The Confirmation Standard
Five steps for a confirmation sent the same day and a check before arrival. One wrong letter in a surname follows the guest from the airport sign to the bill.
- Who
- Reservations agents, checked by the reservations manager
- When
- Every new booking or change, sent the same working day
- You need
- The booking in the PMS, call notes or email, cancellation policy
- Measured by
- Sent the same working day
- Name and dates checked against the request
- Reconfirmation sent 7 days before arrival
5 steps
01
Check the record
Before writing, compare the PMS booking with your call notes or the guest’s email: name spelling, dates, room, bed type, rate, number of guests and children’s ages. Correct the record first.
Say this
Note on the booking: “Checked vs email 3 June: twin beds, child aged 6, rate incl. breakfast. AF”
Common mistake Trusting the booking because you made it. The double bed you typed is the twin bed the guest wrote.
02
Write it plain
State dates with weekdays, nights, room name, bed, guests, rate per night, taxes, what is included, and the cancellation deadline as a date and hour in hotel time, never as a rule.
Say this
“Free cancellation until 18:00 hotel time on Tuesday 9 June. After that, the first night is charged.”
Common mistake Pasting “cancellation 72 hours prior”. A guest in another time zone counts differently, and the dispute starts at checkout.
03
Add one line
Add one personal sentence that shows a person read this booking: the occasion, the reason for the trip, or a request they made. Place it near the top, signed by the agent who took the booking.
Say this
“Congratulations on the anniversary, Mr Mensah. The terrace table you asked about is reserved for Saturday at 20:00.”
Common mistake A personal line that every guest receives. “We look forward to welcoming you” was written by the template, not by you.
04
Send the same day
Send the confirmation the same working day, and within one hour for a booking made by phone. Check it has arrived: if the email bounces, call the guest that day and correct the address.
Say this
Log line: “Confirmation sent 11:42, bounced. Called guest 11:50, address corrected, resent 11:53.”
Common mistake Sending to the address typed during the call and never checking it. Many “I never got a confirmation” calls start here.
05
Hand over
Seven days before arrival, send a short reconfirmation asking the arrival time, and pass every request to guest relations in the PMS. Changes go into the booking, never only into an email thread.
Say this
Trace to guest relations: “Mensah, arr. 14 June ~16:00 by car. Anniversary, terrace table Sat 20:00.”
Common mistake Keeping the guest’s reply in your inbox. Guest relations prepares the arrival from the booking, and it still says nothing.
What Every Confirmation Carries
Seven lines, in this order. Each one is there because leaving it out produces a predictable phone call, a dispute or a wrong arrival.
Brief one row a day for a week. On Friday the reservations manager opens five confirmations sent that week and checks each row is there. A missing row goes back to the agent who sent it, with the booking.
The Standards Library.
No. 11 · Reservations
The Callback Standard
Five steps for missed calls, voicemails and unfinished enquiries. A call that ends without a name, a phone number or an email cannot be followed up.
No. 12 · Reservations
The Rate Quote Standard
Five steps for quoting a room rate so the guest understands it the first time. Many disputes at checkout began as one unclear sentence on the phone.