A Glossary of Housing Terms

Acknowledgment. A written confirmation from the hotel to the guest confirming a reservation. This will also include such pertinent information as arrival and departure dates, rate, type of room, whether the reservation is guaranteed for late arrival, and special needs that were requested by the guest.

Advance deposit. Money paid by the guest prior to arrival in order to guarantee the reservation. The amount is usually equivalent to one nightÂ’s room and tax and is paid by check or credit card.

Alpha list. An alphabetical tabulation of reservations made for a convention, hotel, or company.

Attrition. The shortfall experienced when an organization contracts with a hotel for a specific number of rooms and, upon completion of the meeting or conference, the total amount of rooms used is below the original contracted block.

Blind commission. A commission that is paid by a hotel to a third party that reimburses for services that come out of hotel guest room rate, but is not disclosed to the guests or the conference organizer.

Cancellation clause. A clause defining the minimal requirements of eliminating a reservation without losing a deposit or being charged.

Casualty. This is a term used for rooms not picked up from actual reservations.

Complimentary room. A sleeping room provided to the organization at no cost. The number of complimentary rooms is determined during the negotiation process between the hotel and the organization. (While the industry standard is one complimentary room per 50 rooms occupied per day, this figure may vary.)

Confirmation number. A room reservation number that will be accepted by the hotel holding the room.

Confirmed reservation. When a hotel “sets aside” a sleeping room and indicates that it will be available for a guest on a predetermined date. Upon completion of the reservation process, the hotel will provide a confirmation number.

Convention rates. Rates assigned for a particular group. This is usually a discounted rate.

Corporate rates. Special rates assigned to guest rooms that are not designated as discount rates. May also be special rates assigned to corporations for a particular hotel. These rates may vary by corporation, depending on the negotiated agreement.

Cutoff date. A designated date when the hotel will release a block of sleeping rooms to the general public. The date is typically three to four weeks before the convention.

Double room. A room for two people with either one or two beds.

Early-out. Attendees who check out of hotel one day or more earlier than they reserved or scheduled at check-in, which may result in a fee from the hotel.

Fee for service. A percentage of the guest room revenue paid as a fee for a service provided to the hotel guest and/or housing service.

Full disclosure. Informing the hotel guest of any rebates or commissions included in the hotel room rate.

Gaming propensity. The gaming profile of a group considering to stay at a gaming property.

Global distribution system. A link between travel agencies, airlines, and hotels, such as the Sabre and Apollo systems.

Guaranteed reservation. A pre-paid reservation held until the agreed-upon arrival time or check-out time the next day, which ever occurs first. This reservation is typically held with a credit card or cash, and the guest is responsible for payment if the reservation is not canceled.

Housing bureau. A convention bureauÂ’s reservation office, which coordinates housing for groups.

Housing desk. An area used to provide service to delegates who have reservation concerns.

Housing list/rooming list. Lists of guests, arrival and departure information, method of payment, and room data supplied to the facility or hotel before arrival.

Housing provider. A private company that is contracted as a third party to manage the housing process.

Inside link. A link between travel agencies and hotels used to access special rates.

Keys. The number of sleeping rooms in a facility.

Lead generation fees (booking fees). Fees paid to an individual or company for providing leads for booked business.

Name change. Changing the guest name on a room reservation.

No-show report. A report generated by hotels to indicate the names and number of attendees who made reservations and did not utilize hotel rooms. The report is best obtained on-site on a daily basis.

Outsource. A term used when thereÂ’s an outside vendor providing additional services over and above what the hotel may offer, such as housing, spouse programs, and audio-visual services.

Overbooking. The practice of confirming a percentage of reservations over the actual inventory for any given night to enable 100 percent occupancy. Hotels sometimes permit the client to overbook the committed meeting room block to allow the client to take advantage of its own no-show factor based on history.

Pickup pattern. The pace at which rooms are reserved within a block.

Pickup report. A post-meeting analysis of a room block stating the number of units (rooms and suites) utilized by the meeting attendees on a night-by-night basis.

Rack rates. The normal rates for which guest rooms are sold.

Range of rates. Rates that are normally assigned to guest rooms that are not designated as discount rates.

Reasonable accommodation. Facilities and services made by hotel to respond to needs of physically challenged guests.

Rebate. A portion of the rate a hotel charges a guest and gives to the sponsoring organization to help offset conference related activities.

Reservation request. A verbal or written request for hotel accommodations, generally with a deposit, to utilize a room from the sponsoring organizationÂ’s room block.

Room block. A portion of hotel suite and room inventory under contract for an established period of time between a hotel and client. A room block can be under a tentative or firm agreement.

Room unit/suite unit. How a hotel categorizes its rooms, suites, and parlors and identifies them in inventory.

Rooming list. The names given to correspond to the number of rooms set aside for a particular group.

Shoulder dates. Dates before and after the peak room nights or when the main activities of the meeting are not occurring.

Sliding scale. An attrition term used when fees are assessed based on percentages of pickup relative to the original guaranteed number of rooms blocked.

Slippage. The difference between the contracted room block and rooms that were actually utilized.

Single room. Guest room occupied by one person.

Split rate. Different room rates offered to a group based on: different room types, such as regular guest rooms vs. tower rooms; a lower rate established to provide an incentive to book early; or different days, such as a weekday vs. weekend rate.

Sub-block. A portion of the total room block that is held aside for use by a specific type of attendees (such as VIPs, speakers, staff, exhibiting companies, state delegations, affiliates, and chapters).

Travel agent commission. A fee paid on a sold product or service, such as those given to airlines, hotels, and tour companies.

Twin room. A guest room with two twin-sized beds.

Unit. One guest room or one room of a suite. (A suite with a parlor and a bedroom is two units.)

Wash factor. A percentage calculated from the highest room reservations made to actual number of rooms occupied on the peak night.

from Professional Covention Management Association

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