Report On Self Reflection Of Front Office

Self Reflection

Heading: Week 2 Introduction to front office
Topic sentence:
Front office is an integral part and face of hotel which has activities beyond just interacting with
customers which has been taught in week 2 lectures.
Idea development:
When I got to know about front office for the first time, the thing which clicked in my mind is
that their work is limited to certain activities only. I was interested in this lecture from
beginning and gained a lot of knowledge by the end of the week. I would like to share my
experience along with wide activities of front office which is not just restricted to particular
activities. I have always seen this section to deal with customers whenever I visited any hotel in
past which made me think that it has to receive guests, fill details, allot rooms, keys and
answering the calls and queries. But week 2 lectures made me realise that front office has
diverse activities to deliver which has direct and major impact on fixing prices. Apart from this,
there are many aspects which have been explained to us in the class.
According to my knowledge about front office, it is the department which has high level of
difficulty as they have to remain active throughout day and night and have effective interaction
with customers. Guests have first interaction with front desk to inquire about their reservations.
The information provided by this department is significant as it influence the clients whether to
proceed with booking or not. Hence, it can be said that it leaves first impression on whoever
visits a hotel. In order to carry these activities, every personnel assigned job at front office
should be responsible and capable to perform assigned tasks. Some of the functions of this
section range from attending guests on arrival, allocation of rooms, describing and developing
packages, disclosing pricing, giving best quotation along with offers, attending calls, solving
queries and complaints and many more. These activities require variety of skills for delivering
expected services to customers.
Front office works as a link between guests and all other departments with the exchange of
information from one location to another. It is possible through effective communication and
this skill should be possessed by every personnel involved with functions of front office.
Customers may ask huge number of questions related to facilities, bookings etc. provided and
available in the hotel. I can say that it is not easy to understand the demands and requirements
of guests but front desk try to analyse the expectations and forward the same to respective
departments in order to fulfil them.
The employees at front office are required to be fit and attentive to hear to what customers are
saying or requesting. This again call for skills which can make them more efficient and active.
Training should be given the staff to make the expert in activities of front office. Furthermore, it
helps them to become more productive and efficient. Apart from this, there are some
expectations and needs of workforce which should be analysed by the hotel management and be
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fulfilled for making them work with their full efforts.
In nutshell, I can say that there are so many functions which are played by front office
employees which should be done through continuous learning and training. The leaders and top
management have the responsibilities to oversee the work and make strategies and plans to be
implemented in this section of hotel. As per my knowledge hotels should value their customers
in order to grow business and have increased profit. This also helps in retaining them for long
time and make them avail services on repetitive basis.
Every action requires appropriate strategies which can be achieved with the application of
management theories and principles as provided in the lecture. These can be applied by leaders
and managers within the organization for keeping every function at place so that desired
outcomes can be achieved. Furthermore, there should be complete evaluation of the
performance of each employee assigned tasks of front office. Since, it acts as a nexus between
customers and other units of a hotel, there should be complete control and sync in order to cater
needs and expectations of guests by working efficiently.
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Heading: Week 3 Executive Housekeeping
Topic sentence:
The role of housekeeping is unavoidable as it is responsible for ensuring pleasant stay of
customers as per their wish and demands and to increase their satisfaction level.
Idea development:
I gained knowledge about the role of housekeeping in a hotel and felt that it is significant in a
hotel. Housekeeping has basic and prime role of cleaning rooms and different areas within the
entity. However, it is not just about keeping the place intact but more than that. As per my
experience with this lecture, a customer always look for hotels which have effective
housekeeping service as this makes their stay either pleasant or bad. It is one of the factors
which attract guests to make bookings in a specific hotel. In other words, it can be said that
making beds, providing towels, toothbrush, soaps, etc. come within the job responsibilities of
housekeeping only.
This section is required to maintain cleanliness in all the rooms and places within the hotel and
should not compromise with these activities ever. This is about maintaining quality for which a
customer pays money. If the quality is not maintained as per the standards then it can affect the
image, sales and profit adversely. In this way, it is very important that rooms are cleaned before
being used by customers. However, this is possible only by utilising financial resources
appropriately. The work should be done within time allotted for every task cleaning.
A hotel need housekeeping service irrespective of its size as without hygiene place or proper
