MEAL PLAN AND BASIS OF CHARGING

Meal Plans and Basis of Charging

 

 Introduction

When you visit a hotel and ask for the room tariff, you may get a reply like it is Rs. 2000/. What do you understand by this information?

Actually nothing!

This information is incomplete till the time you know about the meals that are included in Rs.2000/- , the duration for which Rs. 2000/- will be charged, the type of room provided in this amount, whether the amount is inclusive of taxes or exclusive of it.

The requisite information mentioned above is recorded in a document known as ‘Hotel Tariff Card’ which tells us about the type of rooms, tariff, meal plan, basis of charging and tax structure.

 

Meal Plans:

The room tariff of a hotel may be based on the choice meal plans offered to guests. Depending on the needs of their target audience, hotels offer a variety of meal plans, they are:  

(a) European Plan (E.P.):

This plan includes only the room rent and anything that is taken from restaurant or the room service is charged to the guest.

(b) Continental Plan (C.P.):

This plan includes continental breakfast along with the room rent. Anything extra that is taken is charged to the guest.

(c) Bermuda Plan (B.P.):

This plan includes American breakfast along with the room rent.

 

(d) Modified American plan (M.A.P.):

This plan includes room rent along with breakfast and one of the major meals i.e. Lunch or Dinner. The guest has to specify his preference at the time of arrival. This plan is also known as half board plan or Demi Pension.

(e) American plan (A.P.):

This plan contains room rent and all the major meals i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is also known as all inclusive plan and in French it is known as En Pension.

 

European plan

In this case only the lodging i.e. bed is offered. Thus the charges are made for lodging only. The client is free to take or not to take teas, breakfast, and meals in the hotel. He has a choice of eating at any other good restaurant. The guest is booked to pay for lodging only and is charged separately for all other things or services he enjoys or consumes. This system is generally followed by youth hostels or hotels which are situated in metropolitan cities. European plan hotels fix the prices of rooms separately so that guest may either have their meals in the hotel dining at its regular prices or go to the other restaurant. In India most of the hotels are being run on European Plan. Almost all the public sector hotels are run on this basis.

Continental plan

In the case of continental plan bed and breakfast are included in the charges. Thus bed is offered along with breakfast and the client is, however, free to take his meal and tea as he likes. Thus the guest tariff includes lodging and breakfast and for other he is separately billed.

American plan

Hotel where American plan is prevalent, board lodging is provided in the charge. The tariff fixed includes board and lodging. It is an all inclusive full board tariff. Accommodation and three meals daily are included in the price of the room. It includes bed, breakfast and two principal meals and evening tea. It does not include EMT nor coffee after lunch, or dinner. It is also known as 'En pension 'or full boar plan.

This means that guest’s day ends about 24 hours after his arrival that is; the guest arriving between lunch and dinner is entitled to retain his room until the next afternoon and to have dinner the first night and breakfast and lunch the following day for the fixed rate.

Modified American plan

The tourists mostly prefer this plan, as it is comparatively flexible. It is offered in most of the good hotels and is normally by arrangement. It includes hotel accommodation, breakfast and either lunch or dinner in the price of the room. Thus, in this type of accommodation bed and breakfast and along with it one principal meal, lunch or dinner, at the discretion of the client is also included. It generally includes continental breakfast and either lunch or dinner in the room rates. It is also known as ' demi-pension '.

 

 

 

 

 

 Comparing the meal plans

 

Meal Plan	Other Name	Inclusions	Preferred by
European Plan	Room only Plan	Room only	Business Hotels, Transit Hotels, Motels
Continental Plan	Bed & Breakfast Plan	Room + Continental Breakfast	Business Hotels
Bermuda Plan	Bed & Break fast Plan	Room + American Breakfast	Hotels with lot of sight seeing around such as historical/heritage destinations
American Plan	Full Board / En Pension	Room + Continental Breakfast+ Lunch+ Dinner	Resorts
Modified American Plan	Half Board/ Demi-Pension	Room + Continental Breakfast+ Lunch/ Dinner	Resorts

 

Uses of Meal Plans

Commercial hotels prefer E.P. because:-

1)      Since the commercial hotels are situated in urban areas, there are bound to be numerous restaurants in the vicinity. Hence the guest would prefer to keep his option open as far as meals are concerned. Moreover, the hotel may not have a particular cuisine, which the guest likes. Secondly, the business traveler does not want to get tied up to meal timings because of his day round business activities.

2)      On the other hand the hotel being situated in an urban area would get a plenty of chance guests in their restaurants. Thus their food and beverage income is not restricted to only hotel residents. They do offer meal inclusive plans but only to groups sent by Travelers Agents and company bookings for conventions, seminars etc.

