Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

FRONT OFFICE INTERACTION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE HOTEL 77HOSPITALITY PROFILE?DeCaire is the food The communication emphasis at the Houston Hiltonis extended into a nine-week cross-training pro-Michaeland beverage manager atthe Houston Hilton, Houston, gram, in which all departments (food and beverage,Texas. His previous experience front desk, housekeeping, sales, etc.) participate inincludes positions as executive chef at the Park Hotel learning the basics of each department. This trainingin Charlotte, North Carolina; executive and executivesous chef at the Pacific Star Hotel on the Island of a cook, the waiter or waitress to understand theeffort allows the salesperson to appreciate the dutiesof Guam; and executive sous chef at the Greenleaf duties of a front desk clerk, and the front desk clerkResort in Haines City, Florida.to value the duties of a housekeeper. Another area ofMr. DeCaire relies on the front desk for accurate cooperative training efforts is fire command postforecasting of arrivals, notification of VIPs and HiltonHonors Club members, communication of com-Mr. DeCaire offers the following advice for stu-training.plaints and positive comments concerning food and dents wanting to make a career in the hotel industry:service, and processing of guest bills. He also works take an entry-level job in the hospitality industry sowith the front desk on obtaining a thorough knowledgeof the needs and location of banquet and meetends,holidays, and nights prior to investing in a col-you can understand the work requirements of weekingguests through a ten-day forecast of banquet and lege education. This effort will pay big dividends formeeting events.your career growth.The banquet guest who is unfamiliar with the hotel property will ask at the front officefor directions. This service might seem minor in the overall delivery of service, but it isessential to the lost or confused guest. The front office staff must know both how to directguests to particular meeting rooms or reception areas and which functions are being heldin which rooms. Front desk clerks, as shown in Figure 3-2, must be ready to provideinformation for all departmental activities in the hotel.The person responsible for paying the bills for a special event will also find his or herway to the front office to settle the city ledger accounts. If the banquet captain is not ableto present the bill for the function, the front desk clerk should be informed about thespecifics of food and beverage charges, gratuities, rental charges, method of payment,and the like.ControllerThe controller relies on the front office staff to provide a daily summary of financialtransactions through a well-prepared night audit. This information is also used to measuremanagement ability to meet budget targets. Since the front office provides the controllerwith financial data for billing and maintenance of credit-card ledgers, these two departmentsmust relay payments and charges through the posting machine or property managementsystem.TLFeBOOK