The document discusses the role of the front office department in facilitating inter-departmental communication in a hospitality organization. The front office acts as a central point of contact and plays a vital role in directing communication between guests and other departments like housekeeping, food and beverage, banquet, controller, maintenance and engineering, security, and human resources. Effective communication between the front office and other departments is important for tasks like room status updates, guest charges, event coordination, maintenance requests, security issues, and applicant screening.

1. EFFECTIVE
INTERDEPARTMENTAL
COMMUNICATIONS

2. The role of Front Office in Inter-Departmental
Communication
• The front office department plays a vital role in
delivering hospitality to guests.
• The front office act as face and voice for the
hospitality organization.
• The guest will always approach the front office
for some services.
• The front office staff should know where to
direct the communication when the guest ask for
services

3. The Front Office serves as a clearing house for
communication activities
Banquet
FRONT
OFFICE
Engineering and
Maintenance
Controller
Safety and
Security
Human Resource
Management
Sales and
Marketing
Food and
Beverage
Housekeeping

4. MARKETING AND SALES
Rely on front office for
guest histories
The front office should
provide a current and
updated data base of the
guest
The first contact with the
guest by the Marketing and
Sales is thru the Switchboard
Operator

5. HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT
• The room is ready for occupancy Available
• A guest/s is already occupying the room Occupied
• The guest is not checking out of the room on
Stay-over the current day
• The guest has already check-out but the
housekeeping department has not release the
room for occupancy
Dirty or on-change
• the room is not available for occupancy Out-of-Order

6. FOOD AND BEVERAGE
DEPARTMENT
Point-of-Sale
House
Counts
• Computerized terminals
that interface with PMS
that posted guest’s
charges to guest’s folio.
• The front office provides
the Food and Beverage
with the house count

7. BANQUET DEPARTMENT
Requires the front office to relay information to
guests about the scheduled events
Combine functions of Food and beverage and the
Marketing and sales
A banquet guest who is unfamiliar with the hotel
property will ask the front office for directions
The Front Office must know both how to direct
guests to particular meeting rooms or reception
areas and which functions are being held in which
rooms.

8. CONTROLLER
The Controller relies on the Front
Office staff to provide a daily
summary of financial transaction
through a well-prepared night
audit
An accurate entry by the front
desk and night auditor will help
the controller to produce reports
for the owners, general manager,
and supervisors

9. MAINTENANCE AND ENGINEERING
The request from guests for the
repair of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning
units, plumbing,
television, and other room
furnishings are directed to the
front desk then relayed to
maintenance and engineering
The front desk must keep track of
the repair schedule, to inform the
guest on when the repair will be
made.

10. SECURITY DEPARTMENT
Inconsistencies are reported
by front desk to the security
Fire safety measures and
emergency cases
Procedure for routine
investigation and guest
security concerns

11. HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
The human resources
management may rely on the
front office staff to act as an
initial point of contact for
potential employees in all
department
Human resources
management may also depend
on the front office to distribute
application forms and other
personnel-related information
to job applicants.
Some applicants may ask
direction from the front office
to the personnel department
The Human Resources
department may also develop
guidelines for the front desk
to initially screen applicants.

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