CVE Colleges, Inc.

T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon

Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

PROVIDE ACCOMMODATION RECEPTION SERVICES (PR)

The front office or reception of an accommodation venue is the heart of the hotel where
the reception activities of which the guests, check in, check out, make inquiries, settle accounts, and go
to for any help they might need. Reception staff on the morning shift generally have a 07:00hrs start but
this can vary between venues. In larger hotels the morning shift usually starts at 07.00hrs as the
nightshift staff are coming to the end of their shift at 07:30hrs.

Lesson 1. Prepare for Guest Arrival

Definition of terms
Guest – a person or someone who is visiting a certain place, home, or hotel.
Arrival – the act or process of arriving into somewhere
Reception – the act or process of receiving something sent, given, or inflicted.

In providing accommodation reception services, all staff must create an environment that makes
the guests feel welcome, most comfortable and helps them to enjoy the experience of being in their
own home. The cleaning up services and nesting in preparation for guests arrival, is considered to be a
win-win activity in the accommodation reception services since it is where you can give the utmost
customer satisfaction in your hotel establishment from the beginning of their stay in the hotel.

The preparation of the guest arrival is one of the most important aspects of the hospitality
industry. Every reservation should be given enough preparation of the accommodation reception
services prior to the check in stage. When the guest arrive, the reception area must already anticipating
the daily guest lists in the reservation system as well as the walk-in guests for the day, even up to the
smallest special request should be noted in detailed.

All preparations must be done for the arrival of the individual or group guests. While there may
be some unforeseen circumstances and changes of prior requests, the reception personnel must be in
anytime prepared for it. Any variations in number of persons staying in rooms and/or the house, length
of stay, who are they with, and etc. is already prepared prior the arrival.

How to prepare reception area for service And check all the necessary
equipment to use?
All hospitality operations must prepare for all activities they engage in. This is not new to the
activities for front office, a travel agent or a food and beverage area. It must be prepared in the same

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

way as the restaurant, the kitchen or guest rooms. Preparing our work environment has
a number of elements; we check for general safety and tidiness, we log on to our shift
and check all equipment and stationery supplies.Reception staff must check guest details on the Daily
Arrivals List (also known as the Arrivals List) to review and ensure guest bookings are correct.

Gathering all the important information in detail at the time of reservation and registration
enhances the front office accommodation services ability to satisfy special guest needs.

Preparing for guest arrival in reception services covers the following stages:

 Verification of documents
 Preparing of documents i.e. Movement list or expected arrival + expected departure list.
 Pre-arrival: The front office needs a list of all guests expected on a given day to prepare for
guest’s arrival, with their estimated arrival times, room type (or allocated room, if any), special
requirements and so on.
 Pre-registration for some guest: Pre- registration is an activity where the FO registers the guest
before his arrival based on the information already available.

Handover

In effect the handover is a ‘briefing session’. It also gives the new staff coming on duty time to prepare
the reception area for their shift. This handover allows fora smooth transition from one shift to another,
and enables necessary communications to occur. The information is passed on from our colleagues
about to finish their shift in a number of ways; verbally, through written messages, in a front office diary
and in reports. Handover involves procedures such as the cashier checking the float, and the night
auditor verbally passing on any relevant information about occurrences during the night, and/or special
items required for the upcoming shift. The morning staff will generally take over from the night auditor
or night shift attendant. The afternoon shift takes over from morning shift and the night staff take over
from the afternoon shift.

Reception Diary

Reception may keep a paper-based Reception Diary to record any important information regarding what
has happened during a specific shift. Where it is used, this diary is a prime means of communication. If a
staff member is rostered on for the evening shift, they will need to familiarize themselves with the daily
activities or anything they may need to action during their shift, and they will find this written in this
diary

Front office equipment: Equipment at Reception can resemble equipment found in many office
settings. Common preparation’ for these may simply involve verifying they are there and working as
intended

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Fax machine: the telephone operator looks after the where appropriate (notifying
guests of their arrival if the guest.

The computer and printer: may need to be turned on, and will need to be checked to ensure
operational readiness. In the majority of cases, this equipment will often be left

Photocopier: The photocopier should be checked during front office preparation activities and be
restocked with paper and have toner replaced if required.

Register/ Counter machines: Verifying the correct day/date (and time where applicable) is being
printed on receipts. The audit roll is not indicating it is about to run out reddish stripes along the roll
appear w

Registration cards: Part of the preparation for the day is to prepare for the day’s arrivals. This means
making sure all Registration Cards/Sheets for that day have been printed. A check should be made of all
communication sources (mail, faxes, phone messages, message racks, parcel shelves, e-mails) to make
sure all necessary messages (where applicable) are attached to the Registration Cards/Sheets to be
passed on to guests when they arrive.

In providing accommodation receptions services, the Front office must see to it that the
activities are already done prior the arrival of the guest; the cleaning and nesting and setting up of the
reception venue, the preparation at the reception desk, morning briefing and reading the log system,
calculation of number of estimated and/or expected arrivals and departures, calculation of room
position- room position- available vacant rooms + no of rooms of expected departure- no of rooms of
expected arrivals, allocation of rooms for guest VIP’s etc., including also the office equipment to be
used, it must be checked first before the operation to avoid any cause of delay, and ensuring about
amenities and facilities.

Activity 1
Arrange the following events given below, as to its chronological event, write the number according to
its sequence, number 1 will be the first event and 5 will be the last event.

Events Order
Morning briefing
Preparing of documents such as movement list
Pre-arrival
Verification of documents
Pre-registration

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Activity 1.2
Pick your answer from the box that complete the statement and write your answer in
the space provided below.

Fax machine computer printer cash register credit card imprint photocopier

1. ______________this is when the guest has a cashless payment and use his card to pay the hotel bills.

2. ______________front office may print the guest folio and history of his/her stay in the hotel.

3. ______________there are clients who just send some information using this machine.

4. ______________there are guest who also pay through cash when he/she settles bills.

5. _____________ considered to be an important equipment in the front office to record all the
transaction what the manual recording cannot do.

Lesson 1.2. Check and review daily arrival details prior to guest’s arrival
(preregistration)

Definition of Terms
Suite – French term for “room”
Pre- registration (pre- meaning before/prior)

Pre-registration activities are those which is done prior to guest arrival at the property and is
also one of the most important stage in guest cycle. Pre-registration is normally done for groups, for
VIP/VVIP guests bookings.

