HOTEL FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Why does a front office, front desk and a personnel is necessary and
efficient on establishing and managing a hotel?, its simple to answer because a
guest can get all of the information of different rooms, establishments and
different accommodations that they want to avail from the hotel by asking to the
receptionist or any one from the reception area or front desk. But it is not the only
answer because being on a front office wasnt an easy job , its a lot harder than
being a bellboy or other workers of a hotel even though they belong to the
department of front office. A front desk personnel struggle In their everyday
interaction and work, they were the ones who put their temper and coolness
down on managing and talking to the guest about their complaints and want
about their room and other necessities. Theres a lot of works and department of
front office, ordinary person see it as an easy work, but for the workers and
employee its a little bit harder but they enjoy it because its their chosen
profession and they put blood and sweat on reaching those positions and
oppurtunities. Its not how I look to the work its how I look at it as an inspiration
and understanding on the things that their doing to secure the satisfaction and
safeness to the guest.

The Front office or reception is an area where visitors arrive and first
encounter a staff at a place of business. Front office staff will deal with whatever
question the visitor has, and put them in contact with a relevant person at the
company. A hotel is not only a place of relaxation and resting place of different
guesses it is also a place of different meetings and meet up of different
personalities from big or small companies and establishment that is needed of
creating an event of big or small celebrations, launching and promotion of
products for a better impression. The front office department is also the one
who receives information about the customers and will then pass this on to the
relevant department within the company. The front office can also contact the
marketing and/or sales department should the customers have questions. The
company needs to give training to the front office manager as this position will
come in contact with customers the most. The most common work for the front
office staff will be to get in touch with customers and help out internally in the
office for the need and wants for the guesses satisfaction for the service. Staff
working at the front office can also deal with simple tasks, such as printing and
typing tasks and sorting emails. Although front office staff might only need to
perform tasks such as answering the phone, using the printer and fax machine,
training is still needed on these tasks. At hotels, front office refers to the front
desk or reception area or the core operations department of the hotel were
transaction of checking in and checking out of the guest is being process also the
reservation and confirmation is being done there. This would include the
reception and front desk, as well as reservations, sales and marketing,

housekeeping and concierge. This is the place where customers go when they
arrive at the hotel. Employees working in the front office will confirm customer
reservations and also attend to customer complaints and queries.
As we recall front desk serves as the face of a hotel and has the primary
responsibility of ensuring guests satisfaction through meeting the customer
requirements and requests. It is apparent that the front desk is the hub of a hotel
and plays a significant role in coordinating and ensuring the efficiency of hotel
operations with the fundamental objective of fully satisfying the guest. In the hotel
industry, most guests have a direct contact with the front office staff, implying that
the front office operations are essential in portraying the business image of a
hotel. Guests usually contact the reception for numerous reasons such as
collecting messages, leaving and picking keys, inquiries, and complaints; usually,
the front desk has the role of attending to the demands raised by guests and
offering any additional services in a hotel such as currency exchange. The first
impression is usually the lasting impression, implying that it is the responsibility of
the front desk to ensure that the guest is satisfied. The various front desk
operations that are vital to ensuring the efficiency of the entire hotel operations
include check in, communication, administrative duties, customer service, and
billing and check out. In most hotels, the front desk is the liaison between guests
and other hotel departments through relay of communication requests.
Administrative duties incorporated in front desk operations include answering
telephones, scheduling reservations and transferring guests to their respective
rooms or facilities. Customer service operations undertaken by the front desk in a

hotel include answering guests inquiries about hotel facilities and the
surrounding places. In addition, the front desk offers assistance in addressing
complaints raised by customers. Billing and check out operations include
compilation of bills and handling checkout, wherein guests make their final
payments and return any items belonging to the hotel. In the light of this view,
this paper highlights the importance of front office operations in a hotel. The
paper evaluates the impacts of the front office on a hotel. The first importance of
front office operations is that it is the first point of contact that a guest or a
potential guest makes with a hotel, either by telephone, writing or in person. We
point out that the front desk helps people in making their preference towards a
hotel, which means that the front desk operations playing an integral role in
losing or winning a potential customer. Front desk clerks represent the image of
the hotel and influence the customers perception towards the hotel. From a
psychological point of view, the halo effect, an outstanding initial impression may
influence guests to think well of the hotel and its associated facilities, and
services they use in the course of their stay .Similarly, a poor initial impression
sends a bad signal among the customers, which may increase their doubt
concerning the use of services and facilities in a hotel. The fundamental
inference from this observation is that the front desk serves as the public image
of the hotel, mainly through greeting and checking in patrons. The direct contact
between guests and the front desk implies that the front desk operations are vital
in guaranteeing returning customers. Effective front desk operations guarantee
customer satisfaction, which is central towards ensuring the business success of

the hotel. This is primarily because the front desk staff provides patrons with the
first impression concerning the establishment. In essence, the front desk of a
hotel serves as its introduction. The success of the front desk in a hotel reflects
the organizational skills of the hotel as a whole. Therefore, well-planned front
desk operations provide a superb first impression to patrons, whereas an
unorganized front desk instills uneasiness and negative impression about the
hotel. he second importance of the front desk operations is that the front office
serves as the service hub of a hotel; this is because the front desk is the area
where most transactions and guest contacts take place in the course of their
stay. According to Bardi (2010), the patrons experience regarding the hotel
service is primarily determined by the front desk operations and personnel. This
is ultimately essential because the quality and style of service is a primary
determinant in offering an enjoyable and relaxing experience that leads to guest
satisfaction, which is the primary goal of the hotel industry. The style and quality
of service offered by the front desk also plays a vital role in establishing a
competitive advantage for the hotel because it makes a hotel unique from its
competitors offering similar services and facilities. Further, the quality and style of
hotel service helps in ensuring that the patrons continue visiting the hotel and
simultaneously facilitate word-of-mouth marketing because satisfied guests are
likely to offer a positive report of the hotel and recommend the hotel to other
potential patrons. The profitability and competitiveness of hotels significantly
depend on positive word of mouth marketing, which can be effectively achieved
by establishing well-planned front desk operations. Therefore, the front desk can

