Chapter
Front Office
11
Objectives
• Describe the functions of the rooms division.
• Explain the functions of a property
management system (PMS).
• State the functions of the front office.
• Identify the main duties of staff in the
reservations, uniformed services, and
telecommunications departments.
continued
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Objectives
• Outline the main duties of the front desk
agent.
• Explain the two tasks of particular
importance that the front office manager
does.
• List and describe the steps in the hotel
guest cycle.
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Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Front Office
• Rooms include
– a sleeping room, or guest room, is a room
where guests sleep
– a function room is a room customers rent for an
activity, such as a banquet
• The sleeping rooms are the major source of
income for lodging properties
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Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Rooms Division
• The rooms division, managed by the
director of rooms, handles all tasks involved
in preparing and selling sleeping rooms
• In a large hotel, the rooms division may be
divided into four departments:
– Front office
– Housekeeping
– Security
– Engineering
continued
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Rooms Division
• The rooms division keeps track of information
about rooms and guests
– Racking system—record keeping is done by
hand
– Property management system (PMS)—
information is kept on a computer system
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Front Office
• The front office handles everything related
to selling rooms and interacting with guests
• The manager is the front office manager
• In a large hotel, front office responsibilities
may be divided among several departments:
– Reservations
– Uniformed services
– Telecommunications
– Front desk
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Reservations Department
• A reservation is a promise to hold a room for
a specific guest for a specific date or set of
dates
– A nonguaranteed reservation expires at a
specific time
– A guaranteed reservation holds the room until
the guest arrives
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Taking Reservations
• Tasks for reservations agents include
– selling the property—informing potential guests
about rooms, entertainment
– making the reservation—reserving the room and
creating a reservations record in the PMS
– keeping a room inventory—recording the
number of rooms sold and the number available
each day
• Hotel chains may have central reservations
centers
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Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Uniformed Services Department
• This department is also called guest services
• The bell captain is the supervisor
• Tasks include
– door services
– bell services
– parking and transportation services
– information and arrangements
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Door Services
• Door attendants coordinate activities at the
front door of the hotel, where they
– greet guests and help them exit their cars, taxis,
or shuttles
– unload guests’ luggage
– hail cabs for guests
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Bell Services
• Bell attendants’ tasks include
– coordinating with door attendants to escort
guests and their luggage to the front desk
– taking luggage and guests to their rooms
– making sure the room is in order
– assisting guests to use services such as laundry,
dry cleaning, shoe shining and repair
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Parking and Transportation
• Many luxury and first-class hotels provide
valet parking and drivers for airport shuttles
• Parking and transportation staff also arrange
for taxis, limousines, and other transportation
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Information and Arrangements
• The concierge helps guests by providing
information and making arrangements. The
concierge may
– answer guests’ questions about places to go and
how to get there
– handle reservations and other arrangements for
dining, entertainment, and transportation
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Telecommunications Department
• Telecommunications includes
– the telephone system
– the computer software that runs it
– any communication services provided to the
guests, such as wake-up calls
• The system is often connected to the PMS
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Front Desk Department
• Front desk tasks may include
– greeting
– check-in
– checkout
– financial tasks
– guest security
– guest services
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Check-In
• After greeting a guest, the front desk agent
proceeds with check-in
• Guest check-in typically includes
– Registration, including a registration record of
the guest’s arrival date, billing address, and
special requests
– confirming the method of payment
– room assignment
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Financial Tasks
• The front desk handles financial tasks such
as
– recording transactions in the guest folio
(charges to guests and payments by guests)
– performing the night audit (balancing daily
financial transactions, posting room charges and
taxes, preparing the audit report)
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Checkout
• The checkout process includes
– bill presentation—guest is given final copy of bill
– account settlement—errors are corrected and
payment is collected
– key collection—keys are collected from guest
– payment processing—updates the guest history
record
– room status update—room status is changed
from occupied to vacant
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Guest Security
• Guest security tasks include
– dealing with lost or stolen keys
– protecting guest privacy
– surveillance
– controlling access to safe deposit boxes
– handling emergencies
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Guest Services
• Front desk agents provide guest services
such as
– providing information by answering questions or
referring guests to the concierge
– responding to guests’ needs and problems
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Traits of Front Office Staff
•
•
•
•
•
•
Able to solve problems
Friendly
Energetic
Detail-oriented
Well-groomed
Accomplished in interpersonal and
communication skills
• Calm and patient
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Role of Front Office Manager
• Hiring, training, and managing front office
staff
• Managing budget
• Using PMS
• Selling rooms
• Forecasting how many guests will be at the
hotel each day
• Scheduling staff’s work shifts
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Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Hotel Guest Cycle
• The hotel guest cycle includes the
– prearrival stage—guest chooses a property and
makes reservation
– arrival stage—guest arrives at the property and
registers
– occupancy stage—everything the guest does
while staying at the hotel
– departure stage—settling the bill and leaving the
hotel
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Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Chapter 11 Review
• The front office is part of the _____ division.
– rooms
• In a _____, information about rooms and
guests is kept on a computer system.
– property management system (or PMS)
continued
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Chapter 11 Review
• What department handles everything related
to selling sleeping rooms and interacting with
guests?
– front office
• Door services, bell services, parking and
transportation services, and information and
arrangements are responsibilities of the
_____ department.
– uniformed services
continued
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Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Chapter 11 Review
• Check-in and checkout are responsibilities of
the _____ department.
– front desk
• Prearrival, arrival, occupancy, and departure
are stages of the _____.
– hotel guest cycle
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Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.