L-I-N-G-O

As in any industry, there are terms that hoteliers will use that can sometimes confuse consumers, especially if the terms aren't explained up front. Because we use them all the time, it's easy for us to forget that you don't hear them all the time. I promise, we don't do this to purposely aggravate you. It's just the language we speak, and very much a part of our "at work" culture. And while we may explain these terms while we're discussing your event, it's possible that when you receive the contract, you've forgotten what all of them mean.

For example, if you're making arrangements for a group and you hear the term "room block," or "block of rooms," you might assume any of the following:

1. "Reservations" for everyone in my group have been made.
2. Sleeping rooms for my group are in the same geographic location (i.e. the same floor) within the hotel building.
3. Adjoining or connecting rooms.

The fact is, when a hotelier refers to a room block, they are referring to none of those things. A room block simply refers to a specific number of rooms at a specific rate for your group. The room block may consist of different room types (two double beds, or a king, or a suite) depending on the types of rooms that will best suit your group. It in no way means they are all located within close proximity of each other. I know that in most of our hotels, the architecture is such that if you have the need for thirty rooms with two double beds, your rooms will have to be spread throughout the hotel. In our Crowne Plaza, for example, there are nineteen rooms per floor, half of which are "doubles." Your group would have to be spread out over at least three floors in order for that hotel to accommodate you.

If you showed up at this hotel thinking all thirty rooms would be on the same floor, you would obviously be a little upset with the hotel. I know for a fact that this hotel does a good job of explaining this to group planners, but if you are unclear about this when planning group accommodations, I would absolutely encourage you to ask how close together the hotel thinks they can place these rooms.

Consider, also, that sometimes a guest who was supposed to check out on the day your group was going to arrive has extended their reservation for another day or two. A room that the hotel had anticipated would be available for you is now still occupied and a last minute switch will have to occur in order to accommodate your group. It's also how, sometimes, a hotel can find itself overbooked without actually selling more rooms than it has.

So here are some additional terms that I've discovered can be confusing when they're not explained. I hope they help!

"Adjoining rooms" are rooms that are side-by-side, but do not necessarily have a door between the two rooms to connect them.

"Advance Purchase Rate" is something that has taken off quickly over the past couple of years, and works very much the same way purchasing discounted airline tickets in advance works. Basically, you cannot receive a refund on these purchases if you cancel at any time after the purchase has been made.

"Amenities" are those additional items the hotel provides guests. For example, in-room amenities might include hair dryers, coffee-makers, lavender spray, irons and ironing boards. Hotel amenities could include an on-site ATM machine, fitness center, free breakfast, business center, free high speed wireless Internet, gift shop, etc. Many times a reservationist will give you a run-down of what the hotel has to offer, but it's still a good idea to ask about specific amenities that would make your stay or your group's experience the best it can be.

"BEO" is a banquet event order. If you have a catered event, you will hear this term to reference the order that outlines the specifics of your function.

"Book" means reserve. "Would you like to book that rate?" means "May I reserve that room for you?"

"Cancellation policy" refers to the time by which your reservation must be canceled to either reduce or avoid any penalties. A 72-hour cancellation means your cancellation must be received NO LATER THAN 72-hours prior to your scheduled check-in date. A 4:00 p.m. cancellation means you have until 4:00 p.m. on the day of your scheduled arrival to cancel without penalty. Typically, the penalty is one night's room and tax, although this may vary greatly from hotel to hotel.

"Connecting rooms" have a door between the two rooms that connect them.

"Cut-off date" This is the last day on which reservations may be made at the rate negotiated for the group. Rates for reservations made following this date are typically based on the hotel's availability on that day, and are most always higher than the discounted group rate.

"Direct billing" is usually reserved for corporate clients who utilize the hotel a lot on a regular basis. Simply put, it's "credit." The hotel is allowing a company to pay for their hotel usage on a weekly or monthly basis (depending on the hotel's policy). We're talking about a lot of hotel stays in a year, here, so this isn't something most hotels would do for an individual staying for a couple of days. As with any form of credit, there would be an application to process, a credit check for the company, and a minimum of two to four weeks to activate.

"Doubles" typically refers to the number of beds in the room. A king room has one king-sized bed. A double would have two double or queen-sized beds.

"Early check-in" means you wish to check into your room prior to the hotel's regular "check-in time." If that time for a hotel is 3:00 p.m., and you expect to arrive early, you can ask the hotel if there is a charge for an early check-in, and what that would be (sometimes it's it might cost you as much as a full night's stay, depending on just how early you wish to check in). During off-peak periods, a hotel might be able to arrange this for you at little or no charge.

"Extended stay" for you might mean a four-day weekend. To the hotel, it typically means stays of seven nights or more. At extended stay hotels like Candlewood Suites, the rates typically get better the longer you stay. Typical rate tiers for these hotels would include rates for stays of 1-6 nights, 7-13 nights, 14-29 nights, and 30 nights or longer.

