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1. Introduction to Hotel Front Office

2. CHAPTER FOCUS POINT
• Describe the significance of ‘Front Office’
in Tourism and Hospitality business
• Construct Front Office ‘Organization Chart’
within a hotel or any tourism and
hospitality business
• Explain Personnel Job Specification,
responsibilities and relationships among
position, departments and division within
a hotel
• Describe the activities in each ‘Guest Cycle’
stage of a hotel 2

3. What is Front Office?
Front Office plays a critical part in Tourism
and Hospitality Industry.
This is because of the fact that the Front
Office is the first and last point which
interacts with the visitorguestclient.
Front office is so called, because they
are situated at the front of the
building, near the entrance of
the hotels.

4. FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT
Communication and Accounting are the two
most important functions of the Front
Office operation.
Accounting procedure involve
• accepting advance booking of hotel rooms
• opening of the guest bills
• Maintaining & monitoring the account
• settling bills at the time of check-out
4

5. FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT
*Effective Communication with guest
* processing the guest reservation
* handling the guest reception & registration
* attend to the guest inquiry regarding usage
of services in the hotel such as,
Wi-Fi internet, safe deposit,
* check-in and check out the guest
* co-ordinate with other departments of the
hotel etc.
* maintaining the room status 5

6. • Most important department in the hotel
- nerve centre for hotel operations
- Interface between a hotel and its guest
• Guest makes first contact with FO
department
• First place that can let guest develop an
impression about the level of service,
standard, facilities and hospitality of the
hotel. 6
FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT

7. Front Office Main Functions
Front Office
Management
Revenue
Management
Reservation
&
Cancellation
Guest
Services
Night Audit
Front
Desk
Concierge Bell
Desk

8. What is Revenue Management?
Revenue management is the application of
disciplined analytics of past business data
that predict consumer behaviour at the
micro-market level and optimize product
availability and price so as to
maximize revenue growth.
Revenue means income from sales.
Revenue minus expenses = Profit

9. What is Night Audit?
A night auditor works at night at the reception
of a hotel.
The night audit process itself is an audit
(inspection) of the guest ledger. The guest
ledger (or front office ledger) is the collection
of all accounts receivable for currently
registered guests. It can also be defined as
the collection of all guest folios.

10. What is Night Audit?
A folio (billing receipt) is the account of an
individual guest who is currently registered in
the hotel.
The purpose of the night auditor is, but is not
limited to, ensuring the accuracy of all
financial information in the folio, and
gathering all needed paperwork to complete
the audit.

11. What is a Concierge?
• In hotels or resorts, a concierge assists guests
by performing various tasks such as making
restaurant reservations, booking hotels,
arranging for spa services, recommending
night life hot spots, booking transportation
(like taxi, limousines, airplanes, boats, etc.),
coordinating porter service (luggage
assistance ...
• Concierge - Wikipedia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concierge

12. Front office department
• FO department operates 24 hours a day,
every day!
• Three main shifts in FO department
Morning – day shift
7.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.
Day – evening shift
3.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m.
Night shift
11.00 p.m. – 7.00 a.m. 12

13. FRONT OFFICE
ORGANIZATION CHART
13

14. Organizational chart
• Organization structure (hierarchy) of FO
department varies.
• It depends on the size and style of
operation of the hotel.
• It can be categorized into,
- Small sized hotel
- Medium sized hotel
- Large sized hotel
A simple sample follows on the next slide.
14

16. Front Office Functions Related With Other
Positions
Front Office
Manager
Revenue manager
Reservation manager
Desk staff
Guest registration
Concierge
Bell staff
Night auditor

17. Responsibilities of Front Office
Functional
areas
PMS & its
management
Revenue &
reservation
management
Management
of guest
Services
Accounting
for guests
Data
management

18. What is Property Management
System (PMS)
• In hotels a Property Management System,
also known as a PMS, is a
comprehensive software application, used to
cover tasks like coordinating the operational
functions of front office, sales and planning,
reporting etc.
• Property management system - Wikipedia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_man
agement_system

19. Front Office: The PMS & Its Management
PMS:
Computerized
system
Room rates,
reservations,
and room
assignments
Guest
Histories
Reservations
Other
selected
guest services
Management
Information
System (MIS)
Accounting
Information
System

20. What is Guest History?
The data obtained from a guest during reservation,
registration, stay and check-out is stored for future
reference. When a repeat guest makes a new
reservation, the information from past
reservations is displayed and can be automatically
copied into the new reservation, saving time,
effort and money.
The buying habits of the visitor may become the
basis for personalized service as well as, timely
and accurate marketing & sales efforts in future.

