HOTEL MANAGEMENT TIPS

HOTEL MANAGEMENT TIPS

By
Ms. Anukriti Sharma
Communication Skills and Etiquette Trainer

WHAT IS HOTEL FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT

The front office is the main department in the hotel industry. It’s also called the nerve center of a hotel. It is situated in the lobby area. This department is located around the main entrance of the hotel and is visible easily to the guests, patrons, and visitors.

IMPORTANCE OF FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT IN HOTEL

The front office is the most important department of the hotel industry. The staff of this department is very actively looking to the guests. In this department, the staff handles all the transactions between the hotel and its guests.

If guests face any issues, then they would normally go to this front office department for their solutions. This department is a major operational and revenue-producing department in the hotel.

This department is always involved in providing valuable services to the guests. For example, Check-in, Checkout, Reservation, Registration Pre-arrival, Arrival, Occupancy, Departure, and many other services.

It has been said that 75% of a guest’s total satisfaction with a hotel is determined during all the front office processes. A successful hotel must do whatever it can to ensure that the guest is satisfied with every aspect of registration.

The first hotel employees who come into contact with most guests when they arrive are members of the uniformed services division of the front office.

The front office department is arguably the most important part of the hotel experience for a guest. It is during this time that lasting impressions are made.

FUNCTIONS OF FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

This front office is the main area of a hotel where guest interacts with the hotel for the first time. The main functions of a front office department are to take care of reservations, registrations, check-ins, check-outs, settlement of the bill, night auditing, maintaining guest history records, maintaining the front office database, coordinating guest services, and guest satisfaction.

These are the functions of the hotel front office department:

1. Guest Registration: This department is responsible for registration-related works like Check-ins, Checkouts, Room assignments, Welcoming, Room rates, etc.

2. Guest Service: This department is responsible for guest service.

3. Guest History: Front office always maintain the guest history and records. Like, maintaining a guest profile, maintaining the guest’s feedback and guest history.

4. Updates Room Status: This department is responsible for room status updates.

5. Bell Desk and Concierge: Front office responsible for Bell desk and Concierge services.

6. Foreign Exchange Report: Front office department is also responsible for Foreign exchange reports.

HOTEL FRONT OFFICE MANAGER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The front office manager is one of the vital designations in the front office department. The entire front office department is run by a front office manager’s guidance.

Here’s the list of duties and responsibilities of the hotel front desk manager:

1. Front office manager checks whether all the front desk is clean or not.

2. Front office manager makes the duty roaster for employees.

3. Check whether all employees are correctly communicating with the guests or not.

4. A front office manager checks the employee’s grooming standards. This means whether all employees who are working in the front office, are maintaining their grooming standards or not.

5. Check the guest’s services. Follow each and everything is perfect or not.

6. They monitor and update records and files.

7. They maintain the front office logbook.

8. Check the guest’s feedback.

9. They prepare and manage outgoing mail.

10. They motivate and train all the employees in the front office department.

11. They check the night auditing reports.

12. They manage or solve guests’ problems or issues immediately.

13. They send employees working reports to the HR department.

14. Front office manager attends morning meetings with the hotel general manager.

15. They check the dealing with the arrival and departure of the guests.

16. Ensuring professional greeting of clients, visitors, and guests.

17. Check the VIP functions and events taking place in the hotel.

18. Check whether all the software which is used in the front office is updated or not.

19. They update and back up databases regularly.

20. Make coordination with the housekeeping department for room cleaning.

HOTEL FRONT OFFICE MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

In this front office department, operations are visible to the guest of the hotel. Also, the front office manager is responsible for answering all the guest’s questions and handling all the guest’s complaints. The front office is the only department that is responsible for Guests’ Check-in, Checkout, Reservation, Registration, Arrival, Pre-arrival, etc.

Analysis of the registration process begins with a look at the arrival chronology. Arrival chronology is the term used to categorize the stages a transient or group guest goes through upon arrival at a hotel. The arrival chronology allows for analysis of the front office departments that come into contact with the hotel guest.

The front office person greets every hotel guest. The first impression is very important. So, they always keep an eye on total guest satisfaction, the initial greeting begins the process of establishing a favorable impression of the hotel.

The most widely recognized job role within the industry is the bell person or bell boy, who is responsible for the assistance of guests to their rooms and explaining the hotel and hotel features to each and every guest.

Once a guest has arrived and has made it to the front desk, the registration process begins. It is at this point that most guests have begun to create an impression of the hotel in their minds.

The front office department must continue to focus on guest satisfaction. Hotels that create a warm and inviting atmosphere around the front office area ensure that the registration process goes smoothly.

Getting people into guest rooms quickly, efficiently, and accurately is the primary responsibility of the front desk. Checking guests entails processing individual reservations, assigning the proper guest rooms by ensuring that room preferences are maintained, and obtaining the method of payment.

The front office department has the very first and probably the most important/crucial opportunity to make an impression on the guest’s stay. Sometimes this department has more of an impact than any other employee with whom the guest might come into contact at the hotel. The front office person is the first person who meets the guests when they arrive and one of the last people who says a goodbye to the guests as they depart.