FRONT OFFICE OPERATIONS

I-Guest Cycle:
The guest cycle describes the activities that each guest passes by from the moment he/she calls to communicate a reservation inquiry till he/she
departs from the hotel. In fact, the guest cycle encompasses different stages, !hich are depicted in the underneath diagram:
"re-#rrival #rrival $ccupancy %eparture
&ach stage of the guest cycle is associated guest service, and guest accounting activity'ies(.
).Guest services:
*eservation *egistration $ccupancy services Chec+-out and history
,. Guest #ccounting:
&stablishment of credits "osting charges -ight auditing settlement of accounts
.elo! is a description of the activities underta+en at each stage of the guest cycle:
). "re-arrival:
#t the pre-arrival stage, the hotel must create for every potential guest a reservation *ecord. %oing this initiates the hotel guest cycle. /oreover,
reservation records help personali0e guest services and appropriately schedule needed staff and facilities
The reservation department should, then, complete all the pre-registration activities and prepare guest folios 'applicable only for automated
systems(. %oing so !ill eventually ma1imi0e room sales by accurately monitoring room availability and forecasting room revenues
,. #rrival:
#t the arrival stage, registration and rooming functions ta+es place and the hotel establishes a business relation-ship !ith the guest.
The chec+-in cler+ should determine the guest2s reservation status 'i.e. pre-registered guests versus !al+-ins). 3ater, he/she shall prepare a
registration record or ma+e the guest sign the already-printed pre-registration record 'under some of the semi-automated and all fully automated
systems(.
The registration records shall include the follo!ing personal and financial items:
a( "ersonal information:
). -ame and 4urname of the guest along !ith billing address, telephone number, and any other coordinates
,. "assport number, birth certificate, and/or driving license number '!hatever applicable(
5. #ny special needs or requests
. Guest 4ignature
b( 6inancial information:
). %ate of arrival
,. &1pected date of departure or length of stay depending on ho! the system in the hotel is designed
5. #ssigned room number
. #ssigned room rate
7. Guest8s intended method of payment
*egistration records can be used for various purposes:
a( 4atisfy guest needs
b( 6orecast room occupancies
c( 4ettle properly guest accounts
d( &stablish guest history records at chec+-out 9personal : financial information;
e( #ssign a room type and a room rate for each guest
f( %etermine long-run availability 9i.e. reservation information; versus short-run availability 9i.e. room status;
g( 4atisfy special categories of guests such as disabled people through barrier-free designs
5. $ccupancy:
#t the occupancy stage, the front office department shall coordinate guest services in a timely and accurate manner. /oreover, front office cler+s
should encourage repeat guests by paying a great attention to guest complaints. This is ensured by placing complaint and/or suggestion cards in
every public place and revenue centers in the hotel. /oreover, the hotel shall, at least on a daily basis, collect comment cards, proceed !ith their
analysis, and provide positive feedbac+ to guest as soon as possible.
In addition, shall design effective procedures in order to protect the funds and valuables of guests. This might be ensured through guest +ey
control, property surveillance, safe deposit bo1es, and !ell designed emergency panels and e1its<
#nother activity at occupancy is to process posting of guest charges 9i.e. post room rates, 6:. charges, additional e1penses, and ta1es<; to
various guest folios, master 6olios< =hile doing so, front office cler+s shall continuously chec+ for deviations from the house limit, and ta+e
corrective measures as to change the status of the guest to "aid-in-advance. 6inally, front office cler+s shall periodically revie! #ccount .alances in
coordination !ith the night auditor.
. %eparture:
#t the departure stage, the guest shall be !al+ed out of the hotel. /oreover, front office cler+s shall create guest history record. 6inally, cashiers
shall settle guest account outstanding balances 9i.e.: balance the Guest account to 0;
In general, a proper chec+out occurs !hen the guest:
a( >acates the room
b( *eceives an accurate settlement of the guest account
c( *eturns room +eys
d( 3eaves the hotel
#t departure, chec+out personnel should encourage guests to consider returning to the hotel on any future date. That8s !hy cashiers should act
li+e a true sales person, and might eventually accept guest future reservations. That !ay, the stages of the guest cycle become really a cycle 'i.e.
start from !here it ends(.
