Question bank of front office

2^nd Semester

Q1. List the various sources for reservation for a hotel and explain them? 10 2008

Q2   Briefly explain the various stages of guest cycle? 10 2008 2011 2012

Q3 what is the importance of guest registration card? Explain the G.R.C AND C- Form with formats? 10 2008, 2012

Q4   Explain Guaranteed and non guaranteed reservation. Also explain the process of reservation confirmation? 10 2008

Q5 what is necessary data collected during group reservation? Write pre- arrival activity of group arrival? 10 2008

Q6 write notes on interdepartmental co-operation of front office with the following departmental (Note: co-ordination with all departments should be learned by students)

a Housekeeping                                b F&B service                                     c Engineering     

d Marketing and sale                                  (5+3+2=10) 2009, 2008

Q7 Draw format of the following:-

a)    Guest weekly Bill  b) Reservation form   c) Message slip d) G.R.C 10 2009

Q8 Distinguish between the following 10 2009,2011,2012,2014

a)    Up selling and upgrading

b)    Sleeper and sleep out

c)    Walk in and walking the guest

d)    Registration card and C- form

e)    Guaranteed and non Guaranteed reservation

f)     Tariff and plan

g)    Floor limit and  house limit

h)   Confirmed reservation and guaranteed reservation

Q9 List and explain the various steps in the registration process? 10 2009 2011

Q10   Explain different types of food plans and justify their suitability to different hotels? 10 2012

Q11 what is tariff? What is the basis of charging tariff in a hotel? 10 2012

Q12   what is up selling? Discuss the details of room selling techniques used in front office? 10 2012

Q13 Explain the various types of complaints in detail by giving suitable examples?10 2011

Q14   Explain the importance and purpose of maintaining the guest history in a five star hotel? 10 2011

Q15 what are the basis of tariff fixation? Explain Hubbarts’s formula 10 2011

Q16 What are the system of reservation and explain any two with format? 10 2011

Q17 what is the purpose of a confirmation letter at eh time of reservation? Explain the telephonic reservation procedure? 10 2011

Q18 what do you understand by the pre- registration activities? Explain the importance of pre- arrival activities?

Q19   What are the different types of mails and explain the procedure of mail – handling with flow chart? 10 2012 2011

Q20   Explain the importance of inter-departmental co- ordination with other non- revenue earning departments of hotel? 10 2012

Q21 a) “complaints are business opportunities not threats”. Discuss this statement.

b)    Explain what benefits can be derived from complaints. 10 2011

Q22 Explain rack rates and other discounted rates offered in a hotel? 10 2012

Q23 Write shorts notes on

a)    Message handling b) G.D.S  c) overbooking d) under stay  e) overstay f) walking  g) cut- off date h) retention charges i) Cancellation j) PMS k) No- show l)time limit

m) Key handling n) Hospitality desk   o) Room selling technique p) rooming the guest

Q24   Explain different special rates offered by hotels to promote room sales? 10 2009

Q25 draw a neat format of a tariff card and discuss about the different types of tariffs available in a hotel? 10 2010

Q26   How will you handle the following guests?

A)   A drunken guest

B)   A fussy guest

C)   A guest who is not happy with his stay

D)   A guest who was disturbed very badly during his sleep

E)   A guest who has lost his air ticket

Q27 what are the major types of reservations? Explain the various modes used by guest to guarantee the reservations. 10 2010

Q28 List the information required for making a reservation and draw the format of the reservation form? 10 2010

Q29   Draw the various formats used by hotels in mail and message handling and briefly explain them? 10 2009

Q30 Give step by step procedure followed during and after registration of a foreign guest (   Note:  steps for all types of guest are to be learned by students) . Draw one format used in registration process. 10 2011

Front office glossary

BACK OF THE HOUSE:The functional areas of a hotel or restaurant in which employees have little or no direct guest contact, such as kitchen areas,engineering and maintenance, and the accounting department.

