Opera V4 Users Guide

OPERA PMS Reference Manual
Opera Hotel Edition Version 4.0
©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

All Rights Reserved. Proprietary and Confidential.
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©2006 MICROS Systems, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, photocopied, stored on a retrieval system, or

transmitted without the express prior written consent of the publisher.
MICROS Systems, Inc. retains the right to update or change the contents of this document
without prior notice.
MICROS Systems, Inc. assumes no responsibility for the contents of this document.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
MICROS Systems, Inc. makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including
but not limited to implied warranties of marketability and fitness for a particular purpose.
MICROS Systems, Inc. shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or
consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this
material.
OPERA is a trademark of MICROS Systems, Inc.

On Oracle and the On Oracle logo are trademarks of Oracle Corporation.
Suggested additions, deletions, or changes to this document should be addressed to:
MICROS Systems, Inc.

Hotel Systems Implementations, Training Department
7031 Columbia Gateway Drive
Columbia, MD 21046

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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 12
Welcome to the OPERA Property Management System 13

How this manual is organized 13
Additional Resources 14
Online Help 14
Hyperlinks 14
eLearning 14
Training Activity Workbook 14
Navigational Aids 15
Operational Suggestions 15
Key Concepts 15
Extremely Important 15
Recognizing Software Terms and Operations 16

Press a Key - Click the Mouse - Select a Button 16
Screens 16
Fields 16
Numbered Steps 17
CHAPTER 2 - PROFILES 18
Profile Introduction 19
Profile Types 19
Profile Search 20
Creating a New Individual Profile 21
Creating a New Company, Travel Agent, or Source Profile 22
Profile Statistics and Information 24
Profile Options 26
Attachment 26
Changes 27
Credit Cards 28
Delete 29
Future 29
History 30
Merge 32
Negotiated Rates 33
Notes 35
Preferences 37
Privacy 40
Relationship 41
CHAPTER 3 - RESERVATIONS 43

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New Reservations 45
New Reservation with Rate Query 45
Search and Edit Reservation 57
Multiple Rate Reservation 58
Fixed Rate Reservation 61
Name Change on a Reservation 62
Reservation with Multiple Profiles 64
Reservation with Negotiated Rate 65
Individual Group Reservation 69
Cancel a Reservation 70
Reinstate a Reservation 70
Waitlist a Reservation 72
Reservation Options 75
Accompany-ing Guest 75
Add-On Reservation (Copy) 76
Agent/ Company 77
Alerts 78
Billing 79
Caller Info 79
Cancel 79
Changes 80
Confirmation 81
Credit Cards 82
Delete 82
Deposit/CXL 82
Facility Scheduler 84
Fixed Charges 85
History 86
Housekeeping 86
Locators 87
Messages 88
Package Option 89
Party 89
Privileges 91
Pro-Forma Folio 92
Queue 93
Rate Info 93
Register Card 93
Room Move 94
Routing 95
Shares 100
Traces 104
Track It 105
Waitlist 105
Wake Up Calls 105
Additional Reservation Features 106

Room Plan 106
Floor Plan 107
Batch Confirmations 108

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Calendar 110
CHAPTER 4 – FRONT DESK 112
Arrivals and Check In 113

Searching for Arrivals 113
Checking In a Guest 116
Checking In a Walk-In Guest 118
Queue Reservations 121

Placing an Arrival into Queue 121
Managing the Queue 123
In House Guests 124

Searching for In-House Guests 124
Editing In-House Guest Records 124
Canceling a Check-In 126
Additional Front Desk Features 128

Accounts – Posting Masters 128
Room Assignment – Individual 129
Room Assignment – Auto 131
Room Assignment – Unassign 133
Messages 134
Traces – Viewing and Resolving 139
Wake Up Calls 140
CHAPTER 5 - CASHIERING 143
Cashiering Basics 145

Understand Debits and Credits 145
Cashier Login 145
Navigating Folios 146
Posting a Charge 147
Transfer Charges to/from Another Room 148
Transfer Charges to/from Another Folio Window 150
Posting Payments 151
Preview, Print, and File a Folio 152
Split a Charge 155
Adjusting a Charge 156
Adjust an Interface or Night Audit Posting 157
Correct / Edit a Charge 158
Guest Refunds and Paid Outs 159
Billing Options 160

Credit Cards 160
Fixed Charges 161
Package Options 161
Phone Details 162
Posting History 163

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Post Rate Code 164
Privileges 164
Routing 165
Additional Options 165
Check Out 166

Cash Check Out 166
Credit Card Check Out 168
Direct Bill Check Out 170
Settlement and Early Departure 173
Reinstate a Check Out 175
Quick Check Out 176
Scheduled Check Out 177
Cashier Functions 179

Fast Posting 179
Batch Folios 180
Batch Postings 181
Cashier Reports 182
Cashier Status 184
Check Exchange 185
Currency Calculator 186
Currency Exchange 187
Exchange Rates 188
Folio History 190
Deposit / CXL 191
Receipt History 193
Passerby 194
General Cashier 196
Petty Cash 197
Cashier Shift Close 199
Reprint Cashier Reports 202
CHAPTER 6 ROOMS MANAGEMENT - HOUSEKEEPING 203
Rooms Management 205

Overview 205
Housekeeping Management Screen 205
Changing the Status of a Room 207
Viewing Housekeeping Statistics 209
Printing Housekeeping Management Screen 210
Queue Rooms 211
Room Conditions 213
Room Discrepancies 217
Attendant Points 218
Task Assignment 219
Task Assignment Grid 226
Turndown Management 227
Facility Forecast 230
Guest Service Status 231

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Additional Rooms Management Options 232
Out of Order / Out of Service 232
Room History 235
Overbooking 236
Occupancy Graph 237
Maintenance 238
CHAPTER 7 – ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE 240
AR Overview 241
AR Pre- Requisites 241
Transfer F/O Data 242
Account Maintenance 244

New AR Account 244
View AR Accounts 246
View and Modify AR Invoice Details 247
Create a New AR Invoice 248
Adjust an AR Invoice 249
Apply an Unallocated Payment 250
Applying Payments to Oldest Invoices or Selectively 251
Apply Payment and Close an Invoice 253
Unapply Payment – Write Off 254
Reverse Payment 255
Compress Invoices 255
Accounting Options 258

Account Setup 258
Aging 259
Close Invoice 259
Fixed Charges 259
Future Resv. 259
AR Notes 260
Post History 261
Pay History 261
Profile 262
Reminders - Individual 262
Statements - Individual 263
Traces 264
Transfer 266
Year View 267
Additional AR Features 268

Research 268
AR Credit Cards 270
Batch Processing Statements 271
Batch Reminders 273
Statement and Reminder History 275
AR Batch Posting 275
AR Detailed Aging Report 277

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AR Daily Checklist 278
CHAPTER 8 - MISCELLANEOUS 280
Quick Keys 281

Show Quick Keys 281
F1 – Opera Help 282
Shift F1 – Occupancy Graph 284
Control F1 – Keyboard Shortcuts 285
Shift F2 – Control Panel 286
Control F2 – Detailed Availability 287
F3 – Available Room Search 289
Shift F3 – House Status 290
Control F3 – Room Plan 292
Shift F4 – Inquiry 293
Control F4 – Dashboard 294
F5 – Rate Query 296
Shift F5 - Floor Plan 298
Shift F6 – Quick Book 299
F7 – New Reservation 299
Shift F7 – Telephone Book 299
Control F7 – Telephone Operator 301
F8 – Log Out 302
Shift F8 – Interfaces Submenu 302
Control F8 – Maximum Availability 303
Shift F9 – Function Diary 303
Additional Miscellaneous Features 304

Reports 304
Reports Scheduler 306
Interfaces 309
Change Password 310
Track It – Dashboard 310
Track It – Valet 313
Log Book 315
Registration Cards 316
Advanced Miscellaneous Features 317

Data Extraction 317
Print Tasks 322
User Activity Log 323
Memberships 325
File Export 326
File Download 329
CHAPTER 9 – END OF DAY 330

Overview 331
Pre-Audit Work 332
Running the Audit 335
Post-Audit Work 337

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Reprint Night Audit Reports 338
CHAPTER 10 – BUSINESS BLOCKS - GROUPS 339
Group Basics 341

Business Block vs. Quick Business Block 341
Group Status Codes 341
Group Block Search 344
Inquiry 345
New Block Header 348
Quick Business Block 354
Block Grid 357
Range Rooms to Grid 359
Wash Rooms from Grid 361
Room Type Priorities in Grid 362
Group Block Reservations 363
Group Options 365

Rooming List 366
Rooming List with Shares 367
Rooming List Quick Split 370
Rooming List Import 371
Room Assign 371
Room Status 372
Check In Group 373
New Posting Master 374
Delete 374
Cut Keys 374
Print Registration Cards 375
Block Options 376

Add PM 376
Changes 376
Copy 377
Cutoff 378
Deposit / CXL 378
Notes 379
Item Inventory 379
Shift Date 380
Statistics 381
Custom Tour Series 382
Refresh Rates 383
Wash Schedule 384
Additional Group Features 385

Block Charge Routing 385
Cancel a Group 386
Family Blocks 387
CHAPTER 11 – COMMISSION HANDLING 388

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Commissions Overview 389
Travel Agent Profile Setup 389
Rate Code Setup 391
Commission Research 392
Payment Processing 393

Overview 393
Holding Commission Records 394
Manual Change to Commission 396
Add a Manual Commission Record 398
Commission Payments via File Export 400
Commission Payments via Check Run 402
Commission Reports and Options 404
Payment Activity 405

Register – View Payment Details 405
Register – Reconcile Checks 407
Register – Void Checks 408
Register – Un-Presented Checks 409
Reprint Checks 410
CHAPTER 12 – PACKAGE MANAGEMENT 411
Packages 413
Simple Package Element 413
Advanced Package Element 420
Attaching Package to a Rate 423
Attaching Sell Separate Packages 426
Adjusting Folios with Package Rates 430
CHAPTER 13 – REVENUE MANAGEMENT 431
Rate Codes 433

Rate Code Overview 433
Rate Header - New 434
Rate Header – Options 440
Rate Details - New 442
Rate Details - Options 445
Negotiated Rates - New 445
Negotiated Rates – Options 447
More Tab 448
Rate Tiers 448
Global Rate Update 450
Revenue Management 451

Rate Strategy 451
Rate Availability - View 453
Rate Restrictions 454
Restrictions – Activity vs. Actual 455
Day Type Codes 457

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Event Codes 460
Property Calendar 461
CHAPTER 14 – USER CONFIGURATION 463

Overview 465
Add New Cashier 465
Create a User Name 466
Assign Individual Permissions 470
Unlocking a User 471
Create a New User Group 472
Add Permissions to a User Group 473
Add Users to a User Group 475

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Chapter 1 - Introduction

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Welcome to the OPERA Property Management System
This Reference Manual serves as a reference tool that answers your questions
about the use and operation of the Opera Hotel Edition software system. It is
intended to guide you through how to use most functionality in the Property
Management System.
How this This manual follows the design of the Opera modules in addition to several
supplemental management chapters.
manual is
organized The manual contains the following chapters:
1. Introduction
2. Reservations
3. Front Desk
4. Cashiering
5. Rooms Management-Housekeeping
6. Accounting
7. Miscellaneous
8. End of Day-Night Audit
9. Groups
10. Commissions
11. Packages
12. User Management
13. Rate-Revenue Management
14. Index

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Additional Resources
While this Manual will be your on-site reference tool, there are a variety of
additional resources available to you. When you need to check on a process or
look up additional information there are several additional resources available that
can answer your questions quickly and easily.
Online Help When you are actually working in the software, the most quickly accessible
resource is the OPERA On-Line Help Function.
Pressing the F1 key displays OPERA’s On-Line Help from any screen in the
system.
Hyperlinks Hyperlinks appear in the electronic version of this Training Guide:

Table of Contents Hyperlink
Clicking an item in the Table of Contents navigates you to that page of the
document. After reviewing the information, you can click the header of each
chapter to go back to the Table of Contents.
eLearning Training of new employees or retraining of current employees may be performed

via the Opera eLearning CDs provided during your installation. Should you
require additional CDs, you may purchase them by sending an email to
eLearning@micros.com.
Training This workbook, used during the Opera installation is a valuable tool to use when
training your new employees. After they have completed the Opera E-Learning
Activity CDs they may then take manager-guided training via the Workbook, which
Workbook reinforces and builds on the topics learned in eLearning. This Workbook offers
activities to be performed live in the Opera system using your Training schema.

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Navigational Aids
As you use this manual as your guide to successful Opera PMS software
operation, you will notice several symbols that we have created to reinforce and
call attention to vital points. Please become familiar with these symbols, as they
will play an important part in your understanding of the content in this guide.
You will find these aids in the left column of this manual:
Operational The compass will direct you to recommendations and “best practices” for
software operation. Though there are many ways to perform most functions in
Suggestions the system, it is our suggestion that you follow this practice for maximum
system performance. This symbol can also a suggestion or process that is
directly related to providing your guests with the highest level of service and
satisfaction possible.
Key Concepts This symbol represents a “key concept” that is especially important to your
overall understanding of the software and its functionality. This symbol can
also indicate operational suggestion or key factor that increases the profitability
of your property and will help you to maximize revenue production.
Extremely Information highlighted by this symbol is extremely important; you will want to
focus on and review this information carefully.
Important

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Recognizing Software Terms and Operations
As you begin your exploration of the OPERA Property Management System, you
will find that new terms are quickly entering your vocabulary. As you may or may
not know, we present information in software system documentation in specific
ways to assist you with quickly recognizing and performing tasks.
Press a Key As you probably know, there are three primary ways to give commands and make
the software perform in a certain way:
- Click the
Mouse - 1. Pressing a key on the keyboard
2. Placing the cursor in a particular place on the screen and clicking the mouse
Select a 3. Placing the mouse cursor on a button that appears on the screen and then
Button clicking the mouse.
In this Guide, if we instruct to press a key, the name of that key will be presented
bold type.
Example:
Press the F1 key to access Online Help.
Likewise, if you are to place the cursor at a particular point on the screen, or on a
particular button that appears on the screen and then click the mouse to perform
the operation, the name of the operation you are performing is also printed in
bold type.
Examples:
Select OK to save.
Click in the Name field, enter the guest last name and select Search.
Screens The system organizes software tasks on screens that appear on the monitor.
When instructions refer to a specific screen, the screen name appears in capital
letters and in bold text.
Example:
From the RATE QUERY DETAILS screen, select….
Fields A field is an area of a screen where you are asked to enter information (i.e. the
user Name field). In this guide, references to fields also appear in bold text.
Example:
Enter the Block Code you wish to search for and select Search.

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Numbered In most cases, each software procedure is broken down into a number of specific
steps. In cases where there are multiple steps required for you to perform a task
Steps within the system, they are numbered.
Example:
Follow the steps below to edit a reservation:
1. Locate the reservation using the RESERVATION SEARCH screen.

2. Once you locate the reservation, select Edit.
3. Make any modifications you wish and choose OK to save changes.

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Chapter 2 - Profiles

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Profile Introduction
Use of Profiles not only provides a way of tracking repeats business but allowing
information such as guest preferences remains on guest’s profile. Profiles allow us
to serve our guests each time they return to the hotel in a more efficient manner.
Every reservation must have an individual (or guest) profile attached to it. Profiles
can be simple, with a first and last name and address only, or complex with
preferences and notes. Profiles also simplify and speed up the reservation process
because we already have the guest, company, or travel agent information on file.
Profile OPERA uses six types of profiles. The screens for each profile type look similar
but are different in the fields they contain. All Profiles store names, addresses, and
Types demographic data:
Individual profiles contain each guest’s personal information. Every reservation
must have an individual profile. All revenue and contributions for each individual
reservation track through the individual profile. Making a reservation for a first
time guest at your hotel automatically creates a guest’s individual profile.
Company profiles track production statistics, are used for direct bill charge
routing, for indicating negotiated rates and many other reasons. AR numbers
often exists on company profiles for direct billing purposes. Negotiated rates also
link to company profiles.
Source profiles track the volume of bookings a caller makes. Source profiles track
referrals from Conventions, Visitors Bureaus and Internet Booking Engines. A
most common use for Source profiles is Price line, Expedia and Secretary’s Clubs.
Contact profiles track meeting planner production and are commonly used if your
hotel uses the OPERA Sales and Catering system. While contacts may not be
hotel guests, it is useful to register their addresses and telephone numbers for
soliciting future group business.
Group profiles link reservations to groups. They also assist in routing charges and
tracking production per group. The Group profile creates when the Group
Business Block creates. Most frequently, Group profiles track contracted business
and room night production.
Travel Agent profiles are used to pay commissions and for tracking production
statistics by travel agency. Entering the agency’s IATA numbers on the profiles
ensure commissions pay directly to the appropriate agency.

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Profile From the main menu, select Reservations and Profiles. The PROFILE
SEARCH screen displays.
Search
1. Enter the last name in the Name field and choose the profile type desired
from the View By field. Partial entries in the search criteria return a great
number of results.
2. Highlight the desired profile and open it by double clicking on the profile or
by selecting Edit.

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Creating a 1. From the PROFILE SEARCH screen, select New to create a new profile.
New
Individual
Profile
2. Choose Individual profile and select OK.
3. Enter guest’s Name, Address, and Communication information. To add

multiple addresses or telephone numbers, select the ellipsis button to the
right of the field.
4. Select OK to save your entries and create the profile.

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Creating a When creating an account profile (i.e. Company, Travel Agent, or Source), many
of the same steps used in creating an Individual profiles apply; however, some
New fields are different.
Company,
1. From the PROFILE SEARCH screen, select New to create a new profile.
Travel Agent,
or Source
Profile
2. Choose Company, Travel Agent or Source profile and select OK.

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3. Enter Account, Address, and Communications. To add multiple addresses
or telephone numbers, choose on the ellipsis button to the right of the field.
4. The Type field designates whether this is Company, Travel Agent, or Source
profile.
5. If this is a Travel Agent profile, enter their IATA number in the field
indicated.
6. If this is a Company profile, enter their Corp. ID number in the field
indicated.
7. Select OK to save the profile.
NOTE: If owner functionality is active, the Owner field is a mandatory field on
account profiles. Owner designates person within the hotel that is responsible
for the account. This is typically the sales agent.

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Profile STATS & INFO screens (a tab at the top of any profile) displays the following:
Statistics • Total Guest Stays
and • Total Guest Revenue
Information • Total No-Show Reservations
• Total Canceled Reservations
Use the steps below to locate profile statistics and information:
1. From the PROFILE SEARCH screen, search for and locate your profile.
2. Select Edit to open the profile.
3. Select the Stats & Info tab at the top of the screen.
OPERA displays a summary of all past reservations for the year for this guest or
company, as well as a comparison to the previous year’s activity.
NOTE: All Profile History is for your hotel only. The database of profile
information is specific to your hotel.
4. Check the Restricted field to indicate the account is on a restricted list and
enter a Rule in the field. If you select this option, when settling a folio to this
account or attaching this profile to a reservation the message you type in here
displays to the user. Your hotel policy determines how to handle restricted
accounts.

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5. Use the Language down arrow to choose the preferred language for this
profile.
6. You can also create an AR account for the company by clicking on the drop
down arrow next to the A/R No. field and completing the SETUP
ACCOUNT screen. (You must have user permission to create AR
accounts.)
NOTE: See the Accounts Receivable chapter of this manual for complete
instructions on creating AR accounts.
7. Select OK to return to the main profile screen.

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Profile Options
To view and utilize advanced profile functionality, Edit and select Options.
Attachment Attachments allow you to select and create file attachments to the profile for
mail merges and other possibilities.
To attach a file:
1. Locate the Profile using the PROFILE SEARCH screen.
2. Highlight the profile and select Edit.
3. Select Options.
4. Select Attachment.
5. Select New to add an attachment or Open to open an existing attachment.
6. Select Merge to merge existing attachments (such as two welcome letters)
into one.
7. Select Close to return to the profile.

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Changes Changes track all changes and updates made to the profile.
To view changes on a profile:
3. Select Options.
4. Select Changes.
NOTE: Updates made to the profile list in descending order.

5. Select Close after investigating to return to the profile.

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Credit Cards The Credit Card option allows you to add, edit, and delete credit card
information associated with a profile, saving effort and eliminating re-keying
errors. Once information has been entered here, it can be quickly be accessed
from other areas of OPERA such as reservations, billing, accounts receivable,
and elsewhere.
To attach a credit card to a profile:
3. Select Options.
4. Select Credit Cards.
5. Select New to add credit card information to the profile

6. Select Edit to change existing credit information.
7. Delete removes the highlighted credit card information from the profile.
To enter a new credit card on the CREDIT CARD – NEW screen:
1. Click the drop down arrow next to the Card Type field and select the
appropriate credit card type (i.e. Visa, American Express, MasterCard).
2. Enter the Credit Card Number.
3. Enter the Expiration Date on the card.
4. Enter the Name on Card as it appears on the face of the credit card.
5. Select OK to save.

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Delete The Delete option deletes the profile entirely from the database. OPERA
prompts the user to confirm before removing the profile from the database.
NOTE: We do not suggest deleting profiles as statistical and revenue
information stored about that profile is lost. A better suggestion is to make the
profile inactive.
Future The FUTURE RESERVATION screen displays upcoming reservations for a

profile and offers the option to add future reservations to any profile.
To view future reservations on a profile:
1. Locate the profile using the PROFILE SEARCH screen.
3. Select Options.
4. Select Future.
NOTE: Each future reservation for the profile lists in ascending order.
Below are the options available from this screen:
• New allows a user to create a new reservation.

• Edit displays full reservation details for the highlighted reservation.

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History The History option provides past and current reservation information
(including turn ways) and a record of how the guest has contributed to your
revenue while staying at your properties.
To view a guest or account’s history:
3. Select Options.
4. Select History.
5. Select Stay Info. to review reservations history or Revenue for items

purchased during the guest’s stay.
NOTE: The Revenue option is only available if the hotel has defined specific
buckets for areas of revenue displayable in this area.

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STAY INFORMATION
Stay History includes records of all reservations — including Reserved, Due In,
Checked In, Due Out, Checked Out, No Show, and Cancelled — as of the
current business date. Records are also included for turn ways associated with
the guest.
OPERA offers the following options with this function:
• Summary produces the History Summary screen, which shows the profile's
reservation and revenue history in year-by-year summary form.
• Points produces the MEMBERSHIP POINTS HISTORY screen,
showing the number of points per membership that this guest has. If no
memberships apply to this profile, the button does not display.
• Resv displays a view-only RESERVATION screen for the stay
highlighted.
• Turnaway displays the TURNAWAY STATISTICS screen for that has
logged any reservation attempts from this guest profile that were turned
away (including the refusal reason).
• View Folio displays the FOLIO HISTORY screen for the highlighted
stay.
• New produces the RESERVATION HISTORY screen where you can
manually enter a history record for this profile.
• Edit changes reservation history records added manually.
• Delete permanently removes history records (both manual and system-
generated) from the system.
NOTE: The Points, Resv, and View Folio buttons will not be available on the
History screen for manually entered records.

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Merge The Merge profile option merges duplicate profiles into one single profile.
Duplicate profiles commonly exist for one guest within the system. The Merge
option eliminates duplicate profiles and merges their history together.
To merge two or more guest profiles together:
1. From the PROFILE screen, select Options.

NOTE: The profile that the merge initiates from becomes the master. The
second profile merges into the master.
2. Select Merge.
3. Search for the profile you would like to merge using the PROFILE
SEARCH screen and select OK.
The PROFILE MERGE screen opens listing the two profiles, one on the left
and one on the right (for comparison purposes).
4. Select Merge to merge the profiles together and the system merges all
information, historical data, revenue, and history together.

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Negotiated Negotiated Rates are beneficial when accessing the Rate Query for a specific
Rates company since only the negotiated rates display for that company. In addition,
Negotiated Rates speed up the reservation process.
Follow the steps below to add a Negotiated Rate to a profile:
1. From the PROFILE SEARCH screen, highlight the desired profile and
select Edit.
2. Select Options.
3. Select Negotiated Rates.
The NEGOTIATED RATES screen displays any existing negotiated rates

associated with the profile.
4. Select New to add a new negotiated rate.

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5. Click the drop down arrow next to the Rate Code field.
6. Highlight the desired Rate Code and select OK.
7. Enter a Start Sell Date and End Sell Date.
NOTE: If the Rate Code is to remain attached to the profile for infinity, then
leave the end date intentionally blank.
8. Select OK to save the Negotiated Rate and return to the profile.

NOTE: After attaching the Negotiated Rate, the PROFILE SEARCH screen
displays dollar signs ($) in front of the profile name and lists the rate in the Rate
Code column. If there is more than one negotiated rate attached, two-dollar
signs ($$) appear.

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Notes Profile Notes allow you to add general or background information notes about
a guest to better accommodate them.
To add Notes to a profile, follow the steps below:
1. From the PROFILE SEARCH screen, highlight the desired profile and
select Edit.
2. Select Options.
3. Select Notes.
4. Select New.

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5. Click the drop down arrow next to the Note Type field to select a note
type.
NOTE: If you use the Reservation Note type, this note copies into each new
reservation for this guest.
6. Highlight the appropriate Note Type and select OK.
7. Enter a brief synopsis of the note in the Title field.
8. Click in the white text box and enter the note.
9. Select OK to save and return to the INDIVIDUAL NOTES screen.

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Preferences The Preferences function enables you to associate likes and dislikes (such as
favorite room type, desired room features and floor location, choice of wine
and newspaper, etc.) with the current profile, enhancing your service to the
guests and companies you do business with. Preferences entered in the profile
apply to every reservation for this guest in future; thus, only save preferences
that the guest always requests.
To enter a guest preference on a profile:
1. From the profile, select Options.

2. Select Preferences.
3. Select New.

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4. Highlight the desired Preference Group and select OK.
NOTE: Some of the preferences perform certain functions while others
simply print on reports.
Listed below are the explanations of various Preference Groups:
• Floor preferences indicate the guests’ desired floor in your hotel and
default to the vacant room search during check in.
• Interests indicate the guest’s interests in local or hotel amenities such as
golf courses, theaters, or citywide events.
• Key Options: lists the guest key preferences when making electronic keys
for guests
• Room Features default to the vacant room search when attempting to
locate a room for a guest a check in. Examples of Room Features are city
view and quiet rooms.
• Smoking defaults to the vacant room search indicating smoking or non-
smoking rooms’ availability.
• Specials appear on reservations and print on a number of reports to assist
both Housekeeping and the Front Desk when preparing a room for a guest.
Examples of Specials are early check in and late check out.

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After selecting the Preference Group, a list of values belonging to that
Preference Group appears allowing you to select the desired Preference Code.
5. Highlight the desired Preference.

6. Using the mouse, place an “X” next to the desired preference and select
OK.

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Privacy The Privacy function allows a guest to choose rather they want to receive
promotional information, mailings, etc.
To activate the privacy feature on a guest profile:
1. From the profile, select Options.
2. Select Privacy.
The PROFILE PRIVACY screen displays:
3. Choose the options for privacy the guest prefers and enter an Email
address if one does not already exist on the profile.
NOTE: Email displays or allows the entry of the primary email address for the
guest. An email address appears if one exists already on the profile as a method
of communication. Modifying the email address from the PROFILE
PRIVACY screen, or vice versa, also updates the email address on the guest’s
main profile.
NOTE: The promotional information field is the place where a guest choice
to opt out can be recorded. If you select this field on the above screen, then
the Mailing List field on the profile displays “N” as well.

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Relationship Relationships define the associations between and among individuals,
companies, travel agents, groups, sources, and other entities in OPERA.
Knowing that Jim Lawson is an employee of Alpha Sources, Inc.; that Tim
Marks is the spouse of VIP Sandra Haley; or that Asset Management Corp. is a
subsidiary of County Wide Bank, for example, can aid in decision-making and
in providing good customer service. In addition, when a relationship is set up
between profiles, one profile can share negotiated rates with another by virtue
of their relationship.
To create a new relationship between profiles:
1. Select Options and Relationships.
2. Select New from the PROFILE RELATIONSHIP screen.
The following screen appears:
3. Choose the profile type you wish to create a relationship with for the
current profile and select OK.
4. Search for the Individual, Company, Travel Agent, Source, or Group using
the PROFILE SEARCH screen. If none exists, create a New profile.
5. Highlight the profile on the PROFILE SEARCH screen and select OK.

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The following window appears:
6. Highlight the appropriate Relationship From/To and select OK.

NOTE: To add multiple relationships, continue this process for each profile
you wish to relate to this profile.
7. Once you have completed adding all Relationships, select OK to return to
the main profile.

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Chapter 3 - Reservations

43
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New Reservations
In this chapter, we learn creating, editing, and canceling reservations in
OPERA PMS. In addition, there is instruction on the many options for
reservations that we may use to better serve our guests.
New Begin a reservation with a rate and availability search. Follow the steps below
to perform a Rate Query.
Reservation
with Rate Query 1. Use the F5 function key to open the RATE INFORMATION screen,
then select Rate Query or from the main menu, select Reservations then
New Reservation. Alternately, you may press the F7 function key to being a
new reservation.
The RATE QUERY screen appears.
To search for general rate availability, pre-qualify the guest by at least enter the
following criteria:
2. Enter an Arrival date and number of Nights.
3. Then, enter the number of Adults and/or Children.
4. If the guest has stayed at your hotel before, enter his/her name in the
Name field so that you may use their profile to expedite the reservation
and also view the guest’s preferences and/or stay history.

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The PROFILE SEARCH screen appears.
5. Either enter the last Name of the existing profile or select New to create a
new profile.
NOTE: Refer to the Profiles chapter of this manual for specific instructions
on creating profiles.
6. Complete the applicable fields and select OK to return to the RATE
QUERY screen.
7. Once you have completed all search criteria, select OK to see the results of
your query.

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The RATE QUERY screen appears with available rates and room types, in a
grid format, for your hotel on the requested dates.
Along the top of the screen are the Room Types, while Rate Codes list along
the left side. In the center of the grid are actual Rates.
Rates that are GREEN in color indicate availability for that Room Type and
Rate Code, where those RED in color indicate no availability.
Selecting a cell within the grid displays Rate and Room Type information in the
gray box in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This box also contains
any rate specific information, such as Rate Features, Rate Restrictions or
Deposit/Cancellation information.
The buttons along the right side of the screen offer supplemental information
and additional options:

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Overbook: Select to see the House and Room Type overbooking numbers
Item Inv: If the highlighted Rate Code has items attached to it (such as a crib
or a portable fireplace), then this option defaults to the availability screen for
those items. If no inventory items exist for the Rate Code selected, then the
availability screens for all items in inventory defaults to the reservation request
date.
Waitlist: Records a waitlist reservation when the desired rate is not available
and the prospective guest wishes to be notified if the rate becomes available.
Rate Info: Displays the room rates, package rates, and taxes per night in more
detail.
Analyze: Rate Restrictions placed on the rates or room types during the stay
request (i.e. two-night minimum, closed to arrival, etc.)
Long Info: Additional information regarding the Rate Code, configurable by

the hotel, with in-depth text explanations of the rate.
Turnaways: Logs the reservation call as a Turnaway for statistical purposes to

track denials and regrets.
Scope: returns you to the Rate Query screen to input new dates or
requirements.
Close: closes the Rate Query Details screen

8. After making a Rate and Room selection within the grid, select OK to
move forward with the reservation.

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The RESERVATION screen appears.

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The RESERVATION screen is divided into the following sections:
Header: Contains information about the guest and the guest’s company, travel
agent, group, and membership affiliations. A button links you directly to the
guest’s Profile screen where complete guest demographics are stored.
Details: Accommodation information for the guest’s stay, including arrival and
departure dates, room and rate information, payment method, credit cards, and
packages.
8. Complete all the necessary fields using proper capitalization and

punctuation. Fields that are required to complete the reservation in
OPERA have a bold field descriptor (i.e. Arrival, Departure, Room
Type, Rate Code, Res. Type, etc.).
9. Save the reservation by one of the following methods:
• OK to save the reservation and close the screen

• Save to save the reservation and have it remain on your screen
• Close to exit the screen without saving the reservation (a prompt
asks you to save)
RESERVATION SCREEN FIELD DESCRIPTIONS:
Arrival Date: Indicates the arrival date of the guest. Either type the date in
this field or use the calendar to select the date – this field defaults from choices
made in the RATE QUERY screen.

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Nights: The number of nights for the guest reservation – this field also
defaults from choices made in the RATE QUERY screen.
Departure Date: The departure date auto-populates based on the arrival date
and number of nights – this field also defaults from choices made in the
RATE QUERY screen.
Adults/Child: Number of adults and children occupying the room that may
directly affect the rates with multiple person charges
Number of Rooms: Enter the number of rooms for this reservation. The
field defaults to 1. If, for example, the guest requires 2 rooms, enter 2 in this
field (for one reservation, two rooms, same confirmation number). All rooms
will be of the same room type. Alternatively, if the guest requires more than
one room with separate confirmation numbers, see the Add On feature in the
Reservation Options (later in this chapter).
Rm. Type: The room type the guest prefers for the reservation that defaults
from the choices made in the RATE QUERY screen. Click the drop down
arrow next to this field to change the preferred room type.
RTC: Room Type Charge allows upgrades of guest into premium rooms
without affecting the rate – if the Rm. Type field changes, this field should
remain the original room type booked and quoted to the guest.
Room: This field is the guest’s room number. This must populate at check in
but may also to pre-block a room during the reservation process. Click on the
drop-down arrow next to this field to select a room from the AVAILABLE
ROOM search screen.
Rate Code: The code that defines the rate charged to the guest – this field also
defaults from choices made in the RATE QUERY screen. To change a rate,
click on the drop down arrow next to this field to return to the RATE
QUERY screen. The Rate for the Rate Code chosen displays in the RATE
field.
Rate/Fixed Rate: The rate charged to the guest each night of the
accommodation. To view multiple rates or rate changes during the stay, select
the ellipsis button next to this field. We cover fixing rates on reservations in
detail later in this chapter
Block Code: Populates if the reservation is part of a group or business block.

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ETA: Field to record the guests’ estimated time of arrival for transportation
Market: The market defaults based on the Rate Code selection made in the
RATE QUERY screen – market defines the sales sector the guest belongs and
the rate they pay are tracked on reports.
Source: The source tracks how the hotel received this reservation (i.e. Guest
Direct, CRS, Internet) – may or may not default based on Rate Code selection
Res. Type: The method by which the guest intends to guarantee the
reservation (i.e. Credit Card, 6pm Courtesy Hold) for arrival. The type defaults
to the hotel’s most common guarantee type, but may change by clicking on the
drop down arrow next to this field.
Payment: Records the method of payment to guarantee the reservation (i.e.
Visa, American Express, Cash). To change the method of payment, click the
drop down arrow next to this field. To add more than one form of payment,
select the ellipsis button to enter multiple payments. Below is an example of a
multiple payment method window:
Within this window, you may also set specific authorization rules for each
payment type. To establish different authorization rules, click the drop down
arrow in the Auth/Rule field. If a value is required, also enter the flat amount
or percentage in the Amt/Pct field.
Credit Card No.: When guaranteeing a reservation with a credit card, enter
the card number in this field. Depending on the Payment type chosen,
OPERA validates the card number. In addition, if a credit card number exists
on the guest profile, an additional window displays asking if you would like to
use the card number on file.
Exp. Date: When guaranteeing a reservation with a credit, enter the card’s
expiration date. OPERA validates expiration dates for future dates only.

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CRS No.: For hotels that interface OPERA PMS with a Central Reservation
System (CRS), this field populates with the corresponding CRS confirmation
number. If one reservation record has multiple confirmation numbers or CRS
reference numbers, you may view these by selecting the ellipsis button next to
this field.
Disc. Amt./%: To apply a discount directly to a reservation, enter either an
amount or percentage in this field. Note that the Rate field display changes
with a discount entry.
Reason: Indicates a reason for applying a rate discount. Click the drop down
arrow next to this field to update the reason for offering a discount on the rate.
TA Record Locator: For hotels with direct GDS interfaces (with TA
systems), the travel agent’s reference number on this reservation populates in
this field
Specials: Guest requests on a reservation (i.e. early check in, down pillow) that
print on arrival reports
Comments: Notes on reservations particular to that guest stay. After entering
comments, a Comments lamp appears at the bottom of the RESERVATION
screen. A single click on this lamp displays the comments entered.
Clicking on the drop down arrow next to this field displays the COMMENTS
screen to enter notes.
• Reservation Comments display on the RESERVATION screen.

• In-House Comments display after check in on the reservation record.
• Cashiering Comments display on the BILLING screen.
Item Inv.: Click on the drop down arrow next to this field to request specific
items out of hotel inventory (i.e. rollaway bed, crib, etc.)
To view additional fields on a reservation, select the More Fields tab above
the Arrival Date field on the RESERVATION screen.

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MORE FIELDS TAB:
Below is an explanation of the most commonly used fields on ADDITIONAL

RESERVATION FIELDS screen:
No Post: Checking this box on a reservation activates functionality to all
charge interfaces preventing the guest from charging to their room. Typically,
Cash is the only form of payment that defaults with the No Post flag. Credit
forms of payment authorize for incidentals and allow the guests to post charges
to their rooms. To restrict a guest from consuming charges, select this check
box.
Print Rate: Checking this box indicates that the Rate field on the reservation
populates on any collateral printed for the guest (i.e. Registration Card). To
prevent a rate from printing, deselect this option.
Video Check Out: Allows guests with appropriate credit to use Video Check
Out from the guest room – only applies to hotels with an appropriate In-Room
Movie interface. To disable, deselect this option.
C/O Time: Indicates the anticipated check out time for the guest for
transportation requests.
Tax Type: Identifies whether the guest pays all taxes or is exempt some or all
taxes. The default value is for the guest to pay all taxes – to change this
particular reservation, click the drop down arrow next to this field and choose
an alternate tax type.

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TURNAWAY SCREEN:
If you exit from the reservation process without completing the reservation
(either from the RATE QUERY or RESERVATION screen) a turnaway is
recorded. Below is an example of this screen:
All fields default from the reservation request except the Turnaway Code
field. Simply click on the drop down arrow next to this field to select a reason
the reservation is turning away. To save, select OK.

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After saving the reservation, an OPERA confirmation number displays.
10. Select OK to the confirmation number.
Lastly, the CLOSING SCRIPT screen appears for you to recap the
reservation details with the guest.
11. Select Close to finish the reservation.

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Search and Edit Use the following steps to locate and edit an existing reservation:
Reservation 1. From the main menu, select Reservations and Update Reservation.
Select Advanced for more options to search for reservations.
The RESERVATION SEARCH screen display. Fields surrounded by the
yellow box indicate fields to enter search criteria.
2. Search for a guest reservation using any of the search fields (i.e. Name,
CRS No/TA Rec Loc).
3. Once you enter all search criteria, select Search.
A list of all reservations that meet that search criteria display in the grid.

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Multiple Rate Rate changes usually occur during lengthy guest stays or for stays that go
through a weekday and weekend period.
Reservation
Rate Codes that have rate changes in effect during the stay dates requested
highlight in yellow on the RATE QUERY screen.
When making a reservation for a guest for multiple nights with a rate change in
effect, follow the steps below:
1. Select the desired rate in the grid and select OK to proceed.

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The RATE SUMMARY screen appears.
2. Confirm details of the rate changes with the guest and select Close to
proceed.
A message displays advising again of the rate change and that the MULTIPLE
RATE screen is available to verify the rates.
3. Select OK to proceed with the reservation.

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NOTE: The RESERVATION screen appears with the Rate field
highlighted in yellow. In addition, there is a Daily Details lamp in red at the
bottom of the screen. This indicates there are details on the daily rates that
differ.
1. To review the details of the rate change, click on the ellipsis button next to
the Rate field or select the Daily Details lamp at the bottom of the screen.
2. Select Daily Details.
3. Select Close to return to the reservation screen and complete as usual.

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Fixed Rate Sometimes it is necessary to override a published rate. To do this, use the
Fixed Rate option. Whenever possible, use the correct Rate Code to obtain
Reservation the desired rate. Fixed Rate applies the change for the entirety of the guest
stay. The best example for using this feature is for a reservation that has a rate
change in effect during the stay where you wish to guarantee the rate on the
arrival night throughout the guest stay.
NOTE: To apply a discount to a reservation, use the Disc. Amt. field. You
should only use Fixed Rate to fix an arrival rate through the guest stay.
Follow the steps below fix a rate on a multi-night reservation to the arrival rate
for all nights of the guest stay:
1. Locate the reservation and select Edit to open the reservation.
2. Click on the ellipsis button next to the Rate field to view the rate
information.
3. Select Daily Details.
The DAILY DETAILS screen appears.
4. Highlight the arrival date and select Edit.

5. Enter the last date of the stay in the Update Through field.
6. Modify the Rate amount as necessary.
7. Check the Fixed Rate option.
8. Select OK to save changes.
9. Select OK to close the Daily Details screen.
10. Select OK to save changes and close the reservation.

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Name Change To change the name of a guest on a reservation, follow the steps below:
on a 1. Search for the reservation using the RESERVATION SEARCH screen.
Reservation 2. Edit the reservation.
3. Select the ellipsis button next to the Name field at the top of the
RESERVATION screen.

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The existing profile attached to the reservation displays.
NOTE: Do NOT type over the existing profile information. Typing over
the existing profile permanently changes information on that guest’s profile
and all associated reservations.
4. Locate the yellow search box in the lower left corner of the PROFILE
screen and enter the new guest’s last name in the search fields.
5. Press tab and a list of similar profiles display.
6. Choose the desired profile and select OK.
7. If the profile does not exist, select New, complete a new individual profile,
and select OK to save.

