FRONT OFFICE

Introduction

The Front Office truly is the nerve centre of a hotel. It can be defined as a front of the house department located around the foyer and the lobby area of a hospitality property. As this department is located around the foyer area of the hotel and is visible to the guests, patrons and visitors, they are collectively called “Front Office”. It is one of the major operational and revenue producing departments of the hotel which generates two third of the revenue earned by a hotel from the sale of the guestrooms. It involve in providing valuable services to the guests during the entire guest cycle consisting of Pre-arrival, Arrival, Occupancy and Departure.

Importance of Front Office

Traditional Front Office functions include reservation, registration, room and rate assignment, guest services, room status, maintenance and settlement of guest account, and creation of guest history records. The Front Office develops and maintains a comprehensive database of guest information, coordinates guest services, and ensures guest satisfaction. These functions are accomplished by personal in diverse areas of Front Office Department

Front office is also known as the face of the hotel. It is the first guest contact area and also the nerve center of the hotel. All the activities and areas of the front office are geared towards supporting guest transaction and services

The major functions that are performed by the front office department are:

a) Reservation and registration of rooms & rate assignment

b) Fulfills guest services and updates room status

c) Maintains & settles guest accounts

d) Creates guest history records

e) Develops & maintains a comprehensive database of guest information

f) Coordinates Guest Services

Front office Staff Hierarchy chart

Sections of front office department

Following sections in a hotel together form what we call the front office department of a hotel:

(1) Reservation

(2) Reception

(3) Information Desk

(4) Cash and Bills

(5) Travel Desk

(6) Telephone Section

(7) Uniformed Services

(8) Bell Desk

(9) Concierge

( a) Reception

This section of the front office receives and welcomes guest on their arrival in the hotel. It is headed by a supervisor and comprise a team of receptionist of front desk assistant.  After finishing the registration, a room is assigned to the guest; and a bell boy carries the luggage and escorts the guest to his her room.  The entire process is carried out professionally in warm and friendly atmosphere.

Functions of Reception: The following functions are performed by the reception section of a hotel:

(1) Receiving and welcoming guests.

(2) Completing the registration formalities.

(3) Assigning the room.

(4) Sending arrival notification slips to the concerned departments.

(b)Information Desk

As the name suggests, the information desk provides information to guests. It is manned by an information assistant. In a small hotel, the same function may be performed by the receptionist. The need of a separate information desk is felt in large hotels where the traffic of guests is higher.

Functions of Information Desk: Some of the functions of the information desk are as under:

(1) Maintaining resident guest rack.

(2) Handling guest room keys.

(3) Coordinating guest mails, telegrams, faxes, couriers, parcels, etc.

(4) Providing information to guests regarding hotel facilities and services, city information, etc.

(5) Handling guests messages.

(6) Paging

Reservation

The reservation sections of the front office department of a hotel are responsible for receiving and processing reservation queries. Depending upon the level of automation, volume of business and house customs the procedure of processing reservations handling, maintenance of reservation, records, confirmation, and cancellation are handled. This department is also known as back office as it is situated at back area and not visible to guest.

Functions of the reservation section: This section performs the following tasks:

(1) Receiving reservation requests through various means like telephone, fax, email or central reservation departments.

(2) Processing reservation request received from all menas on the  property management system.

(3) Updating the room availability status after such each reservation transaction.

(4) Maintaining and updating reservation records to reflect accurate information about room status.

(5) Preparing reservation reports for the management.

Cash and Bills

The cash and bills section records all the monetary transactions of guests. It maintains guest folios and prepares the guest bills to be settled by the guest at the time of  departure. This section is headed by a cashier.

Functions of the Cash and Bills Section: This section performs the following tasks:

(1) Opening and maintaining of guest folios.

(2) Posting room charges in guest folios.

(3) Recording all credit charges in guest folios.

(4) Maintaining a record of the cash received from guests.

(5) Preparing bills at the time of check-out.

(6) Receiving cash/TC/demand draft for account settlement.

(7) Handling credit/debit/charge cards for the settlement of a guest account.

(8) Organizing foreign currency exchange for the settlement of a guest account.

Telephone

The telephone section maintains the communication network of the hotel, which is generally quite complex. The hotel may have its own private branch exchange (PBX), along with post and telegraph lines.

Functions of Communication Desk : The duties of the telephone operator include:

(1) Answering incoming calls.

(2) Directing calls to guest rooms through the switchboard/EPABX

(3) Providing information on guest services

(4) Processing guest wake-up calls

(5) Answering inquiries about hotel facilities and events

(6) Protecting guests’ privacy

(7) Coordinating emergency communication

Travel Desk

The travel desk takes care of travel arrangements of guests, like air-ticketing, railway reservations, sightseeing tours, airport or railway station pick up or drop, etc. The hotel may operate the travel desk or it may be outsourced to an external travel agency.

Functions of Travel Desk :The travel desk performs the following tasks:

(1) Arranging pick-up and drop services for guests at the time of their arrival and departure.

(2) Providing vehicles on request to guests at pre-determined rates

(3) Making travel arrangements like railway reservation/air-tickets

(4) Organizing half-day or full-day sightseeing

(5) Arranging for guides who can communicate in the guest’s language

(g) Bell Desk

The bell desk is located very close to the main entrance of the hotel. This section is headed by a bell captain, who leads a team of bell boys and page boys.

Functions of bell desk :The bell desk is responsible for the following tasks:

(1) Handling guest luggage at the time of arrival and departure

(2) Escorting guests to their rooms on arrival.

(3) Familiarizing guests about safety features and in-room facilities.

(4) Making sundry purchases for the guest.

(5) At request keeps guest luggage in the left luggage room

(h)Concierge

The concept of concierges came from the days of European royalty; the concierge was the castle doorkeeper in those times. His duty was to ensure that all castle occupants were safe in their rooms at night. A concierge is often expected to achieve the impossible

Functions of concierge : The concierge provides the following services to guests:

(1) Making reservations for dining in famous restaurants.

(2) Obtaining tickets for theatres, musicals, sporting events

(3) Arranging for transportation by limousine, car, coaches, buses, airplanes, or trains.

(4) Providing information on cultural and social events like photo exhibitions, art shows etc.