cleaning, no customer would make bookings. People having good experience and techniques to
do all such work quickly should be appointed for this job post. Furthermore, the belongings of
customers should not be damaged while carrying cleaning functions. There should co-
ordination between housekeeping and inventory department so that all necessary things are
available in the room for the convenience of guests staying in a hotel.
During the week 3, my knowledge has been increased which made me realise that
communication is important in every section of hotels. This department should appoint people
who responsible and trustworthy. I have learnt that the role of executive housekeeping is to
make appropriate hiring of candidates capable of carrying the works according to guidelines
and objectives of hotels. Furthermore, its activities extend to tracking the performance of each
such employee and monitor them for smooth functioning. Also, the leaders should decide
common goals along with time to finish the tasks.
Inventory management is undertaken by housekeeping department which has activities for
keeping stock of all required basic things such as pillow covers, bedsheets, blanket etc. A
person cannot stay satisfactorily without these amenities. It can be said that housekeeping
should maintain sufficient supply of these materials so that a hotel does not have to face
shortage of such substance. This can result in increased complaints affecting the image and
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goodwill of a hotel
The job of housekeeping department does not end with cleaning or management of inventory
but extend to managing all the technical defaults in a room and rest parts of a hotel. It is
necessary to check all electronics connections and proper functioning of all equipments in order
to avoid any future accidents or additional financial burden. This increases quality of overall
services leading to more sales, profits and number of customers.
I can summarise this, that housekeeping is crucial for retaining the customers for a long time. If
this service is as equal or above their expectations or average then it helps in keeping the guests
and make them visit the same hotel again in future. Along with this, there should be strict
regulation of such functions by the top management so that no negligence occurs. The staff
should be capable of working in an honest way by avoiding any delay. Their service should be
quick and right on point. Furthermore, there should be a co-ordination among all the members
belonging to same department so that no areas or rooms are left unattended. Along with this,
inventory should be managed effectively for avoiding any delay causing inconvenience to
guests. This may make the stay unpleasant.
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Heading: Week 4 Effective communication
Topic sentence:
Effective communication is a skill which is vital for a business in order to cater the demands of
customers.
Idea development:
Till now, i have gained and collected many information regarding different departments and
functions held in hotel industry. Now, it a 4th week, which will focuses on enhancing the
communication skills of each and every individual working in hotel industry. According to me
the communication plays an important role in everyone's life, as same with working with any of
the industry. While in housekeeping effective communication is required in order to serve better
customer services in a proper way. As the role and function of communication in front office
job profile, contains and deals with both customers as well as the other departments of hotels.
According to my perception the communication take place in various forms, like
communicating with external stakeholders which helps in developing relationship with them,
then passing and caring forwarding the information, collecting of information from different
sources and feedbacks.
Along with this, communication also helps in transferring the information and some
instructions to different level management, distributing the job responsibilities, conducting and
completing various departmental activities in order to perform well with effective as well as
better coordination. In addition to this, form my views the communication also helps in
simplifying the building effective interpersonal relationships with team members, who are
working in similar department. after completing week 4, i have learned that Communication has
different dimensions, form which employees and me can grasp information and knowledge
from various conception. Along with this, i have learned that within any business organization,
performance level can not improved without communication. I get to know, that
communication play an important role, and it also be described and illustrated in many forms.
From among respective dimensions of communication, I have analysed that there is a four
prospect communication which should be taken into consideration. The characteristics an skills
of effective communications are verbal communication skills, listening skills, writing skills as
well as the non verbal communication skills. The non verbal communication considerer's the
voice tone, body language, body gestures, appearance and many more. Along with this, I
learned effective professional communication consist of these four elements, which are very
essential for making communication. For me this topic is very interesting, as I get to know that
communication has 7 C's of that are Completeness, Concreteness, Courtesy, Correctness,
Clarity, Consideration, Conciseness. Based on what I think communication play is vital and
required skill for an person which helps them in communicating with other people.
Information passes on through various hierarchy levels in a very rapid speed, so to code such
information and then work according to that requires effective communication. From

