STAR QUALIFICATIONS canceled and a time slot becomes available.

At times it might
Four Star Hotel be necessary to make tentative appointments; if so, simply
Expectations at this level include a degree of luxury as well as place a post-it note over the time slot. Remember to always
quality in the furnishings, decor and equipment, in every area use pencil, as this is easier to erase and cover up should the
of the hotel. Bedrooms will also usually offer more space than schedule change.
at the lower star levels, and well designed, coordinated JOB SUMMARY: The front desk personnel task is to answer all
furnishings and decor. The en-suite bathrooms will have both telephone inquiries, walk in guest/clients with regard to the
bath and fixed shower. There will be a high enough ratio of information about the retirement facilities, the service being
staff to guests to provide services like porterage, 24-hour offered by the facility. Handle first hand information about
room service, laundry and dry-cleaning. The restaurant will client/ retiree’s/guest inquiries, complain and question in a
demonstrate a serious approach to its cuisine. professional, courteous and efficient manner, which
guaranteed to secure a satisfied client/ guest/retiree’s.
Front Office Standard Operating Procedures Coordinate or bridge to all other existing department.
Most businesses, small or large, have a front office or Operate the Q-Front Integrated Hotel System, handles petty
reception area. The standard operating procedures of a front cash and billing procedure. Monitoring of all the in and out of
office clerk consist of many duties and responsibilities that all resident/guest and prospective guest as well as employee
improve the efficiency of the office as a whole. Front office of all
clerks should be well-versed in every aspect of their position OPERATIONS
in order to fulfill the role to the best of their abilities. I-Guest Cycle:
• The guest cycle describes the activities that each guest
Serve as the Gatekeeper passes by from the moment he/she calls to communicate a
1. The first and most important role a front office clerk plays reservation inquiry till he/she departs from the hotel. In fact,
is that of being the office gatekeeper. You are the first person the guest cycle encompasses 4 different stages, which are
people see when they walk in, and normally the first person depicted in the underneath diagram:
they speak to when they call. You must be both friendly and
polite to customers and clients, but also retain your authority Pre-Arrival -Arrival -Occupancy -Departure
as the gatekeeper. Your attitude will reflect either positively
or poorly on the business as a whole, and you must always • Each stage of the guest cycle is associated guest service,
keep this in mind. It is up to you to ensure that the higher-ups and guest accounting activity(ies).
are only receiving the people they have the time for and wish
to speak with or see. Always direct the person appropriately 1.Guest services:
and directly; you may need to tell someone he needs to leave
a message, or that he needs to sit and wait.. Reservation -Registration - Occupancy services - Check-out
Day-to-Day Tasks and history
2. In most offices, the front desk receptionist must handle
most or all of the day-to-day activities, such as picking up the 2. Guest Accounting:
mail, listening to voicemail, readying moneybags, watering
plants and restocking desks. Keeping a binder or checklist Establishment of credits - Posting charges - Night auditing -
handy with all of the regular tasks for the day can help settlement of accounts
prevent you from forgetting something. It's also useful to • Below is a description of the activities undertaken at each
keep an address book with important and frequently used stage of the guest cycle:
numbers, because it is often the front desk's responsibility to
call maintenance, IT and various other people throughout the 1. Pre-arrival:
day as problems arise. • At the pre-arrival stage, the hotel must create for every
Organizing the Datebook potential guest a reservation Record. Doing this initiates the
3. Lastly, unless this job has been delegated to another hotel guest cycle. Moreover, reservation records help
employee, such as the boss's assistant, the front desk is personalize guest services and appropriately schedule needed
where the datebook is kept. Always be aware of upcoming staff and facilities
and canceled appointments. Remember to take down the • The reservation department should, then, complete all the
names and numbers of people who wish to make an pre-registration activities and prepare guest folios (applicable
appointment on days that are full in case an appointment is only for automated systems). Doing so will eventually
maximize room sales by accurately monitoring room • In addition, shall design effective procedures in order to
availability and forecasting room revenues protect the funds and valuables of guests. This might be
ensured through guest key control, property surveillance,
2. Arrival: safe deposit boxes, and well designed emergency panels and