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Notice when you return to the reservation, the new guest’s name is the profile
on the reservation.
Reservation It is possible to attach multiple profiles and link one of each profile type to a
reservation. Travel Agent profiles usually generate commissions while
with Multiple Company profiles have Negotiated Rates and authorize the direct billing of
Profiles charges. A Group profile automatically attaches to all group reservations for
tracking of group productivity.
The Individual profile type is the only profile required no every reservation.
However, you may have additional profiles or any combination of additional
profiles also attached. Additional profile types that can exist on one
reservation are Company, Travel Agent, Group and Source.
See the Profiles chapter of this manual for more information on these profile
types.
Follow the steps below to link another profile to a reservation.
1. Search for and Edit the reservation.
2. Click on the drop down arrow next to the field of the profile type you wish
to add (i.e. Agent, Company, Source, etc.).
3. The PROFILE SEARCH screen displays.
4. Search for and select an existing profile or choose New to create a new
profile.
5. Select OK to attach the profile and return to the RESERVATION screen.

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Reservation Your hotel may contract and negotiate a rate for a local corporate account.
These rates are generally at a confirmed discount off the normal rack or
with Negotiated corporate rates and are only available to guests staying on business with that
Rate recognized corporate account. Negotiated Rates are beneficial when
performing a Rate Query for a specific company as only the negotiated rates
display for that company. In addition, Negotiated Rates speed up the
reservation process.
Follow the steps below to complete a reservation for a company with a
Negotiated Rates:

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1. Begin a new reservation by selecting F7 or from the main menu, select
Reservation, then New Reservation.
2. Enter the Arrival Date, number of Nights, and number of Adults.
3. If the guest has a profile already on file with the hotel, type the guest’s
name in the Name field. If not, leave the field blank.
4. Enter the company name in the Company field and click on the drop down
arrow next to the field.

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The PROFILE SEARCH screen displays.
NOTE: The “$” to the left of the Company name in the results grid. This
indicates that there is a Negotiated Rate attached to that profile. You can also
view the rate in the Rate Code field once you get to the Reservation screen.
5. Highlight the appropriate Company profile and select OK.

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The RATE QUERY DETAILS screen displays with only the Negotiated
Rate.
To display all available rates, uncheck the Negotiated box in the lower left-
hand corner.
6. Highlight an available Room Type in the grid and select OK.
7. Complete the reservation as normal.
NOTE: When you make a reservation for a Negotiated Rate, the Company
profile also attaches to the reservation.

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Individual Group reservations deduct from an allocation or block of rooms assigned to
that particular group, not from general hotel inventory. To make an individual
Group group reservation, follow the steps below:
Reservation
1. From the main menu, select Reservations and New Reservation.
2. On the RATE QUERY screen, enter the Arrival Date, number of
Nights, and number of Adults.
3. If the guest has a profile already on file with the hotel, type the guest’s
name in the Name field. If not, leave the field blank.
4. Click the drop down arrow to the right of the Block field in the upper
right corner of the screen.
5. A list of all groups in house during the stay dates requested displays.
Highlight the correct group. The rooms available for that appear at the
bottom of the screen.
NOTE: Available rooms by room type appear in the grid GREEN, but
display in RED if not.
To view the group’s rate for that room type, select any of the Rate options (i.e.
1 Person Rate) at the bottom of the screen.

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6. Highlight the desired room type and choose Select.
The system automatically populates the Block code and the Room Type for
you on the RESERVATION screen.
7. Complete the reservation and select OK to save the booking.
NOTE: Notice that no Rate Code exists on this reservation. Since groups
contract rates on an individually, group reservations typically do not have Rate
Codes.
Cancel a Follow the steps below to cancel a reservation:

Reservation 1. From the main menu, select Reservations and Update Reservation.
2. Use the RESERVATION SEARCH screen to find the reservation to
cancel.
3. Highlight the reservation and select Cancel.
4. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Reason field to enter a reason for
the cancellation.
5. Highlight the appropriate reason and select OK.
6. Click in the white text box in the CANCELLATION screen to enter
additional text regarding the reservation and select OK to finish the
cancellation.
7. Provide the guest with their cancellation number.
Reinstate a Follow the steps below to reinstate a reservation:

Reservation 1. From the main menu, select Reservations, then Update Reservation.
2. Search for and locate the cancelled reservation you wish to reinstate.
3. Highlight the cancelled reservation.
4. Select Reinstate.

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5. Answer “Yes” to reinstate the reservation.
6. Make any applicable changes (if any) to the reservation and select OK to
save the reservation.
7. Provide the confirmation number to the guest.
NOTE: If your hotel has a two-way interface with a Central Reservation

System, the confirmation number generated will be a new number. If your
hotel uses OPERA PMS independently, the same OPERA confirmation
number assigns.

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Waitlist a When there is no available inventory for your hotel on a given reservation date
or a guest’s room preference is not available, the Waitlist function can assign a
Reservation Waitlist status to a reservation.
To place a reservation on the waitlist while reserving, follow the steps below:
1. From the RATE QUERY screen, if there is no availability, select Waitlist.
2. Click on the drop down arrow next to the Reasons field and select a
reason for placing the reservation on the Waitlist – select OK to save.
3. Click on the drop down arrow next to Priority to establish the guest in a
priority list (i.e. VIP’s and frequent guests receive higher priority for rooms
as they become available).
4. Enter any additional notes or comments in the Description field and select
OK.
5. Complete the reservation as normal explaining to the guest that they do not
have a confirmed reservation at this time.
NOTE: The Waitlist feature applies group reservations and the group
posting master reservation the same as for regular reservations. You can
collect reservation details for a potential guest (or posting master), even though
you cannot accept the reservation at that time, and place the reservations on
the Waitlist. If the occupancy situation changes and you find you can accept
the group reservation, find the reservation record and change it to an active
reservation.

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The WAITLIST screen allows you search for waitlisted reservations, to view
the original reservation, to change a waitlisted reservation to an active
reservation, to cancel the reservation based on no availability, or to make
changes to the reservation details in order to accommodate the guest.
If the room or rate requested by the guest becomes available for the desired
stay dates, the reservation can be "accepted" and made active. OPERA
prevents “buildup” of waitlisted reservations by deleting them during end-of-
day processing two days after the reservation departure date.
To search for an existing reservation on the Waitlist, make it good reservation

or to cancel it, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Reservations and Waitlist.

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2. Enter the guests last Name or Conf. No. and select Search.
NOTE: The Advanced button enables the Company, Source, Agent, Group
fields for use as additional search options. The Details option displays the
original reasons for placing reservations on Waitlist.
3. Highlight and desired waitlist reservation and choose Accept Res. to make
the reservation active.
4. Complete the reservation as normal and select OK to save.
NOTE: When you accept the reservation, a message prompts you to confirm
that you wish to make the reservation active. To ensure that accepting the
reservation does not violate inventory restrictions, OPERA automatically
checks for the conditions below:
• Overbooking restrictions and limits

• Booking into an already blocked or occupied room (which might
create a share)
• Deposit and Cancellation requirements attached to the rate or
reservation
• Completeness of reservation details (e.g., a valid rate code is selected)
• Rate Code restrictions
Cancel removes the highlighted waitlisted reservation from the database. A

message notifies you if cancellation rules exist for the rate or reservation.

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Reservation Options
Reservation Options offer a range of additional features for managing
reservations and guest requests. From within any RESERVATION screen, or
with a highlighted record on the RESERVATION SEARCH screen, select
Options to display the screen below:
Accompany-ing Accompanying is a simple way to add an additional name to a reservation. If

multiple persons on a reservation do not require a confirmation number or will
Guest not be paying for part of the stay, using the Accompanying option is the
simplest choice.
To add an accompanying guest to a reservation, follow the steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Accompanying.

2. Search for an existing profile from the PROFILE SEARCH screen or
create a New one.
3. Select OK to choose the profile.

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4. To add more Accompanying guests, select Attach.
5. To remove a name as an Accompanying guest, select Detach.
Add-On To make a copy or duplicate of a reservation, use Add On. Add On creates
new reservations with their own confirmation number, yet copy all the
Reservation reservation information for quick and easy duplicates.
(Copy)
Follow the steps below to make an Add On reservation:
1. From the Options menu, select Add On.
The ADD ON screen displays.

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2. Select or deselect the attributes of the existing reservation you want to copy
to the new reservation. All attributes copy by default unless you choose to
remove them.
3. Select OK to proceed.
The RESERVATION screen displays. The unsaved reservation does NOT
have a confirmation number yet.
NOTE: Copying a reservation attaches the second reservation to the original
profile. Should you need to make a name change on this reservation, follow
the instructions outlined in “Name Changes on a Reservation” section of this
chapter.
4. Make any applicable changes to the reservation and select OK to receive a
confirmation number.
NOTE: Once you select OK and Close out of the closing script, you return
to the original reservations (in the Options) and can repeat the Add On
process as necessary.
Agent/ The Agent/Company option is an alternate way to attach multiple profiles to

a reservation. To add a Travel Agent, Company, Source, or Group profile to
Company an existing reservation, follow the steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Agent/Company.
The PROFILE LINKAGE screen displays.

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2. To add a Company profile, click on the drop down arrow next to the
Company field.
3. To add a Travel Agent profile, click on the drop down arrow next to the
Agent field.
4. To add a Source or Group profile, click on the drop down arrow next to
the Source or Group fields.
5. Using the PROFILE SEARCH screen, search for and highlight the
desired profile(s), and select OK.
6. Once you return to the PROFILE LINKAGE screen, select OK to save
and return to the RESERVATION OPTIONS screen.
Alerts Alerts attached to reservations create pop-up windows that alert the user each
time you access the reservation. Most commonly, Alerts signal an action
needed on a reservation at a particular time in the life cycle of a reservation.
Alerts display in different locations depending on the action (i.e. check-in,
check out, etc.)
Follow the steps below to add an Alert to a reservation:
1. From the Options menu, select Alerts.

2. Select New.
The ALERT INPUT screen displays.

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3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Code field.
4. Highlight the appropriate pre-defined Alert Code and select OK.
5. Click on the drop down arrow next to the Area field.
6. Highlight and select the appropriate area to alert this reservation. For
example, if the alert is to verify an ID for a qualifying rate at check-in,
select “Check In.”
• Check In: Alert displays when you access the reservation in Front
Desk > Arrivals
• Check Out: Alert displays when you access the reservation at
departure in Cashiering > Billing
• Reservation: Alert displays when you access the reservation in
Reservations > Update Reservations
7. Enter any additional information needed for the Alert in the Description
box and select OK to save.
Billing The Billing option allows easy access to the guest folio from the reservation or
in-house guests screens. Billing is only active on guests in-house and not as an
active reservation since no folio exists until check in occurs. Selecting this
option on an in-house guest directs you to their folio as seen in Cashiering >
Billing.
If your hotel has the parameter set to allow Pre-Stay Charging, on the day of
the guest arrival, the Billing option is available.
Caller Info The CALL HISTORY screen displays information about phone calls received
by the Central Reservation Office to set up and make changes to reservations
cross-sold at the central level.
Cancel The Cancel option cancels the reservation. For more information on canceling
reservations, refer to the “Cancel a Reservation” section of this chapter.

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Changes The Changes feature is particularly useful for investigating reservation
discrepancies and determining a course of action for guest service-related
reservation complaints. The Changes option displays all recorded history for
a reservation. Beginning with a history of the origin date of the reservation,
any changes, updates, or edits to reservations log an entry in the CHANGES
screen.
To access the record history on a reservation:
1. From the Options menu, select Changes.
The USER ACTIVITY LOG screen displays:
Below are the definitions of each column (also known as the CHANGES
screen):
• User: the user name that conducted the action on the reservation
• Time/Date: time and date the action took place on the reservation
• Station ID: workstation the change occurred from
• Action Type: the type of change made on the reservation
• Description: a detailed description of the change that took place
including specifics on what changed (from and to)
2. Double-click any line item in the log to view more details or to view full
details of the description.
3. Select Close to exit.

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Confirmation The Confirmation option sends confirmation letters to the guest for their
reservation upon request. There are three different ways to deliver
confirmations: printing and mailing, emailing, and faxing. Each hotel may also
have more than one confirmation letter type to select from when accessing this
option.
NOTE: Email and Fax delivery options require special configuration and/or
alternative software.
NOTE: All hotels have at least one general confirmation letter type and
require the assistance of OPERA PMS Support to create multiple confirmation
letter types.
To print a confirmation letter to mail to a guest:
1. From the Options menu, select Confirmation.
The CONFIRMATIONS screen displays.

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2. Place an “X” in the Print column on the row for the guest to whom you
would like to mail the confirmation. If multiple profiles or guests exist in
the reservation, be certain to select the Individual profile of the guest to
whom you are delivering the confirmation.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the field labeled Conf. Name on the
line for the recipient guest.
4. Highlight the Confirmation Letter Name you would prefer to deliver and
select OK.
5. If no address exists on the profile, click the drop down arrow next to the
Address field to add an address.
6. If emailing or faxing a confirmation, ensure either an email address or fax
number exists in the fields in the Email and Fax columns. If no email
addresses or fax numbers exist, click the drop down arrow next to each
field to add one.
7. Select Send.
NOTE: The Status column displays the status of the confirmation letter. A
“Pending” status indicates the confirmation letter has not printed, emailed, or
faxed. A “Successful” status indicates the confirmation letter delivered to the
guest.
8. To preview the confirmation letter to your screen, select Preview.
9. To save the confirmation letter to file on your computer, select File.
NOTE: Confirmation letters previewed or saved to file open and save as
Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files. In addition, when emailing a
confirmation, the new message created through the email program attaches the
confirmation letter to the message as a PDF attachment.
Credit Cards The Credit Cards feature applies only to guests paying with credit card after
they have checked into the hotel. This feature allows the user to obtain
additional authorization on a card as well as to view authorization history for
each payment method. For more information on credit cards and
authorization, refer to the “Front Desk” chapter of this manual.
Delete Do not use this option as it permanently deletes reservations from the
database. This option is only available during a manual reservation entry at
time of install.
Deposit/CXL The Deposit option enters requests on reservations made for rate options that
require an advance deposit. You may apply a deposit of any amount to any
reservation at anytime. Not only does this screen allow you to set the request
to collect the deposit, it also allows you to post the deposit once received.
The second tab of the DEPOSIT CANCELLATION screen allows you to
manage reservations made for rate options with cancellation rules.

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To enter a deposit request on a reservation, follow the steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Deposit/CXL.

2. Select Deposit Tab, and then New.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Deposit Rule field to enter a pre-
defined deposit rule (i.e. 100% of guest stay, or 1st night’s room and tax).
4. Depending on the deposit rule for the reservation, enter either the
Percentage or the Deposit Amount you request for the reservation.
5. Enter the Due Date you require the funds to be collected and applied to
the reservation.
6. Select OK to save

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To post a received deposit on a reservation:
1. From the DEPOSIT CANCELLATION screen, select Payment.

The CASHIER LOGIN screen displays.
2. Enter your Password and select OK.
3. Complete the RESERVATION DEPOSIT PAYMENT screen (be
certain to change the Reservation Type field to “Deposit Received”) and
select OK.
A message displays asking if you would like to update the reservation with the
new payment method.
4. Answer “Yes” to update the reservation with the deposit payment type (i.e.
Check). Answer “No” to leave the deposit payment type as the original on
the reservation.
5. To print a receipt for the deposit, select Print Receipt.
Facility The Facility Scheduler feature primarily exists for extended-stay properties to
schedule “light-touch” service for long-term guests. Presented in a calendar
Scheduler format, the Facility Scheduler provides you with a visual reference for the
frequency of the facility tasks (i.e. housekeeping service) pertaining to a
reservation. The dates marked with blue represent dates on which there can be
a scheduled housekeeping task assigned.

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• Instructions add special directions that appear on the Housekeeping
Task Sheet for this room.
• Customize/Edit can be used to change the Housekeeping schedule
for the reservation once the guest has checked in. For more
information on establishing a custom Housekeeping schedule, refer to
the “Front Desk” chapter of this manual.
• Details display all tasks and their associated codes for the highlighted
date. You can also access details by double-clicking in the middle of
any date box.
Fixed Charges Fixed charges allow charges to post automatically in each reservation through
the Night Audit process along with room and tax. Examples of Fixed Charges
that post every night are rollaway beds and parking charges.
To add Fixed Charges to reservations or in-house guests, follow the steps

below:
1. From the Options menu, select Fixed Charges.
2. Select New.
The FIXED CHARGES NEW screen displays.

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3. Choose the frequency to post the fixed charge (i.e. Once, Daily, Weekly,
etc.).
4. If the fixed charge does not apply to all nights of the guest stay, enter a
Begin Date and End Date for the charge. If the fixed charge only applies
once, enter the Date.
5. Click the drop down arrow next to the Trn. Code field.
6. Search for and highlight the appropriate Transaction Code to post. Select
OK.
7. Enter the price for the fixed charge in the Amount field.
8. Enter the quantity of the fixed charge in the Quantity field (i.e. If there are
two cars being charged for parking, enter a quantity of “2” and the fixed
charge posts twice for the parking charge).
9. Enter a Supplement to describe the purpose of the fixed charge (i.e. room
charge manual – extra bed).
10. Select OK to save and exit.
History To view past reservation history on the profile associated with this reservation,
select the History option. For full instructions on viewing and manipulating
history information, refer to the “History” section of the Profiles chapter in
this manual.
Housekeeping The Housekeeping option allows guest preferences on turndown service or

requests service times for room service. Additionally, any notes that
Housekeeping might need for this guest apply using this option and display on
the department’s Task Assignment sheets.
To request turndown service for a guest at a particular time with special

instructions, follow these steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Housekeeping.
The HOUSEKEEPING screen displays.

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2. Check the box next to the Turndown field.
3. Type any additional instructions for Housekeeping in the Room
Instructions field.
NOTE: Turndown entries are not visible on the usual task sheets; however,
they are visible when printing task sheets from the turndown menu in
Housekeeping.
Locators Locators allow the Front Desk to determine the location of an in-house guest
at any time during their stay. One advantage to this feature is that if the guest
receives a call while not in their room (but in some other location in the hotel),
the PBX Operator can see the locator lamp indicated on their room number.
The operator may then transfer the call to that facility (i.e. the guest is in the
restaurant and would like all calls sent directly to that outlet so he does not
miss an important phone call).
To attach a Locator to an in-house guest reservation, follow the steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Locator.

2. Select New to display the LOCATORS – NEW screen.
3. Enter the Begin Date and End Date for the location change.
4. Enter the From Time and To Time for the location change.
NOTE: The From Time and To Time must be greater than the operating
system’s time.
5. Enter any additional information about the guest’s location in the

Location Text field.
6. Select OK to save the Locator.

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Messages The Message option allows the user to enter a text message for an arriving
guest.
Use the steps below to create a message:
1. From the Options menu, select Messages.
The MESSAGES screen displays. Any existing messages for the incoming
guest list here.
2. Select New to create a new message.
The NEW MESSAGE screen displays.
3. Enter the Name, First Name, Title, and Company Name and Phone
No. of the caller.
4. Enter the message in the white text box.
5. Select OK to send the message.
This message lists on the MESSAGES screen for the guest.
6. To print the message for the guests to hand deliver, select Print.
NOTE: Depending on the telephone system at your hotel, a message lamp

may active on the guest room telephone if the guest is already in-house. In
addition, depending on the television interface, the message might display on
the TV screen in the room.

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Package Option The PACKAGE OPTION screen lists full details of package elements that
apply to reservations booked for a hotel-inclusive package. This feature is
useful in determining the contents of a package a guest reserved. In addition, if
package elements exist on a reservation with allowances or advanced package
features (i.e. Restaurant Charges or Gift Shop Allowances), this display shows
real-time charges consumed that post through interfaces and any shortages or
overages on the package. For more information on packages, refer to the
“Packages” chapter of this manual.
Party The Party option has several useful features to connect guests that wish to
identify themselves as a group without a formal group contract. This feature
allows you to add guests to a party, split multi-room reservations into
individual reservations within the party, as well as detaching guests from a
party.
To split a multi-room reservation into separate reservations for a party follow

the steps below:
1. From the Options menus, select Party.
2. Select Split to divide the highlighted reservation and create one additional
reservation attached to this party. (You may repeat the split action until all
rooms in the original reservation split into individuals.)
3. Select Split All to divide the highlighted reservation and create one
additional reservation for every room attached to the original reservation.
For example, if the highlighted reservation is for 3 rooms, this divides the
reservation into 3 separate reservations.

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To attach or add a reservation to an existing party, follow the steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Party.
2. Select Add to Party.
3. Search for and highlight the existing reservation you would like to add to
this party and select OK.
The reservation now belongs to the party.
To detach a reservation from an existing party, follow the steps bellows:
2. Highlight the reservation you wish to remove from the party, and select
Detach.
3. Answer “Yes” to detach the reservation from the party and select OK to
save.
The reservation no longer belongs to the existing party.
To change the party a reservation belongs to (from one party to another),
follow the steps below:
2. Highlight the reservation you wish to change parties, and select Chg.
Party.
3. Search for and select the primary reservation that you wish to change the
association to and select OK.
4. Answer “Yes” to move the existing reservation to another party.
The reservation now belongs to another party.

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Privileges Use the Privileges feature to place restrictions or allow certain privileges on
each reservation. Checking or un-checking any of the privilege options
changes the guests authority for certain in-house services.
The options to choose from are as follows:
• No Post prevents any postings from being charged or applying to the

folio other than room and tax charges.
• Authorize Direct Bill authorizes the reservation for direct billing to an
AR account.
• Video Check Out indicates the guest ability to use the video check out
method. Whether or not video check out is allowed for the guest may
depend on whether the guest has provided a credit card method of
payment and whether property policy permits.
• Pre-Stay Charging – authorizes charges to the account prior to the
guest arrival (i.e. lunch in the restaurant before checking into the hotel)
• Post-Stay Charging – authorizes charges to the account after the
guest’s departure (i.e. breakfast in the restaurant after departing the
hotel)
• Scheduled Check Out – allows the reservation to be slated for a
scheduled check out time (only if the property used Scheduled Check
Out feature)

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Pro-Forma Folio The Pro-Forma Folio option produces a folio with estimated charges for the
entire length of the guest stay. The actual folio upon departure could greatly
differ from the pro forma folio.
The FOLIO OPTIONS screen allows you to specify customizing options
when you are printing or previewing a folio or folios.
Folio Style allows you to select the style in which you wish to print and display
the selected folio.
Preview displays the selected folio on screen. Once the folio displays, you may
print the folio from the preview screen.
Print prints the selected folio.
File generates a PDF file that you can display to the screen or save locally or to
the network drive.
NOTE: For more information on printing Pro-Form Folios, refer to the
“Front Desk” chapter of this manual.

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Queue The Queue option allows you to place an arriving reservation into a queue for
room availability. When a guest with a reservation arrives, and there are no
rooms clean or inspected to check them in, this feature prioritizes handling
those arrivals. Reservations placed on queue can be pre-assigned to a room
number, or may be queued with no room assignment.
To place a reservation on queue, follow the steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Queue.
2. Select OK to save the reservation into the queue.
NOTE: A message displays indicating the reservation is in queue and at what
priority (i.e. 3rd on the list).
For more information on Queue reservations, refer to the “Front Desk”
chapter of this manual.
Rate Info The Rate Info option displays all room rates and a package summary,
including taxes, for each night of the guest stay. This is particularly useful
when guests have rate changes during their stay. In addition, the totals for
room and tax for all nights of the guest stay display in the Grand Total field
on the RATE SUMMARY screen.
To view details for a particular room night (room charges, taxes, and any
package elements posting), highlight one night of the guest stay and select the
Details option in RATE SUMMARY screen.
Register Card The Register Card feature pre-prints a registration card for the reservation.
This option is useful to pre-print the registration card prior to the guest’s
arrival. In addition, if the original registration card becomes lost or missing, it
is useful to generate a new registration card.
For more information on printing registration cards, refer to the “Front Desk”

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Room Move The Room Move option moves a guest from one room to another after the
guest is in-house. This is only available from the Front Desk when a guest
already occupies a room.
Follow the steps below to room move a reservation:
1. From the Options menu, select Room Move.
2. Click the drop down arrow next to the Move to Room field.
The AVAILABLE ROOMS SEARCH screen displays
3. Locate a room for the guest using any search criteria. Highlight the desired
room and select OK.
You return to the ROOM MOVE screen.
4. Select OK with the new room number selected to save changes.

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A prompt appears to update the Housekeeping status on the first room.
5. Select the appropriate room status.
• Inspected/Clean: used if the guest has not arrived and the room
has not been entered
• Pickup: used if the guest only briefly accessed the room or you are
unsure of the correct status of the room.
• Dirty: used if the guest occupied the room for any period of time
and requires attention by the Housekeeping department
Routing The Routing option allows automatic charge routing of any type of charge
transactions. Routing applies to reservations at any time (before or after
arrival). Most commonly, Routing applies to charges directly billed to a
company’s AR account with the hotel.
There are 2 types of charge routing. Window routing automatically routes
charges from one folio to another folio within the same guest’s bill. Room
routing automatically routes charges to a different guest room and folio.

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WINDOW ROUTING:
To setup charge Routing from one folio to another within the same guest
room, follow the steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Routing.
2. Select New.
The ROUTING INSTRUCTIONS – NEW screen displays.

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3. Select the Window radio button at the top of the screen.
4. Choose either the Entire Stay or the Other Dates radio button in the
center of the screen. If you select Other Dates, enter the date in the
Begin Date and End Date fields.
5. The guest name displays in the Name field. If the charges belong to that
guest, leave the default name.
6. If the charges belong to another name (i.e. Company profile with an AR
number) for direct billing, click the drop down arrow next to the Name
field.
7. Search for and highlight the desired profile to own the alternate folio in the
PROFILE SEARCH screen and select OK to save.
8. Click the drop down arrow next to the Transactions field.
9. To select individual transaction codes to route to another folio, scroll down

the list of codes and place an “X” next to each code to route.
10. Select Add to move the transactions to the bottom of the screen and select
OK to exit.
11. To select pre-defined Routing Codes (with all applicable transaction codes
attached), uncheck the Transactions check box in the search criteria at the
top of the screen, yet leave the Routing option checked (for pre-defined
routing codes like Room + Tax)

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12. Place an “X” next to the desired Routing Code and select Add to move
the attached transaction to the bottom of the screen.
13. Select OK to exit.
14. Click the drop down arrow next to the Window field to indicate the folio
window to route charges.
16. Select Close to exit Routing.
ROOM ROUTING:
To setup charge Routing from one room to another, follow the steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Routing.
2. Select New.

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The ROUTING INSTRUCTIONS – NEW screen displays.
3. Select the Room radio button at the top of the screen.

4. Choose either the Entire Stay or the Other Dates radio button in the
center of the screen. If you select Other Dates, enter the date in the
Begin Date and End Date fields.
5. Click the drop down arrow next to the Route to Room field.
6. Search for the room to route charges to using the Name or Room fields in
the search criteria.
7. Highlight the desired room and select OK.
8. Click the drop down arrow next to the Transactions field.
9. Select either individual transactions or pre-defined routing codes to route
as learned in the first part of this section.
10. Select OK to exit.
12. Select Close to exit Routing.
NOTE: If you setup Routing on folios or guest rooms after charges have
already posted to the master folio, those charges do not automatically move or
refresh to the new instructions. You must manually mark each charge on the
folio and transfer them, as necessary, to the appropriate folios.

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Shares Two or more guests commonly share the same room and have separate folios.
When creating a share, there are two possible scenarios:
• Combining two existing reservations into one
• Creating shares for one reservation with multiple profile names
The Shares feature allows you to accommodate both situations.
RESERVATION SHARE:
Follow the steps below to recreate a reservation share:
1. From the Options menu, select Shares.

The SHARE screen displays.
2. Select Combine.

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3. Select the Reservation radio button at the top of the screen.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Name field.
5. Search for the existing reservation by Name or Room and select OK.
6. Select OK to save and return to the SHARE screen.

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PROFILE SHARE:
Follow the steps below to create a share by adding another name:
2. Select Combine.
3. Select the Profile radio button at the top of the screen.

4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Name field.
5. Use the PROFILE SEARCH screen to search for and highlight the
profile name to share, and then select OK.
6. Update the number of Adults and Children.
7. If the second guest is to use a different form of payment than the first,
update the Payment, Credit Card No. and Exp. Date fields.

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After either performing a Reservation Share or Profile Share, continue by
determining how to share the rate. There are three options for assigning rates
to sharing guests:
• Entire – Highlight the reservation to carry the entire rate and select this
option. This assigns a zero rate to every other share on the reservation.
• Split – Divides the rate evenly between the reservations.
• Full – Assigns the full rate to both reservations.
NOTE: These options are not available for shared reservations with different
Rate Codes.
9. Select OK to save the share and return to the reservation.

BREAK SHARE:
From the RESERVATION SHARE screen, you can break a share into
individual reservations not occupying the same room.
To split an existing share, follow the steps below:

2. Highlight the primary reservation and select Break Shr.
This function splits the one, shared reservation into two separate reservations
and generates a new confirmation number for the broken share.

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Traces Traces are internal, interdepartmental messages that serve as reminders for
other employees. Traces assist the hotel in taking actions on a special guest
requests.
Follow these steps to enter a trace on a reservation for a fellow employee:
1. From the Options menu, select Traces and New.
The TRACES – NEW screen displays.
2. Select the From Date and To Date for the trace to appear on reports.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Dept Code field to choose the
department(s) to send the trace.
4. Select one of the pre-defined Trace Texts, if applicable, by clicking on the
ellipsis box on the right side of the screen.
5. Type any additional trace information in the white Trace Text box, if
necessary.
To resolve a Trace sent by another department, follow the steps below:
1. From the Options menu, select Traces.
The TRACES screen displays
2. To resolve a particular trace, highlight the applicable trace and select

Resolve.
3. To resolve all traces on a reservation, select the All option to mark all
traces and then select Resolve.

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Track It The Track It option displays the TRACK IT DASHBOARD screen, which
houses the most-used features of Track It module (a valet/bell stand
management module). Extensive search criteria help you locate the ticket
numbers for baggage and parcels for arriving guests from the valet or bell
stand. In addition, you can create and edit tickets, associate or un-associate
reservations with tickets, and access reservation details and options.
Below are some of the options within Track It for your use:
• Search produces a list of Track It tickets that match your search

criteria
• Advanced provides addition search options
• Phone Book displays the Telephone Book screen for looking up
phone numbers and Web addresses
• Report prepares and prints a copy of the search results grid entries
currently displaying on the screen
• History displays the TRACK IT HISTORY screen for the ticket
currently displayed in the Track It Details area; a log of all activities
related to the ticket, from most recent to earliest
• Save saves your ticket information.
• Cancel removes the highlighted Track It ticket record from Track It
monitoring. It is un attached from the reservation (if it was attached to
a reservation) and is no longer accessed via search.
• New creates a new Track It ticket.
• Detach un-attaches the reservation from the Track It ticket currently
displayed in the Track It Details area.
• Options displays the Reservation Options screen for the reservation
attached to the Track It ticket currently displayed in the Track It
Details area
• Attach attaches a reservation to the Track It ticket currently displayed
in the Track It Details area
For more information on the Track It feature, refer to the “Miscellaneous”

Waitlist The Waitlist option allows you to place a reservation into a waitlist status in
the event that no rooms are available at the hotel.
For more information on waitlist reservations, refer to the “Waitlist a
Reservation” section of this chapter.
Wake Up Calls The Wake Up Calls option allows you to place and manage manual wake up
requests from guests in house.
For more information on wake up calls for in-house guests, refer to the “Wake
Up Calls” section of the Front Desk chapter in this manual.

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Additional Reservation Features
Room Plan The Room Plan is useful to organize pre-blocked rooms to maximize hotel
availability. In the Room Plan, all in-house and pre-blocked rooms display in a
calendar function to view a week at a time. Use this feature to move pre-
blocked reservations to arrive in rooms expected to depart.
To use the Room Plan to pre-block arriving reservations, follow the steps
below:
1. From the main menu, select Reservation and Room Plan.
The ROOM PLAN screen displays.

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A number of features in the Room Plan make making reservation management
easier.
• New/Edit: Create a new reservation by highlighting an empty cell

within the Room Plan and selecting New. Alternately, highlight an
existing guest reservation and choose Edit to update the reservation.
• Room Block: accesses the ROOM BLOCKING screen for auto-
assignment of room allotments. Refer to the “Front Desk” chapter of
this manual for more information on Room Blocking.
• Options: allows access to Reservation Options discussed earlier in this
chapter.
• OOO/OOS: places the room in either Out of Order or Out of Service
status
• Check in: accesses the QUICK CHECK IN screen for speedy check
in of reservations. The arrival date must be the current date.
• Calendar: accesses the Property Calendar for details on events and
hotel activities.
2. To move pre-blocked reservations from one room assignment to another,

simply search for the existing reservation, and using your mouse, click and
drag the reservation to the desired room number.
Floor Plan The Floor Plan feature is a visual display of all rooms in the hotel in relation
to each other, floor by floor. You may also view the current Housekeeping
status of every room (i.e. Occupied, Vacant, and Due to Arrive or Due to
Depart).
To view the Floor Plan, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Reservations and Floor Plan.

2. Highlight the desired floor and select View.

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The FLOOR PLAN screen displays.
The Housekeeping and Front Office statuses of the rooms on the selected
floor appear in a legend at the bottom of the screen. The rooms within the
display reflect the colors associated with each status.
3. Double clicking on any room with an Occupied or Expected Arrival

displays the reservation.
Batch Confirmation Letters can be printed, faxed, or emailed immediately upon

making a reservation, as seen earlier in this chapter. Alternatively, a hotel can
Confirmations choose to pre-set confirmation letters for batch printing later. To email or fax
a confirmation letter directly from OPERA PMS requires a working email or
fax interface. We covered Individual confirmation letter printing earlier in
Reservations Options.
In this section, we explain the batch confirmation function. To print batch

confirmations, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Reservations and Confirmation.

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The CONFIRMATION LETTERS TO BE SENT screen displays.

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The default view of this screen displays all reservations not yet checked in.
2. To see only those reservations with confirmation letters pending, it is

important to check the box in the center of the screen labeled Pending
Only. This displays all confirmation letters marked for batch sending.
3. Use any of the below options to batch confirmations:
• Print All: To select all confirmations letters that have been pre-set
to print, select this option. Once marked, select Send and all
confirmation letters print.
• Print None: To unselect all confirmation letters for print, select
this option. All selected printed confirmation letters unmark for
printing.
• Fax All: To select all confirmation letters that have been pre-set to
fax, select this option. Once marked, select Send. All
confirmation letters fax to their attached fax numbers. A working
fax interface is required for this feature.
• Fax None: To unselect all confirmation letters for fax, select this
option. All selected fax confirmation letters are unmarked.
• Email All: To select all confirmation letters that have been pre-set
to email, select this option. Once marked, select Send. All
confirmation letters email to their attached email addresses. A
working email interface is required for this feature.
• Email None: To unselect all confirmation letters for email, select
this option. All selected email confirmation letters are unmarked.
• Attach: To attach a confirmation letter to any reservation or
update the confirmation letter for a reservation, select Attach. The
CONFIRMATION LETTER screen for the highlighted
reservation displays. See the Reservations Options section for a
detailed explanation on using this screen.
4. Once all confirmation letters to send are marked, select Send to produce or
deliver the letters. Confirmation letters print for postal mailing, fax
confirmation letters send to the guest’s fax number, and email confirmation
letters email as Adobe Acrobat attachments on the guest’s email address.
Calendar The Calendar option displays the hotel’s general availability by month. To
move from month to month, select the month you desire at the top of the
calendar. This screen most often displays overall hotel availability for weeks at
a time, and furnishes information about events and sells strategies for the hotel.

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Some feature of the Calendar are:
• Total rooms available for each night of the month display in the upper
right-hand corner of each date on the calendar.
• The hotel’s defined weekend displays on the calendar in an alternate
color (i.e. Saturday and Sunday)
• Select the Legend to view a color legend of the calendar.
• Select Edit to view/modify/update Events and Day Types (sell
strategies) for the hotel on any given date

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Chapter 4 – Front Desk

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Arrivals and Check In
Searching The Arrivals function is the gateway to checking in guests with or without
reservations. You can search for incoming guests via a number of customizable
for Arrivals criteria, check them in, or perform a walk in.
To search for arriving guests, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk.

2. Select Arrivals.
The ARRIVALS screen displays.
The top portion of the screen provides a variety of fields to narrow your search
for the arriving guest. The bottom portion of the screen displays reservations and
search results in the grid.
3. Enter the search information into the appropriate fields. Select Advanced to
produce more search options. Use the Clear feature to remove all search
options and begin a new search.

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NOTE: Commons fields used in searching for arriving guests are the Name,
CRS No/TA Rec Loc, and Conf. No.)
4. Select Search to display results.

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With a reservation highlighted, various function buttons become available. Below
are the addition features and functions on this screen:
• Lamps in the lower part of the screen alert you when the reservation has
preferences, deposit or cancellation requirements, shares, profile notes,
reservation comments, routing, or other features associated with it.
• Check In offers a quick check-in of the highlighted reservation. Refer to
the “Checking In a Guest” section of this chapter for more instructions.
• Cancel removes the reservation of an expected arrival (the reservation is
no longer displayed on the Arrivals dialog box and the reservation status
changes to Cancelled). You can cancel an expected reservation if the guest
has not made a deposit to guarantee the reservation, if the reservation is a
duplicate, or if the guest informed the property that they would not arrive.
Canceling a reservation releases the room back to availability.
NOTE: If the guest has made a deposit, you cannot cancel the reservation with
this option. You must refund a deposit through the Cashiering module.
• Reinstate returns a canceled reservation to reserved status.

• Reg. Card prints a registration card for the highlighted guest. The default
registration card is automatically selected. If no default card exists, the
Registration Card screen prompts the user to select a registration card
from the Registration Cards reports group.
• Profile displays the profile screen for the selected reservation.
• Options display the Reservation Options dialog box without displaying
the full reservation.
• Edit displays the Reservation screen for the selected reservation.

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Checking In Follow the steps below to check in a guest:
a Guest 1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Arrivals.
2. Search for and highlight the arriving guest.
3. Select Edit if the guests’ accommodation needs to change in any way
(additional nights requested or a change in room type. Otherwise, select
Check In.
The PAYMENT METHOD screen appears
A Room number automatically assigns for the room type reserved. If no rooms
are available, the Room field is blank.
4. To change the room number assigned, or to search for an alternate room, click
the drop down arrow next to the Room field.
5. Search for and highlight an available room (clean or inspected), and select OK
to return.

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The Method of Payment defaults from the reservation. Whether the presented
method of payment is the same or needs to change, swipe the credit card at this
point for accuracy purposes. If the card is not available to swipe, manually enter
the card or payment details.
6. Click the drop down arrow next to the Method of Payment field to select the
form of payment. Alternately, if there are multiple forms of payment (i.e. a
credit card for room and tax and one for incidentals), select the ellipsis button
next to this field.
7. Enter the Credit Card No. and Expiration Date.
9. Answer Yes or No to print the registration card. This depends on your

hotel’s procedure for registration cards.
A message displays confirmation the successful check in.
10. Select OK to complete.

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Checking In Guests that arrive without reservations are walk-in guests. To perform a Walk-In,
a Walk-In
Guest 1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Arrivals.
2. Select Walk In.
The RATE QUERY screen displays.

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3. Complete the Rate Query screen and select OK.
The RESERVATION screen displays.
4. Complete all fields as outlined in the Reservations chapter of this manual.
NOTE: Choose “Walk In” as the Source.

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5. Select OK to save the check in.
NOTE: It is very important that you select OK while performing a walk-in. If

you select Save, OPERA only saves the reservation but does not move forward
with the check in.
A confirmation message displays reading, “Check In [Guest Name]?”
6. Answer Yes.
The PAYMENT METHOD screen displays.
7. Confirm the payment information or change it as needed. Remember to swipe

the credit card if applicable.
A message displays asking to print a registration card.
9. Answer Yes or No to print a registration card.
A message displays to confirm the successfully check-in.

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Queue Reservations
Placing an The Queue feature helps your hotel to manage guest arrivals before their room is
available for assignment. Reservations put on queue go into a priority list for
Arrival into Housekeeping to attend to first. Coordinated Front Desk and Housekeeping
Queue operations help to better service guests and prioritize assigning them clean rooms
upon arrival.
A reservation does not necessarily have to have a room number assigned to be in

the queue. You may place a room reservation on queue without pre-assigning a
room number. As soon as a room is available for the particular reserved room
type, you may assign a clean/inspected room and complete the check-in.
To place an arriving reservation into the Queue, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Arrivals.

2. Once you locate the guest reservation, highlight the record and select
Options.

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3. Select Queue.
A message prompts to place the reservation on Queue.
4. Answer Yes.
A confirmation screen displays indicating the guests’ status in the Queue.

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Managing Once a reservation is in the queue, the Front Desk can manage the queue by
following the step below:
the Queue
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Queue Reservations.
The QUEUE RESERVATIONS screen displays.
Reservations already placed in queue display on this screen in priority order. Click
on any column header to resort the display. Note the Q-Time and Room Status
columns.
2. If a reservation is ready to check-in and the room is available, highlight the

reservation and select Check In. Continue the process to check in the
reservation as outlined earlier in this chapter.
3. To alter a reservations place in the queue, highlight the record and select
Priority to move the reservation to the top of the queue.
Additional features within the QUEUE RESERVATIONS screen are as

follows:
• Resv. display the reservation record for the highlighted reservation.

• Details display the ROOM EDITS screen for the guest's room when
there is an assigned room number to the guest.
• Statistics displays a detailed view of the current reservations in queue.
• Report prepares and prints the Queue Reservations report.

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In House Guests
Searching The IN HOUSE GUESTS screen allows you to view and modify reservation
information and/or profiles of in-house guests. This feature is identical to the
for In-House RESERVATION SEARCH screen, except that reservation statuses do not list
Guests on this screen (since the guests are in-house).
To search for an in-house guest, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and In-House Guests.
2. Enter in the desired search information (i.e. Name, Room No., etc). Select
Advanced for additional search criteria options.
3. Select Search.
Search results display in the grid at the bottom of the IH HOUSE GUESTS
screen.
Editing In- It may be necessary to modify a guests’ stay information after the guest has
checked in. For example, when a guest wishes to extend their stay, editing the in-
House Guest house record is required.
Records
To modify an in-house guest reservation, follow the steps below:

2. Enter search criteria (i.e. Name, Room No., etc.) and select Search.
3. Highlight the record and either double-click it or select Edit.

