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Group Blocks

Before entering a group in to roomMaster, make sure to have all the information you need. Click here for an over view on groups.

Creating a group block​

To create a group block, go to Front Desk > Group Blocks and press Insert.

General​

The six-letter Group code is used in other areas of roomMaster(creating reservations, specifying parameters for reports) – this must be a unique value. The Group name is a description of the group block. This appears in the list of group blocks, as well as on the reservations screen after the group block has been specified. The Skip Blocking Information checkbox will allow you to create a group but use that group for any date(s) and any amount of reservations and room types. It will not affect the forecast in anyway and should only be used to group reservations together.

The Treat group as Allotment checkbox is available if you need to provide rooms on a continuous basis to a group. An allotment is just like a group (pre-blocking and setting aside room types before reservations are actually made) except that the release date is revolving. For more information, see Allotments.

A group block is Active when it is created and before the night audit on the Release date (see above). The status automatically changes to Released during the night audit on the Release date; however, you can always manually change the status by selecting Released. When the status is changed to Released, all non-reserved rooms in the group block are returned to the general inventory. If a group block is Canceled, you can continue to use the Group for any existing reservations but you cannot create a new reservation using the Group Code. Again, all non-reserved rooms in the group block are returned to the general inventory. Canceled groups do not appear in the Availability/Room Chart F4 screen by room type. Active groups will display how many rooms are available by room type. Released groups display 0 rooms available for the room types.

A group block marked as Tentative will allow you to enter all the blocking information provided you do not assign specific room numbers (Book Group by Room Number). The inventory will not be reduced and you cannot make new reservations against this block. This allows you to setup a group, print contracts and make final arrangements with the group leader without affecting inventory in case the group booking does not happen.

Note: Once a reservation is made for a group, the Tentative status is no longer available.

If you wish to create a tentative group but have it affect inventory, mark it as Active and check No New Reservations.

Use Check-In and Check-Out date to specify the reservation dates the group block is available. Click on the drop down box next to the Check-In and Check-Out date fields to select a date from the calendar. The Release date is the date non-reserved rooms in the group block are released back into general inventory. This is done during the night audit on the Cutoff date. The number of rooms released is listed at the bottom of the window.

Web booking date can be used if you are using iQ-WebBook and you are selling this group block online using the Web Booking Engine. (Currently, only iQ-WebBook is supported to allow group bookings online). Once this date occurs, the inventory will be transferred to the iQ-WebBook (Online Booking Engine) so guests for this group can book online. If you want to immediately allow groups to book, use the current date when creating the group block. This field allows you to setup the group, but not allow the booking to start online until a future date.

A particular Rate Code can be specified for the group block. If a special rate is required, create a new rate code for the group. See Rate Information for information on creating rate codes. It is recommended to use a rate code for a group for reporting.

Note: If a closed rate code is selected, the rate code field will turn red. The group block can be completed but reservations cannot be made with a closed rate code, so no group reservations could be made.

You can check the Override room rate check box and enter the appropriate rate(s) for the group in the fields below. The Tax Incidentals check box is checked be default. Uncheck it if the groups incidentals are non taxable. Use the Rev Account option to select the how Room and Tax should be posted for the group. The drop down box will display the available options. Enter a discount to the rate code or overridden rate attached to the group in the Discount field.

Enter the name of the person who sold the group and which office they work out of in Sales Rep Name and Sales Office, respectively. This makes it easier to know who to contact to resolve issues regarding the group.

Block Information​

This screen displays the amount of each room type blocked and for which dates. Use the Day of the Week check boxes to filter the information displayed. For example, if you only want to see rooms blocked for the weekend for a group, uncheck all days except Friday and Saturday.

Date is the date the rooms are blocked for. The Block column is the number of rooms being held for that room type for that date. Rel'd is the number of rooms released. Used is the number of reservations made for the room type for that date and Avail is the number of rooms still available to use as pert of the group. If the group is an allotment with release dates set, the Release column displays the date the rooms will be released.

Use the following steps to block rooms for a group by room type:

  1. Click on Insert to insert room block information, that is, tell roomMaster how many rooms of each room type you need for each specific night.

  2. Select which Room Type to block using the drop down box.

important

Only select *ANY if the room type does not matter, just a certain number of rooms need to be held. Inventory will be deducted from each room type as reservations are made, and appear only on the F4-Availability Chart. Be careful when using this feature if you use WebBook, as WebBook does not look at *ANY reserved rooms until they have been booked.

  1. Enter the Amount of rooms to block for this group.

  2. Enter the first date needed for the room type in the Starting Date Range field. The date must be within the Check-In and Check-Out dates selected for the group. Use the calendar icon to help select a date.

  3. Enter the last date needed for the room type in the Ending Date Range field. The date must be within the Check-In and Check-Out dates selected for the group. Use the calendar icon to help select a date.