BED & BREAKFAST (B&B):A small inn or lodge that provides a room and a breakfast. Often a B&B is in a residential home setting and/or a historic building converted to a quaint lodging facility.

Back to Back:   A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged by tour operators so rooms are never vacant; a floor plan design that brings the piping of adjacent baths into a common shaft.
Black list: A black list is a record of people whom the hotel does not wish to accept as guests.
CALL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM:A system that is part of the telephone equipment that prices telephone calls made by hotel guests and sends the information to the property management system (PMS) for billing.

CANCELLATION:A reservation voided by a guest.

CANCELLATION HOUR:A specific time after which a property may release for sale all unclaimed non-guaranteed reservations, according to property policy.

CANCELLATION NUMBER:A number issued to a guest who properly cancels are servation, proving that a cancellation was received and acted upon.

CARD KEY:A plastic card, resembling a credit card, used in place of a metal key to open a guest room door. Card keys require electronic locks.

CENTRAL RESERVATION OFFICE:Part of an affiliate reservation network. A central reservation office typically deals directly with the public, advertises a central (usually toll-free) telephone number, provides participating properties with necessary communications equipment, and bills properties for handling their reservations.

CHECK-IN:The procedures for a guest's arrival and registration.

CHECK-OUT:The procedures for a guest's departure and the settling of his or her account

COMPLIMENTARY ROOM: A complimentary or "comp" room is an occupied room for which the guest is not charged. A hotel may offer comp rooms to a group in ratio to the total number of rooms the group occupies. One comp room may be offered for each fifty rooms occupied, for example.

CONCIERGE: An employee whose basic task is to serve as the guest's liaison with hotel and non-hotel attractions, facilities, services, and activities.

CONFIRMED RESERVATION: An oral or written statement by the supplier (a carrier, hotel, car rental company, etc.) that he or she has received and will honor a reservation. Oral confirmations have virtually no legal worth. Even written or telegraphed confirmations have specified or implied limitations. For example, a hotel is not obligated to honor a confirmed reservation if the guest arrives after 6 p.m., unless late arrival is specified. Confirmed reservations maybe either guaranteed or non-guaranteed.

CONTINENTAL PLAN: A room rate that includes continental breakfast.

FOREIGN INDEPENDENT TOUR (FIT): A tour created for individuals or families who walk into a travel agency and tell an agent what country or are at Floor limit: A limit assigned to hotels by credit card companies indicating the maximum amount in credit card charges the hotel is permitted to accept from a card member without special authorization.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (GDS): A network of internet reservation systems that provide a central place where travelers and travel agents can check availability and reserve travel related products like hotels, airline, car rentals, cruises, rail. Formed and managed by the airline industry and includes system like Sabre, Apollo, Amadeus, and Pegasus.

GROUP RESERVATIONS: A block of multiple guest rooms that are being held under an individual or business' name at a particular hotel for a specific date or range of dates. Generally used for conventions, conferences, meetings, receptions, weddings, etc.

GUEST COMMENT CARD:  Short questionnaires that lodging properties and food service establishments ask their guests to fill out. Guest comments are used by the property to define current markets and to improve the operation.

GUEST HISTORY CARD: A record of the guest's visits including rooms as signed rates, special needs, and credit rating.

GUEST HISTORY FILE:  A file containing guest history cards. It is maintained for marketing purposes and is referred to for return visits.

GUEST RELATIONS:   The establishment of personal rapport and goodwill with guests through service and attention to individual guest needs. In a narrower sense, the promotion of in-house products and services,the entertainment of VIPs, and the handling of social functions--especially in are sort hotel.

Guaranteed reservation: A reservation that assures the guest that a room will be held until checkout time of the day following the day of arrival; the guest guarantees payment for the room, even if it is not used, unless the reservation is cancelled prior to the cancellation hour.

HOTEL GUEST CYCLE: The sequence of phases that begins with pre- sale events, continues through point-of-sale activities, and concludes with post-sale transactions. The phases identify the physical contacts and financial exchanges that occur between guests and various revenue centers within a lodging operation.

