Hotel Glossary Terms

Administrative theory first introduced by Henri Fayol, it was an attempt to apply scientific principles to a business organization. A sub component of the classical school.

Assortment Management is a computer process that breaks down barriers in merchandising by allowing retailers to offer the right amount of product at the right time. Retailers accomplish this through comprehensive computer analysis, which forecasts consumer preferences, buying patterns and buying trends.

Departmental contributory income is the income of an individual operating department after direct expenses have been deducted from sales revenue; sometimes referred to as contributory income.

Fixed asset turnover is the annual sales revenue divided by average fixed assets.

Fixed Expenses are the costs that do not fluctuate in response to sales or inventory changes over time. Examples include rent fees and depreciation.

Hospitality is the generous and cordial provision of services to a guest.

Housekeeper’s room report is a daily report that lists the occupancy status of each room according to the housekeeping department.

Inventory is quantity on hand of an item of value; recorded in the books of account as current assets. Inventory (verb) to count and record the quantity of items of value.

Key fob is a decorative and descriptive plastic or metal tag attached to a hard key.

Low-Calorie refers to foods with 40 or fewer calories per serving.

Room Count is the number of occupied rooms.

Steam Cooker is a pot or enclosed cabinet into which steam is introduced for cooking or heating. A steam cooker may be direct-connected or equipped with a gas-fired, electric or steam-coil generator at the base.

A French phrase used in menu writing to indicate the style of preparation - eg; Chicken Ala King etc.

Items prepared to order as per the guest choice from the menu.

A.M. Room check is a visual look at guestrooms that are supposed to be ready to receive guests for the purpose of verifying status. Check is made at about 8:00 A.M. Those rooms not in a ready status are called A.M. Discrepancies and must be investigated. Some hotels conduct A.M. Room checks on every room to determine each room’s status. Sometimes the housekeeping department schedules workers according to the results of the A.M. Room check.