Glossary
Hospo words: W
25 terms you'll hear on shift.
- Waitlist
- List of guests waiting for a table.
- Walk a guest
- To relocate a guest with a confirmed booking to another hotel because none of your rooms is available, usually paying for the alternative room and transport.
- Walk-in
- A walk-in fridge or freezer; also a guest without a booking.
- Walk-in trade
- Guests without bookings.
- Walk-out
- Guests leaving without paying the bill; also called a dine-and-dash.
- Walked guest
- A hotel guest moved elsewhere due to overbooking.
- Walking in
- Guests arriving without a reservation.
- Warm-up
- The DJ who plays before the headliner, building the room without peaking too early.
- Washed process
- Coffee processing in which fruit is removed before drying, giving clean, bright flavours.
- Wastage
- Stock lost through waste.
- Water bath
- A precisely heated tank or circulator used for sous vide cooking.
- WAVE
- Welfare and Vulnerability Engagement training.
- Wedding breakfast
- The main meal at a British wedding, whatever time of day it is served.
- Weeded
- Short for in the weeds: overwhelmed during service.
- Weeds call
- Asking for help when overwhelmed, a sign of a healthy team rather than weakness.
- Welfare officer
- A staff member tasked with looking after guests in distress, increasingly common in clubs and festivals.
- Well
- The bar's standard pouring spirits.
- Wet stock
- Drinks inventory.
- Wet-led
- A pub making most revenue from drinks.
- Whetstone
- A flat sharpening stone, used wet, that grinds a new edge onto a knife. Graded by grit, from coarse repair stones to fine polishing stones.
- Whip shake
- A short shake with a few pieces of crushed ice to chill and dilute a drink that will be served over more crushed ice.
- Wi-Fi
- Wireless internet, now considered essential by guests in hotels and cafés.
- Wipe
- Cleaning plate edges before service.
- Working capital
- Cash available to run day-to-day operations after current liabilities.
- Working Time Regulations
- UK rules on maximum weekly hours, breaks, rest periods and paid holiday.
Hospodality