similarities and differences of housekeeping and front office

This proved to be efficient as to minimize labor cost and the time that a guest spends on the lobby waiting to be escorted to his/her room. Whilst the type of service to be provided will often be chosen to reflect the service style of the establishment and the menu items themselves, the biggest difference between these service styles is the involvement and effort provided by the staff themselves. The front office staff contacts marketing and sales department in case there is a need to prepare electronic marquees or message boards for promotions. At first glance, the positions of front office manager and front desk manager may come across as similar. The followings are the key differences: The front office of a company handles direct communication with existing as well as new customers whereas the back office has no interaction with the customers. This communication is vital because nobody would like to make a guest wait in the lobby because his/her room is not yet clean or due to the fact that the Housekeeping Department did not communicate on real time the status to the Front Office. � Working in the office tends to encourage a sedentary lifestyle, since you’re expected to be in front of your computer screen and working the entire time you’re at the office. The front office manager must first consider the attitudes of the front office staff. Housekeeping Department sends their inspectors to check whether the stated room has been cleaned to the hotel standards or not. Relationship Between Housekeeping And Front Office. The Housekeeping Department is headed by an Executive Housekeeper (sometimes referred to as Housekeeping Manager) The procedure of cleaning guest rooms by the housekeeping department can be summarized in the following way: Checkout clerk (or cashier) contacts the Housekeeping Department that a room became vacant and needs cleaning. Sridevi Sivakami 7 The main role of the housekeeping or maintenance department is to control the pests Co-ordination between Front office and Housekeeping department Co-ordination between front office and housekeeping department is very important. The front office has sales and marketing departments whereas the back office has the admin department, finance and accounting department, HR department, warehousing, etc. The front office in a hotel should ensure that the housekeeping department is doing their job everyday. What problems housekeeping department normally faced. Housekeeping and the front office communicate with each other about housekeeping room status, the report on the availability of the rooms for immediate guest occupancy. The front office largely consists of client-facing roles. These employees have been trained and rewarded for accurate performance of clerical tasks, playing a passive role in the sales of services. This is the key difference between room attendant and housekeeper. Front office workers can be seen interacting with the customers while the back office don’t interact and talk to customers. The front office must provide lists for expected arrivals and departures for the day in advance, and notify housekeeping of actual arrivals and departures as and when they occur. 3. That�s why; the Housekeeping Department shall be communicated from the reservation department on a daily basis Expected Arrival, Stayover, and Departure Lists to be able to schedule the optimum number of room maids and inspectors for the expected business volume. Later an electronic message can be send automatically to check-in personnel confirming that the room is cleaned to standards and waiting for the next arrival. in the high season). First let us understand the difference between Front of the house & Back of the house. It can be defined as a front of the housing department located around the foyer and the lobby area of a hospitality property. Key Difference: The Front Office Executive and the Receptionist have the same work to do.A front office executive is a person who works in a company’s front office, overseeing a variety of tasks or managing staff. (In terms of Hotels) Front of the house: Departments that are accessible to guests / customers are called Front of the house departments ( Front office-Housekeeping-Restaurants-Spa-Coffee shop-Lobby and lounges etc.) Role of Front office in Hotel Sales and Marketing. - Both front office and housekeeping department should have cross exposure where exchanging people from this two department in order for the employees to understand more about their job and have better communication, - Have monthly meeting between two departments to discuss about guest complaints and ways to improve guest satisfaction, - Outing to boost relationship and create bonding, - Extra allowances and one day off for those who work night shift, - Have proper education and training for each department, Ø´Ø±ÙØ© ØªÙØ¸ÙÙ Ø¨ÙØ§Ø±Ø§Øª Ø¨Ø§ÙØ±ÙØ§Ø¶. If this is the norm then great my job is going well. Both individuals are required to oversee the activities of other employees while on the … Difference Between a Front Desk Manager & a Front Office Manager. Housekeeping co-ordination