chapter 1 front office

8/12/2019 Chapter 1 Front Office

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE HOSPITALITYINDUSTRY


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What is the hospitality industry? The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields

within the service industry that includes lodging, eventplanning,theme parks, transportation, cruise line, andadditional fields within the tourism industry. The

hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industrythat mostly depends on the availability of leisure timeand disposable income.

A hospitality unit such as a restaurant, hotel, or evenan amusement park consists of multiple groups such asfacility maintenance, direct operations(servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchenworkers, bartenders, management, marketing, andhuman resources etc)


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Case Study "ABC" hotel is a 3-star hotel with 180 rooms. It's in

business for the past four years. It has four Food andBeverage outlets. Recently another 3-star hotels with200 rooms opened up for business just 100 metersaway. It is called the "xyz" hotel and also has Food andBeverage outlets. Because of this competitor, the"ABC" hotels business is down by 30%.

You're newly appointed as a Sales Manager in"ABC" hotel. What are the steps and strategies thatyou're going to implement to increase the business?


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Case Study - Answer

Evaluate Resources Clarify Goals

Define Customers Examine Competitors


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Case Study - Answer

Key questions to address include: Are the business and the target market clearly

defined?

Who is/are the business competitors? What is the business specific strategy for

success?

Are the competitions moves being trackedregularly? Is the business taking advantage of the

competitions weaknesses and/or any

competitive opportunities?


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Case Study - Answer

Key questions to address include: What has been learned from the competitions

mistakes/strengths? How do the business prices and products

compare with the rest of the industry? Who are the customers? Does the business have

(or can it build) a loyal base? Are the employees trained in customer service? What trends are ahead, and can the business take

advantage of them?


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Define The Hotel Proprietors Act,1956

Inns and innkeepers. (1)A hotel within the meaning of this Act shall, and any other

establishment shall not, be deemed to be an inn; and the duties,liabilities and rights which immediately before the commencementof this Act by law attached to an innkeeper as such shall, subject to

the provisions of this Act, attach to the proprietor of such an hoteland shall not attach to any other person. (2)The proprietor of an hotel shall, as an innkeeper, be under the

like liability, if any, to make good to any guest of his any damage toproperty brought to the hotel as he would be under to make goodthe loss thereof.

(3)In this Act, the expression hotel means an establishment heldout by the proprietor as offering food, drink and, if so required,sleeping accommodation, without special contract, to any travelerpresenting himself who appears able and willing to pay areasonable sum for the services and facilities provided and who is ina fit state to be received


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Differences between Business andLeisure Hotels

Leisure hotels characteristics: Activities centered around fun Games, parties,

etc

Facilities are often recreational in nature Waterparks, theme parks, spas, game rooms, cinemas, Length of stay of guests are longer (Usually

1week or more)

Usually located at remote areas (mountains, jungles, islands etc) More emphasis on relaxation and ambiance


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Differences between Business andLeisure Hotels

Business hotels characteristics: Activities centered around work seminar rooms,

meeting rooms, lecture theaters Facilities are often there to facilitate work

rooms with wifi, work desk, rooms for 1 4people at most

Length of stay of guests are short (1-3 days) Usually located at dense areas ( Airports,

business and trade zones) More emphasis on work


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4 sectors of the hospitality industry

food and beverage lodging

Recreation travel and tourism


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4 sectors of the hospitality industry Food and Beverage The food and beverage industry , also known as

the foodservice industry , consists of businesses

that prepare food for customers. It is the largestsegment of the hospitality industry in the US. Commercial foodservice are food and beverage

businesses that compete for customers . They aredesigned to make a profit. Commercialfoodservice businesses include: quick-servicerestaurants, full-service restaurants, cateringbusinesses, and hotel and club foodservice


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Food and Beverage Institutional Foodservice

Institutional foodservice provides customers food and drink in an institution, such as aschool, hospital, assisted living community,military base, prison, or factory.

Institutional foodservice customers generallydo not have the time or ability to seek food ina commercial foodservice business.


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4 sectors of the hospitality industry Food and Beverage Foodservice within a consumer business is a food and

beverage business that is located within a consumerbusiness such as a movie theater, sports arena,

museum, theme park, airport, or train station . It could be full-service or quick-service. Customers

generally do not seek these places out to dine in onany given day.

Rather, they eat in these places because they arecustomers to the business they are within and chooseto eat there out of convenience.

Providing foodservice within a consumer business isanother way for that consumer business to provide

service to its customers


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Lodging Lodging also known as accommodation , is a

place to sleep for one or more nights . Abusiness in the lodging

industry is a business that provides a place forpeople to sleep overnight. It can be one ofmany sleeping places

such as a fancy hotel, a youth hostel, an elderhostel, a campground, or highway side motel.

.


