INTRODUCTON (FRONT OFFICE MANAGEMENT)

BICOL:

 What is Front Office and their basic responsibilities?

To add more ideas and to enlighten us about sections of front office. Here are my team
members; Ms. Nora Arevalo and Mr. Balmes

SECTIONS OF FRONT OFFICE

AREVALO: Thank you Ms. Bicol, Now we will going tackle the different sections of Front
Office.

Front Office – Reservation– Reservation is the part of front office department. Hotel
bookings are made through this section. A large chain may have its own centralized
reservation system which is a single point where all reservation of the chain are made,
while independent hotels may subscribe to an international reservation system that is
open to any hotel who subscribes to it.

Main Function:

a]Book rooms in advance.

b] Maximize the sale of rooms.

c] Gather as many information from the guest for making reservation.

d] Reservation agent should have good and healthy relation with the sales and
marketing department to maximize the revenue of the hotel.

Front Office – Reception – It is located at the lobby level of the hotel. The main work of
this section is the registration. Other functions of this section are as follows.

a] To welcome the guest.

b] Procedure of check in and check out of the guest carries out in this department.

c] Assigning or allocating rooms to the guest.

d] Issuing room keys to the guest.

e] Creating guest folios and settling guest account are most important job responsibilities
of the receptionist.
Front Office – Telecommunications- The telecommunication department is responsible for
all communication within the hotel as well as outside the hotel. Importance of this
department is as follows;

a] guest can make local as well as international calls directly from their respective rooms.

b] Charges or the amount are directly posted to the guest folios.

c] Facilities given to the guest by the hotel like wake up calls, DND, interconnecting
phones, call waiting etc are handled by telecommunication department.

Front Office – Concierge- The concierge staff is responsible for security, lodging and
arrangements of Hotels if they want to visit for entertainment. These staff also provides
information about the City Events. There are other functions of the sections are as follows:

a) The Concierge staff provides information about the tourist places; provide guide
maps to the guest.
b) They also help guest to book tickets for sight seen, reserve restaurants for the guest,
books movie tickets for the guest.
c) Other important function of this section is to provide or deliver messages to the
guest rooms.

For the remaining section, here is Mr. Balmes to share this important information.

BALMES: Thank you, Ms. Arevalo! So aside from the reservation, reception
,telecommunication and concierge, the last section of the front office is the bell desk
which also has a significant role.

Front Office – Bell Desk- It is also important section of front office department because it
deals with guests’ luggages and baggage’s. The important function of this section is as
follows:

a) Co-ordinate the movement of guests’ luggage and baggage during the check –
in and check – out of the guests.
b) Distributing daily newspaper and magazines to the guest rooms.
c) Responsible for creating reports for guest Errand Card, left luggage procedure,
Scanty baggage procedure.
FRONT OFFICE OPERATIONS
BALMES: Moreover, there are two categories of Front Office Operations. These are the
Front-House Operations and Back-House Operations

Front-House Operations
These operations are visible to the guests of the hotel. The guests can interact and see
these operations, hence, the name Front-House operations. Few of these operations
include −

 Interacting with the guests to handle request for an accommodation.

 Checking accommodation availability and assigning it to the guest.
 Collecting detail information while guest registration.
 Creating a guest’s account with the FO accounting system.
 Issuing accommodation keys to the guest.
 Settling guest payment at the time of check-out.

Back-House Operations
Front Office staff conducts these operations in the absence of the guests or when the
guest’s involvement is not required. These operations involve activities such as −

 Determining the type of guest (fresh/repeat) by checking the database.

 Ensuring preferences of the guest to give a personal touch to the service.
 Maintaining guest’s account with the accounting system.
 Preparing the guest’s bill.
 Collecting the balance amount of guest bills.
 Generating reports.

ROLE OF FRONT OFFICE TO GUEST CYCLE IN HOTEL

Bicol: Very well said, Mr. Balmes and Ms. Arevalo. Now, these are the four stages of guest
cycle which is crucial to be considered by the front office.
ARORONG: Let us now move on to staffing of the front office department. In order to
carry out its mission, goals and objectives, every company shall build a formal structure
depicting different hierarchy of management, supervision, and employee (staff) levels.
This very structure is referred to as an organisation chart. Let’s hear it from Ms. Bituin.