with front-office. What this chart looks like depends on the facility. There are many departments in a hotel, for an example, housekeeping department, front office department, engineering department, accounting department, safety and security department and food and beverage department. - Housekeeping attendant slow when cleaning the room - Lack of communication between two department - Front office department check in guest to the wrong room - Front office did not inform that guest having late check out - Did not have meeting before start shift - Housekeeping department lack of people cleaning the room during peak season Under this very system, each room maid and inspector, post to the fulfillment of his or her duties in the room, can send a coded message from the guest�s room telephone to the Housekeeping Department. Whilst most people are aware of the phrase ‘silver service’ in reality this style of service can be provided in different ways. Motor hotels and motels have more similarities than differences in numbers of guest rooms, meeting rooms, and food and beverage facilities. Guests tend to be both not at ease and dissatisfied seeing hotel personnel in their rooms using pagers and might think that something wrong happened in their rooms. To illustrate, let�s consider the guest room cleaning process along with the different operating modes under which a hotel might operate: Manual System: Under this very system, due to the fact that room maids shall first clean rooms for new arrival, then stayover rooms and at last vacant rooms, these very cleaning personnel have two ways to do it: Post to cleaning each room, go to the Housekeeping Department, inform them about the status and then come back to clean the next room. ... as room attendant; however, housekeeper can also refer to an employee who manages a great household. Technically, there is no actual difference between the two, other than the name. Room Status Report: The Front Office and the Housekeeping Department shall prepare at the same time, as frequent as needed by management, their room status reports, which lists, according to each department, the recent room status of each room in the hotel. c) Fully Automated System This is the best system, which eliminates nearly all time losses spent by room maids and inspectors, to inform the Housekeeping Department and the time needed to be spent needlessly at the lobby area. In the semi-automated system, reconciliation shall be at least once per shift (preferably at the beginning of each shift). Room maid cleans the room and contacts the housekeeping department back about the latest status and condition of the room (especially for out-of-order and out-of-service). The Front Office is also called the nerve centre of a hotel. As soon as the guest depart, the front office informs the housekeeping via telephone or computer and reports how many rooms have been vacated, so that housekeeping can take over and clean and repair any furniture as may be necessary. Guests who participate in face to face communication experience a range of communication techniques both verbal and non-verbal. Room is extensively dirty, or needs repair), then the Housekeeping Department deducts that room from those available for sale, until either scheduled to be extensively cleaned or post to the confirmation from the Maintenance Department that the deficiency was repaired. The front office thinks of ways and techniques in selling the items or services. This very frequency might increase as the business volume increases (i.e. However this would decrease the number of rooms cleaned and inspected by room maids and inspectors, which would mean higher housekeeping labor costs. The reason is that rooms for new arrivals takes more time to be cleaned to hotel standards again and that guests might come any time to request their rooms even before the pre-determined beginning of check-in time. Difference Between Hotel and Motel (Hotels Vs Motel) Definition of the term hotel : A Hotel or Inn may be defined as an establishment whose primary business is providing lodging facilities for the general public, and which furnishes one or more of the following services. If the room is not cleaned to hotel standards, inspectors communicate to the Housekeeping Department that the room shall be cleaned again. @ B D E \ � Lastly under the fully automated system, since housekeeping and front office department�s communication is ensured electronically on real time, reconciliation needs to be done only at the night shift by the night auditor. Housekeeping Department updates the room status from occupied to on-change and sends a room maid to clean the room. Medical Front Office workers are a vital part of today's medical offices as they influence the first impression of the medical office. Hi Jagan, Greetings of Peace!!! II- INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOUSEKEEPING AND FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT: The main two important areas where collaboration is vital between the Housekeeping and Front Office Department are listed below: Have always clean rooms for expected arrivals and stayovers Satisfy special