By:Yogananda G KI M B A (TTM)F M K M C CMadikeri

Hospitality Manageme

nt

FRONT OFFICE MANAGEMENT

Structure Of Front Office

Front Office

Reservation

Reception

Information desk

Cash and Bills

Travel deskCommunication

Uniformed services

Front Office manager

Lobby Manager

Night Auditor

Reservation

The reservation section of the front office department of a hotel receives and processes reservation queries.

Functions of reservation system• Receiving reservation requests through various means

like telephone, fax, e-mail, websites, sales representatives or central reservation department.

• Processing reservation requests received from all means of hotel property management system

• Depending upon the availability of desired room type and projected sales during and around the requested stay dates the reservation request may be confirmed waitlisted or denied.

Reservation Assistant

Reservation assistants process the reservation requests that reach the hotel by any mode

i.e. through telephone/ written/ online.

• Updating the room availability status after each reservation transaction i.e. after each confirmation amendment and cancellation.

• Maintaining and updating reservation records to reflect accurate information about room status

• Preparation reservation reports for the management

Reception

This section of the front office receives and welcomes guests on their arrival in the hotel. It is headed by a superior and comprises a team of receptionists and front desk assistants. The personnel of this section proceeds all the necessary information about guest to complete Registration process.

After finishing the registration formalities , a room is assigned to the guest and a bell boy carries the luggage & escorts the guests to their room. The entire process is carried out professionally in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Functions of Reception

• Receiving and welcoming the guest.• Completing the registration formalities• Assigning the rooms.• Sending arrival notifications slips to the concerned

departments.• Knowing how to recognize and respond to

suspicious and emergency situations that may arise.

Information Desk

As the name suggests, the information desk provides information to guests. It is manned by an information assistant. The need for separate information desk is felt in large hotels where the traffic of guests is higher. The information desk may be located next to the reception

Functions of Information Desk • Maintaining resident guest rack• Handling guest room keys• Coordinating guest mails, telegrams, faxes,

couriers etc• Providing information to guests regarding hotel

facilities & services• Handling guest messages

Cash and Bills

The Cash & Bills section records all

the monetary transactions of guests. It maintains guest folios and prepares the guest bills to be settled by the guest at the time of departure.

This section is headed by the cashier

Functions of Cash and Bills section

• Opening and maintaining of guest folios• Posting room charges in guest folios• Recording all credit charges in guest folios• Maintaining a record of cash received from guests• Preparing bills at the time of checkout• Receiving cash/ cheque/ cards for account settlements• Organizing foreign currency exchange for the settlement

of a guest account

The travel desk takes care of travel arrangements of guests, like air ticketing, railway reservations, sight seeing tours, airport or railway station pickup / drop etc.

The hotels may operate the travel desk or it may be outsourced to an external travel agency.

Functions of Travel Desk• Arranging pick up drop services for guests at the time

of their arrival & departure.• Providing vehicles on requests at pre determined rates.• Making travel arrangements like railway reservations/

cancellations / purchasing air tickets for guests.• Organizing half/ full day sight seeing tours.• Arranging for guides who can communicate well.

Communication Section

The communication sections maintains the communication network of the hotel

which is generally quite complex.

• Answering incoming calls• Directing calls to guest rooms• Providing information on guest service• Answering inquiries about hotel facilities and

events• Protecting guest priavacy• Co coordinating emergency communication

Functions Of Communication Desk

Uniformed services

The uniformed services includes the Bell desk and the Concierge The Bell desk is located very close to the main entrance of the hotel. This section is headed by the bell captain, who leads a team of bellboys and page boys. They handle the guest luggage's the bell desk person is the last person who comes in contact with the guests at the time of their departure

A concierge is a hotel employee who provides the information and personalized services to guests like dinner reservations tour and travel arrangements.

The concept of concierges came from the days of European Royalty. He was a castle door keeper and was entitled to ensure all the occupants were safe in their rooms at night

Front Office Manager

Front office manager is in charge of the front office department and allocates the available resources of the department to achieve the goals of the department and the organization

• Direct and co ordinate the activities of the front office personnel

• Perform the function of a link between the management and front office employees

• Plan the present and future needs of resources to carry out the functions of the department

• Responsible for hiring, training, supervising and disciplining all front desk reservation and guest services staff members in order to maintain the desired standards of service

Functions

• Prepare the budget for the front office department

• Motivate the front office employees to work in a team to attain the organisational objectives

• Evaluate the job performance of each front office employees

• Resolve guest problems quickly, efficiently and courteously

Lobby Manager

Under the direction of the front office manager and assistant front office manager, to act on behalf of the hotel management, to ensure maximum levels of guest service & satisfaction are provided to continuously monitor staff operations and reporting deficiency to the management

• Responsible for the overall day today operation.• Maintains the smooth operations of the front

office operations• Handles any guest problems according to the

agreed policy• Ensures special handling for V I P arrival• Using duty manager checklist, ensures that every

single things are in the order• Responsible for the master key

Night Auditor

A night auditor is a person who audits the hotel accounts daily at night or at the time when the business is relatively slow.The audit term generally comprises of the members of the accounts departments. The number of people in the audit team depends upon the size, location and products of the hotel.

Functions

• Establishes the end of the day.• Ensures the accuracy of front office accounting works and

balances them.• Recognizes all the financial transaction between a hotel

and its guests.• Calculates the total revenue generated during the day• Verifies and validates the cashiers posting of charges in the

guest accounts• Transfer the unpaid guest accounts to city ledger

Qualities Of A Front Office Personnel

• Ensure salesmanship• As a problem solver• A reference point • As a coordinator• As an image builder• Self confidence• Correct and clear communicator• Personal hygiene • Diplomacy

• Ensure salesmanship:They motivate the guest to spend more on various hotel

facilities.• As a problem solver:

Guest invariably approaches the front office for the help. In case they have a problem or complaint, the staffs have to be diplomatic and resourceful to solve the problem at the shortest possible time.

• A reference point :Guest, who wants information or wants to pass information,

uses front office staff for these purposes. The front office staff should have the excellent intra- communication skills to provide best possible reference point for the guests.

• As a coordinator:Since they are reference point, the front office staffs are required to coordinate with other departments, airlines, travel agencies and city tour officers to give the guests personalized services.

• As an image builder:As an extension to their salesman’s role, front office staff can certainly generate a good image for the establishment in their manner of dress, communication, personal conduct and efficiency.

• Self confidence:This is necessary as front office personnel

meet guests of different countries, statuses and cultures. These guests should be comfortable and feel at ease in dealing with these people.

• Correct and clear communicator:It is preferable that front office staff know

more than 1 language. It helps in communicating with guests who cannot speak English or the local language

• Diplomacy:Diplomacy is the greatest attribute required. Very often there are situations, where a guest is irate over something; a diplomatic dealing helps in diffusing the explosive moments. It is quite common for a busy hotel to have no rooms to offer a guest who has come with a confirmed booking. A diplomatic approach is the only way by which the guest can be pacified.

• Personal hygiene :This is imperative to front office personnel. As they are constantly exposed to hotel guests, a clean appearance helps to project a good image not only of them but of the establishment as well.

Thank You