Reservation agents have an important function in hotel administration and sales. Depending on the size of the hotel, they report to the management or front office management and work in close co-operation with the hotel’s sales, events and front office departments.

Tasks of a reservation agent
The aim of the reservations department is to optimise the hotel’s occupancy rate, i.e. to book as many rooms as possible at the best possible rate. To achieve this, reservation agents receive all reservations and bookings and process and check them in the property management system. They also prepare offers and handle all associated correspondence. They advise and inform guests about bookings and hotel stays and sell additional services such as restaurant reservations, spa treatments, events or excursions. When the front office is busy, reservation agents also work directly at reception, greet and say goodbye to guests and take care of all front office tasks.

Requirements for working as a reservation agent
The constant interaction with a wide variety of people requires communication skills and a high degree of guest-orientation, patience and friendly manners. You also need the ability to work in a team, a sense of responsibility and organisational talent as well as very good foreign language skills (at least English) and a good understanding of figures. In terms of training, as a reservation agent you need to have completed training as a hotel specialist, hotel management assistant or tourism specialist.

Career in Reservations
With increasing professional experience and additional training, reservation agents develop a good knowledge of the local market and dynamic pricing. They can become Reservation Managers, which involves additional tasks in personnel and team management: Recruitment, training and assessment of employees, personnel planning as well as internal quality control and process optimisation.