This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of hotel operations, emphasizing the guest cycle, which consists of a series of interactions between hotel staff and guests throughout pre-arrival, arrival, stay, departure, and post-departure phases. It explains the importance of service and financial aspects in these interactions, as well as the functions of front office staff in ensuring a seamless guest experience. Additionally, the document highlights the significance of front office accounting and its role in tracking guest transactions and maintaining accurate records.

2. This chapter gives the learner a holistic view &
understanding of the hotel operations.

3. Holistic meaning?
• Pronunciation /həʊˈlɪstɪk,hɒˈlɪstɪk/
• Grammar- Adjective
• PHILOSOPHY
• characterized by the belief that the parts of
something are intimately interconnected and
explicable only by reference to the whole.
• MEDICINE
• characterized by the treatment of the whole
person, taking into account mental and social
factors, rather than just the symptoms of a
disease.
• Translate holistic to Hindi
• 1. समग्र

4. Cycle
!!!

6. What is Cycle @
• A series of events that are regularly repeated in the
same order.
• For example, "the recurrent cycle of harvest failure,
food shortages, and price increases"
Words similar to “Cycle” are:
• round
• rotation
• revolution
• circle
• pattern
• rhythm

7. What is Guest Cycle in a Hotel?
• These are a sequence (steps) of clearly
identifiable events & interactions, between a
‘would-be’ guest and various hotel
representatives, belonging to the Front Office
department and others.

13. 1. Inquiry &
Reservation
2. Arrival
3. Stay
4. Departure
5. Post-
Departure
It begins
here...

14. Hotel Guest Cycle
•Every guest visiting a hotel has almost the same
repeating set of interactions with hotel
employees/departments.

15. Nature is Cyclic!
• In fact, all activities around us are cyclic in
nature.
• For example;
• Day- Night
• Seasons
• Week days
• Months etc.

16. Why study “Guest Cycle”?
•Guest cycle helps students to understand the
overall work-flow in a hotel.
•Cycle is also an indicator that the work is
routine, repetitive and skill-based.
•So is every other work or occupation; in this
world of specialists.
•Repetition leads to perfection in skills, not just
boredom.

17. The interactions in “Guest Cycle” have
two aspects;
• Service
• Financial

18. The Service aspect is most important to guest!

19. The financial aspect is equally, if not more
important, to the hotel.

20. The Guest Cycle Snapshot
Activities
Inquiry
Reservations
Activities
Registration
Room Assignment
Issuance of Room Key
Baggage Handling
Activities
Preparation of Guest bills
Settlement of Guest accounts
Transportation
Future reservation
Activities
Mail and Message handling
Maintenance of Guest accounts
Paging , travel assistance
Safe deposits , currency exchange
Phase 1
Pre
Arrival
Phase 2
Arrival
Phase 4
Departure
Phase 3
Stay in hotel

21. Phases or stages in “Guest Cycle”
• Each phase/stage of the Guest Cycle consists
of routine tasks (duties & responsibilities) that
are performed in the service of the guest,
prospective or present.
Stage
1
Stage
2
Stage
3
Stage
4
Stage
5

22. Pre-Arrival
‘Pre-’ means, before; so pre-arrival is the stage
before guest actually comes to the hotel.
Accommodation inquiry by the guest and
reservation confirmation by the hotel are the two
most important activities at this stage of guest-
employee interaction.
Knowledge regarding exact availability of rooms,
range of rooms, its respective rates & features, on-
premise services and knowledge of local attractions
& facilities are essential to handle this process
efficiently.

28. •Previous experiences with the hotel;
•Advertisements & promotion of hotel;
•Recommendations from travel agents, friends,
or business associates;
•The hotel’s location or reputation and pre-
conceptions based upon the hotel’s name or
chain affiliation;
•Ease of making reservations;
•How the reservations agent describes the hotel
and its facilities, room rates, amenities;
•The attitude, efficiency, and knowledge of the
front office staff may affect a caller’s decision to
stay at a particular hotel or not.
The guest’s choice can be affected by many factors:

31. Pre-Arrival
• Interaction between a guest and a hotel before the
guest arrives.
• Reservation is an essential activity in this stage.
• This phase includes :
 Selection of hotel by guest.
 Contacting the selected hotel by guest.
 Receiving of reservation request by staff
 Confirming or denying a reservation by staff.
 Noting of any special arrangement on arrival, such
as wheelchair , airport transfer, extra bed etc.
 Accepting any advance deposit and opening a guest
account.

35. Arrival
This stage includes the following activities:
a. Registration Function, a mandatory
(legal) process for all visitors to hotel;
Indian & Foreign, paying or non-paying;
b. Rooming Function, a procedure to
allot a correct type of room, according to guest
needs & budget.
c. Opening an account for recording
guest charges & payments (if not already done at
the reservation stage)

37. Arrival
• Reception and welcome of guest.
• Registration of guest with identity proof, for all
guests.
• Room rate and Room allotment to the guest.
• Handing over the room key and key card to
the guest
• Luggage assistance to the guest by bell desk.
• Delivering the mail and messages that the
hotel may have had received on behalf of the
guest.

