The staff includes desk clerk, cashier, reservations manager, concierge,night auditor, telephone operator, bell staff, room key clerk, and elevator operator. Notall of these positions are found in every lodging establishment. In some operations, thefront desk clerk acts as desk clerk, cashier, telephone operator, and reservations clerk, asrequired by the volume of business. Many large, full-service hotels, in contrast, employthe complete staff as listed.Staffing the front desk positions incurs a cost. The front office manager, in consultation with the general manager, usually prepares a personnel budget related to salary levels throughout the lodging establishment.The responsibilities of the front office staff are quite varied. The position of the deskclerk can encompass many duties, which typically include verifying guest reservations, registering guests, assigning rooms, distributing keys, communicating with the housekeeping staff, answering telephones, providing information about and directions to localattractions, accepting cash and giving change, and acting as liaison between the lodgingestablishment and the guest as well as the community.The position of cashier includes processing guest checkouts and guest legal tender andproviding change for guests. This position is found in a number of lodging establishments,and it helps make the front desk workload manageable when a full house, a hotel that hasits entire guest rooms occupied (sometimes referred to as 100 percent occupancy) is checking out. Given the possibility that every attendee of a 400-guest convention could check outwithin a few hours, this division of labor is a well-planned concept. Even with the bestplanned systems—such as express checkout, whereby the guest uses computer technology ina guest room or a computer in the hotel lobby to check out; prior approved credit, the use ofa credit card to establish creditworthiness; or bill-to-account, an internal billing process—thelines at the cashier station can be long and seem longer when a guest is in a hurry.The reservations manager can be found in many of the larger lodging establishments.This person is responsible for taking incoming requests for rooms and noting specialrequests for service. The particulars of this position are endless, aimed at providing theguest with requested information and services as well as accurate confirmation of theseitems. The reservations manager is responsible for keeping an accurate room inventory byusing a reservation module of a property management system. This person must communicate effectively with the marketing and sales department. Peak as well as slow periods of sales must be addressed with adequate planning.The night auditor balances the daily financial transactions. This person may also serveas desk clerk for the night shift (11:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M.). He or she must have a good graspof accounting principles and the ability to resolve financial discrepancies. This position
requires experience as a desk clerk and good communications with the controller.
The telephone operator has a very important job in the lodging establishment. This
person must be able to locate the registered guests and management staff at a moment’s
notice. He or she also must be able to deal with crises up to and including life-threatening emergencies. With the introduction of call accounting, a computer technology application that tracks guest phone calls and posts billing charges to lodging establishments,
the telephone operator’s job has been simplified, as the tracking of telephone charges to
registered guests can now be done with ease. This person may also assist the desk clerk
and cashier when necessary.
The bell captain, with a staff of bellhops and door attendants, is a mainstay in the
lodging establishment. The bell staff starts where the computerized property management
system stops. They are the people who lift and tote the baggage, familiarize the guest with
his or her new surroundings, run errands, deliver supplies, and provide the guest with
information on in-house marketing efforts and local attractions. These people also act as
the hospitality link between the lodging establishment and the guest. They are an asset to
a well-run lodging establishment.
The key clerk can be found in very large, full-service hotels that do not have electronic
key systems. This clerk is responsible for issuing keys to registered guests and for related security measures. Often he or she sorts incoming mail for registered guests and the man
agement staff. This position is now obsolete in most hotels.
The elevator operator, a person who manually operates the mechanical controls of the
elevator, is almost extinct in the lodging establishment, replaced by self-operated eleva
tors and escalators. Some elevator operators now serve as traffic managers, who direct
hotel guests to available elevators in the lobby. In large, full-service hotels, the traffic
manager can be a welcome sight; the confusion of check-ins and checkouts can be less
ened when he or she is on duty.
The concierge (Figure 2-6) provides guests with extensive information on entertain
ment, sports, amusements, transportation, tours, church services, and baby sitting in the
area. He or she must know the area intimately and be able to meet the individual needs of
each guest. This person also obtains theater tickets and makes reservations in restaurants.
In most cases, the concierge is stationed at a desk in the lobby of the lodging property.
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