UNIVERSITY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

ROS
How to organize the Front Office department in the hotel

By: Bekarystan Darina 18.541

 Almaty 2020
Introduction

The Front Office is the department where guests arriving at the accommodation are
met, entry-exit transactions are made and their accounts are kept. As in the entire
sector, the transition to automation in the Front Office department is limited. This
situation further increases the importance of the personnel who will serve in the
Department. The personnel who will work in the Front Office must be flawless and
selected from among those who have been trained in their field.

Main part

Some duties of the Front Office:

● To welcome guests,
● To make entry-exit records of baggage, to accept the guest by selling the room
according to the guest's request,
● Prepare daily incoming-outgoing guest lists,
● Organize daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal and annual reports,
● Make reservations appropriately and keep track of deposits provided,
● Open an account card (folio) on behalf of guests, process daily expenses, and
account making it ready to pay,
● Ensure timely delivery of incoming messages and mail to guests, ensuring that
guests are interviewed,
● Assuring the exchange transactions that the guest needs when necessary,
● Ensuring payment on behalf of overdraft guests,
● Proper retention of files and documents related to the guest, ensuring that guests'
private belongings are protected in provided safety deposit boxes,
● Conducting annual budget studies,
● Providing guests with all kinds of information about the region and the
accommodation business ensures that the wishes and complaints that will come
from guests are resolved by listening, ensuring that it will be fulfilled as soon as
possible,
● Ensuring the harmonious and systematic operation of Front Office personnel,
● Ensure that guests leave the hotel with a good impression.

There is no designated organizational structure in the Front Offices of the hospitality

business. Factors such as room capacity, the shape of the Front Office system, and
the location of the business are factors in the organization of the Front Office.

To organize the Front Office’s work properly we should first organize the following
departments:
The reception department is the section where the records of guests arriving at the
hotel are made and kept. This section handles the solution of all kinds of problems,
receiving messages, receiving keys, and billing during the stay of the guests.
The reservation department is the part where room requests are met. It monitors
the number of empty and full rooms in the hotel and prepares various statistics for
the rooms.
The concierge department is the department that greets and sends the guests off. It
also performs the work of providing guests with information about the
accommodation business and the environment, meeting various ticket and booking
requests.
In hospitality businesses, it is the switchboard department that provides telephone
communication inside and outside the business — answers all phone requests of
guests.

Cooperation and assistance between the Front Office and other departments are
essential for the success of the hospitality business. Because it is the Front Office
section that welcomes and sends guests off. It responds to all requests and
complaints of guests. Cooperation and assistance between all departments should
be in accordance with human relations.
The relationship between the front office and housekeeping services is more intense
than in other departments. In order for the front office to sell the rooms, the
housekeeping department must clean the rooms and message them to the front
office in case of a report. The front office also reports the rooms that are full and
empty to housekeeping services every day. Changing guest rooms, putting an extra
bed and a baby bed in the rooms, and sending hospitality services requires good
relations between the two departments.
The front office department informs the accounting of all accounts, correspondence,
daily income and expenses related to the guests, how many days the guests will
stay, whether they are complementary guests, whether the room rates have been
changed. Reports prepared by the front office - as they are closely related - are sent
to accounting. Foreign exchange and effective exchange rates are determined by
consensus with accounting.
The front office should act in cooperation with the hotel's sales and marketing
department. The front desk must submit guest survey forms to my sales and
marketing department. In all sales agreements of the hotel, the front office and the
sales and marketing departments must inform each other.
Human Resources Directorate performs social rights such as recruitment, training,
visits, annual and weekly leave of front office personnel. The final decision on the
selection of candidates is generally made by the relevant unit. They periodically
send reports and charts about front office personnel to the human resources
department.
Technical service is notified of malfunctions in guest rooms and front offices.
Technical service also informs the front office about failures. This process must be
fast in order to immediately fix faults in guest rooms or to replace the guest's room
in case of failures that cannot be fixed.
Auxiliary departments must inform the front office of the schedule of opening and
closing times. The front office is asked if the people who will benefit from these
departments are staying at the hotel. Guests must forward spending receipts in this
section to the front safe in time.
Senior management should have a close relationship with front office managers.
The front office also presents all annual reports to management in a timely manner.
Management plans according to these reports and gives the front office the
necessary directives.
The front office is a section that can constantly monitor all guests who come and
leave the hotel. The front office Department must constantly report the status of
guests to the Security Department. In light of this information, the security
department performs its duty more regularly.
The entertainment services division informs the front office by filling out a schedule
of the location and time of activities on a daily basis. In this way, front office staff
accurately convey the activities that will be performed on that day to the guests.
The organizational structure of the Front Office may vary according to the
characteristics of the accommodation enterprises. Although the jobs that the Front
Office has to do in each hotel are almost the same, the officers and departments
that do these jobs can be different.
The manager of the front office is the person who conducts the dispatch and
administration of the departments located in the front office. The five departments
in the front office operate under the front office manager. The front office manager
is also responsibility of the facility manager.
The reception Chief ensures that the work at the reception is carried out without a
hitch. Checks whether employees at the reception are performing their duties fully
and correctly. Reception Clerks meet guests, sell rooms, deal with requests and
complaints of guests. They prepare all reports related to the front office.
The reservation Chief conducts the business and operations in coordination with the
sales and marketing department. Within the framework of this coordination with
the target markets of the enterprise (travel agencies, companies, Clubs,
Associations, airlines, etc.) develops basic knowledge and recommendations on
establishing good relations, making and monitoring agreements. The reservation
Clerk is the first person to meet the guest.
The cashier is the staff that follows the payments of the guests who leave the
business, conducts currency exchange transactions in the business, and monitors all
kinds of sales transactions made in the front office.
Bell Captain is the manager of the staff working in the consultant (Concierge). It
strives to ensure that the service is regular and complete. Bellboy takes guests to
their rooms and carries their belongings. He opens the door to the room and
introduces the room. In the meantime, he answers the questions the guests ask. He
also performs the duties of the reception and advisor. Bellboy is also one of the first
 and last officials he encounters and has an important place in the formation or
expression of the image of the business.

General Characteristics Of Front Office Personnel:

● Must have a proper physique,

● Impressive and able to speak properly,
● Must be friendly,
● Must be compatible with teamwork,
● Must be a good listener,
● Be able to use body language when necessary and on the spot,
● Have sufficient knowledge about the profession,
● Be disciplined and honest,
● Must be cold-blooded in the face of problems and be able to make decisions
instantly,
● Must have a valid foreign language

Conclusion

The guest who comes to the hotel first meets the front desk staff. Therefore, the
staff creates the first image of the guest with appearance and behavior, as well as
business success. This first impression of the guest is very important for the
business. The fact that the staff recognizes the equipment and forms used in the
Front Office, knows how to use them, will speed up work and operations, as well as
increase guest satisfaction. So as we can see there are many departments inside
that we should take care of to organize proper work of the Front Office.

Links

1. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/front_office_management/front_office_manageme
nt_tutorial.pdf
2. https://docplayer.biz.tr/3837358-1-on-buro-departmani.html
3. http://ismek.ist/files/ismekOrg/file/2013_hbo_program_modulleri/OnBuroOrganiza
syonu.pdf
4. https://www.cloudbeds.com/articles/optimize-propertys-front-desk-operations/
5. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/front_office_management/front_office_manageme
nt_quick_guide.htm