Rooms Division Operations

5. The Security Aspects of a Hotel

Everybody likes to work in a safe and secure environment. The security measures of hotels are placed around the following:

1.Keys

2.Lost and found property

3.Safety deposits

4.Equipment

5.Cash handling

6.Security incidents

1.Hotel keys are divided into traditional keys and key cards. Key cards are more secure and can fulfill a number of functions.

Levels of keys

•Guest room key – access to a room that is not double-locked

•Sub master/Pass key – capable of opening a few rooms located within a section of a floor

•Master key/Floor master key – opens all doors of rooms on the floor

•Grand master key – opens all door of the rooms in a hotel that are not double-locked

•Great master key/House emergency key – opens all rooms in the hotel

•Lock out/Stop key

Sub master keys are signed in and out at the beginning and the end of a shift. To lose sub master or master key is a serious offence, since if the hotel wants to be really safe there is no alternative as to change all locks.

2.Lost and found property should be treated in the following

way:

• Held in a secure place

• Reported to a supervisor

• Recorded in the lost and found book

• Returned to the owner if possible

3.Safety deposits. Hotels are obliged to offer guests safetydeposit facilities if they wish to limit their liability for loss.

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Hotels can offer:

• Deposit Envelope

The cashier provides the guest with an envelope into which he seals his money. The guest signs over the seal as a security measure. The cashier issues a receipt for the envelope. The envelope is kept in the FO safe.

• Safe-Deposit Boxes

They are large enough to keep jewellery, passports, money and TCs. The boxes are located in Front Office areas and controlled by the cashier. The boxes are secured by two locks. The first lock is opened by a key that is common to every safe; the key is held by the cashier. The second key is individual. To open a safe-deposit box calls for both (a guest and a cashier) to be present.

• Individual Room Safes

The guest has total control of his valuables and can access them at any time. The safe is located in the room and is operated by a code number, which the guest programs in on arrival.

4.Front Office equipment includes computers, fax machines, printers, copiers, telephone systems and credit card machines. The staff must know how to use all kind of equipment. Possible safety and security issues related to equipment include:

• Loss and damage due to theft and carelessness

• Crime such as unauthorized credit card transactions

• Misuse of equipment

• Failure to use equipment cost-effectively

• Failure to use equipment safely

5.Cash handling. Dealing with cash FO employees should follow the simple rules:

• The amount of cash in the FO should be kept to a minimum

• Cash should be counted in a secure place

6.Security incidents. Hotels and tourists areas are particularly hot spots for security incidents. The employees should always remain vigilant and especially alert when groups of tourists check in or check out. Any accident occurring at work must be reported to the supervisor.

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Chapter II

Learning objectives

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1.Describe the range of the Front Office operations. Identify the guests’ expectations of the FO.

2.Identify the duties of the FO personnel.

3.Explain the main functions of the reservation department. Name the steps of a reservation.

4.Discuss the importance of pre-arrival procedures at check in. Describe the process of registration at a hotel.

5.List different types of room status.

6.Understand the different room rates.

7.Describe the process of taking payments.

8.Discuss the main reasons of being put into black list.

9.Explore the FO link to Housekeeping

Terms to learn

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Uniformed staff, GR, guest folio, guest ledger, concierge , upselling, FIT, VIP, room status, V/R, CO, OOO, S/O, DO, LAT, OS, DNCO, room rate, rack rate, travel agent rate, commercial rate, specialty rate, day rate, family plan, government rate, group rate, promotional rate, senior rate, extended stay, overstay, walk-in, job rotation

1. Front Office

The organization of the Front Office department is influenced by factors such as the size of the hotel, the standards of the service and the type of guests.

1.Size of the hotel. Large hotels employ more staff and tend to have greater specialization among sections of the staff. In small hotels, one member of the staff might have a wide range of duties. Job rotation occurs when employees move around and work in different positions.

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2.Standard of service. High class hotels usually provide more personal services for guests.

3.Types of guests. Business and leisure tourists expect different services.

In a large hotel, the Front Office will be divided into the following sections:

•Reservation Department

•Front Desk

•Porters, or Uniformed, staff

•Telephones

•Cashiers

•Night auditors

•Guest relations

•Business centre

The Front Desk area is operational 24 hours per day. This means that 3 eight-hour shifts will make up the day’s schedule for this area:

•7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. – 1st shift, or Day shift

•3:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. – 2nd shift, or Swing shift

•11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. – 3rd shift, or Graveyard shift

The Front Office staff must perform the following functions:

•reservations: to receive, chart, store and assign guest room reservations

•information: to answer request for information about rooms, hotel services, transportation, entertainment, and surrounding community

•rooming: to match guests’ needs to the rooms available, to handle the sale of rooms, to establish credit for incoming guests, to complete registration formalities

•guest accounting: to open and maintain proper accounts, to keep track of guests’ charges and credits, to verify all transactions and compile management reports

•cashiering: to handle various settlement modes, including credit cards, cash, checks, foreign currency, and third-party billing.

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Hotel Guests’ Expectations of the Front Office

• speed of service

It is essential particularly at peak hours and at check-out.

• experienced confident staff

Large hotels can be intimidating. For this reason friendly efficient personnel can fulfill their duties well and can help guests feel comfortable.

• accurate billing service

All charges must be accurately and promptly charged to the guest’s account. Accounts should be updated continually so that they are maintained in a current state at all times.

• individual recognition

Regular guests should be recognized by front office staff and their preferences noted and remembered for future visits.

• straightforward directions to accommodation

No matter when a guest arrived he or she expects to be accommodated without any delays.

• comfortable surroundings

The front office area needs to be pleasant and to create an air of comfort. Often armchairs are sited adjacent to the reception area, so guests can wait here or meet friends or just pause for a while during their busy schedule.