If at departure, the guest account is not fully settled, then late charges accumulates. In such an undesired case, the responsibility of collection lies
!ithin the accounting department, ho!ever the front office department shall provide all necessary types of information to ma+e this collection easier,
quic+er, and feasible.
II- 6ront $ffice 4ystems:
?ntil the )@AB8s, nearly all hotels !ere operating under the manual system. #t late CB8s, !ith the introduction of computers, hotels shifted to semi-
automated systems. -o!adays, most of the five-star hotels operate under the fully automated system. .elo! is a brief description of the three
different systems under !hich hotels might operate.
). -on-automated 9manual; systems: This very system is the one characteri0ed by the sole usage of hands. In fact, all formats, procedures, and
different +inds of calculations are done manually.
,. 4emi-automated 9&lectro-mechanical; systems: This system gets use of some &lectro-mechanical equipment. In fact, under the semi-automated
system, each department might have its o!n computer system under !hich it handles all its operations.
5. 6ully automated 9computer based; systems: That8s the best system ever used in the hotel industry. In fact, it is characteri0ed by the e1cessive
use of departmental soft!are pac+age programs integrated and connected to a main frame or terminal situated at the front office department.
III-Guest Cycle under Three %ifferent 4ystems:
#t this stage, it is essential to notice that the follo!ing stages of the guest cycle under the three different systems do not conflict !ith each other. In
fact, the only differences are due to the nature of the system use. Therefore, !hat !ill be discussed above is not the repetition of the sequenceD
rather only differences !ill be highlighted.
). -on-automated systems:
#- "re-arrival activities:
#t the pre-arrival stage, reservation requests should be introduced in a loose-leaf noteboo+ or inde1 card. /oreover, only reservations up to A
months hori0ons shall be honored. 3astly, it is not practical, under this very system, to issue reservation confirmation numbers, initiate pre-
registration activities 'at the e1ception of >I" and groups( and prepare occupancy forecasts. The reason is, time and money loss along !ith
insufficient labor force to manually conduct all the above mentioned activities.
.- #rrival activities:
#t the arrival stage, guests shall either sign a page in the registration boo+ or fill manually a registration record. ?nder this very system, the most
!idely used front office equipment is the room rac+, in !hich registration records are inserted to serve as room rac+ slips. /oreover, registration
boo+s and records shall be time stamped as an internal control proving !hen the guest e1actly came, !ho registered him/her<3astly, guest folios
shall be opened for each registered guest.
C- $ccupancy activities:
?nder the occupancy activities, registration records shall be prepared !ith multi-copies. In fact, one copy shall be distributed to room rac+, another
stamped to the guest folio, another given to s!itchboard operators, and a final copy handed to the uniformed service personnel. 3astly, guests !ith
charge privileges charges and payments shall be posted to respective guest folios.
%- %eparture activities:
#t departure stage, cashiers should settle each guest account8s outstanding balance and get room +eys bac+ from guests. /oreover, cashiers shall
notify the house+eeping department that the room is no more occupied 'i.e. room status change( to let this very department clean the room and
prepare it for ne! arrivals. In addition, cashiers shall remove room rac+ slips from room rac+s to indicate departure. 3astly, these very rac+ slips of
departed guests shall be filed in a cardboard bo1 to serve as a guest history record
,. 4emi-automated systems:
This very system is less common in small and middle si0e hotels. 6or, these very hotels, financially !ise, might not afford the huge investments
associated !ith the installation of different hard!are and soft!are.
The main advantage of this very system over manual system is that various reports can automatically be generated. Eo!ever, the maFor
disadvantages associated !ith this system are various comple1ities of operating and controlling devices due to the fact that these equipment are not
integrated !ith other systems and are subFect to frequent maintenance problems.
#- "re-arrival activities:
#t this very stage, guests can either call a national reservation net!or+ or directly contact the hotel. /oreover, reservation cler+s can prepare pre-
registration records, guest folios, and information rac+ slips.
.- #rrival activities:
#t this very stage, already reserved guests shall verify their pre-registration forms and have only to sign it. $n the other hand, !al+-ins shall
complete a multiple copy registration record from the beginning.
