HPC 201 - Property Management System

HPC 201- Applied Business Tools and Technologies
HPC 201
Applied Business Tools
and Technologies
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Property Management System 1

Introduction to Front Office Services
Front office happens to be the face of the hotel; it is the first and the last point of contact of
the gust with the hotel. Hence the front office staff and front office department plays a major
role in making or breaking an impression on the guest. Hence In order to deliver satisfaction
to the guest it is not only the contribution of the front office, but it coordinates with several
other departments in the hotel to deliver excellent service to the guest. The front office staff
should know the various stages through which guest passes when he/she stays in the hotel, so
that a proper service procedure can be designed and with the help of other departments a
much-satisfied guest can be achieved who gives repeat business and thus the revenue of the
hotel increases.
History of lodging can be traced back to the early civilizations of Sumaria and ancient Egypt.
The for a place to stay and the food are the main products of lodging on the earlier days.
Trading in the earlier times is the reason why group of people travel, and these travels would
also require certain stopping points along the way. During the middle ages, European
monasteries were frequently used for lodging.
By the middle of the 1700’s, the term HOTEL came to be used for lodging in Europe.
As the history of lodging unfolded, innovations began to emerge. The hotel operators began
to incorporate food and beverage in their operations. The lodging facility that can be directly
considered as the precursor of the modern hotel was the City Hotel built in New York in the
year 1794. City Hotel’s 73 rooms made it quite large for its time. (Caylao, Jr., 2018)
The mere mention of the word hotel conjures up exciting images: a busy lobby filled with
international dignitaries, celebrities, community leaders, attendees of conventions and large
receptions, businesspeople, and family vacationers. (Bardi, 2011)

Atrium Concept
The hotel industry has seen many notable developments over the past years. The atrium
concept, an architectural design in which guest rooms overlook the lobby from the first floor
to the roof, was first used in the 1960s by Hyatt Hotels.
Oral Recitation No.1
Name some of the hotels you have visited. What exciting things did you notice while you were
a guest there? Present it in front of the class next meeting.
Basically, hotels are established to provide services to the guests. To be able to deliver these
services, hotels are organized in various department which also perform vital tasks. Hence,
each of these departments inside the property (hotel) are interrelated. They should also work
hand in hand to achieve certain goals of the company. (Medina, 2016)
Hotels are organized according to the following:
1) Rooms Division
2) Food and Beverage

3) Accounting
4) Human Resource
5) Sales
6) Engineering
ROOMS DIVISION
This department is tasked with handling all matters regarding room accommodation and
maintenance. A typical rooms division department is subdivided into units, such as:
 Front office
It is the face of the hotel and this department is also the front of the house, together
with the other department that has direct interaction with the guests. The front office is
the nerve center of a hotel property.
 Communications and accounting are two of the most important functions of a

front desk operation. Effective communications—with guests, employees, and
other departments of the hotel—are paramount in projecting a hospitable
image. Answering guest inquiries about hotel services and other guests,
marketing and sales department requests for information on guest room
availability, and housekeeping department inquiries concerning guest
reservations are but a few of the routine tasks performed almost constantly by
a hotel front desk in its role as communications hub.
Accounting procedures involving charges to registered and nonregistered

hotel guest accounts are also important in the hospitality field. Itemized charges
are necessary to show a breakdown of charges if a guest questions a bill. (Bardi,
2011)
This is the communication, accounting and service center of the hotel. It welcomes
guests to the accommodation section:
 Meeting and greeting them
 Taking the reservations
 Facilitating the check in and check out process
 Organizing porter service
 Issuing of room keys and other security arrangements
 Passing on messages to the guests
 Facilitating in the settlement of accounts
 Housekeeping
The housekeeping section is responsible for the care and upkeep of all guest rooms
and public areas in the hotel premises.
 Reservations
The reservation section takes all the calls or emails from the guests.
 Night Audit
This refers to the “control process whereby the financials activity of guests’ account is
maintained and balance daily.

 Loss Prevention and Security
Loss department and secure is concerned with protecting the hotel resources.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE
The food and beverages are important part in the provision of hotel services. As hotels grew
and operation, the food and beverage unit also grew with it, thus, subdividing the department
into several units:
 Banquet
 Kitchen
 Restaurant/Coffee Shop
ACCOUNTING
The purpose of business is to gain profit. That is why all relevant activities to make it happen
must be undertaken. One of the main functions of this department is to make sure that the
hotel’s income will be beneficent and effective in the hotel’s operation.
HUMAN RESOURCE
The Human Resource Department performs the following specific functions:

1. Employee recruitment – recruitment is done by HRD to fill in vacant positions in the
company.
2. Benefits administration – refers to the means used by the hotel organization to
coordinate efforts to administer benefit program.
3. Employee Training – refers to planned learning experiences that teach hotel
employees on how to effectively perform their current jobs.
4. Employees’ payroll.
5. Orientation
6. Conflict resolution
SALES
Often times called as Sales and Marketing. The primary function of this department is: Ensuring
that every available revenue source is tapped, such as maximizing the use of meeting space.
ENGINEERING
This department is responsible for the total maintenance and upkeep of the internal and the
external physical facilities of the hotel.

