Front Office Services Rooms Division Operations Management

What we aim to cover todayFront office services: roles and

responsibilities; reception; advanced reservations; concierge;

administration; working procedures; control mechanisms; interior design; first impressions;

guest records; the guest cycle; occupancy rates and monitoring

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

Front office Roles and Responsibilities Front Office ManagerJob PurposeReporting to the Rooms Division Manager, the Front Office

Manager is in charge of reception and the switchboard.To be responsible for welcoming guests and handling any

complaints. In doing so, he or she:Supervises reservations and the allocation of bedrooms

with the Executive HousekeeperMonitors the customer accounts and till accountsApplies and ensures the application of the sales strategy to

maximise occupancy and average room priceCo-ordinates the reception team, organising its work and

schedules

Front office Roles and Responsibilities Front Office Manager Key Responsibilities To monitor the quality of welcome extended to guests To recruit, train and motivate the members of the his or her team To ensure that all hotel standards and procedures are applied To manage daily billing and payments Skills Use of Windows The ability to train and motivate a team The ability to be available to work nights, weekends or public holidays Sales ability Hospitality Adaptability: coping with the diversity of customers and their needs Self-sufficiency Self-control: handling complaints Good relationship skills Team leadership Good memory: remembering guests Taking the initiative Discretion

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

Reservations ManagerJob PurposeTo organize the reservations system and take

responsibility for the quality of the service it provides, whilst maximizing occupancy rates and average revenue per room.

Key ResponsibilitiesTo ensure that all telephone, fax and Internet enquiries

received from customers are handled to a high quality standard

To ensure that customers , agents are offered high quality service

To ensure that the brand standards are applied

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

Reservations ManagerSkillsUsing the Windows and revenue management

software. Skilled in Maintaining Relationships with Travel

agents, online agents.Ability of Maintaining rate and availability parity

across channels where necessary.Ability for Quoting and accepting group reservations

with a view of maximizing rate and occupancy.Ability to make Market predictions, rate strategy

creation, assist with product offerings.

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

Night AuditorJob PurposeTo approve invoices, write the day’s statistical and

accounting report for the management team and prepare the documents required by the morning team

Key ResponsibilitiesTo take responsibility for the hotel after the daytime

management team has leftTo manage the till and bill payments as well as closing the

day’s Front Office transactionsTo ensure the safety of guests: he or she takes all urgent

decisions (walks, fire procedures, etc.)To ensure that guests receive high quality service

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

Night Auditor Entry RequirementsSkillsNight workingUnderstanding how to manage prioritiesUse of the Windows environmentSales abilityHospitalityAdaptability: coping with the diversity of customers and

their needsSelf-sufficiency: usually working aloneSelf-control: handling complaintsGood relationship skills

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

ReceptionistJob PurposeTo be responsible for the stays of guests in the hotel. He

or she maintains the guest folder from arrival to payment on departure.

Key ResponsibilitiesTo welcome guestsTo ensure that guests receive high quality serviceTo promote loyalty amongst a broad range of customersTo manage a tillCommunicate with different departments to offer

undisrupted guest service.

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

ReceptionistSkillsTeam workingUsing the Windows environmentSales abilityHospitalityAdaptability: coping with the diversity of customers and

their needsAvailability: working nights, weekends and public

holidaysSelf-control: handling complaintsGood relationship skills

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

Front office Roles and Responsibilities

Advanced Reservations. Group bookingsGuest Profile CreationRoom movesCharge routingsSplit paymentsLong stay bookingsDifferent rates on different nightsDifferent service levels ( full half board ) on

different nights.

Concierge

Concierge

Concierge You can recognize Clefs d'Or concierges by the keys they display on the collar of their uniforms. These crossed gold keys are more than just the symbol of the organization -- they are the symbol of guaranteed, quality service. Clefs d'Or concierges will accommodate every guest request so long as it is morally, legally, and humanly possible. Their services run the gamut from the mundane to the extraordinary, yet each request is fulfilled with vigor to the guest's full satisfaction. 

