Report: Front Office Operations in 5-Star Hotels (M4X01920)

This report, submitted by Elena Nicolae, examines the critical role of front office operations in the hotel industry, using the Hilton Hotel chain as a primary example. The report begins by discussing the overall importance of front office operations, highlighting its significance in shaping the guest's first impression and overall experience. It emphasizes the front office's role in providing information, assistance, and ensuring guest comfort and satisfaction. The report then delves into the operational roles of key front office staff, including the front office manager, front office desk agents, and the night auditor. For each role, the report outlines their responsibilities, such as staff management, guest interaction, handling inquiries, and financial duties. The report concludes by reiterating the front office's essential function as the central hub of hotel operations and its impact on guest satisfaction and loyalty. The report references several sources, including books and journals, to support its analysis of front office operations and staff responsibilities within the hotel environment.

Front Office
Operation
Assignment Title: Front Office Operations
Module Title:M4X01920
Student Name:Elena Nicolae

Student Number:1815318
Lecturer's Name:Jahanzeeb Qarashi
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
1. Discuss with industrial examples in your report (inclusive literature) the importance of
Front office operation in Hotel?..................................................................................................3
2. Also, with examples analyse the operational role of the following 5 star hotel front office
staff: (1) front office manager (2) Front Office Desk Agents (3) Night Auditor........................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................3
References........................................................................................................................................4
Books and Journal.......................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Front office is the area which has a reception, sales and marketing team, concierge, etc
and is also known as the front desk. This is the place where the guests check in and check out.
Front office is the front face of the hotel. Hotel Hilton is a full-service resorts and hotel. There
are 586 resorts and hotels all over the world. It is a large scale hotel and is considered to be a 5
star hotel chain.
1. Discuss with industrial examples in your report (inclusive literature) the importance of Front
office operation in Hotel?
The first encounter that a guest has is with the front office. The front office staff should
be well groomed and well spoken otherwise the first impression on the client will not be so good.
The front office of Hilton makes sure that the guest has no problem with checking in of the hotel
and will guide the customers to there respective room. The guest is given a brief about what all is
available in the hotel and where it is located. If the guest is new to the city and has to idea about
the places they need to visit or according to there personal preference then the concierge which is
the part of the front office helps the customers to find a map for themselves from the front office.
Hotel Hilton provides the customer's with a car and the destinations they need to visit
according to the amount of days they have come for. They only visit the important places to go.
The concierge must also have knowledge about the history of the city and also the locations they
are advising the customers. Hilton being the best in its field makes sure that the customers
inquiries are taken seriously and all there questions are answered so that they do not have
problem in the city and they are comfortable not just in the hotel but even in the city they have
just come into (Nakahara, Honda Motor Co Ltd, 2016).
The guest is lost somewhere in the hotel then they must make sure that they find there
way out and get to the room. The interaction with the guest is a must. The General Manager of
Hilton always ask the customers if they are having a good stay and a comfortable one. The

General Manager tries to take out the honest feedback out of the guest so that they can improve
over the weaknesses (Gisler, 2015). For example- one of the staff's behavior is not being liked by
the client, then they can complain or tell the general manager directly about the staff member.
The General Manager can take steps to make the customer happy and satisfied.
The guests are always welcomed with a smile by the staff and greets them well with lots
of love from the hotel chain for choosing them. The front office has to take care of everything
even, for example- in case, house keeping team can not reach the situation first then the front
office must know how to deal with the situation. Another example would be if the kitchen is
working slow and the guest can not wait any longer then the guest will start calling the front
office so then the front office must solve all there problems.
Front office of Hilton always looks into the situation on spot without any delay in it. The
front office is always busy since the major work is of the front office. They never get long
breaks. The guest can check in and check out at any time and front office must be prepared for
that. Be it midnight or early mornings the office is always running in Hilton Hotels. Hilton being
a very famous branch and a five star hotel so they have to be all the most careful of its services
and quality. The front office is the front face of the hotel line and the customers find a direct
connection with the front office than that makes the customers comfortable in the hotel and a
new city they have arrived in.
Front office of Hilton is operating 24*7 and a guest can walk up to the front desk even at
mid night with any inquiry. The guest can complain about anything and everything regarding the
hotel and the front office staff needs to solve it there and then. For example- A client coming for
a check out at midnight the front office of Hilton is always ready to do that. The front office of
Hilton Hotels are so efficient that not only they make the check in and check out easy for the
client but also makes the procedure faster and comfortable for them.
A client is given a map for the hotel and the city for guidance. For example- the client
wants to know the history of the city and wants a tour then the hotel provides with everything to
the client to make it easier for the client. They are even told about the best eating places outside
the hotel, in the city so that if they do not want to come back to the hotel then they can go to
those places instead. Hilton wants the clients to have a peaceful trip and not having a worry
about anything else. The front office makes sure that they achieve in that goal or aim to not just

