Speaking the Hotel Language

While the vast majority of my career has been in the hospitality industry, I find it hard to believe that there is any other industry that has more acronyms, slang, jargon, anecdotes, innuendos, lingo, and meaningless adjectives. Below you'll find ten hotel-specific terms that sound harmless, but can be the cause of many headaches when planning an event or meeting in a hotel.

Please note: the definitions are geared towards what you need to know; ergo, not exactly Webster's.

1. Attrition

A gentle way of saying what is guaranteed, as in financially responsible, locked-in, no refunds, no returns, all sales final. It's usually a small percentage less than what is contracted, to allow for some amount of variance. Example: You have a 10% attrition allowance, you are responsible for 90% of your guestroom block, regardless of whether you utilize the rooms or not.

2. Run of House

This refers to whatever type of guestroom is available at the time of check-in, whether it's a king bed, a room with two double-beds, a handicapped room, etc... it does not guarantee any particular room type. You get what you get.

3. First and Second Option

Hotels receive multiple inquiries for meetings over the same dates. The first group to inquire is the First Option group; the next would be the Second Option group. Easy, right? Well, if the Second Option group is ready to commit, they sign a Second Option contract, in which case the First Option group gets an Option Date to sign their contract. Basically it's the option to (blank) or get off the pot. First Option is usually understood, though. You can assume you're the first in line if the words Second Option are never mentioned.

4. Banquet Event Order (BEO)

The meticulous break down of your meeting, day by day, hour by hour, with every detail imaginable, spelled out. It includes meeting times, set-up, food items, audio-visual equipment, all pricing information and anything and everything else. This is completed about 3-4 weeks prior to the start of the meeting. It's a vital part of the event planning process...but not required for the initial hotel contract. You do not need to decide what muffins you'd like for breakfast two years prior to the meeting.

5. Walk

This is when a hotel needs to relocate a guest to another hotel due to an oversold situation. Nobody actually "walks" anywhere. A competent hotel will provide transportation to/from the closest available (and comparable) hotel, a phone call, and all room/tax charges. Every hotel (no matter how many stars and diamonds they boast) will find themselves in this situation from time to time. It's the nature of the business. It's nothing personal. Yelling at front desk clerk will not help in any way. Just for good measure, my hotel (as do other finer establishments) will upgrade the returning guest to a suite and send a VIP amenity.

6. Plus, Plus (++)

This is tax and service charge added to food/beverage and other function related charges. Buyer beware, the prices that you see do not usually have this included. It's only found in the fine print of the banquet menus. Tax percentages vary from city to city and service charges vary from hotel to hotel. Furthermore, the service charge is usually taxed.

7. Force Majeure

This is an Act of God clause in the sales contract that nullifies cancellation penalties should there be a major national disaster, war, terrorist attack, alien invasion, etc. For this clause to take effect, it would need to be something major, such as the events of 9/11. A baggage carriers strike in Mexico City would not apply.

8. Cut-off date

The date your discounted group rate expires, as in no longer available, done, finished, over, kaput, goodbye. Usually set around one month prior to arrival. Hotels have the option of extending your group rate, based upon availability. Note: some hotels have gotten into the habit of setting this date starting at 12:01 AM, so the actual cut-off date would be the day prior (I'm not really sure why. If someone out there knows, please tell me).

9. Sarbanes-Oxley

This refers to the giving of gifts, the entertaining of clients, and the greasing of palms. I believe it stems from the days of extravagant, expensive weekends when pharmaceutical reps would wine and dine doctors for their drug endorsements. Hotels had no qualms with something similar, called the Fam Trip, when they lavishly entertained travel agents and meeting planners to sway business in their direction. Those days are long gone. Now there's this term named for the congressmen who sponsored the legislative act that deals with such practices. It's considered unethical and/or even illegal in some cases. Be careful of the "freebies" you accept these days. Big brother is watching, and he's not as fun as he used to be.

10. RevPar:

Revenue Per Available Room. For the readers of this article, this term matters little and affects your world only minimally. But it's a household word if you work in a hotel. It's a formula that tries to give an "apples to apples" comparison of a hotels performance vs. its competitors. It comes out in something called the STAR report. How well or poor a property is doing in the marketplace effects room rates, staffing and other prices. Be wary of hotels offering deals too good to be true. There's usually a reason that they are so desperate for business.

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