Hotel Front Office - 01_Handout_1(15).pdf

TH2402 THE HOTEL FRONT OFFICE A hotel’s commitment to guests is to provide them with a safe, secure, and welcoming environment. Guided by this commitment, the...

TH2402 THE HOTEL FRONT OFFICE A hotel’s commitment to guests is to provide them with a safe, secure, and welcoming environment. Guided by this commitment, the hotel rooms division collaboratively works to manage accommodations and maintain a standard of cleanliness that exceeds guests’ expectations. The rooms division comprises the housekeeping department, which is accountable for the cleanliness of the rooms and other areas within the hotel, and the front office department, which is responsible for the sale of hotel rooms and accommodating guests (3G E- learning, 2024). Front Office Operations The front office (FO) department is the guest's first and last point of contact, leaving an impression on a hotel. It is also called the “nerve center of the hotel” since it is the focal point of a hotel’s operations. It communicates guests' needs to concerned departments and explains hotel policies and regulations to guests. It is the place guests approach for information and service throughout their stay. The department usually performs the following operations that cater to and support a guest’s stay (Mondal, 2023): Handling guest reservations. A reservation refers to a hotel room booking for guests. Handling reservations involves communicating with guests via email, social media platforms, channel manager, or telephone to schedule their stay. This front office operation also includes documenting any special needs, preferences, and requests that guests may have and ensuring their requirements are accommodated during their stay. Processing guest registration and departure. It involves handling hotel guests' check-in and check-out procedures. The most important part of this operation is ensuring that the guests' arrival and departure experiences are smooth and efficient to provide a positive first and last impression. Providing service to guests. Guest services involve assisting guests with their needs and requests throughout their stay. These requests include parking assistance, opening doors, carrying luggage, concierge services like making travel arrangements and recommendations for local attractions, and other activities to enhance the guest experience and comfort. Managing postage and parcels involves facilitating guest needs related to letters and parcels. Ensuring that guests’ parcel requirements are met and providing a seamless experience are crucial parts of this front office operation. Communicating with other departments. The FO acts as a central communication hub within a hotel. It relays information and requests between guests and other hotel departments. For example, suppose a guest reports a maintenance issue, such as a broken faucet. In that case, it is the responsibility of the front office staff to relay the problem to the maintenance department for prompt resolution. Updating room status. It is a crucial operation of the FO department since this involves maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of room status. It includes tracking dirty, clean, vacant clean, inspected, out-of-service, and out-of-order room status. FO employees must know a hotel’s current occupancy and cleanliness at any given time to correctly assign rooms to guests. Managing guest accounts. It involves the maintenance of guest accounts during their stay. Monitoring guests’ credit limits, keeping track of their charges, and ensuring correct posting in their accounts are among the activities involved in this operation. It provides guests a clear understanding of their financial commitments and allows the hotel to manage its revenue effectively. These operations done by the front office department are essential to achieving guest satisfaction. When guests are satisfied, it will result in great revenue and promotion of good service towards the hotel. 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI Page 1 of 3  TH2402 The Front Office and Interdepartmental Communications (Mandke, 2020) Interdepartmental communication refers to the process of sharing information between two (2) or more departments within an organization. This type of communication is vital between the front office and the different hotel departments for coordination and effective collaboration, enabling the efficient delivery of products and services to the guests. Below are ways in which interdepartmental communication is practiced between the front office and the different hotel departments: Sales and Marketing This department actively engages with potential guests to promote a hotel’s offerings, generate demand, and convey the property’s unique proposition (a short statement on how the hotel’s products and services are different and better than its competitors). They rely on the FO to provide them with guest profiles detailing personal information and other notable descriptions about their visits to the hotel so they can create a marketing strategy and target popular customer segments. The communication between the two (2) departments involves sharing information about promotions, packages, and special offers to align with guest preferences and expectations. By providing insights into market trends and guest preferences, the sales and marketing team equips the front office with the knowledge to personalize guest experiences and allocate rooms based on anticipated demand. Housekeeping (HK) They maintain the hotel's appearance, sanitation, and cleanliness. This department pays close attention to minute details in the lobby, hallways, and guest rooms to uphold a consistent appearance and ambiance since these affect