The Front Desk
The Front desk
Aretha Dumuje
Professor Faith Bradley
Lodging Operations Management
HTM 280
June 2, 2013
The front office department is the most visible department in a hotel. The focal point of activity within the front office is the reception desk. The reception desk is usually the place at which the guests form their first impressions of the hotel. It is also the communication center for the hotel’s operation (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 22). The reception/ front desk: The reception desk may comprise: Cashiering; mail and information; registration; and room assignment. The reception desk is located in the busiest area of the hotel’s lobby. The main financial tasks which are handled by front office staff include: receiving cash payments, handling guest folios, verifying cheques, and handling foreign currency and credit cards (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 22).
The front desk is controlled by the front desk manager. It is the duty of the manager to make sure that a hotel achieves the maximum revenue and the highest level of room occupancy possible. It is also the responsibility of the front desk manager to monitor and motivate the staff as well as to maintain a high profile with the guests. This helps to ensure that a quality service is being given by the front office departments in particular and the hotel in general (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 52).
The specific responsibility of the reception supervisor is to guarantee the smooth running of the front desk. Apart from this overall duty, they would organize duty rotas, and handles complaints or difficult customers which a receptionist may not be able to
Aretha Dumuje
Professor Faith Bradley
Lodging Operations Management
HTM 280
June 2, 2013
The front office department is the most visible department in a hotel. The focal point of activity within the front office is the reception desk. The reception desk is usually the place at which the guests form their first impressions of the hotel. It is also the communication center for the hotel’s operation (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 22). The reception/ front desk: The reception desk may comprise: Cashiering; mail and information; registration; and room assignment. The reception desk is located in the busiest area of the hotel’s lobby. The main financial tasks which are handled by front office staff include: receiving cash payments, handling guest folios, verifying cheques, and handling foreign currency and credit cards (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 22).
The front desk is controlled by the front desk manager. It is the duty of the manager to make sure that a hotel achieves the maximum revenue and the highest level of room occupancy possible. It is also the responsibility of the front desk manager to monitor and motivate the staff as well as to maintain a high profile with the guests. This helps to ensure that a quality service is being given by the front office departments in particular and the hotel in general (Baker, S, Huyton, J and Bradley, P, 2000, p. 52).
The specific responsibility of the reception supervisor is to guarantee the smooth running of the front desk. Apart from this overall duty, they would organize duty rotas, and handles complaints or difficult customers which a receptionist may not be able to
References: Baker, S., Huyton, J. and Bradley, P.(2000). Principles of hotel front office operation. high holborn house: Cengage learning. Chon, K.S. and Maier, T.A.(2008). Welcome to hospitality: An Introduction. Cengage learning. Hayes, D. K. and Ninemeier, J.D.(2007). Hotel operations management. Pearson/ Prentice hal. BPP learning media(2010). Front office operations. BPP learning media. O 'Fallon, M. J. and Rutherford, D.G.(2011). Hotel management and operations. John Wiley & sons.