Front Office Operation Tutorial Notes

FRONT OFFICE OPERATION Tutorial Notes Useful for Hotel Management Students

Prepared By: Anil Kumar Tabdar (Hotel Management Instructor) Council for Technical education and Vocational TrainingPokhara School of Tourism and Hospitality Manageent Phulbari-12, Pokhara Lekhnath, Kaski i

Table of Contents1. Night Auditor in Hotel Industry.................................................................................................. 12. Job of a Doorman or Porter in Hotel......................................................................................... 143. Unexpected VIP Guest Check-in Procedures in Hotel ............................................................. 194. Pre-Registered Guest Check in Procedure................................................................................ 225. Hotel Credit Facilities ............................................................................................................... 256. Must Have Qualities of Hotel Front Office Staffs .................................................................... 277. Hotel Guest Reservation Procedure .......................................................................................... 308. Bell Captain & Bell Boy in Hotel ............................................................................................. 349. Hotel Reception Desk – An Overview...................................................................................... 3610. Inter Departmental Coordination in Front Office ................................................................... 3911. Interpersonal Communication in Hotel Industry .................................................................... 4112. Coordination Between Hotel Front Office with Other Departments ...................................... 4413. How a Hotel Receptionist can Perform as a Salesman ........................................................... 4814. How Hoteliers Should Handle International Credit Cards ..................................................... 5115. Types of Hotel Room Rates – Ultimate Guide ....................................................................... 5416. Foreign Currency Exchange Procedure in Hotel .................................................................... 6017. Importance of First Guest Contact.......................................................................................... 6218. Sources of Hotel Guest Reservation ....................................................................................... 6519. Reservation & Cancellation Code Used in Hotel ................................................................... 6920. Night Audit in Hotels.............................................................................................................. 7221. Concierge Service in Hotel ..................................................................................................... 7422. Overbooking in Hotel ............................................................................................................. 7623. Typical Telephone Requests by Guests .................................................................................. 7924. Hotel Front Office Equipment ................................................................................................ 8225. Hotel Guest Preference Procedure .......................................................................................... 8326. Step by Step Guest Registration at Front Desk (Must Read) ................................................. 8627. What If Guest Don’t Answer Wake Up Calls......................................................................... 8928. Hotel Safety Box Procedure.................................................................................................... 9129. Making Room Reservation on Telephone (SOP) ................................................................... 9330. Members of Hotel Front Office Department .......................................................................... 9631. How to Handle Walk in Guests in Hotel ................................................................................ 97 ii

32. Smooth Guest Check out Procedure ....................................................................................... 9833. How to Introduce a Room to Your Guest ............................................................................. 10134. Ultimate Guide on Telephone Call Receiving Procedure..................................................... 10435. Rooming a Guest................................................................................................................... 10836. Collection of Guest Data on Arrival ..................................................................................... 11037. Answering Telephone in Hotel & Restaurant: DOs & DON’Ts .......................................... 11138. How to Take Reservation on Phone...................................................................................... 11339. Wake-up call Handling Procedure ........................................................................................ 11540. Proper Telephone Manner in Hotel....................................................................................... 11641. Methods of Payment in Hotel ............................................................................................... 11842. A to Z Guest Registration Procedure (Part-1)....................................................................... 12143. A to Z Guest Registration Procedure (Part-2)....................................................................... 12344. A to Z Guest Registration Procedure (Part-3)....................................................................... 12545. Hotel Room Types ................................................................................................................ 12746. Guiding to front desk ............................................................................................................ 12947. Greet the guests on His First Arrival .................................................................................... 13148. Front Office Basics ............................................................................................................... 13249. Learn What is Guest Folio in Hotel ...................................................................................... 133 iii

1. Night Auditor in Hotel IndustryThere are many people who wonder what night auditor is or who isnight auditor or what is the definition of night auditor. Night auditor is aperson or a team works mainly at night at the reception of the hotel and holdsthe duties of both the front desk officer and accountant. Depending on thehotel, the duties and responsibilities of the night auditor increase. In a bighotel, a night auditing process is done by a team, as there are a lot of thingsto do simultaneously on a larger scale. While in case of small lodges, a singleperson holds all duties of a night auditor. The working hours of a nightauditor starts when one hotel day shift close and goes for 7-8 hours tillmorning.A night auditor has to make a number of reports which functions as openingreports for the start of next day, as these reports contain all accounts data,with proper identifications. Night auditor job is a strenuous activity whichrequires the presence of mind, concentration, good customer skills,management experience and multi-tasking.Topics Covered in this Guide1 The Role of a Night Auditor in Hotel Industry2 Training Video 2.1 What is Night Audit 2.2 Working and Closing Hour of Night Auditor 2.3 Organization Chart for Night auditor 2.4 Salary of Night Auditor 2.5 Duties and Responsibilities of a Night Audit 2.6 Importance of Night Auditor 2.7 Working Process of a Night Auditor 2.8 Reports Prepared by Night Auditor 2.9 How to become a Night AuditorThe Role of a Night Auditor in Hotel IndustryWhat is Night Audit 1

Night audit team holds the crucially important function of the hotel, as it has to merge and manage whole day’s accounts data, housekeeping status, post charges, guest folios, and all other operational data of the hotel. In hotel industry, the payments are made through accounts-receivable method, in which the guest avails all required hotel services with asignature, and this receipt is added to the final guest folio. The authenticationprocess for accounts receivable is done on daily basis, at nights, and is doneby its night audit team. Thus, this team has to compile a series of data in theform of a report, which includes guest folios, and balance of collectiveaccounts receivable.Hotel industry is 24/7 running business, but there must be some point inthese 24 hours, where day closure must be marked. So in hotels, this closingtime is mostly set between 2:00 A.M and 4:00 A.M. Day shift timings closedway before this time, so the night audit team basically takes charge andcombine complete report for the day. The report presented by the nightauditor helps all departments’ managerial team in policy and decision-making and is the most awaited piece for the next day. Night auditor teammainly consists of night audit manager and it’s two assistant. In large hotels,where business keeps on running regardless of the time of the day, cashierand guest service agents may also be present in the night. As their presencegive relief to night auditors to complete their own task without interruption.While in small hotels, the night audit work is done by a single person, whomanages all the front desk and audit tasks single handily. These includes jobof the guest-service agent, telephone operator, cashier, auditor, andemergency handler. All the guests are provided with his number, as to call incase of any sort of emergencies in the night, and the night auditor alsoremains in constant contact, with the security guard.The night audit team, depending on the hotel, serves many functions, whichincludes;  Verification and authentication of total hotel transactions, at the end of the day. 2

 Night manager at front desk, and performs all the supposed responsibilities as in front desk officer.  Compilation of statistical data in the form of one report.  In big hotels, the senior audit member serve as the manager on duty (MOD), who cater all the emergencies, or issues posed by the guest or the security concerns and then inform helping staff such as engineers, plumbers, or housekeeping, depending upon the problem.Working and Closing Hour of Night AuditorAs there is no closing time for the hotel, so any time of night selected by themanagement for the closure of their day’s accounts, is called as closeouthour. The night audit team compiles all the record of that day till closeouthour and prepare the report. The work shift for the night audit team startsbetween 11:00 P.M and midnight. Work duration of night audit crew is 8hours, as it ends in the morning at 7:00 A.M or an hour later, but thecompiled report from this team, is a must have in the morning to start nextworking day of the hotel. Thus, if the night audit team haven’t completedtheir assigned tasks in their work timings, then the night auditor remain onthe job, regardless of the timings, until the final report is presented.Organization Chart for Night auditorNight auditor, as a single person or team works under front officedepartment. Night auditor works independently at night and remains inconstant contact with the night lobby manager in case of any administrativeproceedings. Night auditors have to work with the front office desk cashierand cashiers of other services departments, where hotel revenue isgenerated, to compile all finances in his report. Cashiers from alldepartments are responsible to answer all demands and requirements of thenight auditor with clear explanation. It is night auditor’s duty to be ensureabout the transparency of all transactions, and proper management by thecashiers. Thus, he holds the authority to call cashier anytime for clarificationof transactions or to answer about any missing checks. The night auditorreports to the income accountant with all proceedings of the previous day.And the income accountant is responsible for all the balance between theservices used by the users and income received to the hotel account. 3

