Blocking - Revision history

Phi: /* Allocate particular rooms */

2012-07-19T16:52:51Z

‎Allocate particular rooms

Phi: /* Allocate particular rooms */

2012-07-19T16:51:07Z

‎Allocate particular rooms

Phi: /* Allocate particular rooms */

2012-07-19T16:50:00Z

‎Allocate particular rooms

Phi: /* Allocate particular rooms */

2012-07-19T16:49:32Z

‎Allocate particular rooms

Phi: /* Allocate particular rooms */

2012-07-19T16:49:20Z

‎Allocate particular rooms

Phi at 16:46, 19 July 2012

2012-07-19T16:46:07Z

Phi: /* Choose a room assignment strategy */

2012-07-19T16:43:36Z

‎Choose a room assignment strategy

Phi at 03:02, 10 July 2012

2012-07-10T03:02:53Z

Phi: /* Choose a room assignment strategy */

2012-07-10T02:07:13Z

‎Choose a room assignment strategy

Phi at 02:03, 10 July 2012

2012-07-10T02:03:06Z

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 If you're in a hotel with an atrium you can put a disclaimer on your web site saying "This hotel has an atrium and that makes all the rooms loud.  When we say 'quiet' we only mean 'not quite as loud'."  Paradoxically this gives you *more* flexibility in assigning 'quiet' rooms because they don't have to be quite as far from parties as they would be in a hotel where guests have more of an expectation of how quiet it will be in their room.
-Go through your list of guest rooms and mark each one "must be convention", "must be non-convention", or "OK for convention or non-convention guests".  For the ones that might be for convention use mark them with what block they're in.  If there are "OK for non-convention guests" in an active block you're probably doing it wrong.  Then total up the room types according to your blocks and the hotel's idea of room types.  Finally, fill up your blocks from there according to your demand and what the hotel will give you out of their inventory.  You're almost ready to open hotel reservations!
+Go through your list of guest rooms and mark each one "must be convention", "must be non-convention", or "OK for convention or non-convention guests".  For the ones that might be for convention use mark them with what block they're in.  "OK for non-convention guests" should obviously not be in an active block unless you're sharing your hotel with another convention that also has room parties.  Then total up the room types according to your blocks and the hotel's idea of room types.  Finally, fill up your blocks from there according to your demand and what the hotel will give you out of their inventory.  You're almost ready to open hotel reservations!
 == Set up set-asides ==

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 If you're in a hotel with an atrium you can put a disclaimer on your web site saying "This hotel has an atrium and that makes all the rooms loud.  When we say 'quiet' we only mean 'not quite as loud'."  Paradoxically this gives you *more* flexibility in assigning 'quiet' rooms because they don't have to be quite as far from parties as they would be in a hotel where guests have more of an expectation of how quiet it will be in their room.
-Go through your list of guest rooms and mark each one "must be convention", "must be non-convention", or "OK for convention or non-convention guests".  Then total up the room types according to your blocks and the hotel's idea of room types.  Finally, fill up your blocks from there according to your demand and what the hotel will give you out of their inventory.  You're almost ready to open hotel reservations!
+Go through your list of guest rooms and mark each one "must be convention", "must be non-convention", or "OK for convention or non-convention guests".  For the ones that might be for convention use mark them with what block they're in.  If there are "OK for non-convention guests" in an active block you're probably doing it wrong.  Then total up the room types according to your blocks and the hotel's idea of room types.  Finally, fill up your blocks from there according to your demand and what the hotel will give you out of their inventory.  You're almost ready to open hotel reservations!
 == Set up set-asides ==

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 If you're in a hotel with an atrium you can put a disclaimer on your web site saying "This hotel has an atrium and that makes all the rooms loud.  When we say 'quiet' we only mean 'not quite as loud'."  Paradoxically this gives you *more* flexibility in assigning 'quiet' rooms because they don't have to be quite as far from parties as they would be in a hotel where guests have more of an expectation of how quiet it will be in their room.
-Go through your list of guest rooms and mark each one "must be convention", "must be non-convention", or "OK for convention or non-convention guests".  Then total up the room types according to the hotel's idea of room types.  Finally, fill up your blocks from there according to your demand and what the hotel will give you out of their inventory.  You're almost ready to open hotel reservations!
+Go through your list of guest rooms and mark each one "must be convention", "must be non-convention", or "OK for convention or non-convention guests".  Then total up the room types according to your blocks and the hotel's idea of room types.  Finally, fill up your blocks from there according to your demand and what the hotel will give you out of their inventory.  You're almost ready to open hotel reservations!
 == Set up set-asides ==

