Hotel Front Office: Roles and Responsibilities

• The front office is responsible for: selling rooms using reservations, registration, and assigning rooms, it's the hotel's nerve center, directly interacts with customers upon arrival, staff is visible.
• The front office manager oversees staff with responsibilities including: reservations (handling accommodation requests), reception (receiving guests, registration, and bidding off), guest services (personalized services like luggage handling, mail, newspapers, paging, medical arrangements, parking, and entertainment reservations), accounts (front office cashier and night auditor managing payments and accounting), communications (handling communication between departments and guests).
• The organizational structure varies by the hotels size, but includes the following roles: general manager, front office manager, front desk supervisor, uniformed service (guest services), night auditor, concierge, reservation supervisor, switchboard operator, front desk/telephone agent, front reservation agent, and cashier.

Front Office Staff

• The front office manager oversees operations, schedules employees, and implements hotel management policies.
• Reservation clerks communicate with guests via phone/internet, schedule stays, and document special needs.
• Front office associates check guests in, input info, assign rooms, answer questions, and handle requests; they also contact maintenance, check guests out, and report concerns.
• Porters/bellhops greet guests, carry luggage, check room equipment (lighting/ventilation), and instruct about hotel systems.
• Concierges coordinate guests' entertainment/travel, answer questions, make reservations, arrange car service, and help with shopping.

Front Office Design and Equipment

• The lobby requires design that focuses on guest needs and balances form/function.
• Equipment is computerized (telephones, monitors, cash drawers, printers) for guest service/employee efficiency.
• Non-automated equipment includes room racks (display guest/room status) and key racks (store guest room keys).
• Other equipment includes: folio trays (store guest folios), voucher racks (store vouchers for verification), semi-automated telephone equipment, credit card imprinters, magnetic strip readers, cash registers (electronic/mechanical for transactions, with cash drawer and receipt printer).
• Automated equipment for the front office includes: security monitors with CCTV, multizone clocks, and computers for various tasks.

Occupational Health & Safety Procedures

• Occupational health and safety aims to protect workers' well-being through prevention, protection, and adaptation of work environments.
• Procedures to identify hazards/risks: safety regulations and hazard control practices, identifying workplace hazards/risks, and establishing contingency measures for emergencies.
• Safety regulations include the Clean Air Act, building and electrical codes, waste management rules, Philippine Occupational Safety & Health Standards, and DOLE regulations.
• Steps for improving health and safety: understand the law, be aware of health risks, assess risks systematically, minimize risks with simple measures, train users, and consider user feedback.

Guest Cycle

• The guest cycle includes stages of guest interaction with the hotel: pre-arrival, arrival, stay, and departure.
• Pre-arrival involves planning: enquiry about accommodations and amenities via phone/email/website.
• Arrival: reception by front office staff, luggage assistance by porters, GRCard completion.
• Occupancy: tracking guest charges for hotel services.
• Departure: payment for services.
• Success requires products/services addressing unmet needs.
• Most marketing/development managers disagree on what a customer "need" it.

Interpersonal Skills

• Interpersonal skills includes: verbal/non-verbal communication, listening, negotiation, problem-solving, decision-making, and assertiveness.
• Customer needs assessment includes: maintaining satisfaction, products/services tailored to needs.
• Special needs include: disability, cultural/language considerations, unaccompanied children, parents, pregnant women, and single women.
• Deliver service to customer: a culture of excellence beginning with staff.

Promoting Products and Services

• Front office staff should guide customers toward suitable services, not decide for them.
• Suggestive selling involves front desk agents detailing room features, up-selling techniques sell pricier rooms, and top-down begins by describing the highest rate first.
• Cross-selling involves additional products/services.
• For upselling/cross-selling: know the right time, know customers, observe the 25% rule.

Use of Technology

• Technology help improves customer service and loyalty.
• websites should offer areas for questions/answers.
• E-mail aids in timely responses, communications unifies information, and software manages customer relationships.
• A complaint-handling system resolves issues, provides information for service improvement, and enhances the organization's reputation.

Handling Guest Complaints

• Handling guest complaints includes: listening with empathy, isolating the guest, staying calm, valuing self-esteem, showing personal interest, using the guest's name, giving attention, and concentrating on the issue, and writing down facts.
• In handling guest complaints, one should not place blame, insult the guest, offer choices, tell the best to be done, not promise the impossible, set a time and monitor the resolution, and follow-up.

Types of Reservation

• Non-guaranteed reservations are held until the cancellation hour, after guest doesn't arrive.
• Guaranteed reservations assure the room is held regardless of arrival time with advance payment. Ways to obtain reservations: prepayment/deposit and contractual agreements.
• Other types of sources for reservations include: tour operators/travel agencies, companies/corporate houses, and miscellaneous charge orders.
• They can be obtained over the phone, in person, by mass email, facsimile (fax), on the internet, third-party reservations, central reservation services, same chain referrals, and other venues.

Handling Reservations

• The steps: greet the client, determine dates/room type, check availability, inform the guest, use up-selling, confirm, remind of the 6:00 pm policy, and offer further assistance.
• Recording includes accurately completing customer details and making sure to check the guest profile.
• The guest profile may include: guest type, customer profiles, customers full name and address, contact info, number of guests, date and time, room type, rate and method of payment.
• To record guest details, make sure to check or include: special requests, number confirmation, staff name, explain and confirm reservations, file reservations, and prepare documents.
• The main types of profiles are: guest, company, travel agent, and Group, and source.
• Manual reservation systems use manual charts, calendars, booking sheets, and require duplication in filing.
• Computerized systems display reservation screens with real-time information and greater reporting.

Computer Management

• Reservation software allows central reservation system and helps front office with requests; an example is OPERA.
• Rooms management software maintains info, assists in assigning rooms/rates.
• Guest accounting software handles transactions guest and hotel and replacing machines.
• Computerized guest services offer access to schedules, guides, market reports and shopping and entertainment.
• Other departments that are involved include: housekeeping (cleanliness), and food/beverage (service of FandB) and engineering and maintenance (engineering and maintenance).

Supporting Departments

• The accounts and credits department maintains financial transactions.
• The security department responsible for overall security, and the reception area is key for guest arrival.
• Steps to prepare and maintain reception area: check equipment, follow up on reservations, check arrivals, complete lists for personnel, check details, and allocate rooms.

During Stay Functions

• Address stay requests (room changes, extensions, upgrades, special requests).
• For guest charges, processing points of sale or manual Identification
• Guest queries need extensive knowledge and call transfers/messages should be managed properly, and wake up call provided.
• Six stages of check-in occur, beginning welcome/registration process.
• Also includes: securing advance payments, explaining services, completing formalities, allocating floors and escorting.
• The hotel will want to manage the settlement quickly.
• Check-out procedure includes: guest requests, quality inquiry, key return and file maintenance.