Guest Cycle

Guest Cycle

The main function of the front office department is to support and facilitate guest transaction and services. therefore the operation of the front office department is largely determine by the type and number and guest transaction which take place during the different stages of guest's stay.

The guests of a hotel generally have four main stages as far as their interaction with the hotel is concerned. These stages can be easily identified as –

·         Pre Arrival

·         Arrival

·         During the Stay

·         Departure & After Departure.

These four constitute the guest cycle. In each phase of cycle there are certain standard transactions which occur between the guest and the hotel.

PRE -ARRIVAL

The interaction at the time of making a reservation before the guest actually arrives at the hotel is termed as the pre- arrival stage. Reservation is the most important activity at this stage. During this stage the guest first makes a choice about a hotel to stay in. This choice for a particular accommodation is affected by factors like advertising, location, quality of service, price, reputation of the hotel, location and so on. Once the guest makes a final decision about the hotel to stay in, the guest will contact the selected hotel either individually or through any other designated person or party such as a travel agent or a company. Through telephone, a letter, fax, email or in person in the form of a reservation request, this is handled by a reservation staff.

A number of questions may be asked from the guest in order to gain more information about the guest. Before confirming a reservation request, the hotel may ask for a kind of prepayment or credit card guarantee or an advance deposit from the guest. The reservation staff may also inform the guest about the retention charges as this ensures minimum loss to the hotel in case of any last moment cancellations or no shows. Once the deposit is paid the room is reserved or ‘blocked’ for the guest for the requested stay dates. The hotel also makes note of any other special arrangement to be made such as a wheelchair, a crib, an extra bed, railway or airport transfers and so on.

The data collected during the process of reservation can be utilized by front office for future sales and up selling. A well-managed reservation system is instrumental in maximizing room revenue by constantly monitoring the room status and forecasting the room revenue.

ARRIVAL

This is the time when the guests have their face to face interaction with the hotel staff. This is the time when the front office will greet the guest and will begin the registration process. This is a very critical stage as the guest will form an opinion about their future stay and about the standards of services provided in the hotel. The guests are presented with a registration card and are requested to verify the information by signing on the registration card also known as the Reg card or GRC. The details are generated from the information derived at the prearrival stage. This registration card or reg card or GRC is an agreement between the hotel and the guest, whereby the hotel agrees to offer the accommodation product and services to guest and the guest agrees to pay for this product and services in return. Some hotels may also pre- register their guests i.e. register the guests prior to arrival such as in the case of VIP’s, airline crews, and frequent guests. Once the guest is registered they are assigned a room at an already negotiated room rate. The guest is then shown to their room and the luggage is brought by the bell desk after the different items have been tagged with a luggage tag. In case any mail or message has arrived at the front desk prior to the guest’s arrival the same are delivered to them.

The front desk maintains a record of expected arrivals and expected departures every day- through reports that are printed during the night audit. This is essential to provide flawless services to the guests and avoiding embarrassing situations such as – missing the guests’ airport pick up, not having a room available when the guest arrives and so on.

DURING THE STAY

During this stage the guest gets the first-hand experience of the hotels services and facilities. These services form an important part of the guests’ overall experience. A positive experience will make your guest feel special. This is exactly what your guest is paying for! An excellent and flawless level of service would lead to a delighted guest, which would make them come back to the hotel again and perhaps give a positive feedback to the other potential guests’ as well. In order to provide this level of service, front office must co-ordinate with the other departments of the hotel well. During this stage the guest will interact with front office a lot related to their own common or individual queries, which should be handled effectively and efficiently by the front office.

The functions of the front office during the stay of the guest include:

1.	Handling guest accounts (FOLIOS)	Creation and maintenance of guest accounts by front office cashier and a daily audit of the accounts by the night auditor.
2.	Message Handling	Receiving messages for the guests with complete details and ensuring their delivery on the guests’ arrival or when the guests’ are available.
3.	Key Handling	Accepting keys from the guests’ when they move out of the hotel. This may be regulated with the help of key cards. Some hotels may also issue computerized keys to the guest.
4.	Guest Mail Delivery	If a mail is received for a guest who is not in their room the mail is received and kept in the room key rack. If he mail is for a guest who is in their room then the Bell Boy delivers the mail to the guest. If a mail is received for a guest with a future reservation then it sent to the reservation section with a prefilled guest registration card attached.
5.	Guest Paging	This is generally used to locate a guest in a specific area of the hotel when the guest is not in their room.
6.	Safety deposit Locker	Located in the back area of the front office, these are provided to the guests to store their valuables. Most of the hotels these days have in room safety lockers.
7.	Guest Room change	Changing the room of the guest due to guest preferences that could not be fulfilled at the time of check in. Sometimes due to reasons such as a room being noisy or not upto the guests’ expectations. In such a case the guest may have to be upgraded to a higher category room without an additional charge.
8.	Handling guest queries and complaints	Responding to the guest queries and communicating the guest complaints to all relevant departments.
9.	Information about the hotel	Providing a complete range of information about the products and services of the hotel.
10.	Information about the city	Providing a complete range of information to the guests about the city.
11.	Travel Arrangements	Making travel arrangements for the guests whenever requested by the guest and whenever required.

DEPARTURE AND POST DEPARTURE

Check out is the time and an opportunity for front office to cover up for any unpleasant situation that might have occurred during the guest stay by ensuring a smooth, hassle free departure. During this stage the guests, settle their accounts through a pre-established method of settlement. This method of settlement may have been established at the time of reservation and confirmed at the time of registration. The various methods of settlement by the may be by- cash, credit card, debit card, travel agent voucher also known as third party settlement and bill to company also known as BTC, for the services rendered to them by the hotel.

The front office needs to take great care to present all unpaid bills carefully and carry out the entire procedure carefully.

	Preparation and presentation of guest bills	The front office cashier prepares the guest bill on the basis of the transactions between he guest and F.O cashier. This bill or the guest folio is presented to the guest at the time of departure.
	Settlement of the guest account	Settlement of the account requires to ‘ZERO OUT, the balance on the guest folio. This may either be settled in credit or in debit. If the balance is in debit then the guest is required to pay the desired amount and if the balance is in credit the amount of money is returned back to the guest.
	Luggage Handling	At the time of departure the luggage is handled by the bell desk. In case the wishes to keep their luggage at the hotel for a short time after their check out, front office can assist them by tagging the luggage items and storing the same in the left luggage room. The guest copy of the luggage tag is given to the guest to claim the luggage afterwards.
	Sales and Marketing	Front Office may assist the guest by giving them the promotional material of any upcoming offers for making future bookings in the same hotel or any other hotel of the same chain.
	Farewell	A warm farewell is important to be given to the guest. It is also important to keep in touch with the guest after departure, by sending them promotional material, gift vouchers, upcoming special offers or discounts.