perspective of taking correct decisions and implementing those decisions in work,
communication always acts as a very essential tool. There are different people who come from
different background, this leads top internal diversity and to manage this diversity
communication is very important.
When we talk about communication in professional terms, it includes correct spelling, good
grammar and strong knowledge of language these all are perquisites, which are very necessary
for writing e mails. Whether it is written communication or oral communication language is of
significant importance. I have learnt that, I have good communication skills but I need to
increase my level of professional communication. A lot of Hard work is needed on my part to
increase my knowledge aspects. After fourth week, I have made proper analysis and have
realised that I need to increase my skills of writing effective e mails. This will help me a lot in
making effective communication.
Listening skills play a very important role in developing approaches to solve a particular
problem. Listening skills help a person to understand whenever any person is trying to convey a
message. This also helps in filling any type of communication gaps, if they occur during
communication process. As these gaps can have adverse impact on interpersonal relationships
and poor service delivery. To increase my productivity I will work on my listening skills.
Many times there are many barriers in communication like technological barrier or any type of
language barriers can also arise. Body language of a person, gestures, effective representation
skills, tone of voice, its pitch these all are part of my learnings. Having a dynamic personality is
very important at workplace. This can be developed only if I will be able to communicate and at
same time understand properly non verbal communication also.
Heading: Week 5 Night audit
Topic sentence:
Auditors who work in night shifts generally assign work and next day listing to morning shifts
auditor. This renders both services equally balanced and it works both ways for them.
Idea development:
Generally this concept is not very clear to certain people even some cant even describe its
workings since they were limited by knowledge for it. When I started to attend this lecture
many things became clear in my head regarding this subject. In the basic understanding of the
concept is the perfect blend of responsibilities and duties divide within the night and day shift
auditor to maintain balanced performance in their working zones. It was interesting discovery
that the auditor of night shift also has to handle work chart for morning auditor so that no
hindrance or problem is faced. They also mange the financial and balance sheets including
payment receipts and pantry of organisation. This helps in provides to maintain the perfect
record sin the organisation and in my overview the night auditor has to perform more work than

the day auditor. Their is a basic principle of management which is followed by this organisation
and its auditors. This is very important to work over crucial and important decision for
environment which shall, always dominate the basic nature of the workings of organisations.
They have to make reschedule for all night booking made and several charts to properly
bifurcate customers from each other. Many customers have different timing s requirements and
according to that bookings are made for next day. Their is a perfect balance which is maintained
between both the auditors and shall also maintain a certain rules and guidelines onto which all
workings will work with smooth operations.
The basic understanding knowledge I gained from reading my lectures that night auditors have
a huge knowledge and presence of mind in the field of finance and monetary awards provided
to hotel for their services. Also in some hotels they are supposed to perform listing of duties
which will be implemented by morning shift staff which will include calculating credit limit of
each customer, their timing, special facility availability an other specific demands which they
shall seek to be full filled. They have to explain all discounts, vouchers, special nights or day
offers and all services which are rendered by hotel to completely accompany customers mind to
visit and stay in this specific hotel.
Simple explanation of audit is to make a formative chart of all finances and rewards listings
which is performed by both night and day auditor. Over booking is generally a very easy
concept where one shall avoid any monetary loss due to non professional behaviours and this
department shall be only handled by a trained and experienced person. In the general
knowledge I have about this field is that it is very risky in nature as it can cause several amount
of loss to the hotel in matter of taking bookings in case of full occupancy in hotel. This causes
trouble for both parties as customer will suffer due to no availability of services and the staff
and managers have to listen to all arguments which eventually causes a black spot on goodwill
of the hotel and provide very negative feedbacks to hear customers also.
Heading: Week 6 Safety and Security
Topic sentence:
Safety and Security are significant elements in influencing a positive mindset of customers
referring to customers their luggage and equipments of hotel.
Idea development:
Safety and Security are primary piece of element to properly manage and control workings of
hotel management. In my perception any business outlet has a basic principle to follow specific
guidelines for protecting customers. Crimes like abduction and theft are very common in several
hotels which eventually harms goodwill of place. Things like health hazards is also a big branch