 

 

Resort Hotels prefer MAP/AP because:

1)      These may be situated in an isolated place with hardly any restaurants in the vicinity. Guests, therefore, would prefer to have meals in the hotels. For tourist wishing to go site seeing during the day, MAP would be more appropriate.

2)      The hotel itself benefit from this plan since it relies only on resident guests for their food and beverage income. The continental Plan lies between the A.P. and E.P. thus, it may be offered by commercial hotels as well as resort hotels as an alternative to the E.P. and M.A.P.

 

 Basis of Charging of Room Tariff

There are different basis of charging room tariff which decide the duration for which a guest can stay in his room by paying one unit of the charge. Different basis of charging commonly followed are listed as below:

(I) Fixed Check Out Time Basis:

In this system a particular time of the day is fixed as check in/out time. It may be either 10.00 hrs or 12 noon. Mostly the hotels follow 1200 hours check in/out time. It is the most commonly followed basis of charging as it gives them a control of their check-in and check-out time and thereby enabling them to accept advance bookings for their rooms. This is advantage to our hotels as it earns more revenue for the hotel.

It has a major disadvantage of losing its goodwill as the customers are not satisfied with the billing. For example suppose a guest checks in at 10.00 hrs of 17th.

November and checks out at 1400 hrs of 18th November and the check-out time is 12 Noon, then he will be charged for 3 days. Thus we see that even though he is staying for just one day and 4 hours but he is charged for 3 days.

(II) Twenty Four Hours Check out Time Basis:

In this system the guest is charged according to the time of arrival that means that one day is calculated from the time he arrives in hotel till the same time next day. This is advantageous to the guest but earns less revenue to the hotel, for example let us consider same example as given above through this system he will be charged only for 2 days. In this basis hotels find it difficult to take advance bookings as they don’t know what time of the day their rooms will be available for the next guest.

(III) Night Basis:

In this system guest is charged according to the number of nights he spent in the hotel. This system is usually found in resort hotels. In order to calculate night basis charges the guest should have stayed for a minimum period of nights. For example suppose a guest checks in 10.00 hrs on 17th November and checks out at 14.00 hrs on 25th Nov. then he will be charged for 8 nights.

(IV) Day Rate Or Day Used Rate Basis: It is another form evolved from night basis and room rent in charged for maximum 6 hours including in the stay which is never overnight.

Let us Sum up:

Room tariff is a complex issue which does not include just the charge for a room. It has a component of the meal plan which suggests the meals included in the charged tariff. Different meal plans include European, Continental, American, Modified American and Bermuda plan. Depending upon the meal plan breakfast and main meals may or may not be included in the room tariff.

Basis of charging refers to the duration for which a single unit tariff is charged. It may be 24 hrs, Night basis or a check-out time basis.

Details of meal plan and basis of charging along with types of rooms, facilities, tax structure, child policy are specified in a document known as tariff card.

GUEST-CYCLE

Guest Cycle

Introduction

Inquiry for a room is usually the first point of contact between a hotel and a guest. This may be in the form of a query for the types of room, availability of accommodation for certain duration and the best available rate for the period. This is usually followed by the reservation of room, which is a process of advance booking of room. Reservation is considered as the starting point of what is referred as a guest cycle. The guest cycle passes through many other stages during the course of arrival, stay and departure of a guest. These stages are known as reservation stage, pre-registration stage, registration stage, post-registration stage, departure stage and post departure stage. Each stage is characterized by a set of activities which fulfil  the requirement of a guest’s overall satisfactory stay and are also necessary to comply with the hotel’s own procedural requirements and the requirements mandated by the law of the state. Different stages of guest cycle and the processes therein are illustrated as below:

Reservation Stage

This stage, as mentioned earlier, is the first point of contact between the hotel and the guest. Usually guest himself or his representative approaches the hotel for advance booking of accommodation. This stage typically includes the following:

(a)    Query about the types of rooms in the hotel

(b)   Availability check for the desired type of room for the given duration

(c)    Negotiation on the best possible rate for the period. Booking of the room by the guest.

(d)   Payment guarantee or an advance deposit may be requested by the hotel and a cut-off date may be given to the guest to make the deposit.

Reservation may be given weeks or months in advance of a guest’s arrival. Travel agents and corporate are a major source of reservation for most hotels in addition to the FITs.

Pre-registration stage

This is also known as the pre-arrival stage. Activities done on the day of arrival or the previous night come under this category. All these are preparatory activities before the physical arrival of the guest in the hotel. This helps in efficient and quick check-in when a guest physically arrives in the hotel.

(a)    Blocking of the room: clean and vacant room of the desired type is blocked in advance. Requests of a guest such as non-smoking room, a particular view, away from or near the elevators, lower floor or higher floor are considered by the receptionist while blocking the room for the guest.

