FRONT OFFICE HOTEL

MANAGEMENT

The Guest Room

Contents

Categorizing the guest room
Guest Room Make Up
Key Control Systems
Review
Categorizing the Guest Room

Room Types
Room Configurations
Room Designations
Room Numbering
Room Status Reconciliation
Room Types

Room types are based on the intended number of
occupants
Standard type is based on one occupant this is
called single occupancy
Often single occupancy rooms have a lower rate
than those with two guests in a room, called double
occupancy rooms
Triple and quad occupancy rooms are for three
and four guests respectively
Room Configurations
Room configurations characterise the physical make
up of a guest room, therefore looking at differences in
guest rooms within a particular hotel

Room configurations are an important aspect of how a
hotel will determine the sleeping room rate

Offering guests an upgrade allows the hotel the
potential for increased room revenue
Standard Configuration
The standard configuration is defined as the room
configuration that makes up the majority of the sleeping
rooms at a particular hotel
Some hotels refer to their standard configuration as the
run of house (ROH)
The run of house rooms are understood to be the
greatest number of available rooms
A new trend has standard rooms being referred to as
deluxe or superior rooms which can be perceived as
added value
Enhanced Configuration
The enhanced configuration is the next level up from
the standard configuration

It is understood to include more amenities and services
than the standard configuration

Sometimes called a concierge or business level
room, these rooms carry a higher room rate than the
standard configuration
Enhanced Configuration (Cont.)

The rooms offer everything the standard room do plus
extra services/ amenities which may include
Upgraded soft goods
Upgraded hard goods
Upgraded amenities
Items targeted to the business traveller
Access to a private lounge
Suite Configuration
The suite configuration involves larger rooms (in terms
of square footage)

By definition the suite must only be larger than the
standard and may not include greater levels of service
or amenities

Varying sizes of suites allow the hotel to charge higher
rates for bigger rooms
Suite Configuration (Cont)
Suites are identified by their size in relation to the
standard configuration and the names may differ from
hotel to hotel

An example of how the suite names may change
respective to the room size is as follows
Jnr Suite
Corner Suite
Bi-level Suite
Hospitality Suite
Presidential Suite
Room Configurations and Target Markets

Room configurations remain constant amongst all hotel
target markets
The standard configuration is the category of guest room
that is the most prevalent at a specific hotel
All suite hotels have enhanced configurations and larger
suites as well
Extended stay target market also uses the same
philosophy
Disabled Access Configuration
Disabled access configurations include rooms that are
equipped to make the overnight stay of the disabled
guest more pleasant and may include:
Raised beds
Wider doorways
Telecommunication Devices
Voice activated dialing
Clocks with larger, brighter numbers
Closed caption televisions
Elevated toilets
Disabled Access Configuration (Cont)

Disabled configuration equipment continued..
Bathrooms equipped with metal handrails
Roll in showers
Visual alert smoke detectors, door knocks, telephones and alarm
clocks

Room Designations
The final remaining identifier for room categories is the
room designation which identifies whether it is a
smoking or nonsmoking room

In the early 1980s hotels began to convert a portion of
their sleeping rooms to permanently nonsmoking rooms

Many hotels particularly in North America are now 100%
non smoking


Room Preferences
Room type, configuration and designation all come together to
create the specific room a hotel guest may seek
Room Type
+
Room
Configuration
+
Room
Designation
=
Guestroom
Preferences
Single
Double
Triple
Quad
Smoking
Nonsmoking

Standard
Enhanced Suite
Disables Access
Room Numbering
Assigning guest room numbers is the identification
method hotels have used for most of history

Typically, odd numbers are on one side of the floor, even
numbers on the other

Whatever pattern is begun with the initial guest rooms
floor, it is carried on throughout the remainder of the
floors
Sequential Room Numbering
1st Floor Guest Room Corridor
101 103 105 107 109
102 104 106 108 110
Room Status Reconciliation
Room status reconciliation is defined as ensuring that
rooms are properly designated by their current status
and assigned a new status as it changes
Both housekeeping and the front desk maintain room
status
Rooms status categories/designations are groups by the
guest rooms
State of Occupancy
State of cleanliness
State of exception
State of Occupancy

Occupied applies to a room that has been assigned to
a guest and that guest has checked in

Vacant the guest has checked out of the room

Ready the room is available for new occupancy
State of Cleanliness & Exception
State of Cleanliness has two categories:
Dirty room has not been cleaned by housekeeping
Clean room has been cleaned but not yet verified as
clean

State of Exception room was removed from inventory
for a specific reason (e.g. repairs or renovation)


Room Status Codes
Room Status Cycle
Vacant/Clean
(V/C)
Vacant/Dirty
(V/D)
Occupied/Dirty
(O/D)
Occupied/Clean
(O/C)
Vacant/Ready
(V/R)
Room Status
Cycle
Figure 4-13
Guest Room Makeup
The product for sale is a place to sleep, so all guest
rooms have a bed of some kind and the other universal
items in a guest room are phone, television and a bath

Hotels are given industry ratings based in part on the
makeup of their guest rooms and what is inside them

The standard configuration of every hotel room always
contains the universal items
Standard Configuration Items
In-room work stations
Pull out sofa beds or Murphy
beds
One or more night stands
Vanity areas
Coffee makers
Irons and ironing boards
In-room safes
Closet/dresser
Blackout drapes
Clock radio or alarm
Hotel collateral
Selection of local directories
Phones with message lights
Several chains offer retrieval of
written messages on a CCTV
channel
In-room movies
Video games may be available
Data ports
Glasses and ice bucket
Mini bar
Complimentary newspapers
Key Control Systems
Key control systems are used to ensure guest safety by
changing the access to a guest room between guests
Key control systems evolved into systems that were
easy to replace with key cards
These key cards are reprogrammed for each new guest
and if the card is lost it can be erased easily
Lost key cards pose no security risk as there is no room
number printed on them