of this division to take in mind before making schemes for a hotel including pest & bugs issue till
food poisoning. In my experience the first main decorum of any infrastructure is by its staff, all
amenities which are required by customers like fire hazard drills, proper supply of clean water and
most importantly a clean sanitised wash room is what helps in bringing a positive attitude towards
acquiring rooms and services of such places. Apart from all these the beginning outlook of any
place is seen by luggage services rendered, a secure room for luggage without any confusions in
delivering bags in correct room shows having professional staff is on charge.
Health hazard is something which is discussed eventually but to add to that is the kitchen and
dining place shall also be properly pest free and groceries in kitchen shall be stored in proper
environment tot avoid any incidents which creates a bad spot in customers mind. If I was
travelling and staying in hotels one thing which would always occupy my mind will be financial
stuff, this includes proper billing and record of every transaction made in hotel, also if travelling
in different country currency exchange rates should be looked before making bills to avoid
conning any one.
In my basic knowledge about this field there are two bifurcation in this elements which are safety
and security of person and second safety and security of systems, first factor includes placing
correct lightning, protection of all belongings and in case of occasion or some event keep tracks
on unwanted guests. Second part of security aspects includes proper usage of hotel equipments,
protocol to follow for such services and guidelines to maintain during them. This includes making
duties and responsibilities within environment this is done to avoid confusions and
misunderstanding between staff in performing tasks. Also I have seen in several places big hotels
acquire security from different agencies to control and check security levels of the place. In case
any person looses their personal belongings in hotel premises, they shall be assigned few staffs to
help them seek it back it makes a very good impression on their minds.
Also if I would be staying in a hotel ill require the rooms to have security key cards to ensure exits
and entrances in my room, backup power in case of power cut-off, they shall provide in room safe
valves so I could keep all my important belongings in them and most importantly security cameras
to in case of any situation or circumstantial condition one can look in cameras to acquire
knowledge about missing luggages or any misshapenness. Also I believe that security is not just
providing proper security inside but also the building infrastructure should be strong to protect
people in case of natural calamities. Even i read an article about training employees or staff to be
acknowledge about safety procedures, it said generally every person focus on security of data and
consumers but security of employees shall not be ignored in mental and physical form which
ultimately does affect business. If I could suggest some new features for any hotel is that they
should install keys in customers mobile phone. Generally every second person today carries a
smart phone plus all other systems like payments locations etc. is also present in them. So, if a
person installs such features first it will be very impressive for customers and second all system of
locks, smart cards and everything will not be needed any more.
Some times only hindrance one might face in hotels is that they do not keep customers informed
about everything for example if smart lock key shall give access to all other facilities like spa,
therapy, pool and dinning hall. All this information should be told to each person it also impresses
consumers and when they leave they have a very positive mindset about hotel.

Heading: Week 7 facilities management
Topic sentence:
It is most essential element being base of all other factor it deals with all global transformations.
Idea development:
In my opinion, integration within this sector is the head in any global market since, being an
service territory which is mostly related towards rendering best experience towards giving best
experience in all facilities and other facilities provided by hotel. One cannot accumulate the
pressure on staff which is responsible for all cleaning and tidiness of place, plus it becomes
more pressure over manager of such places. They are one to assign and divide duties &
responsibilities in any hotel and properly justify their task and responsibility while performing
it. Me and my family keep travelling and it has enhanced several questions like selecting hotel,
packing luggage making transportation assets.
As according to my personal experience this is straight connected to operations department or
some random business scheme. The managers stay directly in contact with all managing staff
and members of housekeeping department also with department of safety. As I read more into
this topic the core base of such places is their decorum and surroundings. Customers get
attracted towards the basic structure, appearance and facilities provided by the hotel. Managers
who are in charge of all facilities have main charge and duty of getting the place develop and
keep change in context to constant changes in environment. Their ultimate goal is to finish off
any issues, disputes or problems within environment and replace it with sorted managed and
disciplined environment. I have recognised that their prior duty and task is to make hotel look
attractive and remove any loopholes for people to criticise to get affect due to any issues in
environment or facilities provided by the hotel. This concept is solely connected to creating a
perfect base line and guide for future reference's and if the management is not proper from
beginning it will lead to sinking of organisation. This department need the most is to provide a
good coordination within all departments. Also, very important aspect is to keep a check over
sanitation and improvements of departments also fall under duties and responsibilities of an
manager.
When once I was visiting some place I learned that this job requires a lot of patience and
concentration to cover and make several decisions which have to be balanced in nature. In case
of some disaster or blunder by any employee he shall keep calm and provide a very rational
decision making to give a good decision which shall not harm goodwill or hotel and consumer
shall also be satisfied with solution.
People over here are well experienced and trained in their profession they can manage and
control staff with a view and perspective of analysing situations correctly and making proper
decisions after that. In all this work load they have to also take care to keep their employees