Image: Functional Organization Chart of Night Auditor Night Auditor reports to Income accountant, who receives the night audit report and the final report is presented to the chief accountant of hotel. Salary of Night Auditor Many one wonders, how much does a night auditor at a hotel make? On average, night auditor’s salary is $ 10.45 for an hour. The pay rates gofrom $8.15 to $14.26 for an hour, depending on the hotel and servicesprovided to the staff. In United States, national average salary of a nightauditor per year is $22,005. The number varies according to the years ofexperiences and educational qualification. 4

Duties and Responsibilities of a Night AuditNight auditor is the main person who is all in charge at night. Other frontdesk staff may also be present on duty, but when actual tasks came up nightauditor holds the job of night manager. Night auditor has to remainconversant with all the issues came up at night, as in hotel problems are samein each hour of the day. In small hotels, only one person takes the job of nightauditor, and he has to respond and be vigilant all night. In suchcircumstances, the night auditor takes the duties of phone operator, cashier,guest-service agent, receptionist, manager, and auditor. In case of anyemergency, or room service, night auditor is the first person who receivescalls from gusts. Then he relays the issue to the concerning department.Following are general duties for which a night auditor is responsible for:  Compilation of cash and credit transactions of the day.  Interpretation of performance of all revenue generating departments.  Verification of room rates.  Correction of wrong postings done by the cashier, if any.  Compilation of statistics of all revenue departments.  preparation of cash deposit receipts.  Confirmation of no-show rooms and setting to available rooms list.  Preparation of rooms status list.  Submission of correct balance report to the management for new policy generation.First task done by the night auditor at the end of the day, is the correctionand verification of cash/ credit sales from all revenue generating centers.These centers include food bars and restaurants, beauty salons, spas, flowershop, health clubs, room service, banquets, outside caterings, pastry shops,and business centers. Collection of sales data is done after closure of alloutlets for that day, but in case of food center the closing time may prolongtill 3 A.M in the night, So in this case the night auditor complete this outlet’sreport after closing of the bar for that day. The compiled statistical data isuseful for the management to look into the department where changes areneeded. The other most important task done by the night auditor is thegeneration of guest folios. All charging made by guest’s accounts must beposted on the guest folio, and reviewing all these postings or correction mustbe made by the night auditor. While in case of cash payments night auditorhas to check all the receipts of cash received, and in case of any missing checkhe can call the cashier or manager any time of the night. Other servicecharges such as internet, fax, telephone or in-house entertainment bills are 5

automatically uploaded at front desk accounting system. By this nightauditor’s work to tally the postings has become easy, as back in days it wasdone manually.Importance of Night AuditorNight audit is compulsory in hotel as it functions as it provides wholesomereport on hotel finances, reservations, and daily transactions. Night auditteam not only helps on front desk in generating guest folios during daterollover, but also update housekeeping status, and keep up with the hotelsecurity in night.Night audit procedure track down all financial activity of the guest for theday through payments and departmental receipts. This team also deliverreport on available rooms, occupied rooms, all day check-ins, check-outs,reservation cancellation, or no show by the guests, along with the method ofpayment for room rent and other hotel services. Thus the reviewing of thisnight audit team is the key to progress and success in the hotel business, asit provides hotel’s daily finances, guests interests, and helps in making newpolicies by the management.Working Process of a Night AuditorNight audit process is a crucial and important task which need a lot ofresponsibility and concentration for completion in time. There are a numberof jobs that night auditor of a hotel has to do.Posting Room Charges:Posting of room charges has been strenuous task when electronic system wasnot introduced. But now the electronic room charge posting has brought easeand relieve to the to the employees, and an error-free backup record.Manual Room Charges Postings:One of the main duties of a night auditor includes the recording of all roomcharges. Before the introduction of the electronic system, this task was donemanually. This requires all the charge folios to be collected from the cashier’swell and written with pencil on paper, with columns indicating roomnumber, charges, tax charges, and folios from all hotel services used.Simultaneously, the night auditor has to add previous day’s folios in another 6

column and indicate the new sum balance in the bottom. Thus thecumulative balance would be ready any time of the day for the departingguest.Electronic Room Charges Postings:Posting room charges electronically is fast, easy, and trouble-free thanmanual room charges posting. Here, the employees don’t have to engage inthe long and tiring task of collecting hundreds of folios from cashier’s bucket.Rather the PMS (Property Management System) completes whole taskelectronically. And all room rates, tax charges, and guest folios are stored inthe memory; that can update each guest folio, and also print when needed.The best thing about this system is that it is error free, and have back uprecord. Well talking about back up record, tracking and checking of this backup is responsibility of night audit and must be done every day, as with allbenefits of PMS system, this system may crash.Revenue Verification:Revenue Verification is one of the major tasks of night auditing process. Asin a full-time service hotel, a whole lot of folios are collected. In such fullservices hotels, dining room charges, phone call charges, bar charges,laundry charges, entertainment charges, and all other services provided bythe hotel, are added to the folios. By the end of the day, thousands of guestsfolios are collected to be billed properly. The night auditor has to balance theaudit, as every revenue generating department has the equal balance ofdebits and credits. So, the night auditor has to follow the simplemathematical rule that sum must be equal to the total of parts. The nightauditor analyzes each department’s revenue. And the amount of all incomegenerated by one particular department must be equal to the charges postedto the guest folios for the availability of that department’s services. Forinstance, in case of room service charges, sum of charges posted on the guestsfolios must be equal to the income earned by room service department forthat day.Foreign Currency Exchange:When a hotel does some foreign currency transactions or business then, it isnight auditor’s responsibility to analyze and check verification of foreigncurrency encashment certificates. 7

Paid-Outs and Allowances:All receipts of paid-outs and allowances are checked by the night auditor tosee whether these receipts have proper authorization from concerningdepartment or not.Reconciling with PMS (Property Management System):Electronic modifications have totally revolutionize the hotel business, andmade life easier for the auditors. As in previous years, the night auditors werenot only concerned about the collection of data but also correction of it. Nowwith computer literacy, here is not such activity of repairing, rathereverything is done mechanically and without error.Verification of Basic Data:Night auditor has to analyze and then verify all the summarize data of hoteltransactions and billings. Either with electronically compiled data ormanually summarized day’s activities; the night auditor checks all day dataat the end of the hotel day. During this night auditing process, POS (Point ofSale) terminals are closed for the time being, and no changes to the guestfolios are made, as electronically handling of data will change the statistics ifthe system is not at the halt.Closing Routine:At the end of every night, specific duties are done by the night auditor.Foremost, the room charges and tax charges are entered in the system, thusguest folios could be generated. This task helps the front desk next day as ifany guest has to leave other than his specified departure time, thus in thatcase the front desk can generate the folio easily. Night auditor’s finalsummary of the closing balance mark as the opening balance of next day.The night auditor finalizes his night’s duties with the preparation ofthe daily transcript. This transcript includes all the information abouthotel transactions, which include:  Revenues from Food/ Beverage Department  Revenue from outside catering  Revenue generated from banquet functions  Other hotel services Revenue 8

 Average Room rate charges  Revenues generated from specific groups  Single and double Occupancy charges  Sum of revenues for the dayReports Prepared by Night Auditor Night audit report provides complete insight into the financial statistical data of each department which in turn help the management in any policy alterations or decision making process. Many of these reports are viewed throughout the next day on screen with changing situations and for simultaneous management decisions. A wide range ofreports is presented by night auditor, many of which are summaries of theday. There are some fundamental steps which are followed before finalizingthe night audit report: 1. Verification of room postings and tax charges 2. Assembly of guest folios 3. Compilation of financial activities of revenue generating departments 4. Compilation of all accounts receivable 5. Preparation of night audit reportSome of the most common reports presented by every hotel’s night auditorteam are explained below.Reservation Reports:This report describes the availability of rooms, sold rooms with theirnumber, type, and charges. It is important for the reservation manager toknow number of departures, arrivals, cancellations, stay-overs, no-show, androoms that are out of order or need housekeeping. Computerization of thereservation process has made things very easy, as instant confirmation isgiven to the client who is sitting miles away, with the detailed availability ofthe rooms and charges. 9