21. What is Management Information
System (MIS)
In a management information system, modern,
computerized systems (PMS) continuously
gather relevant data, both from inside and
outside an organization. This data is then
processed, integrated, and stored in a
centralized database (or data warehouse)
where it is constantly updated and made
available to all who have
the authority to access it, in a form that suits
their purpose.

22. To maximize
hotel’s Revenue
Per Available
Room (RevPar)
Front Office :
Revenue & Reservations Management
Occupancy % &
Average Daily Rate
(ADR) by selling
more rooms.
Increase
Occupancy % x ADR = RevPar
To improve RevPar:
Estimate (forecast) guest demand for rooms
Practice yield management
Control occupancy

23. Occupancy %, ADR & RevPAR
Occupancy % = No. of Rooms Occupied x 100
No. of Rooms in Hotel
Average Daily Rate (ADR) = Revenue Earned Today
No. of rooms sold
RevPAR = Revenue Earned Today
No. of Rooms Available for Sale

24. Revenue & Reservations Management: Forecasting
Guest Demand For Rooms
When demand for rooms is high, drive ADR up.
(e.g., college football game: sell-out at a high ADR)
When demand for rooms is low, drive occupancy,
(e.g., night before Thanksgiving: offer lower rate)
Knowing demand for rooms is key !
keep accurate historical records to understand past
demand history & pattern
know of special events or circumstances that impact
future room demand
For forecasting demand, Front Office should:

25. Revenue & Reservations Management: Practicing
Yield Management
Forecasted room demand Rate strategy
90-100% occupancy Offer no discounts
70-90% occupancy Offer discounts up to 10%
50 - 70% occupancy Offer discounts up to 20%
Less than 50% occupancy Offer discounts up to 30%
Yield
Management
A strategy using demand forecasts to maximize
RevPar.
.
Demand for rooms > supply, sell at “rack rate”
Demand for rooms < supply, offer discounts
Yield Management strategy based on room demand

26. Yield Management
• Yield management is a variable pricing strategy,
and other two techniques, based on
understanding, anticipating and influencing
consumer behaviour in order to maximize
revenue or profits from a fixed, time-limited
resource (such as airline seats or hotel room
reservations or advertising inventory in TV,
Print, Internet etc.).
• Yield management - Wikipedia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_managem
ent

27. Revenue & Reservations Management: Managing
Occupancy
Friday Saturday Sunday
Rooms left to sell 120 25 250
Example: Forecasted room demand (Hotel with 300 rooms)
“Closed to Arrival” (CTA) : Hotel declines reservation for
guests attempting to arrive on this specific date.
“Minimum Length of Stay” (MLOS) : Hotel declines
reservations for guests seeking to stay for lesser days than
the minimum established by the hotel.
Identifying Saturday as day that is CTA, thus, saying no &
MLOS of two days to maximize total weekend occupancy
Room availability strategies

28. Managing Guest Reservations:
By Types & Delivery Methods
Transient sales: rooms and services sold primarily via Front Office
& its staff to Free Independent Traveller (FIT)
Group sales: rooms and services sold primarily to large groups (GIT),
via Sales & Marketing department, and given to the Front Office for
recording and servicing.
Global distribution system: great use by travel agents worldwide.
Hotel direct: effectiveness of the telephone sales effort is important.
Walk in: “curb appeal” is important.
Internet: accuracy of current info on web-site is important.
Franchise 800 numbers: significant source of transient room
reservations.
By reservation type
By delivery method

29. FRANCHISE
Leads are a franchise’s lifeblood. That’s why
many of the country’s most successful
franchises use Dial800 to help make sure their
inbound lead funnel is optimized by:
Increasing the volume of their inbound leads by
using toll-free numbers that are easy for
prospects to recall.
Use AccuRoute, Dial800’s intelligent call
routing platform to send leads to the most
relevant geo-targeted franchisee.
Record and monitor calls to make sure that
prospect’s questions are answered accurately
and efficiently.