Here are some Pre-registered guest check in Procedure:

1. A Pre-registered guest must be ‘checked in” within the Night Shift before the Night Audit, in an
Inspected room as per the guest’s requirement.

2. A Guest registration card must be printed and a key card to be prepared and kept on hold for the
guest at the front desk.

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

3. When the guest arrives and presents his name at the Front Desk, a normal check must
be done, after informing him/her that he/she has a pre-registered booking, as the room
has been held for him from the previous night and therefore he would be charged from
the previous night. Here is what you can say: “We are holding a reservation for you, May I request you
to kindly verify the information we have here? 4. Mention the facilities included in the hotel rates. If
breakfast is not included in the rat, ask if he/she would like it included.

5. Ask the guest about the luggage and introduce him/her to the bell boy.

6. After the bellboy is introduced, the bell boy now will accompany the guest to his/her hotel as his/her
escort.

Being in the front office is never an easy task, you are not just simply accommodating the guest
on their arrival, but you also have to check and verify every details of information they have in their
reservations. Having the skills in good in communications and active mind will be a big help to
accomplishing this task. Customer service and satisfaction are also the best ways to keep your daily
guest arrival keeps coming back, for they feel they are well taken care of. Checking and reviewing arrival
details prior to the arrival would mean too much to the guest, and that the front office will never look
surprise of the arrival of the guest.

Activity
Classify the following activity either pre-registration or post registration. Write your answers on the line.
________________________1. Reviewing the guest registration form

________________________2. Prepare guest statement

________________________3. Follow-up the confirmation

________________________4. Record guest’s personal data of future references

________________________5. Supervise credit levels

________________________6. Payment of bills

________________________7. Checking of confirmation of arrival within 48 hours

________________________8. Introduce the bell boy

________________________9. Verify the identification

________________________10. Open the guest history and verify the transactions

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 1.3 Allocate Rooms in Accordance with Guest Requirements

and Establishment Policy
Definition of Terms
Repeat Guest – a loyal guest who has been staying and checking in the hotel for many times
Allocation – the action or process of allocating or distributing something to give someone in comfort
Room – space that can be occupied where someone can stay for a while or for a given time.

Did you ever wonder how the hotel assign rooms to guests or how a hotel guest reservation
officer allocates different types of rooms to his guests? Rooms need to be allocated according to the
guests’ requirements (nonsmoking room, king size bed, interconnecting rooms, poolside room and so
on) and the establishment’s policies. The Housekeeper’s Report will be used to determine which rooms
are vacant, clean, dirty, out of order, or on inspection.

Room allocation is one of the first jobs for reception staff –working out which guest(s) are to go
in which room. When allocating rooms, attention needs to be paid to the Arrivals List on which special
requests and room rates may be included.

This time, you will learn room allocation procedures of a hotel in order to ensure guest’s needs
are met with regards to room requests on different room types and at the same time maximum
flexibility is maintained.

Here are some procedures that the hotel usually do:

 Reservations will be handed over to the next day’s correspondence while it will be further
checked and ensure all details have been put into Computerized Reservation System or Property
Management software like OPERA.
 A good practice to print out next day’s arrival list in details like the check in and check out date
of each guests, room type and block status, gender of the guests, list of VIP guests and their
status, special arrangement requested like surprise birthday cake and gift, special instructions
from guests like wheelchair for disabled guests or smoking or nosmoking room requested etc.,
guest’s arrival time. Previous stay record, special feature or amenity requested etc.
 All recorded details are checked in the system before the room is allocated.
 Room allocation should be done mostly based on status of room reservation. For example, a
guaranteed or paid reservation will always get priority over non-guaranteed reservation or
reservation for walk in guest.
 Special requests have to be adhered to when blocking rooms for guests, by looking into the
Guest Profile and History.
 Repeat guests should have the same room as previous stays or to their specific preference if any
has been mentioned one earlier visits. Persons travelling together from the same company
should have rooms as close to each other as possible unless requested otherwise.
 Rooms that are accessible and any special requests bookings should be blocked by Reservation
prior to confirming.
 Guaranteed late check-out rooms would be monitored closely, and housekeeping should be
informed in advance.

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

 If any Special Request or Amenities (e.g. Flower, fruits etc.? are to be placed in
the room, this should be ordered a day in advance and he department is
responsible for placing them in the room. An alert should be set so that room
moves are minimal and the respective departments informed to make the respective changes.
 All guests who have been guaranteed early check-ins or who have pre-registered bookings
should have appropriate rooms blocked for them and should be checked into the system from
the day of their reservation (a day before theirs physical check-in)
 General aspects like blocking a King room for a honeymoon couple, a twin room for two men
travelling together or a family (of 4) or rooms close to the elevator for senior citizens, single lady
traveler etc., should be taken into account while blocking rooms.
 Floors or sections would be blocked for groups, tours and conventions, as much as possible.
 Include the disabled guest in your special care list as to the special arrangement should be made
prior to their arrivals like arranging special amenities, supplying equipment like wheelchair or
hearing aid if needed and available.
 Must be very careful while handling VIP or VVIP reservation. If there is any system in your
software to block heavily so that other reservation or front desk agent cannot allocate the same
room to anyone, then apply it.

The hotel reservation officer and room service allocation must arrange the rooms perfectly for the
guest and must follow the strict system.

Room allocation to individuals and groups

In the case of specific room types that are limited such as "The Presidential Suite" where there is
only one of this type of room, the room will be allocated to the guest’s reservation at the time the
reservation is made to ensure the room is "blocked off" for this guest. The same would occur for family
suites or interconnecting rooms, or honeymoon suites (of which there is a limited number). All these
rooms are blocked off at the time the reservations are made to ensure the rooms’ availability.

Reserved rooms are usually allocated on the morning of the arrival date. Today most hotels pre-
allocate all rooms to guests before their arrival rather than simply "pick" the appropriate room that is
available at the time the guest arrives to check in at the front desk.