This information is stored in the database, the night auditor cross check andverify this information and compile this data in a single sheet. This data canbe stored in the soft form or can be printed in hard form to be used for thenext day, in the form of the report. Thus this report serves for managementand then as an operational tool.Credit Reports:For the accounts department, night auditor report matters in both routineand special credit situations. Night auditor pre prints the guest folios, as toprovide the guest with expected check-outs. As in case of guests, who wish tostay longer, the folios are still pre printed and presented to the guests aftertheir one week stay.Other than folios, the night auditor also analyzes the account balance of theguest. A credit-Alert Report is made in which rooms with exceeded foliocharges are listed. This value differs for each hotel for a single day.Simultaneously Cumulative Charge Report, which describes guest’scumulative charges for the total stay is also presented.Accounts Receivable Reports:Prime job of night auditor is to focus on the accounts receivable. The nightauditor basically holds all the data of accounts receivable from all daypayments. The amount of accounts receivable is decreased with paymentsand increased when charged, and this process remains continuous throughthe day. All this compiled data of a day is the opening balance for the nextday. From which amount owed to the hotel is calculated. Night auditor makemany reports explaining the details of accounts receivables according to thecategory, including credit card report (holds sum of charges along withidentities of credit cards for the day), late charge report (tells transfer of latecharges in the city ledger for the day), and daily revenue report (compiledreport of revenue from all revenue generating departments).Room Revenue Report:Room revenue report identifies room rates with specific taxes posted to soldrooms of that day. The room charges and their revenue is different for eachfloor, so it is helpful to track record of room revenues of each day. It is alsocalled as Occupancy Report. 10

Late Charge Report:Charges that are posted late in the city ledger are entered in the late chargereport.Arrival/ Departure Report:This report contains number of guests that check-in and check-out the hotelthat day. This statistical data also helps to analyze accounts detail of hotel.Complimentary Rooms Report:Total number of rooms that are given to guest with no room charges areentered in this report. It is night auditor’s duty to verify these room numbersand the reason for their being given as complimentary. Mostly the rooms aregiven to any VIP person.Room Status Report:This list is the must have for the front desk next day. As this report containsthe list of each and every room with its status indicating which rooms isready, vacant, out-of-order, occupied or on-charge.Out of Order Rooms Report:The night auditor remains in constant contact with the hotel engineer andhousekeeping desk. And in case of rooms that cannot be sold due to anyreason such, rooms under renovation, bathrooms with leaky shower, or anyother problem, the night auditor enlist such room numbers with reasonexplaining why it can’t be sold and the action being taken to nullify theproblem.Sick Guest Rooms Report:This report indicated the rooms with guests who need particular assistancefor being sick or distressed. Housekeeping must also be informed of thisreport for proper care.In-House Report:In this report, those guests who check in and occupy rooms during the nightauditing timings are listed. 11

Change Report:Night auditor has to put any changes in room rates, guest rooms, or numberof the guests in a party already residing in the hotel. These changes arecategorized and entered as in the list, this record is called as Change report.House-Use Report:This report identifies rooms occupied by the hotel personnel, with theirrespective post.Message Report:This is more than a report as it serves as a back-up document and remainssaved as in permanent record. This report contains all above mentionedreports which have been delivered through PMS system that day.How to become a Night Auditor This job needs not only good qualification and hotel industry experience but also a thorough understanding of whole night auditing process. To become a night auditor one should consider following points before hand:  One mustpossess degree level diploma, as a well-educated person can have anedge, in case of lack of experience. Previous experience is a plus, and that can vary from 6 months to 1 yeardepending upon the company’s requirements. Effective communication and services skills are very important.Because as a night auditor one has to be very vigilant and responsivein case of any emergency situations or guest complaints. In timecontact with the concerning department such as housekeeping or 12

security staff, while keeping the nerves at calm is very important for a night auditor. So, the applicant would be checked for these qualities.  Excellent organizational skills and multi-tasking are required for night auditor’s job, as the night auditor has to handle different tasks at a single time, such phone answering, taking guest complaints, making reports for the day, etc.  Before applying for the post of night auditor, try engaging yourself in different departments of hotel. That will increase your work experience, as well as your insight about how the work is done in different departments at different times of a day. One might start working as in valet or bellhop, or manage the desk. These duties like room attendant, or room service provider help to build up knowledge and customer’s requirements for the hotel services. For a person who likes to work at night, he should first make his way to that point and gain experience, then look into the night auditor position when available.  Your expertise in mathematics must be very well as night auditor has to do a lot of maths. Night auditor job is a combination of management, accounting, customer service skills, auditing and reporting.  Having all the required qualification and needed experience, the candidates have to pass through a drug test plus a clean criminal record.ConclusionAll in all night auditor job is really an interesting job, especially for those whohave passion about hotel industry and love to work at night. Night auditorholds most important duties which are required to run hotel next day. As, thereports generated by the night auditor like credit reports, reservationreports, accounts receivables, transactions reports, and revenue reports areall needed to start next day, and all the night auditor’s provided reports aregone through next day, whenever needed. Most importantly, these reportsare helpful for the management to make new policies. So, night auditor jobis full of responsibility, passion and need complete concentration. 13

2. Job of a Doorman or Porter in HotelA doorman is a person who generally stands in front of guest to receive theguest and his belongings. In UK, doorman is known as porter. A doorman isthe very first and most interestingly the very last person of a hotel with whoma guest have the first & last contact. That’s why they are called theambassador. Doorman shows courtesy to guests. They mainly help to openthe door and handle guest luggage.The job of a doorman is very important. They help to portray goodimpression of their hotel to guest’s mind. Today we will learn about the mostbasic duties of a Doorman in a hotel step by step.1- Lays out the Floor Mat at the Hotel’s Entrance Standard Ensure that floor mats have always lain out at the hotel entrance during the rainy season so as to prevent guest from slipping. Procedures Doorman are assigned to perform such actions which are as follows:  Make sure that all hotel mats are properly cleaned, orderly and in good condition before the start of the rainy season.  During the rainy reason or when the rain comes, take out the mat from the storage room and lay out at the front landing of the hotel.  Keep an umbrella rack and check guests keep their umbrella over there before entering the premises.  Ensure that mats are lain out all times at the hotel entrance during rainy season.2- Assists Guest in & out of CarsStandard 14

To ensure that all guests are safely led in and out of their cars with theassistant of the doorman.Procedures  Make sure that the guest’s car stops right in front of the hotel entrance.For incoming guest:  Open the car door with proper etiquette for the guest and greet the guest by saying politely: Good morning/afternoon/evening (according to the time of day), Sir/ Madame. After the guest has stepped out from the car, close the car door gently.For outgoing guest:  Open the car door following standard for the guest and wish the guest an enjoyable day. Close the car door gently when the guest is inside the car.  Inform and direct the driver to the correct path.3- Open Vehicle Doors for all GuestsStandardMake sure that correct procedures are followed to open the doors of guestvehicles for all guests in order to assist them get in or out of their vehicles.ProceduresCertain procedures are followed by the doorman as follows:For vehicles with guests entering them:  Until the car stops at the front landing area, wait for the vehicle.  When the guest’s vehicle is at a full stop at the car landing area, stand to the side, giving path to the guest and gently open the door for him/her.  Cover the dome of vehicle by using your hand in order to protect guest’s head.For vehicles with guests getting down from them: 15

 Wait for the vehicle until it stops at the front landing area.  When the vehicle is at a full stop, go to the side of the car where the guest is seated.  Cover the dome of vehicle by using your hand to protect guest’s head.  Open the door for guest firmly but with proper manner. 4- Loading & Unloading of Luggage into & from Guest’s VehicleStandardTo ensure a quick and prompt check-in and check-out process, all guestluggage should be loaded and unloaded for guests by the personnelconcerned into and from guest vehicles.ProceduresLoading  Wait until the vehicle stops at the front landing area of the hotel.  Ask the driver of the vehicle to open the trunk.  Load the luggage into the trunk in the presence of the guest and reconfirm the guest the number of bags you loaded. But only load the luggage if the guest is not in the vehicle.  To ensure security, obtain the make or line (for taxis) and plate number of the vehicle.Unloading  To unload the luggage from the car, wait for the vehicle to stop at the front landing area.  For guest convenient, open the door for the guest.  When the guest has stepped out from the car, ask the driver of the vehicle to open the trunk.  Complete the unloading process by doing the following steps: 1. Unload the bags. 2. Tag the bags. 3. Check to ensure the guest name. 4. Keep the plate number of the vehicle and the number of bags unloaded on the tag for security purposes. 5. Reconfirm with the guest the number of bags you unloaded. 16

