1. © 2009, Educational Institute
Chapter 2
Hotel Organization
Managing Front Office Operations
Eighth Edition
(333TXT or 333CIN)

2. © 2009, Educational Institute 2
Competencies for
Hotel Organization
1. Explain what a mission is, and describe how goals,
strategies, and tactics are used to accomplish a
hotel’s mission.
2. Describe how hotels are organized and explain how
functional areas within hotels are classified.
3. Describe the functions performed by departments
and positions within the rooms division.
(continued)

3. © 2009, Educational Institute 3
Competencies for
Hotel Organization
4. Identify the functions performed by other divisions
and departments within a full-service hotel.
5. Describe the organization of the front office,
including traditional work shifts, alternative
scheduling practices, and the purpose of job
descriptions and job specifications.
(continued)

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Explain what a mission is, and
describe how goals, strategies, and
tactics are used to accomplish a
hotel’s mission
• Mission: unique purpose that sets hotel apart
• Goals: observable, measurable activities and
standards to achieve mission
• Strategies: department or division methods used to
achieve goals
• Tactics: further define how goals will be achieved

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Describe how hotels are organized
and explain how functional areas
within hotels are classified.
• Organization chart: schematic representation of
relationships between positions

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Revenue Centers
• Front office
• Food and beverage outlets
• Catering
• Room service
• Retail stores

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Support Centers
• Housekeeping
• Accounting
• Engineering and maintenance
• Human resources

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Rooms Division
• Front office
• Front desk
• Reservations
• Telecommunications
• Uniformed services
• Bell attendants
• Door attendants
• Valet parking attendants
• Transportation personnel
• Concierges
• Housekeeping

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Other Hotel Divisions
• Food and beverage
• Sales and marketing
• Revenue management
• Accounting
• Engineering and maintenance
• Security
• Human resources
• Retail outlets
• Recreation
• Casino

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Front & Back
• Front-of-the-house areas: where guests commonly
interact with employees; revenue centers
• Back-of-the-house areas: employee/guest interaction
is not typical; support centers

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Describe the functions performed
by departments and positions
within the rooms division.
• Rooms division: front office, uniformed service,
housekeeping
• Front office: front desk, reservations,
telecommunications
• Front desk—sell guestrooms; provide telephone,
wake-up, paging services; process requests for future
overnight accommodations
• Reservations—receive, maintain, and manage
reservations

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Describe the functions performed
by departments and positions
within the rooms division
• Telecommunications—answer phones, place wake-up calls,
monitor automated systems, and coordinate emergency
communications
• Uniformed service: bell attendants, door attendants, valet
parking attendants, transportation personnel, concierges;
provides the most personalized service in a hotel
• Housekeeping: most important support department for front
office; clean, inspect, and release rooms for sale; effective
communication with the front office important to guest
satisfaction; helps front office monitor guestroom status;
teamwork essential

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Describe the organization of the front office,
including traditional work shifts, alternative
scheduling practices, and the purpose of job
descriptions and job specifications
Work shifts:
• day shift, 7 A.M. to 3 P.M.;
• evening shift, 3 P.M. to 11 P.M.;
• night shift, 11 P.M. to 7 A.M.
Flextime, compressed work schedule, job sharing

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Traditional Front Office Functions
• Reservations
• Registration
• Room and rate assignment
• Guest services
• Room status
• Maintenance/settlement of guest accounts
• Creation of guest history records

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Typical Front Office Positions
• Front desk agent
• Cashier
• Information clerk
• Telephone operator
• Reservations agent
• Bell attendant

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Identify the functions performed by
other divisions and departments
within a full-service hotel.
• food and beverage division,
• sales and marketing division,
• revenue management,
• accounting division,
• engineering and maintenance division,
• security division,
• human resources division,
• retail outlets,
• recreation division

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Job Descriptions
• Outlines reporting relationships
• Lists job tasks
• Lists additional responsibilities
• Describes working conditions
• Lists job equipment and materials
• Lists other important information
Used to:
• Evaluate job performance
• Train/retrain employees
• Avoid duplication of duties
• Ensure tasks are performed
• Determine staffing levels

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Job Specifications
• Lists needed personal qualities
• Lists needed skills
• Lists needed traits
• Spells out management’s expectations
Factors considered:
• Formal education
• Work experience
• General knowledge
• Previous training
• Physical skills
• Communication ability
• Equipment skills