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Front Office: Duties and Responsibilities

The document outlines the roles and responsibilities of various front office departments and staff in a hotel. It discusses the key functions of the front office including reservations, reception, guest services, concierge, bell staff, front office cashier, night auditor, and telecommunications. It also describes the duties of front office managers in overseeing operations and staff. Front office staff are expected to have strong communication skills, understand their roles, and provide excellent customer service.

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Rikki Vergara Flores
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1K views31 pages

Front Office: Duties and Responsibilities

The document outlines the roles and responsibilities of various front office departments and staff in a hotel. It discusses the key functions of the front office including reservations, reception, guest services, concierge, bell staff, front office cashier, night auditor, and telecommunications. It also describes the duties of front office managers in overseeing operations and staff. Front office staff are expected to have strong communication skills, understand their roles, and provide excellent customer service.

Uploaded by

Rikki Vergara Flores
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FRONT OFFICE

Duties and Responsibilities


Front office
• an area where visitors arrive and first encounter a staff at a place of
business. 
• The nerve for hotel operation.
• The heart of the hotel
• A place where the guest can develop
an impression.
• makes room reservations, registers
guests into the hotel, provides them
with information during their stay and
maintains their master bills.
Basic Functions of the Front Office

• To sell rooms
• To Reserve rooms for guests before their arrival.
• To Register guests into the hotel.
• To Assign rooms
• To coordinate with other services
• To control guest room keys
• To provide in-house and external information to guests
• To maintain accurate room status information
• To maintain guest accounts and settle their bills.
Guest Cycle
• Pre-arrival
• Arrival
• Occupancy
• Departure
Pre-Arrival

Departure
Arrival

Occupancy
The Guest Cycle
Hotel choice is affected by:
- type of travel (business or pleasure);
- previous experiences with the hotel;
- advertisements and promotions;
- company travel policy;
- recommendations from travel agents, friends, or business
associates;
The Guest Cycle
Hotel choice is affected by:
- the hotel’s location and reputation;
- frequent traveller rewards programs;
- preconceptions based on the hotel’s name or chain
affiliation;
- ease of making reservations;
- hotel’s reservations agent or website
Pre-Arrival
Arrival
Occupancy
Departure
Front Office Manager (FOM)
• Direct and coordinate the activities of the front office department -
Perform the function of a link between the management and front
office employees - responsible for hiring, training, supervising and
disciplinary all front desk, reservation, and guest services staff
members in order to maintain the desired standard of service -
prepared the budget for the front office department - evaluate the
job performance of each front office employee
Reservations
• The principal role of reservations is to book rooms in advance.
• This section is the hub of the department as it must maximize the
sale of rooms.
• Requests for reservation of rooms come from various sources such
as tour operators, travel agents, airlines, central reservation systems,
global distribution systems, referrals, etc.
• The reservation agent is an important person who can contribute to
the room revenues of the property be adept management of rooms
and up-selling.
Reservation Manager
• Having knowledge about the reservation
systems.
• Providing and updating information on tours,
prices, and itineraries.
• Reviewing daily hotel reservations.
• Preparing occupancy forecast.
Reservation Manager
• Updating travel agent rates in the system.
• Handling correspondence with outside travel
agencies.
• Allocating daily tasks to the reservation staff.
• Ensuring special deals with repeat guests,
VIPs, or guest groups.
• Training the staff under hand.
Reception

• The reception registers guests and assigns rooms to them.


