Dear WuBookers, working with groups can be very profitable, but it requires perfect organization to avoid mistakes that could negatively impact the service and experience of guests. That’s why hoteliers have long used a tool dedicated to the preliminary management of group travelers: the rooming list.

What is a rooming list and what is it for?

A rooming list is a list of expected guests, including details useful for distributing them correctly among the various rooms, meeting everyone’s needs and expectations.

Essential information typically included in a rooming list includes:

• first and last name of the guest;
• dates of check-in and check-out;
• personal data for institutional reports and submission to the authorities (in countries where this is required);
• guest’s email address and contact details;
• type of room (single, double, etc.);
• other special requests (food intolerances, preferences, etc.).

This list is usually created and compiled by the group leader or the agency organizing the trip and shared with the hotel a few days before or upon arrival at the hotel.

This operation reduces the operational workload of hotel staff, who would otherwise be forced to request these details independently for each customer, thus lengthening planning times.

But the advantages of this tool do not end there.

The rooming list as a tool to streamline work

Knowing the names of guests and their needs in advance simplifies not only the collection phase but also all the other phases. In general, check-in is easier and, upon arrival at the hotel, it will also be easier to distribute keys, avoiding long waits at the reception desk for those who are part of the group and for any other arriving guests.

The complete list of rooms allocated to each customer also allows for better organization of logistics and room allocation: for example, you can decide to place all members of the group on the same floor or in nearby rooms. Individual requests are also essential to ensure personalized service and to plan specific resources and supplies in advance.

Managing the rooming list with PMS

So, as mentioned, in common practice, the rooming list is a document: in most cases, it is an Excel spreadsheet (or similar format), which allows you to enter various information in an orderly and clear manner for those who receive it.

Once sent, it is up to the hotelier to process it and use it for all the practical and bureaucratic tasks to be carried out. And what better way to do this than with the help of a good PMS? All the manager has to do is calmly enter the guest data and associate it with the reservation, assigning each guest the correct accommodation and initiating—where possible and necessary—the institutional administrative and payment procedures.

All this is certainly possible with Zak, the hotel software by WuBook, which also allows you to do something more.

Zak for optimal group management

As we said at the beginning, group reservations inevitably involve a certain degree of complexity and, if not managed properly, can turn into a nightmare for both hoteliers and guests. To minimize this unpleasant eventuality, you can further streamline the guest registration process by avoiding the rooming list altogether!

How? Through the Guest Page: a private online page sent by the hotelier to the tour leader to collect the participants’ data in digital form.

On this page, you can enter the names and individual preferences of travelers and book extra services. It is, in effect, an online check-in, which can be completed in no time upon arrival at the property, even with the help of technology.

What about any checks during the process or subsequent analysis by the hotelier? No problem: Zak allows you to check every aspect in a specific area dedicated to reservation details. In this section, the hotelier can view a complete overview with a list of rooms booked by the group and a list of all guests and their room setups. Notes can also be assigned to each reservation, for example as a reminder of guests’ personal needs.

In addition to this, in the planner (the calendar with all current reservations), it is possible to adopt a customized color system for reservations and physical rooms: this makes it easy to organize and distinguish the different solutions and specific needs at a glance.

As we have seen, the rooming list is an important organizational and control tool, but technology can help hoteliers and agencies save even more time and energy. In this sense, WuBook’s Zak offers numerous opportunities, even when it comes to managing groups.