(b)   Printing of the guest registration card:  Guest registration card or GRC is filled and signed by the guest at the time of his arrival in the hotel. Receptionist takes a print-out of the GRC, in advance, with all available details such as name of the guest, date of arrival, departure, type of room, room number, billing instructions etc. printed on it.

 

(c)    Preparing room keys and meal coupons: Room keys and the meal coupons are kept in a tray along with the GRC so that they are handed over to the guest without any time lapse. Meal coupons are required if guest has taken a plan in which some or all the meals are included in his room tariff.

(d)   Instructions to concerned departments: Many a times some special arrangements are required for a guest before his arrival. This may be in the form of an airport pick-up, preparing for a traditional welcome, placing special amenities in the room etc. The front office department will inform all concerned departments about such requirements so that the appropriate action is taken well in advance.

 Registration stage

These activities are carried out at a time when guest physically arrives in the hotel. This is a very important stage as it creates and a first and lasting impression about the efficiency and services of the hotel. During this phase guest is welcomed by a formal greeting and his requirement is identified. The signing of GRC by the guest is known as registration of the guest. Registration of guest is a mandatory process and it is considered to be a legally binding contract between the hotel and the guest. Registration process involves the following:

(a)    Welcome of the guest through a formal greeting, welcome drink and sometimes a traditional welcome by Aarti, Tilak and Garland.

(b)   Identifying the requirement of the guest and ascertaining his reservation status.

(c)    Registration of the guest by taking his signatures and other details in a register or in a card.

(d)   Establishing the creditability of the guest or taking an advance payment from him

(e)   Handing over the room key to the guest.

(f)     Luggage handling of the guest by the bell desk and escorting the guest to his room.

 Post – registration stage

 The guest proceeds for his room immediately after the registration formalities are over. However, the reception’s job in his registration process is not complete till the time certain post-registration activities are completed. The post registration activities are listed as below:

(a)   Check-in of the guest in the PMS or computer system. This enables al other departments to know about the check-in of a guest, his credit status and also to activate all guest services for his benefit. In a manual system this objective is achieved by sending arrival notification slips to different departments of the hotel. The departments where arrival is notified are housekeeping, Laundry, Food and Beverage service, Telephone operator, Cashier, Information and Bell desk.

(b)  Opening of guest folio: The guest folio is opened by the front office cashier. Any advance received from the guest is considered as the opening balance of the folio.

(c)  Preparing the arrival errand card : Bell desk prepares an arrival errand card which has the details of luggage sent to the guest room.

(d)  Updating the guest profile: The guest profile in the computer is updated on the basis of any information given by the guest in the registration card. The update may include guest address, passport details, credit card number, and date of birth etc. for future usage.

(e)  Updating the A & D register: Arrival and Departure register is updated for every arrival and departure in a hotel Therefore, as part of post-registration activity the arrival side of A&D register is updated by the receptionist.

(f)   Preparing ‘C’ form: The C- form is a mandatory document which is prepared for all foreigner guests and sent to FRRO (Foreigners regional registration office) or Police commissioner’s office within 24 hours of a guest’s check-in.

 During the stay activities

  During this stage guest gets a firsthand experience of the facilities and services offered by the hotel. The front office themselves provide many of the services during a guest’s stay and they are an interface in the services provided by some other departments of the hotel to the guest.

The functions of the front office during the stay of a guest include:

(a)     Handling guest accounts: Front office cashier handles posting of charges and maintenance of guest account. This also includes credit monitoring of the guest. All high balance accounts are requested for a part or full settlement to extend further credit facility during the stay of the guest.

(b)   Mail and message handling: All incoming and outgoing mail and messages are handled by front office department. Ensuring the timely delivery of messages is a critical component of guest services in a hotel.

(c)    Guest Paging: Locating a guest in a specific area of a hotel to deliver a message, etc is a part of front office job profile and is known as paging a guest.

(d)   Safe deposit locker: Front office department provides locker facility to guests to keep their valuables. Now-a-days, many hotels have started offering electronic lockers in guest rooms as well.

(e)   Handling guest queries and complaints:  Front office is not considered just the face of the hotel but is also the heart of the hotel.  All queries and complaints are received by the front office. They handle these issues to maximize guest’s comfort and to keep a positive image of the hotel so that they get good word of mouth publicity from the guest.

(f)     Other guest services: Other services like wake-up call, travel desk, business center, valet services etc are either directly provided by front office or coordinated by this department.

 

 

Departure stage

 During the departure stage, guest settles their account by making payment through a pre-established mode (like cash/card/travelers cheque/voucher etc). The hotel should take great care to present all unpaid bills for payment and carry out the whole procedure efficiently.

 The activities at the time of departure may be listed as below:

(a)    Taking the room key from the guest

(b)   Presenting a copy of the folio to the guest for verification and approval by the guest. This copy is known as information printout of the folio.

