Front Office Notes 2e404p

FRONT NOTES

OFFICE

What is the standard in answering the telephone? • Generally, the telephone should be answered in the following manner: • All telephone calls must be answered within 3 rings. • All calls must be answered with a greeting to include: 1. Good Morning/ Good Afternoon/ Good Evening 2. the hotel name or department 3. the associate’s name 4. an offer of assistance, “How may I help you?” • Be familiar with how to operate every feature of your telephone equipment • Ensure there is paper and pen handy before you pick up the telephone • During any conversation, avoid any long pauses • Be prepared with all relevant information (e.g. brochures, F&B promotions, etc.) • Smile into the telephone • Make sure while asking these questions, you are listening for the answers. There is nothing worse than someone asking questions and then not listening. Show genuine care. • guest’s time is very valuable. Do not get too caught up with this conversation. • Never talk to someone near a telephone that is off the receiver. that someone may hear you. Put the call on hold first. • Avoid transferring the call to too many people. Caller does get irritated when the call didn’t get answered promptly. How do you handle guest complaints ? • In handling guest complaints, bear in mind the following acronym: Take the HEAT

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o H – hear the complaint of the guest o E – empathize with the guest o A – agonize to the guest o T – take action and be responsible for the complaints Approach and greet the guest with eye and introduce yourself in a caring, helpful and concerned manner. Listen carefully to the guest’s explanation. Do not interrupt the guest. Apologize immediately to the guest. Confirm with the guest if your proposed action is acceptable. Never offer excuses nor blame another person nor team. Check with the guest if he/ she was satisfied with the way the complaint was handled. Thank the guest for rai the complaint. It gave the opportunity to correct the situation.

How do you greet a guest ? • The guest should be greeted the following manner: 1. make eye with the guest 2. smile at the guest 3. approach and greet the guest 4. use guest name if known 5. assist guest by asking, how may I help you? VIP = Very Important Persons SPATT = Special Attention Guests DG = Distinguished Guests Special Rates • Day Rate • Complimentary Rate • Travel Agents Rate Housekeeping Room Condition Codes: • V/R Vacant Ready • V/C Vacant Clean • V/D Vacant Dirty

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O/C O/D OOO V/M HU

Occupied Clean Occupied Dirty Out of Order Vacant Maintenance House Use

Housekeeping – usually the largest in numbers as a department in a hotel. 1 maid = 12 – 15 rooms to clean 1 room = 20 – 30 minutes to clean Hours and shifts: Night duty 11:00 pm – 8:00 am Day shifts 8:00 am – 4:00 pm 4:00 pm – 11:00 pm Keys: Submasters Masters Vingcards

FRONT NOTES

OFFICE

The front office is the nerve center of a hotel property. Communication and ing are two of the most important functions of a front desk operation. Effective communications – with guests, employees and other departments of the hotel – are paramount in projecting a hospitable image. Answering guest inquiries about hotel services and other guests, marketing and sales department requests for information on guest room availability, and housekeeping department inquiries concerning guest reservations are but a few of the routine tasks performed almost constantly by a hotel front desk in its role as communications hub. ing procedures, involving charges to ed and non-ed hotel guest s, are also very important in the hospitality field. Itemized charges are necessary to show a breakdown of charges if a guest questions a bill.

Hotel affiliations A. Chain 1. franchise 2. company-owned 3. referral 4. management contract B. Independent Guest history – details concerning each guest’s visits. Guest folio – a guest’s record of charges and payments. Rooms are perishable. A room not sold today is lost forever. A room not sold is money not earned for the hotel. Front office – often regarded as the “nerve center” of the hotel, the front office is where guests check in and out, payments on s are made, and messages are exchanged. Front desk staff should be people-oriented, good at solving problems, and attentive to details. The actions and attitudes displayed toward guests are a big part of what the hotel is selling – SERVICE ! Guest history – provides details about guest address, number of stays, method of payment, preferred room category and comments regarding special service requirements.

