Front Stage and Backstage Operations of Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney

Running head: SERVICE MARKETING
Service Marketing
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1SERVICE MARKETING
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
1. Flowchart of the front stage and backstage services...................................................................2
2. Explanation of the significance of the service encounter............................................................4
3. Analysis of managerial implications...........................................................................................5
Conclusions......................................................................................................................................6
Reference List..................................................................................................................................7

2SERVICE MARKETING
Introduction
This paper aims to explain the front stage and backstage operations of the hospitality
industry. The flowchart is a visual presentation of the instructed decisions on each stage which
are required to functions the practice. As stated by Lusch and Vargo (2014), service
organisations are divided into two different components which are front stage and backstage.
Front stage activities are used to communicate and interact with the guests in the hotels and the
employees of the front stage operations are well skilled to manage the service delivery to the
guests. Backstage activities are not associated directly with the guests. In this paper, Four
Seasons Hotel in Sydney is chosen to show the front stage and backstage operations of services
through the flowchart. Therefore, for a hotel to enhance the delivering of the best services,
harmony between front stage and backstage is needed.
1. Flowchart of the front stage and backstage services
Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney is located near Sydney Harbour Bridge and it is one of the
best five-star hotels in Australia with nearby shopping, vibrant social scene and outdoor
adventure (Fourseasons.com 2018). Service flowchart is developed and designed according to
the service culture, design and expectations of the guests in a hotel. In a hotel, services refer to
the understanding of the customers’ needs, processes of offerings and cost of the requirements
and analysis of the limitations of the services (Gummesson 2014). Four Seasons Hotel is a
famous hotel chain and it has a well-established front stage and backstage integration which help
the hotel to maintain the process of delivering the services to meet the international standards of
guest satisfaction.
Front stage operations
Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney follows the front stage services according to the guests'
needs and international level. The main element of the front stage service lies in the developing
the interaction with the guests of the hotel to communicate with them and to collect the details of
them. Front stage staffs ask the guests about their preferences, choices of rooms, food choices
and linen. This information is delivered to the backstage staffs as part of their work. Front stage
flow chart of Four Seasons Hotel is involved with the check-in details of the guests, reservation,
waiting for the area, operating the hotel rooms, keys and locker as well as the check-out details
of the guests. The front stage staffs take the record of the guests for future use and the staffs let
the guests informed about hotel rules and other services provided by the hotel. According to
Lovelock and Patterson (2015), the front stage of the hotels performs the tasks according to the
determined process and service standards so that it can meet the international service standards
and professional objectives. Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney has different types of rooms, food
dishes and personalised services which they offer to the customers from the front stage. Front
stage operations of Four Seasons hotel are segregated into three different segments, front desk
operations, recreational activities and dining rooms. Staffs of front desk operations do the work
like guests' bookings, guest check-in, concierge, tours and car rentals, guest services, data
management and guest check-out. Front desk activities are also included the working like room
arrangement and advanced payment. Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney takes international bookings
and the staffs also help the guests if the guests have foreign currency. Data management is
another activity in the front office where the staffs maintain the guests’ information and keep the