Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 1 Front Office: Hub of the Hotel

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 2 The Executive Committee Role of the executive committee Committee concerns –Guest service input –Long-term group business –Financial variances

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 3 Front Office Information Assists All Departments Scheduling staff Operating Costs: Costs directly incurred to generate revenue that vary by the amount of revenue (business volume) and that are usually within control of the applicable manager. Planning work volumes and assignments

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 4 Front Office and Guest Contact Departments General manager: –Guestroom reports Flash Report: Daily information provided to the GM that reports key financial information from the previous day (often accumulated for the month and/or year-to-date and compared to actual data from previous years). –Financial concerns

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 5 Front Office and Guest Contact Departments General manager: –Service recommendations Gateway: A term relating to a location (airport or hotel, for example) where there is significant activity involving international travelers. Business Case: Advantages that are objectively presented whenever possible in support of a proposal to improve business. –Day-to-day operations

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 6 Front Office and Guest Contact Departments Marketing and sales department: –Pre-key: Making an electronic key for a guest room prior to the actual arrival of the guest who will be assigned to that room. –Consortia Rate: A hotel room rate given to a guest whose room is booked by selected travel agencies.

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 7 Front Office and Guest Contact Departments Food and Beverage Department –Guarantee (Banquet): A contractual agreement about the number of meals to be provided at a banquet event. –Dram Shop Laws: A provision in the U.S. legal code that allows an injured party to seek damages from an intoxicated person who caused the injury and from the person who provided the alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person. –Lobby Foodservices: A term describing the food services offered by many limited-service hotels.

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 8 Front Office and Building Operations Departments Accounting department: –Training the night auditor –Guest billing problems –Policy development and change –Cash bank replenishment –Currency exchange

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 9 Front Office and Building Operations Departments Housekeeping department: –Morning room check Sleep Out: A room that was paid for but in which the bed was not used. Sleeper: A room identified by the PMS as occupied but that is actually unoccupied. –Afternoon room check –Other coordinating activities

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 10 Front Office and Building Operations Departments Security department: –Security precautions –Front office and security/safety incidents Defibrillator: A machine used to deliver an electrical shock to the heart in case of cardiac arrest (heart attack) in efforts to re-establish a normal heartbeat.

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 11 Front Office and Building Operations Departments Security department: –Guest notification in emergencies FiresBomb threats Power blackoutsEarthquakes HurricanesTornados Terrorism –Identity Theft: A crime that occurs when someone obtains and uses another individual’s personal information to commit fraud and/or theft.

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 12 Front Office and Building Operations Departments Maintenance/engineering department: –Maintenance Request Form: A form used to initiate and document a request for maintenance.

Woods et al., Professional Front Office Management © 2007 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 13 Summary: Front Office Is the Hub of the Hotel Responsibilities of front office department: –Coordination of guest services –Centralization of operating information –Facilitation of hotel staff members