Itinerary: Detailed description of a traveller’s journey as shown on their tickets; can also include accommodation and other pre:arranged activities.

Late Checkout: A guest who has a scheduled departure for the day but remains beyond the checkout hour with permission of the desk and thus without charge.

Lead Time: Time period from when a booking was made to the time a guest checks into the hotel.

OCCUPANCY REPORT: A report prepared each night by a front desk agent that lists rooms occupied that night and also lists those guests expected to check out the following day.

OCCUPIED: A room status term indicating that a guest is currently registered to the room

OVERBOOKING: Accepting reservations that exceed available rooms

. OVERSTAY: A guest who remains at the property after his or her stated departure date.

PACKAGE: A special offering of products and services created by a hotel to increase sales. There are weekend packages, honeymoon packages, sports packages, and so on. A typical package might, for a special price, include the guest room, meals, and the use of the property's recreational facilities.

PACKAGE TOUR: A tour put together by a tour packager or operator.Travelers who buy the package make the trips by themselves rather than with a large group. The package offers, at an inclusive price, several travel elements which a traveler would otherwise purchase separately--any combination of lodging; sight-seeing; attractions; meals; entertainment; car rental; and transportation by air, motor coach, rail, or even private vehicle. A package tour may include more than one destination.

POINT OF SALE SYSTEM (POS): Computerized systems that retail outlets such as restaurants, gift shops, etc, enter orders and maintain various accounting information. The POS generally interfaces with the property management system (PMS).

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PMS): A computerized front desk system that manages hotel room inventory, guest billing and interfaces with various other systems such as telephone, call accounting, point of sale (POS), entertainment, etc.

RACK RATE: The current rate charged for each accommodation as established by the property's management

RESERVATIONS: A guest room that being held under an individual or business' name at a particular hotel for a specific date or range of dates.

ROOM BLOCK: An agreed-upon number of rooms set aside for members of a group planning to stay at a hotel.

ROOM RACK: A card index system that is constantly updated to reflect occupied and vacant rooms. In the evening, the room rack contains forms for only those registered guests remaining for the night who are to be charged for rooms. A daily room report can be prepared from the room rack.

ROOM RATE: The price a hotel charges for overnight accommodation. See also Rack Rate.

ROOM STATUS: Information about current and future availability of guestrooms in a lodging property. Current availability is determined through housekeeping data. Future availability is determined through reservations data. Information about availability data which extends several days into the future is important because it may affect the length of stay of in-house guests.

ROOM STATUS DISCREPANCY:  A situation in which the housekeeping department's description of a room's status differs from the room status information that guides the front desk employee in assigning rooms to guests. Discrepancies can seriously affect a property's ability to satisfy guests and maximize room’s revenue.

ROOMING LIST:  A list of the guests who will occupy reserved accommodations. This list is submitted in advance by the buyer.

ROOMS DISCREPANCY REPORT  : A report that notes any variances between front desk and housekeeping room status updates. It often alerts management to investigate the possibility of sleepers. See Sleeper.

SKIPPER: A guest who leaves without paying.

SLEEPER: A vacant room that is believed to be occupied because the room rack slip or registration card was not removed from the rack when the previous guest departed.

STAY OVER: A room status term indicating that the guest is not checking out and will remain at least one more night

UNDER STAY: A guest who checks out before his or her stated departure date

UPGRADE: To move to a better accommodation or class of service.

Up selling  : A sales technique whereby a guest is offered a more expensive room than what he or she reserved or originally requested, and then persuaded to rent the room based on the room’s features, benefits, and his or her needs.

VACANT: A room status term indicating that the room has been cleaned and inspected, and is ready for the arriving guest.

WALK-IN GUEST: A guest who arrives at a hotel without a reservation

WALKING A GUEST:    A situation in which a hotel is unable to honor a guest's reservation and helps the guest find accommodation elsewhere.

Wash down (or wash): Blocking fewer rooms than the number requested by a group, based on previous group history.

