Difference Between Reservation and Registration in Hotel

The key difference between reservation and registration in hotel is that the reservation is not a mandatory process whereas registration is a mandatory process. Reservation in hotel typically refers to blocking a particular room for a particular guest for a definite period of time while registration in the hotel simply refers to recording the guest’s information for official purposes.

Reservation and registration are two processes guests go through when booking a hotel room. Furthermore, registration is the process that follows reservation.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Reservation in Hotel
3. What is Registration in Hotel
4. Side by Side Comparison – Reservation vs Registration in Hotel in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Reservation in Hotel?

In the hotel industry, reservation typically refers to blocking a particular room for a particular guest for a definite period of time. Reserving rooms is advantageous to both guests and the hotel. On one hand, reserving a room beforehand saves the difficulty of finding accommodation on arrival, especially during peak seasons when most hotels are full. It also gives the guests the chance to find out what types of rooms and facilities are available in a hotel and their prices. Overall, prior reservation helps guests to plan their trip more efficiently. On the other hand, reservations indicate to the hotel staff what level of business can be expected during a specific period of time.

There are many ways to make reservations; these methods include both verbal and written modes. Letters, emails, fax are written modes of reservations while telephone calls are a verbal mode of reservation.  If the guest or hotel wants to cancel or modify the reservation, this can be only done through mutual agreement. Moreover, in some hotels, the guests will have to pay in advance to reserve a room.

What is Registration in Hotel?

Registration or guest registration in hotel simply refers to recording the guest’s information for official purposes. Registration is mandatory for walk-in guests as well as for guests with reserved accommodation.

After a guest arrives at the hotel; the staff at the front desk creates a registration record, a collection of important guest information. This registration record will include the name, address and other important information of the guest. This process also helps to verify the identity of the guest.

Furthermore, if the guest has prior reservation, the hotel staff can pre-register the guest using the information obtained from the reservation. Pre-registration process helps to accelerate registration when the guest arrives at the hotel. However, there is no pre-registration for walking-guests.  Moreover, the guests can pay in advance at the registration itself.

What is the Difference Between Reservation and Registration in Hotel?

In the hotel industry, reservation typically refers to blocking a particular room for a particular guest for a definite period of time while registration in the hotel simply refers to recording the guest’s information for official purposes. A guest can reserve a room in a hotel before arriving at the hotel. In fact, the guest does not have to be present at the premises to make a reservation. This can be done via telephone, email, etc. However, the process of guest registration happens only after the guest arrives at the hotel.  Most importantly, reservation is not a mandatory process whereas registration is a mandatory process.

Summary – Reservation vs Registration in Hotel

Reservation in hotel refers to blocking a particular room for a particular guest for a definite period of time. In contrast, registration in hotel simply refers to recording the guest’s information for official purposes. This is the basic difference between reservation and registration in hotel.

Image Courtesy:

1.’Hotel-room-renaissance-columbus-ohio’By Derek Jensen (Tysto) – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia 
2.’Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, registration desk (9396311882)’By Yellowstone National Park from Yellowstone NP, USA – Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, registration desk, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia