Front Desk Nightly Checklist

Detailed Instructions

 Email & Redbook –Check both personal pdx.edu and FADM.

Personal - There will occasionally be communications from hotel/staff to your personal work
email that need your attention.
FADM – Respond to any emails that you have the ability to respond to. If you read an email and
discover it is outside of the scope of your knowledge, or directed at someone other than yourself,
make sure to label the email as “unread” so that the rest of the staff can become aware of that
matter.
Red Book - Read any entries from previous shifts so that you can be aware of current
situations/concerns. Make sure to initial the most current entry to indicate that you are abreast of
the content. Also, make sure to write in the Red Book detailed information regarding any
situations or concerns that other shifts might need to be aware of. The red book is found on the
counter behind the front desk computer that is in the corner of the L-shaped desk.

 Check-in/Check outs Front Desk Responsibilities – Checking in/out of guests. Telephone

calls, phone reservations, directions, and questions about the hotel or area.
It is your responsibility to check in/out guests. The night audit person will help you out with this
if the front desk is busy, but they will eventually need to go in the back to work on the nightly
paperwork necessary for the hotel to function.
You will also be giving directions, bus/train schedules/walking directions/printing
documents/restaurant and bar/coffee/food recommendations. Trimet.org, google maps, and
google searches are your friend.

 Deliver requested items to rooms as soon as time allows and with a cheerful attitude.
You will need a Bell Key and the #9 keys to have a full range of access, and a walkie talkie to
ensure your safety and the ability to continue to communicate with the front desk.
Where to find commonly requested items:
Towels/sheets/blankets/pillows – There are three housekeeping closets, each located in the A-
wing (the wing of the hotel that is indoors and connected to the lobby). Each of the housekeeping
closets is across from rooms 140/240/340. You will need a bell key to enter. I find that the first
floor tends to run out of supplies the fastest, and is often out of supplies. So, while towels, sheets,
blankets, and pillows should be in each of the rooms I tend to head to the second or third floors
first to save me the time of checking the first floor and having it be empty.
Plunger/vacuum/cleaning supplies – Most of the cleaning supplies are found in a closet just
around the corner on the first floor of the A-wing labeled A-1. You will need the #9 keys to enter
the closet. Some other items, like the vacuums, can be found in the housekeeping closets if they
are missing from A-1. On rare occasions I have not found what I was looking for in either place
and have had to venture into the basement maintenance area to find what I am looking for (9v
batteries for smoke detectors for example)
Roll Away Beds – Always found in the back room of the 2nd floor housekeeping closet.
Front Desk Office Supplies – Found in A-2, just past A-1 in the A-wing, in a Rubbermaid closet
just on the left when you enter the room. You will need a bell key to enter A-2.
Laundry Soap/shampoo/coffee bags or pods – Should be in any of the 3 housekeeping closets.
  Turn off Music, and Lock Lobby Revolving Door, Side Handicapped Door (by restaurant) and
Lobby Side Door (AVIS/BUDGET) at shift start.
The music nob is on the half wall over Sarah’s desk. Over the blue dot is on, under the blue dot is
off.
Hang the “this door closes after 9pm” sign on the side AVIS/BUDGET door and then lock the
door by using the deadbolt lock. Hang the “please use door to the left/right” on the correct glass
panels of the revolving door so that whomever is attempting to use the door can see where they
should be going (front handicapped door). You will use the 85 key on the 9’s to lock the
revolving door.
The side handicapped door near the kitchen locks using the skinny Allen wrench on the 9’s. Put
the wrench in the hole on the door’s crash bar, and turn it until the crash bar pops out. This will
allow people inside to exit, but will not allow those outside to enter.

 Check kitchen and event rooms for locked doors, lost items, stowaways, lights off etc.
Check kitchen, dining room, and all event spaces. Make sure lights are off, and the areas of free
of persons and personal belongings. Make sure all doors, inner and outer, are locked and secured.
Most outer doors are the 85 key, most inner doors are the 80 key, and most office doors are the 60
key.

 Walk each floor of each wing to check for security concerns and place daily signage.
Place daily signage for events. It’s easiest to do this when you do security rounds, so you don’t
have to go into the ballroom/banquet areas more than one time. The signage can be found above
Lara’s desk in the organizer separated into weekdays. The signs should be placed in the signage
holders on the wall in front of each event room. Use the event clipboard calendar to ensure the
signs are accurate for the next day.
Also make sure that if you see any luggage carts, return them to the lobby. If you see lights
burned out, or anything else in need of maintenance, make sure you put in a maintenance request.

 Lock pool and Laundry Room at 10pm.

There are two gates to the pool. Ensure that there are no guests left in the pool area when
you close it. Each gate has a padlock and a chain. The chain goes through the two rings
and around the inside of the gate. The code to the padlocks are both “1969”, the year the
hotel was built. After rotating the numbers to “1969”, push down on the lock (similar to
closing it), and then let go. It will pop open. When closing it you have to hold the lock in
a closed position while you move some of the numbers in order to completely lock it. If
you don’t it will just pop open again.

