 Organizational Structure of Front Office Department

Front Office Department is the face and as well as the voice of a business. ... For a business such as hospitality, the
front office department comes with an aspect of elevating customer experience with the business. Front Office
department is a common link between the customers and the business.

 Key activities of the front office department

At hotels, front office refers to the front desk or reception area or the core operations department of the hotel.
This would include the reception and front desk, as well as reservations, sales and marketing, housekeeping and
concierge. This is the place where guests go when they arrive at the hotel.

 Various Reports produced and used in front office;

High Balance Guest Report used in hotels

A High balance report / Credit limit report is used to find out all guest who had exceeded the normal credit limit of
the hotel.

This report is prepared on a daily basis by the Night Auditor and circulated to the management.

 Forms of payment/ settlement of front office

The different modes of payment through which guest can settle or pay their bills are: Cash or debit card. Cheques.
Credit card. Direct billing. Combined settlement methods.

The Check-Out/ Settlement Process

  Resolves outstanding guest account balances Verifies/authorizes method of payment resolves
discrepancies in account balances.
 Updates room status information from occupied to on-change.
 Creates guest history record database for strategic marketing.

Settlement: Cash or Debit Card

 A cash payment in full at check-out is the most direct way to bring a guest account balance to zero.
 If the guest had a credit card accepted and verified at registration, but pays the bill with cash, the funds
being held for the hotel by the card company should be released.
 Debit card payments are similar to cash payments, in that funds are drawn directly from the guest’s
personal checking or savings account.
 If a guest wants to pay using a debit card, there must be sufficient funds in his or her account at the time
of settlement.
 Guests desiring to settle their account in foreign currency should first convert their money to the local
currency (hotels may charge a fee for this conversion).
 Cash payments are the most likely to be involved in fraud by front desk agents; therefore, hotels should
have procedures in place for recording cash transactions.
 Front desk agents should be trained to identify counterfeit currency.

Settlement: Credit Card

 Credit card settlement brings a guest account to zero, but the amount of the charge must be tracked until
payment is actually received from the credit card company.
 Credit card settlement creates a transfer credit on the guest’s folio and moves the account balance from
the guest ledger to a credit card account in the city or non-guest ledger.
 After the front desk agent processes the transaction, the guest may be asked to sign a copy of the folio,
agreeing to the credit card balance.
 When an international guest presents a credit card for payment, the credit card company will apply
payment in local currency (any currency exchange fees are charged to the cardholder).

Settlement: Direct Billing

 Direct billing transfers a guest’s account balance from the guest ledger to the city ledger.
 The hotel is responsible for billing and collecting a direct billing account.
 Direct billing must be prearranged and approved by the hotel’s back office credit department.
 To complete a direct billing settlement, the front desk agent has the guest sign the folio to verify its
contents and signify that the guest will pay the bill if the direct billing agent (if applicable) refuses
payment.
 A copy of the final guest folio is sent to the direct billing agency.

Combined Settlement Methods

 A guest may choose more than one settlement method to bring the guest folio balance to zero.
 For example, a guest may make partial cash payment and then charge the remainder of the account to a
payment card.
  Front desk agents must accurately record the combined settlement methods and exercise care that
required paperwork is properly completed.

 key competency-based profiles of the front office department

It covers basic, common and specialized (core) competencies such as ... Discuss gender and rights based
CBC - FRONT OFFICE SERVICES NC II ...... Guest profile or history if available, is checked and used to in
making the reservation 3. ... systems and procedures Demonstrated ability to advise other departments of
the ...
 Welcoming Guests
A front desk should offer each and every guest a warm welcome – even if (and especially if) a guest’s jet
lag may have given them a short temper. The front desk attendant needs to smile throughout their entire
shift, anticipate the needs of guests as they approach the desk and solve all issues with a calm,
understanding demeanour. As the face of the property, every move counts. The mannerisms, appearance
and language used by the front desk attendant can send signals to guests. Be sure that your front desk
staff is thoroughly trained on the hotel’s brand, how to resolve conflicts and how to make guests feel
welcome right from the beginning.
 Guest Registration Procedure

The guest registration procedure involves several steps that, if followed accurately, will allow management to
ensure a pleasant, efficient, and safe visit. The guest registration process involves the following steps and will be
discussed generally as these steps relate to effective front office management. Later in this chapter, use of a PMS
(property management system) method of registration is discussed.

1. Guest requests to check into the hotel.

2. Front desk clerk projects hospitality toward the guest.
3. Front desk clerk inquires about guest reservation.
4. Guest completes registration card.
5. Front desk clerk reviews completeness of registration card.
6. Front desk clerk verifies credit.
7. Front desk clerk makes room selection.
8. Front desk clerk makes room assignment.
9. Front desk clerk assigns room rate.
10. Front desk clerk discusses sales opportunities for hotel products and services with guest.
11. Front desk clerk provides room key.

 Escorting Guest to the Room

 scorting guest to the room (I)

A : Bell Boy (Iwan) B : Mr Chris Scott
A : Good morning Mr Scott. I’m Iwan, your bell boy. I will escort you to the room.
B : Good morning.
A : Please check your luggage first. Are they all in order?
B : Yes, all are in order.
A : Please follow me.On the way to the room…….Mr Scott, this is the coffee shop, opens from 06.00 AM (six AM) until 12.00
midnight.You can have your breakfast, lunch and dinner here. If you want to have your meal inthe room, we also have room
service, opens 24 (twenty four) hours. Room service menuis available in your room.This is the public pool. Opens from 07.00
(seven AM) until 09.00 (nine PM). For towel,you can take(get) in this pool side bar.Continued to explain other hotel facilities, i.e.
gym, spa, drug store, meeting room,gallery
  Escorting guest to the room (II)
Arrive in front of the room.Bell boy opens the door and enter the room first (without luggage), followed by theguest. Bell boy
returnto take the luggage.After putting/placing the luggage
A : Mr Scott, would you like me to explain your room facilities?
B : Yes, please.A : We start from here.This is the master switch for the power. Insert your key card here, and the power will beon. If
you leavethe room, take your key card from here, and the power in the room will be off.……………………………………….This is the
telephone, which can be used to make an International Direct Dial (IDD)call. Please press “9”first and then the telephone
number…..This is the remote control for your television, and your minibar is here. This is the formfor the minibar.Please fill in this
form if you take a drink or something from the minibar. And this is theremote control for your Air Conditioner.Here is your safety
deposit box. Please put your valuable things here. You can read howto use it here. Now we go to the bathroom….This is the
hot and cold water tap. The red one is for the hot water, and the blue one isfor the cold water.Here there are two bottles
complimentary mineral water per day. Tooth brush and tooth paste are here, whilethe razor blade is here.Shower cap is
here, and here is garbage bag….

 Guest Check-out Procedure

The guest checkout involves the following steps:

1. Guest requests checkout.

2. Desk clerk inquires about quality of products and services.
3. Guest returns key to desk clerk.
4. Desk clerk retrieves hard copy of electronic folio.
5. Desk clerk reviews folio for completeness.
6. Guest reviews charges and payments.
7. Guest determines method of payment.
8. Guest makes payment.
9. Desk clerk inquires about additional reservations.
10. Desk clerk files folio and related documents for the night audit.
11. Desk clerk communicates guest departure to housekeeping and other departments in the hotel if
necessary.