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 If you're in a hotel with an atrium you can put a disclaimer on your web site saying "This hotel has an atrium and that makes all the rooms loud.  When we say 'quiet' we only mean 'not quite as loud'."  Paradoxically this gives you *more* flexibility in assigning 'quiet' rooms because they don't have to be quite as far from parties as they would be in a hotel where guests have more of an expectation of how quiet it will be in their room.
-Go through your list of guest rooms and mark each one "must be convention", "must be non-convention", and "OK for convention or non-convention guests".  Then total up the room types according to the hotel's idea of room types.  Finally, fill up your blocks from there according to your demand and what the hotel will give you out of their inventory.  You're almost ready to open hotel reservations!
+Go through your list of guest rooms and mark each one "must be convention", "must be non-convention", or "OK for convention or non-convention guests".  Then total up the room types according to the hotel's idea of room types.  Finally, fill up your blocks from there according to your demand and what the hotel will give you out of their inventory.  You're almost ready to open hotel reservations!
 == Set up set-asides ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:49, 19 July 2012
Line 42:		Line 42:

	If you're in a hotel with an atrium you can put a disclaimer on your web site saying "This hotel has an atrium and that makes all the rooms loud. When we say 'quiet' we only mean 'not quite as loud'." Paradoxically this gives you more flexibility in assigning 'quiet' rooms because they don't have to be quite as far from parties as they would be in a hotel where guests have more of an expectation of how quiet it will be in their room.		If you're in a hotel with an atrium you can put a disclaimer on your web site saying "This hotel has an atrium and that makes all the rooms loud. When we say 'quiet' we only mean 'not quite as loud'." Paradoxically this gives you more flexibility in assigning 'quiet' rooms because they don't have to be quite as far from parties as they would be in a hotel where guests have more of an expectation of how quiet it will be in their room.
		+
		+	Go through your list of guest rooms and mark each one "must be convention", "must be non-convention", and "OK for convention or non-convention guests". Then total up the room types according to the hotel's idea of room types. Finally, fill up your blocks from there according to your demand and what the hotel will give you out of their inventory. You're almost ready to open hotel reservations!

	== Set up set-asides ==		== Set up set-asides ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:46, 19 July 2012
Line 36:		Line 36:
	Which rooms in the hotel will house convention guests? Chances are you have some particular rooms that absolutely must go to the convention -- the Con Suite, at the very minimum, and a few rooms around it in your Active block to serve as a noise buffer. Chances are the hotel will have some particular rooms -- long-term guests, or any very fancy suites they're not giving you, for instance -- that they will want not to go to the convention. Some hotel rooms, in quiet blocks typically, could go to convention or non-convention guests equally well. Allocating more particular rooms lets you make more use of party suites if these are spread among floors. It also lets you separate non-convention guests from quiet-block convention guests if your hotel is concerned about its image. But the more rooms you allocate, the more work you will have later putting together a rooming list, and the more work you will have at runtime to cope with guests who want to check in before their room is ready.		Which rooms in the hotel will house convention guests? Chances are you have some particular rooms that absolutely must go to the convention -- the Con Suite, at the very minimum, and a few rooms around it in your Active block to serve as a noise buffer. Chances are the hotel will have some particular rooms -- long-term guests, or any very fancy suites they're not giving you, for instance -- that they will want not to go to the convention. Some hotel rooms, in quiet blocks typically, could go to convention or non-convention guests equally well. Allocating more particular rooms lets you make more use of party suites if these are spread among floors. It also lets you separate non-convention guests from quiet-block convention guests if your hotel is concerned about its image. But the more rooms you allocate, the more work you will have later putting together a rooming list, and the more work you will have at runtime to cope with guests who want to check in before their room is ready.

		+	== Allocate particular rooms ==
	If you don't have the whole hotel, consider the hotel's propensity to put people into rooms they think are equivalent. If you can, place your party hosts and the immediate party host buffer in an area that contains only some of the room subtypes in the hotel, and make sure every room of those subtypes is used by convention guests. If the hotel has subtypes for rooms with a nice view, or puts their fancy rooms at the top of the hotel, then this will be pretty easy and get you the bonus of a short elevator ride or stair-climb from the function space to the parties.		If you don't have the whole hotel, consider the hotel's propensity to put people into rooms they think are equivalent. If you can, place your party hosts and the immediate party host buffer in an area that contains only some of the room subtypes in the hotel, and make sure every room of those subtypes is used by convention guests. If the hotel has subtypes for rooms with a nice view, or puts their fancy rooms at the top of the hotel, then this will be pretty easy and get you the bonus of a short elevator ride or stair-climb from the function space to the parties.

