Glossary of hospitality industry terms – [INFOGRAPHIC]

As the new hospitality season of 2018 is about to begin, most of you are ready to welcome your guests and offer them the best holidays’ experience!

Are you a new member in the hospitality industry? Are you in need of improving your hotel knowledge?

Don’t worry, Mozaik Hospitality team is here to help you to understand what all hotel terms mean!

This handy glossary includes the main terms related to the hotel industry, from A to Z, and will get you up to speed with the language of the hospitality field!

In this glossary, we explain definitions of the hotel industry terminology from rate parity, hotel revenue management to loyalty marketing programs and distribution channels.Check the infographic

All-inclusive resortAn all-inclusive resort is a holiday resort that includes a minimum of three meals daily, soft drinks, most alcoholic drinks, gratuities, and possibly other services in the price.

AllotmentAllotment is the number of hotel rooms which have been bought out and held by wholesalers, like tour operators.

AmenitiesAn "extra" service or product given to guests by the hotel, typically at no extra charge. This term is broadly used to describe the shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, soaps and other products left in the guest room's bathroom for your use. Amenities can also refer to a service like a station to print your boarding pass in the lobby, or free parking.

Apartment HotelAccommodation in apartment-style units rather than rooms: with minimum or expanded in-suite cooking facilities. Defined by legislation for licensing and classification purposes.

AvailabilityThe number of vacancies possibly for a specific type of accommodation for a specific set of dates.

Average Daily Rate (ADR)The total room revenue for a given period (day, month to date, month, year to date), divided by the number of rooms occupied for the same period. Frequently used as a measure of economic performance.BBed and Breakfast (B&B)A type of room rate which includes the price of the room and breakfast.

Best Available Rate (BAR)The lowest non-restricted rate bookable by all guests.

Booking Engine (BE)An online hotel’s platform which is powering its own brand site for reservations. Also known as Internet booking engine (IBE) – like Bookwize.com, SiteMinder etc…

Booking WindowIt’s the period of time between the reservation is made by the guests or a group and the actual arrival date to the hotel.

Boutique HotelA design, small hotel which have typically less than 100 rooms and a unique set of characteristics in city and resort destinations.

CChannel ManagementControlling the allocation of hotel inventory and rates across all distribution channels including website, third parties, and the GDS/OTAs. Effective channel management solutions should reduce labor costs and improve efficiency by providing a centralize way to control multiple channels.

Concierge Staff member in a hotel responsible for attending to guests’ special needs and services.FFacilitiesCore physical features: accommodation, restaurants, bars, and meeting rooms.

Front OfficeFront office or Reception is an office usually situated in the lobby, always located inside the main entrance, whose primary function is to control the sale of guest rooms, provide keys, mail, information service for guests, maintain guest accounts, render bills, receive payments as well as providing information to other departments within the hotel.

Full Board Rate that includes bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

GGlobal Distribution System (GDS)A network of internet reservation systems that provide a central place where travelers and travel agents can check availability and reserve travel related products like hotels, airline, car rentals, cruises rail. Formed and managed by the airline industry and includes system like Sabre, Apollo, Amadeus, Pegasus.

HHalf BoardRate that includes bed, breakfast and either lunch or dinner.

IInternet Distribution System (IDS)Distribution using the Internet like Booking.com. Expedia etc.

MMarkupThe difference between the hotel’s selling and the merchant’s price offered to the consumer.

LLoyalty-ProgramA Loyalty Program is a marketing program that offers rewards to guests for regular or frequent business. A loyalty program may also be a partnership with loyalty programs of other businesses (airlines for example). Loyalty may be tracked by points or other means.

OOccupancyThe percentage of available rooms occupied for a given period of consecutive time. This figure is calculated by dividing the number of rooms occupied for a period by the number of rooms available for the same period and is expressed as a percentage.

Online Travel Agencies (OTA)Websites offering comprehensive travel shopping and Reservations Solutions to consumers. Examples include Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline, and many local and regional sites.

OverbookingA situation in which more room reservations have been taken by a hotel than what the hotel is able to accommodate. Hotels that use overbooking as a policy are increasingly being targeted by tour wholesalers and operators in an attempt to better control and minimize the serious adverse marketing effects which overbooking has for all stakeholders.PProperty Management System (PMS)The application used by the hotel to control onsite property activities such as check in/out, folios, guest profiles, room status, requests, etc. PMSs can have interfaces between other applications such as the hotel point-of-sale (POS) or central reservations system (CRS).

RRack RateThe full, undiscounted published room rate (price).Rate parityThis can be defined as maintaining consistent rates for the same product in all online distribution channels—Expedia, Orbitz, Booking, etc.—regardless of what commission the OTA makes.

Revenue ManagementRevenue Management of Hotel, is the process of understanding, anticipating and reacting to consumer behavior to maximize revenue subject to availability. Predicting real-time customer demand and optimizing the price and availability of products to match that demand.Yield Management is also referred to as Revenue Management.

RevPARA statistic used in the hotel industry used to measure revenue per available room. Total hotel room revenue divided by the total rooms available to rent for a day or range of dates.TTour OperatorAn organization or individual who actively manages and escorts tours and tour packages to FIT and group visitors.