Typical Front Office Organization
The responsibilities of the front office staff are quite varied. The position of the desk clerk can
encompass many duties, which typically include verifying guest reservations, registering
guests, assigning rooms, distributing keys, communicating with the housekeeping staff,
answering telephones, providing information about and directions to local attractions,
accepting cash and giving change, and acting as liaison between the lodging establishment
and the guest as well as the community.
Activity No. 1
Familiarize the different guest rooms at the SLSU Hotel. Be sure to be able to present these
rooms correctly to the guest.

Guest Cycle in the Hotel
There are a series of steps one after the other which the guest passes through, during the visit
to a hotel. As the process is repetitive it is called as cycle. The various steps through which a
guest passes during his visit to a hotel can be discussed a s under with the help of a diagram.
1) Pre-Arrival
This is the very first stage of the guest life cycle. This happens even before the
guest comes to the hotel. At this stage the guest may contact the hotel for reservation.
if the rooms are not available the guest is informed accordingly. If the rooms are
available reservation is received and confirmed. The various functions that take place
from the time a reservation is received to the time a guest is received are:
(a) Receiving the reservation, recording it on the reservation form.
(b) Enter the reservation details in the system and note the reservation
confirmation number generated by the system.
(c) Convey the reservation confirmation number to the guest.
(d) This stage also involves taking guarantee for the reservations.
(e) Rooms are blocked if required
(f) Pre registration cards are prepared for all the reserved guests
(g) Meal coupons are prepared as per the plan of various guests reserved.
(h) Preparations are being made to receive the guest.
Activity No. 2
Mock reservation call. Students should find a pair and do a mock call for a room reservation.
Phonetic alphabet should also be used during the conversation.

2) Arrival
This is a stage when the guest arrives at the hotel. The guest has to be received
in a very pleasing way and make the guest feel very comfortable. The following
activities take place during arrival of the guest.
a) welcome the guest.

b) Receive the guest in the most hospitable manner.
c) Registering the guest - The details of the guest are entered in the
registration card such as name, address, contact number, date of arrival,
date of departure, type of room and room number, and also the mode
of bill payment.
d) The guest goes through the details on the registration card and approves
it by signing it.
e) Room is allotted and room key card prepared and handed over to the
guest.
Activity No. 3
Find a pair. Perform the processing document during the arrival of guest.
3) Stay
The third phase in the guest cycle is stay. This is the stage when the guest stays
in the hotel and experiences the hospitality of the hotel. This is an important phase
and it has a great impact on the satisfaction of the guest. The various services which
the guest experiences during the stay in the hotel are:
(a) Comfortable room

(b) Room service
(c) Laundry service etc.
4) Departure
This is the final point of contact of the guest with the hotel and is also called as
guest check out. Most of the hoteliers undermine this stage, but this phase of the gust
experience with the hotel is as important as first contact. It is at this stage that the
front office staff can lay a foundation for the next visit of the guest to the hotel. Hence
it has to be seen that while departing also the guest has to leave the hotel happily and
merely as he was when he entered the hotel.
The following activities happen during the departure:

(a) Guest ‘s baggage is brought down to the lobby
(b) Bill is prepared by the cashier and presented to the guest
(c) The guest settles the bill.
(d) Hotel staff thank the guest for staying at the hotel.
(e) Guest departs from the hotel
5) Post departure
This is a phase which takes place after the guest leaves the hotel. At this stage
the guest is away from the hotel. But the intention of the hotel is to maintain relations
with the guest so that he gives repeat business.

Relations between Reservations and Registration
Reservation: It is to make sure that a particular service is available on a confirmed basis.

