status of room availability, registering guests and allocation of rooms, maintaining records of check-in and check-out details, porter services, issuing room keys to guests, passing messages to customers, coordinating with other guest services, providing in-house and external information to the guests, and preparing and settling their bills. The manner in which the services are offered plays a central role in image building of the institution and ultimately determines the revenue generated. Would you like to be greeted/served by a person who is expressionless and indifferent? Not at all!
The front office staff also coordinate with various departments for providing services to guests such as the Transport for assisting the guest with transport, Accounts, Billing, Room service, Restaurants, Engineering, Stores, Sales and Housekeeping departments. The organisational chart of Front office is shown in Fig. . .
Front Office Receptionist (Agent) Front Office Cashier Front Office Manager Telephone Operator Bell Captain Bell Boys Fig. . : Organisation of the Front Office Department The services offered by different staff members under front office desk are shown in Table . .
Table . : Designations and Functions/Duties of various Personnel in the Front Office Designations Functions/Duties Front Office Manager Responsible for managing the front office, lobby, transport activities. Schedules shifts/staff rotations and duties of the staff in shifts, since all hotels work for hours. Checks the arrivals of the day, the “V.I.P.”s, coordinates with housekeeping and other departments.
Front Office Supervisor Is responsible for a shift. Meets and greets all arrivals, ensures accurate and speedy rooming procedure. She/He checks occupancy. Front Office Cashier Is responsible for maintaining the guests’ bills and receiving payments when the guests checkout.
Telephone Operator / Information assistant Is responsible for providing information and communicates with in-house guests and visitors. Assistant Manager- Front Office Organises and supervises the front office in the absence of front office manager and ensures smooth functioning of the front office. Lobby Manager Organises, supervises and controls all uniformed services. Receptionist (Front office Agent) Reserves, registers and assigns rooms to guests and provides information as and when necessary to guests during their stay in the hotel.