Glossary
Hospo words: A
35 terms you'll hear on shift.
- ABV
- Alcohol by volume, the percentage of a drink that is pure alcohol.
- Acas
- The UK Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, which offers guidance on employment law and early conciliation.
- Acidity
- The fresh, mouth-watering element of wine that gives it structure and makes it work with food.
- ADR
- Average daily rate: average room revenue per occupied room.
- Afternoon tea
- A served meal of sandwiches, scones and cakes with tea, a key revenue stream for UK hotels.
- Age statement
- The age on a whisky label, which by law must be the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle.
- Agency staff
- Workers supplied by an agency.
- Aggregator
- A delivery platform.
- Agricole
- Rum distilled from fresh sugar cane juice rather than molasses, typical of the French Caribbean; grassy and vegetal.
- Airline lounge
- A comfortable area for premium passengers, with food, drink and work space.
- Airport hotel
- A hotel near or at an airport serving transit passengers, crew and early flights.
- All day
- The total number of an item needed across all tickets.
- Allergen matrix
- A chart showing which of the 14 allergens are in each dish, used by staff to answer guests.
- Allergen statement
- A notice telling guests to inform staff about allergies, often printed on menus.
- Allotment
- A block of rooms held for a tour operator or company, released back to sale if not taken by a release date.
- Allumette
- A matchstick cut, thinner than a bâtonnet, used for fine fries and garnishes.
- Amaro
- An Italian bitter herbal liqueur, often drunk as a digestif.
- Amenities
- In-room items such as toiletries, slippers and tea trays, and wider hotel facilities such as gyms and pools.
- American service
- Food plated in the kitchen and carried to the table, the most common style in modern restaurants.
- Amuse-bouche
- Complimentary bite before the meal.
- Añejo
- Tequila aged in oak for between one and three years.
- Aparthotel
- A hotel made up of apartments with kitchens, combining hotel services with self-catering.
- Aperitivo
- The Italian pre-dinner drinking ritual, and the bitter-sweet drinks that go with it, such as Campari and Aperol.
- API
- Application Programming Interface, the way systems talk to each other.
- Appellation
- A legally defined wine region with rules on grapes, yields and methods, such as AOC in France and DOCG in Italy.
- Ask for Angela
- Scheme for people feeling unsafe to get help discreetly.
- ATOL
- A UK financial protection scheme for air package holidays.
- Attrition
- A contract clause charging a group if it uses fewer rooms than agreed, beyond an allowed tolerance.
- Auctioning
- Asking 'who had the fish?' at the table. Considered poor service; seat numbers prevent it.
- Auto-enrolment
- The legal duty for UK employers to enrol eligible workers in a workplace pension.
- Autolyse
- Resting just flour and water before adding salt and yeast, letting gluten form and making dough easier to work.
- AV
- Audio-visual equipment such as projectors, screens, microphones and sound systems, often supplied by a partner.
- Average transaction value
- Average spend per bill or transaction, used in bars and quick service where covers are not counted.
- Away
- Call that a course is ready to be started.
Hospodality