.

1. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Overview of the Front Office
Department

2. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Functions and
Responsibilities
• Coordinating guest services
• Specific activities help deliver guest
services:
– Revenue management
– Reservation management
– Guest services
– Night audit

3. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Functions and
Responsibilities
• Night Audit: The process of reviewing for
accuracy and completeness the accounting
transactions from one day to conclude or
“close” that day’s sales information in
preparation for posting the transactions of
the next day.

4. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Functions and
Responsibilities
• Front office responsibilities:
– Managing the Property Management System
(PMS): The PMS consists of the computer
hardware and programs utilized to record guest
reservations and requests and to manage the
prices charged for rooms and other services.
The system also records and stores hotel sales
data and other historical information useful in
decision making for effective hotel
management.

5. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Functions and
Responsibilities
• Front office responsibilities:
– Revenue and reservations management
– Management of guest services
– Guest accounting
– General data management

6. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Organization
• Organizational structure depends upon the
size of the property:
– Small hotels
– Large hotels
– Mega hotels

7. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Organization
• Career Ladder: A plan that projects
successively more responsible professional
positions within an organization or industry;
career ladders also allow one to plan and
schedule developmental activities judged
necessary to assume these higher-level
positions.

8. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Positions
• Management positions
• Entry-level positions

9. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Positions
• Management positions:
– Responsibilities
– Activities
– Skills
• Universal Process of Management: The concept
that, at their most basic level, the principles of
planning, organizing, coordinating, staffing,
controlling, and evaluating are the same (or
similar) in any type of business or organization.

10. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Positions
• Common front office management positions:
– Resident manager
– Front office manager
– PBX manager
– Reservations manager
– Assistant front office manager
– Front desk manager
– Uniformed services manager
– Supervisor, bell services

11. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Positions
• Flat (Organization Chart): The
collapse/combination of positions within an
organization to reduce the number of
management layers in efforts to improve
communication, increase operating
efficiencies, and reduce costs.

12. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Positions
• Non-management positions:
– Responsibilities
– Skills

13. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Front Office Positions
• Common non-management positions:
– Night auditor
– PBX operator
– Reservations agent
– Front desk cashier
– Front desk agent
– Bell services attendant
– Concierge
– Door attendant
– Parking lot attendant
– Van driver

14. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Turnover Rate: A measure of the
proportion of a work force that is replaced
during a designated time period.
# Employees Separated = Employee Turnover Rate
# Employees in the Workforce

15. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Internal Recruiting: Tactics to identify and
attract currently employed staff members for job
vacancies that represent promotions or lateral
transfers to similar positions in the same
organization.
• External Recruiting: Tactics designed to attract
persons who are not current hotel employees for
vacant positions within the organization.

16. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Warm Body Syndrome: An often-used but
ineffective selection technique that involves
hiring (almost) anyone who applies without
regard to qualifications for the vacant
position.

17. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Tools for screening applicants:
– Review application form
– Employment interviews
– Employment tests
– Reference checks
– Review of other requirements
– Drug screening

18. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Bond(ing): Purchasing an insurance policy
against the possibility that an employee will
steal.
• Employer-of-Choice: The concept that the
hospitality operation is a preferred place of
employment within the community by those
who have alternative employment
opportunities.

19. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Orientation: The process of providing
basic information about the hotel that
should be known by all of its employees.
– Employee Handbook: Written policies and
procedures related to employment at a hotel.
• Induction: The process of informing new
employees about matters related to the
department in which they will work.

20. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Steps for effective training:
– Plan the training:
1. Define tasks for which training is needed.
2. Determine how each task should be done.

21. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Steps for effective training:
– Prepare for training:
1. Learn how to train.
“Off-the-Shelf”: A term relating to a generic product
(such as a training resource) that is developed for
general industry use rather than specifically
developed for a unique property.
2. Prepare for training.

22. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Steps for effective training:
– Deliver the training:
1. Conduct the training.
2. Allow trainee to practice (learn).

23. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Steps for effective training:
– Follow-up after training:
1. Coach the trainee to reinforce correct methods.
2. Evaluate the trainer and the training.

24. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Motivate: The process of appealing to a
person’s inner drive to attain a goal.

25. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Tactics to motivate front office employees:
– Follow sound management advice
– Provide effective orientation
– Train correctly
– Manage a professional hotel
– Supervise like you want to be supervised
– Encourage effective communication
– Manage a friendly hotel
– Help your employees succeed

26. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Leadership Styles: The mix of attitudes
and/or behaviors that a supervisor can use
to direct the work of employees.
– Autocratic manager
– Bureaucratic manager
– Democratic manager
– Laissez-faire manager

27. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Factors influencing leadership style used:
– Manager’s personal background
– Characteristics of employees
– Relationship between manager and employees
– The job situation itself

28. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Staffing and scheduling
– Variable Labor Position: A position that must be
staffed according to the volume of business.
– Fixed Labor Position: A position that involves work
tasks not directly tied to the level of business volume.

29. Woods et al., Professional Front Office
Management
© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,
NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Human Resources Management
• Factors to be considered in staffing:
– Number of guest arrivals/departures
– Occupancy rate
– Each employee’s interest and history of work shifts
– Employees’ expenses and training
– Employee requests
– Legal factors
– Other factors