  4. Check the Days of the Week the rooms should be blocked for. Only the days of the week selected will have rooms blocked within the date range selected. See the examples below for more information.

  5. If the rate for the group has been overridden, enter the correct rates for the room type in the appropriate fields. If the group rate is overridden and these fields are left blank, the overridden rate on the General tab of the group is used.

  6. Click OK to finish.

Repeat the same steps for each room type needed for the group.

Room Blocking Examples​

Example 1

A group needs rooms Monday through Thursday only, for the month of March. Make the date range March 1, 20XX through March 31, 20XX and then UNCHECK Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The number of rooms selected for the room type will be blocked for Monday through Thursday only for the date range selected.

Example 2

For June 24 through 27, a group needs 5 rooms on Wednesday, 8 on Thursday, 6 on Friday and 10 on Saturday. Start with Wednesday and enter 6/24/09 for both the start and end dates of the date range. Select a room type and 5 for the amount of rooms. Leave all the days of the week checked since the time frame is less than one week. After completing this, enter the rooms for Thursday with 6/25/09 as the date range, the same room type as Wednesday and 8 for the amount of rooms. Again, leave all the days of the week checked. Use the same process until each of the dates required are entered.

tip

Each room type has to be entered separately. If you need 5 Queen rooms and 5 King rooms over specific days or dates, a separate entry needs to be made for each room type.

The blocking information for a room type for a specific date can be changed by highlighting the date for the room block and clicking Change. The room type, amount of rooms, block date and rates can be edited. The Delete button will delete the highlighted entry removing the block information for that room type for that date only.

The Remove button allows you to remove room blocks for room types for all dates. Highlight the room type(s) you do not want to hold rooms for and click Remove. Use the Select All and Deselect All buttons to assist in the process. If you only want to remove certain days of the week from the room type(s) selected, leave only the days to remove checked in the Days of the Week to Remove section.

The Book Group Rooms by Room Number instead of Room Type check box allows you to block specific rooms for a group, not just room types. Add the specific rooms for the group on the Room Assignment tab. If this option is selected, reservations can only be for dates within the Check-In and Check-Out date range. This greatly reduces the flexibility of making reservations for the group. The Rooming List feature allows you to hold specific rooms, yet retain flexibility when making reservations.

The Comp Factor is the number of room nights required for a group to receive a complimentary room night, often 50 room nights for one free. The Attrition percentage is the amount of the block that the Group is contracted and obligated to fill. This is typically used to dictate the amount of rooms the group must pay for, regardless if all are booked or not. Some attritions are based on all days or based on each individual day. Both of these fields can be merged into group contracts or letters as runtime variables. Attrition can be viewed in total or by day in the Booking Pattern screen.

For example: A group may say they need 100 rooms and the hotel sets aside the 100 rooms with an 80% attrition. If the group ends up booking 76 rooms, they would be billed for 4 additional rooms to make up their attrition. It is up to the sales manager to create, checkin and post those room nights as this field does not create the attrition difference automatically. It is only used in the Booking Pattern screen so the sales manager can easily keep the group leader informed how they are meeting their room and attrition commitments.

The Overbooking Summary window displays the dates, room types, and rooms information for any dates during the groups stay that are overbooked or create an overbooking situation. The number of rooms blocked for all groups and total availability for the room type for the date are shown. The total number of overbooking situations created is given in the lower left corner. An overbooking situation is any date and room type combination where more rooms are being held or reserved than the total number of available rooms for that room type at the property.

Contact​

Enter information about the contact person for a group block on the Contact tab in the Contact Name section. Contact Info is used on group block-related reports. If the group contact has a profile, click the Profile Lookup button and navigate to it. Select the profile and the profile information is entered.

Skip Requirement of Guest Profiles - Check this box if you want all reservations attached to this group to ignore the requirements of creating a Guest Profile when creating a reservation and checking in the reservation. (The profile requirements are globally set in Setup > Configuration > History)

A default Hold type can be specified for reservations created with a group block, as well as a credit card number or city ledger account. This information will be copied into reservations made with the group block. This information may be entered in the Guarantee Information section of the Contact Info tab. Userfields 1 and 2 can also be selected to appear on every reservation made for the group. Click here for information on creating User Fields.

Reservations​

The Reservations tab provides a quick view of the current reservations that are part of the group block record displayed

Rooming List is a feature allowing you to enter reservation information for guests without making specific reservations.

Master Folio is used to create an Inventory Only reservation for the Group, or a "Master Folio". This is just like a reservation, however, it is for zero (0) rooms. You can use this to post deposits for the group or convention and group charges.

Reroute Charge Options gives you the ability to reroute all charges for Group Reservations to a master desk folio prior to check-in. When the first checkin occurs for a group, the routed (desk) folio is checked for existence. If it does not exist, it will automatically be created.

