PowerPoint to accompany Chapter 6 Provide porter services

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Learning outcomes –Describe the role of the porter. –Handle guest arrivals and departures. –Handle guest luggage. –Describe the porter’s role in security. –Respond to requests for ancillary services.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Who are porters? –Porters are the people: –Who greet guests as they arrive at the venue –Manage guests’ luggage –Provide general information services –Provide valet services (car parking) –Act as a central point of contact for groups. –Porters work in the Concierge department.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Concierge department

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Desirable qualities of a porter –High standard of personal grooming and hygiene. –Be attentive and courteous. –Be organised. –Be discreet, tactful and sympathetic. –Be resourceful.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Desirable qualities of a porter –Have excellent product and local area knowledge. –Have excellent interpersonal skills. –Have excellent selling skills. –Understand the various needs of the venues target market(s).

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Porters –Many hospitality professionals start out as porters (particularly those who work in the front office). –Many porters make a career in the Concierge department.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Making a career as a concierge –To officially receive title of Concierge, you must become a member of Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hotels (UICH). –UICH previously known as Les Clefs d’Or – Golden keys.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Making a career as a concierge –To become a member requires: –Minimum five years experience in concierge department, two years in charge –Commitment to the professionalism of the concierge role –Demonstrate integrity and respect in the position.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Guest pre-arrival activities –Check front office / porter diary. –Check expected arrivals and departures (reports). –Collect master key (if issued). –Arrange for and deliver special requests.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Guest pre-arrival activities –Book and collect theatre/event tickets. –Arrange for parking. –Arrange luggage storage facility. –Tidy foyer area. –Neatly arrange display units.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia The master key –A master key is a key that opens all or some specific doors (e.g. All rooms on a particular floor, function rooms, storage areas, etc.). –The nature of porters work dictates master key requirements. –Master keys are signed out at the start of a shift and in at the end of the shift.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Guest arrival activities –When guests arrive, the porter is likely to: –Welcome them warmly –Assist them out of the car –Collect their luggage from the car.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Guest arrival activities –Direct (or escort) the guest to reception –Park the guests’ car –Deliver their luggage to their room –Room the guest –Offer additional services.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Welcoming guests –This is often the first opportunity for face to face contact – porters need to make it a positive moment of truth. –Immediately guests arrive, they begin to form opinions, draw conclusions, etc. about the venue and the service: –How warmly were they welcomed?

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Welcoming guests –How helpful was the porter? –How convenient was the parting? –How clean are the venue’s door/front steps/foyer? –Did the porter remember their name?

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Assisting with luggage –Luggage handling is one of the most common roles undertaken by porters. –Always remember to lift correctly. –Not all guests will want assistance with luggage.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Direct/escort guests to reception –Particularly guests who haven’t visited this venue before may need to be directed to reception. –If the guest has a lot of luggage, it is often appropriate to escort them to reception.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Traffic management –The front of a venue can get very busy with traffic. –It is important to keep the flow of traffic moving through.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Group arrivals –Group arrivals need to be well coordinated to ensure: –Flow of traffic –Guests directed quickly to meeting area/reception –Luggage collected, tagged and delivered to correct rooms.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Rooming the guest –A porter is often called upon to escort guests to their room. This affords the porter the opportunity to: –Build rapport –Respond to queries –Highlight venue and room features –Advise guests of emergency procedures.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Guest departures –On departure, the porter is likely to: –Collect luggage from the guests room –Collect the guest car –Arrange for other transport (if required) –Forward mail –Provide information –Provide directions.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Handling guest luggage –Luggage is often: –Collected from the guests car –Delivered to their room –Collected from their room –Stored.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Manual handling –The nature of the porters work exposes the porter to potential workplace hazards. The most common is manual handling injuries form handling luggage. –Correct manual handling will help reduce the likelihood of injury.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Manual handling –Is the physical manoeuvring of items and involves lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying and holding. –Follow the manual handling guidelines to ensure appropriate workplace safety.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Collecting and delivering luggage –Whether luggage is collected from (or delivered to) cars, coaches or rooms it is done: –Within designated timeframes –Safely.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Timeframes –Guests expect their luggage to be delivered to (or collected from) their room in a timely manner. –Always give an indicative timeframe for luggage collection or delivery. –Try to keep it within standard times for the venue (e.g. within 15 minutes).

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Transporting luggage –Follow designated routes. –Never inconvenience a guest. –Don’t take luggage back of house. –Don’t take trolleys into guests rooms. –Don’t take trolleys into restaurants, bars, poolside. –Don’t leave loaded trolleys unattended.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Putting luggage into guest rooms –Leave the trolley in the corridor. Leave the door open. –Carry all items into the room for the guest. –Place suitcases on luggage rack (or jack stand).