guest needs as far as amenities and facilities requested in their rooms are concerned 1. True. Yet, since some hotels might operate under the manual or Semi-automated systems, some delays and, hence, problems might occur. Our housekeeping is very quick to tell me exactly what they think I am doing wrong, but they take no criticism whatsoever. In our opinion at Calibre , creating a modernised workplace is a better option to go for regardless of the immense costs involved. A receptionist is a person who is employed to answer the telephone, attend to guests, clients, etc. Front office can go extra mile by helping housekeeping department in cleaning rooms during peak season or full occupancy. The front office is not allowed to assign guestrooms until the rooms have been cleaned, inspected and released by the housekeeping department. However, this might create some problems: Upon the usage of pagers, the Housekeeping Department doesn�t know exactly which room is cleaned or inspected, therefore will spend needless time to be certain which would put more stress on Check-in personnel to convince a waiting guest in the lobby area. ... both the food and beverage and housekeeping departments are commonly interfaced with the front-desk computer. The co-operation between housekeeping and front office should be very intimate or close. In this case, hotel shall still have a housekeeping department but to a minimum number of staff. This would increase maids� and inspectors� efficiency but would cause guests waiting in the lobby to be escorted to their rooms. Housekeeping Relationship with Front Office (1) Housekeeping Relationship with Human Resource and Training (1) Housekeeping Relationship with Kitchen (1) Housekeeping Relationship with Security (1) Importance of Housekeeping Department (1) Laundry (1) Linen and uniform room (1) Paper Code and Title: H04FO Front Office and Housekeeping Management Module Code and Title: H04FO18 Functions of Housekeeping Department and Inter Relationship with Other Departments Name of the content wrier: Dr. PL. As this department is located around the foyer area of the hotel and is visible to the guests, patrons and visitors, they are collectively called “Front Office”. One major difference between a budget hotel and an upscale luxurious hotel is the amount of staff the hotel employs. The Front Office and the Housekeeping Department shall prepare at the same time, as frequent as needed by management, their room status reports, which lists, according to each department, the recent room status of each room in the hotel. Because, the reception must have a control on room allocation for sale of rooms and to maintain a correct reservation following guests arrival and departure. Basically, it shows how the hotel is structured and how the available positions relate to each other. Moreover, bearing in mind the cleaning procedure of guest rooms explained above, there should be a communication between the Front Office Department and Housekeeping Department to be able to communicate the recent room status of each room! CONTENTS 1. 2 � � � / n � � C � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � $ Ø§ÙØ¶Ù Ø´Ø±ÙØ© Ø®Ø¯ÙØ§Øª ÙÙØ²ÙÙØ© Ø¨Ø§ÙØ³Ø¹ÙØ¯ÙØ© Ø´Ø±ÙØ© ØªÙØ¸ÙÙ Ø¨ÙØ§Ø±Ø§Øª Ø¨Ø§ÙØ±ÙØ§Ø¶, Issue happen and occur between front office and housekeeping department, - Room always not available when guest check in, - Housekeeping attendant slow when cleaning the room, - Lack of communication between two department, - Front office department check in guest to the wrong room, - Front office did not inform that guest having late check out, - Did not have meeting before start shift, - Housekeeping department lack of people cleaning the room during peak season, - Have briefing for both department every time before start shift on information such as arriving guests, events that happen on that day and rooms that will be on sale, Have good communication between two departments by having the managers to discuss about each day operation especially the room status. If the room is Out Of Order for any reason (i.e. b) Semi-automated System: Under this very system, room maids and inspectors might use either a phone machine situated at the center of each corridor, or pagers and beepers to communicate the recent room status. A hotel organogram is an organizational chart that illustrates the structure of a hotel and the role of each department or unit. Lastly, the Housekeeping Department shall ensure that every room maid shall use efficiently most of his valuable time in cleaning not in going back and forth in the corridors. The Housekeeping Department is responsible for: Neatness and Cleanliness of all guest rooms and most public areas Maintenance of recycled and non-recycled cleaning inventories Some of the above mentioned functions might however be leased to a concessionaire. It is usually situated at the laundry room or any other convenient place close to Housekeeping Supplies. Floor supervisors ->Housekeeping desk attendant ->Front office OR phone code HK Report of any problems found when cleaning the room CONCLUSION Pre-arrival Expected arrivals and 8) HOUSEKEEPING: Coordination with the front office is one of the most important features of housekeeping. 