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Front Office

The front office performs key activities like processing reservations, registering and rooming guests, handling luggage and keys, providing information, and accounting. It is the nerve center of hotel operations and aims to provide a good first impression. Staff include reservations managers and clerks who handle reservations, concierges who assist guests, telephone operators who direct calls, and guest relations officers who handle problems.

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Himanshu Rai
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268 views13 pages

Front Office

The front office performs key activities like processing reservations, registering and rooming guests, handling luggage and keys, providing information, and accounting. It is the nerve center of hotel operations and aims to provide a good first impression. Staff include reservations managers and clerks who handle reservations, concierges who assist guests, telephone operators who direct calls, and guest relations officers who handle problems.

Uploaded by

Himanshu Rai
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Front Office

The front office of a hotel generally performs


the following basic activities:

Processing advance reservations


Registering guests
Rooming guests
Handling guests’ luggage
Issuing room keys
Providing information

Handling guests’ mail and parcel


Administering telephone service
Accounting (making payments and billing)
Checking out guests
F

Rooms Division

The structure of the rooms division will vary


from hotel to hotel.
These variations can be caused by differences
in the size of hotels, the types and level of
services, and the organization preferences of
management.
The major departments in the rooms division
are front office and housekeeping. A few hotel
may also include security.
These departments come under the control of
the Rooms Division Manager or Director of
rooms
Front Office Personnel

The front office is the nerve centre of hotel

operations.
Hotel personnel are there to serve guests.
An important aspect of this is providing a good

first impression of the establishment to


guests.
Reservations Manager
Preparing and distributing to concerned
departments a weekly, monthly reservations
and revenue forecast
Handling requests for reservation information
and room rates
Developing and maintaining a solid working
relationship with the central reservations
office and travel agents
Reservations Clerk

The reservations clerk is responsible for taking


reservations and for providing future guests
with information about the facilities of the
hotel.
Duties performed by reservations clerk
includes:
Giving friendly and courteous service to

future guests while involved in telephone


sales

Conducting telemarketing under the direction


of the director of sales and marketing
Concierge
Concierge services are common in European
hotels and available for over a century.

Today, most full-service hotels in America and


Asian Countries are also available.
The basic task of a concierge is to serve as the
guest’s liaison with both hotel and non-hotel
services.

In a sense, the function of a concierge is an


extension of the function of a front desk agent
A concierge must be resourceful and
knowledgeable about the hotel and the
surrounding community. Regardless of
whether concern in-hotel or off-premises
attractions, facilities, services, or activities, a
concierge specializes in providing assistance
to guests.
Typical guest requests handled by a concierge include:

Providing directions and information


Making airplane, theater, train ticket
Reservations for dining
Arranging for secretarial services
Handling mail and parcel services
Arranging sightseeing tours
Transportation arrangement
Limousine services

Airport representatives

 Greet hotel guests at airport


 Arrange taxis from airport
 Take hotel bookings
 Assist departing
Telephone Operator

PABX stands for private automatic branch


exchange. This area is commonly referred to
as the switchboard and is staffed by
switchboard / telephone operators.

Most large hotels have room-to-room dialing by


which guests in one room can dial directly to
another room.

The greatest duty of a telephone operator is


that of transferring calls from outside the
hotel to the appropriate guest room.

For security measurement, operators must do this


without giving out the room number of a hotel
guest.
The telephone operator may seldom be face-to-
face with guests of the hotel, but plays an
important role in representing the hotel to the
guest. For this position, a friendly and
courteous tone of voice is all-important.

The duties of the telephone operator include:

Answers incoming calls


Directs calls to guestrooms through the
switchboard / PABX system

Provides information on guest services


Processes guest wake-up calls
Answers inquiries about hotel facilities and
events
Guest Relations Officers
(GRO)
Make guests feel welcome
Provide personal services
Handle guests problems and complaints
Take care for VIPs and frequent guests,
escorting them on arrival

Front Office cashier


Prepare and settle of guests accounts
Administer the safe deposit boxes
Provide a foreign currency exchange service
Business centre

Fax, photocopying and secretarial service


Translation,
Hire of equipment (e.g. lap-top computer &

mobile phone)
Meeting-room rental
Night Auditor

Checking and completion of guest and hotel


accounts
Producing statistics and summaries of
revenue
Front Office work shifts

 Morning shift
 08:00 to 16:00 hours
 Evening shift
 16:00 to 24:00 hours
 Overnight shift
 24:00 to 08:00 hours
 Middle shift
 11:00 to 19:00 hours

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