5- Obtain Taxis for Guest if RequestedStandardIn order to satisfy the guest, taxi should be immediately arranged by thedoorman upon guest request.ProceduresA doorman will act the following actions to obtain the taxi for the guest:  Ask politely guest requesting for taxi to sit down at the lobby while you call for one.  Notify concierge that a guest is requesting for one taxi, so they can call via telephone. Ask how long will it take.  Inform the guest that you just have called for one and the time that it will take to get here.  Make sure that you have arranged taxi for the correct guest.  Inform concierge to take action accordingly. 6- Maintain all Accesses through Hotel Drive way Clear of CarsStandardTo make the driveway accessible for incoming and outgoing cars, ensure thatthe driveway is cleared of cars.Procedures  Once a car has unloaded its guest, make sure that it leaves the driveway immediately.  A car should be parked in an empty parking space.  If there is no empty parking space at the front, inform the driver to park the car in the back parking area.  Check to ensure no car is left unattended to along the driveway.  Make sure that the correct flow of traffic procedure is followed.7- Rain ProcedureStandard 17

To ensure smooth operation, correct procedures are followed during therainy seasons in accordance with the standards of the hotel.ProceduresA doorman will initiate the following procedures during rainy season:  Make sure that rain mat is in good condition, ready and stored properly at the concierge during the rainy seasons.  When the rain comes, lay out the rain mat in front of the hotel door.  Arrange the umbrella stand with umbrella for guests.  If guest does not has any umbrella, escort the guest with hotel umbrella while guests leaving and coming inside the hotel.  Make sure that all guest’s umbrella are kept in the umbrella stand before they stepped into the hotel. Do not allow any wet umbrella inside the hotel.  Issue a tag for guest’s umbrella so that the guest can claim during their departure. Do not keep any umbrella without tag. 18

3. Unexpected VIP Guest Check-in Procedures in Hotel VIP means Very Important Person. In hospitality industry we treat each and every guest as VIP. No matter how much business we can do with a guest for us, our guest is ultimate boss in this business. But yes when a VIP guest really comes he or she should get some extra care after all they are very well known and treated as highly honorable person in the society. Generally hotel authority get prior notice well in advanced about VIP guest check in. Since hotel management needs special arrangement (security, greeting etc) for VIP guest so whenever they come, they generally inform earlier. Butwhat would happen if a VIP guest comes to hotel without prior reservation?Today we will discuss exact steps that you can follow in times of UnexpectedVIP guest check in of your hotel.Receive guest with warm welcome:  The Guest Relation officer or the Lobby Greeter or must greet the guest in a polite and professional manner.Perform check-in procedures at front desk:  Direct the guest to the Front Desk to check-in and log into the computer to check the guests’ name.  If the guest visits the hotel for the first time then select the guest profile to take further actions.  Take out the Registration Card by printing it from the reservation system.  Check in to system to ensure the guest information and get the guest’s signature on the respective place.  Assign a room for guest based on the guest’s demand or preference or determine the particulars from the guest current profile.  Escort all VIPs to their special room or to the Club Lounge (if the VIP guest is staying in the Club Inter Continental).Verify the method of payment and escort the guest to the room: 19

 Check to ensure the method of payment with the guest.  If the method of payment is cash, guest is paying cash, courteously ask the guest for an advance deposit (a particular amount to the total of room charge, service charge, and statutory taxes).  Collect the deposit from the guest and make sure that a receipt is provided.  If the method of payment is credit card, get the credit card and note down or record all particulars on the registration card.  After completing all payment procedures, thank the guest and return back the credit card to the guest.  Guest must ensure a method of payment while check-in.  The guest must be escorted to his/her room by the GRO (Guest Relations Officer) or AM (Assistant Manager).  In case the GRO or AM is not available, the Front Desk Personnel must escort the guest to his/her room.  Allow the guest to enter the room first and clearly show the guest how to use the room key and open the guest room door.  Give a short tour of the room features and amenities. Such as: 1. Light switches and bedside control system 2. Climate Control 3. Mini bar 4. Laundry and dry cleaning supplies 5. TV and radio 6. Restaurants, Bar, SPA etc.  Also inform the guest of the following features of the hotel during rooming process: 1. F&B outlet with their features. 2. Breakfast venues and facilities 3. Safety and Security precaution (ex-fire exits)Complete the in-room check-in procedures:  After finishing in-room check in procedures, leave the room gently and ask for any further help by politely saying “This is your room key Sir/Madam, is there anything further that I can do for you” or “Please feel free to contact our Guest Service Center if you need anything else Sis/Madam. Enjoy your stay at XXX Hotel.”  Offer your Business Card. 20

 Wish guest a pleasing and healthy stay by saying “Enjoy your stay at our XXX Hotel.”Escort Club Floor Guest to the Lounge:If the guest is a Club floor guest, the guest should be escorted by the GRO orthe Front Office Personnel to the club floor lounge.  Serve welcome drinks and introduce club features.  The Hostess of the club lounge should serve the welcome drink at Club Lounge and also introduce the Club Lounge Facilities and services to the guest.Perform quick check-in procedures for repeat guest:  Verify if the guest is repetitive guest from the guest history.  A Repetitive guest may enter the room only by signing their registration card without being escorted.Prepare VIP amenities for the VIP guest:  Make sure all VIP amenities are prepared duly upon completing your Check-in procedure.  Refer Guest to VIP standard set up and amenities.Make a Courtesy call to the guest:The GRO or AM must make a courtesy call to the guest to ensure guestsatisfaction and qualitative service. 21

4. Pre-Registered Guest Check in Procedure(1) A Pre-Registered guest must be “Checked in” within the Night Shift before the Night Audit, in an Inspected room as per the guest’s requirement. (2) A Guest Registration Card must be printed and a key card to be prepared and kept on hold for the guest at the Front Desk. (3) When the guest arrives and presents his name at the Front Desk, a normal check in must be done, after informing him/her that she/he has a Pre-Registered booking, as the room has been held for him from the previous night and therefore he would be charged from the previous night. Here is what you can say:“We are holding a reservation for you. May I request you to kindly verify the information we have here? You will be checking out on the “X” (Date) of “Z” (Name ofthe month)? May I have your check out time please? I see you haverequested a non- smoking king, is that correct? You have booked a “B”(Room Category) room, this would be your Rate (point to the rate, do NOTsay it ALOUD).”(4) Mention the facilities included in the rate if applicable. If breakfast is notincluded in the rate, ask if she/he would like it included in the rate and addUSD XX (Charge) if so. Make sure changes are made in the systemaccordingly as well. Check the billing instructions. If the instructions showthat the guest will pay, ask him/her how she/he would like to settle the bill.Click on “Rate Information” in the system. Add XYZ amount to the totalamount shown on the Rate Information screen and take a pre authorizationor deposit accordingly. This amount represents the total room and incidentalcharges. If the instructions are for bills directly to the company, ensure toattach a copy of the company letter to the Registration Card. If all details arecorrect, print a Registration Card and ask the guest to sign it. Check in theguest in the system and make a room key. Put the key in a key wallet; writethe room number and the departure date on it and handing it over to theguest say “This is your room number. Your room is located on the “X” floor” 22