Concierge Les Clefs d'Or members have dedicated many years of hard work and training to the concierge profession. They are pleasant and welcoming in appearance, they remain calm in a hectic environment, and they always display integrity. Indeed, discretion is the hallmark of a Clefs d'Or concierge. 

first impressionsWatch Video.“If you lose them at the beginning, it is very hard to

recover,” says Mickael C. Damelincourt, general manager of the Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto.

“In their mind they’ve decided it is a bad hotel.”To avoid such a situation, hotels are going to great

lengths to make good first impressions. Some hotels are enhancing their lobbies with unique décor and eye-catching features, while others are making service the star by going above and beyond to welcome each guest. It has become increasingly common for hotel staff to lavish gifts on children and pets, as well as to offer complimentary refreshments upon arrival.

first impressionsFor instance, Hilton Worldwide Inc.’s DoubleTree by Hilton

hotels have offered warm chocolate chip cookies to guests during check-in for more than 20 years. With this new emphasis on first impressions, hotel staff now offer these cookies immediately as guests approach the front desk. This subtle shift has made a big difference in guest perception and the hotel’s customer-satisfaction scores on the arrival experience have greatly improved.

Experts say social media is the cause of this new pressure to please since guests can instantly post about their hotel experiences on a variety of social media platforms. Whether they tweet their opinions on Twitter or detail their stay on rating sites like TripAdvisor, their words hold a lot of weight with other travelers who place a high degree of trust in these personal, unbiased reviews.

first impressionsSmart hospitality leaders know one thing for sure: a

great guest experience begins with a great first impression. And according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, hotels everywhere are energizing their efforts to “dazzle guests during the first, crucial 15 minutes of their stay—or at least avoid annoying them.

Follow the 10/4 Rule. Fine hotels know the value of a warm welcome. When greeting guests, many abide by the “10/4 Rule”: make eye contact and smile at 10 feet, and verbally greet at four feet. This rule applies around the clock, whether a guest arrives at 3 p.m. (a seemingly ideal time for a hotel arrival) or at 3 a.m. (“Oh, no—another flight delay”).

first impressionsMake all your offerings visible. At fine hotels, a guest can

generally see all the available offerings—valet, restaurant, bar, retail shops, etc.—on the journey to his or her room. If an offering isn’t visible, such as a fitness or business center, guests will almost certainly see photos in an elevator or some other prominent place

Recognize that not all experiences are created equal. Fine hotels understand that an arrival experience can vary greatly from guest to guest. Some hotel experiences are short-term, such as a business lunch at the hotel restaurant. Other experiences are medium-term—a half- or full-day at the spa or conference center, for example. And other experiences still are relatively long-term, including overnight or weeklong stays. Each arrival experience, then, is designed accordingly.

Guest records information related to your reservation, membership or loyalty program; information related to the purchase and receipt of products or

services; personal characteristics, nationality, income, passport number and

date and place of issue; travel history; payment information; guest preferences; marketing and communication preferences; information about vehicles you may bring onto our propertiesfrequent flyer or travel partner program affiliation and member

number; hotel, airline and rental car packages booked; groups with which you are associated for stays at hotels; transaction and correspondence details; information provided on

membership and account applications;details on joint travelers, including their names and frequent flyer

numbers, and the age of the driver of the rental car.conversations, including recording or monitoring customer service

calls. ( HILTON Worldwide )

Guest recordsWe may also use closed circuit television and other

security measures at our properties that may capture or record images of guests, visitors in public areas and information related to your location while on our properties via keycards and other technologies.

We may also use other technologies that record sound or video to protect our staff. In addition, we may collect personal information in connection with on-property services, such as concierge services, health clubs, spas, activities, child care services, and equipment rental.

Guest RecordsPrivacy PolicyWhy is a privacy policy importantmarketing and customer retention may benefit

from a privacy policy if your target audience believes you should have one. The emerging trend on the internet, for example, is that any credible website will post some minimal standards for user privacy.

Bibliographyhttp://

www.uichlesclefsdor.org/pages/The_Concierge-8360294.html

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/corporate/careers/paths/description.html?category=9914&language=en_US

http://www.forbes.com/sites/barbaraarmstrong/2012/08/23/whats-the-big-deal-with-first-impressions-leadership-lessons-from-fine-hotels/

http://www.katalystsolutions.com/newsletter/57-the-importance-of-privacy-policies.html