FRONT OFFICE

The mere mention of the word hotel conjures up exciting images, a busy lobby filled with international dignitaries, celebrities, and large exceptions, business person, family vacationers, etc. The excitement that you put in a hotel lobby is something one will remember forever in his/her career. This is the beginning of understanding the concept of providing hospitality to guests. As we begin to grasp the principles of a well-operated hotel, we discover the important role the Front Office plays in keeping this excitement intact. The Front Office is the nerve center of a hotel property. Selling of rooms, communication and accounting are the most important function of the front desk employees. Executive communication with guests employees of other department within the hotel paramount is projecting a hospitable in projecting a hospitable image. Answering guest inquiries abut hotel services and other guests, marketing and sales department request for information on guest run availability and housekeeping department inquiries concerning guest reservation are same of the routine tasks performed almost constantly by a hotel font office in its role as a communication hub. The accounting procedures involving charges to registered and nonregistered hotel guests accounts are also very important in hospitality field. Itemized charges are necessary to show breakdown of charges if a guest questions a bill. The very fact that role of general manager contributes to more than 50% of the revenue makes the front office of a hotel a position of great importance. The profit percentage from the sale of rooms is very high. In addition to this it plays a role of image building for the hotel, as it is the first and last paint of contact of the guest. If one talks notice of each component of the role of the front office, one could have a better perception of the department. Front office is the nerve center of the hotel. The guests get a first impression about the efficiency of the hotel through the front office. The front office desk is usually the focal point of activity for the front office and is prominently located in the hotels lobby. The front office staff has more contact with guest than any other hotel staff. A hotel derives it major income from the sale of rooms to guests who are seeking accommodation in a specific location. General managers are perishable commodity because a room not sold on a particular day is a loss to the hotel. Hence the primary task of the front office is to maximize reservation and optimize occupancy. Guest comes to the front desk register and receives room assign to them, to inquire about available services, facilities and information about other cities, or surrounding areas. The front office often serves as the hotel control center for guest requests concerning housekeeping. Also it becomes the base of operations

during emergency such as fire or injury to guests. Reception Lifts The selling of room is done through a systematic method of reservation, registration and assigning of rooms. In general the functions of the front office includes: Selling and assigning of rooms to guests. Providing information about the hotel and surroundings. Planning accurate room status information.

Shift timings of the front office department:

Morning Shift is from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Afternoon Shift is from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Night Shift is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. ATTRIBUTES OF FRONT OFFICE PERSONAL Salesman ship They must be capable to motivate the guest to spend more on the hotel facilities. Problem Solvers Guest invariable approach the reception staff incase they have a problem or a complaint. The front office staff must be diplomatic and resourceful to solve the problem at the shortest possible time. Reference point Guest who wants information comes to the reception with their queries. Image builders

Bell Boys Doorman & Valet Boys

They can definitely generate a good image for the establishment in their manner of dress, communication, personal conduct and efficiency. Personal Grooming and Hygiene They should have a very high sense of personal hygiene and also must be very well groomed at all times. Since they are exposed to the guest at all times, a clean image helps to portray a good image. Self Confident It is usually as front office personal meet guest of different countries, states and cultures. They should feel comfortable and confident while dealing with these people. Good communication Skills Their speech must be clear and language must be correct. It is preferable that front office staff knows more than one language. Knowing foreign languages is an added advantage as it helps in dealing with foreign guest in their own language. Diplomacy and Tactfulness

This is a great attribute required often, because there are situations when guests are irritated over a particular situation or a problem. A diplomatic dealing helps in diffusing the problem instantly. Ability to remember names and Faces This single attribute decides the good from the average, amongst the front office staff. Every individual has an ego and his/her name is most precious to him or her. If front office staff can call most of the guest by their names this can flatter them. Good Manners As a hotel is a meeting place for social elites all the grace and etiquette association with good society come into play. Theyre wishing the guest at all times and thanking them is the basic etiquette shown. Quick Decision Making Guest often approach the front office with problems and requests front office must be able to decide quickly a converse of action that satisfies the guest at the same time keeping the interacts of the establishments alive. JOB DESCRIPTION The job of a front office personal starts with selling accommodation and ends with settling their bills. In between this they have various jobs like receiving and welcoming the guest, registering a guest, providing information to the guest etc. To accomplish all this there is certain techniques to be followed which ensures the smooth and efficient functioning of the front office department. Therefore it has to be made very clear to an employee as to what he or she has to do. This is done with the help of job description and job specification. In other words job description is a written description of the job to be performed in a particular position. It is like a relative guide that specifies the duties and responsibility of a person in a particular position.