Group Guests
For all group arrivals the rooms are pre-allocated according to the reservation request and hotel
policy. Usually group rates are relatively low so the rooms that are allocated are in the "less popular"
section of the hotel. Very few group rooms would be given rooms with ocean view frontage unless the
rate reflected this type of view. Most group rooms will also be allocated close together on the same
floor if possible. In most cases group rooms are usually occupied on a twin share basis and will probably
require 2 beds in each room. In the case of group arrivals you might come across a "triple share" where
3 guests are to share the one room. This will usually require a request to housekeeping to put in an extra
bed or open up the sofa bed in a specific room. The reception supervisor must keep an eye on these
rooms allocated to the group arriving as all rooms need to be ready at a specific time. For example, if the
tour group bus is arriving at 14:30hrs all the rooms need to be ready by that time. When rooms are

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

allocated in the morning the supervisor must pick rooms from the list of those rooms
that have already checked out or the list of rooms that are due to depart today.

Room rates
When rooms are allocated to FIT guests (fully independent travelers) the rate determines the
type of room the guest will be receiving. The higher the rate the better the room generally. This group of
guests do not receives any discounts. On the other hand, corporate guests get a specific rate for certain
rooms because of the volume of business given to the hotel. All staff should be familiar with the
property’s rates and policies that apply.

Need to accommodate other agreements

Some establishments have special arrangements with certain businesses which may need to be taken
into account and honored when allocating rooms. Sometimes these factors will be preprogrammed into
the computerized reservation system and will automatically be accommodated. Special arrangements or
agreements may be covered by a ‘Local Agencies Policy’ or be contained within the terms of a contract
between (say) a tour wholesaler and the venue, or between a major corporate or government client and
the hotel.

Examples of what might apply to these room allocations can include:

 Automatic room up-grade
 Allocation of room with a view
 Allocation of room with specified facilities
 Guests have access to restricted services and/or areas
 Guests receive nominated coupons on arrival’.

Pre-register guests
When a guest is arriving very late or early into the next day, it is necessary to preregister the
guests (allocate a room and process as a check-in) before the guest actually arrives. This is to enable the
revenue to be charged for the correct room night and to assist the guests with a convenient check in
when they arrive.

Special requests
Special requests are a common occurrence in most accommodation establishments. The front
office usually takes these special requests when the original booking is made or face-to-face with guests
during their stay.

Special requests may include:

 Special facilities for guests with a disability
 Chocolates in the room

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

 Guests with an early check-in time - meaning the room needs to be cleaned and
serviced and allocated prior to the guest’s arrival
 Extra bed
 Flowers in the room
 Cot
 Extra hangers
 Power adapters
 Stocking the mini-bar with a specific beverage
 Tickets for a live theatre performance to be available on arrival
 Extra soap, shampoo or conditioner to be placed in the room.

Allocation of room is said to be one of the many complex task of hotel guest’s registration activity.
During booking or advance reservation confirmation, only a room type is booked and a room number is
not yet allocated to the guest, unlike with the VIP/VVIP guest they are the ones who were already
allocated rooms and room number.

Activity
Direction: Read and answer the questions below. Write your answer on your journal notebook.
1. How to allocate rooms for VIP/VVIP?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. What do you think is the reason why VIP’s/VVIP’s are given extra favors that any ordinary guest?
Explain.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 1.4 Follow up on uncertain arrivals or reservations

If the establishment is running at high occupancy and there are bookings that have not
been guaranteed, reception staff may be required to ring guests (using the contact number supplied)
and reconfirm their arrival. If the guest has changed their mind and is not going to arrive this means
their booking can be cancelled and their room can be put back on the board and offered to someone
else. Guests who are on a Waiting List maybe offered the room, or walk-in guests may be able to use the
room. The main aim of following up uncertain arrivals is to optimize room sales. In reference to
reservations during peak periods (such as high-profile sporting events) some establishments ask all
guests to send a deposit or quote their credit card number to guarantee the booking. If the deposit does
not arrive by the stipulated date, you will need to follow up the uncertain reservation and find out if the
guest still requires the reservation or not.

UNCERTAIN ARRIVALS or NON-GUARANTEED RESERVATIONS

It is not confirmed reservation. In this case of reservation, the hotel agrees to hold a room for
guest of a specified time to confirm. If does not arrive by cancellation hour then the hotel is free to
releases room for other use. It is added to the list of room available for sale. If the guest arrives after the
cancellation hour and room remains available, the hotel has a right to release the room. It ensures that
the hotel agrees to hold a rooms for the guest until a stated reservation cancellation hour and it is
usually 6:00 pm on the day of arrival.

It is common for hotels planning on full occupancy or nearing full occupancy to accept only
guaranteed reservation once a specified number of expected arrivals is achieved. This type of
reservation does not guaranteed that the hotel receive payment for no-show. If the guest does not
arrive by the cancellation hour, the hotel can add the room to the list of other rooms available for sale.
And if the guest arrives after the cancellation hour, the hotel will accommodate if a room is still
available, if not, then the guest will be accommodated to another room.

Dealing with Cancellations

You need to realize that anyone who rings with a cancellation does us a favor as they provide us with an
opportunity to sell the room to someone else. Similarly anyone who tells us they want to cancel when
wiring to ask or follow-up, does us a favor too – even though we had to ring them and ask. Remember,
when being informed of a cancellation to be polite and ensure that no hint of negative sentiment finds
its way into the conversation. The aim is to remain positive so that if they have the opportunity to visit
our area in the future, they will again make a booking with us.

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Activity
Assume that you are the Front Desk staff who is dealing with uncertain arrivals. What
can you say if there are uncertain arrivals in your reservations? How would you handle the guests with
the following situations? Write you answer on the lines.

