Guest Service
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Service Standards
Guest Conflict Resolution
Empowerment
Diversity Awareness
International Guests
Management’s Role in Guest Service
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Perhaps no duty of the rooms division is more vital
that that of guest service. Guest satisfaction is crucial in
maintaining loyalty. Guest loyalty ensures repeat
business. With the wide range of hotel choices in the
market today, repeat business ensures a steady
revenue stream. All rooms division employees, and
others considered front of house, must be aware of
their impact of guest satisfaction.
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A hotel that clearly defines its guest service guidelines
will be able to hold employees accountable, which
helps to manage and evaluate them
Many hotel chains have developed their own service
standards and although the name of these programs
differ, one theme is consistent amongst them all: Guest
service is paramount to hotel success
Guest interaction can be verbal or visual and rooms
division employees use both methods to accomplish
guest service
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Verbal communication allows for gaining insight into a
guest
These conversations may not be lengthy, but the aware
employees can glean much about a guest’s personality
in the course of a conversation
The most important verbal tools in ensuring guest
satisfaction are perhaps the simplest and can often be
overlooked by rooms division employees who are
deeply involved in other tasks
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The basic rules for verbal communication are:
 Use an appropriate greeting
 Personalise the conversation (use the customers
name)
 Thank the guest
 Listen
 Avoid jargon
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Use an appropriate greeting: employees should greet
every guest appropriately whether in person or over
the phone.
They should identify the time of day: “Good
morning/afternoon/evening”.
When greeting a guest over the phone, an employee
should also include their name and department: “Good
morning, front desk, this is John, how may I help you?”
This reassures the guest that they have reached the
appropriate department
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Personalise the conversation: this helps to set a relaxed
tone in the conversation, however using an appropriate
title (i.e., Mr. or Ms.) is important
During check-in or checkout, the guest account will let
the employee know the guest’s name
Many phone systems will identify the guest’s name
and room number, as will many POS systems
Guests greeted by name are subtly reminded that the
hotel values their business
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Thank the guest: thanking the guest in a sincere
manner is also very important
Employees may conduct a variety of guest services in a
day, and each of these transaction should be completed
with a “thank you”
Thanking a guest for staying at a hotel also implies that
the hotel appreciates their business
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Listening: this is the only way a receiver can hear the
message that the transmitter is sending, so employees
can listen for subtle hints and signals a guest gives out
during communication
The employee creates a comfort level when they listen,
and letting the guest initiate the tone of the
conversation also puts him/her at ease
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Failure to listen properly can cause problems
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The seven common listening errors are:
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Failure to concentrate
Listening too hard
“Jumping the gun”
Lagging behind the conversation
Focusing too much on delivery or appearance
Omitting
Adding
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Avoid jargon: employees should avoid using industry
jargon when the communicate with guests
Using hotel terms in conversation may not convey the
intended message
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Communicating visually is as important as
communicating verbally, as visual communication can
reinforce what is being said verbally
The complete delivery of guest service can be
accomplished by incorporating both means
The rules for effective visual communication are:
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Communicate with a smile
Be aware of body language
Observe the grooming standards
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Communicate with a smile: a genuine smile that
accompanies a greeting or thank you reinforces the
message
Smiling at guests helps create a comfortable
atmosphere
Be aware of body language: observing guest body
language is like listening with eyes, it can give the
employee clues on how to communicate with the guest
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Common body language signals include the following:
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Crossed arms may indicate a defensive posture
A guest who leans across the front desk during conversation
may be aggressive
Strong and consistent eye contact may indicate confidence
Strong firm handshakes may also indicate confidence
Red eyes may indicate fatigue
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Observe appropriate grooming standards: hotel
employees are viewed as an extension of the hotel so a
guest’s perception of an employee can contribute to the
guest’s overall perception of the hotel
The first and often most long lasting perception a guest
makes on an employee is the employee’s appearance,
so most hotels have instituted grooming standards
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Guest service continues with basic duties
A front office employee must have a good working
knowledge of phone etiquette, and the common
expectation in most hotels is that a phone must be
answered within three rings
Employees must also have a good knowledge of hotel
facilities, outlets, activities and an awareness of their
surroundings to assist them with answering the many
questions guests may have
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Service received from employees is one part of the
guest experience, and in addition, many physical
aspects of the hotel must function well to ensure the
guest receives the whole product
At some point, one or both of these parts may break
down
Resolving a conflict to a guest’s satisfaction can “turn”
around an unhappy guest and make him/her a
satisfied guest
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The resolution is best accomplished by adhering to the
visual and verbal rules of guest service
It is assumed that if the employee is fully trained, the
following rules should be followed to meet or exceed a
guest’s expectations
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Listen first
Summarise
Make no excuses
Resolve the problem
Document the conflict
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Training, experience, personality and other things
contribute to an individual employee’s ability to satisfy
a guest
Hotel management must support that effort
One way management supports an employee’s ability
to satisfy a guest is by integrating empowerment in all
duties
Empowerment is defined as the ability and authority
to satisfy guest complaints/requests within preset
parameters
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Employees learn to implement empowerment
techniques in how they communicate and that certain
phrases and words should be avoided
There are other ways of communicating the same
message (see next slide)
Phrases to Avoid
Phrases to Use Instead
“I don’t know.”
