business: hotel management

1. RADHIKA GUPTA
12- BBA - HM
COMMUNICATION AND
ITS IMPORTANCE IN
FRONT OFFICE:

2. COMMUNICATION :
It means, ‘Imparting,conveyingor exchange of
ideas or knowledge whether by speech,writing or
signs’.In common terms, two person
communicate when they transfer information or
exchange ideas, knowledge or emotions. For
communication to be effective, it is important
that the information transferred is understood by
the receiver. The end result of communication is
understanding and its main purpose is to
motivate a response.

3. Importance of communication:
1)Communication is essential for planning & decision making
2) Communication helps bring about coordination:
3) Communication is essential for delegation & decentralization of authority
4) Communication helps develop managerial skills
5) Communication helps improve employee morale
6) Better understanding between the employee & employer: Communication is
important for this factor.
7) Ensure greater job satisfaction
8) Communication is essential for effective leadership

4. IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION IN HOTEL
INDUSTRY:No hotel can develop in the absence of effective communication –
both internal as well as external communications.
Besides,communication skills of the employees are given high
weightage at the of appointment & promotion of employees.
1.Internal communication: It is basically communication within the
hotel, i.e, transmitting information within the organization, its
departments, sections,etc. & between the units of the same chain.
This is possible only through an effective network of
communication. It is important for maintaining coordination &
avoiding embarraising situations between the various departments
& between the departments of the hotel & the management.
Effective communication creates an atmosphere of mutual trust &
confidence,& also a spirit of understanding & cooperation. The
employees know what exactly is expected out of them & the
management is aware of the potentialities & limitations of the
employees. It is of 3 types:

5. Formal communication: This line of communication is meant for
transmission of official messages or information within or outside
the organization. It may move vertically or horizontally. Vertical
communication is from supervisor to subordinate & vice versa.
Horizontal communication flows between employees of equal or
comparable status.
• Vertical communication is of 2 types:
Downward communication: It means flow of information from top
to lower levels. In this instructions are passed to subordinates to do
work. It can be in the form of policies, rules, instructions,
procedures, letters, posters,etc.
Upward communication: In such a case, the communication flows
from lower levels to the higher levels. It is generally in the form of
performance reports, suggestions, reviews, input, feedback, etc.

6. • Informal communication: In such a system official lines are not
followed & there is free interaction among the members of the
organization. This communication is based on informal relations & it
is free from all organisatinal formalities. It is also called grapevine
communication because there is no definite channel of
communication. Under it, some information passes through many
individuals & covers a long distance making its origin obscure.
• Consensus : When a number of people irrespective of the status sit
& confer with one another to arrive at a decision acceptable to all,
it is called consensus. It is the process of arriving at an agreement
through consultation. The advantage of this is that the consensus
decision is easy to accept & preserves harmony, avoids conflicts &
splits.

7. 2. External communication: It is the
communication of hotel with external sources &
officers, which may be government agencies &
department licensing authorities, foreign trade
offices, customs authorities, banks & financial
institutions, income tax, sales tax, post offices ,
transporters, etc. Other external agencies are
travel agents, suppliers etc. Organisations that
can communicate better can also sell better.

8. DEPARTMENTS AND SECTIONS WITH
WHICH FRONT OFFICE
COMMUNICATES AND COORDINATES:
1)LOBBY:
• Arrivals: Informs bell desk of allotted room. Asks
bellboy to escort the guest.
• Departure: On guest intimation communicates to
bell desk & cash.
• Change of room: Informs bell desk.
• Scanty baggage: Bellboy informs front desk.
• Messages: Delivery through bell boy.
• Paging: Front desk informs page boy.

9. 2)ACCOUNTS & CASH:
Notifies arrivals & departures through notification slips & the guest
folio is openedon the basis of guest registeration card.
Night auditor: He audits & checks all guest transactions & bills made
during the day & prepares the rooms sales for the day.
3)FOOD & BEVERAGE:
Room service: Arrivals,change&departures.
4)TELEPHONES:
Arrivals, departures, change of rooms& location of guest.
5)ENGINEERING:
Repairs& faults, concerning air conditioner, electricity, power, etc.&
also making of duplicate keys from key blanks.
6)STORES:
Supply of stationery, forms & formats, etc
7)MARKETING & SALES:
For improving room sale during off -season. Sales department keeps
front office informed with new agreements with travel agents &
airlines etc.

10. 8) HOUSEKEEPING:
Coordination with the front office is one of the most
important features of housekeeping. As soon as the guest
depart, the front office informs the housekeeping via
telephone or computer and reports how many rooms have
been vacated, so that housekeeping can take over and
clean and repair any furniture as may be necessary. Once
the rooms are cleaned, the housekeeping supervisor checks
the rooms, calls the housekeeping desk supervisor and
hands over the clean rooms. The housekeeping desk
supervisor then informs the front office that the rooms are
ready for new guests. The rooms received by housekeeping
for cleaning are called ‘departure room’, while the clean
rooms handed over by the front office are called ‘clean or
ready or vacant rooms.

11. THE POINTS ON WHICH FRONT OFFICE
COORDINATES WITH HOUSEKEEPING
DEPARTMENT:
• The front office informs housekeeping regarding all the
rooms that have been vacated ,so that they can be
prepared for sale.
• Rooms that need repairs are removed from circulation and
given ‘out of order status’.
• Major renovations are coordinated with the front office
based on the expected occupancy.
• The front office informs the housekeeping department if
any VIP rooms are blocked.
• Any special requests from guests are conveyed by the front
office on the guest’s arrival even prior to that ,
housekeeping can comply with the requests.

12. • Group arrival are coordinated for a smooth check in.
• Rooms with a double lock are opened by the front office, so
that the housekeeping department can clean them.
• The front office is informed regarding any items that have
been lost or found, so that have property can be returned
to the guest.
• Housekeeping keeps a careful watch on the rooms in which
guests have little or no luggage, & informs the front office
accordingly.
• The front office gives a forecast regarding occupancy to
housekeeping, which enables housekeeping to plan extra
work or give holidays accordingly.