•          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.

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