| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Hospitality |
| Level | Entry level |
| Reports to | Front Office Manager |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | 1 to 3 years in reservations or front office |
Reservation Executive job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Reservation Executive
Department: Hospitality
Reports to: Front Office Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Reservation Executive handles room bookings for a hotel across phone, email and online channels. They take and confirm reservations, manage availability and rates and convert enquiries into bookings. The role reports to the Front Office Manager or Reservations Manager. A good Reservation Executive answers quickly and warmly, gets booking details exactly right, sells the hotel well over the phone and keeps availability and rates accurate so the hotel never oversells or misses a booking.
Key responsibilities
- Take and confirm room reservations by phone, email and online channels.
- Convert enquiries into confirmed bookings by selling the hotel well.
- Enter booking details accurately including rates, dates and preferences.
- Manage room availability and rates across channels to avoid oversell.
- Handle changes, cancellations and no shows as per policy.
- Coordinate group and corporate bookings with sales and front office.
- Process advance payments and booking guarantees correctly for every reservation.
- Respond to online travel agent bookings and messages promptly.
- Maintain guest booking records and special requests in the system.
- Follow up on tentative and unconfirmed bookings before they lapse.
Requirements
- Degree or diploma in hotel management
- Good spoken English and phone manner
- Comfort with a booking system
- 1 to 3 years in reservations or front office
KRAs and KPIs for a Reservation Executive
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Conversion | Enquiry to booking conversion held at or above target |
| Booking accuracy | Reservation entry errors held near zero each month |
| Response time | Booking enquiries answered within the agreed time |
| Availability control | No oversell caused by reservation errors during the year |
| Revenue support | Upsell and rate selling support the revenue targets |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Property management system, Channel manager, Online travel agent extranets, MS Excel, Telephone console.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Reservations Manager, Revenue Analyst, Front Office Supervisor
Interview questions for a Reservation Executive
- How do you convert a phone enquiry into a confirmed booking?
- How do you sell the hotel to a caller comparing options?
- How do you avoid overselling rooms across channels?
- How do you handle a cancellation or a no show?
- How do you keep booking details accurate?
- How do you handle an online travel agent booking issue?
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What does a Reservation Executive do?
A Reservation Executive handles room bookings for a hotel across phone, email and online channels. They take and confirm reservations, convert enquiries, manage availability and rates and handle changes and cancellations. They coordinate group bookings and process payments, reporting to the Front Office Manager or Reservations Manager.
How does a Reservation Executive avoid overselling rooms?
They keep availability and rates accurate across all channels, update inventory as bookings come in and coordinate with the channel manager and front office. Careful entry and watching group blocks prevent the hotel from confirming more rooms than it has, which would force guests to be turned away.
What qualifications does a Reservation Executive need?
Most Reservation Executive roles ask for a degree or diploma in hotel management with good spoken English, a warm phone manner and comfort with a booking system. One to three years in reservations or front office is usual, along with accuracy and the ability to sell the hotel over the phone.