FRONT OFFICE OPERATIONS

Guest History

The last step in the guest account settlement process is the creation of a guest history
record. Many hotels simply use expired registration cards as the basis for their guest
history files. Others develop a special form for guest history construction. Refer handout
for guest history card. The information on a guest history record can be obtained from the
guest registration card and account folio.
Resort hotels in particular often have extensive forms requesting specific information to
help them cater to their guest needs. Names of spouses and children, birthdays, hotel room
preferences, favorite foods, and so on may be placed on file for special guests or all guests.
On the basis of this information , the hotel can delight the customer by providing him with
all that he wants on his next visit. All the services and amenities provided and care shown
by the hotel is possible because the hotel is well aware of the needs and wants of the
service and facilities of the guest in advance, and which the hotel has come to know
because its staff was taking interest in knowing his likes and dislikes on the previous visits
and recorded down for future reference. Service excellence will always be the key factor in
the success of hotels. The three factors, namely incentives, individual attention and
recognition will determine the guest choice of a hotel and all this can be achieved through
proper maintenance of guest history records.

Incentives
Frequent customer programs that reward regular guests with gifts, room upgrades or airline
tickets etc.

Personal attention
Most of the hotels these days are now being able to bring under control the tangible aspects
of the hotel product and the challenge now is to make service as tangible as possible.
Giving the guest personal attention has more potential as a competitive strategy.

Recognition
Recognizing the guest is not only noting preferences and rewarding repeat business but it
also means building long term relationships with guests by knowing and translating their
expectations. Maintaining dialogues with customers, finding out exactly what they are
looking for and making sure that what he wants he will find in the hotel and checking back
to make sure that guests’ expectations are met with is very important. Building relationship
with guests is no longer a good business policy but has now become a matter of survival.

A guest history record can be used by the hotels sales and marketing division as a source
for mailing list or in combination with other guest history records, can help identify guest
characteristics important for strategic marketing. This information may help in the
placement of advertisements, indicate the need for supplementary services, or identify
potential guest service enhancements. Software for computerized guest history system may
allow the hotel to excerpt data for use in its marketing efforts, and to measure the effect of
past efforts. For instance, a computerized guest history package may enable the hotel to
determine the geographic distribution of its guests home and business addresses. With this
kind of data hotel advertising may be placed more effectively.
It is important to remember that guest history files are confidential and proprietary hotel
records. The hotel owes its guests protection from an invasion of their privacy.
647.94/MS/AUG 2005
NO: [6] / PGDAO&M