1. In dealing with cancellation you need to realize that anyone who rings with a cancellation does us a
favor as they provide us with an opportunity to sell the room, in this case, a guest already cancelled the
reservation but called again to rebook the reservations he cancelled.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

2. It is not confirmed reservation. In this case of reservation, the hotel agrees to hold a room for guest of
a specified time but after a certain period of time the guest did not even gave a call to the hotel, to
confirm the arrival, then, after few hours the guest arrive, how would you handle this situation

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 1.5 Compile and distribute accurate arrival lists to relevant

personnel/departments
The Arrivals List provides information and will be distributed to departments such as uniformed
staff (porters and concierge), housekeeping, security, laundry, food and beverage and kitchen to assist
these departments in their planning for operational duties. Whether the Arrivals List is manually or
computer generated, the information found on it must always be treated in the strictest of confidence
and should never be left unattended for public viewing Information found on an Arrivals List may vary
from establishment to establishment, but can be expected to include for each booking:

 Arrival date
 Departure date.
 Estimated time of arrival (ETA). This helps Housekeeping schedule the order or sequence in
which rooms are serviced.
 Estimated time of departure (ETD) to help in scheduling the order of rooms to be serviced
 Guest s name. This is a base reference point. This also helps staff use the guest name when
speaking with them and providing information and can be useful when a guest is required to
sign a docket for the receipt of, for example, room service or other services that the guest
wishes to charge to their room
 Number of guests so that appropriate in-room requirements (shampoo, towels, extra pillows
etc.) can be provided
 Room type indicating if the room is a single, double, twin or suite
 Room rate. This indicates the value of the guest. If service to a room has to be prioritized, it is
commonly the higher rack rate rooms that get serviced first. This indicates the rate category of
room the guest has requested.

What’s more

 Special requests. The Housekeeping department takes care of most special requests but there
can be a need for food and beverage to be involved, or maintenance, or security dependent on
the nature of the request.
 VIPs are also listed on the arrivals list. Room service or housekeeping need to be made aware of
this guest and what room they are in. Security usually become involved with VIP guests as well
 The level of the VIP will determine the level of VIP treatment they receive
 Complimentary guest’s Complimentary guests could be winners of prizes that the property
has offered or guests who have come back because there was a problem with their previous
stay. Complimentary guests will receive special requests from either room service or
housekeeping.

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 1.6 Inform colleagues and other departments of special

situations or requests in a timely manner
Definition of Terms

Special Requests – it is the guest requests at the time of reservations guest may make a special
request to make their stay more comfortable.

Arrivals lists will be used by a number of departments within your hotel. Different pieces of information
on the listing will be essential to one department and not for the next. The Arrivals List is a necessary
tool in the planning undertaken to receive guests. It helps to inform management and staff from
different departments of what is happening within the hotel and allows them to make certain decisions,
such as:

Housekeeping

 Staffing levels determining the number of housekeeping staff required to meet shift demands
 Planning of daily tasks identifying the potentially busy and quiet times of arriving guests
 To determine the level of service given to the room: for example, the linen on the bed may not
be fully changed if the guest is known to be staying only two nights
 Housekeeping will use the Estimated time of departure (ETD) to help schedule the order of
rooms to be serviced
 Knowing the number of guests so that appropriate in-room requirements (shampoo, towels,
extra pillows etc.) can be provided
 Some special requests are provided by the housekeeping department such as: opening
connecting doors, adding an extra bed or baby cot, extra supplies in the guest room.

Concierge

 Staffing levels determining the number of porters required to meet shift demands
 Assist in the preparation of group arrivals such as tours. This may include preparing envelopes
(or similar) to give to, for example, the tour leader or coach captain for distribution of room
keys/cards.
 Organizing luggage storage areas especially for large groups of guests who may be on a tour, or
who have all come off a recently landed plane.

Porters

 Planning of daily tasks identifying the potential busy and quiet times
 Knowing the arrival time of guests so there are porters available to assist with luggage and
escorting guests to their rooms
 Porters use the arrivals list as a source of information to count all the luggage, tag it with the
appropriate room number and transport it to the
Security
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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

 Preparation for Very Important People (VIPs) which may involve the need for
additional security
 Security may be required to accompany bell boy to escort particular guests to their room.
 Special requests that come from room service such as wine, champagne, fruit platters,
chocolates and any food and beverage requests
 Number of in-house guests helps the restaurants control staffing in particular for the breakfast
shifts
 Groups and tour arrangements that involve any restaurant or bar areas
 Pre-arrangement for table planning and room layout
 Menu planning for certain meals, functions or events
 Liaison with Security staff regarding visitors

Management
 Notifying management of the arrival where management has indicated they want to welcome
the VIP on arrival.

Laundry
 Determine the number of laundry staff required to meet shift demands
 Planning of daily tasks identifying the potentially busy and quiet times of arriving and departing
guests
 Determine when the laundry needs to be open or closed based on guest turnover.

Kitchen
 Knowing the number of guest arrivals each day helps with the ordering of food required for the
restaurants and particularly room service.
 It also assists with shift planning of staff.

Special requests
Special requests are a common occurrence in most accommodation establishments. The front office
usually takes these special requests at the original booking of the room or face-to-face with guests
during their stay. The actual filling of these special requests requires a team effort and frequently it is
the porter who is required to assist in ensuring special requests are fulfilled in accordance with
requirements and establishment procedure and policies.

Special requests may include:

 Stocking the mini-bar with a specific beverage
 Tickets for a live theatre performance

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

 Extra soap, shampoo or conditioner. Some special requests are delivered via the
housekeeping or food and beverage department: for example, champagne and
fruit platters would be delivered through room service.

VIP’s
It is important to notify the following departments when a VIP is due to arrive at your hotel so they
know to offer that extra bit of service that is expected for Very Important People.

Housekeeping - to add the VIP supplies and packages to the guest room.

Food and beverage areas must be informed of who the VIP is and what room they are in so the
appropriate level of service is given to the guest. Sometimes hotel security might escort the guests to
these hotel facilities.

Laundry need to be advised of VIP status of guests in case any laundry or dry cleaning is required.

Kitchen - any food that is ordered for a VIP usually attracts special attention and a higher level of
standard is expected. In some cases Security might inspect all food going to VIP rooms.

Activity
For this activity you are going to submit documentation, suitable evidence or other relevant proof of
completion of the activity to your Trainer. Write your explanation in your journal notebook

1. For a front office to function there are multiple shifts.

What are these shifts?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

What tasks are each shift predominately concerned with?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

15
CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 2 FOS: Welcome and Register Guests

Definition of Terms
Welcome – receiving in a manner of fine greeting to someone

Lesson 2.1: Welcome and Register Guests

Reception staff should ensure every guest receives a welcoming and professional greetings
when arriving at the establishment. Remember that receptionist is the first to have a face-to-face
contact with the guest and this meeting has a great impact of having a nice impression and becoming
unforgettable. The moment when reception staff identifies a guest, they should immediately
acknowledge them and not to wait for the guest to make the first move. Even if you are busy with
another guest, on the telephone, or completing another task ,but to make a quick moves to
accommodate the guest fairly.