@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 The best method is to look at recent historical data for your con.  On the day Doubles sold out, how many Kings were reserved?  On the day the Quiet block sold out, how many Active rooms were reserved?  If you don't have this data, you can make something up.  All other things being equal this might be 60:40 Double/Doubles vs Kings, and 2:1 Quiet vs Active.
 == Choose a room assignment strategy ==
-Which rooms in the hotel will house convention guests?  Chances are you have some particular rooms that absolutely must go to the convention -- the Con Suite, at the very minimum, and a few rooms around it to serve as a noise buffer.  Chances are the hotel will have some particular rooms -- long-term guests, or any very fancy suites they're not giving you, for instance -- that they will want *not* to go to the convention.  Some hotel rooms, in quiet blocks typically, could go to convention or non-convention guests equally well.  Allocating more particular rooms lets you make more use of party suites if these are spread among floors.  It also lets you separate non-convention guests from quiet-block convention guests if your hotel is concerned about its image.  But the more rooms you allocate, the more work you will have later putting together a rooming list, and the more work you will have at runtime to cope with guests who want to check in before their room is ready.
+Which rooms in the hotel will house convention guests?  Chances are you have some particular rooms that absolutely must go to the convention -- the Con Suite, at the very minimum, and a few rooms around it in your Active block to serve as a noise buffer. Chances are the hotel will have some particular rooms -- long-term guests, or any very fancy suites they're not giving you, for instance -- that they will want *not* to go to the convention.  Some hotel rooms, in quiet blocks typically, could go to convention or non-convention guests equally well.  Allocating more particular rooms lets you make more use of party suites if these are spread among floors.  It also lets you separate non-convention guests from quiet-block convention guests if your hotel is concerned about its image.  But the more rooms you allocate, the more work you will have later putting together a rooming list, and the more work you will have at runtime to cope with guests who want to check in before their room is ready.
 If you don't have the whole hotel, consider the hotel's propensity to put people into rooms they think are equivalent.  If you can, place your party hosts and the immediate party host buffer in an area that contains only some of the room subtypes in the hotel, and make sure every room of those subtypes is used by convention guests.  If the hotel has subtypes for rooms with a nice view, or puts their fancy rooms at the top of the hotel, then this will be pretty easy and get you the bonus of a short elevator ride or stair-climb from the function space to the parties.
 == Set up set-asides ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:02, 10 July 2012
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	Blocking is the preparatory step, before opening hotel reservations, of allocating rooms to two or more blocks so that the hotel's reservation system will accept the correct number and type of reservations ~~such~~ that each hotel guest ~~can~~ be placed in a suitable room.	+	Blocking is the preparatory step, before opening hotel reservations, of allocating rooms to two or more blocks so that the hotel's reservation system will accept the correct number and type of reservations that will allow each hotel guest to be placed in a suitable room.

	One challenge to blocking is that the hotel probably thinks of their inventory along different lines from the way the convention will think of them. Most hotels have between two and six different bed configurations, and within each bed configuration a small number of fanciness levels, with rooms of each bed configuration and level scattered through the hotel. In ordinary operations, almost all hotels will consider these rooms to be equivalent and will exchange guests between them at will to satisfy room readiness constraints at check-in time. Some hotels even consider different bed types to be equivalent, or consider smoking and non-smoking rooms equivalent, caring only about (say) how nice their view is when allocating rooms to reservations. When constructing a blocking, making sure that the convention attendees' needs can be met is only half the battle. Making sure that the blocking works with the front desk agents' training and not against it will ensure that the attendees' rooming needs are actually met.		One challenge to blocking is that the hotel probably thinks of their inventory along different lines from the way the convention will think of them. Most hotels have between two and six different bed configurations, and within each bed configuration a small number of fanciness levels, with rooms of each bed configuration and level scattered through the hotel. In ordinary operations, almost all hotels will consider these rooms to be equivalent and will exchange guests between them at will to satisfy room readiness constraints at check-in time. Some hotels even consider different bed types to be equivalent, or consider smoking and non-smoking rooms equivalent, caring only about (say) how nice their view is when allocating rooms to reservations. When constructing a blocking, making sure that the convention attendees' needs can be met is only half the battle. Making sure that the blocking works with the front desk agents' training and not against it will ensure that the attendees' rooming needs are actually met.