• At the arrival stage, registration and rooming functions exits…
takes place and the hotel establishes a business relation-ship • Another activity at occupancy is to process posting of guest
with the guest. charges [i.e. post room rates, F&B charges, additional
• The check-in clerk should determine the guest’s reservation expenses, and taxes…] to various guest folios, master Folios…
status (i.e. pre-registered guests versus walk-ins). Later, While doing so, front office clerks shall continuously check for
he/she shall prepare a registration record or make the guest deviations from the house limit, and take corrective measures
sign the already-printed pre-registration record (under some as to change the status of the guest to Paid-in-advance.
of the semi-automated and all fully automated systems). Finally, front office clerks shall periodically review Account
• The registration records shall include the following personal Balances in coordination with the night auditor.
and financial items:
a) Personal information: 4. Departure:
1. Name and Surname of the guest along with billing • At the departure stage, the guest shall be walked out of the
address, telephone number, and any other coordinates hotel. Moreover, front office clerks shall create guest history
2. Passport number, birth certificate, and/or driving record. Finally, cashiers shall settle guest account outstanding
license number (whatever applicable) balances [i.e.: balance the Guest account to 0]
3. Any special needs or requests • In general, a proper checkout occurs when the guest:
4. Guest Signature a) Vacates the room
b) Financial information: b) Receives an accurate settlement of the guest
1. Date of arrival account
2. Expected date of departure or length of stay c) Returns room keys
depending on how the system in the hotel is designed d) Leaves the hotel
3. Assigned room number • At departure, checkout personnel should encourage guests
4. Assigned room rate to consider returning to the hotel on any future date. That's
5. Guest's intended method of payment why cashiers should act like a true sales person, and might
• Registration records can be used for various purposes: eventually accept guest future reservations. That way, the
a) Satisfy guest needs stages of the guest cycle become really a cycle (i.e. start from
b) Forecast room occupancies where it ends).
c) Settle properly guest accounts • If at departure, the guest account is not fully settled, then
d) Establish guest history records at check-out late charges accumulates. In such an undesired case, the
[personal & financial information] responsibility of collection lies within the accounting
e) Assign a room type and a room rate for each guest department, however the front office department shall
f) Determine long-run availability [i.e. reservation provide all necessary types of information to make this
information] versus short-run availability [i.e. room status] collection easier, quicker, and feasible.
g) Satisfy special categories of guests such as disabled
people through barrier-free designs II- Front Office Systems:
• Until the 1960's, nearly all hotels were operating under the
3. Occupancy: manual system. At late 70's, with the introduction of
• At the occupancy stage, the front office department shall computers, hotels shifted to semi-automated systems.
coordinate guest services in a timely and accurate manner. Nowadays, most of the five-star hotels operate under the
Moreover, front office clerks should encourage repeat guests fully automated system. Below is a brief description of the
by paying a great attention to guest complaints. This is three different systems under which hotels might operate.
ensured by placing complaint and/or suggestion cards in 1. Non-automated [manual] systems: This very system
every public place and revenue centers in the hotel. is the one characterized by the sole usage of hands. In fact, all
Moreover, the hotel shall, at least on a daily basis, collect formats, procedures, and different kinds of calculations are
comment cards, proceed with their analysis, and provide done manually.
positive feedback to guest as soon as possible. 2. Semi-automated [Electro-mechanical] systems: This
system gets use of some Electro-mechanical equipment. In
fact, under the semi-automated system, each department guests. Moreover, cashiers shall notify the housekeeping
might have its own computer system under which it handles department that the room is no more occupied (i.e. room
all its operations. status change) to let this very department clean the room
3. Fully automated [computer based] systems: That's and prepare it for new arrivals. In addition, cashiers shall
the best system ever used in the hotel industry. In fact, it is remove room rack slips from room racks to indicate
characterized by the excessive use of departmental software departure. Lastly, these very rack slips of departed guests
package programs integrated and connected to a main frame shall be filed in a cardboard box to serve as a guest history
or terminal situated at the front office department. record

