INFORMATION SHEET PR-3.3.

2
“LIAISING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS”

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Understand how front office departments liaise and communicate with other departments in
the hotel.
2. Understand the overview of the guest cycle

LIAISING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS

There are a number of departments in a large hotel. Some of them will be concerned with raising
revenue, or earning money for the hotel: the rooms division and food and beverage divisions are the
main ones - but the hotel may also earn revenue through recreational facilities, guest laundry/dry
cleaning, a business centre and etc.

Other departments may fulfill the management and support functions of the hotel (sales and marketing,
accounting/finance, security, engineering/maintenance, premises management, information technology
(IT) and HR/personnel).

Since front office will have to liaise with various other departments in the hotel, following is a brief at
what the main ones do, and why liaison is required.

Department Main responsibilities Liaising with front office

Food and beverage (F & B)
Purchasing, preparation and
provision of food, drink and
catering services to guests; via
banqueting (function catering);
restaurant; bar; perhaps coffee
shops; 'floor service'
(refreshments delivered to the
lounge or pool area, say); and
room service.
 F & B needs occupancy
forecasts to estimate
provisions requirements
 F & B needs confirmed
arrival/ departure info to
control guest credit
 FO needs info on food/drinks
charges to add to guest bills
 FO may take or refer
restaurant bookings
 F & B takings will be 'paid in'
to the cashier for accounting
and banking.

Housekeeping The management of guest rooms  Housekeeping needs

and cleanliness of all public areas
of the hotel; cleaning, making-up
and supplying of rooms (e.g..
with soap, towels, mini-bar
stocks); preparing
housekeeping /room status
arrival/departure info to
plan its staff rosters and
room cleaning schedules
 Housekeeping needs info
about special requests,
 reports,
Maintenance The maintenance and operation
of all machinery and equipment
(e.g.. lighting, heating, air
conditioning); carrying out minor
repairs and works (carpentry,
upholstery, plumbing, electrics).
Accounts Monitoring, recording, checking
and reporting of all financial
activities of the hotel; processing
and banking takings; processing
of payrolls; preparing internal
reports, audits and financial
statements, compiling statistics
Security The safety and security of guests,
visitors and employees:
patrolling premises; monitoring
surveillance equipment; handling
security incidents; liaising with
police if required
complaints or urgent room
preparation requirements
 FO needs up-to-date info on
rooms (occupied, vacant but
not ready, out of order,
ready to let) to update room
status/availability records;
the housekeeper's report
 Maintenance needs info
about repair/ replacement
requirements
 FO needs confirmation that
guest repair requests have
been seen to
 FO needs up-to-date info on
out of order rooms (closed
for maintenance) to update
room availability records.
 Security needs to be alerted
to suspicious persons or
activities, reports of security
breach etc
 FO needs warnings (e.g.. to
evacuate premises) and
incident reports (for future
planning)
 Security helps with special
needs guests
 May administer first aid
 Deals with problems with
guest safes, guests locked
out of rooms and opening of

Sales and marketing
Generating new business and
increased sales for the hotel:
sales of rooms, facilities and
services; advertising;
promotions; PR and publicity;
winning corporate, tour
operator, and agency business;
designing the web site; etc
Human resources (HR)
Recruitment and selection of
staff; staff induction and training;
performance appraisal; rewards
and career planning; employee
relations; compliance with
employment law
inter-connecting doors
 Deals with lost property
 Sales needs info on room
availability to know what
rooms to sell
 Sales needs info on guest
types/ origins to develop
marketing strategy and
target key guest segments
 Sales needs FO support in
selling rooms, facilities and
services
 FO needs info on special
promotions (e.g.. special
rates and inclusions);
campaigns (to anticipate
increased demand); etc
 HR needs info on FO job
requirements (for
recruitment planning); FO
staff performance and
training needs; FO staff
problems and concerns
 FO staff need info on all HR
policies and rules;
training/career opportunities
etc.

The flow of information within a hotel

Number of routine reports and notifications that will need to flow from front office to other
departments. Examples include:

 A list of guests currently in residence - or guest index - in alphabetical order, so that any
member of staff can look up a guest or locate their room number when necessary
 A list of anticipated arrivals (based on reservations), group arrivals and VIP/special needs
arrivals, so that departments can prepare for them
 A list of amendments to the arrivals list (e.g.. last-minute bookings and chance walk-in guests)
 A list of guest amendments: changes of room number, number of guests, terms and so on, so
that departments can adjust accordingly
 A list of anticipated departures (based on booked departure dates) so that departments can
plan to prepare rooms for re-Ietting, prepare bills for departing guests and so
 A list of amendments to the departures list (e.g.. guests extending their stay)
 A list of guests who have left the hotel, so that telephone calls and messages can handle
accordingly, and rooms prepared for re-Ietting

Flow of information within front office sections:

Concierge/enquiries will need arrivals, departures and current guest lists, in order to sort incoming
guest mail, take messages, give the right keys to the right guests, and take the right baggage to the right
rooms.