Clicking the Cancel All Reservations button will cancel all future and active reservations for the group. Once completed, this process cannot be undone. Reservations would have to be reentered.

Click Assign Room to quickly assign rooms for reservations from the Reservations tab. You can also easily change the name of a guest when assigning the room. This feature makes it easier to edit guest names for a group rather than having to open up each reservation.

Sales​

The Sales tab provides you a quick view of Sales Center History. Group block records will keep track of up to five sales centers, such as Room Sales, Phone Sales, Restaurant Sales, Surcharges or Other Sales. For more information, please see Sales Centers.

Notes​

The Notes tab provides you a location to store information about the group block or the group itself that may be needed in the future. If the notes created on this tab require the attention of anyone who may be creating reservations against this block, you may select the Always PopUp when making reservation checkbox. This will cause an attention box to appear during the reservation process when this group is selected in the Reservation window's Group Code field.

In the Group Policy and Conditions section, enter any contract details that are specific to this group such as rooms per comp room or special requests from the group that need to be accommodated. The information entered here appears on the Group Contract.

To Do's​

The To Do's tab allows you to create To Do items that may be needed during the group's stay or completed before this group arrives. For more information, please see To Do's.

Print reports and group contracts with the Printing & Contracts option.

Block Summary is a view only screen that gives the number of rooms blocked and left to book for the group by date and room type.

Booking Pattern displays by date the number of rooms locked, booked, and available for the group. It also details by date the number of CheckIns, Stayovers, and Check outs, along with the number of Adults and Children. The Occupancy percentage displayed is for the group. The Show with Attrition options allow you to display the group based upon the Attrition percentage entered.

None - The Attrition percentage is not applied.

Daily Committed - The Attrition percentage is applied to the number of rooms blocked per day. For example, a group has 30 rooms blocked for 3 days. With an Attrition percentage of 85% and Daily Committed checked, the number blocked rooms per day would be 26 (30*.85 rounded).

Total Blocked Overall - The Attrition percentage is applied to the total number of rooms blocked for the group.

The Booking Pattern can be exported to a spreadsheet or printed to be sent to a group contact. It is also a runtime variable to be included in Group Letters.

Group Letters can be created in the Letter Editor. Print or Email a group letter using the options at the top of the screen. The email address in Contact information is used by default when emailing a letter.

Releasing and canceling a group block​

Unused rooms in a group block reservation are automatically released during the night audit on the Cutoff Date. The number of rooms released from a particular group block reservation is listed at the bottom of the Show Blocking Chart on the group block record.

However, rooms can be released from a group block reservation manually by changing the Group Status from Active to Released or Canceled. Releasing or canceling a group block reservation does not affect any reservations already made under the group block.

Functionally, there is little difference between manually releasing and canceling a group block: both actions will increase the number of rooms available to regular inventory; both actions will show the number of rooms released on the group block record. The only difference between the two statuses appears on the Group Reservations report. The status is listed as an A, R, or C.

Posting a Deposit or Adding Charges against an Entire Group Block​

If there is a general deposit or charges/inventory items being posted for a group, but not applied specifically to a single guest reservation, you can post these items to an Inventory Only Reservation. An Inventory Only Reservation is a regular reservation but has number of rooms set to zero. This reservation is connected to the group block and will automatically create a Group Master folio during the Group Checkin Process.

To post the deposit for a Group Block:​

  1. Once the group is created, select Reservations and Insert a new reservation.
  2. Change the Number of rooms to Zero
  3. Fill in (attach) the Group Code.
  4. Fill in the First/Last names using either the Group Name or the Group Contact Name.
  5. Post the Deposit as you would a normal reservation using the Deposits button.
  6. Press OK

Checking in a Group with Master Billing / Group Deposit:​

  1. Group is created with a group code, contact and blocking information
  2. Group deposit posted to an "Inventory Only Reservation".
  3. Reservations created against group block.
  4. Use Group Checkin option when the group arrives. The Inventory Only reservation is checked in as a master folio and the deposit is transferred to it.

To setup charges for a Group Block before guest arrives:​

  1. Once the group is created, select Reservations and Insert a new reservation or use the same reservation that may have been used in above Deposit Reservation.
  2. Change the Number of rooms to Zero
  3. Fill in (attach) the Group Code.
  4. Fill in the First/Last names using either the Group Name or the Group Contact Name.
  5. Use the More Options / Daily Charges & Packages to setup Charges
  6. Press OK

When you use the Group CheckIn option, a desk folio (master folio) is automatically created and deposits and charges are automatically transferred to the desk folio. You can also just checkin the zero-room "reservation" as you normally would a regular reservation if you are not using the Group CheckIn feature.