chapter 3: overview of the front office dept

1Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management

© 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved.

Overview of the Front Office Department



Front Office Functions and Responsibilities

• Coordinating guest services• Specific activities help deliver guest services:– Revenue management– Reservation management– Guest services– Night audit




• Night Audit: The process of reviewing for accuracy and completeness the accounting transactions from one day to conclude or “close” that day’s sales information in preparation for posting the transactions of the next day.




• Front office responsibilities:– Managing the Property Management System (PMS): The PMS consists of the computer hardware and programs utilized to record guest reservations and requests and to manage the prices charged for rooms and other services. The system also records and stores hotel sales data and other historical information useful in decision making for effective hotel management.




• Front office responsibilities:– Revenue and reservations management

– Management of guest services– Guest accounting– General data management



Front Office Organization

• Organizational structure depends upon the size of the property:– Small hotels– Large hotels– Mega hotels



Front Office Organization

• Career Ladder: A plan that projects successively more responsible professional positions within an organization or industry; career ladders also allow one to plan and schedule developmental activities judged necessary to assume these higher-level positions.



Front Office Positions

• Management positions• Entry-level positions



Front Office Positions• Management positions:

– Responsibilities– Activities– Skills

• Universal Process of Management: The concept that, at their most basic level, the principles of planning, organizing, coordinating, staffing, controlling, and evaluating are the same (or similar) in any type of business or organization.



Front Office Positions• Common front office management positions:– Resident manager– Front office manager– PBX manager– Reservations manager– Assistant front office manager– Front desk manager– Uniformed services manager– Supervisor, bell services




• Flat (Organization Chart): The collapse/combination of positions within an organization to reduce the number of management layers in efforts to improve communication, increase operating efficiencies, and reduce costs.




• Non-management positions:– Responsibilities– Skills



Front Office Positions• Common non-management positions:

– Night auditor– PBX operator– Reservations agent– Front desk cashier– Front desk agent– Bell services attendant– Concierge– Door attendant– Parking lot attendant– Van driver



Human Resources Management

• Turnover Rate: A measure of the proportion of a work force that is replaced during a designated time period. # Employees Separated = Employee Turnover Rate

# Employees in the Workforce




• Internal Recruiting: Tactics to identify and attract currently employed staff members for job vacancies that represent promotions or lateral transfers to similar positions in the same organization.

• External Recruiting: Tactics designed to attract persons who are not current hotel employees for vacant positions within the organization.




• Warm Body Syndrome: An often-used but ineffective selection technique that involves hiring (almost) anyone who applies without regard to qualifications for the vacant position.




• Tools for screening applicants:– Review application form– Employment interviews– Employment tests– Reference checks– Review of other requirements– Drug screening




• Bond(ing): Purchasing an insurance policy against the possibility that an employee will steal.

• Employer-of-Choice: The concept that the hospitality operation is a preferred place of employment within the community by those who have alternative employment opportunities.




• Orientation: The process of providing basic information about the hotel that should be known by all of its employees.– Employee Handbook: Written policies and procedures related to employment at a hotel.

• Induction: The process of informing new employees about matters related to the department in which they will work.




• Steps for effective training:– Plan the training:

1. Define tasks for which training is needed.

2. Determine how each task should be done.




• Steps for effective training:– Prepare for training:

1. Learn how to train.“Off-the-Shelf”: A term relating to a generic product (such as a training resource) that is developed for general industry use rather than specifically developed for a unique property.2. Prepare for training.




• Steps for effective training:– Deliver the training:

1. Conduct the training.2. Allow trainee to practice (learn).




• Steps for effective training:– Follow-up after training:

1. Coach the trainee to reinforce correct methods.

2. Evaluate the trainer and the training.




• Motivate: The process of appealing to a person’s inner drive to attain a goal.




• Tactics to motivate front office employees:– Follow sound management advice– Provide effective orientation– Train correctly– Manage a professional hotel– Supervise like you want to be supervised– Encourage effective communication– Manage a friendly hotel– Help your employees succeed




• Leadership Styles: The mix of attitudes and/or behaviors that a supervisor can use to direct the work of employees.– Autocratic manager– Bureaucratic manager– Democratic manager– Laissez-faire manager




• Factors influencing leadership style used:– Manager’s personal background– Characteristics of employees– Relationship between manager and employees

– The job situation itself




• Staffing and scheduling– Variable Labor Position: A position that must be staffed according to the volume of business.

– Fixed Labor Position: A position that involves work tasks not directly tied to the level of business volume.




• Factors to be considered in staffing:– Number of guest arrivals/departures– Occupancy rate– Each employee’s interest and history of work shifts

– Employees’ expenses and training– Employee requests– Legal factors– Other factors

chapter 3: overview of the front office dept

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