• information service

Guests require facts about the establishment’s amenities, restaurants and bars. They ask about transport and facilities for car parking. Tourists require facts about local sites, as well as directions to a specific place or event.

• general assistance

Sometimes guests require theatre or concert tickets, booking for accommodation in another town. Foreign currency may need to be exchanged.

• message service

Guests frequently have messages left for them at the front office. These need to be recorded accurately and passed to the guests promptly.

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2. The Duties of Hotel Front Office Personnel

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3. The Reservation Department Staff include:

•The reservation manager

•The reservation clerks

The manager is in control of the department, he organizes the staff, makes decisions (for example, about overbooking), monitors all the bookings taken.

The clerks take the bookings. They keep records of the bookings and their details. They try to upsell and ask the guests to confirm their bookings.

The process of making a booking begins with an enquiry. Guests contact hotels in various ways. The most common are as follows:

•In person. Such guests are known as walk-ins and they usually need accommodation immediately

•Letter. Nowadays letter writing has gone out of fashion, but a considerable number of holidays are still made in this way

•Telephone. Usually people use telephone when they request accommodation for only a day or few hours ahead

•Fax. It became popular in the 1980s

•Internet. The most popular way now.

No single means of communication is ideal in terms of:

1)speed

2)convenience

3)economy

Steps of Reservations

Reservations can be completed by the following 7 steps:

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Reservation forms

Several arguments in favor of using such forms exist.

•They provide a permanent record.

•They summarize information in a standard format.

•They act as a “prompt” sheet to exclude the situations when a junior clerk in a hurry might forget to ask something vital.

•They enable management to find out who handled the booking.

•They can include the information about the sources of bookings (private, travel agents, etc.) and how they are made.

Business Centre

Most hotels have full e-mail and Internet facilities for guests. But sometimes business people expect hotels to provide a wide range of facilities and services to meet their specific needs. Such a range of services may include fax, photocopying and secretarial work. They may also be a demand for translation and interpreting services as well as the hire of equipment, such as lap-top computers, portable telephones and dictaphones. The organization of private meeting rooms is also one of the duties of business centre staff. If a hotel has many non-English-speaking guests, the bilingual secretaries may be required.

4. Pre-Arrival Activities at Check-in

Some pre-arrival activities at the check in are the following:

•Reservations

•Pre-payment

•Checking expected arrival lists (FIT, VIP, groups, crews)

•Pre-registration

•Pre-assignment

•Preparing welcome cards

•Preparing room keys

•Preparing meal/drink vouchers

•Raising complimentary orders

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The main reasons for carrying out these activities are:

•It speeds up the check-in process

•It gives the guests a feeling of importance to know that the hotel is prepared for their arrival

Registration

The registration process is the most important part of the hotel experience for a guest. It is during this time that lasting impressions are made. It has been said that 75 percent of a guest’s total satisfaction with a hotel is determined during this process. A successful hotel must do whatever it can to ensure that the guest is satisfied with every aspect of registration

Stage One – Greeting

The first hotel employees who come into contact with most guests when they arrive are members of the uniformed services division of the Front Office. Depending on the size and makeup of the hotel, the first person to greet a hotel guest will be either a doorperson or valet/garage attendant. This first impression is very important. Always with an eye towards total guest satisfaction, the initial greeting begins the process of establishing a favorable impression of the hotel.

In larger hotels the parking valet is the first to greet people arriving to a hotel. In many cases, they are the last employees people see as well. Thus, this job role requires that the employee have a gracious and hospitable demeanor. A pleasant smile and warm welcome set the stage for guest satisfaction.

Stage Two – Transition

Perhaps the most widely recognized job role within the industry is the bell person (bellman, bellhop, and bellboy are no longer acceptable terms), who is responsible for the assistance of guests to their rooms and to explain the hotel and room features to each guest. Escorting a guest to the room is called rooming a guest.

Beyond rooming guests, members of the bell staff are called upon to assist other departments when needed. Valet parking, housekeeping, restaurants, and others often have cyclical demands

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that the bell stand can help fill. Delivery of messages, faxes, and room gifts (flowers, fruit baskets, etc.) are also bell staff duties.

Once in the guest room, members of the bell staff should explain the features of the room and the hotel itself. In addition, they should turn on lights and open curtains if applicable. The bell staff should memorize a guest familiarization checklist which would include:

•How to use the room key

•How to use the television, DVD, and in-room movie service

•Showing the room service menu and other hotel in-room collateral

•Briefly showing them the telephone and explaining how to reach the operator and how to reach the bell stand if needed

•A brief review of fire and other emergency procedures as deemed necessary by hotel management

Stage Three – Check-in

Getting people into guest rooms quickly, efficiently, and accurately is the primary responsibility of the front desk. The process of matching room preferences to available rooms is called blocking. Blocking is a process where a specific room is reserved for a specific guest. Blocking a room to match an arriving guest’s room preferences contributes greatly to guest satisfaction levels.

Most hotels assign a priority level to which rooms are blocked first. Guests who are members of a hotel’s guest loyalty program, VIPs as designated by management, and those who are paying premium rates are usually given top priority. The mechanics of an actual check-in are illustrated later in this text, but the following steps summarize the process.

1.Guest’s name is verified, to include correct spelling.

2.Once reservation is found, a reservation summary is given vocally to the guest. This summary includes verification of room preferences, arrival/departure dates, and confirmed rate.

3.If the room is not pre-blocked, the employee must find a room in its status that fits the parameters of the reservation summary. Placing guests in “wait” status, as it is referred to, should be kept to a minimum. A guest should be placed in wait status only for rooms

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