FRONT OFFICE

INTRODUCTION TO FRONT OFFICE

In a hotel , the department , where guest are checked in and out , payment on accounts are made and messages are exchanged is known as front office . It is the department which is responsible for the sale of hotel rooms through systematic method of reservation , followed by registration and assigning rooms to the guest . The term sale of rooms means the use of hotel rooms at a price . A room is “sold” for the day when a guest leases the room for the stay in hotel.

The front office in a hotel holds prime importance in view of the basic nature of the business of a hotel to sell rooms. Revenue collected from the sales of room contributes more than the 50% of the hotel sales . This department is has the prime role of image building which is the first and the last point of contact of every guest. Thus the role of front office is to reserve , receive , register , assign rooms to the guest and act as a continuous source of information to guest during their stay of the hotel.

THE FOLLOWING SERVICES ARE HANHLED BY THE FRONT OFFICE .

Airline information. Allotment of rooms. Check-in / check-out. Credit card acceptance. Courtesy call. Room reservation. Car rental. Currency exchange. Doctor on call. Information. Mails. News paper Guest relation. Sight seeing. Secretarial services. Taxi service. Transportation. Wake up call Safe deposit locker.

ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY OF FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT.

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ACCOMODATION MANAGER

ASSISTANT FRONT OFFICE MANAGER

DUTY MANAGER BUSINESS CENTER MANAGER

RECEPTIONIST CONCIERGE RESERVATION CASHIER BELL TELEPHONE ASSISTANT CAPTAIN SUP.

BELL OPERATOR BOY

THE FRONT OFFICE OF THE TAJ WESTEND HAS EIGHT SUBSECTIONS

Reservation Reception Cash & bill Information Telephone Bell desk Business center Travel desk

MODES OF RESERVATION

Telephone Telex Fax Letters Personal E-mail Telegram

SOURCES OF RESERVATION

Free individual travelers Company guest Travel agents Walk in By sales and marketing office By tour operators

THE RESERVATION IS FIRST RECORDED ON RESERVATION FORMS , WHICH CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING DETAILS.

NAME : TYPE / ROOM NO :

COMPANY :

ARRIVAL DATE / TIME : DESIGNATION : DEPARTURE DATE / TIME:

ADDRESS : DURATION OF STAY :

CITY : PIN CODE : RATE CODE / RATE : COUNTRY : FAX : PAYMENT MODE : E MAIL ADDRESS : CARD NUMBER :

TELEPHONE NUMBER : EXPIRY DATE :

DATE OF BIRTH : ANNIVERSARY DATE :

PASSPORT AND OTHER DETAILS

ARRIVED FROM : PROCEEDING TO : NATIONALITY:

PASSPORT NO : DATE OF ISSUE : PLACE :

REG. NO .:

BILLING INSTRUCTIONS :

CASH REMARKS :

RESERVATION REMARKS :

The information is fed into the system . This transfer helps in rechecking if all the important details are obtained. This is the most important to provide the guest service to the best of his satisfaction.

A confirmation letter stating the reservation and mode of settlement or payment has to be send by the person who is making the reservation . Letter , telex or fax depending on the urgency confirms every reservation inturn by reservation department.

These reservation forms with the corresponding letter is filed date wise for the current month for the following month . The next day arrivals , reservation forms and letters are placed in a follow up file in an alphabetical order. These details can be cross checked from the registration card in case of clarifications.

Every day , V.I.P list is made which states the arrivals for the next day.

The duty manager authorizes this. Then these copies are distributed to General manager , Lobby manager , Front office manager , Guest relation executive , Cashier , Executive housekeeper , Executive chef and security incharge.

THE FRONT DESK HAS FOUR MAIN SUBSECTION :

RECEPTION : Situated in main lobby. Which takes care of all check in / check or etc…

CASHIER : Situated in lobby next to reception which takes care of all guest resident and non resident bills.

