Front Office Training Manual

Tips for resolving Declined Credit Card / Check issues in Front Office When a Credit Card is Declined by the EDC machine: ·          Discuss the matter with the guest in private. ·          User Care when describing the guest's unauthorized transaction ( Eg: Do not say that he guest credit card is Bad or Worthless). ·          Offer the use of telephone to help resolve the matter with the credit card company. ·          Allow the guest a chance to provide alternate, acceptable means of payment. When a Guest Personal check in not accepted: ·          Explain the hotels's Check cashing policy politely to the guest. ·          Remain Friendly and co-operative. ·          Discuss alternative metho...

The Guest Cycle in hotel The hotel guest stay cycle can be divided into four main stages. Within these four stages there are important task related to guest services and guest accounting. Front office employees must be aware of guest services and guest accounting activities at all stages of the guest stay. Front office staff can effectively serve the guest if they have a clear understanding of the flow of business in hotel. Guest Cycle also represents a systematic approach to front office operations.    1. Pre - Arrival The Guest  chooses a hotel during the pre- arrival stage of the guest cycle. Choice of the guest can be affected by many factors, including previous experiences with the hotel, advertisement, word of mouth referral by friends and colleagues, location, corporate, travel agent booking, hotel name, hotel loyalty program member etc. The guest's decision of making the reservation can also be effected by the ease of making the reservation and the...

Late Checkout Procedure for Fort Office   Late checkouts are those guest who had not vacated the room even after the hotels normal checkout time. Eg: 1200 hrs checkout time. It is depends upon the management policy that late checkout request will be accommodated at no charge or all late checkouts will be charged with and additional late checkout fee. Example Late check out fee calculation: 1.       Checkout between 12:01 hrs to 14:00 hrs - 15 % of room rate. 2.       Checkout between 14:01 hrs to 16:00 hrs - 20 % of room rate. 3.       Checkout between 16:01 hrs to 18:00 hrs - 50 % of room rate. 4.       Checkout between 18:01 hrs to 00:00 hrs - Full room rate. ·          At the time of  guest registraiton process  front desk staff usually specify that there is an additional charge for checkout after the established...

Job Description for Night Auditor in hotels JOB DESCRIPTION:   NIGHT AUDITOR REPORTS TO:   Front Office Manager or Accounting department POSITION SUMMARY: Checks front office accounting records for accuracy and, on a daily basis, summarizes and compiles information for the hotel's financial records. Tracks room revenue, occupancy percentages, and other front office operating statistics. Prepares a summary of cash, check, and credit card activities, reflecting the hotel's financial performance for the day. Posts room charges and room taxes to guest accounts including guest transactions not posted during the day by the front office cashier. Processes guest charge vouchers and credit card vouchers. Verifies all account postings and balances made during the day by front desk cashier and agents. Monitors the current status of coupon, Discount, and other promotional programs.  Is able to function as a front desk agent especially in terms of check-in and check-out...

How to Handle VIP and VVIP arrivals in hotels Who is a VIP guest ? Criteria for Categorizing guests as a VIP may differ from hotel to hotel, below are few examples for the same: VIP:  Decision Makers of Companies, Travel Agents, Honeymoon couples, A guest who had a bad experience on his last visit, Journalists, Event Planners, GM or Unit head of Companies etc. VVIP:  Board of Directors, Owners, Partners, Celebrities, Loyalty members, Head of States or countries, Senior Government officials etc. Preparation for a VIP and VVIP arrival starts right from the reservation stage, All department must coordinate effectively and carefully controlled to have a effective VIP procedure. A VIP status is often approved by the General Manager, Rooms Director/Director of Operations, or Director of Sales. Because all VIP's guests are pre-registered, the person approving the VIP status also assumes responsibility for the guests credit status. ·       ...

How to Accurately calculate Room Count in hotels It is important for Front desk agents to know exactly how many rooms are available, especially if the hotel expects to operate near 100 percent occupancy. Once procedures for gathering room count information are established, planning procedures can be extended to longer periods of time to form a more reliable basis for revenue, expense, and labour forecasting. Below points will help the front desk team to do a accurate room count : ·          Make counts of the rack and reservations. On tight days, a count should be made at 07:00 Am, Noon, 03:00 PM, and 06:00 PM. On Normal Days, a 07:00 AM and 06:00 PM Count will be OK. ·          Check Room Rack against the folio bucket or Open balance report to catch sleepers and skippers. ·          Check housekeeping reports against the room rack to catch sleepers and sk...