Hotel Management Glossary

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There are currently 54 Glossary Items in this directory beginning with the letter A.
Abandoned Property
 

What is the definition/meaning of Abandoned Property in the hospitality industry?

Property that is given up by someone who does not intend to reclaim it

Acceptance
An agreement by the second party in a contract to the terms and conditions of the offer.

Accessible
A guest room that is designed to accommodate persons with disabilities by removing barriers that otherwise limit or prevent them from obtaining the services that are offered.

Account
A form in which financial data are accumulated and summarized

Account aging
A method for tracking past due accounts according to the date of charges originated

Account Allowance
Either a decrease in a folio balance as compensation for unsatisfactory service or as a rebate for a coupon discount; or a correction of a posting error detected after the close of business

Account Balance
A summary of an account in terms of its resulting monetary amount; specifically, the difference between the total debits and the total credits to an account

Account Receivable Voucher
see Charge Purchase Voucher

Accountability
An obligation created when a person is delegated duties/responsibilities from higher levels of management.

Accounts Receivable
Money owed to the hotel because of sales made on credit. Sometimes referred to as "AR" for short.

Accounts Receivable Aging
A process by which the average length of time money owed to the hotel because of sales made on credit is determined.

Accounts Receivable Ledger
A grouping of accounts receivable, including the guest ledger and the city ledger

Accounts Receivable Module
A back office computer which monitors guest accounts and account billing and collection when integrated with the front office accounting module.

ADA
Short for American with Disabilities Act. ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities.

Address Verification Service
A company that, for a fee, allows access to its database of current addresses.

Adjacent Rooms
Rooms close to each other, perhaps across the hall

Adjoining Rooms
Rooms with common wall but no connecting door. Not all adjoining rooms are connecting, however, every connecting rooms are adjoining.

ADR
Short for "average daily rate," the average selling price of all guest rooms for a given time period. The formula for ADR is Total Room Revenue/Total Number of Rooms Sold = ADR.

ADR Index
ADR of our hotel/ADR of the competitive set.

Advance Deposit Guarantee
A type of reservation guarantee which requires the guest to furnish a specified amount of money in advance of arrival.

Affiliated Hotel
One of a chain, franchise, or referral system, the membership of which provides special advantages

Afternoon Tea
A light snack comprised of delicate sandwiches and small sweets served with tea, or even sherry.

Agency Ledger
A division of the city ledger dealing with travel agency accounts

Agency Problem
Exists when top managers attempt to maximize their own self-interests at the expense of shareholders.

AH&LA
Short for American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Air Handler
The fans and mechanical systems required to move air through ducts and to vents. (HVAC)

Alliance
An arrangement between two or more firms that establishes an exchange relationship but that has no joint ownership involved.

Allowance Voucher
A voucher used to support an account allowance.

Allowances and Adjustments
Reductions in sales revenue credited to guests because of errors in properly recording sales or to appease a guest for property shortcomings.

Amenities
Hotel products and services designed to attract guests.

American Plan
A billing arrangement under which room charges include the guestroom and three meals. Also called Full American plan or full board.

Antitrust Laws
Established by governments to keep organizations from getting large and powerful enough in one industry to engage in monopoly pricing and other forms of noncompetitive or illegal behavior

Appraisal
The establishment of (real estate) value.

Arbitrage
The nearly simultaneous purchase of a product at a low price and reselling of it at a higher price with the intention of keeping the difference in price

Area of Protection (AOP) [ Franchise]
The geographic area, which is designated by a franchisor, and granted to a franchisee, in which no directly competing franchisees will be sold.

ARR
Short for Average Room Rate, see also ADR.

Arrival Date
The date a guest plans to register at the hotel.

Assets
Items owned by a business including cash on hand, money in checking or other accounts, money owed to the business, inventories, property, equipment, and furnishings.

At-Will Employment
The employment relationship that exists when employers can hire any employee as they choose and dismiss that employee with or without cause at any time. The employee can also elect to work for the employer or terminate the work relationship anytime he or she chooses.

Attrition
The difference between the original request and the actual purchases of a group. For example, a group might reserve one hundred rooms, but actually use only fifty. The hotel's standard group contract may, in such a case, stipulate that the group pay a penalty for "over-reserving."

Audiovisual Equipment
Those items including DVD players, laptops, LCD projectors, microphones, sound systems, flip charts, overhead projectors, slide projectors, TVs, and VCRs that are used to communicate information to meeting attendees during the meetings.

Audit
The process of verifying records for correctness and completeness.

Audit Trail
An organized flow of source documents detailing each step in the processing of a transaction

Audit Work Time
The period from the end of day until the completion of the audit. (FO Night Audit)

Auditor
The individual(s) who conducts an independent verification of financial records.

Authority
The power to tell others to do or not to do something in efforts to attain the hotel's objectives.

Authorization Code
A code generated by an on-line credit card verification service, indicating that the requested transaction has been approved.

Authorize
To validate.

AV
Short for Audiovisual Equipment.

Availability Forecast
An estimate of the number of rooms that remain to be sold.

Availability Report
A report which contains expected arrival and departure information for the next several days, typically prepared as part of the night audit.

Average Daily Rate
An occupancy ratio derived by dividing net rooms revenue by the number of rooms sold.

Average Rate Per Guest
An occupancy ratio derived by dividing net rooms revenue by the number of guests.

Avoidance Strategy
Competitive strategy in which a firm avoids confrontation completely by focusing on a particular niche in the market in which other firms have little interest.