A manual based on T.E.S.D.A.

’s
“Introduction to Front Office Services” online course

Chapter 1: All about the Front Office Department

I. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

a) General Manager
o Responsible for all aspects of operations at the hotel, to day-to-day staff
management and guests.
o Lead and make strategic plans for all departments to support their service
culture, maximize operations and guest satisfaction.
o Work closely with hotel owners and other stakeholders.

b) Executive Assistant Manager

o Assists the General Manager and the Hotel Manager.
o Responsible for ensuring a perfect coordination between all departments.
o Ensures that the operations are of quality's standard and provide the highest
comfort and satisfaction to guests.

c) Front Office Manager

o Tasked to lead the team.
o Ensures quality service by making effective decisions in reservation policies and
room assignments; and
o Handles guest complaints with courtesy and tact.

d) Concierge
o Welcome guests upon arrival.
o Provides service to guests who need assistance or information; and
o Ensures that the guests’ satisfaction by providing personalized solutions such as
suggesting hotel activities and other recreational activities.

e) Night Auditor
o Works overnight and is responsible for checking and closing out hotel's financial
activities; and
o When not performing audit activities, a night auditor performs front office
duties.

f) Front Desk Supervisor

o Oversees front desk operations, particularly the registration of guests.
o Tasked in supervising front office work shifts.

g) Reservation Supervisor
o Oversees operation pertaining to room sales and reservations.
o Tasked to train reservation agents how to maximize room revenue by providing
quick and effective service.

h) Uniformed Services
o Bell Attendants - Provides baggage services for guests from lobby to the
guestroom.
o Door attendants - Provide curbside baggage service and traffic control at hotel
entrance.

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 o Transport personnel - Provide transportation services for guests such as driving
van.
i) Front Desk Agent
o Reserve, register, and assign rooms to guests.
o Maintain information about the availability of rooms for sale and vital facts
about the hotel services and facilities.

j) Switchboard/Telephone Operator
o Operates the telephone switchboard.
o Handles telephone communication system activities such as answering incoming
calls, receiving, and giving information via phone.
o Wake-up calls to guests upon request.

k) Front Office Cashier

o In charge of posting charges into guest folios
o Assists guest in settling their accounts.

l) Reservation Agent
o Receives and record room reservation requests.
o Creates reservation documents.

Owner

Child of Owner

Manager

Night Auditor

Front Desk Reservation

Concierge Supervisor Supervisor

Switch Board
Uniformed Front Desk Front Office Reservation
Telephone
Personnel Agent Cashier Agent
Operator

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II. ROOM CLASS & BEDDING SIZES

III. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

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IV. FRONT OFFICE FORMS & DOCUMENTS

a) Pre-Arrival Forms
o Reservation Record – Guest reservations and bookings are recorded.

o Reservation File – Computer-based collection of reservation records.

o Reservation Rack Slip – Form used to record a guest reservation that is filled in
reservation rack.

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b) Arrival Forms

o Registration Card – printed form for a registration record.

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 o Registration Record – Collection of important guest information created by the front
desk agent following guest’s arrival.

o Room Rack Slip – contains guest name and other relevant info, completed during the
registration process, and placed in the room rack slot corresponding to the room
number assigned to guest.

o Guest Arrival List – A document that contains the listing of guests accounts that is
scheduled to arrive by date.

c) Occupancy Forms
o Guest Folio – A form that can be either on paper or electronic, which is used to chart
transactions in an account assigned to an individual person or guest room. For posting
charges, it is to be presented upon check-out.

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 o Voucher – Document detailing a transaction to be posted to a front office account,
used to communicate information from the guest folio.

o Transfer Voucher – Voucher used to support a reduction in balance on one folio and
an equal increase in balance on another.

o Information Rack Slip – Slip containing a guest’s name, room number, room rate, and
departure date.

d) Departure Forms

o Credit Card Voucher – Form designed by a credit card company to be used for
imprinting a credit card info and settle accounts.
o Cash Voucher – Voucher used to support cash payment transactions at the front desk.
o Guest Folio – Summary of charges to be signed by the guest.
o Feedback Form – Form used to get the overall satisfaction rating of the guests’ hotel
experience.
o Guest Departure List – Document detailing scheduled guest departure date.
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V. FRONT OFFICE SYSTEMS
These are systems used in keeping registration data, reservation records, room status and other
necessary information.

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VI. TYPES OF RESERVATION DOCUMENTS

a) Receipts – When guests make a payment such as a deposit (down payment) or full payment
this will guarantee the reservation. Some guests chose to come into the hotel and pay by cash
while others prefer to pay by credit card. The credit card information is taken. However, the
amount is not usually processed until the guest arrives. In either case the customer must be
issued with a receipt for proof of payment. This can be done either manually or printed by a

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 computer or cash register. This record of payment is recorded on to the customer’s
reservation in the computer system.

b) Invoices – Only issued to companies and travel agents for reservations made. This invoice will
show the details of the reservation, room rate that has been quoted, the commission payable
and the total amount due. The terms of payment will be printed on this invoice, starting the
amount owing is due in 7, 14, or 13 days.

c) Vouchers – Issued for prepaid reservations. The voucher states the value of the purchase to
the bearer. Vouchers can also be gift vouchers given to people as presents or vouchers for
conference delegates. These vouchers are usually exchanged at the establishment as a form of
payment and have a use by date or a specific date the voucher can be used on. Note: It is very
important for anyone accepting a voucher to be totally sure as to what the voucher entitles
the guest to do so that ‘extras’ can be explained and guests can be informed before they order
what they have to pay extra for.

d) Confirmation Letters – It is sent to confirm a reservation via email. It will list all the details
about the reservation; arrival and departure date, name, address, rate quoted, package
details, payment details, and any special requests. These letters are usually printed on
company letterhead and dated and signed by either the person who took the reservation or a
manager.

e) Information Packs and Brochures - An establishment might send out an information pack or
brochures to provide additional information about itself. Most establishments have printed
information promoting the venue and its products and services. Reservation staff can use
these information packs as marketing to their customers. Nearly all groups and tours
customers will get an information pack about the venue and local activities as well as all the
details about their tour, such as where breakfast is located, the tour itinerary, airline details,
etc.

f) Letter of Authorization – Must be presented as a proof by guests who will be staying in the
establishment for an official business, authorizing their stay to be charged against the credit
line of the government or corporate accounts they work in. Along with this, the guests must
also present Company ID or any valid ID to confirm their identity.