III-Guest Cycle under Three Different Systems: 2. Semi-automated systems:

• At this stage, it is essential to notice that the following • This very system is less common in small and middle size
stages of the guest cycle under the three different systems do hotels. For, these very hotels, financially wise, might not
not conflict with each other. In fact, the only differences are afford the huge investments associated with the installation
due to the nature of the system use. Therefore, what will be of different hardware and software.
discussed above is not the repetition of the sequence; rather • The main advantage of this very system over manual system
only differences will be highlighted. is that various reports can automatically be generated.
However, the major disadvantages associated with this
1. Non-automated systems: system are various complexities of operating and controlling
A- Pre-arrival activities: devices due to the fact that these equipment are not
•At the pre-arrival stage, reservation requests should be integrated with other systems and are subject to frequent
introduced in a loose-leaf notebook or index card. Moreover, maintenance problems.
only reservations up to 6 months horizons shall be honored.
Lastly, it is not practical, under this very system, to issue A- Pre-arrival activities:
reservation confirmation numbers, initiate pre-registration • At this very stage, guests can either call a national
activities (at the exception of VIP and groups) and prepare reservation network or directly contact the hotel. Moreover,
occupancy forecasts. The reason is, time and money loss reservation clerks can prepare pre-registration records, guest
along with insufficient labor force to manually conduct all the folios, and information rack slips.
above mentioned activities.
B- Arrival activities:
B- Arrival activities: • At this very stage, already reserved guests shall verify their
• At the arrival stage, guests shall either sign a page in the pre-registration forms and have only to sign it. On the other
registration book or fill manually a registration record. Under hand, walk-ins shall complete a multiple copy registration
this very system, the most widely used front office equipment record from the beginning.
is the room rack, in which registration records are inserted to
serve as room rack slips. Moreover, registration books and C- Occupancy activities:
records shall be time stamped as an internal control proving • At the occupancy stage, in order to track the different guest
when the guest exactly came, who registered him/her…Lastly, charge expenditures and all other possible guest transactions,
guest folios shall be opened for each registered guest. hotels get an intensive use of various kinds of vouchers.
Moreover, the most widely used equipment, under this very
C- Occupancy activities: stage, is the mechanical cash registers and front office posting
• Under the occupancy activities, registration records shall be machines. Lastly, under this very stage, night auditor shall
prepared with multi-copies. In fact, one copy shall be continuously resolve any discrepancy in guest accounts and
distributed to room rack, another stamped to the guest folio, efficiently reconcile guest folios.
another given to switchboard operators, and a final copy
handed to the uniformed service personnel. Lastly, guests D- Departure activities:
with charge privileges charges and payments shall be posted • At this very stage, cashiers shall relay room status
to respective guest folios. information to the housekeeping department. Moreover,
they should place registration records of departed guests in
D- Departure activities: property’s guest history files.
•At departure stage, cashiers should settle each guest
account's outstanding balance and get room keys back from 4. Fully automated systems:
A- Pre-arrival activities:
• Under this stage, the reservation department is equipped
with a software package, which is interfaced and connected
with one or more central reservation office(s). Moreover, the 3. Occupancy activities:
reservation department can automatically generate letters of a) Guest folio: shall be of duplicate forms and pre-
confirmation, produce requests for guest deposits and handle numbered for cross-indexing control purposes
pre-registration activities for all types of guests and generate b) Vouchers: support documents detailing facts of a
daily expected arrival lists, occupancy and revenue forecast transaction, but does not replace the source document (i.e.
lists… the invoice). Examples of vouchers might include charge
vouchers, allowance vouchers, paid-out voucher, and
B- Arrival activities: correction vouchers…
• At this stage, various reservation records can be transferred c) Information rack slips
to front office department. Moreover, hotels might be
equipped with an on-line credit authorization terminals for 4. Departure activities:
timely Credit Card Approval, self check-in / check-out a) Credit card vouchers
terminals. Lastly, all guest charges and payments are saved in b) Cash vouchers
electronic guest folios. c) Personal check vouchers
• As far as walk-ins are concerned, all registration activities d) Transfer vouchers
should be initiated from the very beginning. e) Guest history records