either make or break the hotel establishment because it serves as the first
contact point for the patrons . For instance, the front desk ensures that guests
are happily served, and patrons are greeted in a manner that it reflects the
outstanding service offered at the hotel, which is an essential element of an
outstanding business. Therefore, it is apparent that the front desk is a vital
component of customer service within the hotel, which plays a vital role in
guaranteeing quality and style of hotel service. Another importance of the front
desk operations is that the front desk has a fundamental responsibility of
addressing the problems and complaints raised by guests, which are critical
incidents that differentiate guests satisfaction and dissatisfaction. he third
importance of the front desk operations is that the front desk serves as the
communications hub for a hotel, wherein information exchange between other
departments, guests and employees take place. For instance, the entire hotel
system can fail if the reception does not inform the housekeeping department to
make adequate preparations for arriving guests. Operational failures can also be
observed when the reception does not pass on a customer complaint to the
maintenance department, or the reception does not make a booking for the
guest; the outcome is that the guest may not be served. Similarly, the system can
fail if the reception does not take into account the housekeepings warning of the
need to repair or redecorate the room. It is apparent the efficiency and
effectiveness of hotel operations depend on communications initiated by the front
desk. Further, the front desk is the mediator between the hotels departments and
guests, which is central towards ensuring that hotel operations run smoothly to

guarantee customer satisfaction. The front desk also plays a fundamental role in
coordinating guest services, offering information, maintaining precise room
statistics, inventories, and maintaining and completing guest account statements.
In fact, most communications in a hotel take place via the front desk. For
instance, guests relay their complaints to the front desk, which are then
forwarded to the respective departments. In addition, most departments relay
information via the front desk to be forwarded to the respective departments. An
effective information flow among guests, various departments and the front desk
helps in boosting the hotels revenue. Fundamentally, the front desk helps in
handling complaints by determining the need, solving the problem and follow up
measures to ensure guest satisfaction with the solution. Well-established front
desk communications with other departments and guests help in ensuring
effective hotel operations and satisfying experience by the patrons, which are
central towards ensuring that the hotel achieves profitability and competitive
advantage . Another importance of the front desk is that it serves as the
administrative hub of a hotel facility. Front desk operations include logging
reservations, planning of room allocations, monitoring room status, preparation of
guest bills, processing payments, keeping and updating records and
maintenance of information displays. Failure to execute these tasks efficiently
implies that the hotel would stop functioning. The inference from this observation
is that the front desk operations are central towards the entire functioning of the
hotel. Reservations entail handling inquiries from potential guests and other
interest parties wishing to reserve accommodation or use the hotels facilities.

The primary objective of reservation is to gather the information needed to initiate

a booking. Reception operations involve taking enquiries and addressing
reservation requests, which involve preparation of guests arrival, greeting
patrons during their arrival, checking guests in by registering them, assigning
appropriate rooms and facilities and validating the payment methods. Reception
operations also entail addressing problems and queries raised by guests, selling
hotel facilities and services, and offering information relating to patrons to other
departments. Guest relations are also an essential element of the front desk
activities, which has the primary objective of establishing a more personal
relationship with guest. Guest relations ensure that patrons feel welcome and
access personalized service. It is apparent that the front desk operations are
involved in every phase of the guest cycle from pre-arrival, arrival, occupancy
and departure. The front desk facilitates pre-arrival of guests by ensuring
effective reservation procedures. The arrival phase is facilitated through
registration, room allocation issuance of keys and baggage handling. The front
desk facilitates the occupancy phase through updating and maintaining guest
accounts, mail and information, currency exchange and transportation. Finally,
the front desk facilitates the departure phase by checking guests out, bill
settlement, transportation and baggage handling. It is evident that the
administrative function of the front desk ensures the effectiveness of hotel
operations by facilitating information flow and liaising with other departments in
the hotel such as housekeeping, accounts, security, food and beverage, sales
and marketing, and human resource department. Overall, it is evident that the

front desk has a significa nt impact on the hotel in terms of profitability,

competitive advantage, revenue levels, efficiency of operations, and competitive
advantages. All these variables influence guests satisfaction, which is the
primary reason for establishing a hotel. Combining all the impacts imply that the
front desk is critical in ensuring that the hotel is functional and profitable. The
paper has discussed the importance and impacts of the front desk in a hotel,
which include representing the image of the hotel and influence the customers
perception towards the hotel, as the service hub of a hotel, communications hub
for a hotel, and the administrative hub of the hotel. Effective front desk activities
enhance customer satisfaction, which is central towards ensuring the business
success of the hotel. The style and quality of service offered by the front desk
also plays an imperative role in creating a competitive advantage for the hotel
because it makes a hotel distinctive from its competitors offering related services
and facilities. In addition, the front desk operations are central towards the entire
functioning of the hotel.