30. Global Distribution System (GDS)
• The premier global distribution systems are Amadeus,
Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan. They are owned and
operated as joint ventures by major airlines, car rental
companies, and hotel groups. Also called automated
reservation system (ARS) or computerized reservation
system (CRS).
• What is Global Distribution System (GDS)? definition
and meaning ...
• www.businessdictionary.com/definition/Global-
Distribution-System-GDS.html

31. Managing Guest Reservations:
Delivery Methods (Global Distribution System)
Travel agents,
or Third-party
sites
GDS Users GDS Switches Hotels
Worldspan,
Amadeus,
Sabre, or
Galileo
Pegasus or
WizCom
Hotel’s
Reservation
system
to to to
To Make Reservations:
Hotels
Hotel’s
Reservation
system
Switches
Pegasus or
WizCom
GDS
Worldspan,
Amadeus,
Sabre, or
Galileo
Travel
agents, or
Third-party
sites
GDS Users
to
to
to
To Confirm Reservations:
DataInformation Flow of the GDS Booking System

32. Managing Guest Services
Airport transportation
Parking cars
Handling luggage
Providing directions to local attractions
Making restaurant reservations
Taking guest messages
Routing mail
Newspaper delivery
Management of safety deposit boxes
Supplying directions for areas within the hotel
Setting wake-up calls
Providing guest security via careful dissemination of guest-related
information
Handling guest concerns and disputes
Variety Of Guest Services

33. GUEST CYCLE STAGE
GUEST CYCLE
STAGE
PRE-ARRIVAL
ARRIVAL
IN-HOUSE
DEPARTURE
33

34. Assisting guests in getting baggage into hotel and their rooms
Explaining hotel services and guest room features to guests
Printing “ reg card” for guests scheduled to arrive next day
Reg card: legal contract existing between hotel and guest
(guest name / guest address / guest telephone number / arrival date
/ departure date / # of adults in the room / rate to be paid / room
type / form of payment)
Managing Guest Services: Front Desk - Arrival
Pre-arrival
Bell station
Bell staff should be friendly, well groomed, properly uniformed, and
respectful of guest property
Valet

35. Managing Guest Services: Front Desk - Arrival
(continued…)
Five-step registration process
Minimize wait / make guests
feel welcome
Greeting guests
Reg card serves as the record
of guest’s stay
Authorize (validate) the card
at time of registration
Accommodate guest preference for room
types (location, view, bed type &
amenities)
Issuance of keys Control issue of guestroom keys for guest
safety
Confirming the
info on reg card
Securing a form
of payment
Room
assignment

36. Without a guest’s permission, never reveal his or her room
number to any third party.
Never perform registration tasks in ways allowing guest room info
to be overheard by others’.
Never write room numbers directly onto keys.
Never issue a duplicate room key to anyone except a registered
guests.
Without a guest’s permission, never confirm or deny that he or
she is in fact registered.
Without a guest’s permission, never release info related to his or her stay.
Always be vigilant in informing guests of any third-party info
requests regarding their stay.
Managing Guest Service:
Front Desk- Guest Privacy
Guest information
Room information

37. Apologize to guest for any inconvenience.
Clearly explain hotel’s walk policy to guest.
Offer any reasonable assistance to minimize guest difficulties.
When guests’ issues are handled professionally and their
legitimate complaints are treated courteously, their
experience is enhanced.
Managing Guest Service:
Front Desk - Stay & Departure
Guest satisfaction issues
The walked guests

38. The ‘Walked’ Guest!?
• Hotel industry term for the practice of
lodging an arriving guest at
another hotel(typically for one night),
because the reserved accommodation cannot
be made available to him or her, due to
overbooking, or some other reason.
• What is walk? definition and meaning -
BusinessDictionary.com
• www.businessdictionary.com/definition/wal
k.html

39. The detailed list of a guest’s room charges as well as other charges
authorized by the guest or legally imposed by the hotel.
Appropriate guest charges incurred are posted to the appropriate
guest’s folio.
All independent supporting documentation should be thoroughly
reviewed prior to posting.
Accurately collect and post charges to the guest “folios”
Maintain an accurate list, by room number, of guestroom occupants
Verify accuracy of the room rates charged to guests
Confirm the check-out dates
Accounting For Guests
Front office’s accounting related tasks
Billing to Folio