Discounts

Discount is offered t the guest to attract him so the sale can be increased. The fact is by giving

Discount hotel tries to increase its sale and hence profit, sounds unusual by is a fact. Discounts

can be  offered to the guest under following circumstances.

1. Off season Discounts:- During off season hotels offer a percentage of tariffs as

Discounts , on rack rate or offer discounts tariff to attract more guest. As it has been

Discussed that the room is the most perishable commodity and if it remains unsold it

Cannot .be used for earning revenue.

2. Group Tariffs:- Group of 10 persons and more are offered special discounted tariffs to

attract them. The quantum of discount will depend upon the size of the group, season

whether off or peak it is arriving. Quantum of business the company gives throughout .

the year, number of days the group will be staying.

3. Airlines Tariffs:- crews, airlines executives, layover passengers on airlines accounts are'

offered special discounted tariffs as they give more number of room nights throughout

the year.

4. Special Tariffs:- Company's giving more number of room nights business are also

offered special tariffs to attract them to tour hotel.

5. FHRAI members:- The member of federation of hotel and restaurant association of

lndia are 30% discounts to all member by the rnember hotels and restaurants.

6. Conference Tariffs:- These days hotels especially resort hotels offers very special tariffs

to companies to attract them to hold conferences in their hotels.

7. Food/ltem Not Served:- Sometimes guest complaint either at the time of checking out

"or

before but after the bill has been raised that the food /service charged for were

never availed by them . lf the hotel is convinced that the bill has been wrongly raised

than the discount is offered to the guest for the amount he is over charged

Sales techniques

Up selling
This refers to the efforts of reservation staff and reception staff to convince guest to hire rooms in the higher categories. they should try to sell the higher priced rooms to the guest. but they should also keep in mind that no negetive selling should take place.
The guest does not mid paying higher price for the room if he is getting amenties worth the money he is paying. At times by selling a lower priced room to a guest makes him dissatisfy as he was never offered better rooms with higher price tags.
This sales techniques starts the selling process at the lowest priced item and then sells up to the next level and then the next, until the customer choose the level and price of product or services they require based  on the feature described and the perceived value.

Downselling

Down selling is essentially the opposite of upselling, we start at the most expensive item and work down to the lowest price until the cstomer chooses the product or servics they are comfortable with. this also works well when a potential customer indicates they are not sure what they are after but gives us clues that value and money are important.

Suggestive selling

This involves selling products or services by suggesting alternatives ina way that creats desire.  to create the desire, we need to: Describe ad offer alternative products or services and Highlight secial features, benefits and value.Our ability to accurately describe and make suggestions about products adds significant to the sales experience of the buyer and the bottom line for the venue.

Extras and add ons

This also reffered to as cross selling and is a technique used to encourage customers to purchase additional products to the main products to make it more desirable. When customers make reservations we often ask if there is anything else we can do for them, or we tell them about other features in the venue that may be of interest.

•          The mails received by a hotel on behalf of its guests are delivered according to the mail handling procedure followed by the hotel. The standard mail delivering process is as under:

¤       Stamp date and time of receipt on every mail received.

¤       Sort the mails as hotel mails and guest mails.

¤       Arrange each category of mails in alphabetical order.

¤       Further sort hotel mails into official mails and employee mails. Send employee mails to time office for delivering to the concerned employees.

¤       Deliver the official mails to the concerned office.

¤       Send guest mails to the information section.

¤       The information section assistant will further sort the mails into the following categories:

n         Resident guest (staying in the hotel)

n         Checked-out guest (departed from the hotel)

n         Future guest (guest with a confirmed reservation for future dates)

¤       The mails of resident guests are delivered in the guest rooms by the bell boys

¤       The mails of checked-out guests are sent to the back office, from where the mail forwarding address is taken and mails are re-directed to that address.

The mails of future guests are sent to the reservation section, where they are placed along with the reservation record.

Message Handling

•          At times, there are telephone calls or visitors for a resident guest when she is not present in the hotel. The process of receiving and delivering messages to resident guests is known as message handling.

