Contenu connexe Similaire à front office basic (20) Plus de Dr. Sunil Kumar (20) front office basic2. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Front Office Manager
(FOM)
Revenue
Management
Reservations Guest
Services
Night
Audit
Desk
Staff
Concierge Bell
Staff
3. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Front Office
Manager
Revenue manager
Establishing room ratesReservation manager
Managing the reservation processDesk staff
Guest registration
Concierge
Guest information
Bell staff Guest assistance
Night auditor Managing the Front Office related
accounting and data collection process
4. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Responsibilities of Front Office
Functional
areas
PMS & its
management
Revenue &
reservation
management
Management of
guest Services
Accounting for
guests
Data
management
5. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Front Office: The PMS & Its Management
PMS:
Computerized
system
Room rates,
reservations, and
room assignments
Guest histories
Reservations
Other selected
guest services
Management
information
functions
Accounting
information
6. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
To maximize
hotel’s revenue
per available
room (RevPar)
Front Office :
Revenue & Reservations Management
Occupancy % &
Average Daily Rate
(ADR)
Increase
Occupancy % x ADR = RevPar
To improve RevPar:
Estimate (forecast) guest demand for rooms
Practice yield management
Control occupancy
7. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Revenue & Reservations Management:
Forecasting Guest Demand For Rooms
When demand for rooms is high, drive ADR
(e.g., college football game: sell-out at a high ADR)
When demand for rooms is low, drive occupancy
(e.g., night before Thanksgiving: offer lower rate)
Knowing demand for rooms is key !
keep accurate historical records to understand past demand
know of special events or circumstances that impact future
room demand
For forecasting demand, Front Office should:
8. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Revenue & Reservations Management:
Practicing Yield Management
Forecasted room demand Rate strategy
90-100% occupancy Offer no discounts
70-90% occupancy Offer discounts up to 10%
50 - 70% occupancy Offer discounts up to 20%
Less than 50% occupancy Offer discounts up to 30%
Yield
Management
A strategy using demand forecasts to maximize
RevPar.
A strategy using demand forecasts to maximize
RevPar.
Demand for rooms > supply, sell at “rack rate”
Demand for rooms < supply, offer at discounts
Yield Management strategy based on room demand
9. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Revenue & Reservations Management:
Managing Occupancy
Friday Saturday Sunday
Rooms left to sell 120 25 250
Example: Forecasted room demand (Hotel with 300 rooms)
“Closed to Arrival” (CTA) : Hotel declines reservation for
guests attempting to arrive on this specific date.
“Minimum Length of Stay” (MLOS) : Hotel declines
reservations for guests seeking to stay for fewer days than
the minimum established by the hotel.
Identifying Saturday as day that is CTA & MLOS of two days
to maximize total weekend occupancy
Room availability strategies
10. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Managing Guest Reservations:
By Types & Delivery Methods
Transient sales: rooms and services sold primarily via Front
Office & its staff
Group sales: rooms and services sold primarily via Sales &
Marketing department, and given to the Front Office for recording
and servicing.
Global distribution system: great use by travel agents worldwide.
Hotel direct: effectiveness of the telephone sales effort is important.
Walk in: “curb appeal” is important.
Internet: accuracy of current info on web-site is important.
Franchise 800 numbers: significant source of transient room
reservations.
By reservation type
By delivery method
11. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Travel agents,
or Third-party
sites
GDS Users GDSes Switches Hotels
Worldspan,
Amadeus,
Sabre, or
Galileo
Pegasus or
WizCom
Hotel’s
Reserv.system
to to to
To Make Reservations:
Hotels
Hotel’s
Reserv.system
Switches
Pegasus or
WizCom
GDSes
Worldspan,
Amadeus,
Sabre, or
Galileo
Travel agents,
or Third-party
sites
GDS Users
tototo
To Confirm Reservations:
Information Flow of the GDS
12. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Managing Guest Services
Airport transportation
Parking cars
Handling luggage
Providing directions to local attractions
Making restaurant reservations
Taking guest messages
Routing mail
Newspaper delivery
Management of safety deposit boxes
Supplying directions for areas within the hotel
Setting wake-up calls
Providing guest security via careful dissemination of guest-
related information
Handling guest concerns and disputes
Variety Of Guest Services
13. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Assisting guests in getting baggage into hotel and their rooms
Explaining hotel services and guest room features to guests
Printing “ reg card” for guests scheduled to arrive next day
Reg card: legal contract existing between hotel and guest
(guest name / guest address / guest telephone number / arrival date / departure
date / # of adults in the room / rate to be paid / room type / form of payment)
Managing Guest Services: Front Desk - Arrival
Pre-arrival
Bell station
Bell staff should be friendly, well groomed, properly uniformed,
and respectful of guest property
Valet
14. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Managing Guest Services: Front Desk - Arrival
(continued…)
Five-step registration process
Minimize wait / make guests
feel welcome
Greeting guests
Reg card serves as the record
of guest’s stay
Authorize (validate) the card
at time of registration
Accommodate guest preference for room
types (location, view, bed type & amenities)
Issuance of keys Control issue of guestroom keys for guest
safety
Confirming the
info on reg card
Securing a form
of payment
Room
assignment
15. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Without a guest’s permission, never reveal his or her room number to
any third party.