(c)    Checking for mini bar consumption or any last minute charges.

(d)   Processing the guest payment as per the mode of settlement desired by him.

(e)   Handing over the settlement folio, known as zero balance folio, to the guest along with vouchers and payment receipt or credit card charge slip.

(f)     Requesting the guest for a filling up feedback-form/guest comment card for the hotel to review its performance.

(g)    Luggage handling activity by bell desk

 Post – Departure stage

Even after the departure of the guest there are still some activities remain to complete the guest cycle process. These activities come under post departure stage.

(a)    Departure notification slips: In a computerized system room is released after the folio settlement and departments are informed automatically about the changed status of the room from occupied to vacant.  However, in a manual system departure notification slips are prepared and sent to all relevant departments for the purpose of information about a room departure and for relevant action.

(b)   Updating A & D Register:  Departure side of Arrival and Departure register is updated by the cashier for all departures in his shift.

(c)    Departure errand card: Bell desk prepares departure errand card and files it for the record purpose. Any record of left luggage is also handled by them separately.

 Summary

All the above stages together are known as guest cycle. Guest cycle starts with hotel’s first contact with guest that is at the stage of reservation and other stages include pre-registration, registration, post-registration, during the stay activities, departure and post departure.  Guest cycle provides a comprehensive view of the guest’s stay in the hotel right from the time of his first contact till the time he leaves the hotel. It may be noted that front office department play an important part in creating an overall positive impression on the guest about the hotel services. In all stages of a guest’s interaction with the hotel this department has a pivotal role to play.

 

FRENCH

FRENCH

Monsieur – Gentleman

Madmoiselle – Young Lady

Madame – Lady

Monday	lundi (luhn-DEE)
Tuesday	mardi (mahr-DEE)
Wednesday	mercredi (mehr-kruh-DEE)
Thursday	jeudi (juh-DEE)
Friday	vendredi (vahn-druh-DEE)
Saturday	samedi (sahm-DEE)
Sunday	dimanche (dee-MAHNSH)

today	aujourd'hui (aw-zhoor-DWEE)
yesterday	hier (YEHR)
tomorrow	demain (duh-MANG)
this week	cette semaine (set SMEN)
last week	la semaine dernière (lah SMEN dehr-NYEHR)
next week	la semaine prochaine (lah SMEN proh-SHEN)

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

January	janvier (zhahng-VYAY)
February	février (fay-VRYAY)
March	mars (mahrs)
April	avril (ah-VREEL)
May	mai (meh)
June	juin (zhwang)
July	juillet (zhwee-YAY)
August	août (oot)
September	septembre (set-TAHMBR)
October	octobre (ock-TOHBR)
November	novembre (noh-VAHMBR)
December	décembre (day-SAHMBR)

French Numbers

French numbers just like their English counterparts come in two flavors: cardinal (e.g. un, deux, trois… / one, two, three…) and ordinal (e.g. premier, deuxième, troisième… / first, second, third…).  The good thing is that, apart from premier / first,ordinal numbers use their cardinal cousins as roots, in most cases merely adding a -ième ending to them.

1.  Cardinal Numbers:

Unique Cardinal Numbers (0-16)
zéro		0		six	6	douze			12
un		1		sept	7	treize			13
deux		2		huit	8	quatorze			14
trois		3		neuf	9	quinze			15
quatre		4		dix	10	seize			16
cinq		5		onze	11
Other Unique Cardinal Numbers
vingt	20		† cinquante				50	mille		1000
trente	30		† * soixante				60	million		million
† quarante	40		cent				100	milliard		billion

Numbers built on Combinations of other Numbers: 

dix-sept	17	ten-seven
dix-huit	18	ten-eight
dix-neuf	19	ten-nine

2.  Ordinal Numbers:

As previously stated at the beginning of this lesson, ordinal numbers build on the root of their cardinal cousins by adding a –ième ending.  The only exception is premier / first which doesn’t follow the rule at all.  Beyond this, you need to keep track of only three things:

Ordinal Numbers
premier	first
deuxième	second
troisième	third
quatrième	fourth
cinquième	fifth

Ordinal Numbers
sixième	sixth
septième	seventh
huitième	eighth
neuvième	ninth
dixième	tenth

Ordinal Numbers
onzième	Eleventh
douzième	Twelfth
vingtième	twentieth
cinquantième	fiftieth
centième	hundredth

Greetings in French: bonjour!				hello!, good morning!
bonsoir!				hello!, good evening!
s'il vous plaît				please (formal version)*
pardon!				excuse me!, sorry!
merci!		thank you!
excusez-moi!		excuse me, can I get past
pardon?		excuse me?, sorry?

au revoir!

bye!