FRONT OFFICE
/HOUSEKEEPING
PROCEDURE
Check In Procedure
OBJECTIVES
This module on check inn process will enable the learners to
• understand the process of check in of guests at the front office
department
• describe the ways and methods to handle guests at this vital
task of check in of guests
INTRODUCTION
The activities involved in getting the guests into rooms
quickly, efficiently and accurately are the primary
responsibility of the reception section of the front office
department. Check in of the guests entails the process of
reservations, assigning proper guest rooms, and also
checking the method of payment. The front office is the key
department of the hotel and it coordinates guest services
with other departments such as housekeeping for room
status, food and beverages regarding food and beverages
and accounts department regarding cash, and credit
transactions.
2. CHECK IN PROCEDURE
On Arrival, the first contact of the guest is the front office. Here the guest
gets the first impression about the hotel. The better the front office
functions, the better is the guest’s impression and opinion about the hotel.
During the stay, the guest receives almost most of the services comprising
reservation, reception, travel desk, lobby services, communication, safe
deposits, currency exchange and many more. Each guest should be handled
differently at check in, according to the difference in the reservation status
and the method of payment. The newly arrived guests at the hotel are
generally classified in to three main categories Guests with Guaranteed
reservation, non guaranteed reservation and walk in guests.
The main duties of the front office department are: Welcoming and
checking in of new arrivals Selling the facilities of a hotel Maintaining
records of resident guests and Providing guest information for other
sections of the front office and other departments of the hotel
WELCOMING THE GUEST
In Order to offer the guest a lasting first impression, the reception staff needs to be
efficient and have good social skills. They should be knowledgeable about the
accommodation products of their hotel, skilled in the check-in procedures and the
handling of guest’s queries. Additionally, they should have pleasant manners, be
cordial, empathetic, and always be ready to help. A neat and tidy appearance and
the ability to communicate with guests are also essential.
As the guest approaches the front desk, the guest should be greeted warmly, further
emphasizing guest satisfaction. This is accomplished by implementing the 10×10
rule. This rule has two parts. The first part states that the guest’s perception of the
entire stay is, in large measure is instilled n the first 10 minutes upon arrival. The
second part states that the front desk staff must greet a guest a ten feet before they
approach the desk. An employee who begins the conversation with the guest at least
10 feet away creates a favourable impression on the hotel property. This 10×10 rule
makes the guest feel welcome by encouraging their conversation.
3. A CHECK-LIST FOR WELCOMING GUESTS
Maintain good eye contact; eye contact is very important because it
shows attention and respect. Smile when talking to the guest; it
shows a warm and positive manner. Stand up straight and avoid
leaning or slouching. The way the staff stands is important; standing
straight shows respect and attention. Leaning on the front desk on
the other hand, suggests that the front desk staff is tired, bored and
is not bothered. Maintain a clean, neat and tidy personal appearance
at all times.
Speak clearly, using a pleasant tone. In this way, the guest will easily
understand what the staff says and will be impressed by the courtesy.
4. BASIC CHECK-IN ACTIVITIES
• The process of checking in new arrivals can be
divided into five stages
• Preparation for guest arrival
• Room assignment and determination of room
rate Registration
• checking the method of payment
• issuing the room key and escorting the guest to
the room
4.1 PREPARATION FOR GUEST
ARRIVAL:
Before actually registering a guest or assigning a room, receptionists need to
have at hand information which is essential in their work. Such information
should include: Room status and availability Expected arrivals and departures
Arrivals with special requests List of Important Guests
Much of this information is determined the night before the day’s arrival.
However in hotels with computerized systems, this information is updated with
every room transactions instantly. At this juncture, it is very important that the
front office and housekeeping department have a close co ordination. At times
of high occupancy, it is vital that housekeeping can return the vacated rooms
to the front office quickly, so that the rooms will be available for sales.
4.2 ROOM STATUS AND AVAILABILITY
Before the guest arrives, reception staff will need details on the status of the guest rooms. This information is usually indicated by
a room status report. The statuses of the rooms are Vacant / Clean: The rooms have been vacated and serviced, and are ready for
sales and to be assigned to a guest.
Vacant / Dirty: The rooms have recently been vacated by guests and have been held by the housekeeping department for
cleaning. Normally, it will take at least 30 minutes for housekeeping to prepare these rooms. These rooms may be pre-allocated to
a guest who is supposed to arrive later in the day. Such rooms are sometimes called on-charge or checked-out rooms.
Occupied / Stay-on rooms: These are rooms occupied by guests, and who will stay on for one or more nights.
Departure rooms: These rooms are occupied by guests who are due to depart later in the day. The rooms can be assigned to
guests due to arrive later in the day.
Out of order rooms: These rooms are not in use, usually because there is something which is faulty in the room, or the room is
being re-decorated with flooring, furniture, bed accessories, engineering and maintenance and so on and these rooms do not go
for sales till the rooms are ready.
Blocked rooms: These are rooms reserved for specific reasons (e.g. for VIPs or group tours or corporate guests)
From the room status report, the reception staff will be able to identify the room available for sales on a particular date. The report
determines the number of rooms that are clean and ready for guests, the rooms that will become available later in the day, or
the rooms that are unavailable on that date. Such information is essential to the reception department when assigning rooms to
ensure that a guest is not inconvenienced by being sent to an occupied, dirty or faulty room.
4.3 EXPECTED ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURES
This list provides basic information on guests who are
expected to arrive on a particular date. This may be done
manually or by a computer. By checking the expected
arrivals against the room status report, the reception
department will be able to determine
Whether there are sufficient rooms to accommodate all the
guests expected to arrive The number of rooms that will be
available for walk INS or free sale.
ARRIVALS WITH SPECIAL REQUESTS
Guests may request for extra amenities or
services while reserving the room. The relevant
departments must therefore be informed of
these requests so that they can be prepared
and are ready for the guest’s arrival.
LIST OF IMPORTANT GUESTS
Most hotels pay special attention to the important guests. These may
include VIP’s, CIP’s, and SPATS.
• VIP’s (Very Important Persons) comprise the frequent stay guests,
celebrities, guests in suite rooms, ministers, guest’s with security risks and
so on.
• CIP’s (Commercially Important Persons) comprise guests from corporate
houses, journalists, media staff and this refers to guests who are likely to
increase the volume of the business to the hotel in the future.
• SPAT’s (Special Attention Guests) comprise the guest who need extra care
and attention such as a physically challenged person, elderly person or an ill
guest who is sick.
• These important guests are to be greeted and escorted by staff usually the
guest relation officer and his team during the arrival of the guest and also
throughout the stay at the hotel. Such special guests will be offered with
amenities and services like
Assignment of the guest rooms before the arrival
The complimentary use of hotel transport
Registration formalities in the room
If the guests are a walk-in, then the receptionist must
first check the room availability before registering the
guests. If a room is available, it will be offered, and
the guests must be informal of all room charges. Upon
acceptance the guests will be asked to complete a
registration form.
4.4 ROOM ASSIGNMENT AND DETERMINATION OF
ROOM RATE
The process of assigning rooms and room rates differs with
the different categories of guests. During the assignment of
room to a specific guest, the receptionist has to ensure that
the needs and preferences of the guests are satisfied. The
receptionist needs to know
• The status of the room in the hotel
• The position and features of each rooms in the hotel
• The needs, preferences and / or special request of the guest
EXPECTED ARRIVALS
The room rate for expected arrivals is
agreed by the guests when the
reservations are made, and rooms are not
normally assigned until the guests arrive at
the hotel. However, this does not apply if
the guests wants a specific room, or has
made a special request e.g. VIP or CIP. In
such cases rooms are pre-allocated.
WALK-IN GUESTS
Walk-in guests can only be assigned rooms and
rates after it has been confirmed that there is
accommodation available. It’s normal to take
the cost of at least a day’s room tariff from the
guest in advance.
4.5 REGISTRATION
The receptionist may carry out other
preparatory work before guests arrive at
a hotel, they may prepare registration
documents and check whether the keys
are available for vacant and allocated
rooms and check whether a newly arriving
guest has any mail waiting or any
message.
Purpose of Registration
Registration is done to record guests
arrival and confirm personal details and as
well to satisfy the legal requirements.
When a guest arrives at the hotel, the
guest is normally required to complete a
registration form. For a guest with prior
registration, the process of registration
and room allocation occurs immediately on
arrival.
THE REGISTRATION FORM:
A registration form is usually filled in a triplicate in order to
hold one in the registration book, one to the accounting
section and one to the legal records. The form consist the
following details.
Arrival date
• Daily rate
• Number of guests Advanced deposit Room number Package
plan
• Name of the guest Address
• Passport number and date and place of issue Nationality
PRE-ARRIVAL REGISTRATION
Pre-registration can also be the solution to
checking in large numbers of guests
simultaneously, e.g. groups, tours or
conference delegates
THE BLACKLIST
Some hotels have a blacklist, which is a list of the names of
people who are not welcomed at the hotel. For example the
persons listed for criminal reasons, guests who have not settled
their previous accounts with the hotel and also guest with more
complaints. The black list is compiled using information from
• Police reports
• The reports from other local hotels The corporate office
• The assistant manager’s log book
• Accounts department or credit manager
• It is the practice by the hotel not to accept the black list guests
and are denied of the reservation requests in the hotel.
4.6 CHECKING THE METHOD OF PAYMENT
Each guest should be handled differently at check in, according to the difference in the
reservation status and the method of payment. The newly arrived guests at the hotel are
generally classified in to three main categories Guests with Guaranteed reservation, non
guaranteed reservation and walk in guests. General rules for checking the methods of payment
[Link] the guest is walk in or has a non guaranteed reservation, it is better to take a prepayment
or an advance or a credit card imprint and signature
[Link] the guest has a guaranteed reservation and is settling his own account, get the credit card
imprint and an estimated amount to over for the entire stay.
[Link] the guest is an overseas guest and wish to settle with a foreign currency, confirm the
exchange rates as displayed on the board at the front office on that particular day and get the
signature of the guest in the registration form.
[Link] the guest wished to settle by cheque, remember to check all details and get an agreement
form signed incase if the cheque returns dishonored.
[Link] the guest is settling the payment from the company or through a travel agent, then
accurate bill details are recorded and treated as credit settlement for follow up by the accounts
section of the hotel
5. EARLY CHECK-INS:
Occasionally guests may arrive earlier than expected and there may be no vacant or
clean rooms available. In such circumstances there are a variety of options that the
receptionist can offer.
Check to see if there is an alternative type of the room that is vacant / clean and offer
that to the guest, e.g. a twin room instead of a double room.
If the alternative is not available, apologies to the guests and explain that room has not
yet been vacated and / or cleaned
Register the guest, but do not assign a room until a suitable vacant/clean room is
available. Have a guest’s luggage put into store until a room can be assigned
The guests should be given a time when they can return to collect the room key.
Alternatively, a note should be made of the guests whereabouts, so that they may be
contacted as soon as the room is ready.
The housekeeping department may be requested to rush up to clean the room faster. It is
important to make sure that all the staff members on the reception desk are made aware
that there is a guests waiting for room .This is especially true when one receptions shift
hands over to another.
The arrival phase at the hotel is a critical period
for both the guests and hotel as the strongest
impressions are created upon the guests during
this check in process at the reception. This
second stage of guest cycle the arrival phase
encompasses the check inn activities of
welcoming and assigning the room to the guest
and also act as a continuous source of support
to the guest during the next phase, stay of the
guest and finally through the departure of the
guest.