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The RESERVATION screen display for that guest.
4. Make any applicable modifications to the in-house record and select OK to

save changes.

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Canceling a From time to time, there may be a need to return a guest’s reservation status
from checked in to reserved. For example, if you accidentally checked in an
Check-In incorrect reservation, it may be necessary to cancel that check-in.
NOTE: Canceling a check in can only happen on the day of arrival while no
charges exist on the guest folio. In addition, canceling a check-in does NOT
cancel the reservation – the record only returns to a Due-In status.
To cancel a checked in reservation, follow the steps below:

2. Enter search criteria (i.e. Name, Room No., etc.) and select Search.
3. Highlight the incorrectly checked in reservation record.
4. Select Cancel C/I.

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A message displays asking if you indeed would like to cancel this check in.
5. Answer Yes.
A message displays asking if you would like to block the room.
6. Answer Yes to leave the room number pre-blocked on the arriving

reservation. Answer No to return the reservation to a due-in status, without
having a room number pre-assigned.

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Additional Front Desk Features
Accounts – Posting Masters are reservations and folios that exist only for billing purposes.
Another name for a Posting Master (PM) is a House Account. Posting Masters
Posting commonly exist for Banquet charges and internal financial purposes. The
Masters Accounts feature is a simple way to check in Posting Masters or House
Accounts.
To use the Accounts function, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Accounts.
The ACCOUNTS screen displays.
2. Enter the profile Name used to create the posting master or the last name of
a guest. Select the ellipsis button next to this field to access the PROFILE
SEARCH screen for locating existing company or guest profiles.
3. Enter the First Name of the guest if the PM is for an individual rather than a
company or group.
4. Enter the Date From and Date To for the arrival and departure date of the
PM account.
5. Enter the “PM” Room Type for posting master. Click the drop down arrow
to select the PM room type or simply type “PM” in the field.

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NOTE: Your hotel may have several different types of Posting Master room
types. If this is the case, select the room type that best serves the intended
purpose of the reservation. For example, if creating the reservation for a Banquet
Charge, the hotel may have a room type called PB (Posting Banquets).
6. Click the down arrow next to the Room field to select any available room
number from the AVAILABLE ROOMS SEARCH screen. Most PM
room numbers are in the 9000 series (i.e. 9001, 9002, etc.).
7. Enter the Rate Code defined by your hotel for PM accounts (i.e. HOUSE).
8. Enter the Market Code defined by your hotel for PM accounts (i.e.
H=House Use).
9. Enter the appropriate Source Doe defined by your hotel for PM accounts
(i.e. HU=House Use).
10. Select OK to complete the account.
If the Date From date for the Posting Master is the current business date, a
message displays asking if you would like to check in the guest.
11. Answer “Yes” to check in the PM account.
Room The Room Assignment feature offers a variety of useful functions, allowing you
to easily pre-block rooms for your arriving guests and speed up the check in
Assignment process at the desk when working with large group check ins. If there are a large
– Individual number of special room type requests or VIP arrivals, pre-blocking rooms can
help eliminate last minute rushing to prepare rooms for their arrival.

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To individually pre-assign room numbers to incoming guests, follow the steps
below:
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Room Assignment.
The ROOM ASSIGNMENT screen displays.
NOTE: This screen only displays reservations that do not have a room number
assigned.
2. Enter the search criteria desired for the arriving guests to pre-block.
3. Highlight the individual reservation you wish to pre-block and select Assign.
The Housekeeping ROOM ASSIGNMENT screen appears.
4. Highlight the desired room number and select OK.
The reservation pre-assigns to a room and removes from the display.

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Room There may be a need to have the system automatically assign rooms to guest. For
example, if it is your hotel’s policy to pre-assign all incoming VIP rooms, or all
Assignment members of a group, the Auto feature is the most practical way to assign rooms.
– Auto
To automatically assign rooms to a range of reservations, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Room Assignment.
2. Using the search criteria in the ROOM ASSIGNMENT screen, search for
the reservation that you want to assign rooms, such as a group or all
incoming smoking guests.
3. Select the Auto option.
NOTE: The Auto option automatically assigns rooms for any reservations
displayed in the main ROOM ASSIGNMENT screen. Searching for the
reservations prior to selecting Auto is strongly encouraged.

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The AUTOMATIC ROOM ASSIGNMENT screen displays.
4. Choose the Assign radio button at the top of the screen.

5. To assign certain room types or specific features (i.e. King Non-Smoking, 3rd
Floor, etc.) make the applicable selections on this screen (i.e. Room Type,
Smoking, Floor, etc.).
6. To vary the Housekeeping statuses in the assignment process, select the
check boxes to the right of the screen for Dirty Rooms, Clean Rooms, and
Inspected Rooms.
7. To use the preferences indicated on the guests’ profiles and reservations,
check the Use Associated Preferences feature.
8. When completed entering information, select Start.
As the system automatically assigns a room to each reservation, the in the Status
section of the screen shows the room number assigned to each. After completing
the automatic room assignment, the display counts the rooms assigned and
unassigned.
NOTE: If reservations fail to assign during this process, change the selection
criteria and attempt the automatic assignment again. Typically, reservations with
too many preferences or limited availability on clean/inspected rooms cause
reservation not to assign.

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Room To remove pre-blocked rooms from arriving reservations, follow the steps below:
Assignment 1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Room Assignment.
– Unassign 2. Select the Advanced search option and place a check mark in the Include
Assigned Res. box.
3. Search for the reservation(s) to unassign rooms and highlight the desired
record.
4. Select Unassign.
To remove a range of reservations with pre-blocked rooms, follow the steps

below:
1. Search for existing pre-assigned reservations using steps 1-3 above.

2. Select Auto to display the AUTOMATIC ROOM ASSIGNMENT screen.
3. At the top of the screen, select the Unassign radio button.
4. Input any search criteria to narrow the reservations affected (i.e. Group,
Arrival Date, etc.) and select Start.
All rooms that meet the criteria are no longer pre-blocked.

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Messages The Messages function enables you to send messages to individual guests,
groups of guests, and selected guests such as a Party or Block. The database
retains an unlimited number of messages for every guest, with functionality to
mark them as “Received” or “Not Received”, as well as the ability to print
messages on a standard message form. The database retains messages in the
system until you delete it or until the End of Day sequence (Night Audit)
following the recipient guest's check out.
All features explained in the “Reservations” chapter of this manual also apply in
the Messages function of the Front Desk. Typically, when leaving a message for
an individual, the Reservations Options is the most practical place to manage the
message for the guest. When managing messages for multiple guests, the
function within the Front Desk menu allows extended capabilities.

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CREATE A NEW MESSAGE
To enter a new message for a guest using the Front Desk > Messages feature,
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Messages.
The main MESSAGES screen displays.
2. Select New.
The SELECT GUESTS screen displays.
3. Input the Name or Room of the party to receive the message(s) and select
Search.
4. Place an “X” next to the guest and select OK.

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The NEW MESSAGE screen displays.
5. Enter the caller’s information and message as learned in the “Reservations”

6. Select OK to deliver the message.

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EDIT AN EXISTING MESSAGE:
To edit an existing message from within the SELECT GUESTS screen in the
Front Desk > Messages feature, follow the steps below:
1. Search for and highlight the guest with a message to edit. Select OK.
The main MESSAGES screen displays.
2. Highlight the message to alter and select Edit.
The EDIT MESSAGE screen appears.
3. Make any necessary changes to the caller information or message text.

If you sent this message to more than one guest, a message prompts you to save
the change for the current guest only or for all guests who received this message.
5. Select This Guest or All Guests, as appropriate.

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DELIVER MESSAGES:
When you relay a message to a guest, either verbally or via a printed message, the
message delivers to the guest and marks as received. This prevents accidentally
delivering the same message to guests more than once.
To deliver a message to a guest and mark the message received, follow the steps
below:
1. Select Front Desk and Messages.
2. Search for the party to receive the message(s).

3. Highlight the message and select Receive to indicate that you have given the
message to the guest. To marked multiple messages, place an “X” next to
each message (or choose All to mark all messages) and then select Receive.

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Traces – VIEWING DEPARTMENT TRACES:
Viewing and Traces are internal interdepartmental messages that serve as reminders for other
Resolving employees. Traces assist the hotel in taking actions on guests’ special requests.
For more information on entering traces directly on a reservation, refer to the
“Reservations” chapter of this manual.
Follow the steps below to view existing traces for your department:
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and Traces.
The TRACES screen appears.
2. Click the drop down arrow next to the Department field in the search
criteria and choose your department (i.e. Front Desk, Reservations,
Housekeeping, etc.)
3. Select OK to return to the TRACES screen.
4. Ensure the check box next to Unresolved is active to only few traces that
require action.
5. Select Search.
Traces for your department display in the results grid.
6. To view details or modify on an individual trace, select Edit.
The TRACES – EDIT screen displays.
7. Make any applicable modifications and select OK to save changes.

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RESOLVING EXISTING TRACES:
To resolve an existing trace on a reservation or multiple reservations, follow the

steps below:
1. Locate any traces for your department as outlined in the previous section.
2. Highlight the trace that has a completed action, and select Resolve.
3. To resolve multiple traces at one time, place an “X” next to each trace and
then select Resolve. To resolve all department traces, select All and then
Resolve.
Wake Up The Wake-Up Calls function allows you to set, view, and delete wake up calls
for rooms, guests within a room, or room blocks. The Wake-up Call feature is
Calls functional with a PBX interface. If no active PBX interface functionality exists, it
is possible to use this feature to log manual wake up requests for reporting.
To create new wake-up call and manage the call log, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Front Desk and select Wake-up Calls.
The WAKE-UP CALLS screen displays.
2. Select New.

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The WAKE-UP CALLS - NEW screen appears.
3. Enter the Room number or click the down arrow to display the IN HOUSE
GUEST SEARCH screen.
4. Enter in the Time of the wake-up call, and the Date From, No Days, To if
the dates requested are more than one night.
5. To select to set wake up calls for an entire group, click the drop down arrow
next to the Block field and select the appropriate group.
6. Enter any Notes regarding the call request.

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The new wake-up call displays in the grid.
NOTE: You may set up individual wake-up calls for guests sharing the same
room, whether or not they have individual phone extensions. If you select a
room with shares, sharing guests list individually on the IN HOUSE GUEST
SEARCH screen. You may select the sharers individually to set up separate
wake-up calls.
From within the WAKE-UP CALLS screen, there are several additional
functions.
• If you manually deliver a wake-up call, you may change the status of the
wake-up call directly in the grid from “Pending” to “Completed” or “No
Answer”. This feature marks the actual time the PBX Operator delivered
the wake-up call.
• To print a Report of all wake-up call requests, select Report.

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Chapter 5 - Cashiering

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Cashiering Basics
Understand OPERA financials work solely in terms of debits and credits to guest folios. You
either post a charge and “add” to the guest folio balance or post a payment or
Debits and adjustment and “subtract” from the guest folio balance. Debits and Credits are
Credits key aspects of transactions you post as a Cashier.
Debit - a transaction posting that “adds” to the guest’s folio balance where the
guest consumes a charge and owes the hotel for the service. For example, when a
guest charges an item such as dinner in the restaurant, that charge posts to the
guest’s account (Folio) as a debit using a Transaction Code (e.g. Restaurant
Dinner).
Credit - a transaction posting that “subtracts” from the guest folio balance where
the guest pays for a charge or service applied to their folio. Another way to credit
the guest’s account is posting an adjustment to a guest’s folio. In most cases,
credits are payments posted when a guest checks out. For example, when a guest
makes a payment, or there is an adjustment or correction to the folio, the payment
or adjustment posts to the guest’s account (Folio) as a credit using a Transaction
Code (i.e. Cash).
Cashier
Login
Every user with the ability to access Cashiering has a unique User Name, Cashier
ID, and Password.
For financial accountability and security, OPERA requires you to login each time
you make a financial transaction. The CASHIER LOGIN screen displays each
time you access a function in the Cashiering menu, prompting you to enter your
user Password. Passwords for cashier logins are the same as your user password
when you log into the system.
Each user also has a unique Cashier ID attached to their user name that tracks all
financial transactions posted by the user. Having these security features requires
each user to be accountable for all postings and payments performed on a given
business date and helps prevent fraudulent financial activity in the system.

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Navigating All guest charges post to one or more folios once the guest is in-house. In
OPERA, the term “window” is an alternate name for a folio. We use the term
Folios “window” because when viewing a guest folio to the screen, you are able to tile
multiple folios to appear like windows.
Guests may have up to eight folio windows, which you can view, print, or use to
bill them separately. Multiple folios are required when closing charges to Direct
Bill.
To open and navigate multiple folio windows, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Cashiering.

2. Select Billing.
3. Enter your Password select Login.
The IN HOUSE GUEST SEARCH displays.
4. Search for and highlight the guest whose folio you wish to display and choose
Select.
The BILLING screen displays for that guest.

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Guest reservation information lists along the top of the folio window for your
reference.
5. Right click with the mouse to open a menu of options.

6. Select New Window near the bottom of the list.
Another folio window appears to the right of Folio 1.
7. Repeat this process up to a maximum of eight (8) folio windows.
Employees can move postings from one folio window to another by dragging and
dropping the transaction with the mouse. To perform this, click on the charge to
move with the mouse, hold and drag the charge to the 2nd window, and release
the mouse to drop the charge.
Posting a From time to time, it is necessary to post charges manually to a guest folio.
Charges posted directly by a user require accessing the folio. Charges posted
Charge automatically through the Night Audit do not require a user’s intervention.
To manually post a charge to a guest folio, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Cashiering and Billing.

2. Enter your Password in the CASHIER LOGIN screen and select Login.
The IN HOUSE GUEST SEARCH screen displays.
3. Search for and highlight the desired guest room.

4. Choose Select to open the folio.
5. Select Post at the bottom of the BILLING screen.

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6. Click the drop down arrow next to the Code field.
NOTE: It is also possible to enter the code directly into the field without
accessing the list of values by entering the first few letters of the transaction code
(example: “park” for “Parking”) or the numeric transaction code.
The transaction description populates in the Description field.
7. Enter dollar Amount of the posting.

8. Enter the Qty (Quantity) to post multiple transactions at the same price. (i.e.
If a guest receives 30 photocopies at .25 cents each, enter a quantity of 30 at a
price of .25)
9. Select the folio Win (Window) to post the transaction. The default window
for all postings is the first folio window.
10. Select from a list of Arr. Code (Arrangement Codes) if the charge description
should group by charge type (i.e. Restaurant Charges).
NOTE: Not all transaction codes have an Arrangement Code. This is only for
transactions of the same nature to display on the folio with a generic name.
11. Enter the Check No. (Check Number) when manually posting Food and
Beverage transactions (in the event that the POS interface is down). If there is
not interface with the F&B outlets and the PMS and the F&B charge is a
manual one, you may leave this blank as well.
12. Use the Supplement and Reference fields to enter an explanation of the
charge. These fields may print on the guest folio, so be certain to limit
explanations to text appropriate for the guest to view.
13. Select Post to post the charge.
14. Continue this process to post charges until complete. Once all charges post,
select Close.
The posted charges now display on the folio.
Transfer Follow the steps below to transfer a charge from one room to another:
Charges 1. From the main menu, select Cashiering and Billing.
to/from 2. Search for, highlight the desired guest room, and choose Select.
Another
Room

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1. Highlight the charge(s) to transfer and right-click the mouse.
2. To transfer multiple transactions, place an “X” next to each charge or
highlight the charges and select the Space bar.
3. Select Transfer Transaction.
The TRANSFER TYPE screen displays.

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1. Select to Transfer TO another Room and Marked Postings.
The IN HOUSE SEARCH screen displays.
Select the Room(s) to transfer the charge(s) to or from by entering the room
number directly in the Room field, by entering the guest’s last name directly in the
Room field or by clicking the drop down arrow next to the Room field to select
the room number(s).
2. Verify the transfer information and select Transfer. The confirmation screen
below displays:
Alternate options for transferring charges are as follows:
• Grouped Postings transfers all charges attached to the selected

transaction codes (i.e. F&B charges, charges with generates).
• Entire Folio selects all charges on the folio to transfer
• Marked Postings transfers the postings marked on the folio with an “X”.
• Partial Posting performs a split to the charge selected to post, and then
transfers the charge.
• Check Number transfers all charges with a specific check number (i.e.
F&B charges)
• Transfer TO another Room transfers charges to another guest room
• Transfer FROM another Room transfers charges from another guest
room to this folio
• Transfer FROM List of Rooms transfers charges from a list of other
guest rooms to this folio
Transfer Follow the steps below to transfer a charge to another folio window:
Charges 1. From the main menu, select Cashiering and Billing.
to/from 2. Search for, highlight the desired guest room, and choose Select.
3. Highlight the charge(s) to transfer and right click the mouse. To transfer
Another multiple transactions, place an “X” next to each charge.
Folio
Window

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4. Select Transfer to Window and choose the Window number.
The folio window displays with the charges transferred.
NOTE: You may also transfer charges from one folio window to another by
dragging and dropping the charge across windows.
Posting Payments apply a credit or payment to an in-house guest room. OPERA

automatically defaults to the payment method assigned to the particular window (if
Payments multiple payment types exist) or defaults to the one on the reservation as well as
the total amount due on the folio.
Follow the steps below to make a Payment:
1. Access and display a guest folio in the BILLING screen.

2. Select Payment.

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3. If the payment type differs from that of the reservation, click the drop down
arrow next to the Payment Code field.
4. Highlight the desired payment type and select OK.
5. Enter the payment amount in the Amount field. This field defaults to the
folio balance.
6. If the guest pays by credit card, type the card number and expiration date in
the Credit Card No./Exp. Date fields
7. Enter a Reference note for the payment and select Post.
NOTE: The payment now displays on the guest folio, and the folio balance
reduces by the payment amount.
Preview, Folio displays the guest folio in printed format on the screen. From here, you
may either print the folio; review on the screen display, or save a copy to file on
Print, and your computer for accuracy of the bill.
File a Folio
To preview a folio to the screen, follow the steps below:

2. Select Folio to view the folio.

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The FOLIO OPTIONS screen displays.

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1. Enter the From Date and To Date for charges to view. This is helpful if the
guest is in house for a long period and wants to view charges from a portion
of the stay.
2. Select Folio Style to alternate the folio view to one of OPERA’s 20 different
folio styles.
Folio styles allow the user to print the same charges in a different format to meet
the guest’s needs. Folio styles print guest bills in different formats for both in-
house guests and when printing folios from Folio History. Some common folio
styles used are:
• Transaction Code Summary Per Day rolls up all charges with the
same transaction and prints one line per transaction code per day.
• Transaction Code Summary Per Stay rolls up all charges with the
same transaction code and prints one line per transaction code for the
entire stay.
• Group Folio Subtotal per Room by Stay subtotals folios per guest
per stay to help determine the cost of each guest (most useful on
group Posting Master accounts).
• Arrangement Summary Per Day rolls up all charges with like
transactions and prints one line per transaction code per day (i.e. all
phone charges today).
3. Select the radio button for the style you prefer and Close to return to the
FOLIO OPTIONS screen.
4. Select Preview, Print, or File.
Either the folio appears on the screen in an Adobe Acrobat PDF window for
viewing, prints to the workstation printer, or a Windows dialogue box displays to
save the folio to file.

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Split a The need to Split a charge on a guest folio happens for a number of reasons.
Most commonly, two guests staying in the same room prefer to split their room
Charge charges and offer different forms of payment. You may also use the Split
function to split a transaction if an adjustment needs to be made to ensure it
appears correctly on the guest’s bill.
Follow the steps below to Split a charge:
1. Access and display the guest folio in the BILLING screen.

2. Highlight the desired charge, right-click and select Split.
The SPLIT AMOUNT/PERCENTAGE screen displays.
3. Select the radio button to split the charge by an Amount or Percentage.

4. Enter the Amount to split or Percentage to split (either an amount or
percentage).
The charge splits into two separate postings on the folio. From this point, one or
both charges can transfer to another folio or another room.
NOTE: You can view the history for the original charge and the split transaction
in Posting History.

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Adjusting a Adjustments typically apply to postings charged on a previous business day (like
room and tax). OPERA automatically adjusts the charge to the correct adjustment
Charge transaction code and appears as a second line item on the guest folio.
For example, a Long Distance Domestic charge of $5.00 posted with Transaction
Code “57300” is on the guest folio. The guest disputes the charge, and you adjust
it off the folio. The Long Distance Rebate Transaction Code “50390” adjusts $-
5.00 from the guest folio and appears as a second line item.
NOTE: Remember to use a “-”sign in front of the value to adjust charges and
credit the folio.
Follow these steps to adjust a charge of any kind while the guest is still in house:

2. Highlight the charge to adjust and right click the mouse.
3. Select Adjust Transaction.
4. Choose Adjust Selected Postings. This only adjusts the highlighted posting.
5. Select either the Amount or Percentage radio button, and enter the value of
the adjustment in the white text field.
6. Click the drop down arrow next to Reason Code and select a reason for the
adjustment.
7. Enter any addition information in the Reason Text field.
8. Select OK to complete and OK to the charge-adjusted message.
NOTE: Adjustments on transactions log in Posting History and appear as

separate line items on the guest folio.

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Adjust an For interface postings and room and tax rebates automatically posted during the
night audit, you must manually post and adjustment.
Interface or Follow the steps below to adjust an interface or automatic posting:
Night Audit 1. From the guest folio, select Post.
Posting The POSTING screen displays.
2. Manually enter the “Rebate” transaction Code for the transaction to adjust.
3. Enter a “-” before the value being adjusted in the Amount or Qty (Quantity)
field.
4. Choose the Win (Window) the adjustment applies to and enter a reason for
the negative posting in the Supplement field.
5. Select Post.
NOTE: Room and tax rebates—or any transactions that have “generates” to
post along with the charge (i.e. taxes generate along with room charges during
night audit) automatically adjust the generate(s). In other words, if you adjust
$10.00 off a room charge and the tax percentage is 5%, 5% of $10.00 also adjusts
as generates (i.e. 50 cents).
NOTE: Since interface and automatic charges must adjust manually, these
transactions appear as separate line items on the folio.

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Correct / In OPERA, you may correct a transaction posted incorrectly or by mistake. A
correction only applies if the posting occurred in the same business day and
Edit a posted manually to the folio. For example, if you mistakenly posted a $20 parking
Charge charge to a guest folio that should have been $10, you may correct the posting by
editing the charge.
To correct or edit a charge, follow the steps below:

2. Highlight the charge to correct and either double-click the charge or select
Edit.
The EDIT TRANSACTION DETAILS screen displays.
3. Correct the value of the posting in the Price field and select OK to save
changes.
NOTE: Since the correction is on the same business date, and by the same user,
there is no additional line item on the folio. The corrected charge displays on the
guest folio, as it should. However, transaction details log in Posting History.

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Guest When a departing guest has a credit balance on their folio, it is necessary to refund
the remaining balance to the guest. Whether your hotel considers these guest
Refunds refunds or paid outs, handle the debit posting to the folio in the same manner.
and Paid
NOTE: Please do not use the Petty Cash or General Cashier functionality to
Outs perform guest refunds or paid outs. The postings must happen directly to the
guest folio to reconcile the folio balance to zero.
From a guest folio with a credit balance, follow the steps below to issue a paid out
or guest refund:

2. Select Post and enter the Code for a “Paid Out” or “Guest Refund.”
3. Enter the Amount to refund and select Post.
4. Answer “Yes” to print a receipt and have the guest to sign.

5. Select Close to return to the guest folio.
6. Notice the zero folio balance.
NOTE: It is not necessary to enter a “-“ sign in the amount field, as Paid Out
and Guest Refund payment transaction codes are configured as debits to the folio.

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Billing Options
Within the folio window, there are several additional options to assist with
managing the guest folio. Selecting Options from any guest folio displays the
following screen:
Credit Cards The Credit Cards option allows the same features on credit cards as In-House
Guests found in the Front Desk chapter of this manual.
Follow the steps below to access Credit Cards for authorizations:

2. Select Options from
To obtain additional authorization for the credit card on file, select

Authorization.
To view a history of all authorization requests for the credit card on file, select
Authorization History.

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Fixed Many times, a guest has a charge that occurs every night during the stay. It is
possible for the system to post those charges during the night audit along with
Charges room and tax. OPERA calls these Fixed Charges.
Follow the steps below to set up a Fixed Charge:

2. Select Options.
3. Select Fixed Charges.
4. Complete the FIXED CHARGES screen and select OK.
NOTE: For more details on applying Fixed Charges to reservations, refer to the
“Fixed Charges” section of the Reservations Chapter in this manual.
Package Many hotels offer packages for guests that may include breakfast or dinner with
the room rate. Typically, a dollar amount is set aside for a meal. Sometimes a
Options guest consumes more than the package allows. In this case, it is helpful to see
how much of a package has been consumed if a guest is questioning charges on
their folio.
Follow the steps below to see the package elements for a room:

2. Select Options.
3. Select Package Options.
This screen displays the amount allocated for a package element as well as the
amount of that element consumed by the guest. This is helpful in explaining why
the guest might have an overage charge on the folio.
NOTE: If an overage amount exists, it displays on the guest folio, and the
reference field notes the overage.
NOTE: For more details on Package Options, refer to the “Package Options”
section of the Reservations Chapter in this manual.

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Phone Phone Details allows the user to see detailed information regarding a phone
charge posted to a guest folio. In the event of a guest dispute or question about a
Details phone call, this option is particularly useful.
NOTE: Phone Details are not visible until the telephone interface is active. As
phone calls post to the guest folio through the interface program, details log in
this window.
Follow the steps below to see Phone Details for a guest:

2. Select Options.
3. Select Phone Details.
The PHONE DETAILS screen displays.
This screen displays the Date and Time of the call, the Duration, the Number
Dialed, and the Amount of the call.
NOTE: The Print Phone Details option enables and disables phone number
details from printing on the guest folio.

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Posting Posting History tracks posting details and information on charges posted to
guest folios. Charges automatically appear in Posting History when the charge
History applies to the folio. Whenever you correct, split, or adjust a charge, a record
appears in posting history as well.
Follow the steps below to view transaction Posting History:

2. Select Options.
3. Select Posting History.
The POSTING HISTORY screen displays.
• Action is the type of posting or transaction logged (i.e. transfer charge,

split charge, manual posting, etc.)
• Revenue Date is the business date affected by the transaction
• Posting Date is the actual system date when the transaction posted
• User/Name is the user ID and last name of the user that posted the
transaction
• Reason/Description populates when an adjustment or negative
transaction is logged in history
NOTE: If you highlight an adjusted or corrected transaction, the Original and

Changes of that transaction display in the lower portion of this screen.

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Post Rate Post Rate Code automatically generates a posting of room and tax charges for any
user selected Rate Code. The Rate Code that exists on the reservation defaults,
Code however, the posting screen allows the user to change the Rate Code posted. Use
this feature to post room and tax on a folio for a rate plan different from the
reserved one.
To post a manual room and tax charge, follow the steps below:

2. Select Options.
3. Select Post Rate Code.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Rate Code field if the rate to post is
different that the reserved rate.
5. Search for and highlight the appropriate Rate Code, and select OK.
6. Select the Win. (Window) to apply the charge to and select Post.
7. Select Close to return to the folio and notice the manual room and tax posting
on the folio.
NOTE: Post Rate Code does not affect the normal room and tax postings
generated by the audit process, nor does it trigger automatic postings such as
Fixed Charges. Also, be careful when using this feature since the posted rate
might differ from the reservation and alter Market Statistics for this business date.
Privileges Privileges are several options that allow specific charging instructions on folios
such as No Post, Pre-Post Stay Charging, Scheduled Check Out, and Authorize
Direct Bill. For more information on folio privileges, refer to the “Reservations”

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Routing Charge Routing is extremely useful when setting up direct billing for a guest. You
can route charges to another room, a Posting Master account, or to separate
charges on the guest’s own bill for a second form of payment.
Follow the steps below to access the charge Routing option:

2. Select Options.
3. Select Routing.
NOTE: For more information on folio and window routing, refer to the
“Reservations” chapter in this manual.
Additional Additional options not covered in detail in this chapter are:

Options • Agent/Company – refer to the “Reservations” chapter of this manual for
more details. This feature is useful in Billing in the event you need to add
a Company profile to the reservation for direct bill purposes.
• Folio History – refer to the “Folio History” section of this chapter for
additional details. This feature is useful in Billing in the event that you
need to access a folio for a guest from a previous stay.
• Profile – refer to the “Profiles” chapter of this manual for details on
viewing profiles. This feature is useful in Billing in the event that you
quickly need to change the name on a folio.
• Reservations – refer to the “Reservations” chapter of this manual for
details on viewing reservations. This feature is useful in Billing in the
event you need to quickly make an accommodation change (i.e. extend the
number of nights).
• Deposit/CXL – refer to the “Reservations” chapter of this manual for
details on posting deposits, handling deposit requests, and handling
cancellation requirements.
• Room Move – refer to the “Front Desk” chapter of this manual for
details on moving guest rooms. This feature is useful in Billing in the
event a guest requests to move to another room.
• Changes – refer to the “Reservations” chapter of this manual for details
on the changes/user activity log.

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Check Out
Cash Check Many guests depart the hotel and wish to settle their folios using Cash as the form
of payment. Even if the original payment method is not cash, it is possible to
Out check a guest out with Cash.
Follow the steps below to check out a guest paying cash:
1. Access and display the folio for the Due-Out guest in the BILLING screen.
2. Select Check Out.
The CHECK OUT OPTIONS screen displays.
3. Select to Check Out the guest and close the folio.
NOTE: Only select to Check Out With Open Folio for guests not settling their
account with a form of payment. This option only displays if your hotel has
elected to allow Open Folios.
4. Select OK.
The PAYMENT screen displays and defaults the Payment field from the
payment type on the reservation. The Amount field defaults to the balance of the
folio.

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5. Click on the drop down arrow next to the Payment Code field if the form of
payment is anything other than “Cash.”
6. Highlight and select “Cash” from the list of values and select OK.
7. Verify the Amount is correct or enter the amount of Cash given.

8. Select Post to post the Cash payment and settle the folio.
9. Answer “Yes” to print a payment receipt and a copy of the folio, or “No” to
print only a copy of the folio.
Once the first window checks out of the system, a message appears asking to
continue with the next window until all windows check out with a zero balance (if
multiple folio windows exist).
Once you settle all windows, the reservation status changes to “Checked Out."
This status appears in the upper left corner of the BILLING screen.
NOTE: If your hotel uses the Scheduled Checkout feature, a prompt displays
asking if you would like to schedule the check out for a later time. For more
information, refer to the “Scheduled Checkout” section of this chapter.

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Credit Card Many guests depart the hotel and wish to settle their folios using either the credit
card on file or an alternate card as the form of payment. Even if the original
Check Out payment method is Cash, it is possible to check a guest out using a credit card.
Follow the steps below to check out a guest paying by credit card:
1. Access and display the Due-Out guest folio in the BILLING screen.
authorized payment type on the reservation. The Amount field defaults to the
balance of the folio.

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4. Verify that the credit card displayed is the correct card to charge. If not, you
may either swipe a new card or click the drop down arrow next to the
Payment Code field to enter a new Credit Card No. and Exp. Date.
5. Select Post to post the card payment and settle the folio.
6. Answer Yes to print a payment receipt and a copy of the folio, or No to print
only a copy of the folio.
NOTE: If the guest uses the same credit card, the system only obtains additional
authorization if the current authorization amount does not cover the total folio
balance. In this case, only the difference in the authorized amount and folio
balance authorizes. If the guest gives a new card number for settlement of the
folio, authorization occurs for the entire folio balance.
Once the first window checks out of the system, a message appears asking to
continue with the next window until all windows check out with a zero balance (if
multiple folio windows exist).

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Direct Bill When checking out a guest with Direct Bill as the form of payment, it is important
to follow proper procedures. Direct Bill charges are not settled by the guest, but
Check Out rather post to an Accounts Receivable account for payment by a third party. As a
result, use special care to ensure Direct Bills are setup accurately.
The following are required for Direct Bill check outs to Company AR accounts:
• An active Company profile exists on the reservation.

• An active AR Number exists on the Company profile.
• Charges route to separate folio windows.
• The separate folio window must be “owned” by the Company profile.
For direct billing situations where the company is not paying for all guest charges,
the first folio window “owned” by the guest must have an alternate form of
payment (i.e. credit card).
NOTE: For details on attaching Company Profiles to direct bill reservations, or

for details on setting up Routing for direct bills, refer to the “Reservations”

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Follow the steps below to check out a guest by direct bill:
1. Access and display the Due-Out guest folio in the BILLING screen.
2. Determine if the proper set up for Direct Bills exists. A second folio “owned”
by the Company must exist with the appropriate charges on the folio. If the
direct billing setup is not correct and charges are on the wrong folio, correct
that before moving onto the next step.
3. Using the mouse, click anywhere in the second folio (owned by the Company)
to place the “focus” on the direct bill folio.

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authorized payment type on the reservation. The Amount field defaults to the
balance of the folio.
NOTE: Do not attempt to settle the direct bill folio using the guest’s default
form of payment. Pay careful attention to the Payment Code to select the
appropriate form of payment.

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6. Click the drop down arrow next to the Payment Code field to change the
form of payment to “City Ledger” or “Direct Bill” and select OK.
7. Verify the Amount is correct.
8. Select Post to post the direct bill payment and settle the folio.
9. Answer “Yes” to print a payment receipt and a copy of the folio, or “No” to
print only a copy of the folio.
NOTE: If the folio window “owned” by the guest has a balance, a message
appears asking you to settle the balance of Folio 1. Either use the default form of
payment on the reservation or collect a new form of payment from the guest to
settle. Follow the steps outline in the above sections for Cash or Credit Card
Check Out.
Settlement Circumstances sometimes prompt a guest to check out before the departure date
or to desire an interim or advanced bill. In one of these circumstances, the guest
and Early is not to depart today. Therefore, on the BILLING screen, the Check Out
Departure feature is not active or available and the Settlement function is in its place.
Follow the steps below to settle a guest folio:
Since the guest’s departure date is not today, the Check Out option is not
available.
2. Select Settlement.
3. Select one of the following three options to settle the bill:

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• Interim Bill allows a guest to make a payment to the account and settles
the folio to a zero balance without checking the guest out. Charges
continue to post to the folio as normal. This is helpful for guests that
need to settle the bill at the end of every week to report expenses.
• Early Departure allows the guest to check out with the current balance.
Use this option if the guest departs the room early and wishes to settle the
bill in full.
• Advanced Bill posts advance room and tax for the remainder of the
guest’s stay, allowing the guest to make a payment to settle the account.
No additional charges post to the folio for the remainder of the guest’s
stay. The guest does not check out and room and tax do not repost during
Night Audit. Use this option if a guest wants to settle the bill the night
before they leave.
NOTE: Room and tax predictions posted using Advanced Bill do NOT post
room and tax for future business dates on today’s business date. Only a prediction
calculates and the appropriate room and tax totals post on the intended night.
4. Follow the steps outlined in the above Cash Check Out, Credit Card Check
Out, and Direct Bill Check Out sections to post payments and complete the
settlements.
NOTE: Interim Bill and Advanced Bill options used for in-house guests retain a
CHECKED IN status on the reservation. Early Departure checks the guest out
and changes the reservation status to CHECKED OUT.

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Reinstate a If you need to check a guest back in, the Reinstate option returns the guest to in-
house status by checking them back into the same room they previously occupied.
Check Out The reinstate option is only available for guests that departed on that business day.
Reinstate also allows for posting late charges (or charges not posted before a
guest’s departure like a breakfast charge from the restaurant) to a guest folio once
departed.
NOTE: If your hotel allows Post-Stay Charging or check outs with an Open
Folio, the Reinstate feature is not necessary to post a late charge.
Follow the steps below to Reinstate a checked-out guest:
1. Access and display the Checked Out guest folio in the BILLING screen.
2. Select Reinstate.
3. A message displays asking if you would like to reinstate the guest; answer
“Yes” to reinstate or “No” to leave the guest checked out.
4. A message displays asking if you would like to send a signal to the interfaces
indicating the room as occupied by the guest once again. Answer “Yes” if the
guest still occupies the room or “No” if the guest has indeed departed, but you
are posting late charges.
NOTE: The guest now occupies the room with a DUE-OUT status. If the
check out was a mistake, be certain to verify and correct the departure date of the
guest.
5. If this guest did indeed depart, post any late charges as applicable and check
the guest back out of the system.

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Quick The Quick Check Out feature allows you to manage multiple departures at one
time. This is particularly useful when clearing departures at the end of the
Check Out morning shift or for a mass group departure. The Quick Check Out feature works
for individual departures as well as multiple departures at one time.
Follow the steps below to use the Quick Check Out feature:
1. From the main menu, select Cashiering and Quick Check Out.
The IN HOUSE GUEST SEARCH screen displays with today’s Due Out
guests only.
Use the search criteria, if necessary, to minimize results by groups of guests.
3. Select one of the options below:
• C/O Zero – checks out all remaining guests currently with a zero
balance.
• C/O All – checks out all guests due to depart today. Any folios with a
balance prompt a payment window to settle the folio.
• Check Out – checks out the highlighted guests. Any folios with a
balance prompt a payment window to settle the folio. To check out
multiple rooms, but not all rooms, place and “X” next to each room
before choosing this option.
• Billing – opens the BILLING screen for the highlighted guest room
A folio for all guests with a zero balance that check out prints to the local
workstation print.

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Scheduled The Scheduled Check Out feature is an addition to the check out process if your
hotel elects to use this feature. Within the Reservation Options and Privileges,
Check Out you can authorize or de-authorize scheduled check out for a guest and input a
time for the automatic check out to occur. When settling the guest bill through
Billing, a prompt displays asking if you would like scheduling the room for check
out later.
A constant processor runs that periodically checks for any departures that passed
their scheduled check out time. If a room is schedule and the system date and
time passes, the room is automatically departed.
NOTE: Scheduled Check Out only processes a departure if the entire room
balance (including all folio windows) is zero.
To view and manage today’s departures scheduled to check out at a specific time,
1. From the main menu, select Cashiering and Scheduled Check Out.
The SCHEDULED CHECK OUT GUEST SEARCH screen displays.

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This screen lists all guests with a scheduled check out time in the Time column.
2. Remembering that this feature only works for zero balance folios, work
through each departure to settle their folio.
3. Highlight the first departure with a folio balance and select Billing.
4. Follow instructions learned earlier in this chapter to make a payment and settle
each folio.
5. To process a check out on a room originally scheduled for a future time,
highlight the room and select Check Out (this removes the room from the
list).

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Cashier Functions
Cashier Functions provide many additional features for handling guest financials.
Some features display on the main menu, while others display within the functions
menu below:
Fast Fast Posting is a quick and easy to way to charge multiple transactions to
different rooms. For example, posting a list of laundry charges or mini-bar
Posting charges can quickly post to folios using this feature. Transaction types do not
have to be the same to use Fast Posting.
Follow the steps below to post charges using Fast Posting:

2. Select Fast Posting.
The TRANSACTION POSTING screen displays. However, note the

differences in this posting screen versus the traditional posting screen.

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4. Type in the Room/Name of the first guest room. You may enter the room
number directly or click the drop down arrow next to the field to search for
the room by name.
5. Continue all other fields as learned in the “Post a Charge” section of this
chapter.
6. Select Post.
7. Repeat this process for each transaction you need to post.
NOTE: As you continue posting charges, the Total Postings and Amount
fields at the bottom of the screen continuously update. This is particularly useful
if you are fast posting multiple charges and need to verify that they all posted.
8. Select Close when finished.
Batch Batch Folios is a function used during the Night Audit shift to print express
checkout folios. Refer to the “End of Day” chapter of this manual for more
Folios details on Batch Folios.

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Batch Batch Postings posts the same charge to multiple guest folios and rooms at one
time. A common type of Batch Posting is a bagging handling (Porterage) charge
Postings for a large guest group or Parking charges. With Batch Postings, all transactions
must be the same type and price.
Follow the steps below to complete a Batch Posting:

2. Select Cashier Functions.
3. Select Batch Postings
4. Enter your Password and select Login.
The BATCH POSTINGS screen displays.

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5. Click the drop down arrow next to the Trn. Code field to select the
transaction code to post.
6. Enter the Amount of the posting.
7. Click the drop down arrow next to the Rooms field and select all applicable
rooms by placing an ‘X’ next to each room number.
8. Choose Select to save and return to the BATCH POSTINGS screen.
9. Enter any desired Post Text or Supplement information.
10. To post charges to guest rooms with a “No-Post” flag, leave the Override
No-Post Flag check box marked.
11. Select OK to save and post the batch charges.
12. Answer “Yes” to view posting details.
The POSTING DETAIL screen displays.
All rooms that the batch posting affected have an “X” in the OK column.
Cashier Cashier Reports printed at the end of the day help the user to balance
transactions and close their shift. The reports can print prior to closing your
Reports Cashier for easy balancing. Once the Cashier closes, Cashier Reports reset and
you no longer have details for the Cashier.
Follow the steps below to print Cashier Reports prior to the end of a shift:

2. Select Cashier Shift Functions
3. Select Cashier Shift Reports.

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The CASHIER REPORTS MENU displays. There are six different cashier
reports, one for each payment type.
• Cash Report displays all Cash transactions (including Paid Outs)

expected to be in the shift drop.
• Check Report displays all Check transactions expected to be in the
shift drop.
• Foreign Currency Report displays any foreign Currency Exchanges
the Cashier performed expected to be in the shift drop.
• Credit Cards lists all Credit Card transactions posted on today’s
business date.
• AR Settlement Report displays any folio balances settled to AR
Accounts using the Direct Bill payment type.
• Miscellaneous Payment Report displays any other transactions not
defined above.
5. Choose the desired report and select OK.
A report for the payment type displays to the screen with each transaction posted
by that Cashier.
6. Select Details to view transaction level details.