(NEVER SAY OUT ALOUD THE ROOM NUMBER). As you know, you willhave to insert this keycard in the slot in the elevator to access your floor.Please insert your keycard, pull it out and press your floor button.” Check inthe system to see if the guest has a parcel, envelop or anything else waitingfor him/her. If she/he does, inform him/her and hand it over to him/her. Ifhe/she is a XYZ (Hotel’s Name) Club guest, hand her/him the welcome letter.“This is your welcome letter which will give you details of the facilities madeavailable to you as our exclusive XYZ (Hotel’s Name) Club Guest.” Tellhim/her about the new complimentary shoe shine service. “Mr/Mrs/Miss“X” we are also pleased to inform you of the new complimentary shoe shineservice available to you in the Lower Lobby. You are welcome to tip at yourown discretion.”(5) Ask the guest about luggage and introduce him/her to the bell boy.“Mr/Mrs/Miss “X” do you have any luggage? Enjoy your stay with us.Please give me a call if you need any assistance.”(6) After the bellboy is introduced, the following scripting should be used bythe bellboy: “Welcome to the “H” (Your Hotel Name) Mr/Mrs/Miss “X”!Allow me to please escort you to your room.” To start the conversation,enquire about his flight/ if this is his first visit to your city/ his first stay atour Hotel/ talk about the weather. As you get on to the elevator, explain thefollowing “Due to security purposes your key has been programmed toallow access to our floors. Please insert your key and pull it out and pressthe floor number which you wish to access.” Then turn the conversationabout our Hotel.(7) “Welcome to your Room, Mr/Mrs/Miss “X”!” Enter the room first andswitch on the lights. “Would you like me to familiarize you with your room?”Point to the light sensor and inform “This is a light sensor programmed toswitch Off the lights in your room 15 minutes after you leave the room. Thelights will also come on as soon as you enter the room” “This is yourTea/Coffee Kettle. House Keeping will replenish the sugar/coffee and thesetwo bottles of Mineral Water every day. Compliments from our hotel.” “OurMini bar is located right here with a Waiter’s friend for your convenience.”“Your AC controls are located here; your room temperature has beenprogrammed to 22 degrees, fan setting at 3. However, you can change thecontrols and manage the temperature in your room to your comfort level.”“This is a radio alarm clock for your convenience; however our operatorswill be on standby for your wakeup call requests if required.” “For extra 23

lighting in your room and for your bed time reading, you can navigatethese bedside lamps. The light switch is right here (switch on the lights) andthe master switch is placed right here.” Open the curtains, to show the view(if the room commands a good view). “This is your service directory whichwill give you all the information you require on our hotel and its facilities.This is your room service. We provide free internet facilities in your room.This cord will be required to connect your laptop to the “plug and playfacility”. These points are not however connected to the sensor systems andwe request you to switch them off when you leave your room. Your chaircan be adjusted like so (show the guest how to do it!)” “We have …. (150) TVchannels for your viewing pleasure; this list has been prepared for easyviewing.” “Inside this wardrobe you will find your bathrobe, slippers,laundry bag, hairdryer and shoe shine.” “The el-safe is right here, wouldyou like me to show you how it is operated?” (If yes, show the guest) “MayI suggest you place your passport and all your valuables in this safe forsafekeeping before you leave your room?” “You will find your iron and ironboard placed in this wardrobe.” “This is your spy hole, and the Fire ExitPlan (point), you are right here (point to the room in the map) I request youto make yourself familiar with this plan for your own safety in case of anemergency. We also have a double lock facility (Show how it works). This isto ensure your privacy when you are in the room.”(8) You should also say “Mr/Mrs/Miss “X”, for any other queries, you candial One Touch Assistance” “My name is “H” and if you would need anythingelse you will be able to find me at ext 9116/9117 and I would be happy to beof assistance to you.”(9) At last you should wish him by saying “Have a pleasant stay Mr/Mrs/Miss“X”.” Close the door gently behind you. 24

5. HotelCredit FacilitiesAlthough the Credit Department is the main concerned department forcontrolling hotel credit limit, but the Front Office Cashiers are also directlyinvolved with the matter and regarding all credit matters they report toCredit Manager. The credit limit of a hotel depends on the policy of themanagement. Credit policy of a hotel is very important in making businessand also to collect the credit amount.For in-house hotel guest accounts, there is a certain amount of credit limitfixed as per the management policy. As and when the amount of guest A/Cexceeds the credit limit that is termed as over-due balance. The guestaccounts exceeding the credit limit have to be listed down in a formattedpaper sheet, which is called over-due list and that has to be produced to thecredit manager’s desk for his necessary action. Normally this has to be doneby the credit department personnel. If the hotel is computerized – you cantake an over-due list printout from the computer. Now, the credit managerconsidering the guest’s position sends a reminding letter to the guestrequesting him to settle the bill with very courteous languages.So, to be in the safe position, the following rules should be strictly adheredto:  A certain amount of credit limit should be fixed for hotel guest, exceeding which a remainder can be given politely for settlement of the bill.  While accepting any credit card, be alert to maintain all the formalities, don’t, exceed the floor limit and get the authorization code as and when necessary.  If any bank cheque is given on behalf of a hotel guest by a 2nd party that should not be accepted. If the guest insists on it-call the sift duty manager to handle the matter. 25

 All the outlet of the hotel should send the guest charge bill immediately to the front office cashier.  On checking out, any guest may wish to change the bill to his company without any prior intimation. This is not all acceptable and should immediately be referred to shift duty manager or credit manager.  Post dated cheques are not acceptable.  Cheques with alteration or re-writing are not acceptable.  Personal cheques are not acceptable without credit manager’s decision.  If any cheque is not understood, refer it to the credit manager.  If it is a suspicious cheque, contact with the bank if possible.  Remember that fake cheque holders are active during off banking hours and holidays.  Don’t be in a hurry while accepting a cheque because fake cheque holders always try to work fast and go out.Credit facilities to non-resident guest: five star hotels also providesome facilities to non-resident guest for example-to local clients of the city.The outside local clients are also big revenue earning source of hotel.Hotel issues Health Club Membership card to local guest of the city. In orderto obtain a health club membership card, the guest has to fill in a certainprescribed form, two copies of P.P. size photographs have to be affixed withthe form and a certain amount of money has to be deposited. Thus, obtaininga health club membership card guest can use all the facilities of health club,such as gym, sauna, massage, tennis court, squash court, beauty shop, bartershop, swimming pool etc. after availing any of the above services, guests donot have to pay bill on the spot—guest simply signs the bill on credit basis.At the end of month or a fortnight all these charge bills are to be forwardedto guest address in a form of an invoice for settlement, Credit Departmentmaintains all the credit accounts and collects the outstanding dues. 26

6. Must Have Qualities of Hotel Front Office StaffsAs we know the front office staff is the important key point of a hotel due toits major importance in revenue earning on sale of rooms. So, the employeesof this department should have some quality in their personality, characterand also in physical condition. Considering from this point of view, thehotelier should be attentive while appointing a person in this department,front office staff should try to achieve the following things in theirpersonality.Personal Grooming: The most important thing is the personal groomingof every staff at front office. A front staff must possess the following practices:  He/she must be neat and clean both physically and in dress (all wearing cloths).  Hair should be well cut and well groomed.  A mild/soft perfumes or body spray may be used but not too much to avoid sweaty odor.  Jewelry should include only one ring and one necklace for ladies.  Armbands or metallic neckwears should be avoided.Furthermore, they should have a charming personality. They have to becultured and up-to-date because in international hotels where most of theguests are foreign guests and the environment is cross-cultural/multinational, modern and sophisticated one. Front office staffmust be found at their best with a smiling countenance.Personal Hygiene: Maintaining personal hygiene is also the prime duty ofevery front office staff as they have to directly contact with guests. To ensurecleanliness and to make a positive image for his or her hotel, a front officestaff should perform the followings:  Maintaining clean and fresh looking appearance  Brushing teeth twice in a day  Having shower regularly  Shaving everydayPhysical Fitness: In the front office desk and lobby area every oneperforms his/her duty in standing for 8/10 hours everyday. During workinghour there is no option to seat and no seating arrangements are available for 27