CONCIERGE : It is the desk for handling all guest baggage’s , mails and other extra services.

Travel desk : It handles of guest transportations according to the guest request like airport pick up and drop etc…

PROCESS FOR CHECKING IN AND CHECKING OUT A GUEST

CHECKING IN A GUEST

Some time normally elapses between making a reservation and his actual time of arrival in the hotel . During this period the may deal with hundred of other visitors . However , the hotel must be ready to receive each and every guest an the day and time of arrival . there must be a room ready for him and there are various necessary formalities to be gone through when the guest arrives . This is referred as Check – in process :-

THERE ARE FIVE STEPS FOR CHECKING – IN PROCEDURE :

STEP 1 – Receiving and Registration. Receive a guest in front of house. Registering of guest.

STEP 2 - Allocate room.

STEP 3 - Secure advance payment.

STEP 4 - Information service.

STEP 5 - Complete check in.

CHECKING – OUT A GUEST :

When a registered guest leaves the hotel room he has rented , after settling his bills , the guest is said to be checking out.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE PROCEDURES INVOLVED IN A CHECK OUT :

Guest calls to inform he is checking out to front office.

Front desk assistant has to obtain the following :

1. What time the guest is checking out.

2. Would he need a bell boy to carry his baggage.

3. If yes , how many pieces of baggage.

4. Would the guest need a transportation to be arranged to take him to airport / railway station.

Then inform the bell desk:

1. Room number of guest2. Number of baggage’s to be brought down.

Inform cashier to close the bill of the respective room number.

Sign departure card after checking.

1. If the key is in the slot.

2. If the cashier has signed ( proof of settlement ).

3. Then inform the bell boy to arrange the baggages in the respective transport vehicle.

Then the check out procedure is complete.GROUP CHECK IN PROCEDURE

The arrival of large groups of people at the same time will always mean there is pressureon the reception staff to get all guests checked in as quickly and efficiently as possible. If the group happen to be a large number of guest with individual bookings just happen to arrive at the same time then the receptionist will have to process eacg guest in turn as quickly as possible. However , if the group arrival is a tour or a special partythen the receptionist will know in advance of the arrival and can plan accordingly.

A standard procedure for the registration of group might include :

Group members can register in the usual way by each individual completing a separate registration form. However , with large groups this could cause chaos.

Individual registration forms can be given to the tour operator for completion by the guests en-route to the hotel. On arrival the receptionist has only to check them and file accordingly.

A list of the group members names , nationality and passport details could be given directly to the hotel by the tour operator.

GROUP CHECK OUT PROCEDURE :

If a group of people check-out at the same time , e.g., a tour group , pre-planning and special procedures will ensure that the operation runs smoothly.

The general procedure for handling a group check-out are :-

Set aside an area for the luggage to be left before it is loaded into the coach.

Group member are informed via the tour leader of the procedure for paying extras charged to individual room accounts.

If the amount involved are likely to be substantial, find out in advance how each person will be paying and the required authorization can then be obtained in good time.

If the main bill for the group will be sent to the tour operator for paying , obtain any necessary authorization from the tour leader in good time.

MAIL HANDLING

All the letters are received at the front desk . Firstly it is segregated into guest mail and staff mail. The staff mail are sent to personnel department.

Using the computer system the guest mails are sorted into :

Mails of in house guest.

Mails of expected guest.

Mails of departed guest.

The mail of in house guests is sent to the bell desk to be delivered to the guest.

The mail of expected guest is printed with the date of guest arrival . If it’s today’s arrival the mail is attached to the registration card.

The mail of departed guest are sorted out to be given if they requires or if they check in at later date.

MESSAGE HANDLING

All the incoming guest calls are connected to the rooms through the telephone operator . The exchange is so designed to give only three rings in a guest rooms . If the guest does not respond with in three rings the call bounces to the respective telephone desk.

The reception on receiving the call must ascertain if the guest is in the room by checking the key rack . If the guest is not in his room check for guest locators .