7. Select Print to send the report to the local workstation printer.

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Cashier Cashier Status assists the Night Auditor in determining which Cashiers have
closed and balanced versus those that are still open. This is good information to
Status view before attempting to complete the Night Audit.
Follow the steps below to access Cashier Status:

3. Select Cashier Status.
The CASHIER STATUS screen displays.
This screen displays the status of each Cashier No., the Cashier Name, as well
as the number of Times Open and Last Closed.

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Check If your hotel allows guests to cash checks at the Front Desk, Check Exchange
tracks those transactions for easy balancing at the end of shift.
Exchange
Follow the steps below to perform a Check Exchange:

3. Select Check Exchange.
The CHECK EXCHANGE screen displays.
5. Select the guest Room number or Name.
NOTE: To perform a Check Exchange, the guest must be in-house.
6. Enter the written amount of the check in the Amount field.

7. Enter the check number in the Text field.
8. Use the Supplement field to enter any additional information required by the
hotel, such as approval code or license number.
9. Select OK to complete the exchange.
10. A message displays asking if you would like to print a receipt. Answer Yes to
print a receipt of the exchange for the guest or No not print a receipt.
NOTE: If the guest needs a receipt for the Check Exchange at any time, receipts
are available in the Receipt History area of Cashier Functions. For detailed
instructions on printing receipts, refer to the “Receipt History” section of this
Chapter.

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Currency The Currency Calculator displays the calculated result of a currency exchange. It
does not register a currency exchange but serves, as a calculator-tendered amount
Calculator a guest would receive for an exchange. The exchange rate used is the exchange
rate configured in the system.
Follow the steps below to access and use the Currency Calculator:

3. Select Currency Calc.
The CURRENCY CALCULATOR displays.
4. Enter the Amount of currency given and Date to exchange.

5. Choose the From Currency (currency the guest gives) and the To Currency
(currency they wish to receive - the hotel’s local currency).
6. Press Tab to view the exchange calculation in the lower portion of the screen
• Buy Rate = the exchange rate for that business date and currency
• Buy Comm. = commissions collected by the hotel for exchange
services
• Calculated Amount = currency available to the guest for exchange

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Currency For hotels that exchange currency at the Front Desk, the Currency Exchange
feature registers and tracks any exchanges for quicker and easier cashier balancing.
Exchange
Follow the steps below to perform a Currency Exchange:

3. Select Currency Exchange.
The CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES screen displays.
5. Select the guest Room No. or Name.

6. Select the Currency Code for exchange. Click on the drop down arrow next
to the field to display all currencies the hotel accepts.
7. The Exchange Code should always be “Currency Exchange.”
8. Enter the Amount of the currency to exchange. After entering this field, the
currency calculates in the lower portion of the screen in local currency
(Exchange Rate Details and Local Amount).
9. Type additional information required in the Supplement field
10. Select to print additional Copies of Receipt to use one for the shift drop and
give one to the guest as a receipt.
11. Select OK to complete the exchange.

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Exchange Exchange Rates constantly fluctuate and need maintaining in the system in order
for guests to receive the fair market value when exchanging currency.
Rates
If your hotel allows currency exchanges, follow the steps below to update
Exchange Rates on a frequent basis:

3. Select Exchange Rate.
The EXCHANGE RATES screen displays.
The six types of exchanges are as follows:
• Exchange: the exchange value used to exchange foreign currency cash

to local currency cash. Exchange fees may apply and build into the
exchange percentage. Rates apply at the time of exchange.
• Check: the exchange value used to exchange foreign currency checks
drawn on foreign banks to local currency cash. Exchange fees may
apply and build into the exchange percentage. Rates apply at the time
of exchange.
• Settlement: the exchange value used to exchange foreign currency
payments to a local currency payment when settling a folio. Typically,
exchange values for settlements build at a lower percentage than a cash
exchange. Rates apply at the time of settlement.
• Posting: the exchange value used to exchange foreign currency
postings applied to a guest folio. Exchange values for postings
typically build at the same rate as a cash exchange. Rates apply at the
time of the posting, not at the time of the settlement.

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• Commission: the exchange value used to exchange foreign currency
commission payments to travel agents. Exchange values for
commissions typically build at a lower percentage than cash exchanges.
Rates apply at the time of the commission payment.
• Membership: the exchange value used to exchange revenue allocated
for membership points for loyalty programs.
4. Double-click an exchange rate to update an existing value.
5. Enter the updated Begin Date and Buy Rate.
6. Select OK.
7. To view exchange rates created for future dates, highlight the currency desired
and select Future.
8. To view exchange rates for past dates, highlight the currency desired and select
Past.

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Folio History It is often necessary to reprint a guest folio after check out to research billing
questions or to resend a copy of the folio to the guest.
Follow the steps below to access Folio History for guests who have checked out:

3. Select Folio History.
The FOLIO HISTORY screen displays.
5. Notice the search options for type of folio and make a selection: Checked
Out guest, Passerby folios, folios billed to an AR account, or a No-show
folio.
6. Use the Date, Folio No., last Name, or First Name field(s) to search for the
folio.
7. There are two additional options to consider before printing the folio: Print
Phone Details, which prints phone number details on the folio, and Folio
Style, which allows the selection of an alternate folio style.
8. Select Folio and either Print or Preview to print or view the folio.

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Deposit / Deposit and Cancellation Rules apply to reservations in many instances. Typically,
deposits requested on reservations have stipulations that apply requiring the guest
CXL to pay the deposit prior to their arrival. Likewise, cancellations on reservation
often have penalties if not cancelled within a certain period. The
Deposit/Cancellation feature manages both requirements and penalties in one
location.
NOTE: Refer to the “Reservations” chapter of this manual for more information
on posting deposits, forfeiting deposits and setting deposit requests.
To charge for reservations that cancelled in penalty of the cancellation rule, follow
the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Cashiering and Cashier Functions.

2. Select Deposit/CXL.
4. Select to view only those reservations with a Cxl Rule Attached.

5. Highlight the reservation that violated the rule and select Cancellation.
The screen displays the rule and Amount due to charge the guest.
6. Select Charge.
The NEW PASSER BY screen displays. The guest Name, Market, and Source
default from the reservation.
7. Select the Room Class (typically House Use) and Post.

8. Follow the remaining instructions for completing a Passerby found in this
chapter.
Once the Passerby is complete, the DEPOSIT /CANCELLATION screen

reflects that the cancelled reservation is Paid.

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To add a cancellation rule to an existing reservation, follow the steps below:
1. From the DEPOSIT / CANCELLATION screen, search for and highlight

the reservation.
2. Select the Cancellation option.
3. Select New.
The DEPOSIT CANCELLATION – NEW screen displays.
4. Click the down arrow next to the Type field to select a cancel rule and choose
from the list of values next to Cancel Rule.
5. Enter the Cancel Date that denotes the date for any cancellations made after
that date resulting in a penalty to the guest.
6. Enter the % Due, Room Nights, or Cancel Amount due if a penalty applies
to the cancelled reservation. Most pre-defined cancellation rules calculate
these amounts for you.

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Receipt Guests sometimes need a receipt from a transaction that occurred in the past. In
Receipt History, you can locate, preview, and print receipts for past transactions.
History Receipt History prints every type of receipt: Payment, Paid Out, Deposit, and
Exchange receipts.
Follow the steps below to access a receipt from Receipt History:

3. Select Receipt History.
The RECEIPT HISTORY screen displays.
4. Click on the drop down arrow next to the Receipt Type field and select the
type of receipt.
5. Enter the guest Name and either the From or To dates and select Search.
6. Select Preview to view the receipt or Print to reprint the receipt.

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Passerby The Passerby function allows the user to post charges without having to check a
guest into the hotel. Most often hotels use Passerby to post Guaranteed No
Shows. In addition, if a passer by walks into the hotel and consumes a service
without checking into a guest room, this feature allows the charge and payment to
post on a folio and generates a receipt in one function. An example of a true
Passerby is a walk-in from the street that purchases a postage stamp and pays cash
for the transaction. If the guest would like to charge and pay later, use the
Accounts (Posting Master) feature in the Front Desk menu.
Follow the steps below to post a Passerby:

2. Select Passerby.
The PASSER BY TODAY screen displays

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4. Select Post.
5. Create a profile in the Name field.
Some hotels create generic profiles called “Passer By” or “Non Guests”. If a hotel
has many passerby charges, it may be useful to create profiles such as “Passerby
Fax” or “Passerby Business Center”; otherwise, enter a name for the guest.
6. The Market and Source defaults to the hotel-defined values (i.e. House
Accounts or Unspecified).
7. Select a Room Class. Normally Passerby revenue posts to the “Pseudo”
Room Class, since no true guest room exists.
8. Select Post.
The same TRANSACTION POSTING screen used for posting charge in the
BILLING screen displays.
9. Enter the Code, Amount, Quantity, and any Supplement/Reference details

and select Post.
10. Once you finish entering all postings, select Close.
The same PAYMENTS screen appears when posting payments in the BILLING
screen.
11. Enter the Payment Code, Amount, and any other payment details and select
Post.
A Passerby folio prints for the guest as a receipt.

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General If your hotel has the benefit of a general cashier for balancing bank transactions
and performing mid-shift drops, use the General Cashier functionality to record
Cashier various cash exchanges.
To make a mid-shift drop and reduce the expected amount of drop at the end of
your shift, follow the instructions below:

2. Select General Cashier.
The GENERAL CASHIER screen displays.
4. Select To General Cashier and enter the Amount given.

5. Select “Cash Drop” from list of Trn. Codes and the Currency.
NOTE: Transaction Codes vary from hotel to hotel, depending on configuration.
6. Select OK to process the drop.

To collect money or due-backs from the General Cashier and add currency into
you bank balance, follow the instructions below:

8. Select General Cashier.
10. Select From General Cashier and enter the Amount collected.
11. Select the appropriate Trn. Code for the tender being collected (i.e. Cash) and
the Currency.
12. Select OK to finish.

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Petty Cash The Petty Cash feature is for cashiers and agents to use when lending monies out
of the bank or drawer. In many cases, paid outs generated from the Front Desk
then become petty cash receipts deposited as part of a shift drop. Some examples
of petty cash entries are providing gas money for the shuttle van, sending the
concierge to purchase a gift for an arriving guest, or a maintenance request that
requires an engineer to travel to the local hardware store.
The Petty Cash feature has two functions: to record the cashier removing petty
cash funds from the bank or returning cash to the bank.
To record a petty cash paid out of your bank, follow the steps below:

2. Select Petty Cash.
3. At the CASHIER LOGIN SCREEN, enter your Password and select
Login.
4. Select the Paid option and enter the Amount given from the drawer.
5. Select the Transaction Code for “Cash Paid Out” and the Currency given.
6. Make notes regarding the paid out in the Supplement field and select OK.
NOTE: The cashier’s bank balance now has that much less tender. To view how
much tender is currently outstanding for Petty Cash, select the Balance option.

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If funds are returned to the cashier after a petty cash transaction, follow the steps
below to include the tender back into the bank:
1. From the PETTY CASH screen, select Received and enter the Amount.
2. Select the payment Transaction Code (i.e. Cash) and the Currency collected.
3. Make notes regarding the paid out in the Supplement field and select OK.
NOTE: The cashier’s bank balance now increases by the amount tendered. To
view how much is currently outstanding in Petty Cash, select Balance.

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Cashier At the end of every shift, a Cashier must register a drop (including all cash, check
and foreign currencies received) and close the Cashier for the day. Closing the
Shift Close Cashier resets the transaction totals to zero for the next shift the Cashier works
At the beginning of your shift, the first time you access a financial area, such as the
BILLING screen, the system asks if you would like to open your Cashier. All
transactions and payments you post throughout the shift log in today’s Journal
ready for balancing at the end of the shift.
Follow the steps below to close your Cashier once you complete your shift:

2. Select Cashier Shift Functions and Cashier Shift Close
The CASHIER CLOSURE SUMMARY screen displays.

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A summary of all transactions, by type, display on this screen.
4. To view specific details, highlight a transaction Description and select

Details.
The JOURNAL displays.
To view transaction level detail, highlight a posting and select Details. The EDIT
TRANSACTION DETAILS screen displays.
5. Close out of any detail screens, and select OK from the CASHIER
CLOSURE SUMMARY screen to proceed.

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The CASHIER CLOSURE screen displays.
On the left side of the screen, any cash taken and paid outs given display to
calculate the Expected Shift Drop. This is the cash total the system expects you
to drop.
6. Count your drawer and remove any cash above the bank balance.
7. Enter the amount of cash you intend to drop in the Actual Cash field.
8. If you received or exchanged any checks, enter the amount of checks you
intend to drop in the Actual Checks field.
If the Actual Cash and Actual Checks equal the Expected Shift Drop, the Shift
Drop in Balance message displays.
If the Actual Cash and Actual Checks do not equal the Expected Shift Drop, Shift
Drop Over or Shift Drop Short message displays. This indicates that you are
either over or short in your drop. To investigate, select Back to return to the
CASHIER CLOSURE SUMMARY screen and investigate the Journal.
The Foreign Currency and Foreign Check fields’ display any currency
exchanges or check exchanges on a foreign bank you conducted today. The Shift
Drop amounts must equal the foreign currency or checks you include in your
drop.
9. After verifying all funds, to complete the shift closure, select OK.

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10. Answer “Yes” that you verified your drop and it is correct.
Cashier Reports automatically print to the local workstation printer for your
records.
Reprint From time to time, it is necessary to investigate cash postings from a previous
business date. To reprint reports from any cashier closure, follow the steps below:
Cashier
Reports 1. From the main menu, select Cashiering and Cashier Shift Functions.
2. Select Reprint Reports.
The CASHIER CLOSURES screen displays.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to Cashier ID and select the cashier.
4. Enter the Closure Date to reprint reports and select Search.
5. Select Print.

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Chapter 6 Rooms
Management -
Housekeeping

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Rooms Management
Overview OPERA’s Rooms Management module enables employees to view and
control various facets of a room's condition, status, and availability. With
housekeeping, room history, occupancy, and maintenance information at
their fingertips, Rooms Management and Housekeeping departments work
together seamlessly; efficiently addressing areas that need attention thereby
better ensuring guests’ satisfaction.
Room Management contains six main options: Housekeeping, Out of

Order/Service, Room History, Overbooking, Occupancy Graph, and
Maintenance.
Housekeeping The most commonly used section of Rooms Management is

Housekeeping Management, which enables you to control daily
Management housekeeping and room status details. Housekeeping Departments can
Screen determine which rooms require service, assigning them to specific attendants
and granting them points upon completion. Discrepancies between
Housekeeping and the Front Office can easily be tracked and resolved.
Various functions enable you to change status codes for individual rooms or
multiple rooms, make an entry for repairs and room assignment, generate task
reports, assess workloads, and crosscheck Front Office Status against
Housekeeping Status.
Follow the steps below to access the HOUSEKEEPING screen:
1. From the main menu, select Rooms Management.

2. Select Housekeeping
The HOUSEKEEPING options screen displays with various options to

choose.
3. Select Housekeeping Mgmt.

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The main HOUSEKEEPING screen displays.
The top left of the screen allows searching by room and Front Office status.
Initially, all rooms list by default; after selecting Clear All, checking individual
boxes controls the rooms that display below. The room list at the bottom of
the screen displays rooms in numeric order. If you would like to change the
display order, click on a column header other than Room.

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Changing the In OPERA the Housekeeping Room Statuses are:
Status of a • Clean: the room was serviced and is available for a guest to occupy
Room • Dirty: the room is not serviced and is not available for a guest to
occupy
• Pickup: an alternate status some hotels elect to use if Housekeeping
attends to rooms that do not need full service (i.e. a guest only
occupies a room for a few minutes and the room only needs
refreshing)
• Inspected: an additional status some hotels elect to use as the last
check by Housekeeping supervisors before making a room available
for a guest to occupy
In addition, the following statuses are also available for a room. You enter
these statuses in a different area; however, the status does display in the
HOUSEKEEPING MANAGEMENT screen. They are:
• Out of Order: the room is not available to sell under any

circumstances. Out of Order rooms deduct from inventory;
therefore, they affect occupancy calculations.
• Out of Service: functions the same as OOO, but rooms do not
deduct from inventory counts. Typically, hotels use the Out of
Service status for same day maintenance jobs or Sales show rooms.
There are two methods to change the status of a room:
• The first option is to click on the drop down arrow next to its room
status. To change the statuses of multiple rooms, place an “X” next
to the desired rooms in the first column of the room list, and then
click on the drop down arrow from one of the selected rooms.

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The second option is to use Change:
1. Select Change from the main HOUSEKEEPING screen
The QUICK CHANGE ROOM STATUS screen displays.
There are three options for changing the room status from this screen:
• Room List allows you to enter the rooms by room number; separate
each one by a comma.
• From Room/To allows you to enter a series of rooms by room
number.
• Section is available to change rooms by a specific housekeeping
section.
2. Select the new status from Change Status to

3. Select OK

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Viewing The statistics option from the HOUSEKEEPING MANAGEMENT
screen gives an overview of the hotel with information pertinent to the
Housekeeping Housekeeping department.
Statistics
To view Housekeeping Statistics:
1. Access the HOUSEKEEPING screen

2. Select Statistics
The ROOM STATISTICS screen displays.
The top portion of the screen displays the Room Statistic totals. The lower
portion displays the Details for the Room Statistics.
3. Select Report to print the Room Statistics

4. Select Close to return to the main HOUSEKEEPING screen

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Printing The housekeeping management screen is printable using the Report option.
The Report option applies any search filters from the HOUSEKEEPING
Housekeeping screen.
Management
To Preview, Print or File the Report from the HOUSEKEEPING screen:
Screen
1. Select Report
The REPORT PARAMETERS screen displays.
2. Select Preview, Print or File
The HOUSEKEEPING DETAIL REPORT displays or prints, depending

on your selection.

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Queue Rooms At times, guests arrive before a room for their room type is available for
assignment, causing potential guest service issues for Front Desk staff and
guests. Available from the Housekeeping menu, the Opera Queue Rooms
feature helps you manage room assignment fairly and have guests into their
rooms sooner by coordinating Front Desk and Housekeeping efforts.
Front Desk staff can assign reservations to the reservation queue if the guest's
room is not ready for assignment or if there are no available rooms of the
room type attached to the reservation. Housekeeping staff can use the Queue
Rooms screen to determine if there are guests waiting to check in to a
particular room or type of room if there are, the queue list provides guidance
in determining which rooms to service first.

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Queue information appears in the Queue Rooms screen. The Queue Rooms
report provides print or file listings of reservations and room queues.
To access the Queue Rooms screen:
1. Select Queue Rooms from the HOUSEKEEPING options screen
The QUEUE ROOMS screen displays.
The QUEUE ROOMS screen provides the following options:
• Search allows you to enter search criteria to locate reservations

on queue by either Room Type or a specific Room.
• Statistics calculates current statistics so you can view the
compiled information from room status and reservation status in
a list form.
• Details displays the room configuration information for the
highlighted room on queue.
• Resv accesses the reservation for the room on queue.
• Report generates a report of the current queue rooms.
To update the status of a guest’s room that is waiting on Queue, follow the
steps below:
1. Access the Queue Rooms screen

2. Highlight the guest’s name that has the room that you wish to update.
3. Select the down arrow next to the Room Status
4. Select the new Room Status

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Room The ROOM CONDITIONS screen lets you assign room condition codes
to rooms. You may also view reservations for occupied rooms, which may be
Conditions useful when assigning a room condition.
Use Room Condition Codes to designate rooms that are available for show,
require special housekeeping attention, or any other reasons specific to your
hotel. Rooms that have a room condition assigned may or may not be
available for assignment depending on the configuration of the room
condition code assigned to the room.

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To update a room’s condition within OPERA:
1. Select Room Conditions from the HOUSEKEEPING options screen
The ROOM CONDITIONS screen displays.
2. Using the criteria at the top of the screen, search for the room(s) or room
type(s)
3. Highlight the desired record
4. Select New
The ROOM CONDITIONS – NEW screen displays.
5. Select the drop down arrow for Room Condition

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The ROOM CONDITIONS display.
6. Highlight the Room Condition

7. Select OK
8. Enter any necessary notes in the text entry field on the ROOM
CONDITIONS – NEW screen
9. Select OK
The Room Condition updates on the ROOM CONDITIONS screen.

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To remove a Room Condition:
1. Select Room Conditions from the HOUSEKEEPING options screen
The ROOM CONDITIONS screen displays.
2. Using the criteria at the top of the screen, search for the room(s) or room
type(s)
3. Highlight the desired record
4. Select Delete
5. The system prompts if you are sure you want to complete the action.
Select Yes.

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Room At times, the information regarding a room differs between the Front Office
and Housekeeping. The Rooms Discrepancies screen allows the hotel to
Discrepancies view and resolve such problems with ease.
There are three discrepant room situations:
• Skip: Front Desk Status = Occupied; Housekeeping Status = Vacant

• Sleep: Front Desk Status = Vacant; Housekeeping Status = Occupied
• Person: Records differ regarding the number of guests occupying a
room. This is important for extra room charges, amount of cleaning
necessary and fire code regulations.
Follow these steps below to view and resolve discrepant rooms:
1. Select Rm. Discrepancies from the HOUSEKEEPING options screen
The ROOM DISCREPANCIES screen displays.
2. To resolve Skip rooms, investigate the discrepancy and have the Front
Desk check the guest out or update the HK status to OCC (occupied).
3. To resolve Sleep rooms, investigate the discrepancy and have the Front
Desk reinstate the guest or update the HK status to VAC (vacant).
4. To resolve People discrepancies, investigate and determine the number
of people in the room, updating the in-house reservation with the actual
number of guests.

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Attendant The Attendant Points menu option gives you the ability to award points to
each of your room attendants on a daily basis, which can be a special
Points incentive if attendants work extra rooms on certain days or for a general
room attendant’s bonus plan.
To assign points to an attendant:
1. Select Attendant Points from the HOUSEKEEPING options screen
The ATTENDANT POINTS screen displays.
2. Select New
The ATTENDANT POINTS – NEW screen displays.

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3. Enter the Date the attendant earned the points.
4. Enter an Attendant ID or use the drop down arrow to display the list of
attendants. This also populates the Name.
5. Enter Points you are awarding the attendant.
6. Select OK
To view previously awarded attendant points; use the search box in the upper
right of the screen. Use the down arrows to choose the appropriate start, end
dates for the accrual period, and display the list of attendants. If you want to
display or modify the points for a particular room attendant, enter the
attendant's code. Leave the field blank to display a list with all the room
attendants who have assigned points for the selected day or date range.
Task The Task Assignment feature allows you to generate daily task assignment
sheets for one or more Housekeeping employees. Use this function to
Assignment generate task sheets for an individual attendant, a group of attendants, or all
available attendants on a daily basis. Housekeeping Executives can generate
sheets manually, by selecting attendants and individual rooms, or
automatically.
To create a task assignment sheet manually, follow the steps below:
1. Select Task Assignment from the HOUSEKEEPING options screen
The TASK ASSIGNMENT screen displays.
2. Select New, highlight an existing entry and choose Details, or double-

click on an existing entry for the setup process.

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The TASK SHEET DETAILS screen displays.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Task Code field to select the task
(i.e. Clean, Deep Clean, etc.)
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Attendant ID to select the
attendant for this task sheet.
5. Select New Room to add a room to this sheet and click the drop down
arrow next to the Room field to add a room
6. Click the drop down arrow next to either the Attendant Instructions or
Room Instructions field to add notes for the attendant.
7. Continue this process by selecting New Room for each additional room
you wish to add to this sheet.
8. When complete, select Save and Close to return.
A quicker method of generating Task Assignment sheets is via the Auto

function, which automatically divides tasks equally by the number of available
attendants or by a maximum number of credits per attendant. Rooms display
on the task sheet based on reservation blocking and the reservation status
selected.
To create task assignment sheets automatically:
1. Select Auto from the TASK ASSIGNMENTS screen.

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The AUTOMATIC GENERATION OF TASKS screen displays.
NOTE: You may also access this screen to prepare a task sheet for turndown
service by selecting the Report button from the Turndown Management
screen; however, the Room Class and Task Code options will be
unavailable.
2. Select the Room Status check boxes for the statuses you wish to include
on the generated task sheets.
3. Select the FO status you wish to include. The task sheet includes only
the rooms that match the FO status you select (the default is to have both
selected), and no rooms print if neither option is selected.
4. Select the down arrow to choose the Task Code(s) you desire for the
task assignment sheet.
The FACILITY TASKS screen displays.
5. Select the task code and choose OK.

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6. Enter in the number of attendants into the Total Attendants field.
7. To select specific attendants, select the ellipsis button to display the
Attendants screen.
After you have made your choice from the Attendants screen, the number
selected automatically populates this field. When leaving the Max Credits
field blank, an equal number of rooms assign to each task sheet/attendant.
8. Enter the maximum number of credits to assign to any one-

attendant/task sheet in the Max Credit field.
The number of attendants entered in the Total Attendants field, not to

exceed this number per attendant, will divide credits evenly. Any left over
credits will flow down to the last task sheet. If a number of attendants are
not entered into the Total Attendants field, Opera creates task sheets, each
having the assigned maximum number of credits. When the Total
Attendants field is blank, a number of task sheets create such that each task
sheet assigns the maximum number of credits.

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9. Select the down arrow to choose the Reservation Status to include in
the task assignment sheet. Again, the task sheet includes only rooms that
match the status you select.
The RESERVATION STATUS screen displays.
The Advanced button expands the list of task generation options to include
the following:
• Excl. Check Out Time ... To Rooms matching these criteria is

excluded from assignment.
• Task Instructions might include general or routine cleaning
directions such as "Vacuum carpet, furniture, and drapes" or "Change
bed linen."
• Attendant Instructions provides space fore specific instructions,
e.g.” Frank - call Lester if you need assistance moving the furniture."
You can print such information on the task sheet, depending on the
task sheet style selected.
• Room Instructions provides a similar space for instructions related
to specific rooms, e.g., "Remove room service setup" or "Replace
bath mat.” This information is also printable on the task sheet,
depending on the task sheet style selected.
• Exclude VIP excludes VIP types from the task assignments when
checked.
• VIP ONLY includes only rooms assigned to VIP guests.
• Task Sheet By allows you to choose how you want the rooms listed
on the task assignment sheets.
10. Select OK to the Task Assignment screen.

11. Select the Report option to print the Task Assignment sheets.

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The TASK SHEET REPORT screen displays.
Enter the following details on the TASK SHEET REPORT Screen:
• Task Date From/To: the current date automatically defaults and

typically would not change.
• Task Code: enter the Task Code that the sheets are to print for. This
enables printing the task sheets for one task code and not another.
• Task Sheet From/To: optional field used to print specific task
sheets. By default all Task Sheets print.
• Attendant: optional field used to print specific task sheet for an
attendant. By default all Attendants print.
• Report Styles: The report can display in several styles. Select the
style that meets the needs of your hotel.

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The following checkboxes are also available:
• Due Outs Only restricts the report from printing any other
reservation status other than Due Out.
• Show guest name indicates the guest name appears on the printed
sheet.
• Use Priority indicates the report is to use whichever Task Code is the
highest priority when printed on the sheet.
• Include Summary once all the sheets have printed an additional
summary sheet prints.
• Include House Use any reservations designated as house use are
included in the task assignment sheets.
• Show Specials will add a column to the report to display any special
requests the guest has indicated on their reservation.
12. Select Print.
COMPLETE TASK SHEETS:
To manually complete task sheets once they return and are inspected, follow
the steps below:
1. From the TASK ASSIGNMENT screen, select Complete.
The TASK SHEET NUMBERS screen displays.
2. Place an “X” next to each task sheet to complete or select All.

3. Select OK.
NOTE: You may now alternate the view on the TASK ASSIGNMENT
screen between Pending and Completed task sheets.

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Task EXPANDED VIEW
Assignment Once you have task assignment sheets generated, if you would like to modify
Grid the sheets before printing, select the Expanded feature from the TASK
ASSIGNMENTS screen.
The TASK ASSIGNMENT TASK SHEET GRID displays with a legend

at the top of the screen.
From this screen, you may drag and drop rooms from one task sheet to
another using your mouse. In addition, you may move a room from one
sheet to another by placing an “X” next to the room(s) and selecting Move.
If there are more than the defaults of ten task sheets in this expanded view,
select Go To and enter the sheet you wish to view.

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Turndown The TURNDOWN MANAGEMENT screen displays a list of rooms that
have requested turndown service for the current date, while identifying rooms
Management that have already received turndown service and those that do not require it
for the current date.
To prepare a task sheet for Housekeeping:
1. From the main menu, select Rooms Management and Housekeeping.

2. Select Turndown Management
The TURNDOWN MANAGEMENT screen displays.
Opera offers the following options for filtering the Turndown Search screen
display:
Turndown Status
• Requested shows reservations pending turndown service. The

Turndown check box is selected on the Room Instructions screen for
that reservation.
• Not Required shows reservations for which turndown service is not
to provide.
• Completed shows reservations that have already received turndown
service on the current date.
Reservation Status
• Arrivals shows reservations that are scheduled to arrive today (Due

In).

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• Arrived shows reservations that are in-house (Checked Ins that
arrived today and Due Outs that are Day Use)
• Stay Over shows reservations that will be in-house tonight (Checked
Ins that arrived prior to today).
3. Make your search criteria selections

4. Select Search
5. To display a reservation for review or editing, double click on the grid
entry or highlight your choice and select Resv.
The Advanced button accesses the following additional search options:
1. From Room/To Room searches for a range of rooms. Entering only a

From Room searches for that room and all higher numbered rooms.
2. Room Type allows you to choose one or more room types.
3. Room Class allows you to choose one or more room classes for which
you wish to search.
6. To generate the turndown tasksheet, select Report
The TURNDOWN TASKSHEET filter screen displays.
7. Enter Total Attendants

8. Enter Maximum Credits
9. Choose to Show Guest Name
10. Select OK
11. Choose to Preview, Print or File the task sheet.

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The TURNDOWN TASKSHEET prints, files or displays on screen.

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Facility The Facility Forecast function provides a statistical overview of your property
for upcoming days.
Forecast
To utilize the Facility Forecast function:

2. Select Facility Forecast.
The FACILITY FORECAST screen displays.
3. Select the start date for the facility forecast from the search screen.
4. Select one or more facility tasks using the drop down arrow.
NOTE: If you select Search and no facility tasks are defined, OPERA
queries and displays all facility tasks.
Once you perform a search, the Report button becomes available.
1. Select Report button to go to the Report parameters menu.
The report prints out searched facility tasks and any associated codes for the
five-day period beginning with the date defined in the search.

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Guest Service The Guest Service Status screen is to set up and manage “Do Not Disturb”
and “Make Up Room” guest service notations. The screen displays guest
Status service statuses for all currently occupied rooms. A room can have a Do Not
Disturb Status (DND), a Make Up Room (MUP) status, or no guest service
status.
To use this feature:

2. Select Guest Service Status.
The GUEST SERVICE STATUS screen displays.
3. Choose the appropriate search criteria and select the Search button.
Opera selects all statuses by default; Service Status and Room default is
blank.
• Resv. displays the reservation associated with the highlighted room

• Report previews and/or prints the hk_details report, automatically
filtered to show only occupied rooms.

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Additional Rooms Management Options
Out of Order / For whatever the reason a room becomes unavailable to guests, be it a
mechanical failure with the room, or otherwise, OPERA makes it easy to mark
Out of Service the rooms and set them aside, preventing them from being reserved. The Out
of Order (OOO) and Out of Service (OOS) option makes a room among the
last to be sold or completely unavailable for sale due to maintenance issues.
Out of Order rooms deduct from inventory (made unavailable); while Out of
Service rooms remain in inventory (“last resort” availability). Room blocks can
be put OOO/OOS for any given date or period in the future.
NOTE: It is not possible to take an occupied or reserved room to a status of

Out of Order.
To mark a room as Out of Order or Out of Service:

2. Select Out of Order/Service.
The OUT OF ORDER/SERVICE screen displays.
By default, all rooms display in room number order. The top portion of the
screen allows you to select search criteria. Checking the boxes in the Show
field restricts the rooms displayed to OOO, OOS, or both. You can also
search by date or room.
3. Select New to place a room on OOO or OOS status.

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You may enter room into OOO/OOS status by two possible methods.
• Room List-manually type in the room’s numbers separated by a

comma, or select the down arrow beside the field then mark all the
rooms with an “X”.
• From Room and To Room-all room numbers in between the rooms
entered in this field get placed into OOO or OOS status.
4. Enter the From Date and To Date.

5. The Status field indicates whether the room goes into Out of Order or
Out of Service.
6. Return Status indicates the housekeeping status the room returns too
upon coming out of OOS or OOS status.
7. Reason indicates the general reason for the room going into OOS or
OOO status.
8. Remarks is a free format text area to type in a more specific reason as to
the change of status.
9. Select OK
Some additional options for the OUT OF ORDER/SERVICE screen are

listed below:

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• Details allows you to view all current information on this room.
• Resv. displays the reservation connected to the room, if any.
• Copy duplicates the status of one entry, applying it to a number of rooms.
For example, a carpet cleaner might come to clean the entire third floor at
once. Opera enables you quickly handle large room groups by creating a
single entry, selecting Copy, and entering all room numbers that will be out
of order at the same time.
• Edit modifies an existing record.
To remove a room from OOO/OOS before the default date passes, follow the
steps below:
1. From the OUT OF ORDER/SERVICE screen, search for and highlight

the room you wish to remove.
2. Select Delete.
3. Answer “Yes” to the message confirming the deletion.
NOTE: If you delete an out-of-order room for a future date, the status of the
room will remain as it is currently. If you delete or change an active out-of-
order setting (i.e., for today), OPERA will use the Status after Return setting for
the room.

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Room History The Room History option allows research on room numbers for many
purposes. You may view reservations that occupied room numbers from any
date in the past. With this feature, you can search for occupying guests for lost
and found items.
To display a room’s history, follow the steps below:

2. Select Room History.
The ROOM HISTORY screen displays.
3. In the top portion of the screen, enter any search criteria such as the Room
Number you wish to view and select Search.
4. You may also select to see room that have Departure Since or even search
for a past guest by Credit Card No.
5. To view guest information such as address or phone number, highlight the
room record and select Profile.
6. To view the guest’s reservation details, select Resv.
7. To view the revenue generated by the past guest or even to view folio
details, select either Revenue or Folio.

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Overbooking If your hotel allows the management staff to establish overbooking or over-sell
limits, use the Overbooking feature to assign the number of rooms you allow
for oversell at the hotel. This feature allows you to establish an oversell
number so that the hotel may sell its rooms to capacity.
To setup or view overbooking limits for the hotel, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Rooms Management and Overbooking.
The OVERBOOKING SETUP screen displays.
2. To establish sell limits, select New.

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The NEW NUMBER TO OVERBOOKING screen displays.
3. Enter the From Date/To for the dates to set overbooking limits.
4. Check the days of week the limits apply.
5. Click the drop down arrow next to the Room Type field to select the room
type for overbooking.
6. Select the Number or Percentage radio button to either set a specific
overbooking number or rooms or a percentage of the total number of
rooms by room type.
7. Enter either the Overbook Number or Overbook Level.
8. Select OK.
Notice the limits set in the Overbooking column of the setup screen. To view
the difference in the number of rooms left to sell and the overbooking limit,
select Physical.
Occupancy The Occupancy Graph is a wonderful tool for graphically viewing occupancy
activity at the hotel. Housekeeping and Maintenance departments also
Graph commonly use this feature for scheduling purposes. For more details on
viewing and understanding the Occupancy Graph, refer to the
“Miscellaneous” chapter of this manual.

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Maintenance The Maintenance feature gives the Engineering and Housekeeping
department the ability to note a work order for a room that is in Out of Order
status. This feature allows you to enter an action for the maintenance
department to take on a room. From this, the engineer may print a report of all
requests. Once all maintenance requests are attended to, the work orders may
be resolved.
NOTE: Placing a maintenance order on a room number does not

automatically place the room in Out of Order status nor is the room deducted
from inventory. In addition, this is not a full-scale quality management system.
To place a work order into maintenance for a room, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Rooms Management and Maintenance.
The MAINTENANCE screen displays.
2. Select New.
The ROOM MAINTENANCE – NEW screen displays.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Room field and choose the room(s)
for the work order.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Reason field to select from a list of
pre-defined maintenance requests.
5. Enter any additional instructions or text for the work order in the Remarks
field and select Save.

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To print a report of all unresolved work orders, follow the steps below:
1. From the MAINTENANCE screen, select the Unresolve radio button at

the top of the screen and select Search to display unresolved work orders
in the display grid.
2. Select Print.
To resolve maintenance requests once completed, follow the steps below:
1. From the MAINTENANCE screen, search for and highlight the room
with a work order to resolve.
2. Select Resolve.
3. Answer “Yes” to resolve the record.

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Chapter 7 – Accounts
Receivable

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AR Overview
AR Pre- There are four pre-requisites for direct bills to properly post to the AR Ledger.
Requisites • A valid AR number must exist on the Company, Group or Source profile.
This indicates that Accounting validated the company’s credit and
approves them for direct billing.
• The charges that the company agrees to pay for must route to folio
window “2” on the guest folio “owned” by the AR Profile.
• The charges routed to the second folio window must have CL (City
Ledger) or DB (Direct Bill) as the form of payment and settled to the
appropriate transaction code.
• A Night Audit must complete on the business date the direct bill checkout
occurs moving the folio balance to an invoice on the AR account.

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Transfer Transfer F/O Data is a process that allows the user to view, edit and print all
invoices before transferring them to the AR account. All invoices in the transfer
F/O Data bin total on the AR Ledger as accruals, but are not actual invoices until they
transfer. This feature enables Accounting to check the accuracy of the companies
billed for the invoices before they show up in the account.
NOTE: This feature is only available if the AR application setting “Auto

Transfer Folios” is NOT active. If this setting is active, the Transfer F/O Data
bin does not exist and invoices transfer to their appropriate AR accounts in the
AR ledger during the audit following the guests’ checkout date.
Follow the steps below to transfer outstanding invoices from the Transfer F/O
Data bin to the AR Ledger:
1. From the main menu, select AR.

2. Select Transfer F/O Data.
The TRANSFER ACCRUALS TO AR screen displays.

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The Transfer accruals to AR screen displays all folios from the previous business
day checked out to the DB transaction code. Check Outs for today do not display
in the bin until a Night Audit runs.
3. To search for transactions for a specific date, enter the date in the From Date
and To Date fields.
4. Verify that each folio invoice belongs to the correct AR account.
5. If an invoice needs adjusting to belong to another account, highlight the
invoice in question and select Edit.
6. When the PROFILE SEARCH screen displays, use the search criteria to
locate the appropriate company responsible for that invoice
7. Highlight the desired company and select OK to save.
8. To see folio detail on the invoice, highlight the desired invoice and select
Details.
NOTE: You cannot make adjustments from this screen. Adjustments are only
possible on folios once the invoice exists on the AR account.
9. If necessary, print a copy of the folio by selecting Folio. Print individual

folios for each invoice by placing an “X” next to each invoice before selecting
Folio. To print all folios for all invoices, select the All option before selecting
Folio.
10. After printing, choose Transfer send all selected invoices to their
corresponding account in the AR ledger. This options transfer only those
invoices marked with an “X”. There is also All, which marks all invoices to
transfer to the AR ledger for that business date at the same time.

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Account Maintenance
New AR Creating a new AR account may happen in several places. Since most AR
accounts are for companies, it is most natural to create a new account from within
Account the Company profile. However, if creating multiple accounts at one time, we
suggest using the AR module.
Follow the steps below to create a new AR account:

2. Select Account Maintenance
The AR ACCOUNT SEARCH screen displays.
4. Enter either the Account Name or Account Number and select Search to
display specific accounts.
5. If no account exists for the company, select New.
6. Use the PROFILE SEARCH screen to locate an existing profile or create a
New one.

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The SETUP ACCOUNT screen displays.
7. Click the drop down arrow next to Account Type to select the hotel defined
account type (i.e. Corporate Accounts). Account types usually differ from
hotel to hotel and are setup for varying reminder letter cycles.
8. Enter the Account Number. Account numbers are defined your hotel.
Usually, they follow some pattern and the Accounting office sets that pattern
for all accounts. Depending on your hotel’s application settings, this number
may auto-generate or you may enter the number manually.
9. Enter the Credit Limit to define how much the Accounting department
approves for use on this account. This does not limit the account from use,
but rather flags the account on reports if there are outstanding balances that
exceed the account’s credit limit. Depending on your hotel’s application
settings, you may have a default credit limit assigned for accounts.
10. Select Flagged for the account only if the account has a “Restricted” status
to deactivate the account for direct billing.
11. Enter the Contact and AR address, phone, or fax information. If the
account contact or communication information differs from that on the
profile, be certain to change those details here. Changing these details will not
change the information on the existing profile.
12. Leave the Include in Batch Stmt. and Permanent Account check boxes
marked to include this account when printing batch statements of invoices and
to prevent the account from deletion during purging.

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View AR Follow the steps below to access and view an AR Account and invoice details:
Accounts 1. From the main menu, select AR.
2. Select Account Maintenance.
3. Enter your Password at the CASHIER LOGIN screen and select Login.
4. Use the Account Name or From Account No. fields to search for the
account and select Search.
5. Highlight the account and choose Select.
The Account Name and number display in the upper left corner. The Account
Balance displays in the upper right corner for all open invoices.
In the center screen, invoices display. Displayed is the invoice Date, Name of the
guest, the original Folio No. and the new Invoice No., the original Amount of
the invoice and the Open balance on the invoice (usually on different if a partial
payment exists on the invoice).
Along the top of the screen is a search area. It is possible to locate an invoice by
Folio No., Invoice No. or transfer Date.
To view only payments posted to the account, mark Payments Only. To view
only invoices with open balances, select Open Invoices. To view all invoices
(both paid and outstanding) select All Invoices.

