| A | B |
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| Guest cycle | A way of dividing the flow of business through a hotel that identifies the physical contacts and financial exchanges between guests and hotel employees. Consists of four stages: pre-arrival, arrival, occupancy, and departure. |
| Pre-arrival stage | The first stage of the guest cycle during which the traveler makes reservations with the hotel. |
| Arrival stage | During this stage of the guest cycle, the traveler arrives at the hotel and is checked in. |
| Occupancy stage | During this stage of the guest cycle, the guest occupies the hotel, and partakes of its facilities, goods, and services. |
| Departure stage | During this stage of the guest cycle, the guest settles his or her account and departs from the hotel. |
| Guest history file | A collection of guest history records that provides information the hotel uses to better understand its clientele and provide a solid basis for marketing strategy. |
| Occupied room | A guest is currently registered to the room. |
| Complimentary room | The room is occupied but the guest is assessed no charge for the day. |
| Stayover | The guest is not expected to check out today and will remain at least one more night. |
| On-change | The guest has departed, but the room has not yet been cleaned and readied for resale. |
| Do not disturb | The guest has requested not to be disturbed. |
| Sleep-out | A guest is registered to the room, but the bed has not been used. |
| Skipper | The guest has left the hotel without making arrangements to settle his or her account. |
| Sleeper | The guest has settled his or her account and left the hotel, but the front office staff has failed to properly update the room’s status. |
| Vacant and ready | The room has been cleaned and inspected and is ready for an arriving guest. |
| Out-of-order | The room cannot be assigned to a guest because it may need maintenance, refurbishing, or extensive cleaning. |
| Lock-out | The room has been locked so that the guest cannot re-enter until he or she is cleared by a hotel official. |
| DNCO | The guest made arrangement to settle his or her account, but has left without informing the front office. |
| Due out | The room is expected to become vacant after the following day’s checkout time. |
| Check out | The guest has settled his or her account, returned the room keys, and left the hotel. |
| Late check-out | The guest has requested and is being allowed to check out later than the hotel’s standard checkout time. |
| Reservation record | Details a reservation and enables the hotel to personalize service and schedule staff and facilities. |
| Letter of confirmation | Verifies that a reservation has been made and that its specifications are accurate. |
| Reservation rack slip | In a non-automated property, this is used to monitor reservations. |
| Registration card | Contains guest personal data, length of stay, and method of payment. |
| Room rack slip | Contains guest personal data, room rate, expected departure date, and room number, and is placed in the room rack to indicate room status. |
| Guest folio | Used to record the charges incurred and credits acquired by a guest during occupancy. |
| Voucher | A document detailing transactions to be posted to an electronic folio. Used to communicate information from an unconnected point of sale to the front office system. |
| Guest history record | Contains information relevant to marketing, sales, and servicing the guest’s return. |
| Call accounting system | A hotel property management system interface that links to a hotel telephone system to accurately account for guest telephone calls by identifying each phone number dialed from guestroom telephones and tracking charges. |
| Guest history file | A collection of guest history records, containing information about the interactions between a hotel and the former guests. |
| House limit | A credit limit established by a hotel. |
| Information list | An alphabetical index of registered guests, used in routing telephone calls, mails, messages, and visitor inquiries. |
| Late charge | A transaction requiring posting to a guest account that does not reach the front office system for posting until after the guest has checked out. |
| Property management system | The set of computer programs that hotels use to help them manage their front- and back-office activities efficiently. |
| Registration card | A printed form for a registration record. |
| Registration record | An electronic document containing such guest data as date of arrival, type and number of rooms requested, deposit, and number of persons in party. |
| Reservation file | A collection of reservation records. |
