Welcome to Reception Academy Day 2 © Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Welcome to Reception Academy Day 2 1

What we will cover today © Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. What we will cover today Telephone Answering and Message Handling Departments we work with The Jigsaw Comfort break What is expected of an exceptional hotel receptionist Welcoming guests The Loyalty Programme 2

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Telephone Answering Message Handling 3

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Telephone Answering After how many rings should a phone latest be answered? Internal call from another department: “Good morning / good afternoon / good evening, reception this is... ( Name of receptionist ). How may I help you? Internal call from a guest bedroom: “Good morning / good afternoon / good evening “Guest name”, thank you for calling Reception this is ... ( Name of receptionist ). How may I help you? 4

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Telephone Answering External call: “Good morning / good afternoon / good evening thank you for calling the....( Hotel Name ). You have come through to... ( Name of receptionist ). How may I connect your call? How to put a call on hold? How to transfer a phone call? “Introduced” and “Blind transfer” Calls for the General Manager? How to handle a call when you have a guest in front of you? 5

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Message Handling What sort of information do you require when taking a message over the phone? Who is calling? (Full name of caller) When was message taken? (Date & Time) For whom is the message? (Full name of guest) What are the callers contact details? The message itself (Is a call back expected / Will caller call again ) 6

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. The Extra Step If you wish to cover these topics in more depth and practice them Reception Academy provides pro-active & interactive online courses By completing it you would improve your listening & understanding skills You would feel more comfortable and more accurate while taking messages This is an extra step to become even more Exceptional Receptionists Those are qualifications that you can promote when attending interview 7

Departments we work with © Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Departments we work with 8

Departments we work with © Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Departments we work with Housekeeping (HK) Sales & Marketing Finance Maintenance Food & Beverage (F&B) Restaurant Bar Room Service (R/S) Kitchen Conference & Banqueting (C&B) Front of House (FOH) Reception Concierge Switchboard Executive Lounge GSM / GRM Revenue Individual Reservations Group Reservations Conference & Events (C&E) Spa / Gym / Swimming Pool Security, IT, H&S Any Other Outlets Human Resources 9

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. The Jigsaw 10

Departments we work with © Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Departments we work with How can we communicate effectively with other departments? Face to face handover and handover sheets Morning meetings Email Traces Telephone 11

What makes an exceptional receptionist © Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. What makes an exceptional receptionist Delivers personal service Exceeds guest expectations Anticipates guest needs Contributes new ideas to improve service Keeps up with trends and technology Attends industry related exhibitions Gets involved i.e. joins Institute of Hospitality, Hotcat and LinkedIn A truly exceptional receptionist sees the bigger picture and is able to inspire others to be at their best every day. 12

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Welcoming Guests 13

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Welcoming Guests Have you been welcomed somewhere lately? What was it like? Why is a good welcome so important? - first thing you usually hear - sets the tone for the rest of the conversation - the single most important thing that sets us apart from the competition What should a good welcome look like? - look at the guest, stop any other work for that moment, be attentive - honest and genuine smile - be the first to greet: Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, How may I help? - say – “Welcome” or “Welcome Back” 14

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Welcoming Guests How do you welcome a guest who is waiting to be served? - warm and sincere smile - acknowledge the guest with eye contact - say “ I will be with you shortly” - when the guest comes to desk, start with “Thank you for waiting” Each welcome should be followed by a light conversation. What could you ask? - “How are you today?” “How was your day so far?” - “How was your trip?” or “How was your journey?” - “What brings you to our hotel?” or “What brings you to London?” 15

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Welcoming Guests Different guests expect a different welcome & different sort of conversation - Business guests – “Welcome” or “Welcome back” – short conversation - Leisure guests – ask about their plans during their stay - Families - ask about their plans during their stay, pay attention to kids - VIP’s – greeted by Manager – escorted to the room - Celebrities – greeted by Sales Manager – escorted to the room - Politicians – have usually no contact with staff, tight security - Royalty – greeted by General Manager – usually no contact with staff - Very loyal guests – with a hand shake, welcome drink, use of guest name 16

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Loyalty Programmes 17

What questions do you have? © Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. What questions do you have? 18

© Hospitality Training & Recruitment Ltd. Thank you 19