“That is a good question, let me find
out for you.”
“We can’t do that.”
“Well, I haven’t encountered this
before, let me research it and find a
resolution that you are happy with.”
“You have to.” or “This is hotel
policy”
“Next time, here is how you can
avoid this situation.” or “I think the
best way to handle this would be…”
“No.”
“We are not able to reduce your rate
but I am able to upgrade your room”
“That’s not my job.”
“The person who handles that is
(name). Please let me get him/her.”
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The diversity of guests makes it vital that all hotel
employees appreciate the differences in people
Most reputable hotels will put their employees through
diversity training, which teaches employees that they
mast understand and appreciate the differences in
people
Helping the employees overcome stereotypes such as
racism, sexism, ethnocentrism and others helps to
create a comfortable environment
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A hotel by nature is a “home away from home” to
international guests
Using good customer service skills helps to put these
visitors at ease
Hotels should share a list of all multilingual staff with
front office managers
Where appropriate, extra collateral should be provided
in the guest’s native tongue
Verbal communication will be difficult and nonverbal
communication can be difficult due to cultural
differences
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Managers should become involved in guest complaints
only after an empowered desk agents attempted to
resolve the issue first
A manager who involves themselves before the guest
agent has a chance to resolve an issue defeats the
purpose behind empowerment
Some guests may simply prefer to address to a
manager
Managers must lead by example by showing that
complaints are not a burden, but an opportunity to
improve service
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All complaints should be investigated, evaluated, and
responded to
If the Front Office Manager is unable to resolve the
situation, it should be passed along to a more senior
manager
The escalation of an issue can and often should go all
the way to the general manager
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The guest service philosophy of a hotel should be
communicated to constantly and consistently
This communication should begin with the first day of
employee orientation where all new employees should
be given the hotel’s service philosophy
A hotel’s guest service message can be summarised
succinctly in the hotel’s service mission statement,
which serves as the rule and/or goal of the guest
service philosophy
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The mission statement should be posted in all service
break areas, in the cafeteria and the change rooms
Managers exhibiting ownership of the service mission
motivate their employees by example
Guest service training continues beyond orientation
and introduction of the service mission statement, and
should be constant
Larger hotel chains have complete divisions at a
corporate level dedicated to creating and implementing
guest service programs
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Smaller chains and independent hotels can take
advantages of other resources such as:
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On-the-job training
Role playing
Commercial videos
Guest speakers
Continuing education/distance learning
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Motivating employees to embody the service mission
statement in their day-to-day duties helps ensure guest
satisfaction
A good way to motivate is through guest feedback, and
most hotels have some version of a comment card in
the guest rooms
These cards encourage guests to rate and/or rank the
services received during his/her stay
They also solicit the names of employees that have
impacted the guest’s stay
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Employees or departments that are mentioned should
be rewarded or recognised in some way
The employees can be proud of these rewards and a
healthy competition can ensue to see which employees
can get the most rewards