Front Office Case Study

To begin with, ‘Heart’ refers to the role of front office as the heart of the hotel. From the management perspective, front office is the heart of the hotel operation and brings all the departments together to provide the high quality of service. The front office has to cooperate with different departments in its operation, such as accounting, and engineering department. For example, the accounting department, Kasavana (2013, p.74) pointed out that “its success depends on close coordination with the front office”. This is because the front office staff has to handle the financial transactions, for instance, they have to receive the payments from the guests when they check out. When the guests complain to the front office staff about the in-room …show more content…
Observation is definitely significant to the front office staff as it is the prerequisite to provide the premium service to the hotel guests. With good observation, the front office staff can know the guests’ emotions and what they really want and need at that moment. Take the front desk staff as an example, in the summer with hot weather, the guests are sweating when they carry their luggage to the hotel for checking in. It is thoughtful for the front desk staff to provide the water and tissue paper for them during the waiting for the check-in process. The guests may not expect that the hotel staff can observe such minor things and provide assistance on them. Sometimes the front office staff can create the memorable accommodation experience for the guests with good observation. Also, the front desk staff may recognize the registered guests’ names and faces with good observation for both the service and security purposes. The staff can not only provide the prestigious service to the guests, but also help the front desk staff personnel to identify the suspicious persons. As a result, front office employees with good observation can help them offer the premium service to the guests and maintain the safety of the guests and …show more content…
When we talk about the front office, the public may think that it is responsible for handling the check-ins and check-outs only. However, the front office also has the functions other than checking-ins and outs, such as maintaining balanced guest accounts through the property management system (PMS), checking on the room status, handling the mails, faxes, messages and parcels as well as offering the information services (Walker, 2014). The coverage of service to the guests is extensive since the front office can assist the guests on not only the issues about the accommodation, but also their personal issues during their stay at the hotel. Comparing to other departments within the hotel, the front office is the only one which can offer such wide range of services to the guests, including assisting the guests on the personal