If the guest is in another part / outlet of the hotel the call can be connected to him . Otherwise the message , the caller name and contact number are taken down . The same is typed into the computer system , which gives a print out at the printer place at the bell desk.

The two copies are placed in two envelopes one copy is given to the reception to be placed along with the key . The other copy is taken to the room and is slipped under the door by the bell boy .

The time of receiving and delivering the message is recorded at the bell desk . It is always seen that if the message is delivered in five minutes.

HANDLING RESERVATION

The reservation section works only between 9 :am to 6 : pm . During other times the reception has to take down the reservation. The procedure remains exactly the same as for reservation staff except feeding into computer system. The reservation slip as simply handed over to the next day to the reservation personnel.

FIRST SHIFT ( 7 am to 4 pm )

As soon as the morning shift personnel reports to duty at 6:45 am he / she has to check the following before proceeding further:

Check the log book for any important work pending.

Check the arrival list and note down the following :

1. Room occupancy.2. Average room rate.3. Occupancy percentage.4. Number of arrivals.5. Number of departure.6. Room position.

Check the function list to get the information regarding the various functions and conferences taking place in the hotel , locations and timings.

Check the computer system for the V.I.P and Handle with Care guest name and room number.

Request for the early release of the room from housekeeping for early morning arrival.

Then the Duty manager takes the briefing of all the front office staff in morning shift . The staff is required to have a personal proper grooming . apart from that the person is required to know :

The general lay out of the hotel to guide the guest. The cuisines and timings of different food and beverage outlets. V.I.P arrival for the day.

The duty manager gives the staff special instructions if any.

SECOND SHIFT ( 1 pm to 10 pm )

The second shift works remains exactly the same as the first . shift.The first shift assistant has to handover all the details of the shift to the second shift for a smooth transaction.

NIGHT SHIFT ( 10 pm to 7 am )

The following are the main task :

To print registration card : The computer lists all next days arrivals with details . The print out of this is taken on a formatted registration card . These cards are segregated according to room wise.

Helps in compiling the night manager report : he has to find out the following for compiling the report :

1. Total occupancy.2. Sleep outs.3. Key count.4. Extension provided.5. Skippers.6. V.I.P and Handle with care guest.7. Allowance passed.

Key count : The keys have to be count in order to find out sleep outs , skipper and missing keys . If the check out guest takes the key he has to be contacted at the earliest.

Arrival list : The next day arrival list is taken from the reservation department . The arrival list details of guest name , arrival time and flight details , category of room booked and special remarks if the guest is frequent to the hotel.

BELL DESK / CONCIERGE

Bell desk work in three shift . Each shift is under a bell captain except the night shift. His main duty apart from check in and check out being newspaper distribution to the guest . Guest preference of newspaper are also provided by bell desk.

This section of front office is also responsible for the handling of message on behalf of guest and conducts paging and all stationery and postal work.

It also provides all information regarding the TAJ WESTEND facilities offered by the hotel.

CASHIERS

The front office cash work 24 hrs a day in a shift of :

First shift : 7 am to 4 pm. Second shift : 1 pm to 10 pm. Third shift : 10 pm to 7 am.

This section is a part of the reception . Before checking out , the guest calls , then the cashiers compiles all the bills ( from the different outlets ) and the master folio is made. The cashier hands out the master folio and bills ( of all outlets )and guest settles the bill.

There are various mode of payment :

1. Traveler’s cheque.2. Credit card.3. Cash.

Various function of cashier section :

1. The cashier controls the facility of safety deposit locker given to guest to keep their valuables.

2. Foreign currencies are exchanged.

3. Cash and bills from various outlets of the hotel are received and tallied.

TELEPHONES

In TAJ WESTEND there is a separate room for the telephone exchange. Two telephone operator are there to deal with all incoming and outgoing calls.

