Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

Part-time employee
Staff member who works fewer than 40 hours weekly. Some part-time
employees may work on-call and work on an infrequent basis as needed.
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Pay-per-click
Arrangement in which a hotel Web site operator pays a search engine operator
a fee for each hit (click) on the hotel’s Web site that was initiated by the search engine’s users.
Pay-per-view
Industry term for a video or audio service, usually delivered on the guestroom
television, in which guests are charged for the time they actually use the service.
PBX (private broadcast exchange)
System in the hotel used to process incoming, internal,
and outgoing telephone calls.
Peak arrival day
Day for which most rooms in a group block are sold.
Peak night
Night when the most guestrooms for a group are sold.
Per diem
Fixed dollar amount per day that a traveler will be reimbursed for a hotel room,
meals, or both; the amount is determined by the traveler’s employer and may differ by
travel destination.
Petty cash
Small amount of cash available on-site that is not commingled with cash banks
for revenue centers and is used to make small, miscellaneous purchases. Funds are usually
managed so that the sum of the cash plus invoices for purchases always equals a preestab-
lished amount.
Pickup
Actual number of guestrooms reserved for (or by) individuals. Group pickup is
the number of guestrooms reserved for individuals in a group block. For example, if
200 group rooms are blocked for a specific night, and 150 represent confirmed reserva-
tions, the pickup would be 150 rooms, or 75 percent (150 
200 
75 percent).
Pickup report
Any of a variety of PMS reports designed to summarize reservation activity.
PMS report
Specific set of data or information taken from a hotel’s property management
system.
Policy
Administrative tool or guideline that establishes parameters to be used when deci-
sions are made.