Chapter 6
Learning Objectives
6-1 Use organizational charts of lodging properties to
identify where the front office fits in various-sized
properties.
6-2 Identify the duties and responsibilities of positions in
the front office.
6-3 Identify functions of computer reservation systems
used in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Learning Objectives
6-4 Identify the duties and responsibilities of the front
office manager.
6-5 Explain the important role the front office plays in
sales.
6-6 Describe the role of the front office in protecting
guest privacy.
Learning Objectives
6-7 Identify the duties and responsibilities of the night
auditor.
6-8 Calculate the occupancy percentage (Occ), average
daily rate (ADR), and revenue per available room
(RevPAR).
• The front office is the most visible department in the
hotel.
• The front office staff has more contact with guests than
staff in other departments.
Chapter 6 Introduction
• The front office is organized based on the size of the
hotel.
• In a large property, supervisors and employees have very
specific tasks depending on their position.
• In a small property, staffing levels are kept to a minimum
and the amount of cross-training that employees receive
is higher.
6.1 Organization of the Front Office
Front Office Organizational Chart
Knowledge Check
1. What are the differences between positions in
the front office department of a large hotel vs. a
small hotel?
2. What are the opportunities at a smaller hotel
that might better prepare you for a career
advancement opportunity?
• The front desk agent assists guests throughout the
various stages of the guest experience cycle.
• Front desk agent responsibilities include reservations,
check-in, registration, guest service through the stay, and
bill settlement upon check-out.
6.2 Front Office Responsibilities
• Computer literacy
• Effective communication
• Empathy, problem-solving,
and interpersonal skills
• Remaining calm under
pressure
• Ability to multitask
• Stamina
Characteristics of Front Desk Agents
• The property management system (PMS) is the
computer system that allows a hotel (or group of hotels)
to manage the capabilities of the front office.
• The central reservation office (CRO) is the centrally
located office for a brand that has a reservation staff that
answers the toll-free telephone number 24 hours per day.
Front Office
• A reservation agent answers phone calls from guests,
travel agents, and third-party vendors to book
reservations for guestrooms.
• The night auditor works during the overnight shift to
handle the traditional responsibilities of the front desk
agent and verifies the work of the front desk agents in
relation to balancing out accounts.
Front Office Positions
• The cashier is responsible for posting revenue center
charges to the guest accounts, balancing guest accounts,
and providing banking services.
• A private branch exchange (PBX) operator is responsible
for answering the phones at the incoming switchboard
and then transferring or directing the caller to the
appropriate person or department.
Front Office Positions
• Door attendant: Assists guests with curbside baggage,
opens doors to vehicles, and opens doors to the hotel.
• Bell attendant: Assists guests with baggage from
curbside to the guestroom.
Uniformed Services Department
• Valet attendant:
Responsible for the
exchange of vehicle keys
for parking tags and may
park vehicles.
• Concierge: Assists guest by
making reservations,
arranging in-hotel activities,
and providing information.
Uniformed Services Department
• Reservations can be made through the property’s
website or app, OTAs, travel agents, by phone or e-mail,
or in person.
• The global distribution system (GDS) is the technical
platform that connects travel agents to airline reservation
systems, car rentals, and hotels.
Reservations
• The central reservation
system (CRS) is the
technical platform used by
agents in the central
reservation office (CRO) to
book reservations across all
the various hotels in a
brand.
Reservations
• Pre-arrival
• Arrival
• Occupancy
• Departure
• Post-departure
Guest Experience Cycle
Knowledge Check
1. What are the differences between a CRS, a
GDS, and an OTA?
2. What are the common qualifications that exist
across front office positions?
3. Explain the five stages of the guest experience
cycle.
6.3 Role of the Front Office Manager
• Forecasting is the process of anticipating future
business performance based on current and historical
data.
• Past performance data and current business levels are
used to predict future occupancy rates.
• The data is used to maximize revenue and attempt to
have 100 percent occupancy.
Forecasting
Forecasting
Forecasting
• Stayover: A guest who is not expected to check out and
whose room is staying occupied for a least one more
night.
Forecasting
Forecast Formula
• Service recovery refers to the actions taken by the staff to
respond to a service failure.
• The goal is to transition the guest from being a
dissatisfied guest to a loyal one.
Service Recovery
• A productivity standard is a measurement that
determines the number of employees that need to be
scheduled based on the number of guests.
Labor Management
• The front office has to communicate with every
department in the hotel.
• Housekeeping has the most interaction with the front
office team.
Communication with other Departments
Knowledge Check
1. What are the duties of the front office manager?
2. Why are forecasting calculations important to
have a better understanding of the rooms
available for sale?
• Upselling is a sales
technique used to invite the
guest to spend more by
buying an upgraded version
of the product.
• Protecting guest privacy
• Key control
6.4 Additional Responsibilities
• Access control
• Guestroom doors
• Protecting personal information
• Complying with payment card industry (PCI)
Responsibilities of the Front Office
1. Confirm the identify of the guest upon check-in. Verify
photo identification matches the individual.
2. Confirm the number of keys that will be needed.
3. Verify the room number matches the number being
encoded onto the electronic key.
4. Confirm the check-out date.
Key Issuance Procedure
5. Encode the key.
6. Present the key to the guest using a jacket, with the
room number written on the jacket.
7. Do not say the room number out loud.
8. If the guest wants to be escorted to their room by a bell
attendant, hand the key jacket to the bell attendant.
Key Issuance Procedure
Knowledge Check
1. Why is protecting guest privacy important?
2. What is the procedure recommended for key
control? Why is this procedure important?
3. In which ways can every team member in the
hotel take part in the selling process of the
hotel?
• The night audit is the process that occurs during the
overnight shift at a hotel that checks, corrects, and
balances all accounts for registered hotel guests.
• The night audit occurs between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when
the property experiences the lowest demand for guest
services.
6.5 The Night Audit Process
• Balances the accounts from the outlets, banquets, retail
operations, and front desk transactions.
• Verifies the guest credit limits and all accounts for the day
are closed.
• Ensures rates for all guestrooms are verified and the
room rate and tax are posted.
The Night Auditor
• Guest folios are updated and totals are posted to the
guest ledger (a collection of all guest folio account
charges into one document for reporting purposes).
• Works in the finance, accounting, and front office
departments.
• Performs accounting calculations, tracks guest credit
restrictions, and prepares reports for management.
The Night Auditor
1. Update guest folio.
2. Balance each guest folio.
3. Update and total the guest ledger.
4. Calculate the Accounts Receivable total.
5. Print reports.
6. Generate and distribute management reports.
Steps of the Night Audit
Night Audit Folio
Knowledge Check
1. What are the responsibilities of the night
auditor?
2. Describe the night audit process.
• The average daily rate (ADR) is the average room rate
for all of the rooms occupied in the hotel, when measured
against all of the rooms sold in the hotel.
• The occupancy percentage (Occ) is the amount of
rooms occupied compared to the total available rooms in
the hotel during a specific time period.
• The revenue per available room (RevPAR) is the total
amount of revenue generated given the number of rooms
or seats available.
6.6 Front Office Accounting
Hotel Accounting Calculations
Knowledge Check
1. Describe two key performance indicators and
what they measure.
2. Who is responsible for calculating the financial
metrics on a daily basis?