guests’ opinions and influence whether they will stay there again or suggest it to others. They coordinate with the front office regarding room availability and occupancy reports (housekeeping room status), room discrepancies, and requests for amenities. The front office needs to have updated room availability and occupancy reports so they can effectively assign rooms to guests each day. Coordination between these departments is important since the HK needs to prepare rooms after guests’ departure as soon as possible so that the FO can check in the next guests who will occupy the room. Without proper communication, this will result in the guests having to wait longer before being accommodated. The FO needs updated information on the room reports (a report on the availability of rooms for immediate guest occupancy) from the housekeeping to identify which rooms are available. In contrast, HK needs room sales projections (a report that indicates the number of departures, arrivals, walk-ins, no-shows, and stayovers) to plan the staff roster (schedule of employees for shifts, tasks, or responsibilities). Food and beverage (F&B) They significantly support the front office department by enhancing the overall guest experience. They contribute to guest satisfaction by providing high-quality dining services, catering to special requests, and creating memorable culinary experiences. This department coordinates with the front office by relaying messages and providing accurate information on the charges incurred by guests so these will be reflected in their accounts. The department also asks for occupancy forecasts to estimate the supplies to be adjusted on the food inventories and labor schedules. The communication between the food and beverage department and the FO department ensures seamless coordination of dining reservations, guests’ preferences, and special arrangements, ultimately contributing to a cohesive and exceptional guest experience. Maintenance/Engineering This department is responsible for repairing and maintaining the water distribution, plant and machinery, sewage treatment, and other common areas in a hotel. They also maintain all the hotel's equipment, furniture, and fixtures. 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI Page 2 of 3  TH2402 This department coordinates with the front office to determine the room status and the requests for maintenance services. The employees of this department must know the occupancy status of a room before attending to the plumbing, heating, or air-conditioning problems or any major maintenance issues. During their stay, guest concerns like busted bulbs and malfunctioning air-conditioning systems are communicated to the FO and relayed to the maintenance department. The FO must keep track of the repair schedule as they need to be updated on when the repair will be made and if it has been done properly. Security They are responsible for the overall security of the hotel building, employees, in-house guests, visitors, and their belongings. The FO relays to this department any suspicious activities or individuals that threaten the safety of guests and the hotel so they can address these situations and make the establishment free from any danger. Emergency communication systems, fire safety measures, and procedures for routine investigation of guest security concerns are part of the communication between the front office and the security departments. The front office should be given notices (for instance, during evacuation in case of an emergency) and incident reports (a report containing any events that may or may not have caused injuries to a person or the business) from this department. For example, suppose a guest becomes too intoxicated and causes a stir in the lobby. The security department creates an incident report for that situation, which is then used for future planning to avoid it from happening again. Human resources (HR) They are responsible for acquiring, utilizing, training, and developing a hotel's labor needs. Any position vacancy and training and developmental requirements in different departments are processed and addressed by human resources. During recruitment, the FO usually serves as the first point of contact for candidates and where they get instructions for their application processes. In this regard, HR must provide the necessary details to the front office. Accounting/cashiering They oversee and manage the hotel's financial transactions. This department is responsible for the cash inflows and outflows in a business. Since the FO department handles guest accounts, the staff must often interact with the accounting department to be informed of payment methods and processes, guests' credit limits (maximum credit allowed for a guest), and other matters relating to financial transactions in a hotel. The FO department plays a crucial role in communicating with different departments to ensure all employees work collaboratively towards guest satisfaction. Without this vital function, each department would have disorder and a lack of clear direction, resulting in operational inefficiencies and potentially compromising guest experiences. It underscores the department's critical role in maintaining a well-organized and synchronized hotel operation. References: 3G E-Learning. (2024). Front office operations (2nd Ed.). 3G E-learning. Arenas, C. (2022). Fundamentals in lodging operations (2nd Ed.). Edric Publishing House Mandke, A. (2020). Front office management. Knowledge Management and Research Organization. Mondal, D. (2023). Hotel front office department. Retrieved 1 February 2024, from https://www.hotelmanagementtips.com/hotel-front-office-department/ 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI Page 3 of 3