K E Y W O R D S 371

4.Marriott Foundation, “‘Fear of the Unknown’ Invisible Barrier to Employment, Says Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities,” Washington, DC, September 30, 1997; edited July 23, 2001. Copyright Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities.

5.Ibid.

Key Words

T H E R O L E O F T H E F R O N T O F F I C E I N M A R K E T I N G A N D S A L E S 373

The Role of the Front Office in Marketing and Sales

The front office is often seen as an information source and a request center for guests and hotel employees alike. Front office staff may need to field questions such as “Has the front office manager produced the room sales forecast yet?” “Is a block of rooms available for June 3 to 7?” “To which rooms is this seminar group assigned?” “Is someone on duty who can greet and provide information for the tourist group arriving this afternoon?”“Has the daily event board been set up in the lobby?” and “Has the daily message

F I G U R E 1 3 - 1

Displays such as this one alert guests to in-house

entertainment. Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com.

374 C H A P T E R 1 3 ■ P R O M O T I N G I N - H O U S E S A L E S

been set on the great sign?” These are typical questions asked of the front office by other departments in the hotel. Answering them is a necessary part of any hotel’s operations. Today, more than ever, hotel management demands a great deal of the front office.

In an article published in Canadian Hotel and Restaurant, Avinash Narula reports:

As market conditions have changed, the nature and importance of the functions performed by the front office have also changed from being an order-taking department to an order-generating or sales department. If one looks at the balance sheet of any hotel, it will become obvious that the major portion of the profits, on average 60 percent, come from room sales.1

Doug Kennedy emphasizes how the potential walk-in guest provides an excellent opportunity for a sale.

[T]he walk-in sales opportunity provides the hotel with some significant advantages over other distribution channels. For one, the sales person can visually evaluate the guests’ needs and wants. Are they dressed as if on a business trip, or on vacation? What is their age? Are they traveling alone or with family? What is their level of commitment; do they park the car and walk in with luggage, or do they just run in to find out the price?

A second advantage is that the sales prospect can see the product firsthand and is able to formulate a first impression. (This is why it is critical for hotels to maintain curb appeal.) Another significant advantage in selling to walk-ins is that it takes more effort for the prospect to shop around. It’s harder to get back in the car and drive down the road than it is to click on the next Internet link or to dial the phone number of the next property.

Kennedy continues with suggestions for securing a sale, such as connecting with the customer, offering options, describing room and rate options, and avoiding positioning last-sell or higher-rated options in the negative.2

This change in the nature of the front office’s role, from a passive order taker to an active order generator, challenges the front office manager to review the front office staff’s established routine. The front office manager must figure out the best way to direct the energies of the staff to support the efforts of the marketing and sales department.

The front office manager must first consider the attitude of the front office staff. These employees have been trained and rewarded for accurate performance of clerical tasks, playing a passive role in the sales of services. How easy will it be to transform them into active salespeople, persuading guests to purchase additional reservations, services in the dining room and lounge, or products in the gift shop? At the outset, most front office managers would say this is a tall order. Established, routine habits are comfortable and unstressful. However, the front office manager is a member of the management team and must interact with other managers as well as the employees as a plan is developed.