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Listed below are the features within the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen:
• New - creates a new AR invoice for that account directly in the AR Ledger
• Edit - edits the invoice history for the selected invoice
• Invoice - displays folio details on the selected invoice
• Payment - applies a payment to the selected invoice
• Compress - combines multiple invoices selected into one invoice (for
more details on compressing invoices, see the “Compress Invoices”
section of this chapter.
• Options - displays the AR invoice options menu (i.e. Notes, Traces, Post
History)
View and When viewing invoices, the folio details from the original guest stay display on the
screen. This allows you to investigate the details of a particular invoice and make
Modify AR adjustments or post new charges to the invoice.
Invoice
Follow the steps below to view the folio details of an invoice:
Details
1. From the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen, highlight the invoice you
wish to see details and select Invoice.
The INVOICE DETAILS screen displays.
Along the top of the screen is stay information on the invoice including Arrival
dates, Departure dates, and guest Name.
Individual charges appear in the center of the screen very much like a folio in the
BILLING screen.

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2. To apply a charge to the existing invoice directly in the AR account, select
Post. The same posting screen you see in the Cashiering module appears.
3. To post an adjustment to an existing charge on an invoice, highlight the
existing charge and select Adjust. See the “Adjusting Charges on an AR
Invoice” section of this chapter for more details.
4. To print the folio, select Folio.
5. To modify transaction details, such as a reference or supplement line, on a
particular charge, highlight that charge and select Edit.
6. To view or modify the individual guest profile that belongs to that invoice,
select Profile.
7. To close the AR INVOICE DETAILS screen and return to the
ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen, select Close.
Create a In some instances, it is necessary to create an invoice directly in the AR account.

New AR Follow the steps below to create a new invoice directly in the AR ledger:
Invoice
1. From the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen, select New.
The NEW INVOICE screen displays.
2. Enter the Market, Source, Room Class, and any Invoice Supplement or
Invoice Reference details desired. Typically, the hotel predefines these for a
new invoice in AR configuration.
3. Select OK to continue.
The POSTING screen displays.
Enter the charges to post (as explained in the Cashiering chapter) and select Post.
4. A message displays asking if you would like to print a folio for the invoice.
Answer Yes to print the invoice or No to decline.

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Adjust an It is possible to adjust charges on an invoice after the invoice reaches the AR
account. Any adjustments made to an invoice in AR will not reflect in Folio
AR Invoice History on that folio in the Cashiering module.
Follow the steps below to adjust a charge on an invoice:
1. Highlight the desired invoice in the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen

and select Invoice.
2. Select Adjust.
The ADJUST TRN. CODES POSTINGS screen displays.
3. Enter the Trn. Code to adjust on the invoice.

4. To adjust multiple dates for the same transaction code, enter a Begin Date
and End Date.
5. Enter an Amount or Percentage to adjust. Be certain to enter a “-“sign
when reducing a charge on the folio.
6. Enter the Reason Code for the adjustment and any additional Reason Text.

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Apply an Sometimes, you receive a payment on an account that does not directly apply to
specific invoices. An unallocated payment applies a credit to the total account
Unallocated balance and not a specific invoice. Even though an unallocated payment applies
Payment to the total account balance, individual invoices continue to age (even if the
account balance is zero). Therefore, in every situation possible, apply payments
on accounts directly to invoices.
Follow the steps below to apply an unallocated payment to an AR account:
1. From the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen, select Payment without

marking or highlighting any invoices.
2. Enter the Payment Code and Amount as well as any Supplement or

Reference information (i.e. check numbers).
3. Select the Unallocated Payment option.
4. Select OK.
NOTE: Applying a credit has reduced the account balance, but the invoices still
age and continue to age until paid in full. To close an invoice and stop it from
aging, a payment must apply directly to the invoice.

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Applying When you receive a payment on an invoice, correct procedure is to apply the
payment directly to that invoice. However, there are instances where invoices
Payments to have aged seriously and you choose to apply a payment to the oldest invoices. IN
Oldest addition, there are also times when a check arrives from a company that includes
Invoices or payment for multiple invoices.
Selectively Follow the steps below to apply a payment to the oldest invoices:
1. From the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen, place an “X” next to the

invoice(s) you wish to pay and select Payment.

3. Select the Apply payment to oldest charges option.
4. Select OK.
This applies the credit in order of age of the invoice.

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Follow the steps below to apply a payment selectively to several invoices:
1. From the ACCOUTN MAINTENANCE screen, place and “X” next to the
invoice(s) you wish to pay and select Payment.
3. Select the Apply payment selectively option.
The APPLY CREDIT SELECTIVELY screen displays.
All invoices selected list with the Balance and Post Date of the invoice.
4. Highlight the invoice to apply credit and use either the Pay Full option or
type the amount to pay in the Apply field.
NOTE: Note the Remaining balances at the bottom of the screen. This is
useful when applying payments selectively to indicate how much remains on the
payment.
5. Apply the total credit available in the payment and select Post.

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Apply Another way of making payments on AR accounts is paying an invoice directly.
Use the Payment option when posting collected payments on specific invoices
Payment individually intended to close the invoice.
and Close
Follow the steps below to post a payment and close an invoice:
an Invoice
1. Search for the invoice to pay on the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen.
2. Highlight the desired invoice to pay, place an “X” next to the invoice, and
select Payment.
3. Select the Payment Code and enter the Amount. The amount defaults to the
invoice balance.
4. Choose to Apply payment to marked charges.
5. Enter any Supplement or Reference information needed.
6. Select Post.
The invoice is now fully paid and closed.

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Unapply There are times when we need to reverse a credit or payment (usually when posted
in error). For this situation, use the Unapply credit feature. Unapplying a
Payment – payment does not reverse the payment from the account. Usually, after a credit
Write Off unapplies from an invoice, we write the balance of the invoice off by making an
invoice adjustment.
Follow the steps below to Unapply a credit or payment:
1. Locate the invoice on the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen.

2. Highlight the invoice and right-click to choose Unapply.
The payment originally applied to that invoice now appears as a separate line item.
The invoice returns to an “Open” status as well.

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Reverse After unapplying a payment or credit on an invoice, the credit either remains
unallocated on the account or is reversed and taken completely off the account.
Payment
Follow the steps below to Reverse a payment made in error:
1. Locate the payment in the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen.

2. Highlight the payment and right-click to select Reverse Payment.
NOTE: You cannot reverse a payment if it still applies to an invoice. To

unapply the payment from the invoice first, refer to the “Unapply Payment”
section of this chapter.
NOTE: After reversing a payment, the total account balance increases by that
amount and there is no line item in the account for the payment.
Compress Multiple invoices on an AR account can be difficult to manage. There are times
when your accounts will prefer to have a group of invoices compressed into one
Invoices invoice. For example, if an airline crew stays at your hotel, the airline typically
prefers one invoice for the flight number, instead of individual invoices for each
crew guest. In this event, the Compress feature is the solution.
To compress invoices, follow the steps below:
1. From the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen, place and “X” next to

each invoice to compress and select Compress.

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The COMPRESS INVOICES screen displays.
2. Enter any Reference or Supplement information regarding the compression

and select OK.
The invoices wrap into one invoice and new invoice number assigns.
3. To view details of the compressed invoices, click the “+” sign next to the
compressed invoice.

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In the event that you mistakenly compressed invoices and need to reverse the
action, highlight the compressed invoice and right-click the mouse to choose
Uncompress.
This action returns all compressed invoices back to individual invoices.
NOTE: You may only uncompress invoices on the same business date they
originally compressed.

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Accounting Options
To view, update and maintain account information from the AR account from
both the AR ACCOUNT SEARCH screen and the ACCOUNT
MAINTENANCE screen, use any of the options below:
Select Options from the AR ACCOUNT SEARCH screen to display the

ACCOUNT POSTING OPTIONS screen.
Select Options from the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen to display the

ACCOUNT POSTING OPTIONS screen.
Account The Account Setup feature displays the SETUP ACCOUNT screen view earlier
in this chapter. If you need to make modifications to the AR account information,
Setup select this option.

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Aging Aging shows a view of outstanding or “open” balances or credits on an account
for all aging periods.
Follow the steps below to view the aging of an account:
1. Select Options from the AR ACCOUNT SEARCH screen.

2. Select Aging.
This screen displays the aging Levels (buckets) and any Open balances or Credits
in each bucket.
Close For hotels that allow invoices to remain open until a manual selection to close it,
the Close Invoice option closes paid invoices. This option is only available once
Invoice you pay the invoice in full. If your hotel does not choose to close invoices
manually, the process of applying a full payment to the invoice closes the invoice.
Fixed The Fixed Charges option exists for setting up a fixed charge to post
automatically to an AR account. For example, if a company next door to the hotel
Charges rents a parking space from the hotel and you bill them on a monthly basis, setup a
Fixed Charge on the account to post to an invoice nightly with the End of Day
postings.
For more details on created Fixed Charges, refer to the “Reservations” chapter of
this manual.
Future Selecting the Future Resv. option displays any future reservations for the account
highlighted. This is particularly useful if you have approved a company’s credit for
Resv. Direct Bill at your hotel and wish to access each future reservation and authorize
billing for the guests.

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AR Notes AR Notes log text information or keep notes about an account. Use it to record
notes during telephone conversations, to record past history of issues, or just to
log general information regarding the account.
Follow the steps below to add Notes to an account:

2. Select Notes
Previously entered notes appear on the screen.
3. Select New to enter a new note.

4. Add a Title for the note and enter any note Text.

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Post History Post History displays detailed information regarding postings (both payments and
revenue postings) applied to an AR account.
Follow the steps below to view Post History on an account:

2. Select Post History.
All postings to the AR account display.
3. Select Details to access more information about an individual charge

including adjustments.
Details list the original posting on the left and any changed or adjusted
transactions on the right.
Pay History Payment History displays detailed information about payments made on an AR
account.
Follow the steps below to view Payment History on an account:
1. Select Options from the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE screen.

2. Select Pay History.
The PAYMENT HISTORY screen displays any payments made on invoices, the
applied Amount to each invoice, and the Post Date of the payment.

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Profile This feature accesses the profile for the account. For more details on modifying
and updating profiles, refer to the “Profiles” chapter of this manual.
Reminders - Most commonly, AR departments generate Reminder letters for accounts with
invoices past due or seriously delinquent in batches. From time to time, you may
Individual desire to print an individual reminder letter.
Follow the steps below to generate a Reminder for an individual account with
invoices that have passed an aging cycle:
1. From the AR ACCOUNT SEARCH screen, select Options.

2. Select Reminders.
The REMINDERS screen displays.
NOTE: Reminders only display on this screen if an invoice has passed a

Reminder cycle and you need to deliver a letter.
3. Place an “X” next to the letter you would like to send. Select All to mark all
letters.
4. Either Preview the letter to your screen, Print the letter to your local
workstation printer, File the letter on your computer, Fax the letter, or Email
the letter.
NOTE: You must have the appropriate software and setup to Fax or Email
Reminder letters.

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Statements The Statement option prints a statement of invoices for one account at a time.
There is a review of Batch Statements later in this chapter.
- Individual
Follow the steps below to print a Statement for a single account:

2. Select Statement.
The STATEMENTS screen displays.
Place an “X” next to the Account Name to print statements.
3. If printing a customize statement, to print a statement only displaying invoices

balanced forward to the AR ledger before a certain date, enter the date range
in the Balance Forward From/To fields.
4. To print a statement only displaying invoices applied to the account after a
certain date; enter the date range in the Last Posted From/To fields.
NOTE: These fields customize the statement to print only the invoices selected.
5. To print a customized line of text on any statement, select the Add Text
option.
6. Choose either the Print Full Statement or Print Folios to print applicable
folios for invoices on the statement, and enter the number of Copies to print.
7. Select Print to print statements, File to file statements local on the PC, or Fax
or Email to fax or email the statements to an account.

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Traces To place a Trace on an account directly for an action to happen on the account,
1. From the Options menus, select Traces.

2. The TRACES screen appears.
3. Select New.
4. Enter any instructions in the Trace Text field and select OK.
Trace information now exists on the AR account and a red lamp displays in the
AR ACCOUNT SEARCH screen if you highlight the account.

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To view and manage all traces for individual or all accounts, follow the steps
below:
1. From the main menu, select AR and Traces.
The TRACES screen displays for all accounts. The radio buttons in the search
criteria allow you to change views for All Traces, Resolved Traces, or
Unresolved Traces.
2. To resolve an individual trace for an account, place and “X” next to the trace
and select Resolve.
3. To resolve all traces for all accounts, select Resolve All.
4. To modify or view an existing trace, select Edit.

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Transfer If a direct bill accidentally posted to the wrong company, you can transfer the
invoice to another account using the Transfer option.
NOTE: If the invoice was paid, the payment must be unapplied before the
invoices can transfer.
Follow the steps below to Transfer invoices from one account to another:
1. Place an “X” next to the desired invoice in the ACCOUNT

MAINTENANCE screen and select Options.
2. Select Transfer.
The TRANSFER screen displays.
3. Using the search fields, locate the AR account to transfer the invoice to and
highlight the account.
The Amount field is the total amount of the invoice to transfer.
4. Enter any additional text in the Supplement field.

5. Select OK to continue.
6. A message appears asking if you would like to transfer the invoice. Answer
Yes to complete the transfer or No to cancel the transfer.
NOTE: The original AR account now has both a “+” and a “-” invoice
indicating the debit and credit transfer to another account. This will not print on
the statement.

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Year View Year View displays summary totals of all debits and credits on an AR account for
an entire year. This view provides the best indication of how often accounts have
been tardy with payments
Follow the steps below to access the Year View:

2. Select Year View.
The YEAR VIEW screen displays.
This screen displays the history of Debits and Credits on a monthly basis for the
past year. This is helpful information when giving credit references or responding
to inquiries on a company’s account trends. In addition, this feature helps to
evaluate renegotiating a company’s authorization for direct billing at your hotel.

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Additional AR Features
Research Clients commonly request the status of an invoice or ask for more information.
Invoices remain in history after closing before the system purges the invoice. The
system purges old records by way of an application setting that’s defined
specifically at each and every hotel. Research provides a way to view invoice
information with ease.
Follow the steps below to access the AR Research option:

2. Select Research.
The TRANSACTION SEARCH screen displays a list of all invoices.
All invoices (both paid and unpaid) are available from this screen.
4. Use the search criteria fields to search for an invoice by Date, Invoice No.,
Account Name, or Account No.

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The following options are also available for use from this screen:
Account – displays the ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE for the selected account

and all invoices that belong to that account
Edit – displays invoice details such as posting date and original amounts.
History – displays the posting history for the selected invoice
Pay – allows payments to post directly to a selected invoice
Transfer – allows the transfer of a selected invoice to another account
View – displays folio details for the selected invoice for adjusting or reprinting of
the folio

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AR Credit AR Credit Cards allows all credit card transactions on a given business date to
create an invoice in the AR ledger awaiting payment. This feature compresses all
Cards credit transactions by credit card type into one invoice per day and transfers to the
AR ledger until the hotel receives confirmation that a payment deposits in the
bank for a batch. This feature requires the Accounting department or Night Audit
to transfer the credit cards by type to the corresponding AR account.
Follow the steps below to transfer credit cards to the AR ledger:

The CREDIT CARDS screen displays.
4. Select the first Credit Card type from the search box and select Search.
All credit card closures for that card type for the previous business date appear on
the screen.
5. Select Print All to print a detailed list of all transactions for that credit card
type before transferring to the AR ledger. Once cards transfer, each
transaction compresses into one invoice but detail is not lost.
6. To transfer one card at a time, place an “X” next to the record and select
Transfer.

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7. To transfer all cards of the select card type, choose All to select all credit card
records and then select Tfr. All button.
NOTE: To view transferred credit cards, access any card type AR account via
Account Maintenance, and choose Select to open the account. Select View to
displays individual transaction details on the compressed invoice. Once the wire-
transfer information arrives from the bank, you should Pay the account invoice as
normal.
Batch Batch Statements prints statements in one-step for all accounts with either open
invoice balances or all accounts in general.
Processing
Statements Follow the steps below to print Batch Statements:

2. Select Batch Processing and Statements.
3. Use the search criteria at the top of the screen to minimize the list of accounts
if necessary. Leave blank for all accounts.
NOTE: For this example, we run Batch Statements for all open balances with an
account balance of $1.00 or higher.
4. Select Open Balances and enter $1.00 in the Minimum Balance field and
select Search.
5. To print a statement for an individual account, place an “X” next to the
account name and select Print.
6. To enter promotional text and customize the statement, select Add Text and
enter a free text line.
7. To print statements for all selected accounts, select All and then Print.
8. A message displays asking if you would like to generate statements for the
selected accounts. Answer Yes to print or No to cancel the request.

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Additional options from within the STATEMENTS screen are as follows:
• Print Invoices check box allows you to print individual invoices along
with the statements.
• Previously Printed allows you to sort and print statements and invoices
previously printed.
• Not Printed allows you to sort and print statements and invoices not
previously printed.
• Copies allows you to enter the number of copies of statements to print.
• Balance Forward From/To allows you to sort just those accounts to
print statements with a balance from or to a certain date.
• Last Posted From/To allows you to sort just those accounts to print
statements that last had posting activity from or to a certain date.
• Sort Mailing by allows you to sort the order in which the statements print
for select accounts (i.e. by Account Name or Account No.).
• Preview, File, Fax and Email allow options for previewing statements to
your screen, filing statements local to your PC, faxing statements and
emailing statements.
NOTE: To fax or email statements, you must have the applicable software and
setup for faxing and printing.

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Batch Reminder Letters send notices based on aging periods for accounts with overdue
invoice balances. You may print reminders individually for an account or in batch
Reminders for all accounts that have reminders due.
NOTE: It is important to remember that once you print an AR account’s

reminder letter, the system does not allow reprinting from this area. A reminder
letter for an account only displays again in this screen once it passes a new
reminder letter cycle.
To reprint past Reminder Letters, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select AR and Batch Processing.

2. Select Reminders.
The PRINT REMINDER LETTERS screen displays.
3. Locate any account(s) using the search criteria and place an ‘X” next to each
account to select individual accounts. To select all accounts, select All.
4. Select Generate.
If reminders exist for printing, those reminders display in the GENERATE

REMINDER LETTERS screen.

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5. Place an “X” next to an individual account to print the generated reminders
and select Print. To print all generated reminders for all accounts, select All.
6. You may also choose to deliver or view reminder letters with the Preview,
File, Fax or Email options.
NOTE: To file or fax reminder letters, you must have the applicable email or fax
software setup.

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Statement Statement and Reminder History is useful for one or more of the following
reasons:
and
Reminder • To reprint statements with balances from the past
History • To reprint reminder letters generated in the past
• To verify that statements or reminder letters generated in the past
Follow the steps below to access Statement and Reminder history:
1. From the main menu, select AR and Statement History.
The STATEMENT HISTORY screen displays.
2. Select Statement or Reminder history in the search criteria at the top of the
screen.
3. Locate the desired account using the search criteria at the bottom of the
screen and either Preview or Print the statement or reminder letter.
AR Batch The AR Batch Posting feature allows you to post a charge to all AR accounts at
one time. An example of when you might perform this is when charging all
Posting accounts for a “late fee” or “service fee”. Whatever the reason, this feature within
AR, much like the Batch Posting feature of the Cashiering module, gives you the
ability to create multiple postings of the same type in one simple step.
NOTE: AR Batch Postings must be of the same transaction type and price. In
addition, when performing postings, a new invoice creates on each account.

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Follow the steps below to perform AR Batch Postings:
1. From the main menu, select AR and Batch Postings.

The AR BATCH POSTINGS screen displays.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Trn. Code field and select the
transaction code to post.
4. Enter the Amount of the posting.
5. To select all accounts of a specific type (i.e. all airline accounts), click the drop
down arrow next to the Account Type field.
6. Place and “X” next to the type of account and select OK.
7. To select individual accounts, click the drop down arrow next to the Account
field.
8. Search for and place an “X” next to each account to charge.
9. Select OK to return to the AR BATCH POSTINGS screen.
10. Enter any Supplement or Reference information.
11. Check the Override Credit Limit box if you wish to post the charges to the
accounts regardless off their credit limitations.
12. Select OK to complete the postings.
The Progress Bar indicates success for batch postings. A message displays after
100% posted successfully.
13. Answer “Yes” to view Posting Details or “No” to exit the screen.
The POSTING DETAILS screen lists all postings generated to accounts.
14. Select OK and Close to exit the screen.

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AR Detailed The AR Detailed Aging report displays all detail of accounts by Account Name
and lists with account balances in their appropriate aging periods. Totals calculate
Aging for each Account Name, Account Type, as well as for the AR Ledger as a whole
Report by aging period. Accounts also group by type for easy filtering of specific types of
AR accounts (i.e. Group vs. Company vs. Airlines Crews).
To print or preview Detailed Aging report, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Reports.

2. Select the Report Group of Accounts Receivable.
3. Highlight the AR Detailed Aging report and select OK.
4. Enter the desired Account Type, Business Date, and Sort Order (i.e. by
Account Name).
5. Select to Preview, Print or File.

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AR Daily 1. Print the AR Aging Summary and AR Ledger reports and balance totals with
the Trial Balance.
Checklist 2. Balance all Direct Bill folios for the business date with the totals in the F/O
Transfer Bin to the totals on the Trial Balance.
3. Print all invoices and transfer all Direct Bill folios from the FO Transfer Bin
to the AR ledger.
4. Print Statements for all accounts with open balances. NOTE: Aging begins
on invoices from the date they transferred into the AR ledger.
5. Post any collected Payments on accounts. Use Apply Credit for unallocated
payments invoices.
6. Post any adjustments on invoices or create new invoices with postings as
necessary.
7. Close your Cashier at the end of the day using Journal by Cashier and
Transaction Code report.
Optional Accounting/AR Functions
1. Print all reservations for tomorrow requiring direct bills and set up Routing
instructions.
2. Check in any Posting Masters arriving today; check out or extend non-POS
PM’s with balances.
3. Print all AR Traces and resolve them, if possible.
4. Post rent on retail outlets/office space and bill it by printing a Statement from
AR or by printing a guest folio from Cashiering if posted on a Posting Master.
5. Balance Credit Cards in AR. Use the Night Audit’s Credit Cards Posted Today
report and verify the total of each card type to the total transferred to the AR
account.

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General Cashier
1. Obtain or reprint a copy of the Trial Balance report and the Cashier Summary
report from the night before.
2. Using the Cashier Summary report, verify the drops for each Cashier that
posted Cash, Checks, or Foreign Currency.
3. Balance the total Cash, Checks, and Foreign Currency on the Cashier
Summary report to the totals on the Trial Balance.
Income Audit
1. The following reports must balance with each other for Opera to be in balance
with itself:
2. Trial Balance Report – Guest Ledger Detail Report; Financial Revenue and
Payments Report
3. Trial Balance Report – Deposit Cutover Report; Deposit Ledger Details
4. Trial Balance Report – AR Aging Detail Report and AR Aging Summary
Report
5. Trial Balance Report – Package Ledger Detail and the Package Allowance
Guest INH
Please refer to your property specific Accounts Receivable checklist. This is only a
suggested example of daily tasks to perform for proper Account Maintenance.

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Chapter 8 - Miscellaneous

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Quick Keys
Show Quick OPERA has several Quick Key options for viewing hotel activity and
performing various tasks in the system. These quick key options make it simple
Keys and easy to use the keyboard at any point in the system to access certain
functions without having to navigate through the menus.
To view all options and Show Quick Keys, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous.

2. Select Show Quick Keys.
To access a function within Quick Keys, you may either click the icon on the
menu or press the corresponding shortcut key on the keyboard listed for that
function.
The top row of the menu lists the designated function key for each column (i.e.
F1, F2, F3, etc.). In addition, the left column of the screen lists the designated
command key for each row (i.e. Shift, Control). Using these shortcut keys
allow you to quickly access various functions from any screen in OPERA.

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F1 – Opera The OPERA Online Help screens are an online resource for obtaining quick
information on a particular screen. Much of the information found in the help
Help menus mirrors the information found in this manual.
A popular key feature of OPERA’s help function, pressing F1 from any screen
in the system will automatically direct you to help on the current task, such as
when you need a definition of a field or further description of a topic.
To navigate Opera Help at any time, follow the steps below:
1. From anywhere in the system, press the F1 function key.
2. Select a topic from the menu on the left (i.e. PMS Operations - Cashiering).

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3. Select a function from the topic list (i.e. Passerby).
Information regarding that topic displays on the right side of the screen. For
further information on a particular field, select any hyperlinks underlined in
blue to navigate to the help menu for that field.
NOTE: If you press F1 while in any screen in OPERA, the system

automatically navigates you to the help menu and topic for that field.

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Shift F1 – The Occupancy Graph is a nice feature for a visual display of the hotel’s
occupancy by date or week. This graph shows your hotels occupancy in terms
Occupancy of reservations and blocks, with several options to sort the display.
Graph
To view and use the Occupancy Graph, follow the steps below:
1. From anywhere in the system, select Shift and F1.
The OCCUPANCY GRAPH screen displays.
2. Use the search criteria at the top of the screen to sort by Start Date or
Room Type and select Search.
3. To alter the Bar Display, click the drop down arrow next to the field.
4. You may also add Grid Lines and Percentages for easier viewing.
5. To switch to a week view, select the drop down arrow next to the Number
of field.
6. To move the display forward or backwards by week or days, select the
arrows at the bottom of the graph.
7. To print the current display, select Print.

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Control F1 – The Control F1 function key displays a list of available keyboard shortcuts.
These shortcuts include quick key options found in this chapter as well as
Keyboard additional keyboard navigation tips.
Shortcuts
To display the KEYS screen, follow the steps below:
1. From anywhere in the system, select Control F1.
2. Select OK to close.

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Shift F2 – The CONTROL PANEL screen displays a weekly view of hotel arrival
activity, occupancy, and availability. The CONTROL PANEL screen is
Control Panel invaluable to managers as a scheduling and forecasting tool. In addition to the
items noted above, this feature displays group activity and overbooking levels.
To view the Control Panel, follow the steps below:
1. From anywhere in the system, select Shift F2.
The CONTROL PANEL screen displays.
2. Use the search criteria at the top of the screen to modify the Start Date if
necessary and select Search.
Down the left side of the screen, explanations of values within the grid display
(i.e. Available Physical Rooms, Adults in House, etc.)
The following are also options from this screen:
• The Blocks option displays all Group Blocks for the date selected in
the grid.
• The Details option displays how many rooms sold by room type and
reservation type.
• If your hotel uses the Turnaway feature, the Turnaway option allows
you to log turnaway details for the selected date.

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Control F2 – The DETAILED AVAILABILITY screen displays available rooms in
fourteen-day increments. In addition, this screen has functionality to toggle
Detailed from occupancy to availability by room types.
Availability
To display Detailed Availability, follow the steps below:
The DETAILED AVAILABILITY screen displays.
2. Enter the Start Date in the search criteria at the top of the screen and
choose to Include Non-Deduct, Include Overbooking, or Include
OOO rooms and select Search.

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The following are also options from this screen:
• The Blocks option display a list of Business Blocks in house for the
date selected.
• The Details option display availability information for the date.
Selecting the Occupancy option within this screen changes the
information displayed from availability to sold statistics.
• The Zoom option displays how many rooms sold by room type and
reservation type.
• The Occupancy option changes the main grid view from available
room counts to sold room counts and toggles back to Availability.
• If your hotel uses the Turnaway feature, the Turnaway option
allows you to log turnaway details for the selected date.

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F3 – Available The AVAILABLE ROOMS SEARCH screen allows you to easily search for
a room number that is available, clean or inspected.
Room Search
To access the Available Rooms Search, follow the steps below:
1. From anywhere in the system, select F3.
The AVAILABLE ROOMS SEARCH screen displays.
The default search criterion for this screen is the available status at your hotel
(i.e. Clean or Inspected).
2. Use any of the search criteria to modify the viewable results and select
Search.

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Shift F3 – The HOUSE STATUS screen displays today’s in-house activity such as
arrivals, departures, occupancy, and overall availability. This screen provides
House Status detailed information on today’s hotel activity in one concise screen, making it
quite helpful for all front office personnel.
To access this screen, follow the steps below:
The HOUSE STATUS screen displays.

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The default date for this screen is today’s business date. There are five main
sections to this screen:
• Room Summary – displays the Total Physical Rooms in the hotel,

minus any Out of Order rooms, for a Total Rooms to Sell figure.
• Activity – displays the business date’s activity in terms of arrivals and
departures while differentiating expected versus departures.
• Complimentary and House Use – displays any expected
Complimentary Arrivals as well as House Use Arrivals including
Stayovers and Departures for both.
• End of Day Projection – displays occupancy totals and percentages
for the business date along with any group rooms in the Blocks not
Picked Up field.
• Housekeeping Room Status – displays actual counts of rooms by
housekeeping status (i.e. Clean, Dirty, Inspected, or Pickup).
2. To view more information about a status field, click the drop down arrow
next to the field.
3. To alter the business date, modify the Date field in the search criteria and
select Search.
NOTE: If you modify the search date to a future date, the Housekeeping
Room Status section removes and the Activity section reduces (see the
screenshot example below).

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Control F3 – The ROOM PLAN screen displays for a visual layout of guests occupying or
reserved for each room number in the hotel. This feature is most useful for
Room Plan pre-assigning groups of rooms at a time as well as for room moves.
To display this screen, follow the steps below:
The ROOM PLAN screen displays.
The left side of the screen displays Room numbers and housekeeping Room
Status. Within the grid are actual reservations occupying certain room
numbers whether in-house or pre-blocked for arrival. Each date along the top
spans a ten-day period with the hotels designated weekend highlighted in
yellow.
2. To modify the viewable date, select a new Date in the search criteria and
select Search.
3. To increase the number of rooms that display vertically, select Vertical
Zoom.
4. To increase the number of dates that display horizontally, select
Horizontal Zoom.
5. To move an in-house or pre-assigned room from one room to another,
simply highlight the room in the grid and using your mouse, drag and drop
the room to another cell in the grid.
NOTE: If this process causes a room change to a different room type, a

message prompts asking you to verify that room type change or to authorize
any accommodation or rate changes.
Some additional features from this screen are as follows:

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• New/Edit: creates a new or edits an existing reservation for the room
and date selected in the grid.
• Advanced: displays advanced search options
• Rm. Block: after selecting a room number and a date, this option takes
the user to the ROOM ASSIGNMENT screen and displays only
reservations that meet the room type and date requirements. If no
rooms exist, a message displays indicating so.
• Walk In: allows the user to create a walk in guest reservation from this
screen. Refer to the Front Desk chapter of this manual for details on
this process.
• Options: displays the Reservation Options for the guest selected in the
main grid of the screen.
• OOO/OOS: displays the OUT OF ORDER screen, and is useful for
placing a room out of order or out of service quickly.
• Calendar: displays the CALENDAR screen; for more information,
refer to the Reservations chapter of this manual.
Shift F4 – The INQUIRY screen is a useful tool for the Sales department and
Reservation departments to request availability for group contracts. For more
Inquiry details on this option, refer to the “Business Blocks – Groups” chapter of this
manual.

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Control F4 – The Dashboard is an all-inclusive screen for the Front Desk staff to perform
most functions of their job role. Using the Dashboard an agent can create
Dashboard reservations, check in guests, print reports, make changes to guest information,
walk in guests, view and make posting to the guest bill, as well as begin the
check out process.
The DASHBOARD screen displays.
The dashboard contains several display areas: Search, Reservation, Profile,

Additional Information, and Cashiering.
SEARCH:
2. To search for reservations or in-house guests, enter the Name or

Confirmation number in the search criteria and select Search. For
additional search options, select Advanced.
3. To display the shortcut key menu from this chapter, select Show Quick
Keys.
4. To access the users defined report menu select Reports.
5. To access the main housekeeping screen, select Housekeeping.

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RESERVATION:
6. To view basic reservations details, highlight a record in the search results

window – the basic accommodation details display in this section. Options
vary depending on the reservation status select in this window.
7. To view full reservation details, select View Reservation or Change
Reservation.
8. To check in an arriving guest for today, select Check-In Guest.
9. To reinstate a cancelled reservation, select Reinstate.
10. To reverse a mistaken check in, select Cancel Check-In.
PROFILE – ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
11. Profile information for the selected guest displays. To alter profile
information for the individual guest, select Change Profile.
12. Lamps for reservation options such as deposit and cancellation rules,
messages, and notes display as well. To access any of the reservation
options for the select guest, select Reservation Options.
13. To begin a new reservation at any time, select New Reservation.
14. To perform a walk-in reservation and check in the guest at the same time,
select Walk-In.
CASHIERING:
15. The room Balance displays along with the Payment type and balance of
Window 1 (typically owned by the guest). To check out an expected
departure, select Check Out.
16. To view a folio for an in-house guest, select View Charges.
17. Select Close to exit this screen.

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F5 – Rate To check availability and perform rate queries, selecting this quick key accesses
several options.
Query
To access each of these rate options for information, follow the steps below:
1. From anywhere in the system, select F5.
The RATE INFORMATION screen displays.
2. To perform a query on rate availability, select Rate Query. For more

information on the RATE QUERY screen, refer to the “Reservations”
3. To perform a lookup of rates that fall within a defined price range, select
Rate Lookup.
The RATE LOOKUP screen displays.

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4. Enter a Date and Price Range and select Search for a list of rates.
5. To view a list of items available for sell within packages, select Package
Elements. The PACKAGE CODES screen displays.
6. To view a graphic display of rate restrictions and house level inventory
controls, select Rate Availability Grid. The RATE AVAILABILITY
screen displays.
7. If your hotel has listed inventory for items such as cribs or rollaway beds,
select Item Inventory. The ITEM INVENTORY AVAILABILITY
screen displays.

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Shift F5 - The Floor Plan is a visual display of the actual facility and room layout of your
hotel. Though this screen is typically for user informational purposes, there are
Floor Plan several useful functions for locating a desired guest room.
The FLOORS screen displays.
2. Highlight the desired floor and select View.
The FLOOR PLAN screen displays.
Displayed in the screen is a visual layout of this floor at your hotel. The legend
at the bottom of the screen indicates the housekeeping statuses that correspond
to the colors in the room blocks. In addition, any other symbols used in the
plan display in the legend.
3. To view the reservation for a room with an expected arrival, either double-
click the room number with your mouse or highlight the room number and
select Resv.
4. To create a new reservation pre-assigned for a specific room number,
highlight the room number in the plan and select New.
5. To check in an expected arrival, highlight the room number and select
Check-In.
6. To exit from this screen, select Close.

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Shift F6 – The Quick Book feature accesses the QUICK BUSINESS BLOCK screen.
For more information on this feature, refer to the “Business Blocks – Groups”
Quick Book chapter of this manual.
F7 – New This feature accesses the RATE QUERY screen to begin booking a new
reservation. For more information on new reservations, refer to the
Reservation “Reservations” chapter of this manual.
Shift F7 – The Telephone Book is useful for retrieving local telephone numbers (i.e.
taxis, restaurants, etc.) for guests. Once you enter data, this screen can serve as
Telephone your automated “Concierge,” allowing you to serve your guests with greater
Book information. You can then offer this information to your guests and even print
the information for them.
To view this feature, follow the steps below:
The TELEPHONE BOOK screen displays.
This screen has three major display areas. The left side of the screen contains
Category information to group telephone entries such as restaurants or taxis.
The right side of the screen actually houses the telephone entries from within
each category. The lower portion of the screen displays any Remarks or Web
Address information. Use any of the search criteria at the top of the screen to
locate information.

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2. To add a new category, highlight the Category section of the screen and
select New. Enter the Category name and Description and select OK.
3. To add a new telephone entry within a category, first select the Category
and then highlight the right side of the screen before selecting New.
4. Enter the Name of the telephone entry, a Telephone number, any
Remarks and a Web Address if applicable. Select OK to save.
5. To print a report of a specific telephone category, select Report.
6. To open an internet window and direct to the website for the telephone
entry (i.e. www.hotels.com) highlight the telephone entry and click once
with your mouse in the Web Address field.
7. To remove a telephone entry or category altogether from the database,
highlight the entries and select Delete.

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Control F7 – The Telephone Operator function is primarily for the PBX operator to locate
guests, search for profiles, and manage guest messages, yet any Front Office
Telephone user can access this feature.
Operator
To view the operator screen, follow the steps below:
From anywhere in the system, select Control F7.
The T. OPERATOR screen displays.
Use the search criteria (including Advanced search options) to locate a guest.
In the results grid, guest Name, Room number, and reservation Status
display. The follow options are also available from this screen:
• The Message option navigates the user to the MESSAGES screen for
the selected guest.
• The Profile option navigates the user to the profile of the selected
guest.
• The Trace option navigates the user to the TRACES screen for the
selected guest.
• The Locator option navigates the user to the NEW LOCATOR
screen for the selected guest.
• The Resv. option navigates the user into the RESERVATION EDIT
screen allowing the user to make modifications to the guest reservation.

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F8 – Log Out This feature logs the user out of the system without closing the application.
When pressing F8 from anywhere within the system, an OPERA LOGIN
screen displays.
Another user may enter their login credentials, perform a task and press F8 to
log the user out again. When you select F8 to log out and then log back in, the
system returns you to the same function you were working in before logging
out. This is mostly useful for situations where the user does not have
permission to perform a function and needs to rely on a manager or supervisor
to perform the action.
To log back into the system, enter a User name and Password and select
Login.
NOTE: Logging out of the system using this feature only temporarily logs the
user out. Without completing exiting the system, the main login screen (single
sign-on) still has your user credentials. To completely log out of the system so
no other user can mistakenly open another module, you must select to log off
from the main OPERA webpage.
Shift F8 – This feature accesses the INTERFACE MENU screen for managing the
property’s interfaces, such as movies, PBX, and key card systems. For more
Interfaces information on interfaces, refer to the “Interfaces” section of this chapter.
Submenu

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Control F8 – The Maximum Availability feature displays the hotel’s availability by room
type for a single date including overbooking or sell limits.
Maximum
Availability To view availability, follow the steps below:
The MAXIMUM AVAILABILITY screen displays.
2. To modify the date viewed, enter a new date in the Start Date field and
select Search.
General Hotel Availability, Maximum Availability, and Minimum

(Tentative) availability display in the results depending on the number of
individual and group reservations sold, deducted, and blocked. In addition, RC
Totals (rooms committed totals) display at the bottom of the window.
Shift F9 – The Function Diary is a displayable feature for hotels with convention and
meeting space. If your hotel uses OPERA Sales and Catering or the Function
Function Space features within the Property Management System, this screen displays
Diary reservations for meeting and convention space. Access this feature to view
events and meetings plan in specific function rooms at your hotel.
For more information on this feature, refer to the OPERA Version 4.0 – Sales
and Catering Reference Manual.

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Additional Miscellaneous Features
Reports OPERA has a vast and robust report capability. The Reports option is the
feature to access and print any report in the system.
To print a report, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Reports.
The REPORTS screen displays.
2. To search for a specific report by name, enter the report name in the
Report field and select Search.
3. All reports categorize into groups based on the information the reports
contains. To view only reports within a specific category, click the drop
down arrow next to the Report Group field to choose the function area
(i.e. Departure, Financial, and Housekeeping).
4. Once you locate the report, highlight the report and select OK.
5. You may also select to Fax/Email or Print to File explained later in this
section. Additionally, you may alter the number of Copies to print or the
Current Printer designated for that workstation.

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In most cases, the next screen that displays is a “filter” screen for modifying the
view of the generated report. These screens differ based on the report selected.
Filters are specific for each report, and some reports do not contain any filters
and therefore customization of the report cannot occur.
6. Select any applicable filter criteria, parameters, check boxes, and radio
buttons to customize the report to your liking.
7. Select an option at the bottom of the filter screen to continue.
Located at the bottom of the filter and parameter screens are the 3 options:
• Preview allows the user to view the report on screen without sending
the report to any printer. The user can choose to print the report after
selecting the preview option. When previewing reports, the report
displays as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file in Adobe Acrobat
Reader.
• Print sends the report directly to the defined workstation printer. The
report does not display on screen for any type of preview.
• File option allows the user to save the report (in PDF file format) to a
designated file or directory on the local workstation. This is ideal for
emailing reports.
• Close exits the reports filter without generating the report.
For more information on the available reports, how to filter or customize a

report, and general report details, refer to the OPERA PMS Version 4.0 – Top
Reports Guide.

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Reports The Report Scheduler allows the hotel to set standard time for reports to
generate and automatically print or save to a file location.
Scheduler
To schedule and manage reports in the scheduler, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Reports Scheduler.
The SCHEDULES screen displays.
Search criteria at the top of the screen yields actual Scheduled Reports in the
center of the screen. The methods and parameters used for the scheduled
reports display at the bottom of the screen (i.e. report communicating to
printer, report communicating to email, report sending to file, etc.).

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2. Within the SCHEDULES screen, select New to add a new report
schedule.
The REPORTS screen appears.
3. Highlight the report you wish to scheduled and select OK.
The SCHEDULE screen appears.

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4. Enter the Date and Time the report is to begin printing.
5. In the Repeat area select the frequency for the report to print.
6. The Repeat Until area defines the end Date and Time for the report to
print. Choose the option Indefinite if the report is to remain on the
schedule.
7. Select OK to finalize the schedule.
8. If the report has parameters, select all applicable filters for the report.
9. Select how to generate the report (Preview, Print, or File).
Any reports scheduled to print now display in the list. At the designated date
and time, the reports automatically generate to the listed output.
Some additional options from the SCHEDULES screen are as follows:
• To toggle between reports listed for a scheduled time, and the actual
scheduled print outs that took place, select the Reports option. To go
back to viewing schedules, select Schedules.
• To delete or edit any existing report schedules, select Delete or Edit.
• To view a report already submitted for printing, highlight the report and
select View.
• To run a schedule report listing now instead of waiting for the
scheduled time, select Run Now.
• To refresh the display at any given time and update the latest reports
printed, select Refresh.