THE DUTIES OF TELEPHONE OPERATOR INCLUDES :

1. Receiving all incoming calls and connecting them to required number.

2. Outgoing calls for the hotel and the guest.

3. All long distance calls and overseas calls.

REGISTER’S , BOOKS AND FILES MAINTAINED :

1. Log book.2. Complaint register.3. Handing over register.4. Guest trunk call book.5. Staff trunk call book.6. Wake up call register.

TRAVEL DESK

A travel agent should have an exact knowledge of flight and railways details . He should also posses good knowledge on the important tourist knowledge in an around city. The travel agent job involves booking the tickets for flight , train or any other transportation and confirms the same , arrange for airport transfers , arrange sight seeing tours for group or individual guest.

BUSINESS CENTER

The TAJ WESTEND 24 – hr business center is fully equipped with one office room and a board room . It offers :

1. Internet connectivity.2. Portable printers.3. Colour copier.4. Scanning facilities.5. Photocopy facility.6. Incoming and outgoing fax facility.7. Lamination and secretarial services. ( secretarial services are

available from 9 hrs to 18 hrs )

BUSINESS CENTER TARIFF IS AS FOLLOWS :

FAX International _ Rs 250

Domestic _ Rs 100 Local _ Rs50

INTERNET Rs 187 for half hour. ( inc. tax )

XEROX Per page Rs 9 More than 100 pages Rs 7

BINDING Rs 150 for 150

pages.PRINTOUT B & W – Rs 40 COLOUR – Rs 100

P.C CHARGES One hr – Rs 200 Half day - Rs 750STATIONERY Floppy – Rs 80 C.D – Rs 150

MEETING ROOM AND BOARD

ROOM CHARGES

Rs 13224

L.C.D PROJECTOR Rs 5950COMMITTEE

ROOMRs 10580

VIDEO CONFERINCING

Rs 10000 for first 2 hrs

Rs 2000 for every hrs

REGISTERS MAINTAINED IN THE CENTER :

1. OUT GOING AND INCOMING FAX AND E-MAIL REGISTER :

The following details are noted down :

Name of the sender. The department to which it has to be send. The time at which it was received. Number of pages. The room number if any.

2. BUSINESS CENTER BOOKING DAIRY : Here the booking of the board room and the interview room are noted down . The following details are mentioned :

Duration booked for. Name of the guest or the company. Booking made by Rate. Billing. Requirement.

3. LOG BOOK : In this register any message that are to be left for the staff taking the next shift are noted down.

3. LEDGER BOOK : In this register all the income of the day is mentioned. That is the amount of internet used for the day , photocopies made , printouts taken etc..

MACHINES USED IN THE CENTER

ONE SCANNING MACHINE Hewlett Packard scanjet 5200 c .FOUR COMPUTERS 3 Ibm Aptiva and 1 Ibm personal computer.

ONE LASER PRINTER Hewlett Packard laserjet 2100 tn.ONE COLOUR PRINTER Hewlett Packard deskjet 550 c.

ONE PHOTOCOPY MACHINE Xerox 5837.ONE BINDING MACHINE

TWO FAX MACHINE Cannon fax b155 and Samsung sf4200.ONE PAPER SHREDDER MACHINE

ROOM RATES AND TARIFFS

ROOM TYPES INR RATESSINGLE DOUBLE

LUXURY 19,000 20,500LUXURY GRAND 21,000 22,500

TAJ CLUB* 24,500 26,000EXECUTIVE SUITES** 35,000 35,000

LUXURY SUITES** 100,000 100,000PRESEDENTIAL SUITES** 195,000 195,000

Government taxes applicable.

* Buffet breakfast and one-way airport transfers.

** buffet breakfast and two way airport transfers.

MENU OF FIDELIO AT THE TAJ WESTEND :

Reservation. Registration. Flight details. Guest history. Information. Type of billing and accounting. Messages. Arrival and departure data. Room rates. Special and promotional rates. Room rates. Corporate rate. Tour rate. Rack rate.