Reservation is required when a service or a facility is in high demand. In the hotel, rooms are
on high demand and a guest visiting a hotel without prior reservation stands less chance of
availing a room. Hence in order to avoid problems, guests always reserve rooms in advance
while making their travel plans.
Registration: Registration is a legal procedure (enforced by the law), which seeks the details of
the guest to be recorded at the reception at the time of check in. After registration formalities
a guest can be allotted a room and be roomed.
Check–In Process
Check-in process is a critical process, since a lot of vital information is exchanged between
the guest and the hotel staff during this process, irrespective of the fact whether check-in
process is manual or computerized. The manual process starts when a guest either walk-in
(without reservation) or one with prior reservation walks into the hotel looking for desired or
requested accommodation, i.e., depending upon the availability of room the walk-in guest is
assigned room whereas the guest with prior reservation is usually assigned the room for which
he has requested.
(Source: Principles of Hotel Front Office Operations, Sue Baker, Jerenry Huyton and Pam
Bradley)

The minimum information you usually require for manual registration is name of the guest,
number of persons in the group, the expected length of stay and mode of payment. The room
is assigned to the guests and usually a porter or bellboy carries their luggage and show the
guests their assigned rooms. The front desk in the meantime processes the information received
and generate the guest account for the mentioned period of stay.
However, the process of assigning rooms commences even before the arrival of the guest.
After the major check-outs of the day, the front office generates a list/printout regarding
number of guests staying with the hotel. Then after comparing the reservation requests for the
day with this report, assigns the remaining unoccupied rooms to the walk-in guest.
In case of computerized check-in procedure, only the walk-in guests need to provide their
personal information whereas guests with reservation need to confirm the information
available in the computers of the reception/front desk. Once the guest is allotted assigned
room, the computer automatically updates the information and for the desired length of stay,
room(s) will be shown as occupied.
Check–Out Process
Check out point is the last contact a guest will have with the property and experience at this
point will determine what kind of impression will a guest carry with him/her. In other words, if it
is smooth guest will carry pleasant memories. Thus, to make this point more efficient and error
proof, you shall divide it in to three parts:
a) Guest vacating the room;

b) Guest settling the bill; and
c) Guest departing.
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Property Management System
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Usually the bills are updated during the night so as to provide the bills for guests checking out
early in the day. It is advisable to ask the guest before time when he or she would be checking
out to ensure that the staff has some idea when the guest would be checking out and have
a bill ready at check-out.
The bill would include the room service charges as well as any other unpaid bills for services
rendered by different departments of the hotel. Yet the settlement of the bill can take some
time, as the guest would like to recheck the bill before making the payment or may the
payment be credited to the account of the company whom the guest is representing.
The actual guest departure, however, takes place only when the guest returns the keys and
leaves the premises. The guest is provided with transportation if required and paid for. The
guest folio created is updated for future use.
The Electronic Front Office (EFO)
In the modern age of computerisation, front office is becoming very important to provide
efficient, effective and reliable services to the guest with the optimum use of technology. The
computerisation of the front office is a part of the Property Management System, wherein all
the departments of a property/hotel are linked to the mainframe. It is important to state here
that EFO does not work independently but is also connected with other departments of the
hotel.
Jobs and Tasks Served by the Electronic Front Office
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Significance of computerization and consequent inter-dependence of the front office with the
other departments:
1) Reservation
Reservation bookings are instantly taken in and matched against the existing
data in the computer. Thus, immediately you can come to know whether the particular
type of room requested is available or not along with other facts like the other type of
rooms available on that date, room’s location, facilities, room rates and also whether
the guest is a repeat guest. The reservation booking along with guest information is
forwarded to front office people. Thus, front office knows about advance bookings
and receives client information very quickly.
2) Yield Management
The purpose of the yield management system is to maximize room occupancy
while at the same time realizing the best average room rate. Yield management needs
to consider a variety of reports and “what if …?” situations, since the room rate is
adjusted keeping in mind the occupancy rate of the hotel during the same period in
previous years. The front office manager takes the yield management decisions and
the reports generated by the computerization are very helpful for making these
decisions.
3) Registration
As you know that the required guest information is taken in during reservation
and thus, the guest only needs to sign-in and checkout. Remote check-in facilities at
airports are also becoming popular. The use of plastic or paper key is also becoming
very popular. Once the guest is assigned a room the key is automatically printed.
Simultaneously the lock configuration of the allocated room is changed to suit the
unique key. This means that upon check-out or should the guest inadvertently lose their
key, the lock is reprogrammed, and that any lost keys or keys belonging to previous
guests will not be able to be used. (Source: Principles of Hotel Front Office Operations,
Sue Baker, Jerenry Huyton and Pam Bradley)
4) Energy Management System (EMS)

This ensures the regulated use of energy. Once the guest inserts their key into a
special socket located next to door, the EMS activates the power to the room which
includes the room lights and ventilation. As the guest leaves the room, after a short
delay the power supply is switched off. The front office needs to notify the guest upon
arrival about the EMS.
5) Telephone Call Accounting

