HOSPITALITY GLOSSARY . Ms. Laura Gutérrez González.

ADJOINING ROOMS: Rooms next to each other, usually a request from families.
hospedan. Do not confuse with Connecting rooms or connected rooms.
ADR (AVERAGE DAILY RATE): A measure of the average rate
paid per sold rooms, which is calculated by dividing the revenue per room by
rooms sold. (ADR = income per room / rooms sold).
PLACEMENT AGENCY (OUTSOURCING): company dedicated to hiring personnel.
AGÜISTA: General term used to refer to users of a spa or thermal station.
spa.
ALL INCLUSIVE: A hotel billing method in which the establishment
provides, within the agreed price and in addition to accommodation and board
complete, a series of services and consumptions, in most cases with a great
amplitude in its use and consumption.
ALL SUITE: As its name indicates, a hotel that is completely made up of suites.
ALLOTMENT: Number of rooms reserved for a specific or wholesale purpose. It
refers to the amount of occupancy that an agency has in a hotel.
AMENITIES: are the welcome items for the customer to use during their stay.
stay, like daily hygiene products, slippers, robe.
AMERICAN BREAKFAST: Breakfast that usually includes the same as the continental, plus
bacon, eggs (fried or scrambled), sausages, cereals, dairy desserts and fruit juices.
AMERICAN PLAN: Full Board.
AP: American Plan.
APARTAHOTEL: Acronym for Apartment and hotel. It is a type of hotel characterized
for having the appropriate facilities for the preservation, preparation, and consumption of
food within each accommodation unit.
SERVICE ELEVATOR: Elevator in the service area of the hotel, normally connects the area
for service with the corridors of the rooms and is used by bellboys, kitchen, and maids
technicians, usually not visible.
NIGHT AUDITOR: Reception employee during the night who closes the day and
analyze the hotel accounts.
UPGRADE: Increase in accommodation category at no extra charge, to a category
better of the reserved.
B&B: Bed and Breakfast. Type of hotel billing that includes only lodging and the
breakfast.
BACK OF THE HOUSE: Service areas in a hotel, usually not seen by customers.
BACK TO BACK: Type of slot in which some clients leave the same day that others arrive.
thus covering consecutive periods of time. Typical of vacation hotels.
SPA: Facility that has mineral medicinal waters declared of public utility,
medical service and adequate facilities to carry out the prescribed treatments.
BAR: Part of a bar or café where drinks are served. Counter that they usually have.
bars and cafes along it.

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OPEN BAR: Complementary service of a social event, provided by the host, and consisting of
to allow unlimited and free consumption of drinks for an agreed period and at a price
closed in advance.
BIENVENIDO:Tarjeta de registro que llenan los huéspedes al hacer check in. Contene frases de
welcome along with the internal regulations of the hotel and the information related to the stay of
guest.
LOGBOOK: Record of activities, problems, events, or complaints.
WHITE: A generalized term used in the hospitality industry to refer to all the linen of the hotel: bed linen,
towels, tablecloths, etc.
ROOM BLOCKING: Number of rooms assigned to a group in the hotel.
BLOCKING OR PICK UP: blocking a room means that the reception cannot make it available.
for sale. The most common reasons may be due to some damage, construction, bad odors,
noise etc.
BUTTONS (BELL BOY): Bellboy or doorman, uniformed member responsible for carrying luggage
guest
BRUNCH: A meal made in the morning between breakfast and lunch.
BUFFET: A type of restaurant service that presents food on trays and baskets.
various boards, arranged in tiers. There are cold, hot, or mixed buffets.
CASHIER: Employee responsible for receiving payments from customers.
CALANDER: A machine used to press and smooth fabrics thanks to two heated cylinders.
generally steamed.
EXTRA BED: A portable bed that is placed in a room when its occupancy is
greater than the number of beds it usually has.
HOUSEKEEPER: Person responsible for cleaning and preparing the rooms for a new one.
use or rent.
ROOM CHANGE: Transfer a guest to a different room. The change must be
be with the guest present.
CANCELLATION: Cancellation of a confirmed reservation.
BAGGAGE CAPTAIN: Supervisor of the bell staff.
FULL HOUSE: Full House, hotel at 100% capacity.
CHAMBREAR: Adaptation of the French word Chambrer and means: "to leave the wines to
ambient temperature
CHECK IN: Registration process in a hotel or means of transportation. It takes place at the reception.
arrival of the customer where their personal data is registered, they are assigned a room number and
the key is handed over.
CHECK OUT: Check-out process of a hotel establishment with the corresponding settlement
from the expense account.
CLOSING: Consolidation of a rental, reservation or end of shift or day.
COVERAGE: Set of tasks carried out by the housekeeper to prepare a
customer room for the night.
COMMISSIONABLE: Reservation made by a travel agent and a commission ranging from 10% to 20% is paid.
COMPLIMENTARY: Complementary, a service that is provided free of charge.