Never perform registration tasks in ways allowing guest room info to be
overheard by others’.
Never write room numbers directly onto keys.
Never issue a duplicate room key to anyone except a registered guests.
Without a guest’s permission, never confirm or deny that he or she is in
fact registered.
Without a guest’s permission, never release info related to his or her stay.
Always be vigilant in informing guests of any third-party info requests
regarding their stay.
Managing Guest Service:
Front Desk- Guest Privacy
Guest information
Room information
16. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Apologize to guest for any inconvenience.
Clearly explain hotel’s walk policy to guest.
Offer any reasonable assistance to minimize guest difficulties.
When guests’ issues are handled professionally and their
legitimate complaints are treated courteously, their
experience is enhanced.
Managing Guest Service:
Front Desk - Stay & Departure
Guest satisfaction issues
The walked guests
17. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
The detailed list of a guest’s room charges as well as other
charges authorized by the guest or legally imposed by the hotel.
Appropriate guest charges incurred are posted to the appropriate
guest’s folio.
All independent supporting documentation should be thoroughly
reviewed prior to posting.
Accurately collect and post charges to the guest “folios”
Maintain an accurate list, by room number, of guestroom occupants
Verify accuracy of the room rates charged to guests
Confirm the check-out dates
Accounting For Guests
Front office’s accounting related tasks
Billing to Folio
18. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
verify and document identification of guest to whom room is rented.
assign guests, whenever possible, to requested room type.
assure that assigned room status is “clean & vacant”.
confirm rate guest pays, prior to issuing room keys.
confirm guest’s departure date, prior to issuing room keys.
secure acceptable form of payment from guest.
Guests present themselves to begin registration process
Special check-in areas may be available, depending on level of service and
priority of guests.
Front Desk Agent confirms status of selected room prior to room
assignment
At front desk check-in
At shelf check-in, system should allow staff to:
Accounting For Guests:
Room Management / Assignment
19. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Industry term for location of actual registration cards signed by
guests at check-in
Bucket
Guest’s actual room assignment / rate to be paid / departure date /
form of payment /any other accounting-related information
Manual procedure for assuring accuracy of:
Accounting For Guests: Bucket Check
Physically verifies that info. on a guest’s registration card is
complete and matches that in the PMS
Cross referencing method
Bucket check helps reduce errors related to billing guest’s folio.
20. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Night audit function: eight keys item
Accounting For Guests: Night Audit
Posting appropriate room tax and tax rates to guest folio
Verification of accurate room status (in PMS) of all rooms
Posting any necessary adjustments or allowances to guest folios
Verification that all legitimate, non-room charges have been
posted, throughout the day, to proper guest folio
Monitoring guest account balances (e.g., guest’s credit limit)
Balancing and reconciling Front Desk’s cash bank
Updating and backing up electronic data maintained by Front
Office
Producing, duplicating and distributing all management
mandated reports (e.g., ADR, occupancy %, business source,
in-house guest lists)
21. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Accounting For Guests: Check Out
Two essential tasks accomplished by desk agent
Confirmation of guest’s identity
Checking for late faxes / messages not yet delivered to guest
Inquiring about and returning guest belongings in hotel’s
safety deposit boxes
Posting any final charges
Producing copy of folio for guest’s inspection
Processing guest’s payment
Revising room’s status in PMS to designate room as vacant
Settlement of guest’s bill
Re-booking of guest for a future stay (selling opportunity)
22. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Confirmation that name on card matches that of individual presenting the
card for payment
Examination of card for any signs of alteration
Confirmation that card has not expired
Comparison of signature on card with signature by guest paying with that
card
Documentation (usually initialing) by employee processing the charge
Balancing and reconciling credit card charges at conclusion of each Front
Office shift
Credit card acceptance & processing guidelines
Data Management: Credit Cards
Accuracy
Commitment to security
Processing guest credit cards
23. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Recodable
locking
system
Data Management: Locking / Security Systems
Increasingly utilized to ensure guest safety
Installed cost is about $300 - $500 per guest
room
Independent & stand-alone (no wiring back to
PMS is necessary)
Managing a
recodable
lock system
Be trained to issue duplicate keys only to
confirmed registered guests
Maintain an accurate data system that actually
identifies registered guests and their assigned room
numbers
24. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Private Branch Exchange (PBX)
Hotel internal system to process incoming, internal, and
outgoing telephone calls
Data Management: Telephones
Call accounting system
Records time, length, and number called, of each
telephone call made within each guestroom
Posts phone charges directly to guest’s folio when
interfaced with PMS
Wake-up calls
Voicemail
Message on hold
25. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Any sales recording system not located at Front Desk (a
location, excluding Front Desk, at which hotel goods &
services are purchased)
Mostly interfaced with the PMS
Data Management: Point of Sale (POS)
Point of Sale (POS)
restaurants / room service / lounges / laundry / valet /
shops / fitness centers / business centers
Multiple POS systems in large hotel operations
Ensure all legitimate purchases & charged purchases are
posted to the correct guest or non-guest folio
26. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
In-room
service
Movies
Pay-per-view
movie system
In-room mini-bars
Interfaced with the
PMS(automatically
posted to guest’s folio)
Games
“video”games on
television screen
in guest room
Safes
In-room safes
for guest use
Internet
connections
Pay-to-connect
basis in guest room
27. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e
©2004 Pearson
Education Hayes/Ninemeier
Pearson Prentice Hall
Upper
Saddle River, NJ 07458
Data Management: Back Office System
Back office
accounting
system
System used by the controller to prepare hotel’s
financial documents such as Balance Sheet, Income
Statement, etc.