“We all have lobbies. have nice bathrooms. give away shampoo. makes a difference perception of value.” -

We all We all What is the Jonathan

Tisch President & CEO / Loews Hotel Hotel Operating Departments Front-of-the-House

1. Door, bell & valet attendants 2. Front Desk 3. Switchboard 4. Housekeeping 5. Reservations 6. Restaurants 7. Bars 8. Banquet Rooms 9. Meeting Rooms 10. Recreational Facilities Back-of-the-House 1. ing 2. Food preparation 3. Storage 4. Dishwashing 5. Security 6. Engineering/ Maintenance 7. Laundry 8. Personnel 9. Training The hotel product 4 main areas 1. accommodation 2. food 3. drink 4. services Methods of payment • cash • foreign currency • check • traveler’s cheques • debit card • credit card • charge card • voucher Procedure for payment by credit card: 1. check that the bill is inside the “floor limit” 2. obtain the card from the client 3. swipe the card through the machine

FRONT NOTES

OFFICE

4. ask the client to sign the audit roll

5. check that the signatures on the card and the voucher agree 6. return the card and the top copy to the guest Key room statistics Occupancy rate = total rooms sold / total rooms available * 100 Average rate = room revenues / rooms sold RevPAR = average rate X occupancy % Property management systems • reservations • registration • guest billing • check-out • night audit • group bookings • F & B management • Point-of-sale information Written communications • Internal o Memos o Arrival and departure lists o Guest lists o Tour rooming lists o Function lists • External o Letter o Invoices o Standard confirmations o Requests for payments Tasks of a receptionist • Booking • Registration • Cashiering Methods of reservation

• Who ? • When ? • How Long ? • What Type of room ? Recording Bookings • Hotel diary • Reservation procedure • Charting reservations Confirming Reservations • Standard confirmations • Deposits and guarantees • Length of stay deposits • Cancellations • Filing reservations

the group, or takes the list for signatures to the bus. 8. Each guest receives an envelope with a note saying, “Welcome to the Park International Hotel”, a key, charge instructions, tour or convention details, map of the city and so forth. 9. Bell attendants stand by to take guests and their luggage to their rooms in small groups. 10. Departments that are affected by the arrival of the group are informed. They may be banquets, restaurants, room services, housekeeping, recreation facilities, cashiers and security.

Guaranteed reservation – the guests guarantee to pay for the room whether they arrive or not.

FRONT NOTES

Overbooking – is the practice of accepting more reservations than there is space available. Purpose is to assist the hotel in obtaining maximum occupancy and to compensate for early departures, last-minute cancellations and non-arrivals.

Guest charges: 1. room 2. tax 3. restaurant 4. beverages 5. laundry 6. telephone 7. miscellaneous 8. tips (optional)

Before Arrival Tasks – GROUPS 1. Group bookings are usually made well in advance. 2. On the morning of arrival, rooms are blocked off on the room rack, and keys are sorted. 3. Either individual or group registration cards are made out, so that guests need only sign their names when they arrive. 4. If group billing is to be used, an is opened; no individual charges will be allowed. 5. If requested, individual s are opened, and information and room rack slips are made ready. 6. On arrival, a separate counter or table is set up in the lobby, away from the main desk to minimize traffic congestion. 7. Upon arrival of a tour, the escort comes to the desk, signs on behalf of

OFFICE

Telephone skills: 1. don’t be too loud 2. don’t be overly casual 3. do listen 4. do build rapport 5. do ask before putting on hold 6. do keep your cool 7. do take accurate messages DOT Hotel classifications 1. Deluxe 2. First Class 3. Standard 4. Economy Factors for consideration: Bedroom size, # of suites, hot water, furniture quality, wall-to-wall carpeting, airconditioning, swimming pool, conference room, valet service, etc.

DOT Resort classifications 1. Class AAA 2. Class AA 3. Class A Factors for consideration: # of sports or recreation facilities, hot water, rooms equivalent to hotels, conference or convention rooms Practice Demos: 1. Reservations 2. Check-in 3. Check-out 4. Wake-up call 5. Escort guest to room 6. Knock on door 7. Greetings ! Lost & Found Property • All lost & found property should be treated in the same way: • Held in a secure place • Reported to the supervisor • Recorded in the book • Returned to the owner if possible Safety deposits 1. Deposit envelope 2. Safe-deposit boxes 3. Individual room safes Receptionist’s main responsibilities 1. the welcome 2. the first impression 3. an efficient manner 4. a sensitive approach Communication – main methods • verbal • non-verbal • written • telecommunications Non-verbal communications

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neat appearance personal hygiene posture eye “people” skills Social skills o Eye o An attentive manner o Tone of voice o Use of guest’s names Personal presentation

Murphy bed – a bed that is stored in the wall of the room and pulled out when needed. Revenue sources: 1. sleeping rooms 2. meeting/ function space 3. outlets/ ancillary revenue sources

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Hotel brand names (international) Accor Sofitel Mercure Hilton Marriott Shangri-La Ramada Best Western Travelodge Mandarin Oriental Hyatt Four Seasons Hotel Nikko Intercontinental Westin Sheraton Hotel brand names (Philippines) Manila Hotel Bayview Hotel Sogo Hotel Kabayan Hotel New World Hotel Marco Polo Hotel City Garden HotelFersal Apartel Nice Hotel Robbinsdale Hotel Diamond Hotel Traders Hotel Individual booking cycle – time between when an individual reservation is made and when that reservation is due to arrive.

