Page 167 - DMGT308_CUSTOMER_RELATIONSHIP_MANAGEMENT

Customer Relationship Management

Notes This department is the face of the hotel and remains in touch with guests all through their stay
i.e. the first call made by a guest for a query to reserve a room to the settlement of the bill at the
time of check out. The major functions of the front office include reservation, registration,
answering to the guest query, maintaining relation with guest, settling guest account, handling
foreign exchange of guest, taking guest calls, mails, faxes etc. and to ensure that the guest stay is
comfortable.
The front office department is headed by the front office manager. He is accountable for the
smooth running of the front office. He does the administrative job and whenever requires take
helps from the assistant front office manager. Assistant front office manager acts like Front
office manager in his absence and accountable for the execution of departmental operations. He
delegates his work amongst difference section head like reservation manager, front desk manager,
concierge manager, business centre manager, guest relation manager and receptionist etc.

Functions of the Front Office Manager

A successful front office manager conveys the spirit of a particular lodging property to the
customer. By applying management principles, he or she works through the front office staff to
communicate feelings of warmth, caring, safety, and efficiency to each guest. The front office
manager must train personnel in the technical aspects of the property management system
(PMS), a hotel computer system that networks the software and hardware used in reservation
and registration databases, point-of-sale systems, accounting systems, and other office software.
He or she also must maintain the delicate balance between delivery of hospitality and service
and promotion of the profit centres, and maintain the details of the communication system.

The front office manager has at his or her disposal the basic elements of effective management
practice: employees, equipment, inventory (rooms to be sold), a budget, and sales opportunities.
This manager is responsible for coordinating these basic elements to achieve the profit goals of
the lodging property.
Front office employees must be trained properly to function within the guidelines and policies
of the lodging establishment. The front office manager cannot assume that an employee knows
how to do certain tasks. Every employee needs instructions and guidance in how to provide
hospitality; front office employees’ attitudes are of utmost importance to the industry. To ensure
that proper attitude prevails, the atmosphere in which employees work must motivate them to
excel and nurture morale and teamwork.
The equipment available to the front office manager is varied. With the advent of computers, the
property management system has provided the front office manager with an unlimited
opportunity for managerial control. He or she can now easily track information such as zip
codes of visitors, frequency of visits by corporate guests, and amount of revenue a particular
conference generated and pass this information on to the marketing and sales department.
An unsold guest room is a sales opportunity lost forever. This is one of the major challenges of
the front office manager. Cooperation between the marketing and sales department and the
front office is necessary to develop profitable advertising and point-of-sale strategies. The
subsequent training of front office personnel to seize every opportunity to sell vacant rooms
helps to ensure that the financial goals of the lodging property are met.
Budgetary guidelines must be developed by the front office manager and the general manager,
since the front office manager does have a large dollar volume under his or her control. The
budgeting of money for payroll and supplies, the opportunity for daily sales, and accurate
recording of guest charges require the front office manager to apply managerial skills.
The foremost concept that characterizes a front office manager is “team player.” The front office
manager does not labour alone to meet the profit goals of the lodging property. The general

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