C- Occupancy activities:
• Under this very stage, guest purchases at different revenue
outlets are electronically transferred and posted to V- Front Office Functional Organization:
appropriate guest accounts. Moreover, the front office • Whatsoever system and setting the hotel might use, it
department can run and process continuous trial balances should reflect easy access to the equipment, forms, and
and, therefore, eliminate the tedious work for the Night supplies necessary. Moreover, the setting shall reflect
Auditor. position flexibility. Moreover, nowadays trend shows that
traditional mail, message, and key racks are unnecessary at
D- Departure activities: the Front Desk. Rather, they shall be stored in drawers or
• At this very stage, cashiers can automatically slots located under or away from the Front Desk. For, this
produce bills to be sent to various guests with direct billing would ensure security and safety of guests.
privileges and create electronic guest history records.
1. Front Desk designed alternatives:
IV- Front Office Forms: a) Circular or semi-circular structure: this very structure
• At different stages of the guest cycle different forms are provides an effective service to more guests and appears
used depending on which operating system a hotel chooses. more modern and innovative but since guests will approach
Below are some of the common forms used: the Front Desk from all angles, more staff is needed.
b) Traditional straight desk: Under this very design,
1. Pre-arrival activities: fewer staff is needed, but fewer guests can be served at the
a) Reservation record or a reservation file same time.
b) Letter of confirmation c) Deskless environment: Under this design, there is no
c) Reservation rack and reservation rack slips Front Desk at all. This is usually replaced by a hostess, or
steward welcoming the guest, seating him or her on a
2. Arrival activities: chair/sofa, and conduct registration activities there while, for
a) Registration card (or record) or registration file example, having a cocktail or a drink.
b) Room rack and room rack slips

VI- Front Office Equipment: 4. Information racks

1. Room rack 5. Folio trays or folio buckets
2. Mail, message, and key racks 6. Account posting machine
3. Reservation racks 7. Voucher racks
8. Cash registers 9. Telephone equipment
and, to save money, buy an all-in-one printer. This piece of
equipment is a printer, fax, copier and scanner all in one
Front Desk Office Accessories making it a great money and space saver. Your
Office environment communication equipment is your lifeline. It should consist of
The front desk is generally at the front of an office space or a multi-line phone system with a portable handset, cell phone
building where the receptionist or clerk works. The front and headset, so you can stay connected and won't miss any
office is the most visible department in an office building or important calls no matter where you go. Depending on your
company, so it is essential the front desk be efficient and business, the internet may or may not be important but keep
organized to accommodate management, co-workers, visitors in mind having your business online connects you worldwide
and vendors, especially on very busy days. The basic crucial possibly bringing in new business, and these days it's
accessories needed for a front desk office is furniture, the inexpensive to be connected. A digital camera and web cam is
latest office equipment and supplies. not so essential but are a great assets should you ever need
Furniture them.
Office Supplies
Ergonomically correct chair Create a checklist of inexpensive and expensive general office
Avoid purchasing a desk and chair that is more stylish than supplies necessary for daily use. If your office uses certain
ergonomically comfortable. Ergonomics is the designing of supplies on a regular basis frequently, consider opening an
office furniture and work environments to optimize human account for delivery that gives you volume discounts and
well-being to increase productivity and prevent chronic pain sometimes freebies on large orders. If you having to penny
from repetitive work. Remember you may be at your desk for pinch, look for deals at discount stores and sales at office
a very long time, so if your furniture is not comfortable it can supply stores. The best time to buy office supplies and stock
cause strain and, over time, possibly injury. If you're on a up is when kids go back to school and there's a back to school
budget, check your local newspaper for sales and shop for sale with no tax on many items. You'll find some great buys
secondhand furniture. Call around to businesses regarding and be able to stretch a dollar.
their floors models. Sometimes the floor models may have
small marks on them but can be marked down 75% off Finally, add your personal touch with music, family pictures,
making them a great deal. Another option is to lease or rent paintings, works of art and plants to make your office more
furniture and, as an added bonus, payments may be 100% like home and a pleasant environment to work in.
deductible for business purposes.
Technology and communication equipment
Purchase a computer or laptop tailored for your business
needs. In today's technological world a computer is an
essential part of running a business so invest in one wisely