happy and satisfied in their work as a happy employee means development of place.
I my view this sector is very fascinating and interesting in nature plus here a huge group of
facility management in done which provides resource to work for several levels of
professionals. They also keep a continues flow of continues training and development under
their department and keep on developing them with new changes in environment.
I have judged till now that certain things in facility management cannot be performed by any
casual person it need a very professional and trained person to acquire full productivity and
continues management inside the working environment of hotel. In here, becoming
environment friendly is also important plus it brightens goodwill of the organisation. It reduces
the wastages done in the areas it reuses products which are safe to reuse and dispose off.
Generally avoiding wastage and saving water is proving betterment to society and it also saves
a lot of money for the hotel itself. They have also installed several go green go healthy approach
for people to accept an healthy diet to motivate themselves for a healthy and ozone-friendly
environment.
Their were several thing to discover while reading and analysing this department from proper
discipline to provide balanced environment and making decisions in correct path for betterment
of hotel and increase its goodwill with global transformation.
Heading: Week 8 Labour cost and staffing
Topic sentence:
The three components viz. Labour, cost and staffing are needed in an entity for smooth
functioning of hotels as these have impact on profit and competitiveness of a hotel.
Idea development:
I have gone through number of different materials in past few weeks while studying about
variety of elements present in a hotel. During this time, I came to know that cost is an important
factor for starting or carrying activities within an entity. All the activities involve in a hotel
includes cost which is incurred in order to get things done properly. It is important for
implementing effective control over all the costs so that unnecessary wastage can be prevented
and effective allocation can be made.
As per my knowledge, these are related to finance which teach about budget, revenue and
profit. In order to ascertain the cost of one single unit or service, the basics of this and related
topics should be studied. It should be clearly determined so that proper decisions regarding
allocations of resources can be made effectively. Furthermore, forecasting should be done in
order to prepare budget and to avoid blockage or insufficiency of funds in contingencies. A
person should have basic knowledge about concepts which are directly linked to finances. It is

important for making strategic decisions for controlling the costs.
I have learnt financial principles, accounting and other similar calculations which can be used in
determining the income and expenditure within a hotel. In this way, financial resources ca be
allocated efficiently for reducing losses and wastages. Furthermore, it is important to learn how
to manage the resources proportionately so that balance can be strike. I have taken training in a
hotel where I worked under a financial manager so I have learnt techniques in which every
aspects should be allotted cost. It should be sufficient to provide all products and amenities.
Furthermore, every organization should follow a particular method which is common to all
departments within so that conflicts can be reduced. According to my views, there should be
proper calculations about available financial resources so that no area or facility is left with
inadequate funds.
I got to know that the cost should be divided by making financial statements. It is helpful in
tracking losses in order to avoid losses. Furthermore, hotels should apply financial techniques
and principles for recording the cost accurately which can provide true and fair view of the
financial position. This is helpful in increasing profit and revenue through proper planning and
strategies. Furthermore, I came to know about that cost should be controlled. The past records
should also be taken into consideration for making plans which are to be implemented in future.
Apart from this, functions of housekeeping, auditors, managers, leaders etc. are based on costs.
Hence, the concept of cost should be understood so that company can use them effectively. This
is not only beneficial for the hotel but with mitigating the costs, the employees are paid more
which increases their satisfaction level. In addition to this, management theories and lecture
notes increased the knowledge about different ways through which costs can be used. In
nutshell, budget should be prepared on the basis of cost that has been ascertained. There should
be proper planning and strategies for financial resources and their effective allocation within the
organization.

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