The guests can make direct calls from their room without going through an
operator. This means privacy and better service for the guest and less work for the hotel
staff. The calls details are recorded and call charges are posted to the guest bill.
6) Posting
The charges from the various departments of the hotel, let it be restaurant, bar,
room service, laundry or business center, are posted directly on to the guest bill. Guest
name, room number and account details are updated on the guest account. This
ensures less paper work for the staff involved.
7) Check Out
A fully automatic check-out system allows the guest to review his/her account
on the room’s TV set. The guest can check and verify the bill and their check out from
the room. The actual settlement of the bill takes place on the reception when the client
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pays for the visit. As a result a lot of time will be saved and there won’t be long queues
of guests waiting to check out especially during early morning hours of the day.
8) Auditing
Computer checks and rechecks the various postings of changes. It also
crosschecks balance with the amounts paid on the reception. The function of the night
auditors is greatly reduced.
9) Reporting
The various reports needed by the front office manager are efficiently
produced. Even hourly status of the room from the front desk and housekeeping are
made available for ready reference. The managerial functions like forecasting
becomes easier with such up-to-date reports supported by data.
Registration
Registration Is one of the steps in the check in process of a guest in a hotel. It is a legal
procedure to be followed. Registration document is an agreement between the guest and
the hotel. The guest by signing the registration form agrees to follow the rules of the agreement
and pay for the services received and the hotel agrees to provide the services. By clearly
entering all the details on the registration form it helps the receptionist to follow up with the
guest during the stay and also while the guest checks out.
 Formats Used in Front Office Hotel
o Reservation Form (sample)
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o Registration Form (sample)
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The Folio System
A folio is a statement of all transactions (i.e. debits & credits) affecting the balance of a single
account. At Checkout, any guest folio should be balanced to 0 through full cash payment,
credit card transfer, personal check transfer, special program transfer, and direct billing
transfer.
The way of maintaining folios starts with proper posting, which is the process of recording
transactions on a folio (i.e. proper folio, proper location and proper amount)
Under the manual, semi-automated and fully automated systems, folios are called hand-
written folios, machine-posted folios, and computer-based electronic folios respectively.
Moreover, all folios shall have a unique serial number for internal control and storing purposes.
 Types of folios used in front office department:
a. Guest folios
Accounts assigned to individual persons or guestrooms.
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b. Master Folios
Accounts assigned to more than one person or guest room; usually reserved
for guest groups.
c. Non-Guest (or semi-permanent) folios

Accounts assigned to non-guest businesses or agencies with hotel charge
purchase privileges.
d. Employee Folios
Accounts assigned to employees with charge purchase privileges.
The Guest Folio usually includes the following:
o Guest Name
o Room Number
o Date of Arrival
o Date of Departure
o Room Rate
o Guest Address
o Billing instruction
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Sales Indicators
Sales indicators, including hotel occupancy and average daily rate, are another way of
describing hotels. This information is necessary for business investors to estimate the profitability
of a hotel.
Six factors measure a hotel’s degree of financial success:
1. Occupancy percentage is the number of rooms sold divided by the number of rooms
available.
2. Average daily rate (ADR) is the total room revenue divided by the number of rooms sold.
3. Yield percentage, the effectiveness of a hotel at selling its rooms at the highest rate available
to the most profitable guest, reveals a facility’s success in selling its room inventory on a daily
basis.
4. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) is used to indicate the ability of each guest room to
produce a profit. Once the daily sales opportunity has presented itself, it cannot be repeated
(excluding the opportunity to sell a room at a half-day rate). (Note: See below for computation
of RevPAR.)
5. Gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) is defined as total gross operating profit
(GOP) per available room per day, where GOP equals total revenue less the total
departmental and operating expenses.
6. Revenue per available customer (RevPAC) reflects the customer as the fundamental driver
of value in the hospitality industry.
 Occupancy Percentage
Occupancy percentages measure the effectiveness of the marketing and sales department
as well as the external and internal marketing efforts of the front office. Occupancy
percentage is also used by investors to determine the potential gross income, or the amount
of sales a hotel might obtain at a given level of occupancy, average daily rate, and
anticipated yield. However, it is important not to assume that occupancy is standard each
night. Variations occur daily and seasonally.
Number of Rooms Sold