Welcoming guests
The type of greeting the guest receives must always be:
 Professional
 Personable
 Welcoming
 Sincere
 Friendly
 Polite.

In all instances, the verbal welcome offered must conform to any establishment policies or directives,
but will generally contain:
 A greeting
 The establishment’s name
 The guest’s name or title if appropriate
 An offer of assistance.

Alternatively, the establishment may have a standard ‘welcome’ phrase that they require you to
use: check with your supervisor and follow what applies in your workplace.

Body language
It is important that your non-verbal communication also sends the right message when
welcoming a guest. You can’t just say you are welcoming the guest, you must show you are welcoming
them. A smile is important and the tone of the voice is also important.

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Empathy
Where the guest has had a bad trip or experience as part of their journey to
your premises it is also worthwhile taking some time to be empathetic and share their experience,
offering some kind words to demonstrate compassion and understanding for them.

Practical help
Also be tuned in to anything practical you might be able to do to make the guest’s first
impression a positive one. Monitor how they appear and what they say to see if you can do something
that would help them without waiting to be asked.

You might be able to:

 Get them a glass of water
 Offer them a seat to rest for a minute
 Help them carry cases to their rooms where such a porter service is not normally available
 Make an enquiry as to whether or not you can do something to help someone who looks distressed.

This phase of the guest cycle enables a establish a rapport between the guests and the establishment, so
every effort must be made to ensure this time remains pleasant, comfortable and friendly.

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 2.2 CONFIRM RESERVATION DETAILS WITH GUESTS

Once you have greeted the guest, you must next confirm the details of their reservation if they
have one. Not every guest who wishes to check-in to an establishment has previously made a
reservation.

Guests with a reservation

If the guest does have a reservation, the reception staff may find their details on the
Registration Card (or similar) stored in the Registration Box, which is kept at reception with cards filed in
alphabetical order, by surname.

A pre-printed Registration Card indicates to the guest that they were in fact expected, and
provides another level of service in that the guest does not have to take time filling in required details
that have already been provided when the reservation was made (or retrieved from Guest History).
The guest must check the details to ensure they are correct, make any necessary changes, and
sign the Registration Card. If no previous reservation has been made, the guest must complete a blank
Registration Card and the check in process will be a lot longer.

Confirming details of reservation

Where the guest has a booking, their name must first be ascertained – from the Booking Slip or
the computer – and then the details of their booking confirmed face-to face with them.

Reservation Verification should cover

 Name of the guest/s with special attention to clarifying any unusual name to ensure you have
the spelling correct
 Contact details of the guest – which may just be their home address or business address but
could include phone number and other contact details
 Length of stay including checking the actual departure dates and days Departure time (for
example, late check-out or an especially early departure)
 Method of payment. Where a credit card is to be used to settle the account it may be standard
practice to swipe the card through a machine or manually obtain an imprint of the card to speed
up check-out procedures
 If the account is to be charged back to the company (authority to do so has already been
established) confirm that this is correct with the guest and check that the charge to details are
correct.
 In the case of cash paying guests it is usually hotel policy to collect one night's accommodation
plus extra, maybe another night's accommodation cost or a flat fee from the guest when they
check in rather than at checkout time. Check your establishment's "cash policy"

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

 Confirm any advanced deposits that have been paid by the guest. Usually this
amount is already credited to the guest folio. You could print out a copy or the
folio to show the guest the deposit has been recorded onto their account
 Type of room requested – just to make sure they have been allocated the right type of room.
You might have to explain what the room type is
 Confirmation of any special requests unless they are of a 'surprise' nature (such as champagne
and/or flowers in the room). You need to be sensitive to the nature of special requests and
ensure you do nothing to spoil a surprise by mentioning it in front of the ‘wrong person’ at
check-in
 Room rate quoted. This should be quoted just to make sure there is no confusion about how
much the guest will be paying for their accommodation. Where a discount is being allowed this
should also be quoted so the guest knows what price reduction they are receiving
 Explain any vouchers or complimentary items that accompany the reservation. For instance,
there is a free drink voucher in your welcome brochure for one of the bars, or that the car park
is complimentary with this reservation - do you need to park the car?
 Always explain at least one of your facilities to the guest on arrival. For example, the pool is on
the 20th floor and open until 10pm tonight if you need to use it. This phase of the guest cycle
enables a rapport to be established between the guests and the establishment, so every effort
must be made to ensure this time remains pleasant, comfortable and friendly – in the same way
that the initial greeting and welcome was.

Activity

Below is the verification procedure in the confirmation of reservation. Write the number the explanation
on what are the details of the verification

1. Name of the guest __________________________________

2. Contact details of the guest ___________________________
3. Length of stay______________________________________
4. Method of payment. _________________________________
5. In the case of cash paying guests ______________________
6. Confirmation of any special requests ____________________
7. Room rate quoted. __________________________________

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 2.3 REGISTER GUEST WITH OR WITHOUT RESERVATIONS

A ‘walk in’ is a guest who walks in through the door seeking accommodation for
the night without having made a reservation. Walk-ins represent a very small proportion of guests but
properties like to have Walk-ins because they tend to be able to be charged more. All properties will
have their own standard procedures for registering guests and you need to identify what applies in your
workplace for guests who arrive with and without a reservation.

Guests without a reservation

When a Walk-in arrives: Welcome them as per standard policy and procedures. Determine their
accommodation needs – how many nights, type of room, any special requirements. This may require
you to check the Room Status Report/Room Availability Report (this indicates whether or not the
establishment has rooms available and their room type (regular rooms, deluxe rooms, corner king etc.)
or check the system to determine availability.

Activity
Directions: Read and answer the questions below.

1. Explain in your own what walk-in guest is.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. How do you deal with walk in guest?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

ACCEPTABLE METHODS OF PAYMENT

Follow internal accounting protocols

Once the details about the guest’s reservation have been checked and confirmed with the guest
and the registration form has been completed, reception staff may arrange for the guest to be escorted
to their room. Reception then commences accounting procedures. On the registration form, the guest
will have listed their form of payment. Using this information, reception staff will have confirmed
payment type with the guest on their arrival. The majority of establishments take a variety of payment
options following an internal accounting protocols.