"Guarantee" with regard to sleeping rooms, is either a deposit (usually one night's room and tax) or a credit card number to hold your reservation. A reservationist will ask "How would you like to guarantee this reservation." Most people use a credit card. I would discourage the use of debit cards for this process, as sometimes hotels will have to authorize those cards for the amount that your stay will cost, which could tie up funds in your account before you're ready to spend them! The process of reversing that charge is not a quick one, either, sometimes three to five days depending your bank's policies.

"Incidentals" are the charges incurred other than the room and tax charges. Telephone charges, movie rentals, room service, parking, or anything you could possibly have charged to your room. Even if you are with a group that is paying for your room and tax, you may have to offer a credit card to guarantee your incidental charges, or a cash deposit before you are able to make outside calls from the phone in your room, order room service, etc.

"Late check-out" means you will be checking out of your room after the hotel's normal "check-out time." If the check-out time at the hotel is noon, and you would like to stay until 2:00 p.m., you may request a late check-out. Again, there may or may not be fees associated with this request, but you'll never know unless you ask.

"No-show fees" are incurred when a room has been held for a customer, and the customer plain just didn't show up. Rooms guaranteed with a credit card are typically guaranteed for late arrivals, so the room is being held for you well into the night. You are basically being charged for breaking your word, as the hotel kept that room from being sold to anyone else because you said you wanted it. Before you get upset over these charges, imagine that the hotel was sold out for the night and assumed at 6:00 p.m. that you just weren't coming. When you finally arrived at midnight, the room you had reserved had been sold to someone else. You'd be a little upset with the hotel for breaking their promise to you, which was that you would have a room for the night, wouldn't you? Always remember to cancel your reservation within the time period the hotel gives you to avoid this charge, which is usually the cost of one night's room and taxes.

"Off Property" is what hotel people call it when something or someone is not in their hotel. Sometimes you'll hear an assistant refer to the hotel general manager as being "off property." This means he or she is physically not at the hotel building.

"Packages" are pretty good deals when you consider the cost of the hotel room and whatever else is being offered. Crowne Plaza, for example, has partnered with the FunnyBone Comedy Club in Virginia Beach to offer a New Year's Eve package which would get you a room for the night, two tickets to a comedy show, breakfast, and a late check-out (there are other variables depending on the time of the show that you go to: the early show offers dinner, the late show provides snacks, champagne, party favors, and dancing after the show). Sometimes the cost of these packages are surprisingly lower than what you would pay for all of the elements included in that package if you were to purchase them individually. Check the hotel's website prior to making your reservation, or do what you do when you call to order a pizza! Instead of asking if they have any specials, just ask them what packages they have available!

"Peak (or High) Season" is the time of the year when all of the hotel's rooms are in great demand. There are few, if any, discounts, and the longer you wait to reserve your room, the higher the rate will probably be. It's peak season in Virginia Beach, Virginia from about April until November, and in the Outer Banks of North Carolina from May to through October, when the hotels generally have very little availability. Some destinations are just plain busy year-round. Planning your travel outside of these seasons can save you a lot of money.

"Rack rate" is the regular rate at which the hotel has priced its rooms and includes no discounts. So if a reservationist says "our rack rate is $179," what they're telling you is that the rate is not discounted at all. It is OK to ask if there are any discounts for AAA or AARP, which the hotels--provided they have the rooms available--are happy to honor.

"Reservation" This is the actual holding of a room out of the hotel's inventory for an individual's arrival. Telling a sales manager that you want thirty rooms is just the beginning. Once that "room block" is set up, it needs to be filled with individual reservations. Those reservations may either be called into the hotel by the individuals, or provided by the group contact by way of a rooming list.

"Rooming List" is a list provided by a member of the group (usually the planner) which indicates the names of each individual that will be arriving with the group. The list should show the names of each individual staying in each room, so if there are guests who wish to be sharing a room with someone in particular, this should be indicated on the rooming list. In the event that individuals will be paying for their own room, taxes, and incidentals, the credit card they wish to use to guarantee their reservations should also be included on this list.

"Room nights" is the total number of sleeping rooms multiplied by the total number of nights a group (or an individual) stays at the hotel. If you're working on trying to create a "corporate account" with a hotel in the hopes of negotiating a lower rate for employees and associates of your company, you will probably be asked "how many room nights" your company will produce on an annual basis. We're not asking how many rooms your company will need each day. For example, if you know your company will be sending five associates to the hotel every month, and each of those guys typically stay for five nights, the total number of room nights in a month would be 25. Annually, your company would produce 300 "room nights" (25 x 12 months) for the hotel, which may or may not be a lot of room nights, depending on the hotel. Many times, hotels will take a look at the "room night" potential for your company first to determine what a fair rate would be for the amount of business you will generate for them. Be loyal to your hotel, and they will be fair with you.

"Site tour" or "Site visit" or "Site inspection" is an actual visit to tour the hotel. You should schedule these in advance so the hotel can make sure there is available space to show (it's difficult to conduct these visits when the meeting space is occupied and functions are in progress, or when all hotel rooms are sold out!).

If you can think of other terms that have thrown you in the past, feel free to comment here and I'll be happy to help clarify.