FRONT OFFICE HIERARCHY AND DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF FRONT OFFICE STAFF
BITUIN:

Front Office Manager:

• In charge of the Front Office Department. He is wholly responsible for the daily functions.

• Directs and coordinates the activities of the department

• Coordinates with closely related departments such as housekeeping, F&B Service etc.

• Reports to the management at regular intervals to plan and coordinate hotel housing
activity

• Responsible for the employment and training of his staff

• Responsible for maintaining work performance records

• Meets individual guests or group representatives to solve problems related to room
assignment, price, billing etc.

Assistant Front Office Manager:

• In charge of the department in absence of the Front Office Manager.

• Assists the Manager in supervising and coordinating the day to day operations of

the staff.

• Responsible for the employment of staff

• Deals with problems arising from guest complaints

• Coordinates with future guests for large conventions

Reservations Manager:

• Supervises reservation agents.

• Makes their Duty Rota

• Trains new agents on the policies and procedures to be followed

• Maintains close liaison with secretaries of major companies to get business.

• Maintains monthly room nights report

• Reports to the FOM on the hotel’s opening and closing status

Lobby / Duty Manager:

• Co-ordinates with front desk to facilitate rooming and departure of guests.

• Coordinates with other various departments for effective guest handling

• Coordinates with the security to ensure no unwanted happening takes place in the
hotel

• Handles guest complaints

• Trains all the staff under him and trainees as well

• Responsible for all going-ons in the lobby

Reservation Agent:
• Handles all the reservations through various sources

• Up-date the reservation records

• Carry out amendments and cancellations accurately

• Keep availability chart updated

• Check on reservation stationery

Telephone Operator:

• Handling incoming and outgoing calls

• Keeping a track of calls made from guestrooms

• Assisting staff and guests with telephone numbers outside the hotel

• Handling guest messages

• Receiving and sending fax on behalf of the guests and the staff

Cashier:

• Presents final bills to the guest and solves guest queries, if any.

• Ensures all guest dues are settled before departure

• Posting all guest charges and credit to their respective folios

• Handles encashment of foreign exchange

• Also deals with non-cash payments such as credit cards, airlines and travel vouchers,
bill to company

Receptionist / Front Office Assistant:

• Check VIP reservations and issue VIP amenities

• Be informed on daily room status and their rates

• Sell higher priced room

• Take check-ins efficiently

• Room all the guests

• Open guest folio without delay

• Provide safe keeping for guest valuables

• Give all departure rooms to housekeeping promptly

• Take all cleaned rooms promptly from housekeeping

• Deal with complaints and emergencies

GRE- Guest Relation Executive.

• Responsible for receiving guests in the hotel.

• He/She helps the guest to complete check in formalities.

• Responsible for Rooming of the guest.

• Checks VIP rooms before arrival for any preferences or special requests.

• Handles guest complaints and coordinates with other department to resolve the same
asap.

• Maintains History Cards for all the guests.

Business Center Agents:

• Take bookings for meeting rooms

• Provide secretarial services

• Assisting guests in using various facilities like internet, fax, typing, lamination,
photocopying, video conferencing etc

• Post charges to the guest folio in case of in-house guests

• Bill non-resident guests and settle their accounts

Concierge:

• Introduces and sells all hotel services and facilities to the guest

• Arranges welcome drinks for all arriving groups and ensures that these drinks are served
promptly

• Required to make airlines booking, taxi booking and planning of itineraries for guests.

• Takes care of out-of-the-hotel services

• Maintains an up to date logbook.

• Prepares daily summary reports

HOTEL’S FRONT OFFICE SAMPLES
ARORONG:

Thank you for your fruitful discussion, Ms. Bituin. Moving forward, I would like to share you
the service of front office of this hotel

(INSERT YOUR EXAMPLE) (DISCUSSION)

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BITUIN: Thank you Ms. Arorong for sharing those ideas. So all in all, (INSERT REALIZATION)

GENERALIZATION / REALIZATIONS

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Q and A –ISIP TAYO GAMES HEHE