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Interfaces
Every hotel has different charge interfaces that connect with OPERA. Most
hotels, by standard have a telephone or PBX interface, a key-card interface
(such as VingCard or TESA), a voice mail interface, and a movie interface (such
as Lodgenet). Full service hotels with Food and Beverage outlets have F&B
interfaces (such as MICROS POS). The Interface option has the option
available for all users to access each installed interface.
The Interface Sub Menu displays all installed interfaces and their connection
status. If an interface is not functioning, access this feature to check for the
status of the interface.
Alternately, this menu allows some additional options like generating a

duplicate key for a guest or deactivating long distance calls and in-room movies.
For each of these features to operate, the interface installed must allow the
functionality control from this menu.

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Change Each user has the ability to change his or her login password at any time. Most
user names are set to expire on a regular basis requiring frequent password
Password changes for security purposes.
To change your login password at any time for your user login or cashier login,
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Change Password.
The CHANGE USER PASSWORD screen displays:
2. Enter your Old Password.

3. Enter a New Password. Passwords must be at least six characters in
length with one number.
4. Re-enter the same password to Confirm New Password and select OK
NOTE: The next time you log into OPERA from the main sign-on screen,
the new password takes effect.
Track It – The Track It! option allows to track the intake and delivery of items including
luggage, parcels, laundry and lost and found items. In addition, this feature
Dashboard includes a possible tracking module for valet parking.
To view and use the main Track It feature, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Track It.
2. Select Dashboard

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The TRACK IT DASHBOARD screen displays.
This screen consists of five main areas:
• Search – search criteria for locating parcels, valet, baggage or

lost/found items by Ticket Number. Also includes ability to access
the hotel’s Phone Book and to print a Track It report. Search results
display in the grid below.
• Log Book and Events – any items in the Log Book for the user’s
department or Sales and Catering Events list in this display area for the
bellman’s interest.
• Track It Details – area to input new tickets for a parcel, valet, baggage
or lost/found item.
• Reservation Details – are to select the guest to attach or detach a
tracked item

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3. To create a new Track It ticket, select New from the Track It Details
section.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to Track It Group and choose the
appropriate group. Use “Parcel” to track packages and deliveries; use
“Valet” to track parked cars via the valet service – your hotel may also use
this to track laundry/valet; use “Baggage” to track luggage stored for
arriving and departing guests; use “Lost” to track lost and found items.
5. Enter a Ticket Number if applicable.
6. Click the drop down arrow next to Type to select the type of item from the
Track It Group.
7. Click the drop down arrow next to Action to choose the activity on the
item (storing, delivering, etc.)
8. Click the drop down arrow next to the Location field to select the location
of a stored item (i.e. behind front desk, bellman closet, etc.)
9. Enter the Quantity of the item(s) (i.e. 2 bags) and a Description if
applicable.
10. Choose a Follow Up Date for a reminder on reports to follow up with the
guest.
11. Select Save to store the item in the Track It database.
NOTE: You may also view history on a Track It item by searching for the
item and selecting History. In addition, you may remove an unwanted Track It
item without deleting by selecting Cancel.
To attach a Track It item to an existing guest reservation or in-house guest
record, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous, and then Track It.
2. Select Dashboard.
3. Search for an existing ticket or create a new one.
4. Once you locate the ticket or complete a new one, highlight the item in the
left hand side of the screen.
5. In the lower right hand corner of the screen, select Attach
6. Locate the desired reservation from the RESERVATIONS search screen.
7. Highlight the desired record and select OK.
The Track It item now displays the reservation details in connection with the
ticket.
To detach a Track It item from an existing guest record, highlight the ticket in
the search results window and select Detach.

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Track It – The Track It! Valet Dashboard is useful for valet parking department for
tracking vehicles, processing vehicle locations, and other pertinent owner
Valet information.
To view and use the valet feature, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Track It.

2. Select Valet.
The VALET screen appears.
3. To add a newly parked car, select New.
The VALET – NEW screen displays.
4. Enter a Ticket Number given to the guest when the car dropped off.
5. Click the drop down arrows next to Type, Action, and Location to
identify each.
6. Enter any addition Reference or Description information and select Save.

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The following options are also available from the VALET screen for managing
parking services:
• To print a report of all cars valet parked, select Report.

• To view a display of all incoming house activity, select House Stat.
• To edit an existing valet entry, search for and highlight the record, then
select Edit.
• To delete an existing valet entry, search for and highlight the record,
then select Delete.

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Log Book The Log Book is a feature to enhance communications between shifts. As
guest activity constantly requires shift associates to make notes of specific
requests and to log each request to pass on from shift to shift, the Log Book
replaces the manual need to write such requests. Use the Log Book to give
specific instructions from one shift to the next on guest activity.
To leave a note in the Log Book for the next shift or for another associate,
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Log Book.
The LOG BOOK screen displays.
2. To view Log Book entries for your department, select the Log Date and
Department at the top of the screen and select Search.
3. To create a new entry in the Log Book, select New.
4. Choose the Department to view the log entry and today’s Date and Time.
NOTE: Any Log Book entries for future dates and times do not display unless
that log date is either active or you have directly searched for it.
5. Enter any Details for the log entry and select OK.
The following options are also available from within this screen:
• To print logged details for your department, select Report.

• To edit an existing logged entry, highlight the entry and select Edit.
• To delete an existing logged entry, highlight the entry and select Delete.

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Registration The Registration Cards option prints batch registration cards for arriving
guests. If your hotel pre-registers guests, this is a common feature to use on a
Cards daily basis.
To print batch Registration Cards, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Registration Cards.
The PRINT REGISTRATION FORMS screen displays.
2. The hotel’s default Registration Card populates the Registration Form

field, as does today’s Arrival Date.
3. Select to print batch registration cards for either reservations for
Individuals or Blocks or both.
4. Check the filter to Print if City is Omitted, if these guests are to be
included.
5. To print registration cards for a particular Room Class (i.e. Executive
Level) or Membership Type, click on the drop down arrow next to the
field and select the appropriate value.
6. Select the Sort Order that you prefer the cards to print (i.e. Alphabetical).
7. Choose any other filters as necessary and select Print.
NOTE: Registration cards for arriving reservations not pre-assigned to a

room number print with the Room No. field blank. You may elect to reprint
the registration card at any time during check in or once the guest is in house.

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Advanced Miscellaneous Features
Data Extraction Data Extraction offers your hotel the flexibility to pull data from the main
database and export it to another tool. Most commonly, Sales departments
use this utility to extract profile data on guests, companies and groups for use
in other system. Data Extraction offers multiple options to extract data
directly from database tables into other programs.
To perform a Data Extraction, follow the steps below:

1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous.
2. Select Data Extraction.
3. Select Data Extraction Query.
The DATA EXTRACTION QUERY SEARCH screen displays.
4. Select New to create a new query.

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The DATA EXTRACTION QUERY screen displays.
5. Enter a Query Name for the extraction (i.e. Company Profiles in US

with AR Accounts)
6. Click the drop down arrow next to the Step 1 Select a Data Source field
to select a data source.
7. Click the drop down arrow next to the Step 2 Select a Field for Filter
Condition field to select a filter field. The DATA SOURCE FIELDS
screen lists all available fields in the data source. For example, if the data
source is Profiles, then the filters available are those fields on a profile
screen.
8. Click the drop down arrow next to the Step 3 Specify a Filter
Condition field to apply a filter condition. For filter conditions with
values, enter the value(s) in the white text box.
NOTE: The AND/OR and () buttons allow you to write advanced filters.
9. Select Add next to the Step 4 Apply the Filter Condition field to insert
the chosen filter and its condition.
10. Repeat the fields for Step 2 and Step 3 until all applicable filters are
added to the white display window at the bottom of the screen.
11. Select Save to save the query and Process to process the query.

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The EXTRACT RESULTS screen displays.
12. Place an “X” next to each query result you wish to extract or select All to
choose all results. The None feature also allows you to deselect all
chosen results.
13. Click the drop down arrow next to the Create Mailing field to select the
file format to send the query results (i.e. merge into CSV or HTML file
format).
14. Check the box for Save Query Results and select the Tagged option to
proceed. Tagged is the terminology for query extraction records marked
with an “X”. If you only had several of the results tagged and wished to
extract those not tagged, you may select the Untagged feature to
proceed.

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The MERGE FIELD LIST screen displays.
15. Select New to create a field list of columns to pull into your extractions.
In other words, the list you are creating allows you to define the actual
data columns that merge into the file (while separating unwanted data
out). If a field list for this type of extraction already exists, you may
highlight it and select OK.

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The FIELD LIST screen displays.
16. Enter the Field List Name to define the type of mailing you intend to
send (i.e. AR Company Mailing).
17. Highlight any Available Fields in the data column and select Add to
move them to the Selected Fields column. To undo a selection,
highlight the selected field and choose Remove.
18. Select OK to return to the MERGE FIELD list screen.
19. Highlight the saved list (i.e. AR Company Mailing) and select OK.
The data extracts into either a Microsoft Excel file (CSV) or into a web file
(HTML) for manipulating and viewing.

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Print Tasks To print directly from an OPERA workstation, Print Tasks must exist.
Print Tasks identify the default printer for any system related print jobs. For
example, all registration cards from the workstation can go to the Front Desk
printer, while directing AR statements to a different printer in the Back
Office.
To setup new print tasks for the workstation you currently are working on,
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Print Tasks.
The PRINT TASKS screen displays any current print tasks for your
workstation. The Physical Device is the printer listed for each task.
2. To add a new print task, select New.
The PRINT TASK – NEW screen displays.

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3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Printer field to select the printer.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Print Task field and choose the
individual print tasks to send to the chosen printer.
NOTE: If all print tasks should go to this printer, select All from the task
list.

6. To modify an existing printer for a print task, highlight the task and select
Edit.
User Activity The User Activity Log is a valuable resource for investigating history and
researching a particular user’s activity on any given business date. Use this
Log screen to view the date and times actual system transactions took place and
print the results if necessary.
To access the User Activity Log, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and User Activity Log.
The USER ACTIVITY LOG screen displays.

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2. Click on the drop down arrow next to the User field and select the
desired user to research.
3. Choose a radio button to the right to indicate the module for the activity
(i.e. Reservations, Housekeeping, etc.)
4. Enter the Date/To date range and select one of the radio buttons to the
right to search for activity in a particular module of the system.
5. Select the Type of activity within that module (i.e. New Reservation).
6. You may also further refine your search by entering details in the Text
search field.
7. Select Search.
The user’s activity displays in the results window of the USER ACTIVITY
LOG screen.
8. To view the Description on a particular activity, double-click the activity

with the mouse to open a description window or highlight the line item
and select Details.
9. To print the results from a user activity search, select Report.

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Memberships The Memberships feature gives you the flexibility to add membership
numbers to existing or past reservations to award guest points. In addition,
you are able to use this feature to apply one membership number as a host
for several reservations (i.e. one membership number for five rooms all
awarded to the same number).
To add a membership record to a reservation for points, follow the steps

below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and Memberships.
The ATTACH MEMBERSHIPS TO RESERVATIONS screen displays.
2. Click the drop down arrow next to the Guest field and search for the
Checked Out reservation.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Member Type field to select
from an existing membership on the guest profile.
4. Place an “X” next to the membership to add and select OK.
5. If a membership does not exist, select New from within the
MEMBERSHIPS screen to add a new one.
NOTE: For more information on adding memberships to a guest profile,

refer to the “Profiles” chapter of this manual.
6. Select Calculate.
7. Answer “Yes” to add the membership and calculate points.
8. Select OK to the confirmation message.

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File Export The File Export feature is a manual way to generate file exports and view
exported data. At most hotels, the End of Day procedures may generate
guest information exports or even financial exports and deliver them to the
corporate office. This feature allows you to manually generate any export
template for your hotel and view the data extracted in the export.
To generate a file export from an existing template, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and File Export.
The EXPORT FILE LIST screen displays.
2. Select New.
3. Answer “Yes” to add an export from template.
The SELECT TEMPLATE FILE TYPES screen displays.

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4. Place an “X” next to the file export template you desire and select OK.
The export file chosen lists in the display.
5. Select Generate.
The EXPORT FILE TYPES screen displays.
6. Select Generate again.

7. Enter any parameters required for the export and select Start.
8. Answer “Yes” to view generated data.
The EXPORT DATA LIST screen displays.
9. To view the raw data collected in the export, select View.

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The EXPORT DATA screen displays.
10. To generate the file and save it local to the server, select Generate File.
The EXPORT screen displays.
11. Enter a File Name and File Extn. (i.e. taxexport.xls) and select OK.
12. To zip the generated file, select Zip File.

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File Download The File Download feature enables you to download saved export files from
the server to your local workstation. For example, if a membership export
was saved to your server, and you have reason to view the file locally, use this
option to accomplish this.
To download a file locally from a server location, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and File Download.
The FILE DOWNLOAD screen displays.
2. Enter the desired file in the File Name field and select Search.
3. Highlight the file and select Download.
4. Select Save to download the file and save to your local workstation.
A directory dialogue box displays.
5. Choose the directory folder to save the file and select Save.

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Chapter 9 – End of Day

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Overview Hotel properties use the End of Day sequence to close and balance each business
day's financial activities. Some of the processes the End of Day sequence
performs includes, reconciling guests' folios, processing credit card transactions,
generating fixed charges postings, calculate and print the daily statistics, provide a
cumulative balance of accounts receivable, and purge old data. The sequence
closes each business day and assures the financial accuracy of the following
business day. Through a vast reporting system, the End of Day sequence assists
management with interpreting operations, forecasting, and retrieving of statistical
information.
The End of Day sequence follows a prearranged routine designed to update the
guest folio, balance and close the property's records for that day, and prepare and
distribute a range of reports.
The business date in OPERA is not automatically changed when the real date
changes. The End of Day sequence is the trigger that moves the system date
forward by one date. Therefore, it is possible to run the End of Day sequence
prior to the real date change or the next morning.
There are three components to the audit process:
PRE-AUDIT WORK: This portion is completed prior to the running of the End
of Day. This work entails running reports and ensuring the hotel as a whole is in
balance. The procedures outlined in this guide are minimum suggested procedures
and these may change for each individual property.
RUNNING AUDIT: This portion is actually performing the End of Day

sequence. The system performs all of the date closure processes and functions
and prints reports.
POST AUDIT WORK: This portion is completed after the End of Day
sequence completes. The primary function of this component is preparing the
hotel for the new day. The procedures outlined in this guide are minimum
suggested procedures and these may change for each individual property.

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Pre-Audit This checklist is only a generic checklist to follow as an example for training
purposes. Please refer to your property specific End of Day or Night Audit
Work checklist for a complete list of audit tasks.
1. Review communication from the previous shift (Log Book).

2. Count and verify your bank prior to the previous shift’s departure.
3. Print your shift reports: Go to Miscellaneous, then Reports; change the
Report Group to “Shift Reports” and select the shift reports for the audit
shift which typically include:
• Guest In-House by Room (sorted alphabetically and by room)

• Arrivals Detailed (sorted alphabetically with notes/comments)
• Departures (sorted by room)
• Housekeeping Status
• Guest INH: Cash Payment Method
• Credit Limit (all payments)
• Guest INH: Reservation Traces
• Arrivals: VIP Report
NOTE: These reports may be scheduled to print automatically through the

Reports Scheduler.
4. Review daily arrivals. Check for duplicate reservations, block special requests,
and split reservations with multiple rooms.
5. Review the Credit Limit report for high balances and update approvals, if
needed through either manual or batch authorizations.
6. Review Trace report and communicate with appropriate departments.
7. Review VIP arrivals and communicate with Housekeeping and Room Service
to ensure the rooms are completely ready.
8. Throughout the evening, print DOWNTIME or emergency reports as
necessary.
NOTE: These reports may be scheduled to print automatically through the

Reports Scheduler.
9. Post all manual charges.

10. Check for Lost Interfaces postings (room # 9500); the PM account should
always have a zero balance. If there is a balance, determine which guest the
charges belong and transfer or adjust them.
11. Follow through and resolve any Discrepant Rooms in Housekeeping.
12. Print the Guests In-House Complimentary report and verify if the rooms
listed as complimentary are correct.

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13. Perform a bucket check. Look for and verify the following on each guest’s
registration card:
• Name – correct name on the room

• Room # - correct guest in the correct room number
• Rate – correct rate to charge the guest
• Rate Code & Market Code – correct rate/market code
• Departure Date – correct departure date for the guest
• Tax Exempt status – correct tax status
• Routing Instructions – setup if applicable
• Payment Type – check for credit card imprint
• Comp/House – ensure that these are approved by management
• Signature – required on all registration cards
• Address – required on all profiles and registration cards
14. Perform the End of Day Sequence and the following list is of suggested End
of Day Reports:
• Trial Balance (trial_balance)

• Guest Ledger (guest_ledger)
• Package Ledger Detail (effpkgledgerdtl)
• Manager’s Report (manager_report)
• Cashier Audit (finpayments)
• No Show Report (nanoshow)
• In House Guest List (gibyroom)
• Financial Payments and Revenue (findeptcodes)
• Open Balance All (finopbalall)
• Journal by Cashier and Transaction Report (finjrnlbytrans)
• Paid Outs (finpaidout)
• AR Ledger (arledger)
• Guests In House: Complimentary (gi_c_h)
• Group in House by Room (grpinhousebyroom)
• Group in House Summary (nagrpbussumm)
• A/R Ledger Aging Detail (aragingdet)
• A/R Ledger Aging Summary (aragingsum)
• Reservation Traces (gitraces)
• Rate Variance (gi_ratevariance)
• Credit Limit Report (gi_authlimit)
• Market Segment Totals (res_forecast2)
• Reservation Statistics (res_statistics2)
• Deposit Transfer at C/I (nadeptransci)

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15. Verify that all manual wake-up calls are entered into the phone system.
16. Balance your shift work, close your Cashier, and then at the end of your shift
print your Cashier Report. Count your drawer, and drop your deposit.
17. Communicate with the next shift any unusual activities and guest service items
to know for the following shift.

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Running the After all pre-work is accomplished, follow the steps below to being the systematic
audit and roll the business date:
Audit
1. Check that all users in the Back Office, Front Desk, and PBX have logged
completely out of the application and closed their session.
NOTE: Closing open cashiers will not make a drop for them. Any unsettled or
un-dropped balances carry over to the next business date for each cashier.
2. To start the Night Audit, return to the main OPERA web page and select End
of Day. Alternately, from within the application, you may select End of Day
and Night Audit.
3. Enter your User Name and Password.
4. Select today’s Business Date and choose Login.
OPERA verifies there is enough disk space to proceed and displays the END OF
DAY screen.
5. Select Start to begin.

6. The first step in the routine is to perform a country and state check on all
reservations. This ensures that each record has a suitable address. If it
identifies records with missing information, the results display in a separate
window.
7. Next, the system automatically processes any arrivals yet to check in as a no
show and their reservation status changes. If your hotel uses the Rolling No
Show feature, those reservations with reservation types designated to roll
automatically roll the arrival date of the reservation to the next day.
8. Next, a check for any remaining Departures not Checked Out occurs and
remaining departures display. Either extend the guest stay or check out the
guest. Process all of the departure’s on the screen as the End of Day sequence
cannot continue with departures remaining. Select OK after clearing all
departures.

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9. The next procedure ensures the current user’s cashier is closed if it is not
closed then the system prompts, “Do you want to Close the Cashier?”
Answer “Yes” and close your Cashier.
10. Finally, the system automatically closes any cashiers that have not closed
themselves. Answer “Yes” to close all open cashiers. You can prevent this by
checking the Cashier Status screen in the Cashier Functions prior to
running End of Day.
11. Enter any weather and notes information. This is a perfect opportunity to
enter notes for the cover page of audit reports that you distribute to
management. An example of notes to enter here are if you have suggestions
for corrections and adjustment for day shifts.
12. Next, the business date rolls. A message appears on the screen, sending a
signal to all users indicating they are to log out of the system. After 1 minute,
the system automatically severs the user’s connection, and the End of Day
sequence continues. The system date rolls forward to the next day.
13. As the actual audit begins, a window appears showing postings for Room, Tax,
Fixed Charges, Packages, and Package Profit and Loss followed by the
systematic End of Day procedures. To the right of this window, the status
displays as “RUNNING” (in Blue).
14. If any of the procedures display as “FAILED” (in red), you must exit the
Night Audit. For any failures during Room and Tax postings, exit the audit
and investigate the room number causing the failure. Most commonly, a
failure to post occurs when a Rate Code does not exist on the reservation.
Resolve the discrepancy and log back into the audit. Be careful to select the
last business date, as a new day now exists because the business date rolled.
Select Start to begin where you left off.
15. After additional procedures run, users may log back into the system and
continue working on the new business date.
16. In the final step, the system automatically prints Night Audit reports to the
printer. While not all reports that list actually print (some only file), you can
see the status of each report as it prints. If printing fails for any reason, you
may regenerate and reprint audit reports at any time in the application. Refer
to the “Reprint Night Audit Reports” section of this chapter for more details.
17. The Night Audit is now complete: Select OK.

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Post-Audit Vital to the hotel’s success, night auditors report to department heads each
business day’s financials, arrivals and departures, and statistics needed for hotel
Work operational decisions. To begin the new day, many auditors print reports for each
department and place them in their appropriate in-boxes. Auditors may assist
their hotels by:
• Providing Housekeeping Status reports for in-coming Housekeeping staff

or possibly break out the hotel using the Rooms Management feature. For
more information on managing task assignment sheets, refer to the
“Rooms Management – Housekeeping” chapter of this manual.
• Printing Batch Folios for express checkouts or early departure groups. For
more details on printing batch folios, refer to the “Cashiering” chapter of
this manual
• Performing as many tasks as possible on the AM Front Desk Checklist to
assist the AM Front Desk staff in preparing for the arrivals and departures
for the day
• Checking Posting Masters back into the system, if they rotate daily. To
check in house and/or posting master accounts. If your hotel’s policy is to
reset house accounts every day, follow the procedures outline in the
“Front Desk” chapter of this manual for walking in PM accounts.
• Transfer any financials from OPERA PMS to your local or interfaced
accounting program. Use existing audit reports and financial reports for
figures and statistics.
• Reprinting and distributing audit reports to all department heads. For
details on printing or reprinting audit reports, follow the steps in the
remaining sections of this chapter.

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Reprint Every night the audit process generates a set of reports for the day. These reports
can be:
Night Audit
Reports • Stored locally on the server as a .pdf file for later viewing
• Sent to printer as a hard copy
Most reports generate during the audit with both a printed and filed copy. When
reports file during the audit, they save in a local directory on the application server.
Occasionally, you may need reprint a copy of an audit report. To reprint an audit
report at any time, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select End of Day and End of Day Reports.
2. Select the business Date for the desired report and select Search.
The END OF DAY REPORTS screen displays.
3. Place an “X” next to the desired Report Name. You may print one or
multiple reports at a time. To choose to reprint all reports, select All to mark
each report for that business day.
4. Select Print to send the report(s) to the printer. As with all other reports, you
also have the option to Preview the report prior to printing.
NOTE: The Recreate option is useful to regenerate the report. Typically, is not
necessary to recreate a report, but if the report parameters have changed or the
data has changed the option is available to regenerate the report based on the new
information.

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Chapter 10 – Business
Blocks - Groups

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Group Basics
Business OPERA offers two versions of group functionality: Quick Business Block and
Business Block. Both versions share the same core functionality for groups,
Block vs. but Business Block offers enhanced functionality typically not needed for
Quick smaller operations. In addition, the design of the full Business Block module
Business works in conjunction with Sales and Catering functionality. Quick Business
Block is designed for hotels with simplified group contracts.
Block
Hotels with OPERA Xpress PMS typically use Quick Business Blocks, yet
hotels with the OPERA PMS may also use this feature if their
group/convention business does not warrant a full block module. Alternately,
OPERA Xpress PMS hotels may also use the full Business Block module if
their operation calls for the full functionality of a group management system.
For either option, there are detailed explanations of the functionality for each
within this chapter.
Group Status Status Codes indicate the current booking status for a group. The block status
determines several things:
Codes
• Whether the group rooms allotted deduct from house inventory or not
• Whether or not users and book or pickup reservations for the block
Below are examples of possible group statuses. These may vary from hotel to
hotel depending on your operation and sales requirements. Each status
happens in succession of each other causing a virtual “life-cycle” for the group.
Some statuses deduct inventory, while others only show the intent of the group.
Likewise, some statuses allow for pickup of reservations. All statuses differ
from hotel to hotel based on the configuration at time of installation.
Some examples of possible block statuses are:

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INQUIRY (INQ)
The inquiry process is a starting status for beginning the group contract
process. At this stage, the customer is simply inquiring about possible
availability. No rooms deduct from inventory in this status. You may move
forward with proposal or tentative status from here, or cancel the inquiry
altogether.
PROPOSAL (PRP)
This is the initial step in the group booking process. When a sales inquiry does
not immediately change to a firm booking, you can save it as a Proposal.
Creating and saving the proposal enable you to have better records of sales
leads and allows you to follow-up with them for future business. If the group
proposal is accepted, you may upgrade the status to Tentative or cancel at this
point. No rooms deduct from inventory in this status.
TENTATIVE (TEN)
This status is for a group booking pending the receipt of a signed contract.
Allocated rooms do not deduct from inventory. Non-deducted means the
allotments exists but the rooms still exist in the hotel’s general inventory. You
cannot create reservations for the group while it remains in a tentative status
At this state you may cancel the group or more forward to make it definite.
DEFINITE – (DEF)
The next status is for a group with a signed contract. Allocated group rooms
deduct from hotel’s general inventory in this status. You are also able to pickup
rooms and book reservations for blocks in the Definite status. You may only
cancel the group from this point.
CANCELLED – (CXL)
When a block cancels, any room inventory set aside for the group releases and
returns to the hotel general inventory. It is vital to notate detailed cancellation
reasons as well as group block destination. OPERA stores this information and
makes it available via reports for future analysis. This status helps you to track
and determine cancellation trends or to indicate destination cities/hotels where
business is going instead. In addition, groups will not cancel with active
reservations.

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ACTUAL – (ACT)
This status refers to in-house or past groups and only changes once guests
begin arriving and check into the hotel. In particular, this status tracks the
actual revenue and inventory consumed by the group against the inventory
forecasted for the group.
NOTE: Additional group statuses you may see at your hotel include Lost and
Refused. If your hotel uses a Sales and Catering system, these statuses typically
identify business lost due to competition or refused due to price and
availability.

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Group Block The BUSINESS BLOCK SEARCH screen provides a wide variety of fields
to locate a business block, regardless of its group status.
Search
To search for an existing block, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Reservations and Blocks.

2. Select Business Block.
The BUSINESS BLOCK SEARCH screen appears.
3. Enter search criteria, such as the block Name or Block Code, and select
the Search.
NOTE: You may also use the Advanced option to enhance your search
criteria.
Once you locate your block and highlight it in the results area, several columns
and fields of block information display. Above the results grid, the highlighted
group displays any profiles, accounts, or contacts attached to the group. In the
results grid, you see the group’s Start Date, Block Name, Owner, and Status.

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Inquiry The Inquiry feature allows you to view availability to answer group contract
inquiries with initial sales contact calls. You may also use this feature to being
the booking process while quickly creating a Business Block utilizing the
information already entered.
Available options include:
• Review the client’s requested dates as well as alternate dates

• Assess availability during those periods
• Select the desired dates to view the revenue and occupancy impacts
• Close your sale while the client is still on the telephone
To access the Inquiry feature, follow the steps below:

2. Select Inquiry.
NOTE: You may also access this feature by using the Shift F4 quick keys.
The INQUIRY PROCESS screen displays.
3. Click the ellipsis button at the top of the screen next to any of the profile
fields to attach the inquiring company or accounts profile and contact
information. Attaching profiles enables you to track group business by not
only the group block and company, but also track by contact for that
company. In this example, doing this links the company “Robinson
Marketing” and contact “Cheryl Robinson” for tracking purposes for this
group inquiry.

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4. Enter the Start Date and # Nights and any Alt. Start Dates for three
additional alternate dates. This is helpful if the group is flexible on dates.
5. Alternately, you may enter a date Range with the From and To dates, #
Nights and check the boxes for the days of week within that date range.
NOTE: The Required Meeting Space Capacity section is only applicable to

hotels using the Sales and Catering system.
6. Enter the number of Rooms per day the group requests.

7. Rate Code allows you to enter a specific rate code for a group. Rate Codes
are not required as each group can have a specially contracted rate; but if
there is a rate already established for the account; this option gives you the
flexibility to use the existing Rate Code.
8. Enter the requested number of rooms for each Room Types. You can
enter the actual number of rooms requested or you can check the box next
to the percentage sign and enter the percentage of rooms for each room
type (i.e. 50% king beds and 50% double beds).
9. Select Inquiry Grid to populate the grid below with the results of the
availability search for the first start date or first range of dates.
10. Select Bus. Block if there is availability and you wish to move forward with
the contract.
11. Select Reset to reset the data on the screen to re-enter new requirements.
12. Select Availability to view detailed results on the inquiry for each alternate
date.
The RESULTS screen appears.

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In the lower-left portion of this screen, the range of dates and alternate dates
display. In the lower-right portion of this screen, the following columns display
availability:
• Min Occ % = hotel occupancy based on 100%

• Max Occ % = hotel occupancy including overbooking numbers
• House Avail (Current)= hotel availability before the group block
• Rooms Req. = # of rooms requested by group block
• House Avail (Net) = Hotel availability if you accept the group block
13. Select the Periods Available date range on the left side of the screen and
the details of each day’s availability appear to the right.
14. Select the Ctrl Panel option to display the CONTROL PANEL screen
for the highlighted group dates.
15. Select the Det. Avail option to display the DETAILED AVAILABILITY
screen for the highlighted group dates. This enables you to ensure that the
number of rooms by room types requested are available, not merely the
total number of requested rooms. From this screen, you can also select
Blocks to go to the BLOCKS screen.
16. Select Inquiry to go back to the original INQUIRY screen and restart the
inquiry process.
17. Select Reset to clear the screen and return to the INQUIRY PROCESS
screen.
18. When the client decides on a date, highlight the date select Bus Block.
This saves the information and takes the user to the QUICK BUSINESS
BLOCK creation screen, allowing you to save the block information while
the contact is on the telephone. You can then re-open the block as a
Business Block and proceed with completing all fields as needed.

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New Block The alternative to creating a group via the Inquiry is to create a group directly
from the Business Block. The Block Header contains information that applies
Header to every reservation attached to the group.
To create a new block, follow the steps below:
1. From main menu, select Reservations and Blocks.

The BUSINESS BLOCK SEARCH screen appears.
3. Select New.
The BUSINESS BLOCK screen appears.
This screen displays in four different sections; the first section is for storing
profiles, the second section for group name and dates, the third section for
room’s information, and the last section for revenue statistics.
4. Attach any pertinent Company, Travel Agent, Contact or Source profiles at

the top of the screen. The Group Profile automatically creates after you
save the block.

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5. Enter the Name of the group. This should be the call to action for the
group since the group name is what agents search for when booking group
reservations.
6. Enter the contracted Start Date, number of Nights and End Date.
7. Enter the Shoulder Start and Shoulder End dates if this group is elastic
with shoulder dates. For more information on elastic blocks, refer to the
Rooms tab portion of this chapter.
8. Status is the current phase this block is in regarding reservation pickup.
Beginning status for a group may differ at your hotel. Refer to Group Key
Concepts at the beginning of this module for a detailed explanation of
group statuses. Typically, the starting status of the group is either TEN
(Tentative), PRO (Prospect), or INQ (Inquiry).
9. Select a Market code. Remember to use the appropriate group marketing
code for tracking purposes.
10. Select the appropriate Source code for the group.
11. Enter the Sales or Reservations Manager that owns the block in the Owner
field. This is necessary in order to track sales productivity by Manager.

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ROOMS TAB:
1. Enter the Block Code. You may reuse block codes, depending on
application settings chosen by your hotel.
2. Select a Res. Type as a form of guarantee for the group. The reservation
type defaults to every reservation made for the group.
3. Typically, Rate Code is not used with groups, as the sales department
usually contracts a negotiated rate for the group. Rates enter separately for
groups using the Business Block Rate Grid. For example, IBM is holding a
training meeting at your hotel and their negotiated rate is the G-IBM16 Rate
Code. You would then apply this Rate Code to the block. All rate details
from the Rate Code copy into the Rate Grid for this block.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Inv. Control field to choose
Elastic. This feature allows reservations to book even if the group has no
availability (as long as there is general hotel availability). By checking this
option, agents may book rooms beyond the contracted number of rooms for
the group dates. If you do not wish to sell beyond the original contracted
allotment, select Non-Elastic.
5. Packages adds a package component to a group. The price for the
package element adds to or combines to the rates negotiated for the group.
6. Enter either a Cutoff Date or Cutoff Days for the group. For the cutoff
date, any used rooms for all dates of the group return to general inventory.
For the cutoff days, however many days ahead of the group start date, unused
rooms return to general inventory one day at a time (i.e. rolling cutoff).
7. Follow-up Date is the date to follow-up with the group contact for a
decision.
8. Decision Date is the date that there must be a signed group contract or a
definite confirmation that the group intends to book.
9. Owner refers to the Sales or Reservations Manager that owns the room
portion of the block. This field is necessary in order to track sales productivity
by Manager. Owner names (typically their 3-character initials) are created in
User Configuration. Each Manager who can potentially be involved with
Sales/Catering should have Owner designation in their User profile.
10. Select Save to complete the block header and move onto the remaining
tabs.

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DETAILS TAB:
This tab offers you a variety of fields for managing group contracts at an
advanced level. Use any of the fields described below if they apply to this
group contract:
• Resv. Method indicates how reservations book into the group block
(i.e. rooming list, reservation cards, etc.)
• Rooming List Due indicates when you expect a rooming list back
from the group contact
• Arrival Time/Departure Time are fields to enter the arrival and
departure times of a tour group, if known
• Payment – If a method of payment exists here, it transfers to the PM
reservation and to all reservations within the group. This is extremely
helpful for those groups in which charges route to one credit card.
Entering the credit card information here eliminates the need to enter it
on reservations individually
• Comm% – Enter a commission here if you contract a commission
different that the hotel’s default commission for that travel agent.

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CANCEL TAB:
This tab contains information used for statistical tracking in the event the
Business Block cancels.
• Rooms Cancellation No. displays the cancellation number for the

room portion of the block
• Rooms Cancellation Reason displays when a group status changes to
Cancelled or Lost. Choose the appropriate reason why this Business
Block was lost or cancelled.
• Rooms Cancellation Comments is the description for the
cancellation reason selected. You can add additional comments in this
field as necessary.
• Rooms Cancellation Destination is the destination or venue to which
this piece of business was lost.
• Catering Cancellation No. displays the cancellation number for the
catering portion of the block
• Catering Reason displays when a catering block status changes to
Cancelled or Lost. Choose the appropriate reason why this Catering
block was lost or cancelled.
• Catering Comments is the description for the cancellation reason
selected. Additional catering cancellation comments maybe added.

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CATERING TAB:
This tab contains options fields that enable you to enter data pertinent to the
catering components of the block. Enter any of the fields below if this block
has a catering portion:
• Attendee is a field to indicate the number of expected persons

attending the function.
• Guaranteed indicates the attendee count is finalized.
• Info-Board lists the exact title used for the group while on-site.
• Follow-up Date is the date to follow-up with the group catering
contact
• Decision date is the group’s decision date on the catering portion of
the block or the date that the group contract is due.
• Contract No is a field to insert your internal contract number (if
applicable).
• Onsite Name refers to the group’s onsite contact. This could be the
same person listed as the contact under the group profile.
• Owner refers to the sales person responsible for the catering events for
this group
• Item Discount applies a discount percentage to resource items
associated with this catering event. This discount applies to all resource
items that are discountable and do not have a separate discount
assigned to them.
NOTE: Selecting the Catering Only option on the Business Block header
indicates the group will not need sleeping rooms.

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Quick The alternative to creating a group via the Inquiry is to create a group directly
from the Quick Business Block. To create a new block using the quick
Business feature, follow the steps below:
Block
1. From main menu, select Reservations and Blocks.
2. Select Quick Business Block.
The QUICK BUSINESS BLOCK SEARCH screen appears.
3. Select New.
The QUICK BUSINESS BLOCK screen appears.
This screen displays in two different sections; the first section is for storing
profiles, the second section for group name, dates and rooms information.
4. Attach any pertinent Company, Travel Agent, Contact or Source profiles at

the top of the screen. The Group Profile automatically creates after you
save the block.

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ROOMS TAB:
5. Enter the Name of the group. This should be the call to action for the
group since the group name is what agents search for when booking group
reservations.
6. Enter the contracted Start Date, number of Nights and End Date.
7. Enter the Shoulder Start and Shoulder End dates if this group is elastic
with shoulder dates.
8. Enter the Block Code for the group. Depending on your hotels
configuration, this code may auto-populate or have a format to follow (i.e.
alphanumeric combination of characters).
9. Status is the current phase this block is in regarding reservation pickup.
Beginning status for a group may differ at your hotel. Refer to Group Key
Concepts at the beginning of this module for a detailed explanation of
group statuses. Typically, the starting status of the group is TEN
(Tentative).
10. Select a Res. Type as a form of guarantee for the group. The reservation
type defaults to every reservation made for the group.
11. Select a Market code. Remember to use the appropriate group marketing
code for tracking purposes.
12. Select the appropriate Source code for the group.
13. Enter the Sales or Reservations Manager that owns the block in the Owner
field. This is necessary in order to track sales productivity by Manager.
14. Click the drop down arrow next to the Elastic field to choose Elastic.
This feature allows reservations to book even if the group has no
availability (as long as there is general hotel availability). By checking this
option, agents may book rooms beyond the contracted number of rooms
for the group dates. If you do not wish to sell beyond the original
contracted allotment, select Non-Elastic. If you wish to allow the hotel to
sell into the group to the definite overbooking limits, select Sell Limit.
15. Enter either a Cutoff Date or Cutoff Days for the group. For the cutoff
date, any used rooms for all dates of the group return to general inventory.
For the cutoff days, however many days ahead of the group start date,
unused rooms return to general inventory one day at a time (i.e. rolling
cutoff).
16. Resv. Method indicates how reservations book into the group block (i.e.
rooming list, reservation cards, etc.)
17. Type indicates the type of booking this group contract was sold as (i.e.
convention, tour, group, etc.).
18. Check the Suppress Rate box if you the rates for the group should not
display for any user or guest.

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19. Typically, Rate Code is not used with groups, as the sales department
usually contracts a negotiated rate for the group. Rates enter separately for
groups using the Business Block Rate Grid. For example, IBM is holding a
training meeting at your hotel and their negotiated rate is the G-IBM16
Rate Code. You would then apply this Rate Code to the block. All rate
details from the Rate Code copy into the Rate Grid for this block.
20. Packages adds a package component to a group. The price for the
package element adds to or combines to the rates negotiated for the group.
21. Trace Code is a field that you may select a departmental trace code to
apply to all bookings against this group.
22. Select Save to save the quick block.
The QUICK BUSINESS BLOCK screen displays again with a grid in the
lower portion of the screen.
Follow instructions in the Rooms Grid section of this chapter for ranging and
washing rooms in the block allotment. However, from the header screen, you
have many of the same view and sort options found in the full grid.

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Block Grid Group Room Grids manage the number of rooms, group rates by room types,
and potential revenue. The grid becomes available after the group becomes a
status of Tentative. Any changes to the room counts while the grid is still in a
tentative status affect only the Original Grid. After the group status changes to
a status allowing pick up of rooms, the Original Grid locks and any changes to
room counts affect the Original grid.
Once you save your Block Header, follow the steps below to access the grid:
1. From within either the block header or quick block header, select Grid.
The CURRENT GRID screen displays.
To enter data directly on the grid there are two methods: either use the buttons
at the bottom of the screen, or click in a region of the grid and directly type the
information into the field. The suggested method for entering room allocations
and rates is to use the buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Dates and rows with a “+” symbol displays sell limits and overbooking limits if
applicable.
Use the arrow keys at the bottom of the grid to move the grid right or left.
Yellow dates indicate the hotel’s defined weekend.

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The Display menu in the search criteria at the top of the screen offer a variety
of views:
• Original reflects the allocated room counts for the group block while it
is still in a tentative status. These allocated room counts have deducted
from hotel inventory.
• Available only after the group turns Definite, Current reflects the
current number of rooms reserved for the group.
• Available reflects how many rooms are still available for individual
reservations to be booked.
• Rates reflect the rates assigned for each date for each room type in the
grid.
• Contract, an optional entry, reflects the number of rooms the group
agreed to on the contract and appears on reports for comparison
purposes only.

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Range Rooms When you are ready to allocate rooms into the block Grid, follow the steps
below:
to Grid
1. From the group’s CURRENT GRID screen, select Range.
The BLOCK RANGE SETTING screen displays.
2. Enter a Date Range by choosing a From, Nights and To date. You may
also indicate the days of week to range rooms into the grid.
3. Place and “X” next to each Room Type to allocate rooms. Keep in mind
that each room type chosen here gets the same values applied. For
example, if you select KNGN, KNGS, TDBN, and TDBS, each room type
gets the same number of rooms allocated (i.e. 5 in the above example to
total 20 rooms applied).
4. The Increase/Decrease Rooms check box has several different functions.
If you do not check this box, any values you enter become the actual values
in the grid. For example, if you do not check this box and enter 10 rooms,
even if there are already 20 rooms allocated for these rooms’ types, 10
rooms becomes the final figure per room type. Checking the box increases
or decreases the values by that amount. For example, checking this box
and entering 5 rooms per room type (or -5 rooms per room type). If the
block already has 10 rooms allocated per room type, the final figure per
room type is 15.
NOTE: In the Occupancy 1-4 fields, you may enter the number of rooms to
allocate for each room type based on occupancy (i.e. two rooms with one
person, two rooms with two persons, three rooms with four persons, etc.)