Rooms Division Department

I- HOTEL ORGANIZATION:

 In order to carry out its mission, global and departmental goals and objectives, every company shall build a
formal structure depicting different hierarchy of management, supervision, and employee (staff) levels. This
very structure is refereed to as organization chart. Moreover, the organization chart shows reporting
relationships span of management, and staff/line functions.

 There are two types of relationships that might exist between any two functions at any organization chart.
These are:
1. Solid Lines: (i.e.:) this kind of relationship shows Direct Line Accountability. To illustrate, if
position A and B are linked with a solid line, it means (for example) that A shall report to B, that B shall tell
A what to do, when to do, and how to it. Lastly, B shall be liable (i.e. responsible) for A.
2. Dotted Lines: (i.e. ---------) this kind of relationship entitles both positions linked with dotted lines to
have a high degree of Cooperation and Communication but not direct line accountability. Usually in the
hotel industry, where the sole aim is to satisfy guests, positions, whatsoever level in the hierarchy they
occupy, shall coordinate jointly their efforts so as to provide quality, standard product to their customers.
Therefore, examples of dotted lines are numerous in hotel organization charts.
 Every organization chart shall be flexible, to reflect the ever-changing environmental dynamics and, hence
be able to survive. In accordance, organization charts shall be reviewed periodically in order to determine
whether the actual organization still match the environment needs (i.e. guests, employees, technology,
competitor's needs…) or not. A SWOT analysis (i.e.: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) shall
be a good start to initiate a change in the organization chart or not. Last but not least, it is of extreme
importance that there are no 2 hotels having exactly the same organization chart, and that a hotel might have
an organization chart change over time. For, organization charts shall be tailored to fit the needs of each
individual property.

II- HOTEL DEPARTMENTS:

1. Rooms Division: In a statistics conducted by the U.S. Lodging Industry in 1995, it has been shown that the
majority of hotels revenues (60.2 %) are generated from Rooms Division Department under the form of
room sales. This very department provides the services guests expect during their stay in the Hotel. Lastly,
the Rooms Division Department is typically composed of five different departments:
a) Front Office
b) Reservation
c) Housekeeping
d) Uniformed Services
e) Telephone
Beneath is a brief description of the different departments decomposing the Rooms Division Department,
along with their related main responsibilities:

a) Front Office:

 Sell guestrooms; register guests and design guestrooms

 Coordinate guest services

 Provide information

 Maintain accurate room statistics, and room key inventories

 Maintain guest account statements and complete proper financial settlements

b) Reservation:
 Receive and process reservation requests for future overnight accommodations.
 With technology development, the Reservation Department can, on real time, access the number and types
of rooms available, various room rates, and furnishings, along with the various facilities existing in the hotel

 There should be close relation-ships with Sales and Marketing Division concerning Large Group Reservations

c) Housekeeping:

 Inspects rooms before they are available for sale

 Cleans occupied and vacant rooms

 Communicates the status of guestrooms to the Front Office Department

 Cleans and presses the property’s linens, towels, and guest clothing (if equipped to do so, free of charge or
for a pre-determined fee)

 Maintains recycled and non-recycled inventory items

d) Uniformed Services:

 Bell Attendants: Ensure baggage service between the lobby area and guestrooms
 Door Attendants: Ensure baggage service and traffic control at hotel entrance(s)

 Valet Parking Attendants: Ensure parking services for guest’s automobiles

 Transportation Personnel: Ensure transportation services for guests from and to the hotel

 Concierge: Assists guests by making restaurant reservations, arranging for transportation, and getting
tickets for theater, sporting, or any other special events

