Front_Office_Operations

Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front office operations

1.1 What is the ‘front office’ ? Continued...

During the stay, the guest will come to the reception for many reasons; to collect messages, to leave and pick keys, to know some information, to make a complaint or to get a problem solved, etc.

The hotel may offer additional service such as currency exchange facilities, or use of an in-house office facility, restaurant or spa, or an information and reservation/ticketing service for local attraction and activities. The guest will receive theses by ringing the hotel switchboard or approaching the front desk.

At the end of stay, guest will handover the key to the reception and will settle the bill.: help may be required with luggage or onward transport. Even after the departure the hotel office will keep the guest’s registration details on file for a specific period. (any other queries or special offers) , so that the guest will arrive back next time.

“First impression will be the last impression” so it’s the job of the front office/reception to make the guest satisfied.

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Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front office operations

1.1 What is the ‘front office’ ? Continued...

In a small hotel, front office functions may be carried out by a single person at a reception area or front desk: answering the switchboard, taking bookings, welcoming and registration guests, billing and processing payment and so on. In a large hotel, there may be separate departments dividing these responsibilities, including:

●Switchboard: taking and routing telephone calls

●Reservation: taking bookings

●Reception (or front office): welcoming and registering guests at the main reception desk

●Concierge / enquiries: answering guests’ and visitors’ questions; handling mail and guest keys; perhaps also handling car hire, tour booking and entertainment tickets for guests

●Billing office: preparing guests’ accounts and bills

●Cashier: receiving guests’ payments and processing other financial transactions (currency exchange)

●Uniform staff: luggage porters, lift attendants, doormen, cloakroom attendants, garage attendants or valet parking etc.

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Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front office operations

1.2 Why are front of house activities important?

Front of house activities are important for several reasons such as,

●Front office may be the first contact a guest or prospective guest has with the hotel (in written, by telephone or in person)

–Help people decide to whether to choose the hotel (or not!) - winning or losing a prospective customer;

–Influence everything else they think about the hotel. Due to what psychologists call the 'halo effect', a good first impression may predispose guests to think well of their rooms, the service they are given during their stay and so on. A bad first impression may put them on the alert for other bad 'signals', and incline them to find fault with everything else.

●Front office is the 'service hub' of the hotel: the area where most guest contacts and transactions take place throughout their stay. Guests' experience of 'hotel service' is, therefore, mainly shaped by front office personnel and procedures. This is important because the quality and style of service is a major factor in;

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Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front office operations

1.2Why are front of house activities important? Continued...

–Providing an enjoyable, relaxing, satisfying experience for guests - which is, after all, the hotel's raison d'être;

–Helping the hotel 'stand out' from its competitors, which may have similar rooms and facilities;

–Ensuring that guests will want to return again - and meanwhile, will give a positive report of the hotel (recommend), to other people. Hotels rely on this positive word of mouth promotion, and definitely don't want guests spreading negative reports, especially since the Internet allows them to tell thousands of other travellers (in online hotel review sites or travel 'blogs') when they've had a good - or bad - experience.

●Front office has a special responsibility for dealing with guests' problems and complaints; the 'critical incidents' which can make all the difference between satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

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Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front office operations

1.2 Why are front of house activities important? Continued...

●Front office is the communications hub of the hotel (information is exchanged by and with all other departments). If reception fails to tell housekeeping to make a room ready for arriving guests; or fails to relay a guest complaint about faulty air conditioning to the maintenance department; or fails to make a booking in the hotel restaurant for the guest the system breaks down, and the guest is not served. Likewise, if reception fails to heed housekeeping's warning that a room needs repair or redecoration; or fails to add a dinner charge, sent through from the restaurant, to the guest's bill - the system fails.

●Front office is the administrative hub of the hotel, where reservations are logged, room allocations are planned, room status is monitored, guest bills are prepared, payments are processed, records are kept, information displays are maintained; etc. If all these tasks aren't carried out efficiently, the hotel would simply cease to function.

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Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front of house organisation

2. Front of house organisation

2.1Organisational structure

2.2 The room division

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Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front of house organisation

2.1 Organisation structure

A typical structure for a small hotel offering both accommodation and catering might be as shown in Figure 1.1. Staff members are likely to carry out a variety of tasks within their general area: (e.g.. the restaurant staff will also deliver room service and serve tea and coffee in the lounge; the receptionist will handle reservations, check-in and check-out, billing, mail and switchboard; etc. manager and assistant manager will handle a variety of administrative and decision-making tasks: purchasing, book-keeping, marketing and etc).

Figure 1.1. A simple small hotel structure

Manager

Assistant

Manager

Reception		Housekeeping		Kitchen		Restaurant		Porters

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Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front of house organisation

2.1 Organisation structure

In a larger hotel, it is possible to organise staff into more clearly defined departments, each with a supervisor or department head (in a medium-sized hotel) or a manager (in a large hotel). There will also be more specialised staff, because the hotel can afford to employ more people - and there will be more work for each person to do.

The main revenue-earning functions of the hotel are generally split into a Rooms Division (responsible for accommodation) and a Food and Beverages Division (responsible for catering).

In a medium-sized hotel, there might be a manager and one or more assistant managers, who supervise operations (probably on a shift basis, so that there is some managerial supervision seven days per week).

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Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front of house organisation

2.1 Organisation structure continued…

In a large hotel, there will be a general management team, responsible for planning and coordinating the business and operations of the hotel. Unlike the 'hands on' manager of a small hotel, the manager here is essentially a business manager, responsible for policy, planning and control: (s)he may only rarely encounter guests or intervene in day-to-day hotel decisions. The 'duty manager' – as assistant managers at this level are often called - is the one with hands-on responsibility for dealing with guests, and resolving problems and queries referred by front office staff. A number of duty managers may be employed to cover a 24-hour roster, so there is always someone available to deal with guest issues.

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Chapter 1 – Introduction to front office operations

Front of house organisation

Figure 1.2: A sample organisation chart for a large hotel

Accounting

Security

General

Manager

Manager

Sales/Marketing

Duty

Security

HR/Personnel

Manager(s)

Rooms

Food and

Division

Beverage

Front Office

House-

Maintenance

Kitchen

Restaurant

Keeping

Reservations

Banqueting

Bars

Cashier

Room service

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