What is a hotel rooming list, and how to improve it?

28 August 2023

Giulia Ciullini

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PMS | Hotel Division

Let’s find out what a rooming list is and which tool can help to optimise the management of the registration of a group at a hotel front desk.

Rooming list: meaning
Managing the rooming list at check-in
Managing rooming list registration with Octorate
Frequently asked questions

Rooming list: meaning
Managing the rooming list at check-in
Managing rooming list registration with Octorate
Frequently asked questions

Rooming list: meaning

What it is

In the hotel industry, the rooming list is the roster of the components of a group reservation.

A good practice, followed by many hoteliers, is that the rooming list should be filled in before the guest arrives at the hotel, for example, by the tour organiser or by the travel agency if it is a guided tour.
Asking guests to fill out the rooming list in advance lets the hotel managers get a complete picture of the stay.

Rooming list data

The rooming list contains not only the names of the guests but also other valuable information, such as the assignment of rooms or the reporting of special needs.

An ideal rooming list example includes the following details:

Name and surname of the guests, with a particular field to indicate who is the tour guide
The email of the guests
The type of room, for example, whether it is a single, a twin, a double and so on.
The room number
Check-in and check-out dates

What is it for

A rooming list completed in advance will enable hoteliers to effectively plan the assignment of rooms, a significant detail for large groups, to avoid the risk of separating families or groups of friends.

Managing the rooming list at check-in

The rooming list is thus a valuable planning tool, which, if filled in before arriving at the hotel, allows both hoteliers and guests to save time at check-in (on this subject, read our article on the advantages of automatic and self check-in). At this stage, the fulfilment of online bureaucracy is time-consuming, in addition to the registration of the names. It can be stressful for newly-arrived guests, also negatively affecting the outcome of up-sell e cross-sell activities.

It is possible to download many templates designed to complete rooming lists, and many hotels use Excel rooming list templates so that travel organisers can fill them in and send the file to the reception staff.
However, sharing these files may lead to errors when filling in data, with the risk of confusing an already complicated process such as check-in registration.

Managing rooming list registration with Octorate

One way to avoid the disadvantages of using a shared template with guests is to entrust the management processes of your accommodation to the Octorate PMS. Our management software, designed to optimise your accommodation processes, among its features, also allows the management of rooming lists and group reservations.

After receiving the rooming list from the travel agency or tour operator, the staff can enter the names, rooms and other details into the software before the guests arrive.

A rooming list is a unique tool for hoteliers. Filling it out in advance in your PMS and managing it in a single interface can make check-in simpler and faster and exponentially improve your guests’ stay experience.

Choosing our PMS will simplify your group registration procedures, giving you a single-panel view of the guests and their allocation, increasing your hotel’s management efficiency.

Frequently asked questions

✅ What is the rooming list?

The rooming list is the list of names in a group reservation. It also includes other details, and it is helpful to fill it out in advance to organise the tasks better.

💻 How to manage the rooming list at check-in?

To reduce the time needed for check-in, fill in the rooming list before the guest’s arrival. There are many downloadable Excel rooming list templates online. Still, the disadvantage of sharing these files with guests is the risk of making mistakes and complicating the check-in procedure at the hotel front desk.

🐙 How to manage the rooming list registration with Octorate?

A valuable ally to optimise the management of the rooming list and group registration procedures is the Octorate PMS, which allows the rooming list to be filled in in advance and managed together with the files in a single interface. The advantages? Optimise hotel management, save time and improve the guest stay experience.