good underlying technology
strong company behind the product, including good leadership
compatibility with popular hardware products
sizable customer base
good customization capabilities
expandability
ease of use by non-technological staff
excellent support via telephone
excellent online support
potential for PMS interface
Back office accounting system should offer:
Notes de l'éditeur This Front Office organizational chart (hotel department responsible for guest reservations, registration, service and payment) is in a 350 room full-service hotel. Concierge/s is/are the individual/s within a full-service hotel responsible for providing guests with detailed information regarding local dining and attractions, as well as assisting with related guest needs. Re-engineering is re-organizing hotel departments or work sections within departments. Figure 6.2 shows guest tracker PMS hotel management features. PMS requires its own care and maintenance; any installed back-up system (redundant hardware and/or software operated in parallel with the system it serves) hardware related to PMS should be inspected and tested on a regular basis. Do several math exercises so that students understand the formula of RevPar; another way to express RevPar is actual room revenue / number of available rooms. . Explain why forecasting demand is important to maximize RevPar with the examples of college football game, and night before Thanksgiving. Sell-out indicates 1) a situation in which all rooms are sold or over-sold. A hotel, area, or entire city may, if demand is strong enough, sell out, 2) a period of time in which management attempts to maximize ADR. Yield Management is a strategy based on room supply and guest demand for rooms, that seeks to maximize RevPar by offering discounts on days when demand is weak, and eliminating discounts on days when demand is strong. Rack rate is the price at which a hotel sells its rooms when no discounts of any kind are offered to guests. While Yield Management is a method to control room rates, “Closed to Arrival” (CTA) and “Minimum Length of Stay” (MLOS) strategies are a method of managing occupancy, depending on room occupancy. For all these methods, forecasting room demand is an important job of the Sales and Marketing manager. Use Figure 6.4 (Forecast Room Demand) to describe the concepts of “Closed to Arrival” (CTA) and “Minimum Length of Stay” (MLOS). To enhance students’ understanding of these two strategies, Question 3 in “Issues at Work” in Chapter 6 ask students: in which specific circumstances would it be best to employ CTA versus MLOS to maximize occupancy? The text also discusses the practice of “over-booking” (a situation in which the hotel has more guest reservations for rooms than it has rooms available to lodge those guests) as one method to manage occupancy; use second case study to facilitate discussion with students about ethical issues involved in over-booking, from the hotel’s and the guests’ perspectives. Depending on the location, type, size and characteristics of hotel, levels of guest services vary greatly. Registration (reg) card is a document that provides details such as guest’s name, arrival date, rate to be paid, departure and other information related to the guest’s stay. Valet is originally a term used to identify an individual who cared for the clothes of wealthy travelers; its most common usage now is in reference to those individuals responsible for parking guest vehicles. Validation means 1) the card is being used legally, 2) the card has sufficient credit remaining to pay for the guest’s estimated charges 3) a “hold” for a dollar amount determined by Front Office policy has been placed on the card to ensure the hotel’s payment. “ Walked” indicates a situation in which a guest with a reservation is re-located from the reserved hotel to another hotel because no room was available at the reserved hotel. Ask students whether they have experienced dealing with walked guests; determine the training aspects relating to this situation, the policy regarding walked guests at the organization(s) they worked at, and how they managed such a difficult situation without diminishing the reputation of the hotel. Bucket check is a procedure used to verify, for each guest, the accuracy of that guest’s registration information. Night author is the individual who performs daily review of guest transactions recorded by the Front Office; night audit is the process of reviewing for accuracy and completeness the accounting transactions from one day to conclude or “close” that day’s sales information in preparation for posting the transactions for the next day. Hotels increasingly implement express or self-check in / out systems to meet guests’ needs and wants; Question 4 in “Issues at Work” in Chapter 6 asks who (business travelers versus leisure travelers) demand or prefer the speed of self-check in / out to human interaction of a front desk agent, and how this relates to consumer loyalty. Call accounting is the hotel internal system to document and charge guests for their telephone use. Question 5 in “Issues at Work” (Chapter 6) addresses the issue of decreased revenue from telephone services in the hotel; ask students to list three specific methods they would employ to encourage in-room telephone use in a hotel. Re-engineering is re-organizing hotel departments or work sections within departments.