5. Telephone Department:

 Answers and distributes calls to the appropriate extensions, whether guest, employee, or management
extensions

 Places wake-up calls

 Monitors automated systems

 Coordinates emergency communications

 ‘Protects Guest Privacy‘

2. Food & Beverage Department:

 According to U.S. Lodging 1995 statistics, F&B Department constitutes the second largest revenue generator
of a typical hotel with an average of 23.1 for Food sales, and 8.6 % for Beverage sales. In a five-star hotel, Food
and Beverage outlets might have the following forms:

 Quick Service

 Table Service

 Specialty Restaurants

 Coffee Shops

 Bars

Lounges

 Clubs

 Banquets

 Catering Functions  Wedding, Birthdays…

3. Sales & Marketing Division:

 A typical hotel should usually have Sales & Marketing division. However, if the staff size, volume business,
hotel size, expected group arrivals is low enough, the hotel might have marketing staff placed under the
reservation department (i.e. No need for a Sales & Marketing Division).

 A typical Sales & Marketing Division is composed of four different departments:

a) Sales
b) Convention Services
c) Advertising
d) Public Relations

4. Accounting Division:
 The Accounting Division monitors the financial activities of the property. Some of the activities that are
undertaken in the Accounting Division are listed below:

a) Pays outstanding invoices

b) Distributes unpaid statements
c) Collects amounts owed
d) Processes payroll
e) Accumulates operating data
f) Compiles financial reports
g) Makes bank deposits
h) Secures cash loans
i) Performs other control and processing functions

5. Engineering and Maintenance Division:

 This very department maintains the property's structure and grounds as well as electrical and mechanical
equipment. Some hotels might have this very division under different names, such as maintenance division,
property operation and maintenance department…

6. Security Division:

 Security division personnel are usually screened from in-house personnel, security officers or retired police
officers, across certain physical skills, and prior experience.

 Some of the functions of the security division are listed below:

a) Patrols the property

b) Monitors supervision equipment
c) Ensures safety and security of guests, visitors, and employees

7. Human Resources Division:

 Some of the duties of the human resources division are listed below:

a) Responsible for external & internal recruitment

b) Calculates employees' salaries, compensation, and tax withholding…
c) Administrates employees' paperwork, monitors attendance…
d) Maintains good relations with Labor Unions
e) Ensures employees' safety and working conditions

8. Other Divisions:
 All the above mentioned departments and/or divisions should exist in a typical five-star hotel; however there
might be some revenue generators that are specific to certain hotels but not existing in others. Below is a list
of some possible extra or other divisions that might exist in a hotel:

a) Retail Outlets (i.e.: Shops rented to outsiders or managed by the hotel)

b) Recreation Facilities (ex: Fitness Center, Tennis Courts, and Cinema Saloons…)
c) Conference Centers
d) Casinos

III- ROOMS DIVISION DEPARTMENT:

The major functions conducted by the Rooms Division Department are:

a) Reservation, registration, room & rate assignment

b) Fulfills guest services and updates room status
c) Maintains & settles guest accounts
d) Creates guest history records
e) Develops & maintains a comprehensive database of guest information
f) Coordinates Guest Services

 The sole priority of the Rooms Division Department shall be ensuring Guest Satisfaction, which happens
when, guest expectations match what the hotel provides.

 In order to achieve Guest Satisfaction, front office department shall prepare:

a) Careful designed front office organization chart

b) Comprehensive goals, strategies and tactics
c) Planned work shifts
d) Well designed job descriptions
e) Well designed job specifications
1. Organization Chart:

 The Front Office organization chart shall be designed according to Functions. Doing so not only enhances
the control the Front Office has over its Operations, but also provides guests with more specialized attention.
Such a division according to functions, however, is not practical in middle and small size hotels due to the fact
that these very hotels don't posses enough and sufficient monetary resources to ensure the existence of at
least 3 jobholders (i.e. one for each shift) for each job position. Therefore, in middle size hotels, a front office
clerk might be responsible for more than one work position. This is ensured via cross training. On the other
hand, in small size hotels, one or two front office clerk(s) might be responsible for all front office activities.
A) Typical functions and positions under the Rooms Division Department:

