Rooms can be placed "on hold" for a set period (from 1 to 1440 minutes or 24 hours) or for an unlimited time, depending on the HOLD condition code configuration. While a room is on hold, it cannot be assigned by users other than the user who placed the room on hold. When a room is placed on hold by another user, you must have the Room Hold Override user task to take it off hold.
When the hold period expires, the room is automatically taken off hold. The room is also automatically taken off hold if you check a guest into the room before the hold period expires. The HOLD conditions available for selection are determined by the user groups to which you belong.
An example of using this feature would be if you are assigning rooms to a group of four arriving reservations who want adjoining rooms. If your property has several agents simultaneously managing room assignments, it might be difficult or impossible to work fast enough to assign the desired four rooms to the reservations you are handling. You could place the four rooms into a HOLD condition for three minutes and then select those rooms for the reservations to which you are making room assignments. If you have not assigned the rooms within three minutes, they then become available to other agents.
Note:
Placing a room on hold does not prevent it from being placed in Out of Order or Out of Service status.