For the Laundry Room you need to use a porter keep to shut the door. Make sure nobody
is in the room, and turn off the light.

Updated by Jessica Dvorak 7/24/2019 – Detailed instructions located behind this sheet.
  Reservations - Enter reservations as they come in throughout the night. (email/fax/phone)
Enter reservations as they come in throughout the night. (email/fax/phone)
Reservations could be laying around on the back counter, or the front desk. Don’t forget
to check the fax and the Uplace email several times throughout the night. Prioritize
reservations by date, making sure to enter the soonest reservations first. Reservations
within the next week would be VERY important to input as soon as possible.

 Update Signage Television and Then Turn off both Lobby Television and Signage Television.
I. The remote and alternate USB thumb drives can be found in the shelf on Lara’s door. You will
most likely need both.
II. Check the events clipboard so you know which events will be happening the following day so
that you can ensure that the signage is accurate.
III. Lift the metal frame television cover, securing it by pressing in the elbows of the hinges on
either side.
IV. Aim the remote at the lower right corner of the television and press “EXIT” (bottom right of the
directional arrows) and then “HOME” (above the upward pointing directional arrow).
V. Check to see if there is a folder labeled with the name of the next day, navigate to the folder
and press the button in the middle of the directional arrows.
VI. If that folder has the correct event signage, then select one of the images and the television will
automatically cycle through the images in that folder.
VII. If there is no folder for the next day, or if the folder does not contain the correct signage, switch
to the alternate USB stick and check that one for the correct signage. The USB stick plugs into
a cord hanging down on the right hand of the television taped to the back of the television
podium.
VIII. Close the television cover by pulling up on the ‘elbows’ of the hinges at the corner.
IX. Use the remote to turn off the television.

 Occupancy #’s & Arrival #’s - Prepare occupancy numbers to turn into restaurant.
The restaurant uses occupancy numbers to prepare breakfast in the morning, as well as
to know who to allow to eat breakfast. Arrival numbers are used to bake enough
cookies to ensure all guests who check in have a chance to experience our hospitality.
I.After logging in to Opera, press the PMS button.
II.At the first Opera screen, along the top, choose “miscellaneous’.
III. When the menu pops up, choose “reports”.
IV. In the search field write “in house”, and then press the search button.
V. Pick “In House – By Room” (doesn’t matter which one). Click “OK”
VI. When the next screen pops up, pick the “print” option.
VII. After printing is complete, staple the papers together.
VIII. Press “CTRL+F4” to bring up the main check-in screen for opera.
IX. Click on the current date on the calendar. This opens the “House Status” for the day.
X. On the left hand side, under “activity” you will find “Arrivals Expected”. Using the number
under “Persons” and not “rooms” add about 20 to this number and write it on the upper right
hand corner of the In House By Room report. Example: “Arrivals Expected: 124”.
XI. Bring this with you when you go to make coffee. Leave it on the table in the dining area that
they use to check in breakfast guests. (first table you encounter on your right when you walk in)

Updated by Jessica Dvorak 7/24/2019 – Detailed instructions located behind this sheet.
  Turn on lobby televisions at 5:30AM to the news, turn on signage television, put chairs away,
and turn lobby music on.
I usually select CNN on the lobby television, because Portland tends towards a more liberal news
preference. This is channel 7. Since you should have prepared the signage television the night
before, you should just have to turn the television on and then return the remote (and the alternate
usb stick) to the shelf on Lara’s door.

 Pick up the living room area in the lobby, make presentable.

Though this isn’t technically the porter job, there’s no reason to not ensure that the lobby area
looks pleasant and inviting.

 Have talkies/keys and sign in sheet prepared for lobby/banquet when they get here by 5:15am.
(1 talkie/#2 keys/Bell key for Lobby person. 1 talkie/banquet keys for banquet) It’s best
to ensure that the walkies have been charged throughout the night. Both Abdi and
Federico have a strong preference for the smaller, newer walkies.

 Unlock Lobby Revolving Door and Lobby Side Door (AVIS/BUDGET) at 6:00am.
Do not forget to take down the door signs and put them back in the door next to the left most
front desk computer station.

 Unlock side handicapped door at 6:30AM.

Pl Using the Allen wrench from before, hold the crash bar in while putting in the Allen wrench.
Then turn the Allen wrench should stay in place and the door should be open for all.

 Pass on relevant information to next shift.

If there were interactions with guests that you KNOW are going to be talking to the management,
make sure to give Alex and/or Sarah a heads up so that they know what they are walking in to.
If there is something you couldn’t take care of yourself, because not everything can be
accomplished in the middle of the night, be sure to let the day staff know so that they can better
prepare to help those guests later in the day.

Updated by Jessica Dvorak 7/24/2019 – Detailed instructions located behind this sheet.