This document discusses the importance of communication and coordination between different departments in a hotel. It provides examples of how the front office coordinates with key departments like housekeeping, food and beverage, sales and marketing, security, engineering, and accounting. Effective coordination is needed to ensure guest satisfaction, increase sales, improve employee morale and avoid issues like service breakdowns. The front office plays a central role in communicating guest information and needs to other departments to facilitate their work.

1. Welcome to a
new learning
session!
Knowledge is Money.

2. Inter-departmental
Communication & Co-Ordination

4. Communication & Co-Ordination
• Communication is the
imparting or exchanging
of information by
speaking, writing, or
using some other
medium.
• Co-ordination is the
organization of the
different elements of a
complex body or
activity so as to enable
them to work together
effectively.

6. Word Origin of ‘ordinate’
• C16: from New Latin phrase
(linea) ordināte (applicāta) (line applied) in an
orderly manner, from ordināre to arrange in
order
Collins English Dictionary - Complete &
Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition

7. Why coordination is needed?
Division of Labour concept: This system allots a
limited number of tasks to each employee. This
helps employee become highly specialized &
produce more work, of better quality.
Inter-dependence: all departments have their
specialized role but they are all working for a
common goal, i.e. profit through guest satisfaction.
Guest requires services and products that need the
contribution of more than one department. Any
delay or fault in service shall be viewed as hotel
failure, not departmental.

8. Result of Non-coordination?
• Service breakdown
• Security & safety breakdown
• Conflict and finger pointing, low morale
• Guest not returning, loss in revenue
• Negative review on sites like TripAdvisor,
Booking.com, Hotels.com & Kayak.com.
• Negative reviews on social media
• Negative publicity in mass media
• Litigation from angry customers

10. Benefits of coordination
• The various dept. of the hotel are linked in a chain. The
cycle of work is only complete if all the departments
function properly. The best run hotels emphasise on the
proper co-ordination.
• The advantage of co-ordination are listed below.
• Guest satisfaction
• Helps in increasing the sales
• Reduces burden on staff
• Improves employee morale

12. Departments which Front Office coordinates closely & routinely.
1. Housekeeping
2. Sales & Marketing
3. Food & Beverage Service
4. Security
5. Bell desk
6. Engineering & Maintenance
7. Financial Controller
8. Human Resource
9. Purchase & Stores
10. Accounting
11. Banquets

14. Housekeeping Provides to FO:
• Room status up-date, of vacant & ready
rooms for prompt room allotment.
• Report of security breach, violence, break-ins.
• Amenities in guest room against Amenities
Voucher issued by Reception.
• Special request items.
• Housekeeper’s report after “Evening Turn
Down Service” which helps to detect
“sleeper” rooms, undisclosed joiners, exact
house-count.

15. Housekeeping Provides to FO:
• Assistance during room change of guest.
• Accurate Mini Bar bills.
• VIP amenities in room.
• Clean uniform
• Clean lobby and public areas

17. Sales & Marketing Provides to FO:
• Majority of room reservations
(Group/Corporate/Crew/Transient).
Sales & Marketing designs special packages and
offers so that hotel gets regular business even
during off-season.

18. FO Provides to Sales & Marketing:
• Accurate room availability for next 3/6/12
months.
• Closed dates (Zero room available)
• Total house count of the day.
• Guest History
• Reservation history
FO and Marketing & Sales are the two pillars of a
hotel’s profitability.

21. FO provides to Food & Beverage
Service:
• Arrivals & departures for the day
• Amenities voucher
• VIP & corporate guests in-house, special
arrangement instructions (VIP bar)
• Scanty baggage guests & APC instruction
• Group meals information
• Guests on meal package plan
With above information, F&B department can
plan their work & schedule staff.

22. Metal Detector at Hotel Entrance
Security Check in Hotels

24. FO & Security Coordination:
• FO tackles any guest concerns on security and
safety.
• FO informs the guest about emergency
evacuation plans.
• All uniformed staff of FO observe and report
any suspicious person, activity or object.
• Drunken guests, armed guests and any
difficult situation are handled by security
when FO is unable to do so.

27. Bell Desk & FO Coordination
• Luggage assistance on arrival/departure
• Room change procedure
• Sundry errands (newspaper, medicine, wake-
up call)

29. Engineering & Maintenance
• This department is responsible for upkeep &
maintenance of hotel systems and equipment.
• Guest reports about any malfunction of room
equipment to FO.
• FO makes a “Work Order” and places with
maintenance.
• The expected time of repair is communicated to
FO who inform the guest.
• FO follows-up on guest satisfaction with repair
and may change guest room, if feedback is
unsatisfactory.

31. Financial Controller
• Night Auditor sends the daily Flash Report,
High Balance Account & credit bills to the
Financial Controller.
• The report contains information on daily
revenue.
• Controller allocates resources for operations
accordingly.
• Recovery of unsettled bills, high balance
account is done by Financial Controller.

33. Human Resource
• Recruitment of staff for FO is the responsibility of HR
department.
• Employee training. Training of new employees,
refresher courses for existing ones and cross-training
needs are handled by HR.
• FO employee’s Job Description & Specifications is
written by HR.
• Employee leave account and salary bill is maintained
by HR.

35. Purchase & Stores
• FO stationery & supplies are received from
Stores department, after getting a requisition
from FO.
• Purchase department makes “Standard
purchase Specification” to ensure right quality.
• Physical evidence, an element of hospitality
marketing, depends on the right kind of guest
supplies in the guest areas.

37. Accounting
• FO cashier belongs to this department.
• Night Auditor also comes under Accounting
department.
• Responsibility for all FO bills, that are not
settled at departure (credit card, corporate
executive, Travel Agent vouchers) are
transferred to Accounts.
• City ledger accounts are maintained by FO but
collected by Accounts.

38. Banquets

39. Marquee at the hotel entrance
A raised, canopy-like structure
at the entrance

40. Banquets & FO Coordination
• Banquets sends a copy of the “Function
Prospectus” to FO so that any inquiry that
comes to FO, can be promptly answered.
• Preparation of marquee and displayed
messages (welcome, congratulations etc.) are
handled by FO.
• Bulletin board and direction signage for
function is arranged by FO.
• Directions are given to local guests by FO.

44. Summary

45. Compilation & Presentation
Praveen Jha
Senior Faculty
IHM Hajipur
Vaishali, Bihar