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PROOF: Legal document that grants the right to access accommodation services.
advance payment receipt with details of entry exit, number of nights, number of guests, etc.
CONCIERGE: Person responsible for informing the guest about external services, as well as attention
customized for VIP clients in their requests. Related article
CONFIRM: Ensure a reservation that will be honored with a specific number of
confirmation.
CONGRESS: A term often used instead of convention. It is the European term.
while "convention" is American.
CONNECTING ROOMS: Rooms connected by a door between them. Not
confuse with Adjoining Rooms.
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST: Breakfast that usually includes infusion or cocoa, milk, pastries or
toast, butter, and jam. It is lighter than the American breakfast.
COVER CHARGE: Charge that is added to food and beverage bills, especially in Room
Service for bringing the order to the room. Do not confuse with Service Charge.
CRM: Software used to manage customer relationships, customer database.
CRUISE: All-inclusive trip conducted by waterway in which the ship becomes a
floating hotel. The name is also applied to the ship that provides this service.
ACCOUNT: Charge or payment registered in the name of a client, it is called a master account when it is
focused on a group.
HOUSE ACCOUNT: Expression that applies to services whose cost is borne by the company that operates a
hotel or restaurant. It differs from gratuities in that they are not fixed by contract, but rather
they are discretionary or occasional. It is used both in accommodation (sporadic or permanent) with its
regarding the food regimen in your case, as well as consumptions in bars and restaurants.
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Account in which charges are on credit, amount owed by the customer to
hotel.
CUPO: Set of reserved slots without client names, but requiring confirmation.
They can be FIT, back to back, etc.
CXL: Abbreviation that indicates on a reservation sheet that its content has been canceled.
DATAPHONE: Equipment that, connected to the conventional telephone network, allows for payment collection through
credit or debit cards, with real-time information exchange with the management center
from the card, including a request for authorization and, where applicable, the charge to the account.
DAY USE: Use of a room or similar for a short period of time, without overnight stay.
LUXURY: Deluxe, highest level of elegance.
DEBIT: Amount that increases the account balance, opposite of credit.
ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT: Department of accounting, information processes and
preparation of reports, revenue audit, accounts receivable and payable, quality audit,
purchases.
DEPOSIT: partial payment for room reservation or allocation for extra charges.
CLEARING: From the French débarasser. Action of the waiter removing the services from the table.
ALARM CLOCK: phone call with coffee and newspaper service option.
AVAILABILITY: Number of rooms available for sale on a specific day.
ROOM DIVISION: Department responsible for reception activities and
room management.

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DOUBLE: Room occupied by two adults, bed for two people.
DOUBLE DOUBLE: Twin beds, room with two separate beds, single or double.
Maximum capacity of 4 people.
SINGLE DOUBLE USE (DUI): Billing for a double room when occupied by a
single customer.
EARLY DEPARTURE: Unexpected departure, one or more days earlier than planned.
EARLY DEPARTURE FEE:Cargo al cliente por salida [Link] relacionado
CASH OUTLAYS: Amount spent on hotel operation expenses.
EN SUITE: Term used for facilities that are inside the room.
especially, to the bathroom.
ESTADO DE HABITACIÓN (Room Status):Estado de una habitación en la condición actual o del
moment, it can be empty clean, empty dirty, occupied clean, occupied dirty or out of service.
STAY: Period during which the guest occupies a room.
EXTENDED STAY: Long stay, which varies between 7 days, 15 days, or even months with
a special rate.
STUDY: Room where the sofa converts into a bed.
FAM TRIP: Tourist trip that companies offer to their employees or distributors so that
they personally know the product they sell or are going to sell.
DEADLINE: deadline by which an individual or group reservation must be paid.
FEE: In agencies, charge for the issuance of transport tickets.
F.I.T. (Foreign Independent Traveler): independent foreign tour, package tour without guide
paid that includes accommodation and fee. They are negotiated in free sale for a certain number of
reservations and certain times of the year, and from then on, upon request.
FOLIO: Customer Registration
FRANCHISE: License to operate a hotel using a registered trademark which offers
training, operation standards, and marketing support example Best Western hotels.
FRONT OF THE HOUSE: Service areas in a hotel visible to customers or the general public.
OUT OF SERVICE: Room not available due to maintenance, repair, etc., and that is not
included in the hotel’s inventory of rooms for sale.
Full board.
FULL CREDIT: Type of stay in accommodations that implies indefinite credit for the
guest or guests, in charge, either of a travel agency or of a company.
GUARANTEE: Method to secure a reservation, can be payment in cash, charge to a credit card, etc.
GDS: Acronym for Global Distribution System. A booking information system that is not limited to...
airlines, but it covers any reservation in another area of the tourism industry. They emerged in
part of the CRS.
GOP:Gross Operaton Profit, Beneficio Operacional Bruto.
GRAPH DIS: availability or CHART reservation system in which occupancy vs
real inventory.
GRATUITY: Granting of accommodation (sometimes, other services) free of charge as part of a
trade agreement. It is usually applied to part of a group.

