Guide to Front Office Operation
By Alex Buenafe
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
Guide to Front Office Operation is a primer on the lodging and hotel business. The manual gives the user an overview of the front office or reception in a lodging operation with a look into the world of hotels. It explains the guest cycle and how it affects the hotel operation at every stage of the cycle. The guide includes outlines of basic and standard procedures as practised in hotels worldwide.
The manual is ideal for managers and owners especially for smaller hotels without management and training support from a corporate office. The guide serves as a useful resource for new employees and students in the hotel industry to complement their training or education.
Alex Buenafe
Consultant & Hospitality Educator. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 17 years in the hotel industry in Canada. Since 2002, mainly involved in training facilitation and as lecturer in post secondary institutions in Toronto. International experience include visiting lecturer in Beijing for a private college, and consulting assignments in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Philippines. Certified Hospitality Educator with the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Arts, Professional Studies in Hotel Management.
Read more from Alex Buenafe
Guide to Food & Beverage Service Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Guide To Hotel Housekeeping Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Guide To Training Within Hospitality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Primer on Tourism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Guide to Front Office Operation
Related ebooks
Service quality from the guest's view: Manual for more service quality in hotels and restaurants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRevenue Superstar!: The Simple Rules of Hotel Revenue Management Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Open & Operate A Hotel, Resort or Inn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hotel Revenue Management: The Post-Pandemic Evolution to Revenue Strategy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYour Guide to Owning & Operating a Hospitality Property - Successfully Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Master Hotel Manager Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Hotelier’S Mind: Setting Strategy for the Future Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHospitality Property Organizational Structure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDigital Guest Experience: Tools to help hotels to manage and optimize the digital guest experience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStrategies to Master Communication at Your Hospitality Property Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Heart of Hospitality: Great Hotel and Restaurant Leaders Share Their Secrets Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Making Your Hotel Business Future Ready Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRevenue 20/20: Back to Basics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHotel Marketing Strategies in the Digital Age: The Secret Of Improving Hotel Marketing Performance in the Tourism Industry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hotel Revenue Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The INNside Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHospitality Management: People Skills and Manners on and off the Job Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leadership Skills For Hotel Manager: Persuasion Skills Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHospitality Management Series: The Quest for Remarkable Service Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5More Hotel Mogel: Essays in Hotel Marketing & Management Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality: Cutting Edge Thinking and Practice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Guide to Hotel Housekeeping Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Housekeeping Management: Manual for Successful Housekeeping & Cleaning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHospitality Management Series: Service-Based Leadership Transforms Your Operation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHotel Pricing in a Social World: Driving Value in the Digital Economy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLow Cost Marketing Strategies For Hotels and Guest Houses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Open a Financially Successful Bed & Breakfast or Small Hotel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHospitality Management Complete Self-Assessment Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Industries For You
Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uncanny Valley: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5YouTube Secrets: The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Following and Making Money as a Video I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Best Story Wins: How to Leverage Hollywood Storytelling in Business & Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Artpreneur: The Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living From Your Creativity Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All You Need to Know About the Music Business: Eleventh Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWriting into the Dark: How to Write a Novel Without an Outline: WMG Writer's Guides, #6 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art and Making of the Dark Knight Trilogy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary and Analysis of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals 1: Based on the Book by Michael Pollan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExcellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5YouTube 101: The Ultimate Guide to Start a Successful YouTube channel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shopify For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Guide to Front Office Operation
10 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It's not hard to get what you wish to know about the virility concepts and ideas for regarding your responsibility. Quick search and find the way of work even it's so detailed. Thanks!
Book preview
Guide to Front Office Operation - Alex Buenafe
Guide to Front Office Operation
Basic Procedures for the Hotel Front Office
By Alex Buenafe
2ndEdition, 2022 by Alex Buenafe
Smashwords Edition
This e-book is for your personal use only and may not be resold or given away to other people. If you wish to share this book with others, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book but did not purchase it or this e-book was not purchased for your use only, please return to your favourite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the work of the author.
Table of Contents
FOREWORD
1
THE WORLD OF HOTELS
Classification of Hotels
Types of Lodging Operations
Service as a Product
Standard & Quality
Guest Cycle
2
HOTEL ORGANIZATION
Operation
Support
Rooms Division
Front Office Systems
3
RESERVATION
Reservation Format
Reservation Channels
Processing a Reservation
4
REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
Registration Record
Registering a Guest
Room Status
Walk-In Registration
Fulfilling Guest Requests
5
FRONT OFFICE ACCOUNTING
Posting on Folios
Cash Out Procedures
6
GUEST DEPARTURE
Methods of Settlement
Final Tasks
7
GUEST CONTACT
Communication
Guest Services
Guest Complaints
Privacy and Security
KEY TERMS
RESOURCES
AUTHOR’S NOTES
FOREWORD
Guide to Front Office Operation is a primer on the lodging and hotel business. The manual gives the user an overview of the front office department, explains the guest cycle and outlines basic procedures according to cycle. It is ideal for managers and owners especially for smaller hotels without management and training support from a corporate office. The guide may also serve as a useful resource for new employees and students in the hotel industry to complement their training or education.
The key terms section at the back of the guide contains the most common words and expressions used in every day front office operation. For quick reference, words and expressions used in the manual are linked to the key terms section. This version has been updated in light of the effects of the pandemic and the use of technology in hotel operations.
The author acknowledges the input and helpful suggestions of Mariz Soliman in Tayabas, Philippines, Jo Anne Hecht in Toronto and Carolyn Wright in Negril, Jamaica. For this manual, the author draws from experience working as adviser to the following hotels: Rondel Village Hotel, Negril, Jamaica; Hotel Victoria, Chelyabinsk, Russia; Graceland Estates, Tayabas, Philippines and the Camino Real Hotel group in Bolivia.
THE WORLD OF HOTELS
The primary business of a hotel is to provide accommodation or lodging to travelers in return for payment. Travelers are transients who need a place to stay on a temporary basis not for permanent or residential purpose.
Hotels operate selling room nights as their inventory. A room night is one room for one night. In a year, a room for one night translates into 365/ 366 room nights inventory. Hostels or similar lodging that offer guests a bed instead of a room, count bed nights instead of room nights.
Today, hotels go beyond providing a room or a bed to travellers. Small to large hotels provide additional services and facilities to complement their lodging operation. The facilities and services that one finds in hotels cater to the diverse needs and preferences of their guests.
Facilities may range from places to eat and drink such as restaurants, cafes, minibars or vending machines. Hotels may have facilities and services for leisure activities, e.g. swimming pool, spa or gym, or facilities for business, e.g. a business centre or meeting room. In addition, hotels may provide guest laundry, in-room safe, foreign exchange or transportation.
CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS
Hotels are generally classified into three categories according to: size, level of