Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

Hotel occupancy rate
Ratio of guestrooms sold (including complimentary rooms) to
guestrooms available for sale in a given time period. Always expressed as a percentage, the
formula for occupancy rate is as follows:
Number of guestrooms sold 
Number of guestrooms available
House account
Account whose entries are assessed to another hotel entity such as the sales
and marketing department, the general manager, or the FOM.
House count
Total number of guests staying in a hotel on a specific night.
House phone
Publicly located telephone within the hotel that can be used to call the front
desk or, in some cases, the front desk and guestrooms.
HVAC system
Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system.
Identity theft
Crime that occurs when someone obtains and uses another individual’s
personal information to commit fraud, theft, or both.
Incidentals
Non-room charges that may include items such as telephone charges, food and
beverage purchases, pay-per-view movie rentals, and minibar purchases.