DUTIES OF FRONT OFFICE PERSONAL Duty Manager

Takes over duties from the front office manager and is the overall in charge of the hotel during night shift. Authorities VPO`s (Visitors paid out). Coordinates with airport authorities and representatives. Keeps account of guest accounts that have exceeded the credit limit. Responsible for well fare and security of guests and staff. Authorities walk-in guests and takes an advance from them in the form of partial payment for their stay. Welcoming VIPs and CIPs (Commercially Important Person) and also does public relation. Keep a check on scanty baggage guests and bills on hold guest.

Front Office Assistants

(Receptionist, Information Assistants, Telephone Operators, Cashiers and Reservation Assistant) Taking guest calls promptly, registration and assigning of rooms. Assists in pre-registration and blocking of rooms for guests. Thoroughly understands and adheres to proper credit, cheque and cash handling procedures. Understands room status and room status tracking. Knows room vocation type of room available and room rack rates. Uses suggestive selling techniques for selling rooms and to promote other services of the hotel. Coordinates room status exports, updates, with the housekeeping department. Must know how to use front office equipments. Uses proper telephone etiquette and use proper mail, package and message handling procedures. Reports any unusual occurrence or requests to the duty manager. Knows all safety and emergency procedures and must be aware of accident prevention policies. Knows the credit policy of the hotel and must know how to code each reservation. Understands the hotels policy on guarantee reservation and no show. Make sure the all files and reports are kept up-to-date. Must be able to handle guest folio and past all transaction onto the folio properly and accurately. Must log all wake up calls requests and perform wakeup call service. Provide information about guest service to the guest. Provide paging service for hotel guests and employees. Must know what action is to be taken when an emergency call is requested or received. Must memorize all the telephones extensions in the hotel. FRONT OFFICE OPERATIONS Like any other hotel the front office department of The Park hotel plays a key role in revenue generation as it contributes to more than 57% of the hotel revenue generated, only through the sale of rooms. The smooth and efficient working of the front office department is only achieved through coordination between the different sections of the front office department. The main function of the front office department is to support and facilitate guest transactions and services. This takes place in four different stages during the guest stay, namely: 1. Pre Arrival. 2. Arrival. 3. Occupancy.

4. Departure. THE GUEST CYCLE

PRE-ARRIVAL
Reservation: -

RESERVATIONS
PREARRIVAL DEPARTURE BILL SETTLING CHECK OUT BAGGAGE HANDLING TRANSPORT DOOR MAN & POTTERS REGISTRATION ROOM ASSIGNING AND ISSUSING OF KEYS BAGGAGE HANDLING ARRIVAL OCCUPANCY MAINTAINING GUEST ACC TELEPHONES, MAIL & INFO TRANSPORTATION CURRENCY EXCHANGE LOCKERS An advance request is notification for an available room for same time in future is defined as reservation. The reservation process consists of receiving documenting and analyzing requests for rooms. To ensure that the hotel has sufficient and accurate status by which it can evaluate the reservation request, a reservation procedure is followed. This process is concerned with: Matching room request against available room space. Maintaining a reservation record. The reservation system fulfills the following objectives: To provide room to every guest. To provide the hotel with 100% occupancy. Requests for reservation can be made by various modes: Telephones. Courier. Telex. In-person. Telegram. Fax. E-mail.

And sources for reservation are: Airlines. Wholesale tour operators. Travel agents. Companies and commercial business houses. Free individual travelers. Embassies / consulates / institutions. Shifts The reservation department works from 09.00 am to 06.00 pm throughout the week, except on Sundays. On Sundays the reception handles reservations on behalf of the reservation department. The reservation department comes directly under the supervisors of the duty managers. Reception The reception is made up of the information and cashier sections. It is the most visible segment of the front office and is located in the lobby. The functions of the reception are: Registration: When the hotel already has acquired data of the guest, which was taken down during reservation. The data is fill up in a registration card before the arrival of the guest this is known as pre-registration. A regular registration is when a guest on arrival is given a blank registration form to fill-up and sign. This is mainly applicable to walk-ins. Cashiering: The following are the main function of the cashier at the front office: To maintain and check all guest transaction. To maintain and update guest folio. To collect payment for all guest transactions. To settle guest bills upon departure. To pay petit cash on behalf of the guests and make visitors paid out voucher for it. En cash foreign exchange as per FERA. Control over safety deposits lockers. Transfer account into cash envelope at the end of the shift. Night Reception To check all the reserve correspondence for the night shift and see whether reservation slips have been made. Follow up on any special instructions for any expected guests. Collect and dispatch forms required to be sent to FRRO. Make crew sheet of airline crew staying in the hotel. Prepare VIP arrival and VIPs in-house list. movement list.