Walk-in reservations – made by guests arriving unannounced at a hotel looking for rooms. Room types – based on the intended number of occupants Single occupancy Double occupancy Triple occupancy Quad occupancy Room preference – the individual guest’s choice of room type, configuration and designation. Room configurations – characterize the physical makeup of the guest room. Upgrades – the ability to offer guests incrementally nicer configurations. Room configurations 1. standard configuration 2. enhanced configuration 3. suite configuration Different kinds of suites 1. junior suite 2. corner suite 3. bi-level suite 4. hospitality suite 5. presidential suite Room designations – simply identifies whether it is a smoking or non-smoking room. Key control systems – used to ensure guest safety by changing the access to a guest room between guests. Most full-service hotels have six main functional departments: 1. rooms division 2. food and beverage 3. ing 4. human resources 5. engineering 6. sales/ marketing and catering Value-Added services

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safe-deposit boxes mail & documents handling

PMS – Property Management Systems • Kingsmart GDS – Global Distribution Systems • Sabre • Amadeus • Galileo • Worldspan Guest Ledger – an all-encoming term used to track hotel transactions primarily before and during a guest’s or group’s stay. House – serves as a perpetual to track recurring transactions that occur within the hotel. Guest – created at some point between the creation of a room reservation and the actual arrival of a hotel guest. Each individual guest will track debits and credits incurred prior to and during a stay. Posting – is the act of applying a debit or credit to an . Master – closely mirrors the individual guest . The main difference is that a master encomes registration/ ing information for an entire group, not individual attendees.

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Back-of-the-House – hotel departments with traditionally low amounts of guest . Bundling – the process of combining one or more hotel products and services together to make the new entity more attractive; most commonly used with package rates.

Commission – usually 10% paid to travel agents by hotels, airlines and other travel related suppliers to induce further bookings. Comp Rooms Report – the night auditors must each room that has no rate posted to it. This report will include a reason for the complimentary status. Front-of-the-House – hotel departments with traditionally high amounts of guest . House count – looks at how many rooms are in-house, how many are due to arrive and how many are due to check out. That number, less any OOO rooms, yields a house count. In-house Report – a front office report that lists each room that was occupied and not due to check out.

7. Throughout the day, updates information by checking and recalculating the numbers. A sell sheet can be placed behind the front desk, to quickly note walk-ins and last minute cancellations. Blocking Group Bookings 1. A group of rooms is blocked off on the reservations chart, with the group indicated by a code number. 2. Reservation forms are made available for the group , with instructions to the hotel directly by a certain cut-off date. 3. When all blocked rooms have been booked, no further reservations are accepted unless an additional block is arranged. 4. Any rooms not booked by the deadline are released for general use. 5. A group booking sheet is maintained in conjunction with the reservations chart to show group blocks for each month.

POS – Point-of-Sale Turn – housekeeping is said to turn a room when it goes through the act of cleaning and preparing it for resale. Walkouts – those who leave a hotel before properly settling their s. Day-of-Arrival Routines 1. Moves today’s reservations to the desk and arranges them in alphabetical order on the reservations rack. 2. Checks for any special request. 3. Makes a count of all remaining reservations by type of room. 4. Makes a count of all rooms in each category on the room rack. a. how many rooms are vacant b. how many are expected to become vacant 5. Determines the number of rooms available for walk-ins by computing expected arrivals, present vacancies and expected check-outs. 6. Informs the housekeeping staff and reservations people of the room count.

Turn-away – to refuse walk-in business because rooms are not available. Walk-in – a guest who comes to the hotel without a reservation; a guest who simply walks into a hotel seeking accommodation for the night. Stay-over – a guest who was expected to check out on a certain day but remains in the hotel beyond the stated day of departure. Upselling rooms 1. know the product 2. control the encounter. Ask specific questions 3. sell high, but avoid high-pressure selling techniques 4. always quote the full rate plus tax Bellboy duties • Escorts guest to room and opens the door of the room

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Enters the room before guests to glance around the room and check its readiness Invites the guest to enter the room Distributes luggage according to guest’s wishes and points out features of the room, such as air-conditioning, tv, radio, house phone, etc. Leaves the key and wishes the guest an enjoyable stay.