What is Front Office? The Front Office is the one of the many departments of the hotel business which directly interacts with the customers when they first arrive at the hotel. The staff of Front Office department is very visible to the guests. Front office staff handles the transactions between the hotel and its guests. The staff also receives the guests, handles their requests and strikes the first impression about the hotel into their minds!!
With this ON POINT article you are about to understand the Sub-Sections of Front Office Department along with their basic activities.
Also known as Registration Section, This section is located in the Lobby. It also allocates the Room and established the Rates for different types of guests. The person of the section is called Receptionist. The GSA (Guest Service Officer) has direct contact with guests. Various Functions of this area are, Warmly receive all arrival guests, Complete registration formalities and perform guest check-in.
Perform pre-registration formalities for a group, VIPs, and disable guests. Furthermore, They Co-ordinate closely with the housekeeping department for clearance of soiled rooms, room change, and UR (Under Repaired) rooms. Issue VIP amenities-voucher to the food and beverage service guys. and Co-ordinates closely with the bell desk for luggage handling and room keys.
It is located at a front desk and responsible for handling mails and messages with room keys. It also provides information regarding outside and inside of the hotel’s rules and regulations, facilities and services. It also handles the e-mail, fax, Xerox machine, cable through the business center!
This area is also located at the front desk and handled by the front cashiers. The main functions of a cashier are, The secure payment from the guest’s arrival and To change foreign currency as per rules and regulation of the hotel. To manage the safety deposit locker and To settle the guest accounts while check-out. To balance cash at the close of shift and also To complete the guest check-out procedure. A Cashier’s activities are Finance centric.
The term Reservation means booking in advance. It basically blocks or reserve the room as per the requestor specifies data. Moreover, They handles all cancellations and revisit as a reservation made by the guest from different sources and modes. Their duty also includes Processing and confirmation the reservation request, Forecast future room reservation status, and to Keep out reservation correspondence complete and systematic.
Reservation Department also Update Room Availability Chart.
Also known as Telephone Section, This section is handled by telephone operators and it is located at the back of the office. Its main function is to handle incoming and outgoing calls. It is also responsible for managing wake up calls as requested by the guest and preparation of telephone bills made by guests and staff.
Also known as Front Zone or Public Area, It is an area which is located at the entrance of a hotel building with a sitting arrangement for guest’s visitors to meet and wait. It is synonymous with the word “Foyer” which means a wide passage or large hall just inside the entrance of a public building. The dimension and design of this area rely upon the size and design of the building. Basically lobby area must be furnished with all the necessary things to provide comfort and elegance to the guests.
The Bell Desk is located at either side of the lobby entrance headed by the bell captain and followed by bell boys. This desk is responsible for handling the guest luggage during arrival and departure. The bell desk section also handles the paying, deliver guest mails and messages to the concerned guest room.
The Person who handles the business center is known as Business Centre attended and the main function of this section is to provide communication facilities and services like STD, ISD, E-mail, internet, fax, xerox, etc.
This section of the Front Office is responsible for arranging the Packages, Tickets, Outside Reservations etc. for the guest as per their request.
Last but not the least, Back Office is also a very important part of the Front Office Department. Major Documentation, Storage, System Management, Executive Offices are located there and It plays an important role in the smooth front office operations.