•          If a resident guest is expecting a call or a visitor during her absence, she may leave a location slip (which is similar to a message slip but is in a different colour) at the front desk. In such a case, the front desk assistant follows the instructions of the guest on receiving the telephone call or visitor for that guest.

Message Handling Procedure

•          Every hotel has its own standard operating procedure for handling guest messages. Most hotels follow the given procedure , with some variations:

•          When there is a visitor or a telephone call for a guest, the front desk assistant should look at the information rack to see whether the guest is a resident guest, future guest, or checked-out guest.

•          In case of a resident guest, the agent must check whether she is present in the room or not. If the guest is not present in the room, then the agent must check the key rack for the location form (or any instructions left by the guest. If the same is found, then act according to the instructions of the guest.

•          If guest has not left any instructions or the location form at the front desk, the front desk assistant should take down the message for the guest on a message slip.

•          The message slip is prepared in duplicate—the original copy is placed in the key rack and the duplicate copy is placed in a message slip envelop and slipped through the door of the guest room by a bell boy. The purpose of preparing the message slip in duplicate is to ensure the delivery of the message to the guest.

•          If there is a visitor or a call for a guest who has checked out of the hotel, then the front office agent should give the information as per the instructions left by the guest.

•          If there is a call is for a future guest, then the agent should note the message on a message slip and send the slip to the back office, where it would be placed along with the reservation record.

•          Some hotels have automated systems for delivering messages to guests. The telephone in the guest room has a message indicator that can be switched on by the front desk agent in case any message is waiting for a guest.

Guest Paging

•          Paging is the process of locating guests in a specified area of the hotel. When a guest is not in her room (though she is in the hotel premises) and is expecting a visitor, she may fill a location form and leave the same at the front desk. When the visitor comes to meet the guest, the front desk agent writes the name and room number of the guest on a page board and sends a bell boy to the area mentioned by the guest on the location form. The bell boy holds the page board above his head and shakes it so that the bells attached to it ring and attract people’s attention. The guest contacts the bell boy, who escorts her to the front desk to meet the visitor. In some hotels, guest paging is done through public address system.

Safe Deposit Locker

•          A key concern for guests is the safety of their belongings, especially cash, jewellery, and important documents. Hotels provide safe deposit lockers for the same. At the time of check-in, guests are advised to keep their valuables in the safe deposit lockers available at the front desk. Some hotels may also provide in-room safe deposit lockers, depending on the room category. These safe deposit lockers have a single key, so only the guest can operate the locker.

•          Procedure for Using Safe Deposit Locker :Every hotel has its own operating procedure for the allotment of safe deposit lockers. The standard procedure has two stages:

•          Issue of locker

•          Surrender of locker

•          When a guest wishes to use the locker facility extended by the hotel, the following procedure is followed:

•          An empty safe deposit locker is allocated to the guest with the locker number.

•          A safe deposit box registration card is handed over to the guest and the guest is requested to fill the necessary information.

•          The locker is assigned and the locker key is handed over to the guest.

•          The guest keeps his valuables and documents in the locker, locks the box, and carries the key.

•          The guest can use the safe deposit box as and when required; he is required to make an entry in the safe deposit locker register for each use.

•          When the guest surrenders the safe deposit box, the following procedure is followed:

•          The guest is requested to withdraw the articles placed in the locker.

•          The guest is requested to sign an acknowledgement that he has received all the articles that had been placed in the safe deposit box .

•          The guest surrenders the locker key to the front office agent.

Guest Complaints

When guests are not satisfied with some services and express their discontent to hotel employees, most often to the front desk staff, their grievances are recorded as guest complaints.

Types of Guest Complaints : The guests’ complaints can be grouped into four major categories :

•          Mechanical

•          Attitudinal

•           service-related

•          unusual complaints.

•          Mechanical Complaint: Mechanical complaints are related to the malfunctioning or non-functioning of systems and equipments installed in guest rooms, like television, mini-bar, weather control, channeled music, geyser, and so on.