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5. Alternately, you may enter a rate for Rate 1 and enter an Addl. Rate for
each additional person, depending on the terms of your contract. The
additional person rate defaults to the hotel’s extra person designator.
NOTE: Be aware that using the additional rate feature because during the
Rate Query process, unless the reservations agent correctly inputs the number
of persons, the rate does not calculate with the additional person charges until
displayed on the reservation screen. This may cause an incorrect rate quote at
the time of Rate Query.
6. Enter a Sell Limit if you desire to set a limit to the number of rooms to
oversell within this group.
NOTE: This feature only applies if the group is marked as an Elastic Block.
This control only applies to rooms sold against the block in OPERA.
7. Cutoff Date/Cutoff Days allows you to set an individual cutoff date or

numbers of days by room type.
8. Select OK to allocate the rooms to the grid.

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Wash Rooms To wash rooms from a group, or decrease the existing allocation, follow the
steps below:
from Grid
1. From the CURRENT GRID, select Wash.
The BLOCK WASH FOR screen displays.
2. Enter a Date Range by selecting the From, Nights, and To fields or

choosing the check boxes next to the days of the week. In addition, you
may define separate wash values by choosing the Advance button at the
bottom of the window.
3. Select either the By Value or By Percentage radio button and enter a
Value or Percentage.
4. Place an “X” next to each room type to wash, or select All for all room
types.
5. Select OK to save changes and apply the wash to the grid.

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Room Type The Priorities option allows you to modify the display order for room types in
the grid. Using this feature makes it easier to see the room types applicable for
Priorities in the group in the first columns of the grid. This display order dictates the room
Grid type selling order for this specific block in the reservations query as well.
To change the priority of room types displayed, follow the steps below:
1. From the CURRENT GRID screen, select Priorities.

2. Answer Yes to see the minimum available rooms.
The ROOM GRID PRIORITIES screen displays.
3. Click in the Pr. No. (Priority Number) column to the left of the room type
that contains the largest number of group rooms, and a 1 auto-populates.
Then select the room type that has the second largest number of group
rooms and click in the same column; a 2 auto-populates next to that room.
Complete this for the balance of room types in descending order.
4. Select OK and the room types reorder themselves on the grid. This display
order is now visible on the Rate Query for this group.

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Group Block Group block reservations can book from within the block header. Follow the
steps below to access the Reservations menu within a group block:
Reservations
3. Search for and highlight the desired block, and choose Edit.
4. Select Resv. This option is only available if the group is in a Definite status
and available for pickup.
5. As the screen opens, a pop-up message displays advising you “A Post
Master will be created, would you like to continue?” Answer “Yes.”
The RESERVATIONS LIST screen displays.

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The top portion of the screen displays reservations that exist for the group and
pertinent information on each. There will at least be a PM reservation for the
group.
The buttons to the t pertain to the reservations listed on the top of the screen,
with one exception – New. For all other functions, you may highlight the
desired reservation and perform one of the actions listed below.
• New allows you to make a new reservation for the group. To begin
a new reservation, select an available room type in the lower portion
of the screen and select this option.
• Edit allows you to modify the selected reservation.
• Options allow you to view the Reservations Options for the
highlighted reservation.
• Profile displays the profile for the selected reservation
• Check-In displays if the guest is due to check-in that day. We
cover group check in a later point in this chapter.
• Advanced displays an advanced RESERVATION SEARCH
screen to locate reservations within this group block.
• Cancel allows you to cancel a highlighted reservation.
• Reinstate appears in place of the Cancel button if you have
selected a reservation that already cancelled. Both of these
functions work as they would for any reservation in OPERA.
• Close exits the RESERVATION LIST screen.
At the bottom of the screen, the group room grid displays. This allows you to
display any room grid view to obtain room counts or rate information. To
change the display, click the drop down arrow next to the field at the bottom of
the screen to alternate between Available or Rates views.

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Group Options
From the RESERVATION LIST screen, select Group Opt.
Two important considerations before accessing the Group Options menu:
• You should always have the group’s PM (Posting Master) highlighted

before you open the Group Options menu. Doing so ensures that all
pertinent information entered on the Posting Master carries over to
new reservations made.
• If you have set up the block to be “GTD Only,” be sure that there is a
form of payment entered in the Details Tab of the block header.

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Rooming List To enter a group rooming list, follow the steps below:
1. From the Group Options menu, select Rooming List.
The GROUP ROOMING LIST screen displays.
2. If you want to Search Guest Profile when creating the rooming list, check
the box at the bottom of the screen. If you choose to activate this feature,
the system prompts with a PROFILE SEARCH screen for each new
reservation entered in the rooming list.
NOTE: The cursor is not visible but it is sitting over the first space in the
Name column of the rooming list. The name of the group appears in this field
but you can merely type over it
3. Enter the guests last Name, First name, Arrival, Departure, and room
Type by tabbing from one field to the next.
4. If there is no method of payment on the posting master reservation, (i.e.
each individual provides their own form of guarantee), be certain to tab to
the Payment field to enter a form of guarantee.
5. After entering all reservation information for the first guest on the list, use
the down arrow on the keyboard to move to the next guest. Continue this
process to enter all reservations.
NOTE: When you have entered the name of the last guest, do NOT arrow
down to the next line, this will create an unneeded reservation. If you do this,
you will have to go back and cancel this reservation.
6. Select Save when finished.

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Rooming List If you are entering a Rooming List where all rooms are shares, follow the steps
above but do not Save.
with Shares
1. Enter all guest names, dates and room types as in the instructions above.
2. After doing this, click in the far left column (marked with an X) for the 2nd
name, 4th name and so on. Doing this designates each person marked with
an “X” to share a room with the name above. The first name is the
Primary name in the Share.

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3. Select Save to upload reservations.
The following pop-up displays asking how you would like to divide the rate.
There are 3 options:
• Entire Rate for Primary Sharer indicates the primary guest pays
the full room rate. Other guests in room pay no portion of the
room rate.
• Split Rate evenly for all Sharers splits the rate equally between
guests sharing the room
• Full Rate for all Sharers indicates each person in room pays the
full rate. This feature is used least often as it only applies when
each guest in the room pays a per person rate.
4. Make your selection for the Rate Share Option and select OK.
When viewing the grid after saving the shares, an asterisk displays to the left of
the guest’s last name indicating a share. At the bottom of the screen, the names
of sharing guests displays along with their portion of the room rate.
NOTE: For further information on Shares, please refer to the Shares section
of the “Reservations” chapter in this manual.

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There are a number of available buttons on the ROOMING LIST screen:
• Clear allows you to clear any entries in the rooming list and begin a
new list.
• Traces enables you to place traces on a single group reservation or for
all group reservations.
• Messages place a message for a single group guest or for all guests in
the group.
• Share allows you to select two existing reservations in a rooming list
and create sharing reservations.
• Profile accesses the individual profile of the highlighted reservation
• Resv accesses the reservation information of the highlighted guest.
• Quick Split is a feature to split remaining rooms in the block into
individual, generic reservations. Refer to the following section for
instructions on this feature.
• Grids allow access to the ROOM GRID screen for an updated view of
the room’s grid.
• Block displays the BUSINESS BLOCK screen for an updated view of
the block header.
• Print opens and prints a rooming list report for this group
NOTE: It is also possible to access the Rooming List feature directly from
the block header in the Quick Business Block.

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Rooming List To perform a Quick Split of reservations for all remaining rooms in a group
block, follow the steps below:
Quick Split
1. From the ROOMING LIST screen, select Quick Split.
The ROOMING LIST – SPLIT screen displays.
2. Enter the Number of Rooms to split. The default is the number of rooms
available for pickup in the group block. You may select this default or any
lower number in the block.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Default Name to choose a profile.
4. Select Split to begin.
The remaining rooms split into individual reservations using the same profile
name as displayed in the screenshot below:
5. Once the actual rooming list with individual names arrives, simply access
the reservations and perform a profile name change to update.

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Rooming List If a group contact sends a rooming list to the hotel in a file format, it is possible
to import that list directly into the ROOMING LIST screen and avoid the
Import entry of each individual reservation. To import a rooming list, the exact XML
file found on the OPERA server must be used to input the rooming list. For
more the location of this file, select F1 for OPERA Help.
Room Assign The Room Assign makes blocking your group rooms fast and easy! Take
advantage of this functionality to block your groups in designated areas of the
hotel. You can also ensure that you are meeting their specific room needs by
using the Features or Floor fields for filtering. For example, if a group wants
all of their rooms to be quiet rooms away from the elevator, you can enter the
desired features and the system blocks the rooms as such, as long as they are
not previously blocked or occupied. To pre-assign rooms to a block, follow the
steps below:
1. From the Group Options menu, select Room Assign.
The AUTOMATIC ROOM BLOCKING screen displays.
2. Choose to Assign rooms and enter any pertinent Guests or Rooms

information.
3. Select Start. The assignment status of each arriving reservation displays in
the Status window.
4. Select Close when finished.
For more information on room assignment, refer to the “Front Desk” chapter
of this manual.

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Room Status Use the Room Status to view the Housekeeping room status of your arrivals
for groups due in on the current date, prior to using the group Check In
feature. This is extremely helpful for managing those groups that pre-registered
and pre-assigned for rooms.
1. From the Group Options menu, select Room Status.
The GROUP ROOM STATUS screen displays.
Note the Housekeeping status for all rooms in the Status column. Once all
rooms’ display as “Clean” or “Inspected”, you may proceed with a group
check-in.

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Check In The Check-In Group option allows you to manage your group check-ins and
registration card needs. This easily allows you to pre-register your groups by
Group filtering through the room statuses noted. Based on your key card interfaces,
you may also print their keys.
To check in a group, follow the steps below:
1. From the Group Options menu, select Check-In Group.
The CHECK-IN GROUP screen displays.
2. Select to Check In Clean Rooms Only.
If you would like to cut keys for the group, make a choice in the Cut Keys
section as well as the Number of Keys section.
3. Select a choice in the Print Registration Cards section and select Check
In.
4. Select Close when complete.
NOTE: The status of each check in displays in the Status window at the
bottom of the screen; if any reservations do not have a payment type on the
reservation, a window displays prompting you to input a payment type for the
check in.

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New Posting New Post Master allows you to create an additional posting master for the
group. Keep in mind that a posting master automatically creates when you
Master make your first group reservation. Use this feature when you need to create a
2nd or 3rd master for accounting purposes.
Delete Delete is not typically an option for hotels. This option remains locked by
permission intentionally as we never want to delete blocks, rather you should
cancel a block if it no longer has a contract at your hotel. Deleting a block
eliminates the block entirely from the database as well as deletes the block
history from the system. This feature only exists for hotels newly installed with
OPERA to delete any block mistakenly entered in the system.
Cut Keys Cut Keys gives you the capability of printing keys for your group in advance.
Note that this functionality is based on the available functionality of your key
card interface.
To cut keys for a group without checking the group in, follow the steps below:
1. From the Group Options menu, select Cut Keys.
The CUT KEYS screen displays.
2. Choose an option to Cut Keys and the Number of Keys and select OK.

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Print You can selectively Print Registration Cards via the final option in Group
Options. This enables you to print registration cards for guests that are Due-
Registration In, In-House or Reserved.
Cards
To pre-print batch registration cards for a group, follow the steps below:
1. From the Group Options menu, select Print Registration Cards.
The PRINT REG. CARDS screen displays.
2. Select a Print Option and choose to Print.
NOTE: Unless you pre-assign rooms for this group, the room number field
on the registration card prints blank.

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Block Options
The Block Options pertain to the overall management of the block. Access these
options on the right side of the BLOCK HEADER screen.
Add PM Add PM creates an additional Posting Master. A confirmation message appears.

In cases of complex billing to a posting account, it may be necessary to create a
second or third posting master for separating the group billing charges. The
posting master creates but a 9000 number does not automatically assign.
Changes Changes display the history of changes to the block, listing every change made to
the block and by whom. These changes display similarly to reservations or profile
changes.

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Copy Copy allows you to make a duplicate copy of the block, which is very helpful with
groups that occur in series. You can create the original block, entering all pertinent
information and then copy it for each of the future dates needed.
To copy a block and all rooms details to another block, follow the steps below:
1. From the Block Options menu, select Copy.
The COPY BOOKING screen displays.
2. To copy grid details from the original block select Room Block.
3. To copy any notes with the same group profile, select Include Booking
Notes and Keep same Group Profile.
4. Enter the group’s New Start Date and New Block Code.
NOTE: When using the Copy option, only reuse Block Codes for groups in
future business weeks. Your hotel may also have an application setting requiring
that all block codes be unique.
NOTE: Blocks copy with the hotel’s default starting status of Tentative. To
make the group block and the rooms allocated in the grid deduct from inventory,
you must access the copied block and change the status to Definite.

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Cutoff Cutoff allows you to cutoff all rooms in the group. This is a “hard” cutoff as it
returns all unsold inventory to the house. This feature works similarly to the
Cutoff Date or Cutoff Days feature on the block header, but creates an
immediate return despite the actual business date.
NOTE: After you use this option, any room reservations cancelled within the
block return to house inventory, not back into the block inventory.
Deposit / Deposit/CXL allows the user to enter a deposit of any payment method accepted
by the hotel. Group deposits generally apply to the posting master and charges by
CXL group members route to the master. Through this feature, you are able to apply a
deposit rule for all reservations as well as a cancellation rule.
For detailed information on posting deposits, refer to the “Reservations” chapter

of this manual.

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Notes Notes posts notes about the block as a whole and are typically internal notes.
Notes to guests or guest follow-up items should apply to reservations directly as
traces, messages, or alerts.
To apply a note to a block, follow the steps below:
1. From the Block Options menu, select Notes.
The BUSINESS BLOCK NOTES screen displays.
2. Select New to post a new note.
The BUSINESS BLOCK NOTES – NEW screen displays.
3. To keep the note internal and prevent it from printing on any group
correspondence, select Internal.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Note Type field to choose a note type.
5. Enter a Title for the note and type any instructions in the white text box.
Item Use this feature to reserve item inventory for the group, such as rollaway beds,
cribs, or equipment. For more information on Item Inventory, refer to the
Inventory “Reservations” chapter of this manual.

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Shift Date Shift Date allows you to move the date of the group. You merely enter the new
group start date and everything transfers to that new date.
The only stipulation is that you cannot shift a group if reservations exist for the
group. If reservations exist, copy the group for the new dates then change the
individual reservations to move them to the new group.
To shift the start dates for a group with no existing reservations, follow the steps
below:
1. From the Block Options menu, select Shift Date.
The SHIFT DATE screen displays.
2. Enter the New Starting Date of the block and select OK.

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Statistics Statistics displays a screen shown below offering a group room count and
revenue summary. Potential refers to the revenue to receive if the group
consumes all of their blocked rooms. Actual pertains to their consumed pickup.
Selecting Block Info displays a very informative group resume report.
Pickup Info displays group pickup statistics.
Daily offers a detailed daily breakdown of block information.

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Custom The Custom Tour Series feature allows you to copy a block for a series of blocks
that span a range of dates. Often, hotels book tour groups that return on a
Tour Series monthly basis for example. Using this feature allows you to create blocks for
many dates in the future using the same block header information on the original
block.
To create a custom tour series, follow the steps below:
1. From the Block Options menu, select Cust. Tour Series.
The CUSTOM TOUR SERIES screen displays.
2. Enter a Tour Code and Master Block Code.
NOTE: Custom Tour Series essential creates a master and sub-block scenario. If
your hotel has the application setting for unique block codes active, you must
enter a unique block code for each tour in the series. If not, you may reenter the
same block code for each tour as long as their dates are unique.
3. Enter the first Block Code followed by the first Arrival Date.
4. Enter the first block’s Booking Status and Block Name.
5. Press the down arrow on your keyboard to move to the next line.
6. Continue entering blocks for each block in the tour series.
7. Once finished, select OK to save the blocks.
8. Answer Yes to create the tour series.
9. Select OK from the COPY BOOKINGS screen.
NOTE: Booking Status for each block must start at “TEN” (starting status) and
eventually change to a “DEF” status.

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Refresh This feature refreshes all rates on the grid if an alternate selection is made to add a
Rate Code to the block header. All rates refresh to the details found on the
Rates selected Rate Code.
NOTE: Any existing reservations made for this group for the original contracted
rates do not update. They retain their quoted rate to prevent confusion with the
guest.

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Wash Wash Schedule is a feature that allows you to setup a designed schedule for
washing rooms prior to the group’s defined cutoff date. Rooms that wash from
Schedule blocks via this automatic schedule return to general inventory and are no longer
available to sell through the group.
To setup a schedule for automatically washing rooms, follow the steps below:
1. From the Block Options menu, select Wash Schedule.
The BLOCK WASH SCHEDULE screen displays.
2. Select a Cutoff Date to being and choose a Room Type to wash.

3. Enter either a Wash by % or Wash by # of rooms.
4. Select Save to retain this schedule.
5. Select New to enter a schedule for another room type or another date.
Continue this process until the entire schedule exists.
6. Select a WashCode to identify the type of wash scheduled.
NOTE: You may establish any combination of wash schedules (i.e. different
values by room type for each date), but once the group’s established Cutoff Date
crosses, or once a manual Cutoff is performed, the wash schedule is no longer in
effect. In addition, the wash schedule triggers during the Endo of Day
procedures, just as a cutoff would.

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Additional Group Features
Block The most common Reservation Option to use in the context of a group is routing
instructions. Follow the steps discussed in the “Cashiering” chapter of this
Charge manual.
Routing
One feature of the Business Block module is that when you make changes to
reservations within a group (such as routing), OPERA allows you to copy those
changes to all group reservations. This is particularly useful when setting up
routing instructions or making overall changes to the accommodations of a group.
When in the RESERVATION LIST screen, if you edit a group reservation and
perform any change, this feature activates when you save and close the
reservation. Below is an example of the screen that displays allowing you to copy
your changes to all guests in the group.
Make the applicable selection (i.e. All Guests in the Group) and select OK. If you
have setup charge routing for one reservation in the group, you can use this
feature to copy those routing instructions to each reservation in the group.

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Cancel a Canceling a booking is performed in the same manner as changing the status of a
booking. Canceling a group booking releases all rooms that are blocked back to
Group the main hotel inventory.
NOTE: You cannot cancel a group block if any reservations exist for the group.
Follow the steps below to cancel a Group booking:
1. From the BLOCK HEADER screen, click the drop down arrow next to the
Status field and select the cancelled status (CXL).
The CANCEL BLOCK screen displays.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Reason field to select a block
cancellation reason code.
4. Enter any additional comments in the free text box.
5. Click the drop down arrow next to the Destination field if you lost the
business to another hotel or location. This may be another city or perhaps a
competing hotel.
6. If a Posting Master exists, a prompt displays asking you to enter the reason for
canceling the Posting Master.
8. If this group is part of master block, select any addition sub-blocks to cancel
or choose None to leave the sub-blocks active. Select Proceed.

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Family When the Family Block application parameter is active, OPERA automatically
assumes that the Quick Business Block is Elastic. This means that you may make
Blocks reservations without being limited to a room allotment. All that is required is to
create a block header using the Quick Business Block feature and the status of the
group header must be Definite. This is particularly useful for impromptu groups,
such as an airline’s distressed passenger groups, that do not formally contract an
allotment. In addition, with this feature abbreviated rooming list functionality
helps to simply the input of reservations.
Once you create a block header using the Quick Business Block feature and turn
the group status to Definite, a Rooming List button appears near the bottom of
the QUICK BUSINESS BLOCK screen.
1. Without having to enter an allotment of rooms, simply select Rooming List.
The ROOMING LIST screen displays in an abbreviated format.
2. Enter the list of reservations as learned earlier in this chapter and select Save.
NOTE: Because there are no rooms allotted for this block, each reservation is
borrowed from general house availability. A message displays prompting you to
borrow rooms from the house.

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Chapter 11 – Commission
Handling

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Commissions Overview
The Commissions module is a licensed feature that is optional at individual
hotels. Processing and handling commissionable reservations in OPERA may
vary from location to location. All reservations made by a travel agency require
a profile attached to the reservation with a valid agency IATA number and
bank account. In addition, the rates reserved for the guest must be
commissionable rates.
Once a guest with a commissionable reservation has stayed at the hotel, the
reservation record falls into the Commissions module for processing after the
audit on the guest departure date. Depending on your hotel’s setup, the
commissions may pay directly from OPERA via a check run, may process to
another system via a file export, or may pay centrally. Instruction in this
chapter covers most payment scenarios, but may vary for your hotel.
Typically, if your hotel pays commissions centrally, most steps in this chapter
are not necessary. Be certain to confirm with your hotel’s Systems Expert on
the exact steps for commission processing.
Travel Agent When creating a Travel Agent profile, a few steps are necessary to ensure that
commission records create in the Commission handling feature.
Profile Setup
1. First, for an agency that you intend to pay commissions via a central system
or third-party interface, a valid agency IATA number is required on the
profile.
2. Next, select the Stats & Info button.

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The STATISTICS & INFO screen displays.
3. Click the drop down arrow next to the Bank Account field.
The PROFILE COMMISSION DETAILS screen displays.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Bank Account field again and
select the account from which to pay commissions to this agency.
NOTE: Your hotel may have several accounts from which to pay
commissions. Some commissions may pay centrally while others are paid via a
local hotel bank account.
5. Click the drop down arrow next to the Commission Code field and select
the type of commission available for this agency (i.e. 10%, non-
commissionable, 5%, etc.)
NOTE: This code is the default commission paid for every reservation made
for through this agency on rates that qualify for commissions.
6. Select OK and Save the profile.

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Rate Code Additionally, for a reservation to qualify for commissions, the rate reserved
must be a commissionable rate. To setup rates to allow commissions to pay to
Setup travel agents, follow the steps below:
1. From the System Configuration menu, select Rate Management, Rate

Classifications, and Rate Codes.
2. Highlight the rate you wish to make commissionable and select Edit.
The RATE SETUP – EDIT screen displays.
3. Enter a percentage in the Commission % field. This is the default

commission percentage used by Global Distribution Systems when booking
this rate option. This has no value in the calculation of commissions.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Code field and select a commission
code (i.e. 10% commissionable). This value overrides any percentage or
amount defined in a travel agent profile attached to a reservation for this
rate.
5. Select to Save the Rate Header.

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Commission If there is a need to research any reservation record that processed through the
Commissions module, use the Commission Research feature to locate and
Research research that record. Follow the steps below to investigate a commission
record:
1. From the main menu, select Commissions and Commission Research.
The RESERVATION SEARCH screen displays.
2. Depending on the available information, enter the guests’ last Name or the
travel Agent name in the search criteria and select Search.
3. Highlight the desired commissionable reservation and select Resv to view
reservation details.
4. Select Comm to view the actual commission percentages or amounts
processed for this reservation.
The COMMISSION DETAILS screen displays the check number and

payment along with the current status of the commission check.
5. Select Close to return.

6. Select Profile to view the guest or travel agent profile associated with the
highlighted commission record.

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Payment Processing
Overview Each new business day, a reservation with commission records from previous
guest stays display in the Payment Processing area. There are two ways to
pay commissions:
• By Account processes and displays all commissions for a particular

bank account. This feature is particularly useful if your hotel pays
agency commissions local (by their own bank account); in addition, use
this feature to process a batch check run.
• By Agent processes and displays any commissions for a particular
travel agency, regardless of the account paying the commissions. This
is particularly useful if you receive invoices for your travel agencies and
need to pay all commissions for one particular agent.
NOTE: Depending on your selection, the system calculates all applicable

commissions before displaying the Accounts or Agents to pay.

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Holding Situations arise from time to time, where it is necessary to investigate
reservation records before paying commissions. In the event that you need to
Commission place a hold on either an individual commission record or for an agency as
Records whole, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Commissions and Payment Processing.

2. Select By Account or By Agent.
3. Search for and highlight either the bank account containing the commission
record or the travel agent to pay the commission.
4. Select OK to view commission records.
The COMMISSION PROCESSING SCREEN displays.
5. If you selected By Agent, the processing screen displays all commission

records for that travel agency. Place and “X” next to the agency name in
the “H” column to place all outstanding commission records on hold.
Alternately, you may highlight the travel agent and select Hold.
NOTE: The commission records below now have an “X” in the “H” column
indicating the records are on hold.
6. If you selected By Account, search for and highlight the appropriate travel
agent in the top of the screen to display all commission records for that
agency.

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7. In the lower portion of the screen (Details for…), place an “X” next to
each record in the “H” column you wish to hold for general investigation
reasons. Alternately, you may highlight the record and select Hold.
8. In the lower portion of the screen, place an “X” next to each record in the
“A” column you wish to stop the commission while waiting on an AR
payment for the reservation. Alternately, you may highlight the record and
select AR.
9. In the lower portion of the screen, place and “X” next to each record in the
“P” column you wish to stop the commission for records that deducted
commissions on a prepayment. In this case, the payment made by the
travel agency already deducted the commission, so you do not need to
process another payment.
10. To remove a commission from hold, follow any of the steps above. Then,
remove the “X” from the “H”, “A”, or “P” columns. Alternately, you may
highlight the agent or individual record already on hold and select Release.
NOTE: When you place a commission on hold for any reason, the Funds
section at the bottom of the COMMISSION PROCESSING screen displays
a total of amounts on hold.
NOTE: Commission records that display highlighted in yellow indicate there

are multiple commissions that apply to one reservation. In addition, the T/S
column identifies whether the commissionable profile is a Travel Agent or
Source profile.

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Manual If the commission amount or percentage calculate on a reservation record
needs to be altered, followed the steps below to manually change a commission
Change to record:
Commission
2. Select By Account and let the system calculate all outstanding
commissions.
3. Search for, highlight the desired bank account, and select OK.
Outstanding commissions calculate for the chosen account.
NOTE: You may also find the record by using the By Agent feature, but
searching by Bank Account displays more commission records at one time.
The COMMISSION PROCESSING screen displays.
4. Locate and select the desired travel agent that the commission record
belongs to in the top portion of the screen.
5. Highlight the commission record in the Details section and select Edit.
Full commission details display for this reservation record.

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6. Either change the Commission Amount manually or select a new
Commission Code.
7. Enter any comments regarding the change to commission in the Notes
field.

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Add a Manual If a reservation mistakenly did not have an appropriate travel agent profile
attached, or in the event that you need to manually add a record to process
Commission commissions, follow the steps below:
Record
2. Select By Account.
3. Search for and highlight the bank account to pay this new commission and
select OK.
Outstanding commissions calculate for the chosen account and the

COMMISSION PROCESSING screen displays.
4. Select New to add a new, manual record.

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The RESERVATION SEARCH screen displays.
5. Search for, highlight the reservation record to add a commission, place an

“X” next to the record, and select OK.
6. Answer Yes to add the selected reservations to the travel agency to pay
commissions.
Commissions for this bank account automatically recalculate and the new
commission records display for the account.
NOTE: When you manually add a commission record, the records

automatically place on hold. You must remove the records from the hold
status prior to processing commission payments.

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Commission If your hotel processes commissions within OPERA and generates a file export
to deliver to a third party for payment, setup is required on the Bank Account
Payments via to indicate that commissions will pay via a file export. Once this setup is in
File Export place, follow the steps below to generate the export:

select OK.

4. Select Pay to process all commission records not on hold for payment.
5. Enter the Departure Date Range for commissions to process. If your
hotel does not process commission exports daily, this is useful to include
several days’ worth of commission records.
6. Answer Yes to be sure that you want to pay commissions.
7. A message displays indicating that a text file has been created. Answer Yes
to print the transmittal letter.
An export file (in the designed file format) generates and stores in a designated
file location on the OPERA application server.

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DOWNLOAD THE EXPORT FILE FROM THE SERVER TO YOUR
LOCAL WORKSTATION AND DELIVER TO A THIRD PARTY
Once the file export generates to the server, follow the steps below to
download the file to your location workstation:
8. From the main menu, select Miscellaneous and File Download.
The FILE DOWNLOAD screen displays.
9. Insert the file name of the export in the File Name field and select Search.
NOTE: File names and their extensions differ depending on the export type
and processor.
10. Highlight the export file and select Download.
11. Select the option to Save the file.

12. Choose the directory on your local workstation to save the export and
select Save.
Once the export file exists on your local workstation, you may elect to deliver
the file to a third party for payment by email or any other delivery method (i.e.
file transfer or FTP).

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Commission If your hotel processes commissions within OPERA and prints checks that you
mail directly to travel agencies for payment, setup is required on the Bank
Payments via Account to indicate that commissions will pay by check. Once this setup is in
Check Run place, follow the steps below to process a check run:

select OK.

4. Select Pay to process all commission records not on hold for payment.
5. Enter the Departure Date Range for commissions to process. If your
hotel does not process commission exports daily, this is useful to include
several days’ worth of commission records.
6. Answer Yes to be sure that you want to pay commissions.
7. Answer Yes to print held commissions on the pre-payment report if you
wish to see all commissions, yet answer No if you only wish to see the
actual commissions that generate checks.
NOTE: The pre-payment report prints to give you an opportunity to review

all records that are processing for payment by agency before the actual checks
print. Below is a sample report.

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8. After confirming all the payments to process, enter the First Check No. to
be used and select OK.
NOTE: Before printing checks, be certain that the check printer is loaded
either with pre-printed checks or with the appropriate paper or forms. After
selecting OK in the step above, checks automatically send to the workstations
default OPERA printer designated for checks.
9. Answer Yes to print the Check Summary report for a summary display of
all checks printed in this process run.
Below is an example of the Payment Details report.

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Commission To access all available Commission Handling reports directly from this module,
select the Reports option from within the COMMISSION PROCESSING
Reports and screen. A list of commission reports displays. Each report has a range of
Options filters to sort the display or data returned. Some example of reports useful
when handling commissions are as follows:
• Transferred Commissions report displays all commission records

within a departure range, with details, and a total commission amount
for the dates selected.
• Commission Payable report displays all commissions not on hold for
the selected agency or source.
From the COMMISSIONS PROCESSING screen, the Options feature
offers several alternatives for handling commissions prior to processing
payments. The list below identifies each option within this feature:
• Reservation displays the departed reservation of the highlighted

commission record.
• Folio Detail displays the departed folio of the highlighted commission
record including individual transactions.
• Folio History activates the history function to search for past guest
folios.
• Detach removes or detaches the highlighted reservation record from
the travel agent or source.

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Payment Activity
Register – After processing commission payments, those transactions and checks list in a
Register. To view payment details on a commission record, follow the steps
View below:
Payment
1. From the main menu, select Commissions and Payment Activity.
Details 2. Select Register from the CHECK BOOK MENU screen.
3. Highlight the Bank Account that the commission check was paid from and
select OK.
The PAYMENT ACTIVITY screen displays.
4. Use the Payee field to enter the travel agent name or enter the Check No.
and select Search.
5. To view only checks that have not cleared the Bank Account, select
Outstanding in the search criteria.
6. To include checks that have cleared the Bank Account, select Reconciled in
the search criteria.
7. To include voided checks or checks not presented to the Bank Account for
payment, select either Unpresented or Void in the search criteria.
NOTE: The life cycle of a commission check is that it is first Outstanding,

followed by Reconciled. To “unreconcile” a check, you must return the check to
an Outstanding status. If marking a check as “unpresented”, the check must still
be Outstanding or Voided. To Void a check, the check may be either Outstanding
or Unpresented, but all commission details return for another commission
processing cycle. If you wish to reconcile an Unpresented check, you must first
return it to an Outstanding status before you can Reconcile.
The paid check record displays in the grid below.

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8. Highlight the desired check to view and select Details.
The PAYMENT ACTIVITY – DETAILS screen displays.
Each reservation record included in this check payment for this agency displays,
including those records processed that are currently on AR hold or excluded from
payment because of a prepaid commission.
9. Highlight a reservation record and select Edit to modify the details of the
payment for that commission record.
NOTE: This option is only available if the check has not reconciled with the
bank that needs a correction. In this scenario, you may void the payment, edit the
details and process another check to the agency.
10. Highlight a reservation record and select Options to view the reservation,
view folio details or folio history.

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Register – Once commission checks are mailed from the hotel and received by the agency,
those checks clear the Bank Account and must be reconciled within OPERA to
Reconcile show a received payment. You may reconcile one or multiple checks at one time.
Checks To reconcile an outstanding check in the Register, follow the steps below:

2. Select Register from the CHECK BOOK MENU screen.
3. Highlight the Bank Account that the commission check paid from and select
OK.
and select Search. To view only checks that have not cleared the Bank
Account, select Outstanding in the search criteria.
5. Select Reconcile.
The ENTER A RANGE OF CHECK NUMBERS TO RECONCILE screen

displays.
6. Enter the First Check Number and the Last Check Number that have
cleared the Bank Account.
7. Enter the Reconciled Date for the date these checks cleared the account and
select OK.

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RETURN A RECONCILED CHECK TO OUTSTANDING STATUS
In the event that a check was mistakenly reconciled, follow the steps below to
return it to an Outstanding status:
1. From the PAYMENT ACTIVITY screen, select Reconciled in the search

criteria.
2. Highlight the reconciled check and select Outstanding.
NOTE: The check is now in an Outstanding status and may either be Voided or
Unpresented.
Register – To void a check and return all commission details to process in another payment
processing cycle, follow the steps below:
Void Checks
1. From the PAYMENT ACTIVITY screen, search for and highlight the check
to void. Checks must either be in an Outstanding or Unpresented status to
void.
2. Select Void.
3. A message displays warning you that voiding this check returns all details back
to commission processing. Answer Yes to complete the void.
NOTE: There is no systematic way to undo a voided check. Once a check voids,
all commission details must process again and a new check creates for the details.

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Register – If you have a check that is either never delivered to the agency or source, or
simply never reconciles with the Bank Account, follow the steps below to indicate
Un- its status:
Presented
Checks 2. Select Register from the CHECK BOOK MENU screen.
3. Highlight the Bank Account that the commission check paid from and select
OK.
and select Search. To view only checks that have not cleared the Bank
Account, select Outstanding in the search criteria.
5. Select Unpresented.
6. Answer Yes to mark the check as Unpresented, enter the date for the check
and select OK.
RETURN AN UNPRESENTED CHECK TO OUTSTANDING STATUS
If an Unpresented check finally reconciles with the Bank Account or delivers to

the agency, follow the steps below to remove the Unpresented status.
1. From the PAYMENT ACTIVITY screen, select the Unpresented option in

the search criteria to search for the check.
2. Highlight the desired check and select Outstanding.
NOTE: The check is now in an Outstanding status and may either be Reconciled
or Voided.

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Reprint In the event that you need to reprint commission checks (i.e. if the check printer
jams or if you incorrectly number the check run), follow the steps below:
Checks
2. Select Reprint Checks.
3. Highlight the Bank Account that the checks were printed from and select OK.
4. Select Reprint.
The ENTER A RANGE OF CHECK NUMBERS TO PRINT screen

displays.
5. Enter the First Check Number and the Last Check Number to print and
select OK.
NOTE: Be certain to align the checks in the printer prior to performing this step
to avoid misprinted checks.
6. After the check print completes, answer Yes to print a Check Summary
report.

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Chapter 12 – Package
Management

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Packages
Packages consist of two components, the Element and the Group. Package
Elements are the individual items within a package, for example, a movie. The
Package Group combines multiple elements, such as dinner and a movie. The
dinner is an element and the movie is an element; however, they combine to make
a Package Group.
Within the Package Element, there are two different types that you may create - a
Simple Package or an Advanced Package. The Simple Package Element does not
have interface charges, it consumes as scheduled and a preset price posts during
the Night Audit.
The Advanced Package Element allows interfaces to post a charge, posts to a

guest room at the time of consumption and absorbs by the package rather than
appear on the guest folio, and an allowance applies for the price.
The Package Group combines multiple elements to sell as a single package.
Simple To create a new Simple Package element:

Package 1. From the System Configuration menu, select Rate Management
Element 2. Highlight Packages
3. Select Codes
The PACKAGE CODES screen displays with all existing Package Codes in
alphabetical order. These Package Codes consist of both the Package Elements
and Package Groups.
4. Select New to add a new package code

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The PACKAGE CODES screen displays the Package Header tab.
The Package Header contains these fields:
• Code to enter the short code for the package element or group
• Forecast Group allows making the element part of a package group.
• Short Description information displays on package reports.
• Description information displays within the Rate Info that agents review
with the guest.
Transaction Details
• Code is the transaction code for the allowance on the package ledger.
• Overage is the transaction code that any overage to the allowance posts.
If the amount consumed exceeds the allowed package allowance, the
excess amount posts on the guest folio using this transaction code.
• Alternates includes any transaction codes allowed on this package. For
example, although we expect a guest to have breakfast in the café, they
may order room service instead and still have that amount allowed on their
package. You may also need to include taxes, gratuities, and beverages for
the package to post correctly.
• Tax Inclusive deducts the tax amount from the amount of the package
element.
• Allowance is for Advanced Packages. It allows the package charge to
post through an interface or manually in OPERA. After selecting
Allowance select the appropriate “Profit” and “Loss” transaction codes for
this package. These codes appear on the package ledger for accounting
reports.

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• Package Profit is for any amounts that are less than the “price”. For
example, the hotel gains package profit from guests who do not consume
breakfast allowance amount.
• Package Loss is for any amount that is more than the “price” yet less
than “allowance”.
• Currency allows you to set the currency for the package element if you are
using multi-currency at your property.
Attributes
• Included in Rate sets this package price to deduct from the rate amount
configured in the Rate Details screen on the Rate Code. The package
price allocates to this package element and the remaining amount in the
rate details allocates to Room Revenue.
• Add to Rate Separate Line does not include the package in the quote
rate but rather adds it to the guest folio as a separate line item.
• Add to Rate Combine Line does not include the package in the quoted
rate, yet combines the posting into one line item on the folio.
• Sell Separate allows this package element to attach to any reservations
that have booked a regular (non-package) rate.
• Post Next Day allows the system to hold the allowance amount until the
item posts on the following day. Typically, this only happens with
breakfast because the allowance is set-aside during the night audit but the
guest does not have their breakfast until the next morning.
• Item Inventory allows you to attach an item that applies to the package
element.
• Posting Rhythm determines if the package element is available each day
or only on certain days. Opera provides the ability to set posting rhythm’s
10 different ways, to suit every package’s needs.
o Post Every Night – Post this package charge every night.

o Post on Arrival Night – Post this on arrival night only.
o Post on Every X Nights Starting Night Y - Post this package
charge every X nights, beginning the Y night of stay. Example:
Start on night 3, Post every 2 nights. Reservation Arrival Monday
Depart Saturday. Monday, no charge, Tuesday, no charge,
Wednesday, package charge, Thursday, no charge, Friday, package
charge.

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o Post on Certain Nights of the Week – Check mark the days of
the week to determine the days to post this package charge.
o Post on Last Night – Post this package charge on the last night
of the stay only.
o Post Every Night Except Arrival Night – Post this package
charge on all nights of the stay except the arrival night.
o Post Every Night Except Last – Post this package charge on all
nights of the stay except the last night.
o Do not Post on First and Last Night – Post this package charge
on all nights except the first and last nights of stay.
o Floating Allowance per Stay – Floats the allowance to be
consumed at anytime during the guest stay.
o Custom Posting Schedule – This user-defined schedule lets you
enter a posting rhythm over a 14-day period by assigning the day
(number) within a guest stay for posting this package price. For
example, if you check mark boxes 3, 5, and 7, Opera will post on
the third, fifth and seventh day of the stay and will repeat this
posting schedule after the 14th day through the remainder of the
stay.

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• Formula is available for advanced posting calculations.
• Calculation Rule determines how the amount calculates. For example:
o Per Adult/Child - if the item is priced differently for adults than

children.
o Per Person - if the item is priced the same for adults and children.
o Flat Amount – if the item price does not multiply by the number
of people in the room. Flat Amount will also calculate PER
SHARED RESERVATION in the room assuming all shared
reservations have the same package rate.
• Valid Between controls the start and end times during which the
allowance defined in the package element are valid. If you leave the fields
blank, the allowance is valid all day. For example, if breakfast is served
between 07:00 and 10:30, you should allow breakfast postings to the
allowance only during this period. If a breakfast posting is made later, the
amount posts to the guest's folio. Remember that the time of posting is
the time the waiter charges to the room from the Point of Sale system, not
necessarily the time when the guest started breakfast.
5. Enter a unique package Code for the package element

6. Enter the Short Description
7. Enter the Description
8. In the Transaction Details section, enter or select a transaction Code. This
transaction code appears for allowance credit on the package ledger.
NOTE: Overage is not required on a Simple Package, as there will be no

possibility of overage postings because there is no allowance. No Alternates are
required in a Simple Package, as the package amount applies during the audit, and
we accept no other charges or transactions. Do not check Allowance because
this package element should break out automatically on the package ledger of the
accounting reports. This package will never show any profit or loss because it will
always appear consumed at the exact amount set up in the package details.

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9. Select Add Rate to make this package add to the amount set up in the rate
code.
10. You may check Sell Separate to allow the ability to attach this package
element to reservations that have booked a regular (non-package) rate.
Note: This will allow a reservations agent to make any rate a Package Rate for
that booking only. Do not select Post Next Day, as this will never be an
option for a Simple Package because there is no allowance.
11. Select a Posting Rhythm based on the frequency of the posting for this item.
In this example, we select Post on Arrival Night because the guests are
entitled to use this package anytime during their stay.
12. Select a Calculation Rule based on how the amount calculates. In this
example, we select Per Room as the carriage ride charge applies to the room as
a whole.
13. Select Save to save the Package Header information.
14. Select Package Detail to continue with pricing information.
The PACKAGES screen displays the Package Detail.

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The Package Detail tab contains these fields:
1. Season Code allows you to assign a Rate Season Code to this Package.
2. Start/End Date controls when the pricing is available for the package. You
can set multiple date ranges and pricing amounts for the package. The date
ranges cannot overlap. By default, the package code is valid for a ten-year
period starting on the date it is configured. Dates default to the dates defined
for the season if you assign a Season Code.
3. Price is the actual price of the package element. This amount posts to the
transaction code defined. (Price cannot be negative when the package has an
allowance.)
NOTE: The amounts you enter in the Price and Allowance fields are in the
currency defined in the package header.
4. Allowance is the amount that the guest can consume against the package.
This amount is the actual price for the element or the allowed consumption
price for the guest. The allowance cannot be less than the price.
15. Enter the Start Date that the price is available.
16. Enter the End Date that the price is no longer available.
17. Enter the Price for this simple package element.
NOTE: Since this is a simple package, do not enter an allowance.
18. Select Save to save the package details.

