Front Office DepartmentJAYVEE’S PRESENTATION

Learning ObjectivesAfter studying, the learner will be able to;

Review the organizationational structure of the front office team; Discuss the key activities of the front office team Discuss the importance of the reservation process; Explain guaranteed and non-guaranteed reservations Discuss the forms of settlement Simulate a telephone reservation Simulate the welcoming, registering escorting of a guest; Perform a showroom Demonstrate a check-out process Explain what is revenue management; and Review key compentency-based profiles of the front office deparment.

Front office

One of the most important department of the hotel. It is the nerve center of the hotel It is invovled in the accomodation services as well as the

reservation and reception areas. It provides the first impression that is significant in the guest’s

stay.

Staff of this department are involved in ;

Welcoming the guests Taking and recording reservations Providing information about the establishment to prospective

clients Allocating rooms to clients and issuing keys Organising the moving and storing of luggage Checking in and out procedures to guest (check in usualy starts 2:00 pm and check out is in 12:00 nn ) Taking and coveying messages and correspondence for guest Preparing guest accounts and processing payments

Front Office Organizational Structure Rooms

Department

Reservation Uniformed Services

Bell Desk

Valet

Transportation

Concierge

Door Greeters

PBX Revenue Management Front Desk

Front Office

Front Office Organizational MatrixSub

Department

Brief Description

Hotel Cycle

Division Head

SeniorManager

Section Manager

Supervisory

Bank and file

Resevations Responsible for all hotel bookings

Pre-arrival stage Rooms director Front office manager Reservations manager

Reservations supervisor

Reservation age

Uniform Services Include the concierge transporta-tion

Encompasses the whole operating cycle, although

Rooms director Front office manager Assistant front office manager

Uniform Service Supervisor

Concierge StaffDoor Attentand/GreeterValet ParkersTransportation DriversBell Staff

Front Desk Comprised of cashiers and front desk agents

Encompasses the whole operating cycle; departure is given emphasis by the cashiers as they are the ones to check out the guests

Rooms director Front office manager Assistant front office managers

Front Desk Supervisor Front Desk CashierFront Desk AgentsNight Auditor*Business Center Agent*In some hotels, the night auditor is part of the finance team

PBX Recieves and connects incoming and outgoing calls from hotel

Empahasis of this department will be on the in-stay phase

Rooms director Front office manager PBX Manager PBX supervisor PBX Agents/Telephone Operators

Revenue Management In charge of ensuring optimum revenue for the hotel

Encompasses the whole operating cycle

Rooms director Front office manager Revenue Managers Revenue Management Agent

Front Office Functions

Can be divided into 5 general areas;

Reception Bell Service Mail and Information Concierge Cashiers and night auditors 

ReceptionGrand Men Seng Reception Area

Bell Service

Concierge

Key Concepts, Standards, and Practices

Reservation management Concierge Night Audit Manage Property Management System Revenue management Guest service management Guest accounting General Data management

Reservation Management

First contact of the guest is through the reservations department, majority of the bookings in the hotel are by the telephone.

In this process, reservation agents take various reservations using the property’s front office management system.

Concierge(Guest Services, Front Desk Staff, and Uniformed Services)

Is a french word, which originally refers to officers of the royal palace guard whose job was to protect the king of the palace.

In was only in the mid-20th century that the concierge became a part of North American hotels serving high profile guest and delivering personalized service.

Night Audit

As the name denotes. This activity is primarly done at the end of the day, usually on the

graveyard shift. Is valuable to the hotel as this records all hotel operations for the

day.

Management Property Management System

The Property Management System (PMS) is the databank of collected revenue generating and non-revenue generating activities of the hotel guests.

One major component of the PMS is the front office computer system, which manages reservations data and usage of rooms; determines revenue in a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis; and transaction information.

Revenue Management

Part of the office work is managing the number of occupied rooms through the proper mix of hotel guests.

This would include certain markets and priozitation of guests with potential revenue.

Guest Service Management

The front office team takes care of guests from in to check out. All personel should exude professionalism in handling guest

requests and complaints. In anticipation of guest demands, the team is challenged to give

utmost customer satisfaction through flawless service.

Guest Accounting

One of the major sources of guest complaints is the erroneous posting of their billings.

Front office agents have to ensure that guest billings are thoroughly checked for property revenue to be optimized and for guest complaints to be avoided.

General Data Managament

The front office team is tasked to update guest records in the system, specifically guest needs and requests, so that they can be easily identified and addressed for future use.

Some hotels are now customizing their rooms according to their desires of their guest that are within the limits of their budget.

Pre-Arrival Phase: Reservations

Guaranteed Reservations: The hotel accepts prepayment and holds a room whether the

guest arrives or not.(cancellations depends on the hotel policy)

Non- Garanteed Reservations: Hotel holds a room for a specified time. After the time expires, The Hotel can give the room to another

guest.

Forms of settlement

Prepayment – are payment made in advance through mail, walk-in and other methods.

Advance deposits – are partial payments made by guest for his/her entire stay.

Credit Card – are pre-authorize payments enabling the hotel to block a certain amount in the credit card to be used as the guest’s payment.

Send bill arragement – settled by two agencies who make the deposit as a third party in the agreement.