fo. in short

Hotel Management in Hotel Management in Brief.Brief.

By Rajish DharmarajanBy Rajish Dharmarajan

For IHMS, ThrissurFor IHMS, Thrissur

Front Office DepartmentFront Office Department• The front office in a hotel holds prime importance in view of the basic nature

o f the business of a hotel to sell rooms. Revenue collected from the sale of rooms contributes more than 50% of the total hotel sales. This department has the prime role of image building, which is the first and last point contact of every guest. Thus, the role of front office is to reserve, receive, assign rooms to guests and act as a continues source of information to guests during their stay of the hotel.

• TYPES OF HOTELS• Hotels may be categorized depending upon factors such as:• Location• Number of rooms• Type of plan• Type of clientele• Length of guest stay• Facilities of the hotel offers

Types of Hotel & categorization Types of Hotel & categorization • Downtown Hotel , Suburban Hotel , Resort hotel , Airport Hotel ,

Motels , Convention Hotels , Casino Hotels , Chain Hotels• Categorization by Facilities the Hotel offers• Facilities offered by hotels may be the most important criteria

for classification. Some countries adopt Star Rating System. Thus a five star hotel which is the highest rating provide facilities such as central air conditioning, attached bathrooms with hot and cold water, channel music, wall to wall carpeting, shopping arcade, health club, swimming pool, sports facilities and a variety of restaurant & bars including coffee shop, specialty restaurant, grill room etc. These are some of the criteria of star rating. Certain such facilities are denied as the star rating of the hotels goes lower and lower. They may be excluded for a variety of reasons such as cost, level of business etc.

QUALITIES OF FRONT OFFICE STAFFQUALITIES OF FRONT OFFICE STAFF

• Salesman• They should have the quality of salesmanship to motivate the guest to spend

more on the various hotel facilities.• • 2. Problem solvers• Guest invariably approaches the front office for help in case they have a

problem or complaint. They staff have to be diplomatic and resourceful to solve the problem at the shortest possible time.

• 3. Reference point• Guest who want information or want to pass on information use them for this

purpose • 4. Coordinator• Since they are reference point, the front office staff is required to coordinate

with other departments, airlines, travel agencies and city tour offices to give the guest personalized service.

• 5. Image builders• As an extension to their salesman’s role, front office staff can certainly

generate a good image for the establishment in their manner of dress, communication, personal conduct and efficiency.

QUALITIES OF FRONT OFFICE STAFFQUALITIES OF FRONT OFFICE STAFF• Essential Attributes• A High Sense of Personal Grooming: Uniforms must be clean and neatly

pressed. Hair should be groomed well. Nails should be manicured. Soft cologne is preferable to heavy perfumes. Jewellery should be restricted to one ring and a necklace for ladies. In short, front office must be seen at their best at all times.

• Personal Hygiene: This is imperative to front office personnel. As they are constantly exposed to hotel guests, a clean appearance helps to project good image not only of themselves but of the establishment as well.

• Self Confidence: This is necessary as front office staff meet guests of different countries, status and cultures. They should be comfortable and feel at ease in dealing with these people.

• Communication Must be Clear: It is preferable that front office staff know more than one language .It helps in communicating with guest who cannot speak English or local language.

• Diplomacy: Very often there are situations when a guest is irritated over some thing .A diplomatic dealing helps in explosive moment .It is quite common for a busy hotel to have no rooms to offer for a guest who have come with a confirmed booking .A diplomatic approach is the only way by which the guest can be pacified.

QUALITIES OF FRONT OFFICE STAFFQUALITIES OF FRONT OFFICE STAFF• Calmness: Being the nerve centre of the hotel, the front office constantly in touch

with guests and therefore invariably comes under tremendous pressure .The guest always expect personalized, priority treatment and the pressure of demand never ceases coupled with this difficult guest who can unnerve a person .The front office staff should thus have a high degree of tolerance for pressure of work and be calm and composed at all times.

• Ability to remember faces and names: This single attribute distinguishes the good from the average amongst the front office staff. Every individual has an ego and his/her name is most precious and personal to him .If the front office staff can call most guest by their names, this immediately flatters them and personalized the guest experience .The guest begins to feel that he is welcome as people recognizes him by name.