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GROUP: Rooms that are sold simultaneously in blocks of a minimum of ten
rooms or more (for example, group visits, national and international groups,
associations, conventions, and corporate groups.
ROOM: Accommodation offered by the hotel.
CONNECTING ROOMS: Rooms that connect through a
door.
CLIENT ROOM OR STAYOVER: Room where the client stays and therefore, not
it is associated with the changes of the exit room.
CHECK-OUT ROOM: Room that the client is leaving permanently and that implies
a more thorough cleaning with a change of bed and bath linens and complete replenishment of amenities
AVAILABLE ROOMS (ROOM OFFER): The number of rooms in a hotel
or a set of hotels, multiplied by the number of days in a time period
specified. Example: 100 rooms available in hotel subject x 31 days of the month of
supply = room of 3,100 for the month.
Half board.
HISTORY: Record of previous customer visits in order to provide personalized service.
REGISTRATION SHEET: A sheet or form in which arriving guests...
they register their names, addresses, and other details, including nationality, the purpose of the
visit (generally for business or pleasure), payment method and duration of stay. A
Space is also available by rate, firm, and room number. Additional questions
They can be included as part of the hotel market research platform.
He is also called Welcome.
HOSPITALITY DESK:Escritorio o mostrador temporal que el hotel cede a los organizadores de un
group or convention for its use. It can be used for group check-in, credential distribution,
of information, etc.
HOSPITALITY ROOM:cuarto de hospitalidad, habitación especial para que el cliente haga uso de
Once she has emptied her room, this room has bathrooms, showers, living room.
be, TV and place to put suitcases.
HOT SPOT: Wi-Fi coverage area where one or several access points provide
network services. Hotspots are found in public places (airports, train stations,
convention centers, cafes, hotels, etc.) or outdoors, as happens in some
cities. This service may be offered for free or not, depending on the provider's determination, and
it is commonly used to access the Internet.
GUEST: Person who stays at a hotel covering the assigned rate.
ADDITIONAL GUEST: An extra person staying in a double unit, making it triple.
A surcharge is charged for this third person.
I.A.T.A (International Air Transport Association): International Air Transport Association
regulatory body for international airlines, as well as sales system under training or
IATA certification for the sale of air tickets with accommodation (GDS).
INBOUND: Indicates incoming tourist flows.
REVENUES FROM FOOD AND BEVERAGES (F & B): Revenues derived from the sale of food
(including coffee, milk, tea, and soft drinks), drinks (including beer, wine, and liquors), drinks for
banquets and other sources of F & B. Other sources of F & B include meeting room rentals,