the hotel staffs as per hotel rule. Therefore, physical fitness is a must for everyhotel staff especially for front office staffs while standing on duty time.Smiling Face: Front office staff should maintain cheerful attitude andsmiling face while dealing with guests. Thus guest will feel free andcomfortable if he/she finds the staff with a nice smile. But the staff shouldnever have a plastic smile.Memorizing skill: Good memory is one of the best supports in service lifeand here in front office this quality spotlights the deserving one amongst allthe front office staff. If he/she can remember the names and faces of theguests that will promote his/her salesmanship. So, remembering guestnames is a remarkable quality.Etiquette and Manner: Etiquette and manner are the essential qualitythat every front office staff has to possess whether it is small or large hotel.Especially the star level hotels are the meeting place of the elite of the society.In this level of environment good manners, courtesy and politeness must bemaintained in service. Wishing guest as per time of the day and using magicwords to satisfy them are important traits of hotel staff.Honesty: “Honesty is the best policy” – this proverb deserves to beremembered during the whole service life. Without adherence to this basicquality, good traits in character will go in vain. If one does not have honestyin all activities, future career is all in a hoax.As a hotel staff, all you are required to do are:  Control your mental stress, while you are on rush of handling lot of guests or while on too much work pressure at reception or each counter or at bell desk, have patience and do everything smoothly. In all difficult situations or while dealing with a difficult guest—you have to be tolerate, calm, cool and patient. As we know that the guest is always right. But whatever you do—you have to do in accordance with the hotel’s rule and law of the band.  Make right decision and be ready for taking instant decision because sometimes these are required to operate functional activities. So, while handling some unusual problems or situation and unusual guest request—you must be very wise and intelligent in making a quick decision. You may not be able to keep all the request of guest since you have to also remember the hotel’s interest and law of the band. 28

 In big hotels you may often meet a difficult guest or difficult situation and in this case a diplomatic and clever dealing will help you to avoid the explosive situation. Suppose the guest has come with confirmed reservation but you don’t have a room. Now, make a diplomatic approach and satisfy the guest with a pleasant arrangement considering the case, time and place. But the suggestion would be not to have overbooking.  Be specific, clear and correct while giving and taking information. Listen correctly—understand and give feedback. It is better to know more than one or two languages. Almost all hotels require you to speak fluent English. To maintain a good guest relation you have to achieve effective communication skill and for that you have to overcome the language barrier.  You must be confident in everything you are doing. If your expression shows that you do not have confidence in your activity, the guest will not feel comfortable. If you know your job and if you are honest, you will have confidence in doing everything in your job.  Never get the habit of procrastination in your job. So, do not delay— don’t keep anything pending—do it now. In hotel job nothing should be kept pending.  Explain all the amenities and facilities to the guess and try to motivate them to use all the facilities of the hotel. Thus you can help in sales promotion and earn more revenue for your hotel.  Pay importance to guest’s complain and try to solve them as soon as possible. Don’t try to escape or ignore the complains—face it and solve it.  Normally guest always tries to speak to reception for anything he needs. In this case if necessary coordinate with other departments to meet guest’s requirements. Help the guest with all kinds of city information including travel and air support.Now, if you can achieve all the above essential aspects in your profession thenyou are the best team in front office of a hotel. I believe if you have integrityand enthusiasm then you can achieve all those things in your personality.And thus you can make a superior service to your guest and earn the nameand fame for yourself and your hotel. 29

7. Hotel Guest Reservation Procedure Guest Reservation is one of the important key points of the front office. All request for room reservations are received and processed in this section for a systematic arrival of guests without any confusion. Hotel Guest Reservation comes through various media, such as: Personality  Website  Telephones  Letters  Telex (outdated)  Fax  E-mail  Telegrams  CablesReservation may come from different sources. We have a tutorial asSources of Hotel Guest Reservation from where you should get detailidea. Here are some in short:  Online  Airlines  Tour package operating Co.  Travel Agents (local & foreign)  Free Individual (FIT) a person who makes reservation personally  Local and foreign companies  UN Organizations  N.G.O’s (local and foreign companies)  Embassies/consulates/institutions  International Organizations like, I.J.O/I.M.F/W. Bank/W.H.O etc.  Corporations  MinistriesMany more organizations / establishments can make reservations in a hotel.Every hotel has got its own variety/category of rooms to meet the guestrequirements. Every hotel authority tries to name their room category in 30

their own way. But in general the room categories are as follows—as per hotelterminology.  SINGLE: A normal sized single bedroom.  DOUBLE: One double bed room.  TWIN: Two single bed separately side by side.  TRIPLET: Two single bed+extra bed.  SINGLE SUIT: One single bed room+sitting room.  DOUBLE SUIT: One double bed room+sitting room.  DUPLEX SUIT: Room in two floors with interconnecting staircase.  CABANA: Room by the side of swimming pool with one sofa-cum- bed.Room rates: in general room rates are of three kinds—maximum,minimum and moderate. On the basis of above three types of rate, differenthotel makes different ranges of room rates to enable the hotel to meet thebudget of a guest as per standard. Hotel fixes a room tariff considering thesize of rooms , single bed, double bed, location of the hotel, décor and extrafacilities of a particular floor of rooms (if any). Hotel also offer special rate tomeet the guest’s needs, such as:  Extra Bed: should be one forth or the normal room rate.  Airline Rate: special discounted rate as per contract made with airline for a long period.  Group Rate: special discounted rate applicable to group only. A group of 10 persons or more. Normally for every 25/30 persons group, a complementary room may be given to the team leader.  Day Use Rate: this rate is for the daytime use only that means check- in & check out is in the same day between 6.00 am to 6.00 pm.  Long Staying Rate: a minimum of one-month stay or more can be considered as a long staying guest. Special rate is also applicable to this kind of guest. This rate is normally negotiable with the guest.  Family Rate: this rate is also negotiable with the guest depending on number of children and the age of children.Discount Policy: discount policy varies from hotel to hotel, butnevertheless there are some similarity in making discount for the followingorganizations, but the percentage of discount in not being mentioned herebecause the percentage has to be fixed by the particular hotel according totheir policy. 31

 Airlines  Travel agents  U.N. bodies  Enlisted local or foreign companies  Travel Writers  Hoteliers  Top executive of airline & Travel agents  Government Bodies  Foreign Missions/Foreign Aid AgenciesDiscount sometimes depends on mutually agreed terms and conditions withthe parties, so, the front desk should have an updated discount policy withthem to avoid the wrong information passed to the customers.Group Reservations: There is no specific number of people to beconsidered as a group. Normally at least ten persons or more should beconsidered as a group. A group involves a good amount of business. So, aspecial discount is normally allowed for them. The group leader should begiven special facilities; sometime his room can be given as complementary.Percentage of discount depends on the number of persons of the group andthe length of stay. While handling group reservation, we should keep in mindthat a large number of rooms have to be blocked and finally at the lastmoment if the reservation is cancelled, the hotel will lose the normalbusiness. So, considering the reliability of the company/organization youhave to decide whether advance should be taken or not. While confirmingthe group reservation, it should be noted down that the party has to give atleast 15 days advance notice for cancellation of the booking as well as acondition should be there saying that equivalent to one night’s stay of thegroup will be charged. But this charge can be exempted considering thefollowing things:  Number of persons of the group.  The volume of business you did and you are expecting to do in the future.  Relation between the party and the hotel.Forecast: Forecasting is a very important activity of reservation section tohave an idea of volume of business in the coming months.No-shows and cancellations often take place. So, to avoid the loss of business,every hotel has to have some over-booking which should be determined by 32

the previous experience. But, over-booking should be very calculative so thatyou do not have to refuse a guest after arrival. So, over-booking should bemade considering the following aspect:  More cancellation than expected.  More no—shows than expected.  Walk-in guests.  Guest’s over stay.  Room goes under repair.  House use rooms.Normally forecast made weekly, fortnightly or monthly consideringreservation in hand, wait listed, confirmed reservations and as per theupdated reservation chart. For small hotel this type of reservation is veryconvenient. But some big computerized hotels have got different systems ofroom blocking. 33

