Module II

Overview of Front Office

Management

LIGARMAE P. MAKILING, PhD-IHTM, CTP

Front Office Functions
Lesson 1
 Front Office Operations
• The primary function of the front office is that of a facilitator
between the guest and other departments of the hotel.

• There are a series of steps one after the other which guests
passes
through, during their visit to a hotel.

• As the process is repetitive, it is called as cycle.

 Pre- Arrival
1. Receiving the reservation, recording it on
the reservation form.
2. Enter the reservation details in the system
and note the reservation confirmation
number generated by the system.
3. Convey the reservation confirmation
number to the guest.
4. This stage also involves taking guarantee
for the reservations.
5. Rooms are blocked if required
Pre- Arrival

6. Pre-registration cards are prepared for

all the reserved guests

7. Meal coupons are prepared as per the

plan of various guests reserved.

8. Preparations are being made to receive

the guest.
 Arrival
• This is a stage when the guest
arrives at the hotel.
• The guest has to be received in a
very pleasing way and make the
guest feel very comfortable.
• The following activities take
place during arrival of the guest.
Stay

• This is the stage when the guest stays in

the hotel and experiences the hospitality of
the hotel. This is an important phase and it
has a great impact on the satisfaction of
the guest.
• The various services which the guest
experiences during the stay in the hotel are
1. Comfortable room
2. Room service
3. Laundry service etc
 Departure

1. Guest ‘s baggage is brought

down to the lobby (b) Bill is
prepared by the cashier and
presented to the guest
2. The guest settles the bill.
3. Hotel staff thank the guest
for staying at the hotel.
4. Guest departs from the hotel
Post
Departure

1. A thank you letter is being sent to the guest for using the
hotel’s services.
2. Feedback on the hotel’s services is sought from the guest.
Front of the House
Operations
Lesson II
1. Front House Operations
• These operations are visible to the guests of the hotel.
• The guests can interact and see these operations:
• 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.
2. Back House Operations
• 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.
Organizational Set-Up of
Front Office
Lesson III
• The organizational set up of the front office varies among
different hotels.
• Among medium and large hotel with voluminous
transactions, there is a very specialized division of labor in
the front office.
• There is a separate section handling each area of operations,
under the command of the department or section head.
Job Description of Front
Office Personnel
Lesson IV
 Front Office Personnel
• The front office is the nerve center 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

• People are involved in serving guests are:

• Reception (Front Desk Clerk, Front Office Agent, Receptionist)
• Reservations Clerk
• Concierge
• Bell (Porter)
• Airport Representative
• Telephone Operator
 Rooms Division Manager
Responsible for the supervision of employees engaged in the
operation of the front areas
of the hotel
➢ Coordinates with other departments in the hotel and
maintains open communications with them to find better
ways to serve the guests
➢ Maintains responsibility for staffing, purchasing, and
budgeting
➢ Supervises the rooms division payroll, availability
controls, and monthly plans
 Rooms Division Manager
➢ Creates plans to maximize the average daily rate and
percentage of occupancy

➢ Handles customer complaints and suggestions

➢ Stays up to date with events taking place in the market, in

market segments, and in the competition
Front Office Manager
• It is the basic function of the front office manager to directly supervise the
front desk, reservations, concierge and PABX.
•
➢ He/she is also assists the rooms division manager in compiling information
for reports.
Front Office Manager
• ➢ Assists in the training and cross-training of front office employees
➢ Prepares monthly reports
➢ Assists the rooms division manager in formulation and implementation of front
office policies and procedures
➢ Reviews and approves all room moves and room rate changes to ensure they
were necessary
➢ Handles guest complaints and follows them up to reduce future complaints
➢ Assists the rooms division manager in forecasting room availability to ensure
that the optimal level of occupancy is attained
➢ Is available to work in the front office area where there may be a shortage of
staff
➢ Maintains the necessary stock of supplies in all front office areas, while
controlling costs in these areas
Front Desk Supervisor
• Trains and cross-trains front desk personnel in the tasks of
registration, mail handling, information services, and check-in and
checkout procedures
• Regulates the service given in the front desk
• Acts as a liaison between the guests and management, particularly
with regard to problem solving activities
•
Front Desk Supervisor
• Is responsible for seeing that daily and hourly computer reports are
run and distributed
• Assigns VIP rooms to ensure guest satisfaction
• Resolves room discrepancy report
• Prepares the weekly/monthly schedule of employees
• Assist the group coordinator with all group arrivals, either directly or
through the delegation of this duty to other front desk staff
Reception (Front Office Agent)
• Handles the guest registration process and adheres to all hotel credit
policies in the process
• Handles guest check-out procedure
• Always answers the front desk phone with three rings or less
• Attempts to sell up guest rooms, and informs and sells the guest on all
hotel services and facilities
• Is aware of all daily events in the hotel and local area
• Handles guest mail and reservations when the reservations
department is closed
Reception (Front Office Agent)
➢ Coordinates room status updates with housekeeping department
➢ Ensure completion of guest registration card
➢ Identifies guests’ length of stay requirement
➢ Coordinates maintenance work with the engineering and
maintenance division
➢ Maintains guestroom key storage
Reservations Manager
Making sure proper telephone etiquette is used and correct
information is being given to potential guests

➢ Being sure that personal service is stressed and that sales techniques
are being used appropriately

➢ Following up on tentative booking, watching cut-off dates, and

monitoring group tour business accounts blocks for productivity
Reservations Clerk

The reservations clerk is responsible for taking reservations and for

providing future guests with information about the facilities of the
hotel.
Concierge
• Concierge services are common in European hotels and available for over a
century.
• 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.
• He 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.
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 roomto-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 this position, a friendly and courteous tone of voice is all-
important.
Guest Relation Officer (GRO)
Make guests feel welcome
➢ Provide personal services
➢ Handle guest’s 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, audit revenue

and payments
➢ Producing statistics, room tax posted and summaries of revenue,
reports record, track occupancy percentage
Front Office Work Shifts

• Morning shift-07:00 to 3:00 PM

• Evening shift-03:00 to 12:00 MN
• Overnight shift-10:00 to 07:00 AM
• Middle shift-11:00 to 08:00 PM
Elements of Front Office
Lesson V
RECEPTION DESK

Waiting Area

Signage Coat Racks

Competencies of A Front
Office Personnel
Lesson VI
• 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
Sequence of Front Office
Service
Lesson VII
Activity 1:
• MODULE 2, ACTIVITY 1: Your Small Business Resources Effectively
Managing time wisely is good front office management. Use small
business resources internally
(front office clerk) or externally (a virtual assistant) to provide your
customer s with great service.

• Read more on
http://www.more-for-small-business.com/front-office-management.html.
•
1. What does the front office department do in a hotel?