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audiovisual equipment rental, canopy or service charges, and other income in the
Food and Beverage Department (includes banquet service charges).
INPLANT: Travel agency physically located within the facilities of another company, to which
provides its services.
INVENTARIO:Número total de habitaciones para uso del huésped.
JET LAG:Desequilibrio producido entre el reloj interno de una persona (que marca los periodos de
dream and wakefulness) and the new schedule established when traveling by plane over long distances. Article
related
JUNIOR SUITE: Common name for double rooms with a living room.
LATE CHECK OUT: When the customer has requested and is allowed to check out later than usual.
hotel. Generally, it incurs an additional charge for this concept.
LINGERIE: In the hospitality and restaurant establishments that do not have a
specific department for laundry tasks, the place where it is usually called linen room
keep the white clothes.
CREDIT LIMIT: Maximum amount of authorized credit charges for the guest.
Wake up call.
MASTER KEY: Key that can open any room in the hotel, general use by the Manager.
Room Division, Housekeeping, Security, and Management.
LLEGADAS:Número de habitaciones quetenen la misma fecha de ingreso del huésped al hotel.
EARLY CHECK IN: Entry that arrives before the scheduled time. The hotel
reserves the right to grant the guest's entrance to their room at no charge by paying a
penalization (Early Check In Fee) or making him wait until the corresponding check-in time (or until
that the room you have booked is ready, in cases of Full House the day before).
HALF BOARD: A type of hotel billing that includes accommodation, breakfast, and a
food.
MARKET: People traveling for a specific purpose, leisure, convention, tour, etc.
MINIBAR: Small snack, private and with drinks, that is often found in the
hotel rooms from around the world. Related article
Manager On Duty
MOTEL: Type of tourist accommodation characterized by being close to roads and offering
accommodation and independent garage or parking for short stays.
DO NOT DISTURB:Sign that is present in the room indicating that the guest does not
if you wish to be disturbed, hang this on the door of the room. While this remains,
It should not be opened for cleaning, nor deliveries, nor to knock on the door or calls.
NO SHOW: Customer who does not show up for the provision of a previously contracted service, it
which generally involves the loss of it. A penalty charge is made, the hotel left
for selling by reserving the place for the customer, the standard is one night of penalty without
refund. It may also apply to those who do not use the service for not being in possession
of the required documents.
NOP: Acronym for Net Operating Profit. In the Uniform System, the result of adding to the GOP the set
of possible non-operating income and expenses of the hotel.

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OCCUPANCY: Percentage of available rooms that were sold during a period
specific of time. Occupancy is calculated by dividing the number of rooms sold by
available rooms.
OFFICE: In a hotel, it is a small storage room where the maid will keep the stocks.
lingerie, supplies, machinery, utensils, and cleaning products necessary for the
completion of their tasks. Generally, it is located near the rooms for internal use of
housekeepers. In restaurants and hotels, a place situated between the kitchen and the dining room
destined for washing glassware, tableware, cutlery, and other utensils used in the
dining room
ON REQUEST: Reservation requested, but pending confirmation.
OPL (ON PROPERTY LAUNDRY): Hotel that has laundry facilities within its premises,
the cleaning and stock of their linens (There is no external laundry, everything is cleaned in-house).
OTA: Acronym for The OpenTravel Alliance. A non-profit and self-funded organization that
includes major airlines, hoteliers, car rental companies, leisure providers,
travel agencies, GDS, technology providers, and others who work to create and implement
open e-business service specifications for the entire tourism industry. These
Specifications form a common language for electronic business that aims to encourage the
development of systems to create new services that better meet demands and
expectations of travelers and the travel industry.
OTHER REVENUE: Includes all other income excluding the revenue
per room and Food and Beverage revenues. Other income = total income - (income from
room + F & B.
OUT OF SERVICE (OOS): Rooms out of service or temporarily blocked for reasons
of minor repairs, preparation of VIPs, low occupancy, etc. They are not deducted from the inventory of
hotel.
OUT OF ORDER (OOO): Room that cannot be sold and is deducted from the hotel's inventory.
A room may be OOO for a variety of reasons, including the need for
maintenance (painting, leaks, etc.), restoration and cleaning (chemical treatment of odors,
disinfection of mites, etc).
OUTBOUND: Refers to outgoing tourist flows.
OVERBOOKING: Situation in which a hotel has taken more room reservations than available.
of what the hotel is capable of accommodating. Hotels use overbooking as a policy every
more often in the sights of wholesalers and tour operators, in an attempt to better control and
minimize the severe adverse effects of marketing that has for everyone
interested parties.
PACKAGE: Name given to a set of components in a pricing system in one. Because of the
In general, the price of the basic package includes: return transport, land transport,
baggage handling, accommodation, one or more meals per day, and applicable taxes.
PAX: Abbreviation for passenger. It is also used to count clients and guests.
FULL BOARD: A type of hotel billing that includes accommodation and three meals.
PROTOCOL: Set of rules or norms to be followed in certain contexts.
ROOM RACK: Panel or locker that represents all the rooms
of the hotel and serves to permanently control their status (free, occupied,

