Industry glossary
Hotel glossary
Hospitality terms explained briefly, with examples from UK hotels: from check-in and overbooking to RevPAR, PMS and online payments.
Who this glossary is for
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Owners and managers
KPIs, sales and technology: the terms behind decisions about revenue and guest service.
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Hotel staff
Front of house, housekeeping, F&B: the names of procedures and roles used every day.
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Students
Getting ready for a hospitality course or a first job: definitions and real examples.
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Suppliers to hotels
The language hoteliers speak: how a hotel measures revenue, what the front desk does and which systems it uses.
49 terms
A
- ADR (average daily rate) ADR (average daily rate) is the average price paid per occupied hotel room for a period: room revenue divided by the number of rooms sold.
- AI concierge An AI concierge is a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence that answers hotel guests’ questions, gives recommendations and takes requests around the clock, using the hotel’s own information.
- Ancillary revenue (hotel) Ancillary revenue in a hotel is income from everything guests buy beyond the room itself: food and drink, spa, parking, transfers, rentals, late check-out and tickets to local attractions.
B
- Back of house (hotel) Back of house (BOH) is the part of a hotel that guests do not see: kitchens, laundry, stores, maintenance, finance, HR and staff areas.
- Booking engine A booking engine is the reservation module on a hotel’s website where guests check availability, choose a room and rate, pay and book directly, without an intermediary.
C
- Channel manager A channel manager is software that keeps a hotel’s room availability, rates and bookings in sync across all sales channels, such as OTAs, the hotel website and the PMS.
- Concierge A concierge is a member of hotel staff who helps guests with anything beyond checking in: recommending and booking restaurants, arranging taxis and transfers, getting theatre tickets and giving local advice.
D
- Digital guest directory A digital guest directory is the online version of the hotel information folder found in guest rooms: hotel services, opening times, room guides, menus and local recommendations, opened on the guest’s phone or a screen.
- Digital Room Service in Hotels Digital room service is a system for ordering food and beverages to the room through a mobile app or hotel kiosk.
- Direct booking A direct booking is a reservation made straight with the hotel, on its own website, by phone or email, rather than through an intermediary such as an online travel agency (OTA).
- Dynamic pricing (hotels) Dynamic pricing in hotels means changing room rates frequently, based on demand, occupancy, booking date, local events and competitor prices.
E
F
- F&B manager An F&B (food and beverage) manager runs a hotel’s food and drink operations: restaurants, bars, room service, breakfast and events, including staff, menus, costs and revenue.
- Front desk agent A front desk agent (receptionist) is the hotel employee who checks guests in and out, handles reservations and payments, answers questions and passes guest requests to other departments.
- Front of house (hotel) Front of house (FOH) is the part of a hotel that deals directly with guests: reception, concierge, reservations, porters and guest relations.
G
- Generative engine optimisation (GEO) Generative engine optimisation (GEO) is the practice of making a website and brand easy for AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to find, understand and cite in their answers.
- GOPPAR GOPPAR (gross operating profit per available room) is a hotel’s gross operating profit divided by the number of available rooms for a period.
- Guest experience management in hospitality Guest experience management is a strategy for managing every guest touchpoint with the hotel to maximize satisfaction.
- Guest journey The guest journey is every step a guest goes through with a hotel, from searching and booking, through arrival and the stay, to departure and the time after the stay.
H
- Hospitality management Hospitality management is the field of study and work concerned with running hotels, restaurants, events and other guest-facing businesses: operations, service, finance, marketing and people management.
- Hotel chatbot A hotel chatbot is a program that answers guests’ questions in a chat window on the hotel website, in a messaging app or in a guest app, usually following pre-written scripts.
- Hotel CRM A hotel CRM (customer relationship management system) stores guest profiles, stay history, preferences and consents, and helps the hotel personalise service and marketing to bring guests back.
- Hotel guest app: what is a guest application? A guest app is a mobile or web application for hotel guests, enabling access to services and hotel information.
- Hotel Kiosk: DigitalPOD in Lobby Hotel kiosk (DigitalPOD) is a touchscreen information and service point available 24/7 in lobby or common areas.
- Hotel Maintenance Request System Digital maintenance request system automates the process from guest report through completion to manager reporting.
- Hotel minibar A hotel minibar is a small fridge in the guest room stocked with drinks and snacks that guests pay for separately, usually added to the bill at check-out.
- Hotel PMS (property management system) A hotel PMS (property management system) is the hotel’s core system for managing reservations, check-ins, rooms, guest folios and billing.
- Hotel Self-Service: Guest Self-Service Solutions Hotel self-service refers to technologies enabling guests to use hotel services independently without staff assistance.
- Hotel star rating (UK) A hotel star rating is a grade from one to five stars showing the level of facilities and service a hotel offers; in the UK ratings are awarded by assessment schemes such as the AA and the national tourist boards.
- Hotel upselling strategies Hotel upselling is a revenue-increasing strategy by offering guests additional services and products during their stay.
- Housekeeping (hotel) Housekeeping is the hotel department responsible for cleaning and preparing guest rooms and public areas: servicing rooms, changing linen and towels, restocking amenities and reporting maintenance issues.
L
N
- Night audit The night audit is the overnight process of closing the hotel’s business day: checking and balancing all transactions, posting room charges to guest folios and producing reports in the PMS.
- No-show (hotels) A no-show is a guest with a confirmed hotel booking who neither arrives nor cancels within the cancellation deadline.
O
- Occupancy rate Occupancy rate is the percentage of available hotel rooms sold in a period: rooms sold divided by rooms available, multiplied by 100.
- OTA (online travel agency) An OTA (online travel agency) is an online intermediary, such as Booking.com or Expedia, that sells hotel rooms to its customers in return for a commission.
- Overbooking (hotels) Overbooking in hotels means deliberately accepting more reservations than there are rooms available, to offset cancellations and guests who do not show up.
P
R
- Rate parity Rate parity means a hotel offers the same room rate for the same room and conditions across all its distribution channels, such as OTAs and its own website.
- Revenue management system (RMS) A revenue management system (RMS) is software that uses booking data, demand forecasts and competitor rates to recommend or automatically set a hotel’s room rates.
- RevPAR RevPAR (revenue per available room) is room revenue divided by the number of available rooms for a period; it combines rate and occupancy in a single figure.
- Room service Room service is a hotel service that lets guests order food and drinks to their room, delivered by hotel staff within set hours.
- Room upgrade A room upgrade is moving a guest to a higher room category than the one booked, such as from a standard room to a sea-view room or a suite, either free of charge or for a supplement.
S
- Self check-in Self check-in lets hotel guests check themselves in without queuing at the front desk, using a kiosk in the lobby, a mobile app or an online form before arrival.
- Smart hotel A smart hotel is a hotel that runs guest service and part of its operations through connected technology, such as a guest app, an AI assistant, self-service kiosks and systems that share data.
T
W
- Walk-in guest A walk-in guest is someone who arrives at a hotel without a reservation and asks for a room for that night.
- What is a digital concierge? A digital concierge is a system that replaces traditional hotel concierge services, available 24/7 on a guest's smartphone or lobby kiosk.
- What's the difference between PMS and guest app? PMS manages hotel operations from the backoffice side. Guest app works from the guest side. These are two complementary systems.
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