MODULE 3

GUEST SERVICE IN
ACCOMMODATION
OPERATION
 Spiritual Values
Service & Excellence
KNOWLEDGE OBJECTIVES:

1. Design to provide not only understanding but a realistic

exposure to the work, decisions, and competitive forces in
the various processes and procedures that the department
performs.
2. Provide efficient service on Hotel Guests.
3. Recognize the interrelationships among the housekeeping
department and other departments in a hotel.
4. Discussed Receiving processes and welcoming of Guests.
5. Provided the information of the Guests Services offered by
the hotels.
6. Described Delivery Services to Customer/ Guests.
7. Discussed on how to handle Guest complaints.
 MODULE OUTLINE:
• The Importance of Customer Service in the
Hospitality Industry
• Best Practices to Improve Hotel Customer
Service
• Receiving and welcoming of Guests Information
Book such as Guest
• Services offered, shopping, centers, rentals,
tourist attractions, supplies and equipment.
• Deliver Services to Customers/ Guests
• Handling Guest Complaints
 The Importance of Customer Service in
the Hospitality Industry
• Whether someone is traveling for business or pleasure,
the level of customer service she receives on her trip will
help determine whether she comes back for another visit
or warns her friends to avoid your business in the future.

Here are some top tips to make sure that your business is
giving the best customer service:

1. Be realistic
Be true to yourself (your business) and make the most out
of the great things that you can already provide to your
potential customers!
 The Importance of Customer Service in
the Hospitality Industry continued…
2. Customer expectations
Satisfied customers are looking for a memorable experience and
an energetic service, where it matters the most, and if they get
that, a positive review will be coming your way.

3. Deliver on your promise, always.

Any business needs to keep customers and clients happy, but in
the hospitality industry it’s so important to keep guests engaged
in order for repeat business and for referral purposes. For the
customer to return all you need to do is deliver what was
promised, if you can exceed expectation where possible this is
always a good tool to help gain referrals.
 The Importance of Customer Service in
the Hospitality Industry continued…
4. Customer loyalty
Remember happy customers are loyal customers, go the extra
mile if needs be, provide additional items where possible, this
always tends to impress. Just remember, customers are the
most important part of the business without them what would you
have – focus on them at all times – and they will be happy.

5. Respond to Feedbacks
Feedbacks play a key role in helping the property to improve
their customer service and be prepared for the next guest. Also
remember to never disregard the negative reviews, always
acknowledge them with upmost professionalism.
https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article109092.html
Best Practices to Improve Hotel Customer
Service
• Customer service, especially during the busy season, is crucial
to the success of any hotel. Today there are more ways than
ever to attract guests, however it is essential that hoteliers don’t
lose sight of customer service best practices. We’ve compiled
the following 8 proven practices that are sure to help your staff
woo and retain guests.
Focus on face time.
• A warm welcome, enhanced by personal connections throughout their
stay, will remain with your guests long after they depart your property.
Keep your staff happy.
• A happy (and educated) staff translates into happy guests. So, hoteliers
should make a concerted effort to continually educate their staff about
the importance of customer service and empower (and reward) them
as they achieve customer satisfaction goals.
Best Practices to Improve Hotel Customer
Service continued…
Know your customer
• Are the majority of your guests traveling for leisure or business?
What are their preferences? Hoteliers have a myriad of tools at
their disposal, including online surveys and more sophisticated
tracking tools that help gauge customer habits. Use these tools to
keep “on trend” with your guests in order to achieve optimal
customer satisfaction.
Create a “wow” factor
• What sets your property apart? Give guests the visual “fodder” that
they will want to post and share on their social media channels!
Invest in some eye-catching artwork for your property or host
themed social hours in your lobby. In essence, provide that “wow”
factor that will resonate with guests and leave them wanting to
share their cool experience with others.
Best Practices to Improve Hotel Customer
Service continued…
Go above and beyond expectations.
• Today’s guests have elevated expectations, so hoteliers must
continually look for ways to elevate the customer service
experience. Take the customer’s experience to the next level by
providing unexpected touches and amenities not already being
offered by your competitors. If your competitor is offering a free
breakfast buffet, why not up the ante by offering up complimentary
room service for an extended stay or something else truly unique
and of value to your customer base?
Address guest input quickly
• When it comes to customer satisfaction, timeliness is key! Bottom
line, by addressing guests quickly, a hotel will have less
complaints. A quick turnaround on everything from a request for an
extra pillow, to a response to a TripAdvisor complaint, can make all
the difference when it comes to keeping customers happy.
Best Practices to Improve Hotel Customer
Service continued…
Keep the dialogue going.
• Don’t check-out when your guests leave. Online platforms give hoteliers the
ability to proactively reach out to guests to get feedback about their stay and
keep them in-the-loop on hotel news and happenings that will entice them to
return.
Learn from the best
• Big and small hotel brands alike can learn from the best practices of others.
Take Westin, for example, whose focus remains on the fact that their hotel’s
primary product offering is a good night’s sleep. As such, they upgraded their
standard beds to the Westin Heavenly Bed® and immediately saw an
incredible customer response. Monitor the best practices of hotel industry
peers… and adapt their programs into best practices of your own!
Always go the extra mile!
• Keep in mind that attracting new guests is much more difficult (and much more
expensive) than maintaining a great relationship with an existing guest. By
making an investment in customer service, you’re actually making an
investment in your business as a whole.
• https://skytouchtechnology.com/8bestpractices-hotelguest-service/
Guest Services In Hospitality Industry
• As the centre of front office activity, the
front desk is responsible for coordinating
guest services.
• Typical guest services involve providing the
guest with information and special
equipment and supplies
 Information Book
• Front office personnel need to respond
knowledgeably to guest requests for information.

