Desk control (contribution and importance in hotel industry)

Significance
Whether a hotel guest leaves happy or discontented depends in large part on how well the front desk team does its job. A large hotel s front desk staff can include several desk clerks or receptionists! a concierge! bell staff! a reservations manager! a telephone operator! a shuttle van driver and a night auditor" smaller properties may only employ desk clerks and a night auditor. #ront desk supervisors train! schedule and coach the desk clerks! while setting the e$ample for performance standards. %hey also step in to resolve difficult guest issues and personally attend to &'( arrivals. %his service)oriented position has one main objective* %o ma$imi+e hotel revenue by e$ceeding guest e$pectations.

,bjective
-. 'mportance of front desk .. #ront desk /ontribution in the growth of hotel 0. #unctions of front desk

'ntroduction
Guest Relations Expert %o be a front desk supervisor! you must have a proven ability to deal with people from all backgrounds in pleasant and unpleasant situations. 1our overriding goal becomes making sure the impression imparted to guests reflects favorably on the hotel. 'n addition to a courteous demeanor! the position re2uires an ability to deal with stress and remain calm under trying situations! such as when groups of guests descend on the front desk at once! each person needing special attention. A knack for juggling priorities! switching gears to focus on a particular issue and making decisions under pressure raises the level of service you can provide and sets an e$ample for your team. Adept Communicator 3ffective front desk supervisors understand the importance of verbal and nonverbal communication to employee and guest relations )) it can determine the hotel s success. 4y keeping the lines of communication open with other departments that influence front desk operations! such as housekeeping! sales and marketing and engineering! supervisors further support customer service. #or e$ample! they can avoid assigning rooms when housekeeping has scheduled carpet cleaning! or coordinate room blocking re2uests for a sales and marketing customer. As a front desk supervisor! you must keep the desk clerks informed about guests! issues and the day s agenda! and demonstrate an ability to e$plain assignments and policies. 1ou also apply your talent for using tone of voice! eye contact and posture to convey sincerity and customer respect.

Competent Trainer A front desk supervisor s ability to train and coach the desk clerks determines the hotel s success in delivering hospitality. 'n addition to being introduced to hotel operations! new hires need formal training to develop their ability to anticipate and meet guest needs. As their supervisor! you stress how their jobs influence hotel profits! convey the importance of empathi+ing with a guest s travel e$perience prior to arrival and impart how a welcoming smile and sincere greeting can improve a guest s mood. %he informal! on)the)job training you conduct involves teaching the procedures for check)in! check)out! handling cash and confidentiality. 1ou also train your staff on how to use telephone and computer systems. Technology Pro %he hotel s computer system serves as the front desk s nerve center. %o succeed as a front desk supervisor! you must have good keyboarding skills and know how to access data and generate reports on occupancy! complimentary rooms and revenue as re2uired. 3mployers e$pect their front desk supervisors to master the phone system! enter wake)up call re2uests and take advantage of guest calls and reservation in2uiries to introduce and up)sell the hotel s services. A front desk receptionist A front desk receptionist in any industry is the first point of contact with visitors. /lients! patients and visitors all e$pect to be greeted with a warm welcome and assisted by someone with a genuine and sincere interest in helping with whatever it is they need. 4ecause a receptionist s role is crucial to your business bottom line! make sure the one in your company e$hibits certain attributes. Efficiency %he efficient front desk receptionist is one who courteously fulfills client and employee re2uests. She must give directions! re2uest paperwork and schedule appointments in a timely manner. A receptionist must have strong communication skills! and be organi+ed about keeping patient records! distributing materials to the appropriate staff members and fi$ing scheduling conflicts. Detail-Oriented With the multitude of people a front desk receptionist meets every day! she needs to be organi+ed and detail)oriented in all of her work. A spa receptionist should alert a therapist beforehand if a client is allergic to a particular ingredient! for e$ample. A pediatrician s receptionist must make sure that medical transcripts are transferred before a child s ne$t appointment. 5eceptionists are responsible for keeping notes on outgoing and incoming materials and phone calls! and dispensing the information to the appropriate staff. riendly Demeanor %he receptionist is often called the gatekeeper to an organi+ation. She decides who makes it past the front desk without an appointment! which visitors get taken care of first and whose re2uests are urgent. %his must all be done with a smile because you only get one)tenth of a second to

make a good first impression! say researchers at (rinceton 6niversity. 7aving an upbeat attitude and genuine interest in helping others will make visitors feel welcome and more likely result in repeat business. !no"ledgea#le A vast knowledge about the industry is crucial to a front desk receptionist job. A receptionist may field call! emails and visitors with 2uestions that pertain to services! products! pricing and availability. #or e$ample! a gym receptionist must be up to date on special membership discounts" a doctor s office receptionist needs to remember which insurance plans are accepted" and a front desk hotel receptionist should know which rooms get the most foot traffic. $o" to Run a $otel ront Desk %o most people who stay at hotels! the front desk is one of the most important elements of the staying e$perience. /lients make reservations with front desk workers! check in and out with them! and depend on them to make their stay enjoyable and to troubleshoot any problems. 5unning a hotel front desk is a matter of having staff with e$cellent customer service skills! the ability to provide for clients! and a system! including software! for accuracy and efficiency. Customer %er&ice is !ey As a member of the hospitality industry! you should embrace that customer service is your top priority. 1ou and your staff should make guests feel welcome and appreciated at all times. When guests have normal re2uests! this can be easy enough. 't becomes more difficult when they have re2uests or complaints that might seem unreasonable or when they deny having used services! such as the mini)bar. 8o matter how ridiculous a guest might sound! treat him with respect and do everything you can to give your hotel a good name. 'se %oft"are that (akes %ense #ront desk workers at hotels need to use software that allows them to make reservations for guests! collect payments! and schedule cleanings and other services. %he kind of software that s best for your front desk depends on the si+e of your establishment. /hain hotels may provide software that front desk workers at all locations must use. Smaller hotels! however! can choose from software programs that are designed for a smaller number of rooms and smaller staff si+es! and which might be accessed from a website. 'pdate Customer )nterfaces 9any hotels offer websites for clients who want to check the availability of rooms online instead of calling the front desk. 't is essential that you give clients up)to)date information. /hoose software that automatically updates the kinds of rooms available. :ikewise! make sure that your customers are able to see when various amenities are offered. #or e$ample! if your restaurant is closing early for a holiday! make sure it is clearly listed on your website and in the hotel. Plan Ahead and %taff Accordingly

