Complete the definitions with suitable words from the box.

a.a commitment contract	b.agreement	c.period
d.availability	e.fixing	f.released
g.stop-sale	h.block of rooms	i.commitments
j.allocation k.payment	l.reservation enquiry	m.unsold room block

1. A room block allotment is ¹⁾ _______ of a certain block of pre-negotiated hotel rooms to a tour operator to sell until a given date, when the unsold rooms are ‘released back’ to the hotel without ²⁾ _______.

2. A room block commitmentincludesa set of ³⁾ ________ between a tour operator and a hotel under which the tour operator buys and pre-paid a pre-negotiated ⁴⁾ _______ for a specific period of time.

3. The release date is the day when unsold or unreserved rooms by a tour operator or a travel agency will be ⁵⁾ ______.

4. The release back ⁶⁾ _____ is the period within which unsold room block is released.

5. Unsold room block (soft room block) is the number of rooms unsold by a tour operator by a ⁷⁾ _______ time.

6. Fixed (hard) room block means ⁸⁾ _______ certain hotel rooms for specific tour operator.

7. Free sale is an arrangement that enables a tour operator to sell an agreed room block without first checking ⁹⁾ ________ with the hotel.

8. On-request sale means that a hotel should confirm or reject a tour operator’s ¹⁰⁾ ________ within 24 hours

9. Stop sale is a period of time beyond which the ¹¹⁾ ______is released by a hotel.

10. ¹²) _________ is an official agreement between a tour company and a hotel in which the company must pay for all the beds it has reserved even if it does not sell them.

11. An allocation contract is an official ¹³⁾ ______ between a tour operator and a hotel in which the company does not have to pay for any beds that it has reserved but not sold.

Imagine that you have to compile an English-Russian glossary of the hospitality industry terms. Render the following glossary articles into English.

1. Квота (room block)-количество номеров, выделяемых в определенный период туроператору (турагенту) средством размещения на основании договора.

2. Фиксированная квота (fixed room block) - квота с закреплением определенных номеров гостиничного фонда за конкретным туроператором (турагентом).

3. Безвозвратное квотирование (room block commitment) - совокупность обязательств туроператора и средства размещения, при которых средство размещения передает туроператору право на реализацию квоты на весь период действия договора; при этом туроператор оплачивает полную стоимость квоты независимо от фактического количества размещенных турагентов, а объект размещения обязуется предоставить полный комплекс оговоренных в договоре услуг, без права остановки продажи.

4. Возвратное квотирование (room block allotment)-передача средством размещения туроператору права на реализацию в течение определенного периода времени (периода квотирования) квоты для размещения туристов - клиентов туроператора.

5. Продажа услуг средства размещения по запросу (on request)-означает, что после каждой заявки клиента в средство размещения направляется запрос туроператора. Подтверждение или отказ от заявки должны быть направлены туроператору в течение 24 ч.

6. Свободная продажа услуг средств размещения (free sale)-предоставление средством размещения своим партнерам (туроператорам, турагентам и др.) права самостоятельно подтверждать их клиентам бронирование мест в средстве размещения, с одновременным уведомлением последнего о произведенном бронировании.

7. Релиз-дата (release date) - день возврата туроператором (турагентом) средству размещения непроданных (незарезервированных) номеров, отстоящий от фактической даты на продолжительность релиз-периода.

8. Релиз-период (период высвобождения) (release period) - период времени, в течение которого происходит высвобождение номеров из квоты.

9. Период остановки продажи (stop sale) - период времени, за который нереализованный остаток квоты туроператора (турагента) изымается средством размещения.

10. Остаток квоты (unsold room block) - номера квоты, нереализованные туроператором (турагентом) к моменту объявления остановки продажи. При этом туроператор обязан забронировать в течение 24 ч с момента объявления остановки продажи все реализованные и незабронированные номера, а средство размещения обязано в безусловном порядке подтвердить бронирование.

Reading

Read and translate the text about tour operation management.

Tour operation management

Planning, negotiating, contracting, marketing, and successfully administering a package holiday is a complex management task and takes place over a long period of time. Contracting with hoteliers and airlines can begin two years in advance of the holiday.

Hotel costs are a substantial proportion of the brochure price – usually around 40 to 50 per cent for a typical package holiday. There are two types of contract used. With the so-called allocation contract or allotment contract, tour operators only pay the hotelier for the beds they use. For example, they may contract 100 beds another, and 100 the next week.

An alternative is the fixed (guaranteed) contract or commitment contract, where the tour operator pays for a fixed number of beds throughout the peak season, irrespective of how many are sold.

With a fixed contract, the risk to the tour operator is obviously increased. Typically, 50 percent of contracted beds are fixed, but this can rise to 100 per cent when a destination is in very high demand.

The amount of the contracted rooms to be specified in the allotment contract is a result of the estimated, during the negotiation, volume of sales to be realized by the tour operator. Allocation contracts usually include a clause requiring the tour operator to confirm the number of beds sold several weeks before the customers arrive, at which point the hotelier may take some of the rooms back. This is called the release date. This enables the hotelier to sell off any beds not required or to stop sale if the hotel is full which stops that the tour operator from taking late bookings.

The allocation (allotment) contract reduces the risk of any unsold products by the supplier and grants relative price advantage to the travel organizer helping him to stay competitive on the market by offering extra discounts which can vary from 10% to 50% according to the period of the year, the destination, the quantity and quality of services contracted upon. Some big tour operators are able to obtain up to 70% of discount.

Allocation contracts are popular with tour operators from different countries, and usually they contract for slightly more beds than they have available. As tour operators vary in their success in selling an individual hotel, the hotelier is able to have a very high occupancy rate, which keeps prices competitive for the customer.

Answer the questions

1. What does tour operation management involve?

2. What types of contracts are usually concluded between hotels and tour companies?

3. What is the difference between an allocation contract and a commitment contract?

4. With which contract the risk is increased for a tour operator/ hotel?

5. What is the release date?

6. What discounts can tour companies receive for selling hotel room blocks?

7. What is the advantage of high occupancy rates for the customer?

6. Here are two operators describing the type of contract they negotiate with principals. Which of these labels would you use to describe them: allocation/ contract or commitment contract (fixed/ guaranteed)? What do you think are the advantages of each contract for tour operators and hoteliers?

a. ‘We take a certain number of rooms and give back those we can’t sell some weeks before the arrival date.’

b. ‘We take a certain number of rooms and have to pay for them all even if we don’t sell them.’

7. A tour operator has negotiated a price of $160 per bed per week for 120 beds. They only sell 75% of the beds in one week. How much would they have to pay the hotelier for that week under a commitment contract and an allocation contract?