When you start your first job in the hotel industry, you’ll hear many phrases and acronyms that you may not have come across before. These specialized terms help industry professionals communicate. Like any industry, hospitality has its own vocabulary that just makes it easier for people to talk to each other.
If you're looking for a job in the hotel or restaurant industries, here are 13 key phrases and slang terms that you should understand:
If you're looking for a job in the hotel or restaurant industries, here are 13 key phrases and slang terms that you should understand:
1. Front of house/back of house: Front of house is the part of a hotel that the guests see and spend time in. Back of house is the behind-the-scenes area for employees.
2. BEO: BEO stands for banquet event order, which is a document listing the requirements for a catered event. Examples of items found in a BEO are how many chairs are needed and how the chairs should be set up.
3. Attrition: When fewer guests arrive at a hotel than are contracted for, that’s known as attrition.
4. Walk: Because hotels expect some attrition, they may overbook. If more guests show up than were expected, the hotel may not be able to accommodate them all and will have to arrange for some of them to stay in another hotel, which is called walking the guests.
5. Comp: Comp stands for complimentary, and to comp guests means to give them something for free. A comp could be a bottle of wine or flowers for a bride and groom, or it could mean waiving the charge on part of a meal if a guest complained about the food.
6. Occupancy rate: The occupancy rate tells you what percentage of the rooms are occupied in the hotel. A higher occupancy rate is better because it means the hotel is operating closer to its full capacity.
7. ADR: ADR stands for average daily rate and is the average income the hotel receives per occupied room. ADR is important because room prices fluctuate based on demand.
8. RevPAR: RevPAR stands for revenue per available room. This is found by multiplying ADR by the occupancy rate. “
9. PMS: PMS stands for property management system, which is the system hotels use to control their operations. The PMS tracks things like reservations, whether rooms are clean, and lost and found items.
10. Market segment: A market segment is a group of guests who share similar characteristics; business travelers are an example of a market segment.
11. VFR: VFR stands for visiting friends and relatives. It’s a market segment composed of people who are traveling to see friends or family rather than to visit tourist attractions or conduct business.
12. Bleisure: Bleisure refers to a segment of guests who combine business and leisure activities in the same trip.
13. OTA: OTA stands for online travel agency, a website that allows consumers to compare prices and book rooms. OTAs are a challenge to hotels because a hotel makes less money when guests book a room through an OTA than when they book a room through the hotel’s own website.
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