1ou should be prepared for those stretches when you have a lot of guests! such as weddings and conventions. 't may be necessary to schedule several front desk workers to prepare complimentary breakfasts! for e$ample! instead of the usual number of staff members. 1ou want to make sure that each one of your guests feels that she is receiving special treatment! which can be difficult to do if you are understaffed when your hotel is completely booked. *o# Description for ront Desk +illing Administrators %he role of a front desk billing administrator or manager varies based on the work setting and the si+e of the billing staff. 'n some cases! a billing administrator is the only employee in his department and he carries out all billing and payment functions. 'n other organi+ations! the administrator takes on more of a supervisory role in managing staff. )n&oice and Document Preparation A billing administrator either creates or leads staff in creating invoices and other types of financial order records. 'n a doctor s office! for instance! a patient is given an invoice at the front desk that shows services provided and the amount owed after insurance is billed. An additional invoice is prepared and submitted for the insurance claim. 'n rental businesses! such as an apartment comple$! a front desk billing administrator also prepares or oversees preparation of leasing or rental agreements. Payment Reconciliation %he billing administrator also has responsibility to ensure that bills are paid in a timely manner and reconciled with invoices in the computer system. %ypically! offices use some form of invoicing and accounting system that allows you to recogni+e a payment and close out an invoice. 'n many instances! these software programs tie directly to the company s recordkeeping and accounting system. 'f bills aren t paid in a timely manner! the administrator sends out payment reminders! assesses late fees as appropriate and may send claims to a collection agency. %uper&ision and Colla#oration 'n a large office with billing and payments staff! the administrator also plays a supervisory role. 'n these instances! much of the typical day is spent making billing and payment decisions! training and monitoring the work of billing staff and reviewing records for accuracy. %he billing administrator usually collaborates with other office staff! including the owner or manager! accounting department! service providers! installers! shippers and support staff. +ackground Re,uirements %he background re2uirements for a front desk billing administrator vary by company and work re2uirements. 7owever! you typically need at least an associate s degree! though some employers re2uire a bachelor s degree in office administration! accounting! bookkeeping! finance or a related discipline. 'n larger companies! you can advance into senior)level position with more responsibility! authority and compensation.

9ethodology

RE%EARC$ (ET$OD%
' will prefer interview and filling of 2uestionnaire to ensure and encourage frank responses to the 2uestions. While framing a 2uestionnaire ' will try to list a series of 2uestions! which can provide me the needed information. #or study purpose ' also keep in mind the respondents understanding capacity! ability to recall the information and his e$perience limits. ' will not include those 2uestions! which can have misconceptions and promote non)co)operation.

%O'RCE O DATA
Source of data is classified in to two categories* -. (rimary data .. Secondary data

PR)(AR- DATA
(rimary data do not e$ist in records and publication. %he researcher has to gather primary data afresh for the specific study under taken by him. 9arket researchers are interested in primary data about demographic; socio economic characteristics! attitude ; opinions ; interests! motivation and behavior. %hree basic means of primary data* -. ,bservation .. Survey 0. 3$periment %ECO.DAR- DATA %he data referred to those! which gathered for some other purpose and are already available in the firm initial records and commercial! trade or government publications are secondary data. Sources of secondary data -. (ublished of secondary data. .. <overnment publication. 0. Speciali+ed libraries =. <eneral library research sources %ample %i/e0 ' used >? respondents for my research report. (ET$OD O DATA CO11ECT)O.0

#or getting the results of my research ' used method which is 2uestionnaire method that is under primary data A 2uestionnaire (also known as self-administered survey) is a type of statistical survey handed out in paper form usually to a specific demographic to gather information in order to provide better service or goods. %he 2uestionnaire was invented by Sir #rancis <alton @uestionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they are cheap! do not re2uire as much effort from the 2uestioner as verbal or telephone surveys! and often have standardi+ed answers that make it simple to compile data. 7owever! such standardi+ed answers may frustrate users. @uestionnaires are also sharply limited by the fact that respondents must be able to read the 2uestions and respond to them. %hus! for some Demographic groups conducting a survey by 2uestionnaire may not be practical. A 2uestionnaire consists of many types of 2uestions! like direct 2uestion! in direct 2uestion! open)ended 2uestion (free answer 2uestion)! and close ended 2uestion. 'n this report open and close)ended 2uestions are used. %he method was discussed 2uestioning. 3ach person was asked a set of 2uestion in given order and answer is limited to a list of alternative. %he studies are descriptive in nature. 't is connected to study the present state of affair as it e$ists. %he open study tries to e$plore the system at present and report on it. 2hy ,uestionnaire methods has #een adopted -. 't is versatile .. 'deas related to the problem and its solution can be finding by asking the people involved in various industries. 0. Anowledge! opinions! and intention of people involved can be easily founded. =. 't is usually faster and cheaper than other methods. 't involves control over the data gathering activities as compare to other method.

4ibliography
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