Relationship between Front Front Ofce and other departments Housekeeping Department Housekeeping and the ront ofce communicate with each other about housekeeping room status, the report on the availability o the rooms or immediate guest occupancy. occupancy. Housekeeping room status can be described in the ollowing communication terms ! "v "vailable ailable #lean, or Ready$room Ready$room is ready to be occupied ! Occupied$guest or guests guests are are already occupying a room room ! %tay over$guest will not be checking out o a room room on the current current day ! Dirty or On&#hange$guest has checked checked out o the room, but the housekeeping sta' has not released the room or occupancy ! Out&o&Order$room is not available or occupancy because o a mechanical malunction Housekeeping and the ront ofce also communicate on the details o potential house count (a report o the number o guests registered in the hotel), security concerns, and re*uests or amenities (personal toiletry items such as shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash, and electrical e*uipment). +hese issues are o immediate concern to the guest as well as to supervisors in the hotel. Reporting o room status is handled on a ace&to&ace ace&to& ace basis in a hotel that does not use a property management system (-%). +he bihourly or hourly visits o the house& keeper to the ront desk clerk are a amiliar scene in such a hotel. +he ofcial reporting o room status at the end o the day is accomplished with wi th a housekeepers room report$a report prepared by the housekeeper that lists the guest room occupancy status as vacant, occupied, or out&o&order. out&o&order. %ometimes even regular reporting o room status is not ade*uate, as guests may be an/iously awaiting the opportunity to occupy a room. On these occasions, the ront desk clerk will have to telephone the 0oor supervisor to determine when the servicing o a room will be completed. +he housekeeper relies relies on the room sales pro1ections$a pro1ections$a weekly report prepared prepared and distributed by the ront ofce manager that indicates the number o departures, arrivals, walk&ins, stayovers, and no&shows$to schedule employees. +imely distribution o the the room sales pro1ections pro1ections assists the e/ecutive e/ecutive housekeeper in planning employee personal leaves and vacation days. +he ront desk also relies relies on housekeeping personnel personnel to report any unusual circumstances that may indicate a violation o security or or the guests. For e/ample, i a maid or houseman notices obviously non®istered guests on a 0oor, a 2re e/it that has been propped open, or sounds o a domestic disturbance in a guest room, he or she must report these potential security violations to the ront o2ce. +he ront o2ce sta', in turn, will relay the problem to the proper in&house or civil authority. authority. +he ront o2ce manager may want to direct the ront desk clerks and switchboard operators to call 0oor supervisors on a regular basis to check activity on the guest 0oors. 3uest re*uests or additional or special amenities and guest room supplies may be initiated at the ront ront desk. +he prompt relay o re*uests or e/tra blankets, towels, soap, and shampoo to housekeeping is essential. +his is hospitality at i ts
best.
Food and 4everage Department #ommunication between the ood and beverage department and the ront o2ce is also essential. %ome o this communication is conveyed by relaying messages and providing accurate inormation on transers, which are orms used to communicate a charge to a guests account. #ommunication activities also include reporting predicted house counts, an estimate o the number o guests e/pected to register based on previous occupancy activities, and processing re*uests or paid&outs, orms used to indicate the amounts o monies paid out o the cashiers drawer on behal o a guest or an employee o the hotel. +hese vital services help an overworked ood and beverage manager, restaurant manager, or ban*uet captain meet the demands o the public. 5ncoming messages or the ood and beverage manager and e/ecutive che rom vendors and other industry representatives are important to the business operation o the ood and beverage department. 5 the switchboard operator is given instructions on screening callers (such as times when the e/ecutive e/ecutive che cannot be disturbed because o a busy workload or sta' meetings, or vendors in whom the che is not interested), the important messages will receive top priority. 5n a hotel that has point&o&sale point& o&sale terminals, computeri6ed cash registers that interace with a property management system, inormation on guest charges is automatically posted to a guests olio, his or her record o charges and payments. 7hen a hotel does not have point&o&sale terminals that interace with -% point&o&sale terminals, the desk clerk is responsible or posting accurate charges on the guest olio and relies on transer slips. "lso, the night auditors 1ob is made easier i the transer slip is accurately accurately prepared and posted. posted. +he ront o2ce manager should work with the ood and beverage director in developing standard operating procedures and methods to complete the transer o charges. +he supervisors in the ood and beverage department rely on the predicted predicted house count prepared by the ront o2ce manager to schedule employees and predict sales. For e/& ample, the restaurant supervisor working the breakast shit will want to know how many guests will be in the hotel so he or she can determine how many servers to schedule or or breakast service. +imely and accurate preparation o this communication tool assists in stafng control and sales predictions. "uthori6ed members o the ood and beverage department will occasionally ask the ront o2ce or cash, in the orm o a paid&out, paid& out, to purchase last&minute items or a ban*uet, the lounge, or the restaurant or to take advantage o other unplanned opportunities to promote hospitality. hospitality. %peci2c guidelines concerning cash limits, turnaround time, prior approval, authori6ed signatures, and purchase receipts are developed by the general manager and ront o2ce manager. manager. +hese guidelines help to maintain control o paid&outs.
4an*uet Department +he ban*uet department, which oten oten combines the unctions o a marketing marketing and sales department and a ood and beverage department, re*uires the ront o2ce to relay inormation to guests about scheduled events and bill payment. +he ront desk sta' may also provide labour to prepare the daily announcement announcement board, an inside listing o the daily dail y activities o the hotel (time, group, and room assignment), and mar*uee, the curb side message board, which includes the logo o the hotel and space or a message. %ince the ma1ority o ban*uet guests may not be registered guests in the hotel, the ront ront o2ce provides a logical communications centre. +he daily posting o scheduled events events on a elt board or an electronic bulletin board provides all guests and employees with inormation on group events. +he preparation o the mar*uee may include congratulatory, welcome, sales promotion, or other important messages. 5n some hotels, an employee in the ront ofce contacts the marketing and sales department or the message. +he ban*uet guest who is unamiliar unamiliar with the hotel property will ask at the the ront ofce or directions. +his service might seem minor in the overall delivery o service, but it is essential to the lost or conused guest. +he ront ofce sta' must know both how to direct guests to particular meeting rooms or reception areas and which unctions are being held in which rooms. Front Front desk clerks, as shown in Figure Figure 8&9, must be ready to provide inormation or all departmental activities in the hotel. +he person responsible or paying paying the bills or a special event wills also also 2nd his or her way to the ront ofce to settle the city ledger accounts. 5 the ban*uet captain is not able to present the bill or the unction, the ront desk clerk should be inormed about the speci2cs o ood ood and beverage charges, gratuities, rental charges, method o payment, and the like.
