon room size, quality of room furnishings, location, amenities andother factors. Front desk agents must be aware of each rooms ratecategory, current occupancy status, furnishings, location andamenities, in order to best satisfy guest requests.The front desk agents ability to determine room status and anappropriate room rate is critical to an effective registration process.

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Room status

Effective room and rate assignment depends on accurate and timelyroom status information. Changes in rooms housekeeping statusshould be communicated promptly to the front desk in order tomaximize room sales. Maintaining timely housekeeping statusinformation requires close coordination with housekeeping department.A room status discrepancy occurs when the housekeeping statusinformation differs form that of front office. Room status discrepanciescan seriously affect a propertys ability to satisfy guest needs andmaximize room revenue. Room status discrepancies should beidentified and resolved as quickly as possible.A tremendous aid to the registration of early arriving guests is theprompt relay of housekeeping information to the front desk. This isespecially true during high occupancy.

Room rack

In non-automated and semi-automated systems, the front desk mayuse a room rack to track the current housekeeping room status. Roomrack slip containing the guest name, departure date, room rate andother information normally completed during the registration processand placed in the room rack slot corresponding to the room numberassigned to the guest. The presence of room rack slip indicates thatthe room is occupied. When the guest checks out, a departure card iskept and once the room is ready for sale card is again changed.

For computer-based systems the interface between the twodepartments can be taken care by property management systems ortelephones In many properties front desk agent is responsible for producing adaily front office report called the occupancy report. it simply mentionthe status of all rooms of the hotel. The housekeeping departmentprepares a housekeeping status report based on a physical check of allguest rooms. It should be compared with the front office report, andany room status discrepancies should be brought to the attention ofthe front office manager for further action.In a computerized system, the status of the rooms can beautomatically updated at every check out and once it is cleaned andready for sale, the housekeeping can change it in the system.

Room ratesA room rate is the price a hotel charges for overnightaccommodations. Room rates are often confirmed as the part of the

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reservation process. Assigning rate for the walk in guest is left to thefront desk agent according to the hotels policy.

Room locations

When assigning guest rooms, a front desk agent must be aware of thecharacteristics of each room type. Differences between the guestrooms lie in their furnishings, amenities and location. Front deskagents should be familiar with the guestroom configurations as well ashotels floor plan.Individual guest or groups may specify certain room locations in hotelas part of their reservation requests.

Method of payment

Regardless of whether the guest intends to pay by cash, cheque orcredit card or other acceptable method, the hotel should takeprecautionary measures to ensure payment. Effective accountsettlement depends on the steps taken during registration todetermine the guests method of payment. The establishment ofproper settlement or credit authorization at the time of registration willgreatly reduce the potential for unauthorized settlement andsubsequent collection problems. The registration process plays animportant role in front office guest accounting since front desk agentsare responsible for gathering information at check in on the intendedmethod of payment.

Issuing the room key

By issuing the room key the front desk agent completes theregistration process. For security of both the guest and the property,room keys must be very carefully controlled. For security reasons frontdesk agents should never announce the room number while handingover the keys. Front desk agent should introduce the guest to thebellboy, hand him the guest room keys, and ask him to show the roomto the guest. On the way to the room he should explain variousfeatures of the hotel to the guest. . Once inside the guest room heshould explain the various facilities.

Fulfilling the special requests

Part of registration is that any special requests made by guests areacknowledged and acted on. They may be:

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Location View Bed type Amenities Special furnishings for disabled Extra bed

Selling the guest room

Front desk agents will not have the chance to use efficient orinnovative registration techniques if the guest is not convinced of thevalue of renting a hotel room. Part of the front desk agents job is tocreate consumer acceptance of the hotels products: guestrooms,facilities and services.

Front desk agents should practice sales techniques specific to theirwork. The registration process, for example must move throughcertain stages to ensure quick and careful registration. But withinthese stages front office staff frequently has the opportunity to makeindividual sales presentations. Up selling to all guests including walk ins often holds the best opportunity to create more revenue for thehotel.

Special programs and groups

During registration, guests may present vouchers, coupons, or specialincentive awards from businesses, airlines, or other authorizedagencies. Front desk agents must be aware of hotel agreements tohonor such vouchers and know how to properly credit the bearer.Front desk agents too must use care while handling special programsvouchers because they may differ in value, conditions or terms.

Front desk agents must be careful when registering group guests to besure that their special needs are handled. Registering guestsassociated with a group is different from registering individual guests.Guests arriving at the hotel to attend corporate meeting often havetheir billing arrangements pre-established. In some cases the guestroom and the fax charges are direct billed to the master account.Other charges such as telephone, food and beverage, laundry, are theresponsibility of the individual guests. In this case credit must beestablished for each member of the group. However when the groupagrees to pay for all the charges made by its guests, it is important

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that the guest not to be asked to establish credit. For example, VIPs orinvited speakers for a groups meeting should sign their registrationcards, verify their departure dates, and be issued their room keys. Andalso in these cases it may not be appropriate to print the room rats onregistration cards.

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Pre registration activityRoom statusRoom ratesRoom locationsMethod of paymentIssuing the room keyFulfilling the special requestsSelling the guest roomSpecial programs and groups