C- $ccupancy activities:
#t the occupancy stage, in order to trac+ the different guest charge e1penditures and all other possible guest transactions, hotels get an intensive
use of various +inds of vouchers. /oreover, the most !idely used equipment, under this very stage, is the mechanical cash registers and front office
posting machines. 3astly, under this very stage, night auditor shall continuously resolve any discrepancy in guest accounts and efficiently reconcile
guest folios.
%- %eparture activities:
#t this very stage, cashiers shall relay room status information to the house+eeping department. /oreover, they should place registration records
of departed guests in property2s guest history files.
. 6ully automated systems:
#- "re-arrival activities:
?nder this stage, the reservation department is equipped !ith a soft!are pac+age, !hich is interfaced and connected !ith one or more central
reservation office's(. /oreover, the reservation department can automatically generate letters of confirmation, produce requests for guest deposits
and handle pre-registration activities for all types of guests and generate daily e1pected arrival lists, occupancy and revenue forecast lists<
.- #rrival activities:
#t this stage, various reservation records can be transferred to front office department. /oreover, hotels might be equipped !ith an on-line credit
authori0ation terminals for timely Credit Card Approval, self chec+-in / chec+-out terminals. 3astly, all guest charges and payments are saved in
electronic guest folios.
#s far as !al+-ins are concerned, all registration activities should be initiated from the very beginning.
C- $ccupancy activities:
?nder this very stage, guest purchases at different revenue outlets are electronically transferred and posted to appropriate guest accounts.
/oreover, the front office department can run and process continuous trial balances and, therefore, eliminate the tedious !or+ for the -ight #uditor.
%- %eparture activities:
#t this very stage, cashiers can automatically produce bills to be sent to various guests !ith direct billing privileges and create electronic guest
history records.
I>- 6ront $ffice 6orms:
#t different stages of the guest cycle different forms are used depending on !hich operating system a hotel chooses. .elo! are some of the
common forms used:
). "re-arrival activities:
a( *eservation record or a reservation file
b( 3etter of confirmation
c( *eservation rac+ and reservation rac+ slips
,. #rrival activities:
a( *egistration card 'or record( or registration file
b( *oom rac+ and room rac+ slips
5. $ccupancy activities:
a( Guest folio: shall be of duplicate forms and pre-numbered for cross-inde1ing control purposes
b( >ouchers: support documents detailing facts of a transaction, but does not replace the source document 'i.e. the invoice(. &1amples of
vouchers might include charge vouchers, allo!ance vouchers, paid-out voucher, and correction vouchers<
c( Information rac+ slips
. %eparture activities:
a( Credit card vouchers
b( Cash vouchers
c( "ersonal chec+ vouchers
d( Transfer vouchers
e( Guest history records
>- 6ront $ffice 6unctional $rgani0ation:
=hatsoever system and setting the hotel might use, it should reflect easy access to the equipment, forms, and supplies necessary. /oreover, the
setting shall reflect position fle1ibility. /oreover, no!adays trend sho!s that traditional mail, message, and +ey rac+s are unnecessary at the 6ront
%es+. *ather, they shall be stored in dra!ers or slots located under or a!ay from the 6ront %es+. 6or, this !ould ensure security and safety of
guests.
). 6ront %es+ designed alternatives:
a( Circular or semi-circular structure: this very structure provides an effective service to more guests and appears more modern and innovative but
since guests !ill approach the 6ront %es+ from all angles, more staff is needed.
b( Traditional straight des+: ?nder this very design, fe!er staff is needed, but fe!er guests can be served at the same time.
c( %es+less environment: ?nder this design, there is no 6ront %es+ at all. This is usually replaced by a hostess, or ste!ard !elcoming the guest,
seating him or her on a chair/sofa, and conduct registration activities there !hile, for e1ample, having a coc+tail or a drin+.
>I- 6ront $ffice &quipment:
). *oom rac+
,. /ail, message, and +ey rac+s
5. *eservation rac+s
. Information rac+s
7. 6olio trays or folio buc+ets
A. #ccount posting machine
C. >oucher rac+s
G. Cash registers
@. Telephone equipment