•          Attitudinal Complaint : When a guest feels insulted by the rude or tactless hotel staff and lodges a complaint, it is referred to as attitudinal complaint. A guest may also make attitudinal complaints when the hotel staff bothers him with their problems.

•          Service-related Complaint : Service-related complaints are about the problems in services provided by the hotel, like delay in the room service of lunch, or delay in the clearance of soiled crockery from the room after meals, etc.

•          Unusual Complaint : Unusual complaints are those over which the hotel does not have any control. For example, a guest may complain about the lack of golf course in the hotel, or the lack of central heating facility, etc.

Handling Guest Complaints

•          The front office should handle guests’ complaints tactfully, exercising patience, empathy, and decision-making skills. As hospitality is a service-oriented industry, the hotel staff should always try to resolve the customer’s problems immediately and thus appease him. If a front office agent is unable to handle a guest’s complaint, she should call her superior before the situation gets out of control or becomes worse.

•          The following guidelines may be followed while handling guest complaints:

•          Listen silently without interruption, with empathy.

•          Show concern and take complaints seriously.

•          Never argue. Remember the guest is always right.

•          Never try to win an argument you may win the argument but lose the guest forever.

•          If possible, isolate the guest so that other guests may not overhear.

•          Offer choices and never make a false promise.

•          Monitor the corrective measures.

•          Follow up and inform the guest about the solution.

•          If unable to resolve the guest problem, consult your superiors.

Terrorist Activities and Bomb Threat

•          Hotels that cater to VIPs are potential targets of terrorist attacks and should be well equipped to handle terrorist threats. In case of a bomb threat, the hotel should liaise with the local police authorities and follow their instructions. If the bomb threat comes over the telephone, the person receiving such a call should follow the given procedure:

–        Do not interrupt the caller.

–        Write down the exact words of the caller.

–        If possible find out:

•          The time by which the bomb is due to explode.

•          The place where the device is placed.

•          The description of the device.

•          The motive of the attackers.

•          The identity of the attackers.

•          Any background noise, etc.

•          Write everything as soon as the call is disconnected. If available, a bomb threat form may be used. Try to note down the following:

•          Caller’s voice

•          Mannerism

•          Age and sex

•          Accent

•          Do not alter the exact conversation between you and the caller while narrating the incident to the authorities.

•          Inform the competent authority immediately.

•          Do not spread any rumor.

•          Do not attempt to defuse the bomb if you are able to locate the same. Contact the local police authority or bomb disposal squad for defusing the device.

Robbery and Theft

•          There is always a possibility of robbery in hotels as the front desk cash and bills section and the points of sale usually have large sums of money. Also, the valuables in the possession of guests may invite burglars.

•          To discourage robbers, the guests should be asked to leave their valuables in the front office safety deposit locker or in the in-room locker. In the event of an armed robbery, the hotel employees should follow the below-mentioned procedure:

–        Comply with the robbers’ demand.

–        Do not make any sudden movement

–        Remain quiet, unless directed to talk by the robbers.

–        Do not attempt to disarm the robbers, as this may jeopardize many lives.

–        The cashier may switch on the secret alarm that might be installed in the cash drawer,

–        Observe the robbers carefully, noting the physical characteristics like height, build, eye colour, hair colour, mannerisms, complexion, clothing, scar marks, or anything that can be helpful in their identification.

–        Note the direction of escape, and the type and registration number of the vehicle used by the robbers.

–        Do not touch any object that might have been touched by the robbers

Guests in Drunken State

•          A guest in a drunken state may disturb or trouble other guests and could be a cause of embarrassment for the hotel.

•          To avoid problems, the hotel staff should politely remove the drunken guest from the hotel lobby at the earliest and escort him to an isolated place, like the back office.

•          If the guest acts in an unruly manner, the hotel security must be called.

  earliestand escort him to an isolated place, like the back office.

 Tariff card

•          If the guest acts in an unruly manner, the hotel security must be called.

ail