Prepare Night Auditing The duty managers do the night auditing at The Park. He complies and audits all reserve transactions by reconciling the revenue statement of all revenue outlets with a view to prepare a daily report of the days business called summary transcript or the daily sales summary or the tabular ledger. The basic formula to prove a transcript ultimately is: [Balance Brought Forward +Todays Charges] = [Balance Carried Forward + Todays Credit] A night auditors day extends from midnight of a particular calendar day to midnight of the next calendar day. Check-in Procedures The check in procedure starts from when the guest arrives at the reception desk and the receptionist greets him with the time of the day and find out the guest has a reservation. a. If yes, then register him. b. If enquire, for what kind of an accommodation he wants and check for the availability and quote rate. c. If agreed register the guest and if not suggested an alternative type of accommodation. d. If not agreed suggest the guest another hotel of the same standard to that of your hotel. e. Confirm the length to stay during registration. f. Collect the deposit from the guest and give the receipts. g. Fill the key card and by the finest. h. Call the bellboy and ask him to escort to escort the guest to his room. i. The bellboy acts as a salesman as the markets he products of the hotels. Check Out Procedure As with arrival certain basic procedures are followed at the guests departure: 1. As soon as the guest comes for a checkout, the cashier contacts the operator and gives the room number. The operator does group paging to the concerned floor housekeeping and lobby manager. 2. The butler checks consumption of mini bar, which can then be charged to the guest housekeeping, incase of missing items and the lobby manager for specific billing instructions. 3. The billing office will check that all charge and payments have been posted to the guest account and have ready to present to the guest at checkout. 4. The cashier will ensure that any valuables left in the hotels safe or in a safety deposit box are handed to the guest and that the guest signs the receipt and returns the safety deposits box key. 5. A print out of the guest bill is taken after all charges are posted. Mini bar is posted separately. The bill has folios which means like charges are

posted together. The bill has 3 copies, in which 1 is given to the guest and the remaining 2 are retained with the cashier. 6. Bell captain will have the ready to handle luggage. Some hotels give a luggage clearance slip when the accounts settled and the bell captain will clear luggage on receipt of the slip. He will then check departing guests of his departure list. 7. When the room has been checked and cleared the housekeeping will checkout-going guests off the departure list. 8. Once the account is settled. Key is handed and luggage cleared the guest depart with a warm invitation to return. TELEPHONE Every hotel regardless of its size and situation has a telephone board or telephone exchange. The larger the establishment the greater will be the need for outgoing lines and greater will be the internal extension. It is very often that the first and only contact a person has with the hotel is by a telephone. The manner and speed with which the call is handled have lasting impressions either good or bad on the guests mind. Therefore it is of utmost value for a telephone operator to promptly attend to all the calls with clear and friendly voice. The tone of which should indicate cheerfulness, courtesy and politeness. The original structure of the telephone exchange normally consists of a telephone supervisor, telephone operator and telephone technicians. The department comes under the direct control of the Front Office Manager. The number of staff depends on a number of staff depend on a number of facts including the size of the hotel and workload. The switchboard used at The Park was EPABX i.e. Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange, which was manned by two telephone operators at all times. The operators came under the direct supervision of the front office manager. Shifts: 07.00 am to 04.00 pm 03.00 pm to midnight BELL DESK Bell Desk works in close contact with the reception. The various work performed by the people working at Bell Desk is: Carry guest baggage at the time of arrival. Carry guest baggage into guest room and explain all controls in the room to the guest. Issue postage against cash to guest. Deliver guest baggage to left luggage room it required. Check the guest room to validate the discrepancy report. A Page guest in lobby area is required.

Duty of bell staff: 1. When the Guest arrives, the doorman informs the bell captain for bell boy. 2. The bell boy should wish the guest, collect his baggage, bring into the lobby via the entrance and place the luggage at the bell desk bell boy waits for the guest to register. 3. The information counter at the front office will indicate that the room by handing over the errand card, which mentions the room no. 4. Head the guest to his room along with the baggage. 5. The Bell boy should open the door of the guest room and let the Guest enter first the guest is told about the floor lights, channel music, air conditions. 6. Report back to the Bell desk.