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blocked, etc.). In many hotels, it serves as a filing cabinet for documentation of each
reservation.
RACK RATE:Máxima tarifa publicada a la cual se puede vender una habitación sin descuento.
RATE:Tarifa.
REGIME: Mode of stay in a hotel establishment regarding
Accommodation and meals. The options can be: Only accommodation, accommodation and
breakfast, half board or full board.
CUP RELEASE: Deadline to cancel reservations in accommodation or transportation contracts.
Wipe cutlery and dishes with a cloth to remove water spots and shine.
REVPAR (Revenue per Available Room): It is the total room revenue divided by the number
total number of available rooms. RevPAR differs from ADR because RevPAR is affected by the
number of unoccupied rooms available, while ADR shows only the average rate of
rooms actually sold. Occupancy x ADR = RevPAR.
REVENUE TOTAL: Los ingresos de todas las operaciones del hotel, incluidas las habitaciones
sold, F & B, parking, laundry, telephone, various, etc.
ROOM REVENUE (Ingreso por habitaciones):ingresos totales generados por la venta o el alquiler
of rooms.
ROOMING LIST: list prepared by reception of the rooms assigned to a group.
CHECK OUT: When the guest finishes their stay at the hotel and pays the bill, they hand over
the room and the keys
UNEXPECTED OR EARLY EXIT: Client who decides to leave at the moment, having
scheduled for release on a later date. It may incur a penalty depending on the
reservation details, generally many hotels apply an Early Departure Fee
LATE CHECK OUT: in hotels, the check-out time is generally at
12:00pm. However, one of the services that is very trendy lately is to expand the
departure time until 15:00 or 16:00 hours (depends on the hotel's policy) in exchange for a
economic compensation.
SERVICE CHARGE: Percentage added to the amount of the invoices issued for concepts of
food and drink. Do not confuse with Cover Charge.
SHOW ROOMS: Rooms to showcase to clients, travel agents, etc.
ROOM ONLY: A type of hotel billing that does not include any meals.
price.
SPA: An establishment that has a wellness space where treatments are applied that
are carried out with water from the general supply network.
SUITE: A type of room more luxurious than the standard. Suites offer more space and furniture.
What a typical hotel room; unlike the size of the beds in a room.
normally, a suite typically will have a living room, usually with a sofa bed, dining area, office and
sometimes a kitchen.
COMMERCIAL RATE: Rate agreement granted by the sales department to companies that
they frequently travel to a destination that has a discount of 15 to 30% off the rate
rack.
GROUP RATE: Rate granted with a minimum of 10 rooms with a percentage of 10 to
15% less than the rack rate with some complimentary services for every 15 paid rooms.

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night, courtesy breakfasts, welcome cocktail, welcome blanket, these gratuities
They depend on the policies, volume, and negotiated rate.
NET RATE: Monetary value indicated for a tourist product or service before adding
commissions and taxes.
AVERAGE RATE: is calculated by dividing the total income from rooms by the number of
occupied rooms.
PUBLIC RATE: It is the highest rate visible to the public and registered with the tourism secretary.
RACK RATE: Maximum published rate at which a room can be sold without discount.
TIME SHARE: Right to use or enjoy a period of time
vacation every year at a lodging unit in a tourist complex, for a number
of determined years or in perpetuity. This right can be acquired by purchasing titles of a
club, shares of the owning company or a real right. In this last case, it is called
timeshare.
TRANSIENT ROOMS: Rooms occupied by people with reservations
rack, corporatvas, corporatvas de paquete negociado, gobierno. También incluye habitaciones
booked reserved through third-party websites (exception: simultaneous reservations of 10 or
more rooms, which is defined as a group).
TRAVEL CHECK: Document issued by a financial entity that can be redeemed for money
in another country or serve as a means of payment.
TTOO: Acronym for Tour Operators.
TOUR OPERATOR: Large travel agencies that focus on the creation of packages
tourists, designed for a large number of clients and put on sale in advance
the real demand. These agencies form business groups through horizontal integration.
or vertical.
UPGRADE: Improvement in the category of a product or service contracted at no cost to the
guest or client.
UPSELL: Action of selling more or better services than those initially contracted.
USALI: (Universal System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry). North American system, very
extended, cost accounting for hotels. It is based on direct costing.
VACANCIES: Unoccupied rooms.
VALET: Also known as a bellboy, directly depends on the housekeeper.
floor sub-governor and performs complementary activities to the work of the maids in the
cleaning of rooms, or in the transport of heavy objects.
FAMILIARIZATION TRIP (Fam Trip): A tourist trip that companies offer to their employees.
the distributors so that they can personally know the product they sell or are going to sell.
SITE INSPECTION VISIT: a tour for a group of travel agents to the main sites
hotel areas.
VIP: Very important person, guest with specialized attention due to rank or importance.
Agency voucher.
WAITING LIST: Waiting list. Term used in airlines to designate that not
There are tickets available unless a reservation is canceled.
Wake up call.
WALK IN: guest who arrives at the hotel without a reservation and is offered to be sold at rack rate.

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YIELD MANAGEMENT: Process or strategy that hotel operators use to maximize
their hotel room revenues in achieving an appropriate balance between rates and
occupation that generates the highest income.

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