40. The front desk agent should determine the guest’s
reservation status before beginning the registration
process.
Guests with reservations may have already undergone
pre-registration activities, meaning that the form may
already have been filled and room allotted in advance.
Guests without reservations – or walk-in guests –
present an opportunity for front desk agents to sell
guestrooms at rack rate (maximum). Why?
To sell successfully, the front desk agents must be very
familiar with the hotel’s room types, features, USP
(unique selling proposition) and guest services etc.,
and also, be able to describe those in a pleasing way.
A guest will not register if he or she is not convinced of
the value of renting a particular hotel room.

41. An unconvinced guest simply just walks away! No ceremony
there...

43. Registration
Begins when the front desk agent extends a cheerful &
sincere welcome to the guest.
The procedure by which an incoming guest re-confirms
his or her wish to stay at a property, by completing and
signing a registration card.
A signature is the proof of accepting responsibility for
conduct, character and financial liability.
To a great degree, registration depends on the
information contained in a reservation record.

45. Stage 3: Stay in Hotel
The focus of day-to-day front office activities,
where the front desk is responsible for coordinating
guest services and resolving guest complaints.

49. A major front office objective throughout the guest
cycle is to encourage repeat visits.
Strong guest relations are needed to achieve this
objective.
Guest relations depend on clear, constructive
communications between the front office, other
hotel departments, and the guest.
Security is another primary front office concern
during occupancy. It’s a topic student will learn
about in higher classes.

54. So, watch your back, Jack!

56. Stay hotel
• Here the guest gets a first hand experience of
the facilities and services offered by a hotel.
• Functions of the FO department include :
 Creation and maintenance of Guest accounts.
 Accepting mail of guest and delivering same to
them.
 Handling guest queries and complaints.
 Providing travel assistance & arrangements.

61. Various guest services @FO
• Handling guest mail.
• Message handling.
• Custody and control of keys.
• Guest paging.
• Safe deposit locker.
• Guest room change.
• Left luggage handling.
• Wake-up call.
• Guest complaints.

62. The student shall learn in great
detail, the different types of hotel
services and facilities, in one of the
following chapters, very soon

64. Departure
• At this final phase, the guest departs (leaves)
from the hotel.
Functions of the FO department are :
Preparation and presentation of bill.
Settlement of guest accounts.
Luggage assistance by the Bell Desk section.
Left luggage handling.
Sales and marketing activity (future business).
Giving a warm farewell at the point of
departure i.e. Front Desk & hotel portico.

72. What is “Post-Departure” stage of
“Guest Cycle”?

73. It includes mainly three activities;
Maintaining guest history
Sharing promotional literature and
ongoing offers
Asking if future booking needs exist

76. 1. Create
Account
2. Maintain
Account
3. Settle
Account

77. Basics of Front Office Accounting:
Introduction
A front office accounting system records the
transactions of guests and businesses
(companies), agencies (Travel Agents, Tour
Operators etc.), and city-guests (local
residents) using the hotel’s accommodation,
services and facilities.

78. The guestroom charge (room rate) is the largest single
entry on the guest account. Additional expenses can
be charged to a guest’s account if he or she shows an
acceptable credit card at the front desk on arrival.
Front desk accounting records must be checked
everyday for accuracy and completeness. This need is
met through the night audit procedure.
Although the name implies that this process takes
place in the night, this is not always the case. In hotels
with computerized front office accounting system, the
audit can be conducted at any time during the day.
Some computerized properties call the audit the Day-
End process or system update.

80. An effective guest accounting system consists of tasks
performed during each stage of the guest cycle.
In brief, a front office accounting system:
•1. Creates and maintains accurate accounting
folio for each guest or non-resident guest;
•2. Tracks financial transactions throughout the
guest cycle;
•3. Ensures internal control over cash and credit
transactions;
•4. Records final payment and settlement for all
goods and services provided to guests.

81. For local guests,
corporate clients
& agencies, the
accounting cycle
ends at the last
date of each
month.

82. At check-out, the guest vacates the room,
receives an accurate statement of account for
settlement, returns the room keys, and departs
from the hotel.
Once the guest has checked out, the front office
updates the room’s availability status and notifies
the housekeeping department.
During the check-out, the front office determines
whether the guest was satisfied with the stay
(Feedback Form) and encourages the guest to
return to the hotel – or book room in another
property in the chain.

84. The last step of guest accounting is settlement of the
guest’s account.
The purpose of account settlement is to collect money
owed to the hotel. Depending on the guest’s credit
arrangements, the guest will pay by cash, sign a credit
card voucher, or verify direct billing instructions.
Account balances should be verified and errors corrected
before the guest leaves the hotel.
Problems may occur in guest account settlement when
charges are not posted to the guest’s account until after
the guest has checked out. These charges are called late
charges.

85. Get your dues cleared before guest leaves your hotel premise.

86. Settling accounts for departed guests is generally handled
by the accounting department – not the front office.
However, the front office is responsible for providing
complete and accurate billing information, to assist the
back office accounting division in these efforts.
Once the guest has checked out, the front office can
analyze data related to the guest’s stay. Front office reports
can be used to review operations, isolate problem areas,
where corrective action may be needed, and observe
business trends.
Operation analysis can help managers establish a standard
of performance which can be used to judge the success of
front office employees & operations managers.

87. Front Office accounting, check-out
& settlement procedure, night
audit and guest safety & security
would be covered in greater detail
later in higher semester classes.

89. Running a large, luxury hotel has always been an uphill
task...

92. But the best of them can do it without
much ado!

94. Compilation & Presentation
Praveen Jha
Senior Lecturer
IHM Hajipur
Vaishali, Bihar