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Putting luggage into guest rooms –Place garment bags in wardrobe. –Place toiletry bags in bathroom. –Place smaller pieces of luggage on bed or table.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Collecting luggage from guest rooms –Leave the trolley in the corridor. Leave the door open. –Collect first the large pieces, then the smaller. –Look around for additional pieces. –If guest is in the room, ask if there is any more luggage.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Luggage security –While luggage is in the porters care, the porter is responsible for its security. –No else must have access to guests luggage.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Storing luggage –Many guests request their luggage be stored. –A secure area (lockable room) should be designated for this purpose. –The secure area should have restricted access. –All items secured in this way should be tagged.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia What Is ‘tagging’ luggage? –Tagging luggage means to place an identifying label on each piece of luggage. –The guest is given a corresponding tag which is presented in order to collect their luggage.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Tagging luggage –The tag will indicate: –Whose luggage it is (guest name) –Guest’s room number –Group name (if appropriate).

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Tagging luggage –Date luggage placed in storage (and date to be collected) –Type of luggage –Number of pieces –Fee charged (porterage).

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Reclaiming luggage –In order to reclaim luggage, the guest must present the luggage tag ‘stubs’. –If the guest loses the stubs they may need to: –Accurately describe each piece of luggage –State the date luggage left and their room number (and dates of their stay) –Give their name and identification in order to claim their luggage.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Tracking lost luggage –Occasionally luggage goes missing. Sometimes it’s the venue’s fault, sometimes it is not. In any event, porters make every effort to track luggage.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Tracking lost luggage –If the luggage cannot be found: –Explain this to the guest –Apologise but do not accept responsibility –Write a report about what was done to locate the luggage.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia What is porterage? –Porterage refers to the fee charged by some venues for the convenience of luggage storage.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Security and the porter –Because the porter spends a significant amount of time in public areas, they have an important role to play in security of the venue and its guests.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Security and the porter –The porter can keep a look out for: –Potential theft –Suspicious people –Disturbances. –The porter also plays a role in key security.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Preventing theft –During the course of the day, as porters move about the venue, they are able to keep an eye on the activities of others to prevent the likelihood of theft. –Guests personal belongings and venue assets are at risk.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Suspicious behaviour –Suspicious behaviour is when someone behaves in a manner that seems unusual, such as: –Avoiding eye contact –Trying to access staff only areas –Acting nervous –Fidgeting. –Never ignore suspicious behaviour.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Deal with disturbances –A disturbance is any incident that interrupts the normal activities of the venue. –Disturbances may be averted if a porter is alert to certain behaviours and takes control of the situation.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Key control –The porter may be responsible for a master and the concierge department is most likely to manage guests car keys. –The porter may also handle room keys (left by guests).

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Key control –All keys must be secured in an appropriate place. –Porters are not permitted to hand room keys to guests. –Guests retrieving their car must produce the ticket issued by the porter when they left the car on arrival.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Guest occupancy – providing ancillary services –While staying in the venue, the porter is likely to: –Provide information for the guest –Book theatre and event tickets –Arrange transport.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Guest occupancy – providing ancillary services –Arrange laundry and shoe shine –Run errands –Courier documents and forward and deliver mail –Recommend sights to see, things to do, places to eat.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Guest requests for porter services –Guests may request porter services at the concierge desk, another department, or on the telephone.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Guest requests for porter services –However a request is made, the porter must take responsibility for ensuring all requests are: –Met in a timely manner –Appropriately and accurately completed –Completed in a courteous and friendly way.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Providing, sourcing and maintaining information –Porters need to maintain a vast bank of information relating to: –Local area knowledge –The venue itself –Where to get certain items –How to arrange certain services etc. –This information is available via the internet or a porters directory.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia What is the porter’s directory? –A directory is an alphabetised reference book maintained by most porters and holds information about: –Local attractions –Costs –Transport –Directions –Contacts.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Local area information –Even if a porters directory is not maintained and the internet is not accessible, a porter must be able to source local area information.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Local area information –Sources for local include: –Local visitor guides/brochures/flyers –Local publications, such as newspapers –Timetables –Colleagues –Personal visits –Tour operators.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Personal shopping –Although not common, this is sometimes requested. –The porter must know where and how to purchase items requested by guests.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Personal shopping –Some concierge departments maintain a small store of commonly requested items (toothpaste, soap, etc.). –Other items that may be requested include: –Clothing –Flowers –Gifts.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Arranging transport –This is a common request of guests who do not have a car. –Usually it is as simple as hailing a taxi but may include a limousine service, or booking flights or trains.

Vivienne O’Shannessy: Front Office Skills © 2009 Pearson Education Australia Organising tours –This is another common request. –Most venues maintain a stock of local tour brochures. –Many tours booked by the porter attract a commission from the operator.