Hotel breakfast glossary

Short definitions of the words used around a hotel breakfast, from covers to half board.

• Breakfast list

  A hotel breakfast list shows which rooms have breakfast each morning, and for how many guests. What goes on it, where it comes from, and its limits.

• Covers

  A cover is one guest served one meal. How hotels count breakfast covers, why the count rarely matches the list, and where covers show up in OPERA and Mews.

• Half board, full board and bed and breakfast

  Bed and breakfast includes breakfast; half board adds dinner; full board adds lunch too. What each means for the guest and for the breakfast list.

• NFC and RFID hotel key cards

  Most hotel room keys are contactless RFID cards that many NFC readers can detect. How they work, and why the lock system, not the PMS, knows which room a card opens.

• OPERA package code

  In OPERA Cloud, a package code defines an extra such as breakfast that is included in a rate or sold with it, and how and when it posts.

• Room-only rate

  A room-only rate includes the room and no meals. What guests get, why hotels sell it, and what happens when a room-only guest comes to breakfast.