 Front Desk Agent: Registers guests, and maintains room availability information

 Cashier: Closes guest folios, and properly checks out guests

 Accounts Receivable Clerk: Posts charges in correct guest folios and updates folios' outstanding balances

 Night Auditor: Controls the job of the Accounts Receivable Clerk, and prepares daily reports to management
(ex: Occupancy Report and Revenue Report)

 Mail & Information Clerk: Takes Messages, provides Directions to Guests, and maintains Mail

Telephone Operator: Manages the Switchboard and coordinates Wake-up Calls

 Reservation Agent: Responds to Reservation Requests and creates Reservation Records

 Uniformed Service Agents: Handles Guest Luggage, escorts Guests to their Rooms, and assists guests for any
bit of information requested

2. Goals and Strategies

 In every organization, goals and strategies must be prepared bearing in mind the hotel's mission statement
and overall goals and objectives. An example might be:

Global Goal: Increase Occupancy Rate of the Hotel by 25%

Department Goal: Increase in the Number of Walk-ins by 50%

Strategy: Improve Sales Figures by describing guestrooms and Hotel Services

3. Work Shift:

 The Front Office Manager shall schedule his/her employees according to seasonality, business volume, and
available staff in hand

 The most commonly used scheduling is the Traditional Scheduling, which assumes that every employee shall
work 40 Hours per Week. Moreover, the hotel shall ensure 3 shifts per day, each of which lasts for 8 hours. A
possible example to traditional scheduling is shown below:

 Day Shift  7 a.m. - 3 p.m.

 Evening Shift  3 p.m. - 11 p.m.

 Night Shift  11 p.m. - 7 a.m.

 Sometimes, due to non-availability of staff, seasonality, and volume business, the Front Office manager
might be forced to adopt an Alternative Scheduling, which might be arranged under the following patterns:

a) Flexible Work Hours or Flextime: This kind of alternative scheduling entitles that employees might start
work, for example, one hour earlier, just to leave again one hour earlier.
b) Compressed Work Schedule: Employees, instead of working 5 days per week, 8 hours per day, might work
4 days per week, 10 hours per day. Therefore, compressed work-scheduling means working all the 40
hours per week in less than the standard 5 days per week.
c) Job Sharing: This kind of scheduling entitles that two or more part-timers occupy the job of one full timer.
 Front Office managers shall carefully schedule their employees in order to minimize conflicts that arise
between hotel and employee needs. In big hotels operating under fully automated systems, some scheduling
software package programs might be installed as to aid and help managers in effective scheduling.

4. Job Descriptions:

 Job description lists all tasks and subtasks that compose a work position. Moreover, it may outline reporting
relationships, responsibilities, working conditions, equipment and materials to be used.

 All job descriptions shall be tailored and customized to reflect the needs of each single hotel property, and
work position. Moreover, job descriptions shall be task-oriented rather employee-oriented, which means that
hotels shall try to search for employees who can fit their job descriptions, not design jobs to fit the skills of
certain job applicants.

 Job Descriptions shall be revised periodically to cope with the ever changing demands and needs of the
industry and to respond to the sophisticated needs of guests. While doing so, managers shall let their
employees be involved in the revision process.
 Job descriptions might be used as:

a) To evaluate job performances

b) Tools to conduct training or retraining
c) Prevent duty duplications
d) Ensure the performance of each job task
e) Determine appropriate staffing levels

5. Job Specifications:

 Job specifications List the personal qualities, skills, and traits a person needs to have in order to perform
successfully the tasks outlined in a job description. That's why; departments shall first design job descriptions,
and later job specifications!

 Job specifications usually serve as a basis for advertising job vacancies, and as a tool to identify current
employees for promotion purposes.

 Inside a typical job specification, the underneath key factors shall exist:

a) Work experience
b) Formal education
c) General knowledge
d) Previous training
e) Physical requirements
f) Communication ability
g) Equipment skills