If a guest is asked to prepay for room charge, cash is the usual form of payment. Some guests
may also pay their account in cash. In most establishments, the cash policy relating to prepayment is:
The guest must pay one night’s accommodation at check-in, plus extra an extra for any incidentals that
may be used such as minibar or telephone. If the guest does not use any facilities, the money is
refundable on check-out.

Hotel accounting is part of accounting practice in hospitality industry. Hotel have their own
accounting system to follow in order to track all the cash inflows and cash outflows. The main financial
statements that hotels are going to produce are, balance sheet statement, profit and loss statement,
income statement, and cash flow. These are generated from all other departments who has assigned a
financial monitoring in charge. This practice is being done to assess the financial stability of the hotel, or
if is there enough fund to suffice the hotel expenses. The Night Audit team are the ones who are directly
involved in this activity, for they are the ones who check and verify the cash inflows and outflows for the
day.

Also, in the case of guest’s payments, direct charging is where the establishment charges an
account to a guest. This method of payment is common for regular guests, especially where they are of
a business nature such as travelling representatives, executives or airlines crew. Where the property
provides accommodation for public servants their stay is usually paid using this method.

Generally, a list of the names of companies/organizations who have previously arranged direct
billing with the establishment is kept at the front desk for quick reference. Note that the arrangements
made with the company that is paying the account will be very specific in nature. For example, the
company may agree to pay for the accommodation component of the stay, plus dinner and breakfast
but no alcohol, phone calls or any other charges. When this style of account is presented, you need to
be aware of what the guest can charge back to the company and what they need to pay for themselves.

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Activity
Directions: Read and answer the questions below.

1. Explain in your own words, what is hotel accounting protocol?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. How important is having an accounting protocol in a hotel?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

22
CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Electronic cards, guest mail, messages and safety deposit facilities

Part of the service that should be provided to guests should include an
explanation of the facilities and services of the property. It must be remembered that most guests will
be staying with us for the first time and so may be unaware of some of the services and facilities
available, too shy to ask or simply be confused about being in a new city or a foreign country. This
section looks at some of the things that might be explained to guests at check-in to enhance the quality
of their stay.

Key Card – this card is inserted into a slot in the door. Once inside the room, the guest may also
need to insert the card key into a slot/device on the wall to activate the power in the room. Card keys
are programmed upon check-in for security reasons and the card presented in a cover with the room
number written on it. Card keys can also be programmed to open certain guest facilities like the
gymnasium and swimming pool areas.

Safety deposit boxes

Usually the box is placed in the wardrobe and once the guest has checked-in, they are able to
program their own combination to open and close the safe. The guest can access the safe at their own
discretion as many times as they like without having to involve reception or other staff.

The intention is to let the guest know exactly what they are entitled to so they can take
advantage of all they paid for. We also need to make sure the guest knows clearly what they are
required to pay for during their stay so there are no surprises or problems at check-out when the
account is presented.

Activity
Directions: Read and answer the questions below.

1. Explain in your own words, what are the relevant details of room key/card, guest mail, voucher, safety
deposit box?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

2. How important is having and using all these from a guest who paid?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 2.6 FOLLOW CORRECT ENTERPRISE PROCEDURES WHERE

ROOMS ARE NOT IMMEEDIATELY AVAILABLE OR OVERBOOKING HAS
OCCURRED
OVERBOOKING

Overbooking is taking reservations beyond the capacity of the hotel accommodation, even if the room
capacity is not enough from the reservations. It is an act of accepting more reservations that there are
there in their hotel capacity.

How to avoid overbooking?

1. Distribute all rooms according to what is found in your system.

2. Proper coordination of turn-over of responsibility of front desk staff 3. Make sure all the reservations
are properly distributed as to the capacity

What I Can Do
Directions: Read and answer the questions below.

1. Explain in your own words, what is overbooking?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. How important is the proper monitoring of room vacancy?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 2.7 MONITOR GUEST ARRIVALS AND DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN ACTUAL

AND REPORT EXPECTED ARRIVALS
Discrepancies in Guest Arrivals

Throughout all shifts, reception staff must monitor guest movement through reception. A key is
to monitor actual arrivals and check actual arrivals against expected arrivals. This is important to gain an
appreciation of when action needs to be taken to optimize room sales. Always remember that whatever
other functions reception has, it is still necessary to sell all your rooms. Rooms are a unique sales area. If
you don’t sell a room today you can’t sell it twice tomorrow to make up the loss.

Failure to sell a room tonight is a loss that can never be recovered – hence the situation where
some properties will offer significant price reductions for rooms when occupancy levels are low. This
also explains why properties develop Wait Lists. Wait Lists are lists of people seeking accommodation for
a certain night but who can’t be roomed because of the high level of bookings/occupancy. If the
property receives a cancellation (or an early guest departure), the people on the Wait List and offered
accommodation. It is the accommodation’s version of the airlines ‘Stand By’ list.

Two types of Room Discrepancies:

1. Sleep Discrepant – this occurs when the front desk room status shows a rooms as vacant, but the
housekeeping room status is marked as occupied.

2. Skip Discrepant – this occurs when the front desk room status shows a room as occupied, but the
housekeeping room status is marked as vacant

Monitoring and checking arrivals

This means you must check the list of expected arrivals and compare that list with actual guest
movements to ascertain whether or not all expected guests have in fact arrived. A deviation is the
difference between the numbers of guests expected compared to the number of guests who have
actually arrived. When a deviation is identified, it must be actioned I accordance with establishment
procedures.

This may include:

 Identifying No Shows and processing legitimate charges that may be levied against them. Guests
who have made a booking but have not arrived may be charged a No Show fee

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

 Check the types of reservations. Guaranteed reservations are safe because even
if the guest doesn’t arrive, you have been paid for the room
 Any guests who have passed their arrival time but have not turned up need to be contacted
using telephone or email. If you are unable to contact them then, you exclude their reservation
as if it was a no-show and give the room to someone else. If the guest does arrive you explain
you kept the room until their designated time of arrival (usually plus one hour), tried to contact
them and have now cancelled their room. They must go to another hotel.

Activity
Directions: Read and answer the questions below.

