Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER RECAP 61vital area to manage a workforce that can deliver hospitality on a daily basis. Ensuringthat an employee can conduct business without constant approval from a supervisor isthe goal of empowerment. The mastery of empowerment requires a supervisor to trainemployees and to practice much patience. Employees who have been accustomed to directsupervision on all matters will not readily adapt to a work environment that requiresindependent thinking to solve challenges.Staffing the Front OfficeThe schedule for the front office staff is based on both budgetary targets and anticipationof guest check-ins and checkouts. An increase in the frequency of guest requests for informationand various front office services may affect the schedule. The front office managermust also determine labor costs by reviewing salaries and hourly wages and respectiverates. The resulting figures will show if the front office manager has adhered to theprojected budget. Table 2-1 (page 65) shows how the costs for staffing are determined.Table 2-2 (page 68) compares these projected costs with the projected revenue generatedby room rentals, which allows for a preevaluation of income and labor expenses.Solution to Opening DilemmaCommunication in a hotel is paramount to efficiency, delivery of quality service, andprofit making. In this particular case, the front office staff failed to place a room blockin the computer system for the additional 26 rooms. Does this happen frequently in thehotel business? Unfortunately, it does. However, the delivery of quality service is dependenton the upkeep of a hotel’s physical property, and this is an important operationalprocedure. The front office manager and the director of housekeeping have to cooperatein setting up times for taking guest rooms out of available inventory. The front officemanager must be made aware of the costs involved in contracted services and work inpartnership with the director of housekeeping.Chapter RecapThis chapter outlined the organizational structure of various lodging properties and typicaljob responsibilities of department managers. Specific review of the role of the frontoffice manager revealed many related concepts. Success in providing effective supervisionbegins with a review of the resources available to the front office manager, such as em-TLFeBOOK