Understanding the difference between cancelling and releasing Maintenance/Out of Order reservations in RMS

Overview

A Maintenance Reservation in RMS is used to take an Area Out of Order / Out of Service while recording the maintenance requirement in RMS.

These reservations:

• Block a room or area’s availability (for example, taking a room Out of Order or Out of Service).

• Record why the room/area is offline (maintenance issue, refurbishment, deep clean, etc.).

• Help track asset condition and ensure operational accuracy.

You can review, amend, release, or cancel Maintenance (Out of Order / Out of Service) Reservations using the Maintenance Utility in RMS.

Cancelling a Maintenance Reservation

A Maintenance (Out of Order / Out of Service) Reservation should only be cancelled when the planned maintenance is no longer required, and no work was performed.

Example

A room is scheduled to be taken Out of Order in March for touch-up painting. After inspecting the room, you decide that no painting is needed.
In this case, you can cancel the Maintenance / Out of Order Reservation because:

• The room does not actually need to go Out of Order.

• No maintenance work has been completed.

Cancelling tells RMS that the Out of Order block was not needed.

Releasing a Maintenance Reservation

A Maintenance (Out of Order / Out of Service) Reservation should be released when:

• The maintenance work has been completed, or

• The maintenance block has expired, and the room is ready to return to service.

Example

A room is taken Out of Order for a day to fix a burst pipe:

• If the plumber completes the repair as scheduled, the Maintenance / Out of Order Reservation should be released so the room can return to service.

• If further work is required the next day, the reservation should be amended to extend the maintenance period rather than released.

Releasing tells RMS that:

• The work is finished, and

• The room or area can be returned to normal availability.

Summary

• Most Maintenance / Out of Order Reservations should be released, not cancelled.

• Only cancel a Maintenance / Out of Order Reservation if the maintenance work was never needed or never started.

• Release a reservation when work has been completed or when the Out of Order / Out of Service period has ended.

• Releasing a Maintenance Reservation indicates that the room/area is ready for inspection or guest use.

• Properly managing Maintenance (Out of Order / Out of Service) Reservations supports accurate availability, reporting, and asset history in RMS.

• Rooms staying blocked as Out of Order / Out of Service when they are actually available. • Incomplete maintenance records. • An inaccurate view of a room or area’s condition and history over time.