Switchboard will need the current guest list and checked-out guest list, in order to handle incoming
phone calls and charge guests calls to the right rooms.

Reception will need all the information collected by the reservation section, in order to prepare for and
verify the bookings of arriving guests, maintain room availability records and so on.

Reservations will need information on returning guests, compiled by reception, in order to offer a
personalized service.

Cashier will need guests' reservation and check-in information In order to open a guest bill, charge the
correct rate agreed with the guest, confirm the guests payment details, check corporate accounts and so
on. They may also need access to guest history records, in order to check that guests have
paid their bills in the past, or to identify guests who are entitled to special discounts.

THE GUEST CYCLE

As the organization charts, the grouping of tasks onto divisions and departments sets up a series of
'vertical' chains or structures, reflecting the separation of specialized activities.

But look at from the point of view of a guest coming into a hotel, the 'flow' of activity doesn't look like
this at all. A guest experiences the hotel less as a vertical structure than as a horizontal process. (S)he
makes a booking, has it confirmed, arrives at the hotel on the due day, checks-in, requests various
services as the stay unfolds, then turns up to check-out, receives the bill, pays it - and departs. For the
guest, the experience is chronological: unfolding as a series of events, activities and services received
over time.
The guest doesn't need to know - and ideally, shouldn't feel - that (s)he is having to cross over from one
separate department to another at each stage: (s)he should be able to progress more or less seamlessly
from booking (reservations) to check-in (reception) to occupancy (housekeeping, food and beverage and

various other departments as required) to check-out (billing, cashier). In order to create this seamless
service, it is useful to think of the role of front office, not in terms of departmental roles and
responsibilities, but in terms of the guest cycle.

Pre-arrival activities
 The pre -arrival activities occurs before the guest arrives at the venue. A guest makes a
telephone or face-to-face enquiry about availability and cost of staying at the venue, and potentially
makes a reservation. Some guests may even visit the venue prior to booking to allow them to determine
first-hand if the venue offers what they are looking for.
Pre-arrival also has implications for the work we do prior to guest arrivals, whether or not a
guest has a reservation.

Arrival activities

The arrival stage of the cycle of service is often the first opportunity to greet and welcome guest
face to face, unless a pre-arrival inspection has taken place.
When guests arrive, they are greeted at the door by a porter or at a reception if the venue does
not offer a porter service. This first greeting sets the tone for the guest’s impression of the venue and its
level of customer service. Guests unconsciously begin to inform opinions about staff and the facilities
based on their arrival experience.
Once in the room, the guest measures the cleanliness of the room, the quality of the fixtures
and fittings and the comfort of the bed. So before the guest has even had a chance to put down their
luggage, they have already formed multiple opinions about their arrival experience.

Occupancy activities

Occupancy refers to the actual stay or period of time spent in the venue. During occupancy,
guest’s will use the in-room facilities, and may opt to use a variety of other services offered by the
venue. Our ability to meet the guest’s needs during occupancy and to perform our duties to a high
standard is important for ensuring that an overall hospitable experience is enjoyed.

Departure activities

The final stage of the cycle of service is departure. How we farewell our guests is as important as
how we greeted them on arrival. Our guests want to feel that they are still important even though they
are leaving. This final impression, this last moment of truth, is a permanent one. The final impression
our guests leave which can determine whether or not they return or recommend us. We can leave our
guests feeling great about their experience or disappointed.

MOMENT OF TRUTH

Each of the stages in the cycle of service represents a “moment of truth”. A moment of truth is
the impression created each time the guest experiences ‘something’ in the venue. This ‘something’ may
be the guest’s first impression of the building, the way they are greeted on arrival, the way a complaint
is handled, the cleanliness of their room, or the quality of the furniture and fixtures in the room.

Positive moment of truth

A positive moment of truth occurs when a good impression has been made: it may be how
informative the reservationist was when the booking was made, or how easy it was to find the venue. A
positive moment of truth contributes to the guest’s overall feeling of satisfaction with their expectations
of the venue.

Negative moment of truth

 A negative moment of truth occurs when a bad impression is left on the guest: it may be how a
complaint was handled, how poorly they were treated on the departure or when their room service
food arrived cold! Once a bad moment of truth has been experience, what happens next is crucial to the
overall experience the guest will take away with them. We need to be able to show empathy, diplomacy
and sympathy to redress a negative moment of truth.

Neutral moment of truth

The neutral moment of truth fails to make any impression at all. If the guest can’t recall the
name of the venue they stayed in. the guest us unlikely to provide any feedback on the experience
because they have no distinct feelings about it.

OUR ROLE IN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

To create positive moments of truth for all guests, we need to understand how the cycle of
service works, and its relationship to our role as host in the front office.
Our role therefore is to ensure that guests leave with multiple positive impressions by having
their expectations met. To meet their expectations, front and back office staff needs to understand:

 The host-guest relationship inherent in all hospitality environments

 How to do our job well
 Our venue’s target markets and the corresponding needs of each segment
 That all guests are individuals, with individual wants and needs
 The expectations of our employer.