Section of Front Office 

DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF FRONT OFFICE AND THEIR IMPORTANCE

The major sections of the front office are:

•  Reservations

• Communication (Telephone)

•  Reception

•  Cashier

•  Guest Relation.

•  Uniformed Services

Reception / Registration: -

This is one of the most important sections ofas they are in direct contact with the guest right from the time of arrival till the time of departure.

• Reception staff performs functions like welcoming the guest on arrival at the hotel, registering them and assigning rooms to them.

•  Complete pre-registration formalities for VIP’s SPATT guest, groups, etc.,

•  Maintain various records like registration cards, C-forms, amenities voucher, movement slip, discrepancy report,    occupancy list and statistics, etc

•  Execute government formalities regarding foreigners such as C- form

•  Co-ordinate with housekeeping department for room clearance.

• Check-In: Verify reservation, register guest, assign room, provide key.

• Check-Out: Process bill, collect payment, and finalize guest departure.

• Provide information, assist with bookings (tours, restaurants), and handle requests (extra towels, wake-up calls).

• Allocate rooms, and issue and manage room keys.

• Manage walk-ins, modify bookings, and offer upgrades.

• Process payments, and address billing queries.

• Resolve guest issues, and provide service recovery.

• Coordinate with housekeeping, maintenance, and other departments.

• Monitor access, and manage lost and found.

• Maintain records, and ensure legal compliance.

• Create a welcoming atmosphere, and maintain lobby appearance.

Cashier

The cash and bills section records all the monetary transactions of guests. It maintains guest folios and

prepares the guest bills to be settled by the guest at the time of departure. This section is headed by a cashier.

Functions of the Cash and Bills Section:

This section performs the following tasks:

•  Opening and maintaining of guest folios.

•  Posting room charges in guest folios.

•  Recording all credit charges in guest folios.

•  Maintaining a record of the cash received from guests.

•  Preparing bills at the time of check-out.

•  Receiving cash/TC/demand draft for account settlement.

•  Handling credit/debit/charge cards for the settlement of a guest account.

•  Organizing foreign currency exchange for the settlement of a guest account.

Uniformed Services

The uniformed services in the hotel include:

 Bell Desk

 Concierge

Bell Desk

The bell desk is located very close to the main entrance of the hotel. This section is headed by a bell captain, who leads a team of bell boys and page boys.

Functions of bell desk: The bell desk is responsible for the following tasks:

•  Handling guest luggage at the time of arrival and departure

•  Escorting guests to their rooms on arrival.

•  Familiarizing guests about safety features and in-room facilities.

•  Making sundry purchases for the guest.

•  At request keeps guest luggage in the left luggage room

Concierge

The concept of concierges came from the days of European royalty; the concierge was the castle doorkeeper in those times. His duty was to ensure that all castle occupants were safe in their rooms at night. A concierge is often expected to achieve the impossible

Functions of concierge:

The concierge provides the following services to guests:

•  Making reservations for dining in famous restaurants.

•  Obtaining tickets for theatres, musicals, sporting events

•  Arranging for transportation by limousine, car, coaches, buses, airplanes, or trains.

•  Providing information on cultural and social events like photo exhibitions, art shows etc.

Guest Relation: -

 Maintains contact with the guest during their stay in the hotel in order to ensure that the guest is having a comfortable stay.

•  Maintain guest history

•  Escorting the VIP guest to the room

•  Render traditional welcome

•  Co-ordinate with travel desk to avoid confusions regarding vehicle arrangement for guest from hotel side

•  Take care of special days for the guest and make arrangement for cake / a candle light dinner / complimentary gift / flowers, etc

Reservations: -

•  Handles all reservation calls for all the bookings like free individual travellers (FIT) or groups and also takes reservations.

•  Handle all reservation requests by all other means like fax, telex, e-mail etc.

• Maintain the reservation rack

•  Maintain accurate and up-to-date room inventory.

•  Deal with all the sources of reservations like travel agent, airline crew, corporate,etc.

•  Set booking levels and close out dates if fully booked.

•  Makes effort to up sale the rooms  Lastly keep a proper record of reservation, room forecasting etc., to make the later process run well.

     Telephones: -

The Telephone section or communication section maintains the communication network of the hotel, which is generally quite complex. The hotel may have its own private branch exchange (PBX), along with post and telegraph lines.

Functions of Communication Desk:

The duties of the telephone operator include:

•  Answering incoming calls.

•  Directing calls to guest rooms through the switchboard/EPABX

•  Providing information on guest services

•  Processing guest wake-up calls

•  Answering inquiries about hotel facilities and events

•  Protecting guests’ privacy

•  Coordinating emergency communication

Ancillary Areas of Front Office

Business Center: -

•  It is one of the revenue-generating centres of the FO.

•  It is a place where a guest can get the facilities like Internet, Xerox, printouts, etc

Travel and Transport: -

The travel desk takes care of travel arrangements of guests, like air-ticketing, railway reservations, sightseeing tours, airport or railway station pick up or drop, etc. The hotel may

operate the travel desk or it may be outsourced to an external travel agency.

Functions of Travel Desk:

The travel desk performs the following tasks:

•  Arranging pick-up and drop services for guests at the time of their arrival and departure.

•  Providing vehicles on request to guests at pre-determined rates

•  Making travel arrangements like railway reservations/air-tickets

•  Organizing half-day or full-day sightseeing

•  Arranging for guides who can communicate in the guest’s language

Shopping Arcade: -

 A row of shops arranged in the lobby which sell souvenirs, books, gifts, flowers etc.