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HOTEL FRONT OFFICE MANAGEMENT
F I F T H E D I T I O N
James A. Bardi, EdD, CHA
The Pennsylvania State University
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This book is printed on acid-free paper. 
Copyright © 2011, 2007, 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bardi, James A., 1947-
Hotel front office management /James A. Bardi.–5th ed. p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-470-63752-4 (acid-free paper)
1. Hotel management. I. Title. TX911.3.M27B35 2011 647.94’068–dc22
2010035007
Printed in the United States of America
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To Linda
Your love, patience, and encouragement made this book possible.
and
To Maria & Rob, Ryan & Jenni, and David
The joy of sharing this book with you makes it all worthwhile. And now, the special delight in sharing this book with my grandchildren,
Ben and Sophia, and all my future grandchildren will provide much joy for this grandfather.
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Contents
Preface |
xi |
Acknowledgments |
xvii |
C H A P T E R 1 Introduction to Hotel Management |
1 |
Founders of the Hotel Industry |
2 |
Historical Developments |
5 |
Overview of the Hotel Industry |
12 |
Types of Lodging Facilities |
14 |
Market Orientation |
17 |
Sales Indicators |
17 |
Levels of Service |
20 |
Business Affiliations |
21 |
Trends That Foster Growth |
27 |
Career Development |
31 |
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
35 |
Chapter Recap |
35 |
End-of-Chapter Questions |
36 |
Notes |
38 |
Key Words |
40 |
C H A P T E R 2 Hotel Organization and the Front Office Manager |
41 |
Organization of Lodging Properties |
42 |
Organization Charts |
43 |
Typical Job Responsibilities of Department Managers |
50 |
Organization of the Front Office Department |
59 |
Function of the Front Office Manager |
62 |
Staffing the Front Office |
69 |
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
72 |
Chapter Recap |
73 |
End-of-Chapter Questions |
73 |
Key Words |
76 |
C H A P T E R 3 Effective Interdepartmental Communications |
78 |
Role of the Front Office in Interdepartmental Communications |
79 |
Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel |
79 |
vi C O N T E N T S |
|
|
Analyzing the Lines of Communications |
88 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
94 |
|
Chapter Recap |
94 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
94 |
|
Key Words |
99 |
|
C H A P T E R 4 |
Property Management Systems |
100 |
Physical Structure and Positioning of the Front Desk |
102 |
|
Selecting a Property Management System |
104 |
|
Procedure for Performing a Needs Analysis |
105 |
|
Other PMS Selection Considerations |
113 |
|
Financial Considerations |
115 |
|
PMS Applications |
116 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
130 |
|
Chapter Recap |
130 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
131 |
|
Notes |
|
133 |
Key Words |
133 |
|
C H A P T E R 5 |
Systemwide Reservations |
135 |
Importance of a Reservation System |
136 |
|
Overview of the Reservation System |
137 |
|
Types of Reservation Systems |
142 |
|
Sources of Reservations |
143 |
|
Forecasting Reservations |
148 |
|
Overbooking (Occupancy Management) |
150 |
|
Revenue Management |
153 |
|
Processing Guest Reservations |
154 |
|
Process of Completing Reservations through a PMS |
158 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
167 |
|
Chapter Recap |
168 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
168 |
|
Notes |
|
171 |
Key Words |
172 |
|
C H A P T E R 6 |
Revenue Management |
173 |
Occupancy Percentage |
174 |
|
History of Yield Management |
177 |
|
Use of Yield Management |
177 |
|
Components of Revenue Management |
181 |
|
Applications of Revenue Management |
188 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
189 |
|
Chapter Recap |
189 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
189 |
|
C O N T E N T S |
vii |
Notes |
192 |
Key Words |
193 |
C H A P T E R 7 |
Guest Registration |
194 |
Importance of the First Guest Contact |
195 |
|
Components of the Registration Process |
196 |
|
Registration with a PMS |
216 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
228 |
|
Chapter Recap |
228 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
228 |
|
Notes |
|
230 |
Key Words |
230 |
|
C H A P T E R 8 |
Managing the Financials |
232 |
Common Bookkeeping Practices |
233 |
|
Forms Used to Process Guest Charges and Payments |