• Good manners: As the hotel is a meeting place of social elites all the grace and etiquette associated with good society comes into play. Guest of all status comes to stay in the hotel and they are used to manners and politeness. Wishing the guest the time of the day and saying “thank you”, are basic etiquettes shown.

• Ready smile: This is necessary to guest, as they like to be handled by cheerful staff at the desk. Their smile exudes cheer to the guest and puts them at ease.

• Physical fitness: Front office staff stands for a long hour at a stretch .The staff must be sturdy, agile and active.

• Quick decision making ability: Guests often approach the front desk with problems and requests. Front office staff must be able to decide quickly a course of action that satisfies the guest, at the same time keeping the interest of the organization alive.

Reception, Information, Reservation, CashierReception, Information, Reservation, Cashier• The reception office apart of front office that the guest is received, registered

and assigned a room and it is there that he calls for information .his mail and finally his bill. The reception is the first area of contact of an arriving guest and it could be said to be the show window of the hotel.

• The first impression the customer has to hotel would depend on the accessibility, neatness, proper decoration and satisfactory equipping of the reception office. First impression being the best and ever lasting one, great care should be given to the setting up decoration and equipment of the reception area also the way the guests are received on their arrival

• Most countries govt. and states insist that a guest registers himself in writing. This is a rule to protect both the hotel owner and the guest. It is also a source of information on the movement of foreigners in the country for the local foreigners registration office. Thin act of registration may be done by two methods,-by the use of registration cards as adopted by large hotels ,and through a registration register used by small Hotels ,Motels and Inns. The basic information required is each case name, address, nationality, and purpose of visit, duration of stay and passport details.

Reception, Information, Reservation, CashierReception, Information, Reservation, Cashier

• INFORMATION• The main functions of the information departments are to • Maintain guest alphabetical index rack• Receive messages for guest on telephone or in person.• Handle guest room keys.• Handle guest packages / registered/ insured mail• Handle guest mails / telegrams • Handle paging and• Provide information to guests


• The reservation section in the front office is the nerve centre of the department where all requests of reservation are received and possessed.

• Modes of Reservation Request• Request for reservation may come by various modes.

– Letters– Telex– Telegrams– Telephones– Cables (computer)– By Person


• Sources of Reservation• The usual sources from which reservation requests come are

– Airlines– Wholesale tour operators– Free individual traveler (FIT) any person who makes a

booking directly with a hotel and not through a travel agent.– Companies and commercial business houses– Embassies / consulates and institutions– A source is classified as any individual or body that actually

pays a hotel for services rendered


• Types of Rooms• Each hotel has a variety of rooms to suit the needs of guests.• Single - Room with one normal sized single bed• Double - Room with one double bed• Studio - Room with one single bed + one sofa cum

bed• Twin - Room with two normal sized but separate

single beds• Triplet - Twin + extra bed• Single suite - Single room + one living room• Double suite - Double room + one living room• Duplex suite - Rooms spread over two floors with

interconnecting staircase• Cabana - Room attached to the swimming pool with

one sofa cum bed.


• Types of Plan• A plan is a package proposal of rooms and meals• EP (European Plan) : Room only• CP (Continental Plan) : Room + Continental

break fast• MAP (Modified American Plan) : Room + breakfast +

lunch or dinner (2 meals only)• AP (American Plan) : Room + breakfast +

lunch + dinner (3 meals) • Role of Cashier during Check out:Greet guest with a smile and always try to use his name and wish him the time

of the day.• Confirm guest details (i.e. name and room number) against the guest’s

account.• Check whether late checkout charges should be applied. If the guest is

leaving after the check out time and he is not a frequent guest then add the relevant late check out charge to the account.

• Check for late charges and in particular check breakfast or telephone charges.

• Give the guest the master and or guest folio for checking.


• Check out procedure• The main duties of the front office at check out are:• Settlement of guest accounts• Up-dating front office records after guest departures• Creating good lasting impressions• When checking out a guest, the front office staff should follow

certain basic procedures:• Greet guest and check their name and room number• Check for late charges• Produce master and guest folios for guest inspection • Settle accounts• Up-date front office records

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