As a hotel owner or manager, having a firm grasp of the hotel vocabulary and shorthand specific to hospitality is crucial for seamless communication with your staff and partners. The correct hospitality lingo helps maximize operational efficiency, increase guest satisfaction, and boost your bottom line.
In my decade working in hotel revenue management and operations, we have compiled this definitive guide to the most essential hotel vocabulary, acronyms, and abbreviations that every hotelier should know. Whether you're new to the hospitality industry or a seasoned veteran, this glossary will ensure you're fluent in hotel-speak.
Key Takeaways:
- Learn must-know hotel terms for reception, Housekeeping, F&B, sales, and more operational areas
- Master widely-used hotel abbreviations and acronyms to optimize communication efficiency
- Boost employee productivity and guest satisfaction by establishing a common hospitality language
- Familiarize yourself with key performance indicators (KPIs) to effectively track hotel metrics
- Level up your hotel lingo knowledge to make confident data-driven decisions
Having the right hotel vocabulary empowers managers to lead their teams successfully. Let's dive in.
Table of Contents
Front Desk & Reservations Hotel Vocabulary and Terminology
The front desk and reservations team serves as the face of your hotel. Their skill in handling guest interactions and inquiries impacts brand perception and loyalty. Here are key hospitality terms to know:
- Cut-off Date: The date by which reservations must be canceled without penalty. Knowing the cut-off date prevents overbooking and improves forecasting accuracy.
- Early Departure: This happens if a guest checks out before their scheduled departure date. Tracking early departures helps optimize housekeeping resources.
- FIT: "Free Independent Travelers" who book stays independently rather than via a group or company. Understanding FIT booking trends is crucial for demand forecasting.
- Guaranteed Reservation: This is a reservation in which the guest's credit card is pre-authorized to guarantee the booking. This reduces no-shows and increases revenue capture.
- Ooo or Out of Order: Used to indicate a room is unavailable for sale or occupation due to maintenance or repairs. Monitoring Ooo rooms helps maximize sellable inventory.
- RACK Rate: The published total standard room rate with no discounts applied. RACK rates serve as the benchmark for measuring discounting impact.
- Walk-In: A guest booking who physically walks into the hotel without a prior reservation. Knowing walk-in patterns optimizes staffing levels.
Having a grasp of this type of hotel lingo office terms allows managers to measure performance, reduce no-shows, and boost occupancy rates.
Housekeeping Hotel Vocabulary
Housekeeping is the behind-the-scenes engine that maintains high cleanliness, order, and guest satisfaction standards. Here are must-know hotel terms:
- Turndown Service: Evening housekeeping service that prepares the room for bedtime by turning down covers, closing drapes, replenishing amenities, etc.
- Amenities: Complimentary items provided for guest use, like shampoo, soap, coffee, water, etc. Amenities impact perceived value.
- Deep Clean: Thorough periodic cleaning process for rooms and public areas going beyond daily tidying. Deep cleaning maintains quality standards.
- Pickup Room: A room with leftover trash or messes indicating the guest departed without the room serviced by Housekeeping.
- Stripping a Room: Removing all bed linens, towels, and bath linens from a guest room to be replaced by fresh items. In simpler words, this is when the cleaning of the room begins.
- Night Room Status Report: Details which rooms need overnight service and which are occupied, vacant, or need repairs. This is the stage when next-day assignment optimization starts.
Fluency in housekeeper shorthand leads to cleaner rooms and happier guests.
Food & Beverage Lingo
The restaurant and bar teams delight guests with delicious food, drinks, and top-notch service. Here are key hospitality food and beverage (F&B) terms to know:
- 86: Indicates a menu item is no longer available, or the kitchen has run out of an ingredient. Alerts servers and prevents disappointed guests.
- Covers: The number of guests served in a restaurant during a meal period. Measuring covers helps estimate food costs and staffing needs.
- POS: The "Point of Sale" system where servers enter orders sent to the kitchen and generate guest checks. Optimizing POS systems speeds service.
- Table Turn: The number of times a table can be seated and served during a meal. Maximizing turns boosts revenue.
- Upselling: Encouraging guests to purchase higher-priced items, add-ons, or upgrades to increase the per-cover check value. This exceptionally boosts profits.
- Voids: Checks or items that servers delete from their checks if guests change their order. Monitoring gaps reduces waste and theft.
With the correct F&B vocabulary, you can maximize operational productivity in the dining room and kitchen.
Hotel Revenue Management Glossary
Hotel revenue management focuses on optimizing pricing and occupancy to maximize revenues. Here are some key revenue management (RM) terms:
- ADR or Average Daily Rate: The average rental income per paid occupied room daily. A key occupancy metric.
- Demand Pacing: Comparing reservations on the books to the same time last year to forecast demand by period. This is precise pricing.
- L3M or Last 3 Months: Benchmark of a hotel's performance during the same period last year, based on metrics like ADR, RevPAR, etc.. This evaluates trends over time.
- Overbooking: Accepting more reservations than available rooms to compensate for no-shows and cancellations. Overbooking helps maximize occupancy but requires precision.
- RevPAR or Revenue Per Available Room: Total guest room revenue divided by total rooms. Measures income generation against complete room inventory.
- Waterfall: Visual calendar-style report highlighting future reservations by segment, rate, status, etc. Essential for forecasting demand.
With revenue management fluency, hoteliers can utilize data to make strategic pricing and positioning decisions.