234 |
|
Account Ledgers |
235 |
|
Posting Guest Charges and Payments |
237 |
|
Transferring Guest and City Ledgers to Accounts Receivable |
241 |
|
Importance of Standard Operating Procedures for Posting and the Night Audit |
243 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
243 |
|
Chapter Recap |
243 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
244 |
|
Key Words |
246 |
|
C H A P T E R 9 |
Guest Checkout |
247 |
Organizing Late Charges to Ensure Accuracy |
248 |
|
Guest Checkout Procedure |
249 |
|
Determining Method of Payment and Collection |
252 |
|
Assisting the Guest with Method of Payment |
256 |
|
Obtaining Future Reservations |
258 |
|
Filing Documents |
259 |
|
Relaying Guest Departures to Other Departments |
259 |
|
Removing Guest Information from the System |
260 |
|
Transfer of Guest Accounts to the Back Office |
260 |
|
Checkout Reports Available with a Property Management System |
260 |
|
Guest Histories |
262 |
|
Last Impressions of the Hotel |
265 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
266 |
|
Chapter Recap |
266 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
267 |
|
Notes |
|
269 |
Key Words |
269 |
|
viii C O N T E N T S
C H A P T E R 1 0 |
Preparation and Review of the Night Audit |
270 |
Importance of the Night Audit |
270 |
|
The Night Auditor |
271 |
|
The Night Audit Process |
272 |
|
Goal of Preparing the Night Audit Report |
278 |
|
Preparing the Night Audit Report |
278 |
|
Reading the Flash Report |
293 |
|
Reading the Night Audit |
293 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
296 |
|
Chapter Recap |
296 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
297 |
|
Key Words |
316 |
|
C H A P T E R 1 1 |
Managing Hospitality |
317 |
Importance of Hospitality |
318 |
|
Managing the Delivery of Hospitality |
320 |
|
Total Quality Management Applications |
327 |
|
Developing a Service Management Program |
328 |
|
Customer Relationship Management |
338 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
339 |
|
Chapter Recap |
339 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
340 |
|
Notes |
|
342 |
Key Words |
343 |
|
C H A P T E R 1 2 |
Training for Hospitality |
344 |
Determining Employee Hospitality Qualities |
345 |
|
Screening for Hospitality Qualities |
346 |
|
Developing an Orientation Program |
347 |
|
Policy and Procedure Manual |
351 |
|
Administering the Orientation Program |
352 |
|
Developing a Training Program |
354 |
|
Steps in the Training Process |
356 |
|
Administering a Training Program |
361 |
|
Cross-training |
362 |
|
Developing a Trainer |
362 |
|
Training for Empowerment |
364 |
|
Americans with Disabilities Act |
365 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
367 |
|
Chapter Recap |
367 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
368 |
|
Notes |
|
370 |
Key Words |
371 |
|
C O N T E N T S |
ix |
C H A P T E R 1 3 |
Promoting In-House Sales |
372 |
The Role of the Front Office in Marketing and Sales |
373 |
|
Planning a Point-of-sale Front Office |
375 |
|
Theories of Motivation |
380 |
|
Applying Motivation Theories |
381 |
|
Training Programs for a Point-of-sale Front Office |
382 |
|
Budgeting for a Point-of-sale Front Office |
384 |
|
Feedback |
|
384 |
Planning a Point-of-sale Front Office—An Example |
386 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
388 |
|
Chapter Recap |
388 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
389 |
|
Notes |
|
391 |
Key Words |
391 |
|
C H A P T E R 1 4 |
Security |
392 |
Importance of a Security Department |
393 |
|
Organization of a Security Department |
395 |
|
Job Analysis of the Director of Security |
395 |
|
In-House Security Departments versus Contracted Security |
398 |
|
Room Key Security |
401 |
|
Fire Safety |
404 |
|
Emergency Communication |
411 |
|
Employee Safety Programs |
415 |
|
Safety Training Programs |
418 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
418 |
|
Chapter Recap |
418 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
419 |
|
Notes |
|
421 |
Key Words |
422 |
|
C H A P T E R 1 5 |
Executive Housekeeping |
423 |
Importance of the Housekeeping Department |
423 |
|
Role of Chief Engineer in a Lodging Property |
446 |
|
The Greening of the Lodging Industry |
450 |
|
Solution to Opening Dilemma |
453 |
|
Chapter Recap |
454 |
|
End-of-Chapter Questions |
455 |
|
Notes |
|
457 |
Key Words |
459 |
|
|
Glossary |
460 |
|
Index |
475 |
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