Chapter 2: All about the Guests

I. The 4 stages of guest cycle:

PRE-ARRIVAL  ARRIVAL  OCCUPANCY  DEPARTURE

a) PRE-ARRIVAL STAGE

The pre-arrival stage is a crucial stage of the guest cycle for establishments since this is where the guest
decides what hotel to choose.

The factors that are commonly considered by guests when choosing a tourism establishment are:

 Previous experiences with the establishment

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 The establishment’s advertisements
 Recommendations from travel agents, friends, or business associates
 The establishment’s location
 The establishment’s name or the name of the hotel chain operation

Another consideration considered by a guest is the ease of making hotel reservations. Thus, if an FO
staff or the hotel’s system is incompetent when receiving reservation requests, guests might be turned
off to stay at your establishment.

How a front office reservation agent also describes the hotel’s services and amenities is crucial to getting
reservations. The agent must be quick, accurate, detailed, and polite when responding to callers’
requests and queries.

b) ARRIVAL STAGE

The arrival stage focuses on the check-in activities of the guest. It includes: 

 Registering the guest

 Assigning a room and rate (for walk-in guests)
 Determining methods of payment (for walk-in guests)
 Identifying a departure date
 Escorting or directing the guest to the room
 Club membership

c) OCCUPANCY STAGE

When the guest arrives at the room and accepts it, the occupancy stage begins. The occupancy
stage is considered as the center of front office activity. The front office plays a major role during
a guest’s stay at the hotel. 

For example, the front office is the one who provides information and supplies when the guest
requests it. It is the main source of service that the hotel supplies. The FO staff should perform
these tasks well because this will determine whether a guest will repeat his/her stay at the hotel. 

Some of the services that a guest may acquire during his/her lodging are:

 Purchase of food and beverages

 Use of telephone
 Gift shop purchases
 Laundry Services
 Inquiries

These transactions should be well recorded and processed according to the FO posting and
auditing procedures.

d) DEPARTURE STAGE

The departure stage is the final stage of the guest cycle and involves the guest’s check-out
process. When checking out, the guest vacates the room, receives a statement of account
for settlement, returns the room keys, and leaves the hotel.

When settling the guest’s account, confirm whether the guest would pay by cash or by
credit card. Account balances should be checked for error before the guest leaves the hotel.
There are instances were late charges occur. These are charges that were not posted to the
guest folio until after the guest has already checked out.

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 When the room is already vacated, the guestroom’s room status is changed and the
housekeeping department is notified.

Finally, the departure stage is when the front office staff determines whether the guest was
satisfied with their service. The front office staff must not forget to ask for guests’ feedback,
may be verbal or written, to assess the quality of the hotel services they experienced. At this
stage, the front office may also encourage the guest to acquire the hotel’s services once
again. This could be the beginnings of a guest history record. 

A guest history record contains the personal and financial information of guests that would
help in the development of the hotel’s marketing strategies. With this, the hotel’s services
may also be customized according to the client’s needs.

II. PROMOTING PRODUCTS & SERVICES TO GUESTS

It is essential for front office staff to develop excellent product and service knowledge to
optimize sales within the venue and to encourage visitors to spend more time and to
acquire more products and services.

To achieve this, front office staff must develop a detailed and accurate knowledge on the:

o layout of the hotel’s property

o different rooms available
o room rates
o facilities available in room and throughout the property
o discounts available to nominated guests’ types
o payment methods,
o booking requirements
o cancellation and refunds

a) Product and Service Knowledge

 Refers to knowledge about Products Sold, Services Provided, Venue/Hotel Facilities, and
Policies of the property.

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b) ROOM RATES & MEAL PLANS

 In selling guestrooms, the front office staff must know the location, feature,
availability, and the rates for each room type. Room rate is the price that a guest
pays for overnight stay. The standard rate used by the hotel is called rack rate.

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WHERE TO BRING GUESTS
 Water sports in Bolabog Beach
 Beach activities in front beach
 Bars and restos in front beach
 Puka Beach

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c) TYPES OF GUESTS

d) SALES TECHNIQUES
Sales is an important skill an FO must have. Sales techniques can be applied when
suggesting better services to guest. There will be instances when a customer has
already reserved a room, but then realized that a bigger room suits him better.

FO staff SHOULD NOT make the decision for their customer, rather, they must
merely encourage or guide the customer to the service most suitable for them.

Front office staff should put themselves in the customer’s position and match the
best accommodation fit for the guest. If equipped with the correct sales technique
and proper delivery, the guest may opt to get a larger room with more amenities
and higher rate, a win-win for both hotel and client.

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e) IDENTIFYING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
Properly handling customer complaints must never be overlooked by the hotel staff.
As part of the front office, most likely, complaints will be directed to you. This lesson
will explain the importance of handling guest complaints and how you, as office
staff, should handle these kinds of issues.
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f) DEALING WITH CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
Proper handling of complaints will:
 Increase guest satisfaction
 Achieve a smoother department flow
 Produce more efficient employees
 Increase repeat business (It is when guests reconsider staying in your hotel
again)

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