8. Bell Captain & Bell Boy in Hotel Bell captain is the supervisor of Bell section in hotel or resort. He provides porter services to the guests with his team of Bell Boys. Bell Desk is situated in the lobby area. He has got the authority on bell boy’s activity and performance. Although his team (bell boys) is handling luggage and sometime works as a messenger but their job is no of less importance. They also play a vital role in building hotel’s image. Every guest service is an important matter in hotel. Bell Captain reports to Front Office Manager and mainly co-ordinates with reception and cashiers. Bell Captain’s activity may be highlighted as follows:  To motivate bell boys towards quality guest service.  To look after trim look, cleanliness, personal grooming and hygiene of all bell boys.  To control the bell boy’s movement that they do not waste time in staff cafeteria.  To prepare the duty roster and assign duty as per requirements.  To maintain the minimum stock level of postal stamps.  To train the bell boys about reporting and watching light baggage guest, who has got responsibilities of escaping without payment.  To co-operate the reception regarding paging a guest.  To maintain formalities of left baggage.  To brief the bell boys about crew arrival/departure.  To do other messenger duties as and when required by the management.Job of Bell Boys in HotelBell Boys handle guest luggage at the time of arrival/departure or anyluggage movement as and when required in the hotel. They report the Bell 34

Captain, shift duty Manager/Lobby manager. Bell desk is their work stationbut they can move any areas of the hotel in case of the necessity for luggagehandling. There must be someone at the bell desk all the time of meeting theguest service at any time. They work 8 hours a shift, round the clock. Theyco-ordinate mainly with reception and Front office Cash.Following duties are to be done by Bell Boys:  Carrying guest luggage during arrival/departure or as and when required. While escorting a new guest with his luggage up to the room, the bell boys should inform the guest about room details.  Providing postal services to the guests.  Keeping left baggage in luggage store room after maintaining register book or log book.  Checking the guest room while bringing down guest luggage at the time of departure whether mini bar and everything else are ok.  Co operating the reception to page in-house guest by paging board as and when required.  Co operating the reception to check room physically to determine the discrepancy report.  Reporting the reception about light baggage guest.  Going outside to bring postal stamps or posting mail for guest or management. 35

9. Hotel Reception Desk – An OverviewBeside the reception’s normal operationalwork, receiving information (by any means)and sending them to right person at righttime is very important for guest service. Ifyou miss any information or if you fail tosend it at right time, that will be a big set-back to your guest service and the concernedperson may be in a problem for not gettingthe message. Every information has to betreated as top urgent to avoid any kind ofcomplain or discrepancy.In any international hotel we receive fax, mail, e-mail, message or any kindof articles to be sent to the right guest. Even sometime paging becomenecessary to contact a certain guest for a telephone call, for a local guest orfor an important message.Now-a-days almost all the international hotels are computerized to maintainguest information and for other activities. So, as soon as you press the certainkey of the computer you can view the in-house guest position, and thus youcan deliver the things to the right guest. The hotel which still do not havecomputer system, should maintain a “guest alphabetical index rack” tomaintain a guest position or room position. Whether it is a manual systemor computerized one, the guest status/room status must be updated to avoidcomplain or discrepancy.Main functions of information desk are as follows:  Maintain “guest alphabetical index rack” or computerized system (for guest houses or in small hotels “in house guest list”)  Receive message for guest on telephone or by person.  Control guest room keys.  Handle guest mail, e-mail, letters, telegrams and so on.  Handle guest package/registered package, mail/insured mail.  Handle paging system.  Deliver information to guest.Handling message: in any person or visitor wants to leave any message forguest staying in the hotel and if she/he is available in the hotel at that 36

moment, the receptionist should give a message slip to be written correctlyincluding the visitor name, telephone number, company name and so on.The message should be taken in duplicate too. Then the original is to beplaced in the key hole and the duplicate to the room under the door,afterwards when the guest comes in he gets his message.In some hotels there is message light system with the key hole—while thelight is on, it means there is message and when the switch is off, it meansthere is no message. Sometimes a guest who is staying in the hotel may wantto leave message for a visitor who may turn up later personally or may callthe reception—this has to be written in the message slip. But the message slipshould be in different color. The slip is to be kept in the key hole. Then assoon as the visitor comes, it should be given to him/her.Similarly for the guest mail or for any other article the concerned guest maybe communicated by a message slip. But different hotels have different kindsof slip to inform the guest and to deliver the article. To ensure the guestservice, the reception should be alert. While handling all the above things,you should safeguard yourself and your hotel from complain regardingimportant mail or article and do the following:  Time punch on the mail at the time of receiving.  If the article/mail is received in an open condition then write it in the log-book and get it countersigned by postman. It is better to write it in the log book to be in the safe side, even it is received in good condition.  All the important things should be delivered to guest with acknowledged signed.Out of all the message, e-mail, fax, letters, mails or any documents/articlesreceived for guest, some of them may not be delivered to the addressee dueto his/her non-availability in the hotel. So, all the undelivereddocuments/articles should be kept in a particular place at reception andshould check on the every following day with room status rack whether therespective guest has checked in again or not and if the respective guestwhereabout is known to you—you can re-direct the document to thatparticular address. In the mean time if the respective guest arrives again andgets his/her long left document he/she will be really impressed by yoursuperior service.To take a message correctly the following steps should be followed: 37

 Write down the name and room number of the guest being called in the message slip. Write the caller’s name, company and his/her position in the company. Ask the spelling of the name, if not clear to you. Write the caller’s phone number and the extension. Write the facts (message) concerned. Tick-mark the action required. Write the date and time and sign the message slip. Make sure that the message is being handed over to right person at right time. 38

10. Inter Departmental Coordination in Front OfficeAs you know, running a successful hotel businessis all about making best use of all departments,its manpower. If one department fails anotherdepartment will never be sufficient to cover up.Same principle applies in individual departmentas well. A big department like Front office needsto deal with many parties. To ensure smoothoperation, there should be good coordinationbetween each concerned parties.  Doorman/Bellman: While the taxi or private car stands at the main door of the lobby—the doorman should open the door of the car with proper care and wish the guest and then open the main lobby door. At this point the bellboy escorts the guest with his/her luggage to the front office. As soon as the registration is done at the front desk—the front desk personnel inform the bellboy of the room number and the bellboy escorts the guest up to the room with all luggage. Sometimes the receptionist also escorts the guests up to the room and informs his/her about the facilities about the hotel in short. Usually when the guest wishes to check-out calls the bell-desk to get his luggage down. But sometimes guest also informs the front office directly. However, then bellboy informs the front office to prepare his/her bills after settlement of guest’s bill and having received the room key the front desk personnel issues a check-out slip to the bellboy to remove all luggage of guest to his/her departing vehicle.  Room change: Changing of room often takes place in every hotel. Sometimes guests wish to change the room for various reasons. However due to unavoidable circumstances (or sometimes for different reasons) the front office department needs to change guest room to solve certain accommodation problem. In this case the chief front desk executive or the shift duty manager will make a polite approach and explain the guest to make him/her understand the situation. Then with guest’s consent the receptionist will issue a room change slip to the bell captain. The bellboy will shift all luggage to the new room and distribute the room change slip to all concerned departments so that all concerned personnel can be informed about the change of room. 39

 Escape check-out: There are some guests (although not very much) who try to leave the hotel without paying the bill. This kind of leave may be possible because of his/her small or scanty luggage. Guest himself can carry the baggage and secretly check-out without the notice of bell boy or the receptionist. In such situation the bellboy should inform to the front office about the scanty baggage of the guest so that the front office personnel can take some advance money and they should keep an eye on this type of guest.  Co-ordination between Reception and others: As soon as the reception receives any message, fax, E-mail postal mail or any kind of article for guest, the receptionist can take the help of bell boy to send them to the guest room or, these can be collected by the guest from the reception key-hole. There is a system called “paging”. This paging takes place when a phone call is received demanding a certain guest. In this system the name of the guest is displayed in a small board with a long handle and there is a small bell at the corner of the board. Now the page boy holds the handle and rings the bell to draw the attention of the guests to the board. The page boy does the paging in restaurants and in public area. As soon as the concerned guest notice the board—he come to receive the telephone.All the above co-ordinations are needed in between reception, bellboy, page-boy, doorman and front office cashiers. 40