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Advanced An advanced package is one that sets aside an allowance (credit) to offset by the
posted (debit) charge. This item typically posts separately through an interface
Package system, but it may also post manually in OPERA. In either case, the package
Element consumes the amount posted and does not post the charge to the guest folio.
Advanced packages may be set up to post the same day, the next day, or anytime
before the guest checks out.
Use the following steps to create this package:
1. Select Setup
2. Select Configuration
3. Select Rate Management
4. Select Packages
5. Select Codes
The PACKAGES screen displays.
6. Select New to begin creating a package element.

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The PACKAGE CODES screen displays the Package Header tab.
7. Create a unique package Code for the item

8. Enter a Short Description to display on Package Reports.
9. Enter a Description to display on the Rate Info used by reservations agents
to describe packages.
10. Enter the Code in Transaction Details that should post. This is the
transaction code for the allowance credit on the package ledger.
11. Enter the Overage transaction code when applicable.
12. Enter Alternates that the guest may use instead of the previously defined
Code.
13. Select Allowance to allow an overage.
14. Select the appropriate Profit and Loss transaction codes for this package.
15. Select Included in Rate to make this package price deduct from the rate
amount configured in the Rate Details screen on the Rate Code.
NOTE: You may also select Add Rate Separate Line or Add Rate Combined
Line.
16. Select Post Next Day to allow the system to hold the allowance amount until
the item posts on the following day.
17. Select a Posting Rhythm based on the frequency of the posting for this item.
In this example, we select Post Every Night because the guests are entitled to
a breakfast for every day of their stay.
18. Select a Calculation Rule based on how the amount calculates. In this
example, we select Per Adult as the breakfast charge applies to each adult in
the room.
19. Select Save to save the Package Header information.

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20. Select Package Detail to continue with pricing information.
The PACKAGES screen displays the Package Detail.
19. Enter the Start Date that the price is available.

20. Enter the End Date that the price is no longer available.
21. Enter the Price for this advanced package element.
22. Enter the Allowance that the guest may consume.
NOTE: You must select Allowance on the Package Header in order to assign
an Allowance on the Package Detail.
23. Select Save to save the package details.

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Attaching In OPERA, you have the ability to attach package elements and groups to specific
Rate Codes. This results in your hotel having Package Rates to sell.
Package to
a Rate To attach a package element or a group to a Rate Code, follow these steps:
1. From the Configuration menu, select Rate Management

2. Select Rate Classifications
3. Select Rate Codes
The RATE CODES screen displays.
4. Highlight the Rate to attach the Package

5. Select Edit
The RATE SETUP - EDIT screen displays.

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6. Click the drop down arrow next to the Package field
The RATE CODE PACKAGE ELEMENTS screen displays. Packages

attached to this Rate Code display here.
7. To add a package element, select New
The RATE PACKAGES screen displays.
8. Click the drop down arrow next to the Code field

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The PACKAGE ELEMENTS screen displays the Package Elements for your
hotel.
9. Locate the Package Element by scrolling through the list or using Find.
10. Highlight the Package Element to attach to the Rate Code
11. Select OK
NOTE: Review the details for the package element or group. You may make
changes to the package element prior to attaching it to the Rate Code.
12. Select OK on the RATE PACKAGES screen

13. Select Close on the RATE CODE PACKAGE ELEMENTS screen
14. Select Save on the Rate Header

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Attaching To attach a Sell Separate Package to a reservation, follow these steps:
Sell 1. Click the drop down arrow next to Packages on the RESERVATION
Separate screen.
Packages The PACKAGES screen displays.
2. Select New
The PACKAGES – EDIT screen displays.

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3. Click the drop down arrow next to Package to select from the list of existing
packages.
The PACKAGES screen displays the package elements available to sell separate.
4. Highlight the Package to attach to the reservation

5. Select OK
NOTE: The description that displays on this screen is the Short Description of
the package element configuration.
6. Verify and/or update the Quantity

7. Enter the Begin Date and End Date
8. Select Save
9. Select OK to continue
Continue adding any other packages this guest requires.
10. Once you attach all the packages, select OK to save the reservation.

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The RESERVATION screen now displays the package/s added.
For a package that is “Add to Rate”, the amount of the package increases the folio
total for Room Charge. For a package that is “Included in Rate”, the amount of
the package will reduce the amount of room revenue on a package.
11. Select Options to access additional package information through Rate Info.
The RESERVATION OPTIONS screen displays.
12. Select Rate Info

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The RATE SUMMARY screen displays.
13. Highlight the date that includes package charges.

14. Select Details to see the specific packages for that day.
The RATE DETAILS screen displays.
The top half of the screen shows a listing of packages for this date and the amount
of each.
15. Click Close to exit.

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Adjusting The steps below describe how to adjust a guest folio with a package rate.
Folios with 1. To adjust a package rate, select Post from the BILLING screen.
Package
The TRANSACTION POSTING screen displays.
Rates
2. Choose the drop down arrow for Code to select from the list of transaction
codes.
3. Highlight the transaction code to adjust
4. Select OK
NOTE: A package rate is a combination of different transaction codes bundled

together. The transaction code appropriate for adjustments depends on a number
of variables. Check with your manager for specific decisions regarding which code
to use.
5. Enter the Amount to adjust

6. Detail the reason for the adjustment in the Supplement field
7. Select Post
NOTE: Remember to post adjustments as a negative value so that the guest folio
reduces by this amount.
8. If there are not more charges to post, choose Close to exit screen.
The adjustment now appears on the guest folio.
9. Select Close to exit screen and prevent any further postings.

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Chapter 13 – Revenue
Management

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Rate Codes
Rate Code Rate Codes also know as “Rates”, when properly configured, offer various selling
options for your hotel to maximize your revenue. Every reservation requires a
Overview Rate Code with the exception of reservations made through a Business Block.
Configuration of a Rate Code consists of four main sections (‘tabs’):
Rate Header is the default screen for a Rate Code with mandatory fields that
appear in bold. The header describes the rate itself and defines how the rate may
sell. Sub-sections of the Rate Header screen include Sell Controls, Transaction
Details, and Components.
Rate Detail is the tab to define the actual rate amounts for each room type.
Several fields in this screen are also mandatory. Details may vary based on rate
seasons or weekend definitions.
Negotiated is the tab to relate or connect Rate Codes with profiles. Rate Codes
have the ability to attach to any type of profile in OPERA; however, Company
Profile is more common. By making a rate Negotiated, users are able to generate a
specific search for a company’s rate in the Rate Query.
More is the tab to establish default Routing options or define Base Rates. We
discuss both of these options later in this chapter.

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Rate To begin creating a new rate option for your hotel, follow the steps below to
create and define the Rate Header:
Header -
New 1. From the main menu, select Setup and Configuration
2. Select Rate Management and Rate Classification
3. Select Rate Code
The RATE CODES screen displays.
4. Select New to create a new rate.
The RATE SETUP screen displays.

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RATE HEADER SECTION:
5. Enter a Rate Code to use for selling this rate. Rate Codes should be short
codes for the rate (i.e. AAA). This code displays in the Rate Query.
6. Enter a brief Description for the rate (i.e. American Automobile Association
Rate). This description also displays in the Rate Query.
7. Click the drop down arrow next to the Rate Category field to select the
appropriate category for this rate.
NOTE: The Rate Class automatically populates with your selection.
8. If you wish for the room charge on the guest folio to display something other
than the transaction code description, enter a specific Folio Text.
9. Enter a Begin Sell Date for the first date the rate is available to sell
reservations.
10. Enter an End Sell Date for the last date the rate is available to sell
reservations.
NOTE: The sell dates should be broad and far into the future if this is a rate
option always available at your hotel (i.e. 01/01/01 to 12/31/25).
11. Click the drop down arrow next to the Market field to select the appropriate
market code for this rate. Defining the market here prevents users from
having to decide the market for this rate at reservation time.
12. Click the drop down arrow next to the Source field to select the appropriate
source for reservations booked at this rate. Defining the source here also
auto-populates in the reservation screen if reserving this rate. Only define this
on the rate if you expect all reservations to come from the same source.
13. Enter a Display Sequence for sequential order the Rate Code displays on the
Rate Query to sell.
NOTE: Day Types sell sequence overrides the display sequence set here. We
discuss selling strategies in a later section of this chapter.
14. Click the drop down arrow next to the Room Types field to select the room
types available to sell for this rate.

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The ROOM TYPES screen displays.
15. Place an “X” next to each room type available for this rate and select OK.
Alternately, you may select All if all room types apply to this rate.
16. Click the drop down arrow next to the Packages field to select a package
element to attach to this rate. By selecting a package element here, all rate
details for this rate incorporate the package element. For more information
on packages, refer to the “Packages” chapter of this manual.
17. Enter a Commission % to pay travel agent commissions on reservations
booked for this rate, and click the drop down arrow next to the Code field to
select a pre-defined commission code.
NOTE: Failure to enter a commission percentage amount indicates this rate is

‘non-commissionable’. The Commission % and Code fields on the rate override
the commissionable amount found on a Travel Agent profile.

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TRANSACTION DETAILS SECTION:
18. Click the drop down arrow next to the Transaction Code field to select the
default transaction (i.e. 1000) used to post room and tax for this rate. This
code may differ depending on your hotel’s configuration.
19. If you quote this rate including tax and audit posts charges to the guest folio
without a separate line item for tax, select the Tax Incl. check box.
NOTE: Making a rate tax inclusive reduces the amount of room revenue on the
reservation.
20. If this rate option is an inclusive package, click the drop down arrow next to
the Pkg Tran Code field to select the package transaction code (i.e. 7500).
This code appears as one line item on the guest folio for this rate, instead of
individual transactions for room, tax, and package elements.
21. If this rate is quotable in multiple currencies, click the drop down arrow next
to the Currency Code field to select the currencies that apply.
NOTE: You may establish multiple currencies for each rate
22. If this rate sells in multiple currencies, click the drop down arrow next to the
Exchange Type to select the type of exchange applied to this rate.
Currencies may have different exchange rates established for different periods.

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COMPONENTS SECTION:
23. Select the Package check box if this rate sells as a package. The default flag
automatically checks when you attach a package element to the rate.
24. Select the Negotiated check box to indicate the rate is negotiated.
NOTE: A negotiated rate will not appear on the RATE QUERY DETAILS
screen unless it was directly entered into the query via a profile attachment or the
rate code field.
25. Select the Suppress Rate check box to prevent the rate amount from
displaying to reservation agents. The Rate Code displays as “SR” (Suppress
Rate) in the Rate Query if the user does not have permission to view rate
details.
26. Select the Print Rate option to print the rate amount on forms such as
registration cards, folios and confirmation letters.
NOTE: The Print Rate field on the More tab of the reservation must also be
selected to print rate information on customized forms. If this rate defaults to
print yet the user does not want it to print, removing the flag on the reservation
overrides the default on the rate.
27. Select the Discount check box to permit discounts on reservations for this
rate. If you do not select this option, discounts for this rate are not available
on the reservation.
28. Select the Membership check box to make this rate eligible for Frequent
Flyer or Loyalty Membership points during the stay.
29. Select the Day Use check box to make this rate available for a day use only
room.
30. Select the Complimentary check box to indicate the rate is complimentary
for marketing purposes. Selecting this option identifies reservations booked
for this rate separately on reports.
31. Select the House Use check box to indicate the rate is for internal
management use. Reserving Posting Masters (PM) is a prime example for this
option. Selecting this option also identifies reservations book for this rate
separately on reports.
32. Select the Day Types check box to indicate this rate for use in establishing
sell strategies. If this rate is setup in a Day Type configuration, the order that
it displays on the RATE QUERY DETAILS screen may differ from its
display sequence. For more information on Day Types, refer to the Day
Types section of this chapter.
33. If your hotel has the Best Available Rates feature active, select the BAR
option to define this rate as a best rate to sell in the Rate Query.

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SELL CONTROLS SECTION:
34. Enter the minimum number of nights in the Minimum Stay Through field
that a reservation must stay through to book this rate.
NOTE: Leaving the field (or any field in this section) blank indicates no
restrictions are established.
35. Enter the maximum number of nights in the Maximum Stay Through field
that a reservation can stay through to book this rate.
36. Enter the minimum number of days in the Minimum Advance Booking
field that a reservation must book ahead of arrival to offer this rate.
37. Enter the maximum number of days in the Maximum Advance Booking
field that a reservation can book in advance of arrival to offer this rate.
38. Enter a number to multiply the rate amounts defined in the Rate Details in the
Multiplication field.
39. Enter a dollar amount to add to the rate amounts defined in the Rate Details
in the Addition field.
NOTE: When both Addition and Multiplication fields exist for a rate, the
system first calculates the Addition value and then uses the Multiplication value
to obtain the end result.
40. Enter the minimum number of persons required on the reservation in the
Minimum Occupancy field to offer this rate.
41. Enter the maximum number of persons allowed on the reservation in the
Maximum Occupancy field to offer this rate.
42. Select Save to save the Rate Header.

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Rate After saving a Rate Header, there are several option buttons to add additional
information to a rate. Listed below are the various options available:
Header –
Options • The Deposit/Cxl option opens the DEPOSIT
RULE/CANCELLATION SCHEDULES screen. From here, you
may directly apply a rule schedule for either deposit or cancellation
requirements (i.e. 14-day advance deposit required for one night’s room
and tax, with a one-night cancellation penalty) for this rate.
• Select the Short Info option to enter a brief description for the rate to
display in the lower-right corner of the RATE QUERY DETAILS
screen. Enter program specific information in this screen for
reservationists, such as “Identification Required” or specific package
details.

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• Select the Long Info option for a free text box to enter long, descriptive
information regarding this rate. This information appears if the user
selects to see Long Info from the RATE QUERY DETAILS screen.
• Select the Availability option to access the RATE AVAILABILITY
screen. Refer to the “Rate Availability” section of this chapter for more
details.
• Select the Changes option to review changes that have occurred to this
rate, such as the creation date or when an advance booking requirements
was added to the rate.
• Select the Repeat option to copy this Rate Code and create a new rate
without having to retype similar information. When choosing this option,
the COPY RATE CODE screen displays.
Simply enter a New Rate Code in the grid and select OK.
NOTE: The Create Rate Details check box defaults as checked to copy existing
rate amounts to the new rate. If you wish to create different rates, uncheck this
option.
• Delete allows you to delete an existing rate option. You are unable to
delete rates that already have existing Rate Details or dependent
reservations.

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Rate Details The Rate Detail is where you specify dates and room types for the rate. In most
- New hotels, the Senior Hotel Management, General Manager, Sales & Marketing
Director work with Regional Offices to define the hotels overall annual
business/marketing plan. Once rates are established, entering them in the Rate
Details has direct impact on potential room revenue.
To establish Rate Details, follow the steps below:
1. From the Rate Header, select the Rate Details tab at top of screen.
2. Click the drop down arrow next to the Season Code to select a predefined
date range or seasons. If no seasons exist, you may enter the dates directly.
3. Enter a Start Date for this Rate Detail to begin.
4. Enter an End Date for this Rate Detail to end.
NOTE: If you select a Season Code, the Start Date and End Date automatically
populate.
5. If this rate detail only applies to certain days of the week, (i.e. Fri. and Sat.
only) place a check in the boxes to the corresponding days.

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AMOUNTS SECTION:
6. Enter the rate amount for 1 Adult, 2 Adults, 3 Adults, 4 Adults, and 5
Adults. If the rates quoted do not differ by number of adults, enter the same
rate in each field.
NOTE: Entering a specific rate for each number of adults here ensures that the
exact rate by number of adults display in the RATE QUERY DETAILS screen.
This also allows a manual definition of when the extra person charge begins.
7. If this rate has an extra person charge to begin with the hotel’s default extra
person designator, enter a rate amount in the Extra Adult field rather that the
2 Adults, 3 Adults, etc. fields.
NOTE: Use caution with this feature as the rate does not calculate the number
of adults until after the Rate Query and the user has the reservation in front of
them.
8. Enter the rate amount for 1 Child, 2 Children, 3 Children, and 4 Children
only if your hotel charges for children.
NOTE: If there is a charge for children, the system assumes this charge is in
addition to the number of adults in the room and adds the charge to the adult
charge. As a result, do not input the full rate amount, but only the additional
charges for children.
9. If your hotel charges different rates for children based on their age, enter a
value in all three Child #-# fields (where # is the hotel defined age ranges).

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ATTRIBUTES SECTION:
10. Click the drop down arrow next to the Market Code field to define the
market for this particular Rate Detail. This field auto populates from the Rate
Header; however, you may apply a different code for specific period.
NOTE: A Market Code defined on a Rate Detail overrides the Market Code in
the Rate Header.
11. Click the drop down arrow next to the Source Code field to input the
intended source of reservations for this particular Rate Detail. This field auto
populates if defined in the Rate Header; however, you may apply a different
code for a specific period.
NOTE: A Source Code defined on a Rate Detail overrides a Source Code in the
Rate Header. In addition, unless all reservations booked for this rate channel from
the same source of business (i.e. Internet), reservationists typically enter this field
on the reservation at the time of booking.
12. Click the drop down arrow next to the Room Types field and select the room
types available for this rate. The only room types that display are the room
types defined on the Rate Header.
13. If this rate detail includes a package element, click the drop down arrow next
to the Packages field to select the element.
NOTE: If you attach a package element to a Rate Detail, that element only
applies to that rate for the defined period. If you attach a package element to a
Rate Header, that element applies to all Rate Details for the Rate Code.
14. After entering all details, select Save.

15. Select New to repeat this process and enter additional rate details for different
room types or date ranges.

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Rate Details Some additional features from the Rate Details tab are as follows:
- Options • Use the Repeat feature to copy rates from one detail to another. This
function copies all rates and room types, but allow you to define alternate
dates.
• Use the Split feature to split an existing Rate Detail. To split a rate for a
specific date range and apply a different rate amount, select this option.
The RATE SPLIT screen displays.
• Enter a Start Date and End Date, define rates for the new Rate Detail,
and select OK to save.
NOTE: When splitting a Rate Detail, the room types remain the same, but the
dates and rates can differ.
• Select Changes to view a history of changes for the highlighted Rate

Detail.
Negotiated The Negotiated tab of the Rate Code allows you to view and enter profiles that
Rates - New offer this rate as a negotiated rate. Typically, Company profiles have negotiated
rates attached. It is possible to create a link or relationship between an account
and a rate through the Profile Options, but you may also manage that from this
tab. The benefit of attaching an account to a rate is that whenever booking
reservations for this account, only the negotiated rate displays. To view or attach
profiles to this rate as Negotiated, follow the steps below:

445
1. From the Rate Header, select the Negotiated tab.
NOTE: If this rate already has profiles for this rate negotiated, those profiles
displays in the grid. If no profiles are negotiated for this rate, the grid displays
blank.
2. Select New to attach a new profile. The PROFILE SEARCH screen

displays.
3. Locate the profile to negotiate for this rate, highlight the record and select
OK.
The NEGOTIATED RATES screen displays.
4. Select New to establish the details of the negotiated rate.
A second NEGOTIATED RATES screen displays.
5. Click the drop down arrow next to the Rate Code field to select the rate to
negotiate. From within this Rate Code, select the rate you are currently
working with.
6. Define the Start Sell Date and End Sell Date and select OK to save.
7. Select Close to return to the Negotiate tab.
The profile negotiated for this rate now displays.

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Negotiated The various options available from the Negotiated tab are as follows:
Rates – • Inactive deletes the highlighted profile and inactivates the account as a
Options negotiated rate.
NOTE: The Show Inactive check box, when checked, displays any profiles or
accounts marked as inactive for this negotiated rate.
• Profile displays the profile of the highlighted negotiated rate.

• Edit displays the NEGOTIATED RATES screen to alter the sell dates.
• Changes displays a history of changes for the highlighted account with a
negotiated rate.

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More Tab The More tab offers additional options for managing rates. Listed below are the
options available on this tab:
• To define default Routing for any reservations for this rate (such as
Internet Wholesalers that traditionally route all room and tax charges to a
second folio window), click the drop down arrow next to the Instructions
field and select either the Transaction Codes or pre-defined Routing
Instructions that apply. If these Routing Instructions only apply to a
certain type of profile, click the drop down arrow next to the Profile
Types field and define the profile type for these instructions.
• The Base Rates feature establishes one Rate Code as the “base” rate, and
each additional rate offered at the hotel may be set at a percentage or flat
dollar amount off that rate. Rate Details for rates using this feature
automatically create based on the original Rate Details for the “base” rate.
To establish a rate to use the Base Rate as its identifying Rate Details,
1. Click the drop down arrow next to the Base Rate field and select
the Rate Code defined as the hotel’s base (i.e. Rack Rate).
2. Click the drop down arrow next to the Amount field and select to
either base the rate as a “Percentage” or “Flat” dollar amount off.
3. Enter either the dollar amount or percentage in the field to the left.
4. Click the drop down arrow next to the Rounding field to
determine how to round the final rate calculations should they not
be an even amount (i.e. 10% off the base is $175.9877)
NOTE: The UP/DOWN options round to the nearest dollar with no figures
after the decimal point. The UP – Keep Decimal and DOWN – Keep Decimal
round to the nearest dollar and cent. NONE performs no rounding.
Rate Tiers Hotels with guests that traditionally have extended or lengthy stays often use rate
tiers as a means to offer lower room rates for lengthy stays. OPERA offers
functionality to handle these rate tiers based on length of stay. In order to use
tiered rates when selling reservations, the Rate Tiers functionality must be active
with length of stay periods defined (i.e. 0-6 days, 7-13 days, 14-20 days, +21 days).
Once you define the length of stay periods, each Rate Code that sells based on
length of stay requires Rate Details for each tier. Follow the steps below to define
rates for each tier on a Rate Code:
1. When creating a new Rate Code, from the Rate Header tab, select the new rate
as Tiered in the Components section and Save the header.
2. Select the Rate Details tab.

448
At the top of the screen are buttons for each of the defined stay periods (i.e. 1-6
Days, 7-13 Days, 14-20 Days, 21+ Days).
3. Enter rate details for the first stay period for all room types and select Save.
4. Select the second stay period (7-13 Days button) and enter rate details for that
tier; select Save.
NOTE: When you move to the 2nd or 3rd tier, the system asks if you want to copy
rate details from the 1st or previous tier. Answer Yes, but be certain to change the
rates accordingly.
5. Repeat this process for all tiers before closing.

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Global Rate The Global Rate Update feature offers the ability to update and modify rate
details for one or multiple rates without having to access the Rate Details of each
Update individual rate. This is particularly useful for updating a range of rates if the hotel
has had an increase in the fair market value of all rooms.
To perform a global update of rates, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Setup and Configuration.

2. Select Rate Management.
3. Select Global Rate Update.
The GLOBAL RATE UPDATE screen displays.
4. Enter a Start Date Matching and End Date Matching in the Rate Details
portion of this screen.
NOTE: Dates entered here apply this global rate update to any rate details that
exist in this range of dates.
5. In the Filter section, choose whether this update affects Adults or Children
rates.
6. To filter this update to a specific rate or range of rates, click the drop down
arrow next to the Rate Category or Rate Code field.
7. In the Calculation section, select this update to either be a Percentage
Increase or Flat Increase or enter a value below for the increase (i.e. 10 for
10%)
8. Click the drop down arrow next to the Round to Nearest field to round any
odd percentages.
9. If desired, enter an additional amount to add to all rates after the percent or
flat increase updates in the Add after Rounding field (i.e. after 10% increase,
add an additional $5).
10. Select OK to save and answer Yes to apply the global rate update.

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Revenue Management
OPERA offers various tools to manage and yield the hotel’s rates and availability.
The intention of these tools is to maximize hotel revenue and assist with revenue
management from the PMS. If your hotel has a Revenue Management interface
active, these features are disabled to allow that system to act as the yield
management source.
The features available for managing revenue and rates are Rate Strategy, Rate
Availability, and Rate Restrictions, Day Types and Overbooking.
Rate The Rate Strategy program is a yield management tool to assist with monitoring
and managing availability of rates. Use the Rate Strategy feature as a tool to create
Strategy restrictions or to set sell limits on Rate Categories or Rate Codes. Follow the steps
below to establish a new Rate Strategy:

3. Select Strategy
The RATE STRATEGY screen appears with a list of all existing strategies.
4. Select New.

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The RATE STRATEGY – EDIT screen displays.
5. Choose to set a strategy for a Room Class, Room Type, Rate Category, or
Rate Code by clicking the drop down arrow next to either field.
NOTE: The option of controlling the availability by Rate Category rather than by
Rate Code greatly simplifies the task of establishing strategies for each individual
Rate Code. All rates that belong to the one category adopt the strategy at once.
6. Click the drop down arrow next to the Condition field to establish the
strategy condition; the condition may be based on occupancy or reservation
activity (i.e. times sold, or if occupancy reaches).
7. Enter a value (either Percentage or Flat) for the condition.
8. Click the drop down arrow next to the Restriction Types field to choose the
restriction for the strategy (i.e. Closed for Arrival).
9. Enter the Restriction Dates From/To for the dates affected by the
condition. The selection here defines conditions for reservations booked on
these dates.
10. Enter the Control Dates From/To for the calendar days controlled by this
condition. The selection here defines the actual booking dates affected by this
condition.
11. If this condition only applies to certain days of the week, check or uncheck the
appropriate dates.
12. Enter the number of Days in Advance the condition applies. This rolling
date range moves along with the calendar.
13. Select the Sequence for this condition.
NOTE: The Sequence defines the order that the condition applies. If multiple
conditions exist for a reservation date, this sequence determines the priority of
which condition applies first.

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Rate The Rate Availability tool allows your hotel to set reservation hurdles and
manage the closing or opening of rates and house level restrictions. This feature is
Availability - similar to the Rate Strategy feature, but offers several more options for managing
View rates with a visual display of rate activity. To access the Rate Availability feature,
1. From the main menu, select Setup and Configuration

3. Select Availability
The RATE AVAILABILITY screen displays.
Various search features from this screen alternate the display. You may choose to
view availability of rates by date for Rate Category, Rate Code, Room Class, or
Room Type. Modifying the search criteria modifies the display grid. The Year
View and Overview options offer a quick display of house level restrictions over
extended date ranges. Alternately, you may select to modify the view by choosing
the Rate Cat., Rate Code, Rm. Class, or Room Type button on the right-hand
side of the screen.
NOTE: These buttons are not available if the corresponding check box is flagged
in the search criteria window.
Lastly, the Restriction Type Legend at the bottom of the screen displays a
color-coded legend for details within the grid (i.e. a red 2 in the grid indicates a 2-
night minimum stay through requirement at the house level).

453
Rate Restrictions allow the hotel to manage availability from the Rate Availability
feature. If properly managed and configured, this program works similar to a
Restrictions simple yield management system. Monitoring of availability and enforcing
Restrictions result in increased room revenues. Restrictions also allow you to set
house level restrictions from one screen. To use the Restrictions feature to set a
house level restriction, follow the steps below:

2. Select Rate Management and Availability
3. Select Restriction (Restriction…).
The RESTRICTIONS screen displays.

454
4. Click the drop down arrow next to Restriction Type to choose from a list of
pre-defined restrictions (i.e. Open, Closed).
5. Enter the restriction Begin Date and End Date.
6. If this restriction only applies to certain days of the week, check the days
affected by the rule.
7. Select the House option to apply the restriction through out the hotel for all
rates and room types.
8. Select the Clear All Restrictions option to remove any restrictions in effect
for the dates selected.
9. Click the drop down arrow next to the Room Class, Room Type, Rate
Category, or Rate Code fields to set this restriction for a specific code or
category. If the restriction applies to all, leave these fields blank.
NOTE: The Room Class, Room Type, Rate Category and Rate Code are not
accessible when the House option is selected.
10. Select Save to save this restriction and enter a new one or select OK to save
this restriction and close the screen.
11. From the RATE AVAILABILITY screen, input search criteria to view and
confirm the newly placed restriction.
Restrictions To view the availability and restrictions Activity currently configured along with a
history of restrictions set for the chosen date, perform the following:
– Activity 1. From the main menu, select Setup and Configuration
vs. Actual 2. Select Rate Management and Availability
3. Select Activity
The RESTRICTIONS ACTIVITY screen displays with a view of all currently

configured restrictions as well as a history of restrictions for the chosen date.

455
To view the availability and restrictions that are Actual and currently configured
for the chosen date, perform the following:

5. Select Rate Management and Availability
6. Select Actual
The RESTRICTIONS ACTUAL screen displays with a view of all active

restrictions.

456
Day Type Day Type Codes allow rate amounts to increase or decrease on specific days
depending on forecasted occupancy. Rate amounts temporarily increase for that
Codes day type by a percentage or additional rate amount. In addition, this feature allows
you to sequence rates differently than the default sequence for an alternate selling
strategy. For example, on the weekends, your hotel may prefer that discounted
rates display in the Rate Query before corporate rates. To setup Day Type Codes
for particular seasons or upcoming events, follow the steps below:

2. Select Rate Management and Property Calendar
3. Select Day Type Codes
The DAY TYPE CODES screen displays.
4. Select New to create a new day type.

457
The DAY CODES - NEW screen displays.
5. In the Day Type Code field, enter an abbreviated code used to identify this
day type.
NOTE: Stay consistent with the length of the code (it is recommended to use 3
or 4 alpha characters)
6. Enter a brief Description of this day type, such as weekend or citywide

convention.
7. Enter the Multiplier factor that multiplies the Rate Detail amounts when the
Day Type option is selected on the Rate Header.
NOTE: If using Day Types only to alternate the selling strategy, and not to
modify rates, enter a value of “1.”
8. Enter additional amount in the Adder field to add to the Rate Detail amounts
when the Day Type option is selected on the Rate Header.
NOTE: If using Day Types only to alternate the selling strategy, and not to
modify rates, enter a value of “0.00.”
9. Click the drop down arrow next to the Display Color field to select a color
indicator on the Property Calendar.
10. Enter a Display Sequence and select Save.

458
To establish a new sequence for rates to appear in the Rate Query for a particular
Day Type Code, follow the steps below:
1. From the DAY TYPE CODES screen, highlight the day type and select
Sequence.
2. The SEQUENCE screen displays.
3. To reorder the display of rates, click in the Seq. column and type in each
sequence for each rate (i.e. enter “1” for the rate to display first in the Rate
Query, followed by “2” for the second rate, etc.)

459
Event Codes To create codes for an upcoming event that displays on the Property Calendar,

2. Select Rate Management and Property Calendar.
3. Select Event Codes.
The EVENT CODES screen displays.
4. Select New to create a new code.
The EVENT CODES – NEW screen displays.
5. Enter an Event Code and a brief Description of the event (i.e. ACW =
Airline Convention Weekend).
6. Enter a Display Seq. and select Save.

460
Property To attach and activate Events or Day Types to the existing Property Calendar,
Calendar
2. Select Rate Management and Property Calendar.
3. Select Property Calendar.
The PROPERTY CALENDAR screen displays.
4. Using the calendar button, search for and highlight the date you wish to being
setting an event or day type, and select Edit.
The EDIT PROPERTY/CALENDAR screen displays and lists any existing

Day Types or Events.

461
5. Select New.
The ADD DAY TYPES OR EVENTS TO PROPERTY CALENDAR

screen displays.
6. Enter the From Date and To Date.

7. Click the drop down arrow next to either the Day Type or Event field to
select the code to add.
8. If this Day Type or Event only applies to certain days of the week, check or
uncheck the days and select OK to save.
NOTE: The new Event or Day Type now displays on the Property Calendar.
The entry may be color-coded in the Legend, depending on the configuration of
the Day Type or Event Code.

462
Chapter 14 – User
Configuration

463
464
User Configuration
Overview The process of creating a new user within OPERA is a 3-step process:
1. Create a Cashier for the user

2. Create the User Name
3. Assign the user Permissions
This chapter focuses on these steps while explaining the options and
permissions for securely managing system functionality throughout the hotel
staff.
Add New The first step in creating a new user is creating a Cashier. This is not a
requirement for all employees of the hotel or OPERA users. If a particular
Cashier user does not need access to posting areas of the system or the need to check in
guests, then a Cashier is not necessary. Some good examples of users that do
no need Cashiers are Housekeeping supervisors, PBX operators, and Bellman.
These positions typically do not need access to post charges to guests bills
therefore would not need a Cashier ID.
To add Cashiers for each user requiring posting ability, follow the steps below:
2. Select the Cashiering menu and Cashiers.
The CASHIER SETUP screen appears.

465
3. To create a new cashier, select New.
The CASHIER - NEW screen appears.
4. The First field is the Cashier ID. This is a numerical item that the user
identifies that cashier. The highest number allowed is 9999, and typically,
numbers under 100 are reserved for system cashiers and interfaces. This
number auto generates but can be assigned.
5. Enter the Name of the Cashier.
6. The Reserved field determines the property that uses this Cashier. Select
the down arrow beside the field to associate a specific property to this
Cashier. This is only necessary in multi-property environments where the
Cashier might post for multiple locations.
7. Maximum Uses field determines how many times in a business day the
cashier may open or close their bank. The standard for most hotels is three
(3).
8. The Float Over/Short field allows the Cashier to drop over or below the
total expected drop. Check this boxes if your hotel allows an overage or
shortage to float until the next day.
9. Interface Cashier is checked for any system required Cashiers used by
interfaces (i.e., movies, call accounting, point of sale).
10. Exclusive Use checkbox determines if the cashier is devoted to only one
user. This prevents the Cashier from being available when selecting a
Cashier from the pool of available ID’s if the hotel is using the floating
cashier option.
11. Inactive is checked when an employee no longer works at the hotel. This
prevents anyone from logging in to the Cashier while maintaining the
history of what postings the Cashier made.
12. Select Save to complete the Cashier.
Create a User The second step in creating a login is adding the User. Everyone at the
property that requires access to OPERA must have a User name. This also
Name includes personnel responsible for profiles and the need to track profile
performance.
To create a new User, follow the steps below:

466
1. From the main screen, select Setup and User Configuration.
2. Select Users.
The USERS screen displays.

467
All users in the system display in the main grid of this screen. The search area
is useful for finding a particular user when the list of users is quite long. In
addition, you may click the drop down arrow on the field in the center of
search criteria to sort the display by Active, Inactive, and Terminated users.
3. To create a new User, select New.
The NEW USER screen displays.
The screen displays with four quadrants of information. Mandatory fields have
bold field descriptions.
4. Select a language by choosing the down arrow beside the Language field.
5. Select the appropriate radio dial for whether the user is Male or Female.
6. Enter the user’s name in the Last Name, First Name, and Middle fields.
7. Select the user’s job title by selecting the down arrow beside the Job Title
field.
8. Choose the users department from the list of departments by selecting the
down arrow beside Department.
9. Enter the user’s phone extension in the Extension field.
10. Enter a user’s initials to track performance and statistics of profiles linked
to the user via the Owner field.
11. The Login Screen determines the screen the user sees upon successfully
logging into the application (i.e. Dashboard). If you leave the field blank,
the user logs into the main OPERA screen.
12. Enter any Address and Communications information.

468
13. The Login Name field is hotel defined and is the user’s login name. We
recommend having a standard for all names. Suggestions include the first,
middle and last initials or the first initial and last name.
14. Enter a generic Password for the user. The user is encouraged to change
the password upon first successful login. Passwords may be alpha,
numeric, or a combination of alpha and numeric. They must be seven
characters in length and must contain at least one numeric character.
15. Re-enter the chosen password in the Confirm Password field.
16. Cashier ID is the field to enter the Cashier associated to this person. If the
user do not make postings and does not have a Cashier, leave the field
blank.
NOTE: If your hotel uses the floating Cashier functionality and the users share
the same Cashier with other users, leave the field blank. When attempting to
access the posting area of the system, a prompt displays to choose the Cashier.
17. To define a specific report group this users defaults to when accessing the
Reports module, click the drop down arrow next to the Report Group
field.
18. Password Expiration Days field determines how often the user’s
password expires.
NOTE: If the field automatically populates a number and the field is gray, then
the password expiration is set and mandated in another area of configuration.
19. Place a check in each box of the Access Control area to define the
applications this user may access for the Opera Hotel Edition. Most basic
users require access to PMS only, where a System’s Expert requires access
to PMS, Configuration, End of Day, Utilities and the like.
20. Select Save to complete changes and remain on the screen.

469
Assign Once a user exists, to assign permissions to that user, follow the steps below
Individual 1. From the User ID - EDIT screen, select Permission.
Permissions
The USER PERMISSIONS screen displays.
The right side of the screen displays the security permissions the user has access
to (GRANTED). The left side of the screen displays the security permissions
the user does not have access to (NON-GRANTED). The top portion on the
left displays available NON-GRANTED User Groups with lists of predefined
permissions by job role (i.e. Housekeeping, Guest Service Representative).
The screen example above displays a “Front Desk” user group granted to the
individual, and displays the folders (areas of the system) and individual
permissions granted when the User Group granted. Permission folders group
individual permissions by module of the system, to include configuration areas.
2. To grant access to a User Group, Folder, or Individual Permission,

highlight the intended item and select Grant located in the very center of
the screen. The permission moves to the GRANTED side of the screen.
3. To remove access of a User Group, Folder, or Individual Permission,
highlight the intended item and select Revoke located in the very center of
the screen. The permission moves to the NON-GRANTED side of the
screen.
4. Select OK to save changes and OK to save the user.

470
Unlocking a With the latest of security measures, if a user unsuccessfully attempts to log into
the system more than 3 times, OPERA automatically locks the user from
User logging back into the system. This situation requires management access to
unlock a user.
To unlock a user, follow the steps below:
From the main menu, select Setup, User Configuration and Users.
The USERS search screen appears.
1. Locate the user and highlight the Employee Name.

2. Select Unlock.
The USER PASSWORD screen appears.
3. Enter the word “password” in the Password field as well as in the

Confirm Password field.
4. Remove any information in the Disabled On field and select Save.
5. Have the user to login to OPERA again and reset their own password as
learned in the “Miscellaneous” chapter of this manual.

471
Create a New User groups are useful to cluster sets of permissions together so we can quickly
assign permission rights to individuals. To setup or create new user groups for
User Group your hotels job roles, follow the steps below:
1. From the main menu, select Setup and User Configuration.

2. Select User Groups.
The USER GROUPS screen displays.
3. Select New.
The USER GROUP – NEW screen displays.
4. Enter a user Group Name (usually a short code for the group or
department).
5. Enter a Description for the user group.
The Transaction Codes and Report Groups functionality are available at

some properties to limit the transaction codes and report groups members of
this user group have access to.
6. Enter Transaction Codes that the members of this user group have access
to in Cashiering.
7. Enter Report Groups the members of this user group may access.
8. Select OK.

472
Add To add pre-defined permissions to the user group or job role, follow the steps
below:
Permissions
to a User 1. From the USER GROUPS screen, highlight the Group Name and select
Permissions.
Group
The USER GROUP PERMISSIONS screen appears.

473
2. Add permissions to the User Group as needed by selecting the individual
NON-GRANTED Permissions on the left.
3. Highlight the permission and select Grant to move the permission to the
GRANTED USER GROUPS AND PERMISSIONS window.
NOTE: For easy of use and to quickly assign permissions, it is possible to

grant all of the permissions of another user group to this user group, and then
add additional individual permissions. For example, a Front Desk Supervisor
would have all the capabilities of a Front Desk Agent with additional
responsibilities. You could grant the Front Desk Supervisor user group the
Front Desk Agent user group permission, and then grant additional supervisory
permissions.

474
Add Users to You may assign individual users to an existing user group by the method
explained earlier in this chapter. Alternately, you may assign them directly
a User Group within the user group if you do not intend to assign individual permissions to
the user outside of the group.
To assign users directly to a pre-defined user permission group, follow the steps
below:
1. From the USER GROUP screen, highlight the Group Name and select
Users.
The USERS FOR GROUP… screen appears.
2. Place an “X” next to each user in the Available Users column to assign to
this permission group.
3. Select Add to move them to the Selected Users column.
4. Select Close.

475

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OPERA PMS Reference Manual

Opera Hotel Edition Version 4.0

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, photocopied, stored on a retrieval system, or

OPERA is a trademark of MICROS Systems, Inc.

Suggested additions, deletions, or changes to this document should be addressed to:

MICROS Systems, Inc.

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

Welcome to the OPERA Property Management System 13

Recognizing Software Terms and Operations 16

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

Additional Reservation Features 106

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

CHAPTER 4 – FRONT DESK 112

Arrivals and Check In 113

Queue Reservations 121

In House Guests 124

Additional Front Desk Features 128

CHAPTER 5 - CASHIERING 143

Cashiering Basics 145

Billing Options 160

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

Check Out 166

Cashier Functions 179

CHAPTER 6 ROOMS MANAGEMENT - HOUSEKEEPING 203

Rooms Management 205

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

CHAPTER 7 – ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE 240

Account Maintenance 244

Accounting Options 258

Additional AR Features 268

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

CHAPTER 8 - MISCELLANEOUS 280

Quick Keys 281

Additional Miscellaneous Features 304

Advanced Miscellaneous Features 317

CHAPTER 9 – END OF DAY 330

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

CHAPTER 10 – BUSINESS BLOCKS - GROUPS 339

Group Basics 341

Group Options 365

Block Options 376

Additional Group Features 385

CHAPTER 11 – COMMISSION HANDLING 388

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

Payment Processing 393

Payment Activity 405

CHAPTER 12 – PACKAGE MANAGEMENT 411

CHAPTER 13 – REVENUE MANAGEMENT 431

Rate Codes 433

Revenue Management 451

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

CHAPTER 14 – USER CONFIGURATION 463

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.

©2006 MICROS® Systems Inc.