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4 sectors of the hospitality industry Lodging Types of Lodging: Luxury Hotels

Convention Hotels Resort Hotels Extended Stay Hotels Time Share Hotels Budget Hotels Motels Chalets


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4 sectors of the hospitality industry Recreation Recreation is any activity that people do for rest, relaxation, and

enjoyment. The goal of recreation is to refresh a persons body and mind.Any business that provides an activity for rest, relaxation, and enjoymentin order to refresh a persons body and mind is in the recreation business.Recreation businesses are incredibly diverse because people have varyingideas on what activities they participate in for rest, relaxation andenjoyment.

There are four general types of recreation businesses: entertainment,attractions, spectator sports, and participatory events.

Entertainment businesses provide a show for you to watch such as amovie or live theater, and concerts.

Attractions are places of special interest to visit such as natural scenery,museums, zoos, and historical sites.

Spectator sports are sport that you watch others play such as foot ballgames, baseball games, or the Olympics.

Participatory sports or events are sports or events in which you take partin yourself such as sports, yoga retreats


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4 sectors of the hospitality industry Travel and Tourism The travel industry is in the business of moving people

from place to place. Busses, planes, cabs, boats, andpassenger trains are all part of the travel industry. Whenpeople travel they spend money on hospitality.

Pleasure or leisure travel is when a person takes a vacationand spends money on lodging, food, and recreation whileon that trip .

Business travel is when a person travels for work and also

spends money on lodging and food . Some businesstravelers also spend money on recreation. The tourism industry provides those people with services

that promote travel and vacations. Travel agencies, touroperators, cruise companies, convention planners, and

visitors bureaus are all part of the tourism industry


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Why is the Front Office referred to as

the nerve center of the hotel? The front desk of a hotel is the first and last stop

for guests. In between arrival and departure, its the place

guests call or visit when looking for informationor extra services.

Its the hotels nerve and traffic center, which iswhy we give it special attention. A bad orinsufficient experience at a hotels front desk cansour a travelers stay. Conversely, when guests arehandled deftly by front-desk personnel it canimmensely enhance ones visit .


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Why is the Front Office referred to as

the nerve center of the hotel? Answering guests questions is a continuous

activity. Among the most frequently askedquestions concern:

1. Dining recommendations2. Nearby clothing shops, shoe stores and

pharmacies3. The availability of Wi-Fi service

Provides guests access to guest data andpreferences, room assignments, temperaturecontrols, and wake-up calls. To help guests withthe task of keeping their children entertained,there are snacks and activities includingmovies and X-Box games


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CHAPTER 2

FRONT OFFICE ORGANIZATION


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What is the purpose of a hotel's mission statement? Who are the

three groups of people whose interests are addressed in amission statement?

A mission statement is a statement of thepurpose of a company, organization or person,its reason for existing.

The mission statement should guide the actionsof the organization, spell out its overall goal,provide a path, and guide decision-making.

It provides "the framework or context withinwhich the company's strategies are formulated."It's like a goal for what the company wants to dofor the world.


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Purpose of a hotel's mission statement

A mission statement addresses the interest of: The owners

The employees The customers


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Front Office Organizational Chart

Organizational charts are used for: organizational and supervisory communication, workforce planning, departmental or team planning, resource planning, change management, organizational restructuring or redesign, and job analysis.


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Front Office Organizational Chart


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Why should an organizational chart be

flexible? Increased coordination between senior

management and junior level staff Providing services in different geographical

areas of the country Existence of special purpose teams that can be

dissolved after target competition Improved efficiency and complete customer

satisfaction


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Which hotel departments and divisions aretypically classified as support centers?

Kitchen Department

Security Department

Housekeeping Department

Maintenance Department


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How does the front office interact with the rest of therooms division and the other main divisions in a full-

service hotel Food and Beverage1. Manual posting of outlet charges Accounting1. Night Audit2. Currency Control Human Resources1. Staffing2. Training


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How does the front office interact with the rest of the roomsdivision and the other main divisions in a full-service hotel

Engineering and Maintenance

1. Maintain the quality of the guest room

2. Hotel infrastructure maintenance Sales and Catering

1. Transient room sales

2. Group bookings


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How does the front office interact with the rest of the roomsdivision and the other main divisions in a full-service hotel

Front of the House:1. Rooms Division2. Sales and Catering3. Food and Beverage Back of the House:1. Human Resources2. Accounting3. Engineering Security Department1. Informing the security department of any suspicious

activities


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What is the three traditional frontoffice work shifts?

Work Shift: The Front Office Manager shall schedule his/her

employees according to seasonality, business volume,and available staff in hand

The most commonly used scheduling is the Traditional Scheduling , which assumes that every employee shallwork 40 Hours per Week. Moreover, the hotel shallensure 3 shifts per day, each of which lasts for 8 hours.A possible example to traditional scheduling is shownbelow:

Day Shift 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. Evening Shift 3 p.m. - 11 p.m. Night Shift 11 p.m. - 7 a.m.


