DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY

Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines

Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211

COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER 6 Arrival Chronology

FRONT OFFICE: An Overview

The Arrival Chronology

 Is the term used to categorize the stages a transient

or group go through upon arrival to a hotel.
 This arrival chronology allows for analysis of the front
office departments that come into contact with the
hotel guest.

 75% of a guest’s satisfaction is determined during the

registration process.

 The arrival chronology includes the following stages: Stage One – GREETING

› Greeting • The initial greeting begins the process of establishing

a favorable impressions of the hotel
› Transition
• The first person to greet a hotel is guest will be either
› Registration a doorperson or Valet parking Attendant.

› Completion • A pleasant smile and warm

welcome set the stage for
The Guest Cycle guest satisfaction.

Outsourcing – Utilizing an outside vendor for products or

services. The hotel may need to rely on other vendors to
supply parking spaces.

Two options in terms of guest parking:

1.Valet parking

Allows the guest to leave their vehicles and have them parked
by an attendant
 DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines
Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211

COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

2. Self Park

The guest will park his or her own car. (less expensive)

• The next person to come into contact with guest and

others arriving to a hotel is the DOORPERSON.

• This “greeter” should be pleasant and outgoing.

• The doorpersons helps

in the transition from
the arriving vehicle to
the lobby area to avoid
congestion.

Stage Two – TRANSITION

• Escorting a guest to the room is called Rooming a

Guest
Bell Cart
• Beyond rooming guest, members of the bell staff are
called upon to assist other departments as needed. • Assisting guest with great amounts of luggage.

• The primary bell staff duties are to assist guest from • Is a large brass cart on rollers that bellstaff use to
the door to the front desk, and them from front carry luggage to and from a room.
desk to their guest room.
Stage Three – REGISTRATION
• Bell captain is the leader
• Once a guest has arrived and has made it to the front
of the bellstaff. He directs
desk, the registration process begins.
the bellpersons and
ensures that staffing levels are adequate. • It is at this point where most guest have begun to
create an
• Arrivals report list the guest due to arrive that and
impression of the hotel
the Departure report list those due to check out.
in their minds.
• A general rule is to staff 1 bell person for every 75
• The Front Desk personnel
arriving or departing guest.
must continue to focus on
• Majority of income the bellstaff earn is from gratuities guest satisfaction.
(TIP), the bell captain must ensure that each team
member receives an equal number of fronts.

• Front Log Sheet ensures equity in assigning fronts

and lasts.

Hotel Front Log

 DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines
Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211

COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

Check – in before continuing on

Blocking
• Is the process where specific room is reserved for a
specific guest. Blocking a room to match an arriving
guest’s room preferences contributes greatly to guest
satisfaction.
to the guest room.
CONCIERGE
• The hotel concierge should be able to provide a wide
range of services to any guest. They are viewed as a
valuable tool in enhancing guest satisfaction.

• The process of blocking these rooms each day may Services Include:
fall to a FO employee called a Room Controller.
– Reservation fro airlines , other hotel car
• He/She uses arrivals report and compares it to the rentals & restaurants
hotel’s room inventory.
– Tickets for concerts and sporting events as
Arrival & Departure Register well as nearby attractions.

– They should have be knowledgeable of the

hotel and local area. Maps, driving directions
and brochures should be available.

Assignment of Rooms

• Assigning of rooms as per the guest’s requirement

and within the rate agreed.

• The act of assignment of a room activates several

other departments:
• Once the guest has approached the desk, the
employee should greet the guest with smile.  Front Desk

• In the course of their conversation, the guest name  Concierge

should be used at least twice, again, continuously  Telecommunications
reinforcing the commitment to guest satisfaction.
 Room service
(Registration process to be discussed later on)
 Housekeeping
Stage Four- COMPLETION
PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE (PBX)
• Once the registration process at the FO desk is
complete, the guest usually commences on their • The PBX Department comes into play for guest when
guest room. they choose to communicate (within the hotel or
outside).
• There are instances, primarily in the transient guest
arrival, where a stop is made to the concierge desk • A private telephone switchboard that manages all
incoming and outgoing communications.
 DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines
Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211
COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
• Phone calls, faxes and mail are routed through PBX.
• PBX operators use hand held radios (walkie-talkies)
to communicate with other hotel personnel.
GROUP ARRIVALS
• Occurs when large number of guest from the same
group arrive at once. Usually this occurs with group
tour (motorcoaches).
• Group arrivals may require special staffing because a
large number of people arriving at once may
adversely impact a front desk.
• To reduce the impact on the front desk, a hotel may
implement special group arrival procedures.
• Different procedures take place when large numbers
arrive at one time.
They include:
• Remote Check-in
• Pre-key/key pack
Remote Check-in
• Using signage identifying a group, a separate table is
set up to accommodate the arrivals and check guests
into the hotel; sometimes referred to as satellite check
in.
Pre-key/ Key Pack
 Check-in system that begins the check-in process
before the guest arrive. To pre-key is to pre-assign
guests a room and issue a key.
 The actual “key pack” is simply a document to hold a
key
Methods of Payment for Groups
• Sign All Charges (SAC)
– This billing arrangement allows for each
member of the group to “sign” all their
charges to the group. The group will pay for
everything.
• Sign Room and tax (SRT)
– This arrangement allows for the group to pay
the room and tax charges for the attendees.
The guest is responsible for all nonroom and
tax charges, called “incidentals”
• Each Pays Own (EPO)
– This payment method stipulates that the
group attendees must pay all their own
charges.
Bag delivery
is used when a group luggage to delivered to individual rooms
at some point after the group has checked into the hotel.
Bag Pull
(departure procedure when all groups are in session) the bell
staff go into each room and “pull” each attendees’ luggage.
This luggage is then stored until the group
is ready to depart.
DEPARTURE
• The checkout phase is the last opportunity to affect
guest satisfaction on property. Concluding a guest’s
stay with a lasting positive memory contributes greatly
to the possibility of a return visit.
• Three primary ways a guest can check out:
– Front Desk Checkout
– Guest-Directed Computer Checkout
– Automated Checkout
 DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines
Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211

COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

1. Front Desk Checkout

The guest comes to the front desk to check out, same

principles involved in check in apply.

2. Guest-Directed Computer Checkout

Also referred as video check out. It acts as a video display

terminal for hotel guest. Guest can review their accounts at
any point during their stay.

The system also allows for visual display of text messages as

reviewed earlier.

3. Automated Checkout

Also called “express checkout” is implemented by the hotel,

on behalf of the guest. Because the departure date was
verified upon check-in, the hotel knows what a guest
scheduled checkout date is.

Using the automated system. The hotel would print out a folio
for all guest that are to depart.

Prepared by:

Ms. Charlene P. Morillo

Instructor