40. verify and document identification of guest to whom room is rented.
assign guests, whenever possible, to requested room type.
assure that assigned room status is “clean & vacant”.
confirm rate guest pays, prior to issuing room keys.
confirm guest’s departure date, prior to issuing room keys.
secure acceptable form of payment from guest.
Guests present themselves to begin registration process
Special check-in areas may be available, depending on level of service
and priority of guests.
Front Desk Agent confirms status of selected room prior to room
assignment
At front desk check-in
At self check-in, system should allow staff to:
Accounting For Guests:
Room Management / Assignment

41. Industry term for location of actual registration cards signed by
guests at check-in
Bucket
Guest’s actual room assignment / rate to be paid / departure
date / form of payment /any other accounting-related
information
Manual procedure for assuring accuracy of:
Accounting For Guests: Bucket Check
Physically verifies that info. on a guest’s registration card is
complete and matches that in the PMS
Cross referencing method
Bucket check helps reduce errors related to billing guest’s
folio.

42. Night audit function: eight key functions
Accounting For Guests: Night Audit
Posting appropriate room tax and tax rates to guest folio
Verification of accurate room status (in PMS) of all rooms
Posting any necessary adjustments or allowances to guest
folios
Verification that all legitimate, non-room charges have been
posted, throughout the day, to proper guest folio
Monitoring guest account balances (e.g., guest’s credit limit)
Balancing and reconciling Front Desk’s cash bank
Updating and backing up electronic data maintained by Front
Office
Producing, duplicating and distributing all management
mandated reports (e.g., ADR, occupancy %, business source,
in-house guest lists)

43. Accounting For Guests: Check Out
Two essential tasks accomplished by Front Desk agent
Confirmation of guest’s identity
Checking for late faxes / messages not yet delivered to guest
Inquiring about and returning guest belongings in hotel’s safety
deposit boxes
Posting any final charges
Producing copy of folio for guest’s inspection
Processing guest’s payment
Revising room’s status in PMS to designate room as vacant
Settlement of guest’s bill
Re-booking of guest for a future stay (selling opportunity)

44. Confirmation that name on card matches that of individual
presenting the card for payment
Examination of card for any signs of alteration
Confirmation that card has not expired
Comparison of signature on card with signature by guest paying
with that card
Documentation (usually initialing) by employee processing the
charge
Balancing and reconciling credit card charges at conclusion of each
Front Office shift
Credit card acceptance & processing guidelines
Data Management: Credit Cards
Accuracy
Commitment to security
Processing guest credit cards

45. Re-codable
locking
system
Data Management: Locking / Security Systems
Increasingly utilized to ensure guest safety
Installed cost is about $300 - $500 per guest room
Independent & stand-alone (no wiring back to PMS
is necessary)
Managing a
re-codable
lock system
Be trained to issue duplicate keys only to confirmed
registered guests
Maintain an accurate data system that actually
identifies registered guests and their assigned room
numbers

46. Private Branch Exchange (PBX)
Hotel internal system to process incoming, internal, and
outgoing telephone calls
Data Management: Telephones
Call accounting system
Records time, length, and number called, of each
telephone call made within each guestroom
Posts phone charges directly to guest’s folio when
interfaced with PMS
Wake-up calls
Voicemail
Message on hold

47. Any sales recording system not located at Front Desk (a
location, excluding Front Desk, at which hotel goods &
services are purchased)
Mostly interfaced with the PMS
Data Management: Point of Sale (POS)
Point of Sale (POS)
restaurants / room service / lounges / laundry / valet /
shops / fitness centers / business centers
Multiple POS systems in large hotel operations
Ensure all legitimate purchases & charged purchases
are posted to the correct guest or non-guest folio

48. In-room
service
Movies
Pay-per-view movie
system
In-room mini-bars
Interfaced with the
PMS(automatically posted to
guest’s folio)
Data Management: In-Room Services
Games
“video” games on
television screen in
guest room
Safes
In-room safes for
guest use
Internet
connections
Pay-to-connect
basis in guest room

49. Data Management: Back Office System
Back office
accounting
system
System used by the controller to prepare hotel’s
financial documents such as Balance Sheet, Income
Statement, etc.
good underlying technology
strong company behind the product, including good leadership
compatibility with popular hardware products
sizable customer base
good customization capabilities
expandability
ease of use by non-technological staff
excellent support via telephone
excellent online support
potential for PMS interface
Back office accounting system should offer: