Relationship Between Front Office and Other Departments

Relationship between Front Front Ofce and other departments Housekeeping Department Housekeeping and the ront ofce communicate with each other about housekeeping room status, the report on the availability o the rooms or immediate guest occupancy. occupancy. Housekeeping room status can be described in the ollowing communication terms ! "v "vailable ailable #lean, or Ready$room Ready$room is ready to be occupied ! Occupied$guest or guests guests are are already occupying a room room ! %tay over$guest will not be checking out o a room room on the current current day ! Dirty or On&#hange$guest has checked checked out o the room, but the housekeeping sta' has not released the room or occupancy ! Out&o&Order$room is not available or occupancy because o a mechanical malunction Housekeeping and the ront ofce also communicate on the details o potential house count (a report o the number o guests registered in the hotel), security concerns, and re*uests or amenities (personal toiletry items such as shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash, and electrical e*uipment). +hese issues are o immediate concern to the guest as well as to supervisors in the hotel. Reporting o room status is handled on a ace&to&ace ace&to& ace basis in a hotel that does not use a property management system (-%). +he bihourly or hourly visits o the house& keeper to the ront desk clerk are a amiliar scene in such a hotel. +he ofcial reporting o room status at the end o the day is accomplished with wi th a housekeepers room report$a report prepared by the housekeeper that lists the guest room occupancy status as vacant, occupied, or out&o&order. out&o&order. %ometimes even regular reporting o room status is not ade*uate, as guests may be an/iously awaiting the opportunity to occupy a room. On these occasions, the ront desk clerk will have to telephone the 0oor supervisor to determine when the servicing o a room will be completed.  +he housekeeper relies relies on the room sales pro1ections$a pro1ections$a weekly report prepared prepared and distributed by the ront ofce manager that indicates the number o departures, arrivals, walk&ins, stayovers, and no&shows$to schedule employees.  +imely distribution o the the room sales pro1ections pro1ections assists the e/ecutive e/ecutive housekeeper in planning employee personal leaves and vacation days.  +he ront desk also relies relies on housekeeping personnel personnel to report any unusual circumstances that may indicate a violation o security or  or the guests. For e/ample, i a maid or houseman notices obviously non®istered guests on a 0oor, a 2re e/it that has been propped open, or sounds o a domestic disturbance in a guest room, he or she must report these potential security violations to the ront o2ce. +he ront o2ce sta', in turn, will relay the problem to the proper in&house or civil authority. authority. +he ront o2ce manager may want to direct the ront desk clerks and switchboard operators to call 0oor supervisors on a regular basis to check activity on the guest 0oors. 3uest re*uests or additional or special amenities and guest room supplies may be initiated at the ront ront desk. +he prompt relay o re*uests or e/tra blankets, towels, soap, and shampoo to housekeeping is essential. +his is hospitality at i ts

best.

Food and 4everage Department #ommunication between the ood and beverage department and the ront o2ce is also essential. %ome o this communication is conveyed by relaying messages and providing accurate inormation on transers, which are orms used to communicate a charge to a guests account. #ommunication activities also include reporting predicted house counts, an estimate o the number o guests e/pected to register based on previous occupancy activities, and processing re*uests or paid&outs, orms used to indicate the amounts o monies paid out o the cashiers drawer on behal o a guest or an employee o the hotel. +hese vital services help an overworked ood and beverage manager, restaurant manager, or ban*uet captain meet the demands o the public. 5ncoming messages or the ood and beverage manager and e/ecutive che rom vendors and other industry representatives are important to the business operation o the ood and beverage department. 5 the switchboard operator is given instructions on screening callers (such as times when the e/ecutive e/ecutive che cannot be disturbed because o a busy workload or sta' meetings, or vendors in whom the che is not interested), the important messages will receive top priority. 5n a hotel that has point&o&sale point& o&sale terminals, computeri6ed cash registers that interace with a property management system, inormation on guest charges is automatically posted to a guests olio, his or her record o charges and payments. 7hen a hotel does not have point&o&sale terminals that interace with -% point&o&sale terminals, the desk clerk is responsible or posting accurate charges on the guest olio and relies on transer slips. "lso, the night auditors  1ob is made easier i the transer slip is accurately accurately prepared and posted. posted. +he ront o2ce manager should work with the ood and beverage director in developing standard operating procedures and methods to complete the transer o charges.  +he supervisors in the ood and beverage department rely on the predicted predicted house count prepared by the ront o2ce manager to schedule employees and predict sales. For e/& ample, the restaurant supervisor working the breakast shit will want to know how many guests will be in the hotel so he or she can determine how many servers to schedule or  or breakast service. +imely and accurate preparation o this communication tool assists in stafng control and sales predictions. "uthori6ed members o the ood and beverage department will occasionally ask the ront o2ce or cash, in the orm o a paid&out, paid& out, to purchase last&minute items or a ban*uet, the lounge, or the restaurant or to take advantage o other unplanned opportunities to promote hospitality. hospitality. %peci2c guidelines concerning cash limits, turnaround time, prior approval, authori6ed signatures, and purchase receipts are developed by the general manager and ront o2ce manager. manager. +hese guidelines help to maintain control o paid&outs.

4an*uet Department  +he ban*uet department, which oten oten combines the unctions o a marketing marketing and sales department and a ood and beverage department, re*uires the ront o2ce to relay inormation to guests about scheduled events and bill payment.  +he ront desk sta' may also provide labour to prepare the daily announcement announcement board, an inside listing o the daily dail y activities o the hotel (time, group, and room assignment), and mar*uee, the curb side message board, which includes the logo o the hotel and space or a message. %ince the ma1ority o ban*uet guests may not be registered guests in the hotel, the ront  ront o2ce provides a logical communications centre.  +he daily posting o scheduled events events on a elt board or an electronic bulletin board provides all guests and employees with inormation on group events. +he preparation o the mar*uee may include congratulatory, welcome, sales promotion, or other important messages. 5n some hotels, an employee in the ront ofce contacts the marketing and sales department or the message.  +he ban*uet guest who is unamiliar unamiliar with the hotel property will ask at the the ront ofce or directions. +his service might seem minor in the overall delivery o service, but it is essential to the lost or conused guest. +he ront ofce sta' must know both how to direct guests to particular meeting rooms or reception areas and which unctions are being held in which rooms. Front Front desk clerks, as shown in Figure Figure 8&9, must be ready to provide inormation or all departmental activities in the hotel.  +he person responsible or paying paying the bills or a special event wills also also 2nd his or her way to the ront ofce to settle the city ledger accounts. 5 the ban*uet captain is not able to present the bill or the unction, the ront desk clerk should be inormed about the speci2cs o ood  ood and beverage charges, gratuities, rental charges, method o payment, and the like.