• The receptionists receive and welcome the guest on behalf of the
hotel.
• The main activity is to complete registration formalities, especially
the billing information, for the cashier to process during a guest’s stay
and upon departure.
• The reception controls all room keys meticulously and issues them
and receives them back after a guest-stay.
Reception Manager
• Dealing with arrival and departure of the guests.
• Welcoming the guests, escorting them to the room, and seeing them
off.
• Ensuring professional greeting of clients, visitors, and guests.
• Coordination with housekeeping department for cleaning rooms.
• Filling registration cards for the guests with reserved accommodation
or help the guests to fill it up.
Reception Manager
• Arranging surprise gift for the guests on their special days.
• Training of receptionists.
• Handling appraisals and performance rewards of the staff.
• Reviewing current standards of front office services and procedures,
and implementing new practices if required.
• Ensuring and Scheduling front office desk staff.
• Managing VIP functions and events taking place in the hotel.
• Upgrading software if required.
• Updating backup database regularly.
Guest Services Manager
• Handling guest mails, letters, and couriers.
• Ensuring guest messages are delivered at the right time.
• Training the guest service staff such as concierges, bell staff, wallet
parking staff, and porters.
• Maintaining guest service suggestion cards and guest complaints.
• Scheduling and appraising guest service staff.
• Ensuring the staff delivers services, accurately and timely.
Guest Relations Desk
• The guest relations executive ensures that all the guests, especially
the VIPs, are kept comfortable during their stay.
• She is like the hostess in a home. She solves their stay problems and
coordinates with different departments to give prompt and efficient
services.
Doorman
• Open the doors of guests’ vehicles on their arrival in the hotel portal
• Help bell boys in lifting luggage
• Open the hotels’ entrance door for guests
• Coordinate with parking attendants for parking guests’ vehicles in the
hotels’ parking area.
• An important duty is to see that the hotel porch is free of traffic
congestion and directs traffic accordingly.
Bell Boy/ Bell Desk
• Handling guest luggage at the time of arrival and departure
• Escorting guests to their rooms on arrival
• Familiarizing guests about safety features and in-room facilities
• Locating a guest in a specified area of the hotel
• Posting guests mails
CONCIERGE
• Making reservations for dining in famous restaurant
• Arranging tours, limousine, and entertainment ticket
• Maintaining good relationship with hospitality industry *
• Personal helper to VIP
• Obtaining tickets for theatres, musicals etc
• Provide latest information of events
Front Office Cashier
• He maintains the guest’s accounts during his or her stay, monitors
credit limits and settles bills as per instructions.
• Being the only cash point in the lobby of the hotel, s/he keeps a cash
bank for hotel expenses and is licensed to receive and exchange
foreign currency.
Night Auditor
• Preparing the night audit report
• Check-in and check-out guest who arrive or depart after 11.00p.m *
• processing the reservations
• performing the duties of security guard
• monitoring fire safety system
• Act as cashier for banquet function
• performing the duties of manager on duty 16
Night Audit Manager
• Posting accommodation charges, taxes, and other paid services such
as restaurant, Internet charges to each guest's account accurately.
• Taking the responsibility as a duty manager for night shift.
• Settling guest accounts if required.
• Authoring security of the hotel during night shift.
Telecommunication
• processing all incoming and outgoing calls
• log all wake-up call on the system
• Answer questions about the hotel’s services and product
• taking message
• operating hotel paying system
• direct incoming calls to the desired extension
• This department is responsible for all communications within and external to the
hotel.
• They have a vital role of keeping the internal and external tele-channels of
communication open.
• * provide paging services for guest
Communication Manager
• Keeping in check all communication facilities such as PBX, facsimile,
internet in the hotel.
• Training and scheduling telephone operators in case of large hotels.
• Ensuring immediate delivery of fax to the guests, if required.
• Appraising telephone operators.
• Changing the communication systems to the latest technology for
easy use.
Front Office - Staff Qualities and
Competencies
• The front office staff members are required to −
• Understand their respective roles and responsibilities in the hotel and front office as
an operation.
• Equip themselves with basic etiquettes and mannerism.
• Possess pleasant, polite, and cordial personality.
• Wear clean and neat uniform with same accessories and footwear.
• Conduct themselves with professionalism, positive attitude, and cooperative nature.
• Possess extraordinary communication skills.
• Be a team player.
• Possess the ability to tackle tricky situations.

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