FRONT OFFICE

All the jobs done by the front office is aimed to support the guest in various ways . It is the main
contact point for nearly all services that guest is provided with. Therefore staff in this department is
expected to have the following:-
1) Proper grooming
2) Telephone etiquettes
3) Efficient communication skills

GUEST CYCLE

Guest cycle is a procedure trough which every single guest goes by beginning from the minute
he/she calls for reservation until he/she leaves the hotel. Guest cycle contains various different
stages which include Pre-Arrival followed by Arrival Occupancy and Departure. There are
various kinds of guest services and transactions involved in the different phrases of guest cycle and
most of them are handled by front office division.

I) PRE-ARRIVAL
This phase is initiated by the guest contacting the hotel for reservation, this should be possible
through direct reservation which incorporate email, phone ,web or through an agent ,which is dealt
with by the reservation office headed by reservation` administrator. Reservation division checks the
reservation records to improve the personalization of the guest services by planning important staff
and facilities as needs be.

RESERVATION
process includes receiving inquiries for room in which information from guest which includes date
of arrival , length of stay , type and amount of accommodation needed, total number of people. This
is followed by checking obtainability of room which includes to check whether the type of
accommodation asked for is available for the requested dates. Having checked that a room is
available a reservation clerk will either take or reject the reservation. If he accepts the reservation
information will be typed into computer using opera software or on a reservation form. Clerk should
also ask to guarantee their reservation. In that case then the clerk has to get additional information
regarding the method of guarantee (credit card, prepay or deposit). Once the request is accepted the
clerk should immediately update the room availability chart so that there is no overbooking. After
this clerk updates the hotel diary and reservation is confirmed wither by written acknowledgement
sent either by hotel to guest or vice versa. After that reservation records are maintained.

Meal plans :-

Overbooking- Overbooking refer to accepting additional reservations than the number of rooms
available for the guest. This is done to ensure hotel has 100% occupancy because there is a
percentage of no shows, cancellation which costs a hotel a lot. It is based on the historical data and
the experience of the knowledgeable managers who are able to forecast with good accuracy.
(kasavana)

II) ARRIVAL
CHECK IN PROCESS

It is the first occurance when the hotel staff and the guests meet and the guest may have travelled a
long distance and maybe tired so a guest will want a quick check in.

Preparation for guest arrival- Before assigning a room to the guest, receptionist need the
information which comprise the following:
Room status and availability - Reception staff needs the status about the guest room which is
weather a room is occupied, vacant and dirty, ready for occupancy, out of order.
Expected arrival list- It provides details about the guests that are expected to arrive on a specific
date which helps in determining whether there are sufficient rooms to accommodate the expected
guest and if there are rooms available for any walk in guest.
Guest history record- It is checked if the guest has stayed in the hotel before and if yes then how to
enhance his/her experience.
Registration- It is done to record and confirm the details about the guest also to satisfy the legal
requirements which is done on a registration form.
Room assignment and room rate- The process of room assignment and room rates differ with
different category of guest. Expected arrival guest gets the room and pays the rate as per when the
reservation was done whereas walking guest can only be assigned a room after checking the
availability.
Checking method of payment- It is done to confirm the payment mode of the guest so that hotel can
know in advance if the guest needs any special arrangement for payment of the bill. E.g. - use of
uncommon foreign currency.
Issuing of key- key is issued to the guest and the guest is guided to his/her room.

Special request- Satisfy distinctive groups of guests such as disabled individuals through hurdle-free
strategies

III) OCCUPANCY

At occupancy stage, the front office division should facilitate visitor benefits in an auspicious and
accurate way. On top of that front office clerks should inspire the guests for revisits by giving
careful attention to the complaint of the guest. They should plan viable systems keeping the end
goal in mind which is to secure the resources of visitors. Also they must do the process of posting
charges in guest folios and constantly check for deviations and take remedial actions and
periodically review account balances in synchronization with the night accountant.(guest cycle)

COMPLAINT HANDLING

TYPES OF COMPLAINT
1) Created by the hotel
2) Created by external factor
Handling of complaints
Skills necessary for dealing with problems
- Calm & helpful
- Understanding
- Tactful & discreet
- Empathetic

Course of action while handling complaints

- Greet the guest and maintain eye-contact.
- Do not interfere the guest.
- Make an apology even if it is not the hotels fault.
- Do not justify by accusing someone else
- Thank the guest for bringing the complaint into your attention and classify the complaint
- Discuss possible course of action and reach an agreement
- Give instruction to staff regarding the agreed plan.
- Record the complaint in the front office log
- Speak to the guest later to ensure the problem has been solved.

CREATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ACCOUNTS

A record for all financial transactions that take place between the hotel and the guest is
called a guest account which is also known as a folio.
A record for every single budgetary exchange that occur between the hotel and the guest is
known as a guest record which is otherwise called a folio. All folios have an ID number
which helps in tracking if each of the folios are accounted or not.
There are four types of folios:

Master folio: accounts allocated to groups

Guest folio: accounts allocated to different individuals

Employee Folio: assigned to workers with charge buying privileges.

Non-guest folio: assigned to non-guest businesses

Ledger
A grouping summary of accounts is called ledgers. A front office ledger is a grouping of all front
office folios
Types of accounts:-
1) Resident guest account- Transactions with the guest who are currently staying at the
hotel.
2) City account- Transactions among the hotel and the non-staying guest.
3) Management account- Allowances given by the hotel to the hotel manager.
IV) Departure
In departure stage, guest leaves the hotel which is helped by the hotel staff. Guest history record is
made by front office representatives. Also guest accounts should also be settled by FO clerks.

Checkout
It is the last chance of the hotel staff to interact with the guest .The quality of service given at the
checkout also influences guests’ impression of the hotel. It involves settlement of guest accounts and
updating of front office records.

Duties of front office at checkout-

- guest account needs to be settled
- To update the records of front office after the guest leaves
- Creating a quality and long-term impression

Check out procedure-

- Greet the guest and confirm the details in the guest account.
- Check the departure date. If there is a change in date then other departments need to be formed.
- Check if the late checkout charges should be applied or not.
- Give the folio to the guest to have it checked.
- Settle the guest account
- Check if the guest has used the safe deposit box and make sure it is empty.
- Offer assistance from the bell staff to carry the luggage.
- Ask if the guest would like to make a reservation in future in the sam hotel chain
- Update front office records immediately.
-
Methods of settlement
- Credit / Debit card
- Cash
- Company billing
- Combined settlement method

Unpaid account balances or Late charges

- Guest who don't pay to the hotel are known as Skippers
- Posting of late charges takes place after guest checks out
- Late charges should not be transferred to uncollectible account until all the billing and collection
procedures are done.
- Unsettled guest accounts should be transferred from guest ledger to the city leader for its collection.

Account Aging ‘

Methods are established by the hotel to track due accounts which are based on the date at which the charges
were incurred. There is a contractual agreement between the credit card company and the hotel for the credit
card billings.

Factors that affect the length of the period:-

- If there is any transaction fees or not
- how frequent is the vouchers mailed to the credit card company
- Volume of transaction and funds

Front office records

In this, Registration cards are made and are stacked in alphabetical order by their date of departure
Three copies of the account folio is made and is given to the following:-
- Guest
- Hotel for its records
- Company for settlement

Guest history record

It is a record maintained by the front office which help them understand their clientele and guess the guest
trends. It contains details about the guest which include personal and financial information of the guest
stayed in the hotel which is called a guest history record.

NIGHT AUDIT

A hotel works throughout the year all 24 hours al 365 days. Therefore accounts are required to be reviewed
and checked so that they remain accurate on a daily basis. To do this a team of staff is appointed which is
called night auditors who work at night because there is less disturbance at the front office at night because
of less activity .

FUNCTIONS OF NIGHT AUDIT:-

- Post outstanding charges if any

- detect and rectify errors
- Generate cash deposits receipt
- balance and very all transactions
- Prepare and submit the accounts which have extended their credit limit.
FORECAST