Hotel Management Glossary

A system of conducting business activities using the Internet and other information technologies. Refers to using computer networks to conduct business, including buying and selling online, electronic funds transfer, business communications, and other activities associated with the buying and selling of goods and services online.

A cabinet usually including both refrigerated and non-refrigerated sections designed with an electronic processing unit that allows direct PMS interface.

Short for emergency key.

(Educational Institute of AH&LA) The shortened version of the name given to the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA). Located in Orlando, Florida, and Lansing, Michigan, E.I. is the professional development and certification subsidiary of the AH&LA.

A guest who arrives at a property before the date of his or her reservation.

A guest who checks out of the hotel before his or her originally scheduled check-out date.

A clause in a franchisee agreement that grants both the franchisor and the franchisee the right, with proper notification, to terminate the agreement after it has been in effect for a relatively short period of time. When this clause exists, a window may be granted after only one, two, or three years.

Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.

A level of service emphasizing clean, comfortable, inexpensive rooms and meeting the most basic needs of guests. Economy hotels appeal primarily to budget-minded travelers.

A lamp in which light is generated by passing electrical current through a space filled with a special combination of gases. Examples include fluorescent, mercury vapor, metal halide, and sodium.

A locking system which replaces traditional mechanical locks with sophisticated computer based guestroom access devices.

The theft of a company's financial assets by an employee.

A key which opens all guestroom doors, even when they are double locked.

A document describing a hotel's pre-determined, intended response to a safety/security threat encountered by the hotel.

Implies that the existing strategy is not necessarily planned or intended, but rather a result of learning through a process of trial and error.

A folio used to chart transactions on an account assigned to an employee with charge purchase privileges.

Written policies and procedures related to employment at a hotel. Also sometimes called an employee "manual."

Reward system in which employees are provided with an attractive method for acquiring stock in the companies where they work. (ESOP)

The concept that the hospitality operation is a preferred place of employment within the community by those who have alternative employment opportunities.

A document specifying the terms of the work relationship between the employer and employee that indicates the rights and obligations of both parties.

The act of granting authority to employees to make key decisions within the employees' areas of responsibility.

An arbitrary stopping point for the business day, established so that the audit can be considered complete that time.

Specific policies and engineering, maintenance, and facility design activities intended to control and reduce energy usage.

Designing and operating a building to ensure a safe and comfortable atmosphere.

A person who assumes the risk of owning and operating a business in exchange for the financial rewards the business may produce.

The value of an asset beyond the total amount owed on it for mortgages and other loans.

Standards used to judge the "right" and "wrong" (or fairness) of one's actions when dealing with others.

A room rate that does not include guest meals. A billing arrangement under which meals are priced separately from rooms.

A hotel work shift, generally 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

A floor of a hotel which offers world-class service. Also called the tower concept or concierge floor.

The individual responsible for the management and operation of the housekeeping department.

Those members of the hotel's management team (generally department heads) responsible for departmental leadership and overall property administration.

A citizen of one country who is employed in another country.

A daily report showing the number and names of guests expected to arrive.

A daily report showing the number and names of guests expected to depart as well as the number of stayovers.

The amount of money spent to generate revenues.

A pre-departure activity which involves the production and early morning distribution of guest folios for guests expected to check out that morning.

An independent verification of financial records performed by accountants who are not employed by the organization operating the hotel.

Stakeholders and forces outside the traditional boundaries of the firm; they can be divided into the broad and operating environments.

Tactics designed to attract persons who are not current hotel employees for vacant positions.

A piece of computer hardware that retains data and/or programs that can be accessed by the central processing unit.