Number of Rooms Available x100 = Single Occupancy %
 Average Daily Rate (Average Room Rate)
The average daily rate (sometimes referred to as average room rate, or ADR), is also used in
projecting room revenues—the amount of room sales received—for a hotel. However, this
figure also affects guests’ expectations of their hotel experience. Guests expect higher room
rates to correlate with higher levels of service; the hotel with a rate of $175 per night is expected
to offer more services than a hotel in the same geographic area with a rate of $85 per night.
These expectations are extensively capitalized on by major hotel chains, which develop
different properties to meet the expectations of different segments of the hotel market.
Total Room Sales

Number of Rooms Sold = ADR
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 RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room)
RevPAR is determined by dividing room revenue received for a specific day by the number of
rooms available in the hotel for that day. The formulas for determining RevPAR are as follows:
Room Revenue
Number of Available Rooms
Or
Hotel Occupancy x Average Daily Rate
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Creating a Balance Between Guest Flow and Employee Work
 Equipment
The front desk should be positioned so that it accommodates the guest while
enabling employees to work efficiently. Guests who wait in line for ten minutes only to
be told they are in the wrong line will have a negative first impression. Likewise, a desk
clerk who has to wait to use a printer or share a computer terminal will not be as
efficient as possible. As you become familiar with the practice of processing guests at
the front desk, you will see how easy it is to plan a layout of the physical equipment
needed.
 Guest Safety
The position of the front desk is usually determined by the main entrance of the
building and the location of the elevator. The front desk clerk and the night auditor
must be able to see anyone who enters the hotel; this helps ensure a safe environment
for the guest.
The front desk clerk has a view of who is coming into the hotel from the street
entrance and who is coming off the elevator.
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PMS)
In recent times, hotels have started using PMS in order to manage and respond to guest needs
efficiently and effectively. A PMS is a single site version and is need-specific to an individual
property.
A PMS is a generic term used to describe the computer applications (computer hardware and
software) in managing the interface of various departments in a hotel in order to manage the
property effectively.
A PMS is important and essential to front office operations in modern hotels. It includes the
process of reservations, registration, guest accounts, guest check in and checkout, handling
discounts and allowances and the night audit. Interfacing, electronic sharing of data of
departments such as Front Office, F&B through points of sale, Maintenance through monitoring
of energy and heating and cooling systems and Security through control of guest keys are a
few of its applications in a hotel.
Traditionally, a hotel property management system was defined as a platform that enabled a
hotel or group of hotels to manage front-office capabilities, such as booking reservations,
guest check-in/check-out, room assignment, managing room rates, and billing. Hotel PMS
delivered a software platform that replaced time-intensive, paper and spreadsheet-heavy
processes.
Benefits of a PMS:
1) The operations are improved by the reduction of repetitive tasks.

2) The internal operations of a hotel can be kept in a standardized manner making it
easier to control which would be difficult in a manual system.
3) The information needed by management to make decisions is current and accessible.
4) Better internal control can be exercised with quicker and current information being
available.
5) Information is more difficult to compromise with user records being maintained by the
system.
6) The service provided to the guest can be improved with regard to timing and
accuracy of information and with greater levels of personalization.
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Activity No. 3
Using the SLSU PMS:

1. Create a Moderator account on the PMS.
2. Log in and log out to the system.
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HPC 201- Applied Business Tools and Technologies

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Property Management System 1

Introduction to Front Office Services

Property Management System 2

Oral Recitation No.1

Hotels are organized according to the following:

Property Management System 3

 Communications and accounting are two of the most important functions of a

Accounting procedures involving charges to registered and nonregistered

Property Management System 4

 Loss Prevention and Security

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE

The Human Resource Department performs the following specific functions:

Property Management System 5

Typical Front Office Organization

Property Management System 6

Guest Cycle in the Hotel

Property Management System 7

a) welcome the guest.

(a) Comfortable room

The following activities happen during the departure:

Property Management System 8

Relations between Reservations and Registration

Reservation: It is to make sure that a particular service is available on a confirmed basis.

Property Management System 9

a) Guest vacating the room;

The Electronic Front Office (EFO)

Jobs and Tasks Served by the Electronic Front Office

4) Energy Management System (EMS)

5) Telephone Call Accounting

 Formats Used in Front Office Hotel

o Reservation Form (sample)

o Registration Form (sample)

The Folio System

 Types of folios used in front office department:

c. Non-Guest (or semi-permanent) folios

The Guest Folio usually includes the following:

Six factors measure a hotel’s degree of financial success:

Number of Rooms Sold

 Average Daily Rate (Average Room Rate)

Total Room Sales

 RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room)

Hotel Occupancy x Average Daily Rate

Creating a Balance Between Guest Flow and Employee Work

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PMS)

1) The operations are improved by the reduction of repetitive tasks.

Using the SLSU PMS:

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