2. � � , - . (Source: travelvisabookings.com) A request for accommodation by the guest in a hotel for any particular period is called reservation. � k � M m � � � � " B D H � L g � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 9 h � � � �� h>z1 6�>*OJ QJ ]�h|Sr OJ QJ h+G� OJ QJ h>z1 >*OJ QJ h>z1 5�6�OJ QJ \�]� h>z1 OJ QJ h>z1 5�OJ QJ \� h+G� h>z1 5�>*\�h>z1 5�\� h>z1 h>z1 5�CJ \� h>z1 5�CJ \�mHsH5 4 A B ^ Z � � � Reservationists are the employees responsible for accepting or rejecting the reservations made by the guests from different modes such as telephone, e-mail, fax, letters, etc Room attendant is an employee in the hotel industry who is entrusted with the duty of cleaning the guest rooms and seeing to the needs of the guests. Sure, if you work on the second or third floors of a building, you might be inclined to take the stairs, but you’ll only need those twice a day. If the room is cleaned to hotel�s standards, the Housekeeping Department shall update the room status from On-Change to Clean and Available for Sale and communicate this to the Front Office Department. Office administrators are usually responsible for the day-to-day activities that keep an office running smoothly and efficiently. Difference between Front Office and Back Office. Cleaning and Inspection Process: The Room Status for each room determines how much effort, time, labor, and hence scheduled staff is needed by the Housekeeping Department on any shift. The primary difference between the responsibilities of an office administrator and an office manager is their level of seniority and authority. Housekeeping prepares the room and front-office sales that room after preparing. Difference Between a Concierge and Front Desk Staff. What happen between Housekeeping and Front Office? Front desk managers are primarily employed in the hospitality industry and should not be confused with front office managers who are employed in any number of industries. While budget hotels might use technology to take the place of front desk staff, who check guests in … Front Office… Simply put, front office staff are the people who directly generate revenue for the company. * The Housekeeping Department shall first clean rooms for expected arrivals first, then stayover rooms and eventually vacant rooms. This will keep guests happy, and will keep them from complaining to the front office staff. Housekeeping room status can be described in the following communication terms: Available Clean, or Ready - … ��ࡱ� > �� A C �� @ �� c� �� ' bjbjZWZW .2 8=`\8=`\� �� " " " " 6 " o% � R R R R R - - - �$ �$ �$ �$ �$ �$ �$ $ C' � �) � % - - - - - % R R � )% - R R �$ - �$ � v# h �$ R �� = �# �$ ?% 0 o% �# � �* M " �* �$ �* �$ ( - - - - - - - % % o � - - - o% - - - - �� * - - - - - - - - - � > � : FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT � HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT : RELATIONSHIP I- HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT: The Housekeeping Department is one of the busiest sections in the hotel as far as the variety of functions performed, and number of staff working. Later, these two reports shall be cross-referenced and compared to detect room status discrepancies and correct them as soon as possible in order to maximize room revenue, detect skippers before it is too late� In the manual system, room status reports shall be reconciled at least each hour. It also provides assistance to guests during their stay, completes their accommodation, food and beverage, accounts and receives payment from guests. Understanding the differences between front of house and back of house functions will significantly help your restaurant flow more effortlessly and increase efficiency. Post to cleaning certain category of rooms, and/or all rooms, room maids inform the Housekeeping Department, and then inspectors would inspect all rooms, at the same time, inform the department about the recent statuses. So in a finance company or investment bank, front office departments might consist of sales and trading, investment banking, wealth management, and private equity. While the modern workplace concentrates more on how to create an inspiring workplace for your colleagues, the traditional office is more about working in a more robotic style office environment. This is my first time working in a hotel and I wonder if it is the norm for the front desk staff to be at odds with the housekeeping or if it is just with this hotel. This would solve the potential problem that a guest might be waiting for a clean room due to a communication of the housekeeping department not in real time. Communication with Housekeeping − The front office staff needs to interact with the housekeeping department on the concerns such as − Readiness of vacated accommodation for selling. When guests have a different first language to the hotel staff a non-verbal approach will help communication. The Front Office function of a Hotel is to act as the public face of the hotel, primarily by greeting hotel patrons and checking in guests. 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