11. Interpersonal Communication in Hotel IndustryA good working environment isessential for superior service andsmooth operation of a hotel. Workingenvironment should not be over-shadowed or clouded with thefollowing occurrence: Misunderstanding Intolerance Impertinence Distrust Conflict between employees and administration and so on.There might be jealousy, hostility and other personal rivalries in theprofessional life but these have to be overcome and negative mentalityshould be obliterated. To bring out a peaceful, cheerful and delightfulworking environment, the management has to motivate the employees withinnovative behavior. From time to time the management can arrangeseminar or training programs to motivate them towards positive thinking.Annual staff party with cultural activity also helps in creating good relationwith one another. There is a proverb saying “environment makes aman”. All said above is that the management has got to work with a groupof people appointed by them. Everyone should be considered as a member ofthe hotel. That is why the question of motivation comes here. If there is anyone in your family who is poor in performance or job efficiency is not up tothe level—the management has to make him up with proper training andmotivation, although the question of hiring and firing is a reality in anymanagement. The house rule is there—law and orders requires to bemaintained at any cost too.On the other hand it is widely spoken in our society that the five fingers ofour hands are never equal. What is meant here is that every individual is adifferent creation in the world. So, activity and thought of every individualnaturally differs from one another. For instance: there are some who areintelligent: Efficient Polite Courteous 41

 Well–educated  Cultured  Well–mannered  Well—groomed  Honest  Sincere  ActiveOn the other hand, there are others who are of opposite nature anddifferently groomed.Hotel industry is a special field of work, so the personnel or staff should bevery selective. Proper interview for selection of an employee is the first stepof having a good working environment with good inter-personnel relation.Every employee or staff of the property must maintain three following thingsto create an inter-personnel relationship as follows:  Mutual trust  Respect  Helping attitudeThe management should try to make such an environment that employeesthink themselves useful for the company. Employees should have the feelingsthat their earnings are legitimate, not being as an extra favor. There shouldbe evaluation system in every hotel in accordance with the up to date andlogical process. While evaluating the management must be fair, positive,transparent and neutral in order to have a peaceful working environment.Employees Association/Trade Union: A management can provide a lotof welfare facilities to the employees depending on the financial revenuecondition of the property. But it does not mean that they have exemptedthemselves from making a provision of Trade Union or EmployeesAssociation. Every worker or employee needs to express their frustration anddissatisfaction and for this purpose the Employee Association Union hasbeen established. In every country of the world, the worker union isrecognized by labor law. Thus, the employees/workers unions work as abargaining agent of the employees and workers. The Union should workfairly, ethically and with neutral judgment. The same thing is applicable forthe management too. Thus a union can has a powerful status in the industry.The union should look after the property’s interest as well as the 42

employees/workers interest. The Union and all the employees should keepin mind that if the property exits only then the existence of their job isensured.So, to achieve a good interpersonal relationship the management shouldemphasize the following things:  Pay scales should be competitive with other organizations and harmonious with yearly benefit packages.  Provide comfortable and pleasant working condition. Working hours should be eight hours with a weekly off-day.  There should be service charge for the employees in every hotel industry (if possible). The percentage of service charge should be fixed considering the financial condition of the property.  Maintain understanding and communication with the employees so that every employee will be acquainted with the daily happenings.  Give opportunity to the employees for discussing their problem with department head.  Make correct evaluation and recognize better performance. Reward can be introduced for outstanding performance.  Introduce facilities for social and recreational programs.  Provide training facilities to motivate the employees, upgrade their skills and to develop a quality service.  Ensure the job security. No one should loose job without a valid reason as per the existing labor law of the property.  There should be adequate medical facilities.  Compensate employees for his/her work performed during long tenure up to retirement.  Qualified present employees should be considered first for promotion or to transfer to a better position before appointing new one from outside.  Pay attention and make fair judgment on their grievances.Before hiring or firing a staff, make fair judgment. 43

12. Coordination Between Hotel Front Office with OtherDepartmentsProper and appropriate coordination between the departments and sectionsis essential for smooth operation and for superior service to the guests. Everydepartment or section staff is a team player-hence everyone should worktogether with mutual understanding and trust for smooth functioning inother words co-ordination means to bring into harmonious relation in-between the departments and sections to get the job done at right time.Co-ordination between Front office and HousekeepingdepartmentCo-ordination between front office and housekeeping department is veryimportant. Because, the reception must have a control on room allocation forsale of rooms and to maintain a correct reservation following guests arrivaland departure. Housekeeping has got to send room status report three timesa day to the reception (normally in big hotels). Housekeeping should get theroom ready after guest’s departure as soon as possible. Both the departmentsshould get in touch with one another in connection with arrival anddeparture.Handling of discrepancy report: After receiving the room status reportfrom housekeeping department, the reception has got to reconcile it withreception room rack status. After checking the whole part if any dissimilarityappears, then a discrepancy report has to be prepared by the front officeagent. This is a printed document (like a form) available at the receptioncounter all the time. Now, the discrepancy report has to be written by thefront desk agent and to signed by the shift duty manager or the chief frontdesk personnel. Having prepared this report the front desk agent has got tocheck it physically and after checking the correct status has to be noted downon remarks column of the report for the front office and housekeeping.After checking out of a guest, the reception has to inform housekeepingimmediately so that they can make-up the room earlier for the next guestarrival and as soon as the room is ready the housekeeping has to inform thefront office too. In large properties this co-ordination is maintained byelectric buttons. Now-a-days most of the star level hotels are computerizedwith network so that this co-ordination can be maintained through theirindividual computer terminals. 44

Having received the last room status report from housekeeping the nightauditor has got to reconcile it with reception rack status. If everything isfound in correct position, the night auditor makes some statement thoughprescribed documents (if the system is manual) for managementinformation, as follows:  Occupancy position  Categories of room sold  Categories of guests (whether by reservation or walk—in)  Categories of local and foreign companies  Average room rate, occupancy of the date  Month-to-date occupancy  Percentage of discounted provided on average  Difference between charged rate and the actual rate  Month-to-date room sale revenue and so forth.Night auditor also has to make in-house guest list and copy and distributethem to all concerned departments.In case of different groups, air line crews, lay—over passengers and VIPs, thefront office and housekeeping need much more co-ordination for quickservice or any special arrangement and for these types of guests co-ordination with F&B department is also needed because of some set menu orlunch, dinner and breakfasts for groups and lay—over passengers andnormally coupons issued to the guests by the front office for their mealsmonitoring the amount for the set menu.Front office cash counter is the center point of collecting whole revenue ofhotel. They need to be coordinated with the chief cashier, income auditor,credit department and all the outlets of the hotel, as throughout the wholeworking day the charge vouchers are coming to the front cash to be chargedto guest account and city ledger account. Then all their bills are posted torespective amount and finally all sales summaries are coming to the counter.Front office cashier receives all kinds of settlements. Such as:  Cash credit cards  Company accounts  City ledger paymentsAt night the night auditors will do their night auditing on all the revenueactivities of the day. Next morning all the documents will be placed at the 45

table of the concerned person (ex-income auditor or credit supervisor). Everyshift of the front office cashier and all the outlets of the hotel make cashremittance to chief cashier. So, the income auditor, credit supervisor, chiefcashier, front office cashier, night auditor and all the revenue collecting outlet of the hotel need to be co-ordinate with each other.Hotel Room service Department should closely be in touch with reception inrespect of arrival and departure of guests to avoid any wrong billing of roomservice. Reception has to send one of in-house guests list to room service.Front office should intimate with the housekeeping department and roomservice to provide flower bouquet, fruit basket and welcome drinks uponVIPs arrival. Normally these services are given on complementary basisdepending on the policy of the hotel.Co-ordination between Front office and Sales & MarketingDepartmentSales and marketing department is always engaged in sales promotionactivities. They communicate with local and foreign companies, foreignmissions and airline offices to pursue clients for selling room and F & Bservices. So, often they have are having business from different sources andin this connection they have to intimate the front office to make reservationand also make necessary arrangements for group or VIP or airline crewaccommodation. If there is any special rate or service or facilities areavailable the pre-assigned instructions have to be followed by the front office.Co-ordination between Front office and Laundry DepartmentLaundry department should be well informed by the front office aboutguest’s arrival/departure and reception has to send one copy of in-houseguests list to laundry department. This co-ordination is essential to avoidwrong room numbering and wrong delivery of laundry.Co-ordination between Front office and Engineering DepartmentThere has to be someone on duty round the clock in engineering departmentto meet maintenance requirement anywhere of the hotel. So, anymaintenance requirement being noticed by the front office immediately bebrought to the notice of the engineering department to take necessary stepsto get the work done properly as soon as possible, so that the guest service is 46