1. Explain in your own words, what is room discrepancies?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. How to avoid room discrepancies?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

26
CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Lesson 3. Generate and check guest accounts for accuracy

Lesson 3.1 EXPLAIN AND PROCESS GUEST ACCOUNTS CLEARLY, COURTEOUSLY,

AND ACCURATELY
THE GUEST ACCOUNTS

In hotel business, accounting is managing expenses and revenue. It provides a clear information
to the guests thereby avoiding any unpleasant surprises to the guest. There is an a standard accounting
and systematic process with which the hotel front office services staff, identifies, records, classifies,
verifies, summarizes, and communicate it to the guest. This is a way of handling transactions between
the guests and the hotel accurately, in order not to give some confusions and unpleasant surprises to
the guest. The front office staff must explain to the guest what a guest account mean.

A guest account is the record of financial transactions between the guests and the hotel. It is
create at the time of reservation or registration. It should be well maintained by the front office
completely and confidentially for it records all financial transactions from check-in till check-out. It is
compiled on a daily basis. Some hotels allow the managers to entertain the guest’ queries or complains,
or comments as well as a good conversation that will possibly lead to a business deal.

TECHNICAL TERMS
Day rate – rate usually less than the rack rate that is charged for guests who wants to use the hotel
room on the standard time.
Hotel – establishment providing accommodation, meals and other services for guests.
Minibar – small refrigerator in a hotel guest room that has snacks and beverages inside that guest may
avail with a corresponding charge or free.
Room amenities – hotel items that are offered for free for the guest while using the

Guest account is the master bill in the hotel which also known as Guest account card.

Activity
Classify the following Guest account details according to their usage. Tell whether
a guest account of hotel account. Write your answers on the line.
________________________1. Accept reservations
________________________2. Prepare guest statement
________________________3. Document guest’s transactions
________________________4. Record guest’s personal data of future references

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

________________________5. Supervise credit levels

Lesson 3.2 RECOVER AND PROCESS KEYS/ELECTRONIC CARDS FROM GUESTS

Recover the Room Key

It is the sole responsibility and duty of the front office staff to ensure the right guest is given the
key/electronic card to his/her room and his safety and security pertaining to issuance of key. Front office
staff should not give keys, room numbers, messages, parcels or mails to any other person without first
requiring proper identification.

The purpose for this is for the guest to be protected from any unpleasant events that may
happen. The front office obtain three kinds of keys for one room, these are, room key, spare/emergency
key, and master key. Whenever the guest request for the room key, ask first the guest’s last name and
room number, then cross check the information given against the system records/property
management system. In the event that there are mismatch of the details given, ask the guest for any
valid identification proof like passport, driver’s license, and or any government issued ID cards. Front
office staff is cautioned to never giving of any room keys without proper verification and authentication
of the guest’s identity. Keys must never be issued to persons claiming to have the guest’s permission to
enter the room unless the guest has personally given his/her verbal or written authorization to the front
office team.

HANDLING GUESTROOM KEYS

There are certain instances that guest will not leave their guestroom key at the front office
whenever they go out to the city while staying. The front office must see to it that whenever there are
guest going out they should leave the key at the front desk. When the keys are given to guest the room
number should not be spoken aloud, or vice versa if the guest will give the room key/number to the
front desk officer. The guest should be explain about his safety during his/her stay at the hotel while
he/she has the hold of the guestroom key. During the check-out, the guest should be asked for their
room keys to be returned at the front desk before leaving the hotel premise.

Activity
Directions: Assuming you are the front desk staff, how will you recover the room key from a guest who
doesn’t leave the key at the front desk whenever he go out of the hotel premise? How will you ask the
guest?

28
CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

1.___________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Lesson 3.3 ACT UPON THE GUEST’S REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE COURTEOUSLY
OR REFER TO THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT FOR FOLLOW-UP

Guest Assistance
Most of the times the guests contact the Front Office or the other department of the hotel like
the Housekeeping department, or the Food and Beverage department for any assistance that they
would need during their stay. All guest requests then get forwarded to the concerned department who
is the best service to the need of the guests. There are types of guest requests and queries.

TYPES OF GUEST REQUESTS AND QUERIES:

Guest requests that are received at the Front desk can be broadly categorized as follows:
 Request for other departments
 Requests for front office

Request for other departments: the front desk makes a note of the same and forwards the request
to the concerned department, like, housekeeping for the laundry and pressing, food and beverage for
food/room service.
Request for front office: All request whether received directly at the front desk or directed from other
departments are directly from the order in the front desk. So there are certain communication
procedure as to the contacts of these departments and the front desk.

The Requests from guests may be to front office or other departments. In order to make the
guest stay comfortable and enjoyable, all request that are made by the guest should be handled to their
satisfaction. This not only makes the guests’ stay pleasant but also ensures that the guests comes back
to stay with you at the hotel again for a repeat business.

Activity
Directions. Tell whether what department (Housekeeping, Food and Beverages, Front office,
Maintenance, Restaurant) you are going to ask assistance if the guest is requesting this particular
assistance.
________________________1. Pressing of clothes

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T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

________________________2. Breakfast to be deliver in room

________________________3. Follow-up the check-out confirmation
________________________4. Payment of bills
________________________5. The guest will surprise his company for a birthday.

Lesson 3.4 PROCESS EXPRESS CHECKOUTS

EXPRESS CHECKOUT
An EXPRESS CHECKOUT means that when departing the guest doesn’t need to wait at reception
but instead they just simply hand over the express checkout form at reception and the business will
charge immediately to their credit card or send the statement of account to the company for payment.
This is usually because the hotel and the client had a memorandum of agreement as their
corporate/company account accreditation. Most hotels are now using the Express Checkout service that
allows customers to check out of their rooms and return the keys, without having to wait for their final
bill to be acquired at the front desk.
This is convenient to both parties, the guest and the hotel staff at all times because it will lessen
the waiting time especially when the front desk staff are so pressed with guests checking in and out of
the hotels at the same time. Express Checkout is an incredibly consumer-friendly program and you
should take advantage of it to help make your guest’s stay at your hotel as pleasant as it can be because
the service offers convenience to hotel employees as well, as it allows them to choose the best time to
finalize a bill.

There are some advantages of processing express checkouts:

 Saves your guests time when there are long queues at the front desk.
 If the guest is in a hurry to catch a plane it will help to avoid a delay.
 If there is no one available at the front desk, your guests can simply drop in their keys and leave.