attract more customers but also keep the same customers for coming again and again to the same
chain and become a loyal customer of the industry (Williams, 2017).
2. Also, with examples analyse the operational role of the following 5 star hotel front office staff:
(1) front office manager (2) Front Office Desk Agents (3) Night Auditor.
The effective operational staff for hotel Hilton is most important for the smooth working
of the hotel all the internal factors and working of the hotel is done by the operational staff of the
hotel. The operational staff is important for developing strategies they are responsible for
customer needs. The different department of operational role is given below (Faisal, 2018).
1. Front office manager
Front office manager manages all the staff make sure that customers are satisfied with
their services. Communicate with all the staffs about the work, keep hotel clean and in order For
Example A front office manager of hotel Hilton is strict towards the working of the staff
maintains all the services properly prepare a regular schedule for the front office staff for the
proper working of the hotel maintains the proper supply in a hotel and take care of all the guests
in the hotel must be satisfied and if any problem arises to the guests solve it immediately. The
manager of Hilton hotel is to serious about the cleanliness and hygiene of the hotel (Jefferies and
et.al., 2016).
2. Front office desk agents
The guest enters in the hotel Hilton the first person how interacts with the guests is the
front office desk. Help guests to assign them their rooms provide them all other facilities of
hotel. Communicates with the staff about their guests status and information about their room is
ready or not (Gholami, Aminifar and Shahidehpour, M., 2016). Maintain the front office
cleanliness because the first impression is the last impression all the cash payments are handled
by the front office staff whenever a problem arises to guest or require anything they can call on
front office. The staff in front office deals in preparing bills, typing and printing task. The front
office staff communicate with the housekeeping. For example A front office desk agent of hotel
Hilton welcome their guest with the proper presence make them feel comfortable provide them
natural environment in the hotel premises.

Night Auditor
The night auditor is a person who works over hotel in night shifts as like his name. He is the
person who plays all the front office duties in the night if any guest comes hotel then he will be
the person who handle guests provide them room if any problem arises to the guests then they
call on the front office for the requirements (Sousa and Amorim, 2018). For example the front
office auditor of the Hilton hotel have to done all the activities in the hotel he is responsible for
all the activities to be done in the hotel in night he is the auditor who handle all the accounting
duties of hotel Hilton. The night auditor of hotel Hilton analyze all the activities done in the day
time, preparing the tax chart, maintain all the financial activities of all the departments of hotel.
Conclusion
The front office is the soul of the hotel industry. They never have any break off and the
hotel being a 5 star need to provide all the facilities to the customers. The front office has to
make sure that all the customers are satisfied and are having a comfortable stay and a pleasant
visit to the city. Front office is the guide to all the other departments. All the departments play a
very important role, be it kitchen, housekeeping, finance, or any other department but front office
is the bridge and the front face of the hotel of Hilton.

References
Books and Journal
Sousa, R. and Amorim, M., 2018. Architectures for multichannel front-office service delivery
models. International Journal of Operations & Production Management.38(3). pp.828-851.
Faisal, M., 2018. How to increase efficiency of Front Desk using holistic approach: Case: Hotel
X.
Nakahara, J., Honda Motor Co Ltd, 2016. Front bumper for automobiles. U.S. Patent Application
29/511,750.
Gisler, K., 2015. Applying Kaizen Theory in Front Office Process Development.
Gholami, A., Aminifar, F. and Shahidehpour, M., 2016. Front lines against the darkness:
Enhancing the resilience of the electricity grid through microgrid facilities. IEEE
Electrification Magazine. 4(1). pp.18-24.
Jefferies, S. and et.al., 2016, September. Daylight operation of a sodium laser guide star for wave
front sensing. In Proc. AMOS Tech. Conf.
Williams, S.J., 2017. Analysis of the COPD Pathway: Lean, Agile and Leagility. In Improving
Healthcare Operations (pp. 79-94). Palgrave Pivot, Cham.