Sales & Marketing Acronyms and Hotel Vocabulary
The sales and marketing teams fill rooms by promoting your hotel's unique value to potential guests. Here are key abbreviations:
- OTA: "Online Travel Agency" like Expedia or Booking.com that sells rooms on your behalf. OTAs expand reach but reduce profit margins.
- RFP: "Request for Proposal," which corporations or meeting planners send when shopping for group hotel deals. Responding promptly to RFPs drives group bookings.
- SMERF: "Social, Military, Education, Religious and Fraternal" groups that commonly book hotel room blocks. Track SMERF trends to forecast demand.
- USP or Unique Selling Proposition: Details what distinguishes your hotel from competitors. Strong USPs attract bookings.
Grasping sales shorthand allows you to partner more effectively with corporate clients, OTAs, and meeting planners.
General Hotel Metrics & KPIs Hotel Vocabulary
Beyond segment-specific lingo, hotel managers should understand key property metrics and KPIs:
- GOP or Gross Operating Profit: Total revenue minus operating expenses. It measures overall profitability.
- GOP PAR: Gross operating profit per available room. Tracks profit against total possible rooms rented.
- Occupancy Percentage: Rooms occupied divided by total rooms. Occupancy measures rental demand.
- LTD or Life-to-Date: Performance metrics like revenue or occupancy for the year. It compares to previous years.
Fluency in key performance indicators allows you to precisely benchmark hotel profitability and make data-driven decisions to optimize operations.
Hotel Abbreviation List
| Abbreviation | Full Name |
| 1BR | One Bedroom |
| 2BR | Two Bedroom |
| A/C | Air Conditioning |
| B&B | Bed and Breakfast |
| CC | Credit Card |
| HSKP | Housekeeping |
| WIFI | Wireless Internet |
| Rm | Room |
| Suite | Suite |
| Pvt | Private |
| Bth | Bathroom |
| GYM | Gymnasium |
| Pool | Swimming Pool |
| Conc | Concierge |
| Resv | Reservation |
| Vac | Vacation |
| Exec | Executive |
| FF | Fully Furnished |
| HB | Half Board |
| FB | Full Board |
| RO | Room Only |
| ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act |
| C/I | Check-In |
| C/O | Checkout |
| Exp | Expedia |
| HR | Hour |
| 24/7 | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
In A Nutshell
By mastering this must-know vocabulary across hotel segments, you can lead your property to success through clear communication, maximized revenue, satisfied guests, and engaged employees. Don't hesitate to reference this guide as you navigate the exciting hospitality industry and help your hotel thrive.
Suppose you need assistance optimizing your hotel's operations or implementing revenue management strategies to boost profitability. In that case, the innovative team at Emersion Wellness has the expertise and tools to help your property succeed. Reach out today to discuss how we can help you increase rates, drive bookings, reduce costs, and maximize revenue.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hotel Terminology
What does the hotel abbreviation ADR stand for?
ADR stands for Average Daily Rate, the average rental revenue earned for an occupied room per day. ADR helps hotels measure pricing and value.
What does OOO stand for in a hotel?
OOO stands for Out of Order, meaning a hotel room is unavailable to sell or occupy due to maintenance, malfunction, or repairs needed. Tracking OOO rooms helps optimize inventory.
What does F&B stand for in hotel management?
F&B stands for Food and Beverage, referencing all dining facilities and operations within a hotel, including restaurants, bars, banquets, room service, and kitchens.
What is the meaning of RevPAR in the hotel industry?
RevPAR stands for Revenue Per Available Room. It measures a hotel's total guest room revenue divided by the total number of available rooms for a given period. It benchmarks income against inventory.
What does the term "walked" mean in a hotel?
"Walked" means a guest reservation could not be accommodated due to overbooking, so the guest was "walked" to another nearby hotel where they were booked instead. This is avoided by managing overbooking carefully.
What does comp room mean in a hotel?
A comp room is a free overnight room granted complimentary to a guest as a courtesy, to make up for a bad experience, or sometimes provided to travel industry partners. Comps must be monitored to avoid erosion of revenue.
What does the abbreviation GIT stand for in the hotel industry?
GIT stands for Guest in Transit. It refers to a guest staying for a concise overnight visit of one or two nights en route to their final destination.
What does the term "Early Departure" mean in hotel operations?
Early departure means a guest has checked out of their room before their scheduled and reserved checkout date, leaving early. Tracking this helps improve forecasting accuracy.
What do the initials CPO stand for in a hotel context?
CPO stands for Current Month Pacing Report, which compares reservations on the books to the same time last year to evaluate future occupancy trends.
What does HK mean in hotel management?
HK is a shorthand abbreviation for Housekeeping; the department focuses on cleaning, tidying, and preparing hotel guest rooms and public areas.
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Also Read: Top 15 Hotel Strategies to Attract Customers Through Weight Loss and Wellness Programs
I'm Nathan Baws, a nutrition nerd, exercise and weight loss expert, and an unwavering advocate for good health. As the founder of Emersion Wellness, I'm passionate about crafting Seamless Weight Loss Programs to supercharge hotel revenue and transform lives. We've pioneered the World's First Plug & Play Weight Loss Programs for top hotels and resorts, sparking a wellness revolution. Beyond my professional journey, you'll often find me hiking, swimming, and riding the waves, embracing every moment in nature. Join me on this exhilarating journey towards diet, health and wellness.