HOW TO PROCESS THE EXPRESS CHECKOUT

 At check-in, ask your guest if they would like you to use the Express Checkout Service or include the
form in your welcome package because not everyone will agree to use the express checkout.
 Let the guest agree first before filling out and sign the form.
 Explain to the guest the content and spell it out the authorization form that the final bill will be
charged.
 Request a pre-authorization approval for the expected amount of the bill, if it is declined ask your
customer for alternative form of payment.
 Once you already obtained an authorization approval from the guest, print it out, let the guest signed
it, the write in bold letters the “EXPRESS CHECKOUT” PRIORITY CHECKOUT”, and once again explain that
the bill will be charged on the account of the guest after the customer checks out.

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

 Keep copies of the bill, and the authorization form for at least 18 months to be used in
the event of any dispute.

Activity
Directions. Enumerate and explain in your own words the process of handling express checkout guests.
Answer:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 3.5 FOLLOW GROUP CHECKOUT PROCEDURES

In checking out group guest, a front desk staff should make sure that there is a team leader in
the certain group that will take charge of the group. It is common for a security deposit of a group guest
for the reason that the hotel will not count off one by one the person of the entire group. However
there must be a leader that will oversee that overall group as one.

Here are some steps to process group check-outs

 Prepare and process the master account. The Master Account (or Master Folio as it is also
known) is a list of the group’s identical charges to be settled by the tour leader on check-out.
Identical charges can include accommodation, breakfast and any other charges that were
standard across the entire group.
 Most groups will have a direct billing arrangement established, and the property may have even
required a large group booking to pre-pay (or at least forward a significant deposit to secure)
their booking.
 Where member of the groups have incurred additional charges (that is, they have bought items
that were not covered as part of their “package” such as laundry or bar charges, an individual
account would be created called extra account. The individual guest will pay the extra charges.
 The group leader will collect the keys/cards and present them to the reception.
 Handle the group’s luggage, the porter will count all the pieces of the luggage and make note on
the group record, and deliver the luggage to the transport vehicle following the instructions of
the tour group coordinator.
 If group baggage is to be restored for any length of time netting or roping bags together to avoid
confusion with other groups’ bags is a security precaution that may be used. This ensures all
baggage is together to help avoid loss or theft.

Activity
Directions. Enumerate and explain in your own words the process of handling group checkout
procedures.

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T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
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Lesson 4. PREPARE FRONT OFFICE RECORDS AND REPORTS KEY REPORTS

Did you know that front office has many reports and records to be done? You want to some of those?

Lesson 4.1 Prepare and update front office records within designated timelines
A guest account is an important part of the guest stay/guest cycle. The right time and accuracy
are the two most important points in relations to the guest account.

It is the responsibility of the front desk to prepare and update front office records within the
designated timelines. The timelines will vary on the levels of trade and the type of record. Accuracy and
timelines are the best aspect of this job. Some front office records may be required to be updated at
specific times each day, while other records will need to be updated as you become aware of the
information. If a guest has made a booking to arrive on a certain day but later calls to change the
booked date to another day, the hotel will have to change and update all the records to reflect the
changes in order for the availability of the rooms and revised dates will be checked before the alteration
was accepted.

Changes of the records may include:

 Updating the room availability
 Updating room allocation sheets
 Updating the bookings diary

All house policies and procedures must be followed to accurately reflect the revised position of
guests in the hotel. This may mean adjusting of forms of records such as, altering the room numbers,
updating the room rate, amending room type, modifying departure dates, updating room availability,
update the legitimate charges.

Lesson 4.2 FOLLOW ESTABLISHMENT POLICIES WITH REGARD TO ROOM

CHARGES, NOSHOWS, EXTENSIONS, AND EARLY DEPARTURE

Hospitality industry strives to provide guests with an exceptionally clean, safe, friendly and
satisfying experience. There are certain policies or house rules that have been already established by the
hotels, resorts etc. which is based on their standards and management operational procedures.

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

Guaranteed reservations. Credit cards will be the best guarantee to this kind of
reservation. Early check-in/pre-registration is offered based on availability. Usually
hotels have the check-in time at 2:00 in the afternoon and have the check-out time the following day at
12:00 noon, but there are times that the check in can be made earlier for the reason that there are
available rooms to be offered and vacant ready for occupancy for the early check in guests.
Lesson 4.3 DISTRIBUTE REPORTS AND RECORDS TO THE APPROPRIATE
DEPARTMENTS WITHIN DESIGNATED TIMELINES
Front office communication is best used in the distribution of reports and records to the
appropriate departments within designated timelines. The front office staff needs to communicate with
other appropriate departments as soon as the transactions has been made. This is the process of
internal communication that should always be practiced by the hotel staff to have a uniform and
accurate business goal at all times.
Whenever the front office communicated with the potential customers outside the hotel,
corporate offices and other ancillary service providers, then it is an external communication. A guest
account should be timely reported to the accounting department for the reason that this department
also have their own report reproduction. Front office department is always responsible for
communicating with all other departments in the hotel as well as different sections within the
department. This is to get the front office and back office jobs done successfully, the front office staff
member need a constant communication with each other or their colleagues and as well as to their rank
and files.
In the other departments, the staff of front office communicate with the other office to provide
the best possible services of their guest cycle. The interdepartmental communication should be strictly
followed and should interacts with each other every now and then. Various departments are also
essential when the guest inquire about guest cycle.
Here are some of the front office needs to communicate with the other departments:
 Human resource department
 Accounting department
 Food and beverage department
 Sales and marketing department
 Housekeeping department
 Banquet Restaurant department

Activity
Directions: below are the different departments in the hotel, write down in your own words, what
sample reports that a front office may usually encounter and will submit to these departments.
 Human resource department______________________________________
 Accounting department __________________________________________
 Food and beverage department ____________________________________
 Sales and marketing department ___________________________________

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CVE Colleges, Inc.
T.R. Alvarez Subd. Brgy, Del Carmen, Pagbilao, Quezon
Tel No.: (042)797 1692 Email: [email protected]

 Housekeeping department ________________________________________

 Banquet Restaurant department ____________________________________
 Maintenance department _________________________________________
 Amusement park department ______________________________________

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