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What variations on the traditional workweek

might a hotel adopt? Sometimes, due to non-availability of staff, seasonality, and

volume business, the Front Office manager might be forcedto adopt an Alternative Scheduling, which might bearranged under the following patterns:

Flexible Work Hours or Flextime: This kind of alternativescheduling entitles that employees might start work, forexample, one hour earlier, just to leave again one hourearlier.

Compressed Work Schedule: Employees, instead of working5 days per week, 8 hours per day, might work 4 days perweek, 10 hours per day. Therefore, compressed work-scheduling means working all the 40 hours per week in lessthan the standard 5 days per week.

Job Sharing: This kind of scheduling entitles that two ormore part-timers occupy the job of one full timer.


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Differences between Job Descriptionand Job Specification


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Importance of Job Description

Performance management Training and employee development Compensation Recognition and rewards Discipline

Return-to-work programs Essential job function analysis


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CHAPTER 3

ROOMS


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What is room status?

Describing the status of a hotel roomdetermines its readiness for new occupancy. Aroom status code will combine both theoccupancy and cleanliness informationrelating to a hotel room.


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What is a room rack?

Definition: The published full price for which hotelrooms are sold. Discovering a hotel's rack rates forvarious rooms can be a good indicator of what kind of adiscount you are really getting through travel agents

and online travel booking services. You can usually findout a particular hotel's rack rates from their web site,or by calling the hotel directly.

Also Known As: full price; published rates Examples: Booking online or going through a travel

agent can save you a percentage off the rack rates,even in peak seasons.


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Types of Rates

Rack Rate: Is the Standard rate or Published tariffdefined by the hotel management for a particularroom category / type. This is generally printed on

the tariff sheet of the hotel Corporate or Commercial Rate: These are rates

offered to companies that provide frequent

business for the hotel or its chain. This rate mayvary according to the volume of businessguaranteed by the companies


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Types of Rates

Group Rate: These are rates which is offeredto groups, meetings and conventions using thehotel for their functions.

Promotional Rate Codes: These rates aregenerally offered during low occupancyperiods to any guest to promote occupancy.

Early Bird Rates, Stay for 3 and pay for 1 etc.


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Types of Rates

Best Available rates ( BAR ) : These rate codesare the lowest discounted rate available for aday which can be offered to the guest by the

Reservation or Front desk staff. BAR can be offdifferent types: 'Dynamic BAR' - Has different tiers and

each tiers will be opened and closedaccording to the occupancy of the hotel. ( Thenew age hotel management software's doesthis automatically for the Revenue Mangers.)


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Types of Rates Best Available rates ( BAR ) : These rate codes are

the lowest discounted rate available for a daywhich can be offered to the guest by theReservation or Front desk staff. BAR can be off

different types: 'Dynamic BAR' - Has different tiers and each tiers

will be opened and closed according to theoccupancy of the hotel. ( The new age hotel

management software's does this automaticallyfor the Revenue Mangers.) Complimentary Rate: A Room rate with zero

room charge which is offered to special guests,

industry leaders, Gov. officials etc.


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Rate type defined by each code.

Rack Rate RR Corporate / Commercial Rate COR1, NEG1 Group Rate GR, GRP1 Package Rate American Plan (AP), Family

Rate (FR), Modified American Plan (MAP),Continental Plan (CP)

Best Available Rates (BAR) Complimentary Rates COMP


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What is an occupancy report? A hotel occupancy report details the status of

bookings of rooms and conference facilitieswithin the hotel. The report details rooms thatare occupied or unoccupied currently or within aspecific period of time such as in the past year.

The report indicates whether the hotel isoperating at optimum level or needs to be

marketed more effectively.


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What is an occupancy report? Summary of the day's business from which the general

manager and different department heads can view Contains a summary of a hotel's financial activities

during a 24 hour period The daily operations report provides a means of

reconciling cash, bank accounts, revenue, and accountsreceivable.

The report also serves as a posting reference forvarious accounting journals and provides importantdata that must be input to link front and back officecomputer functions.


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What is in-house use rooms?

House Use rooms are normally occupied bySenior Management and should be authorized bythe General Manager or Resident

Manager. Complimentary Rooms are normallyoccupied by Business Associates, Group Leadersand invited Travel Agents.

House Use rooms are normally occupied byinternal employee i.e. GM/ RM and it must notbe included in the Hotels occupancy figures


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What is in-house use rooms?

Obtain House Use Form and Complimentary Room RequestForm.

Ensure that form is signed and verified by GM/RM.

Make a new reservation. Ensure that the correct code iskeyed in the FIDELIO system to track the actual room countfor complimentary rooms and House Use roomsrespectively.

Attach House Use form or Complimentary Room Requestform to the reservation form and/or Correspondence.

File the reservation

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