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:07, 10 July 2012
Line 36:		Line 36:
	Which rooms in the hotel will house convention guests? Chances are you have some particular rooms that absolutely must go to the convention -- the Con Suite, at the very minimum, and a few rooms around it to serve as a noise buffer. Chances are the hotel will have some particular rooms -- long-term guests, or any very fancy suites they're not giving you, for instance -- that they will want not to go to the convention. Some hotel rooms, in quiet blocks typically, could go to convention or non-convention guests equally well. Allocating more particular rooms lets you make more use of party suites if these are spread among floors. It also lets you separate non-convention guests from quiet-block convention guests if your hotel is concerned about its image. But the more rooms you allocate, the more work you will have later putting together a rooming list, and the more work you will have at runtime to cope with guests who want to check in before their room is ready.		Which rooms in the hotel will house convention guests? Chances are you have some particular rooms that absolutely must go to the convention -- the Con Suite, at the very minimum, and a few rooms around it to serve as a noise buffer. Chances are the hotel will have some particular rooms -- long-term guests, or any very fancy suites they're not giving you, for instance -- that they will want not to go to the convention. Some hotel rooms, in quiet blocks typically, could go to convention or non-convention guests equally well. Allocating more particular rooms lets you make more use of party suites if these are spread among floors. It also lets you separate non-convention guests from quiet-block convention guests if your hotel is concerned about its image. But the more rooms you allocate, the more work you will have later putting together a rooming list, and the more work you will have at runtime to cope with guests who want to check in before their room is ready.

		+	If you don't have the whole hotel, consider the hotel's propensity to put people into rooms they think are equivalent. If you can, place your party hosts and the immediate party host buffer in an area that contains only some of the room subtypes in the hotel, and make sure every room of those subtypes is used by convention guests. If the hotel has subtypes for rooms with a nice view, or puts their fancy rooms at the top of the hotel, then this will be pretty easy and get you the bonus of a short elevator ride or stair-climb from the function space to the parties.

	== Set up set-asides ==		== Set up set-asides ==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 Get an accurate hotel room inventory from the hotel, showing every single room, its type and subtype according to the hotel's reservation system, whether it connects to any other rooms in the hotel, its handicap access status (many hotels have multiple access room types), any special features like doors to a patio that might not be reflected in the hotel's idea of subtype, and anything else you can get out of the hotel.  Put this all in a spreadsheet, one row to a room.
 == Choose a number of blocks ==
 === Blocks for bed types, or not? ===
@@ Line 28: / Line 29: @@
 === Blocks for Staff, Shabbos, etc ===
 Don't make separate blocks for these.  There are too many other variables -- you can't assume that everyone in the Shabbos block wants a Quiet room, or that everyone on Staff actually wants to be near the Staff Den if they have to choose between that and proximity to function space.
-== Choose particular blocks
+== Choose particular blocks ==
-In most North American hotels, you will need a Quiet block and an Active (or Party) block at the very least.  You will probably want to put all the suites into a block to be allocated by hand.
+In most North American hotels, you will need a Quiet block and an Active (or Party) block at the very least.  You will probably want to put all the suites into a block to be allocated by hand.  If you have a party host area that you want to be 100% party hosts, you'll want a block for that, because being in the one room out of 20 on that floor that's not a party is a very different thing than being in the rooms directly above or below as a noise buffer.
 == Choose a room assignment strategy ==
 Which rooms in the hotel will house convention guests?  Chances are you have some particular rooms that absolutely must go to the convention -- the Con Suite, at the very minimum, and a few rooms around it to serve as a noise buffer.  Chances are the hotel will have some particular rooms -- long-term guests, or any very fancy suites they're not giving you, for instance -- that they will want *not* to go to the convention.  Some hotel rooms, in quiet blocks typically, could go to convention or non-convention guests equally well.  Allocating more particular rooms lets you make more use of party suites if these are spread among floors.  It also lets you separate non-convention guests from quiet-block convention guests if your hotel is concerned about its image.  But the more rooms you allocate, the more work you will have later putting together a rooming list, and the more work you will have at runtime to cope with guests who want to check in before their room is ready.
 == Set up set-asides ==