Common guest questions may include:

Can you recommend a nearby restaurant?

Can you call a taxi for me?
Where’s the nearest shopping centre, drugstore?
 Information Book continued…
• What is the best place to visit in the city?
• Where is the theater from here?
• When is check-out time?
• How do I get to the museum, the library?
• What recreational facilities are available in the hotel, near
the hotel?
• When is opening time of your restaurant for breakfast?
 Equipment and Supplies
• Guests may request special equipment and supplies
during the reservations process, at registration, or during
their stays.
• Reservations agents should have a reliable method of
recording such requests to ensure that they are satisfied.
• When a guest requests special equipment or supplies at
registration or during occupancy, they will almost always
ask a front desk agent.
• The agent then relays the request to the appropriate
service centre or hotel department for processing.
Equipment and Supplies continued…
Equipment and supplies commonly requested by guests include:
• Equipment and Supplies
• >Bed board
• Additional clothes hangers
• Adaptor
• Transformer
• Additional blanket
• Vase
• Hairdryer
• Roll-away beds
• Baby cot, crib
• Additional linens/pillows Irons and ironing boards
 Excellence in Hospitality
For a hotel to achieve excellence in hospitality,
many guest relations skills must be learned by the
employees who will be delivering the services.
• Eleven basic skills of hospitality will serve as a
beginning to achieving this excellence.
• These are :
• Smiling
• Greeting
Excellence in Hospitality continued…
• Conversing
• Using proper telephone etiquette
• Providing assistance
• Giving attention
• Providing positive endings
• Following through
• Maintaining a positive attitude
• Making positive decisions
• Keeping a sense of humor
 Smiling
• Smiling when dealing with guests helps to create
a friendly atmosphere.
• By smiling, the clerks are showing the guests that
they are glad they chose this hotel for their stay.
• A smile says, “We’re glad you’re here!”
 Greeting
• Greeting a guest includes smiling as well as eye
contact.
• For example, if the guest’s name is not known,
‘Sir or Madame’ is the appropriate address.
 Conversing
• A guest’s name should be used as many times in
the conversation as possible.
• People love to hear their name; it is a very
positive form of recognition.
 Telephone Etiquette
• The telephone should be answered as quickly as
possible, certainly by the third ring.
• No one likes to be put on hold, but when this is
necessary, the guest should be thanked for
waiting.
 Assistance
• When the guest arrives at the hotel and during
the course of his or her stay, the guest should
know that the employees are there to assist with
his or her needs.
• Whenever an employee speaks with a guest, the
employee should end the conversation with the
statement, “ Please call on me if I can be of any
further assistance.”
 Attention
• Providing attention to the guest is enhanced by
the little extra in guest interactions.
• For instance, when guests return to the hotel at
the end of the day, they should be welcomed
back. It is these little things that make the guest
feel at home.
• When the guests are around, they should not be
ignored. Employees must remember to chat with
the guests, not their co-workers.
 Positive Endings
• Upon departure from the establishment, guests
should be thanked for staying at the hotel and
told how much they are wanted back again.
• Statements such as “Please stay with us again”
and “Have a nice trip home” or “Enjoy the rest of
your vacation” help to ensure that the guest will
depart with a smile.
 Follow-Through
• The initial follow-through comes after check in.
After the guest is roomed, the guest relations can
call the room to see if everything is satisfactory.
• During the guest’s stay, a follow-up call should be
made after any problems are reported to ensure
that the guest has been pleased with the service .
 Positive Attitude
• Having a positive attitude means that the
employee has the desire to consistently provide
excellent service to the guests.
• It is the manager’s responsibility to create the
kind of atmosphere that satisfies the guests’
needs. “Think before speaking or acting” is a rule
that every person – especially those in the
service business – should follow.
• Employees must be taught to be objective when
making decisions. This includes keeping their
emotions under control at all times .
 Six Steps in Handling Guest Complaints
• In dealing with guest’s complaints, there are
several steps to follow:
• Addressing the guest
• Giving attention
• Determining the solution options
• Finding answers
• Taking action
• Checking up
 Addressing the Guest
• The guest may be bothered by the problem for a
long time or that the incident has possibly
occurred more than once.
• So that when the guest finally decides to lodge
the complaint, he or she may be extremely
emotional in the way chosen to confront the
employees
• When a guest comes forward with a complaint,
the employee receiving it should address the
guest with his or her full attention.
 Attention
• The next step involves paying attention to what
the guest is saying. The employee should listen
to the guest and not try to speak while the guest
is talking.
• The best approach is for the employee to keep a
pleasant expression and to nod in agreement
• The employee should never argue with the guest
about what is being said
 Positive Endings
• Upon departure from the establishment, guests
should be thanked for staying at the hotel and
told how much they are wanted back again.
• Statements such as “Please stay with us again”
and “Have a nice trip home” or “Enjoy the rest of
your vacation” help to ensure that the guest will
depart with a smile .
 Follow-Through
• The initial follow-through comes after check in.
After the guest is roomed, the guest relations can
call the room to see if everything is satisfactory.
• During the guest’s stay, a follow-up call should be
made after any problems are reported to ensure
that the guest has been pleased with the service .
 Positive Attitude
• Having a positive attitude means that the
employee has the desire to consistently provide
excellent service to the guests.
• It is the manager’s responsibility to create the
kind of atmosphere that satisfies the guests’
needs.
 Positive Decisions
• “ Think before speaking or acting” is a rule that
every person – especially those in the service
business – should follow.
• Employees must be taught to be objective when
making decisions. This includes keeping their
emotions under control at all times.
 Guest Complaints
• There may not be easy answer to solving guest
complaints, but there are some basic rules that can be
followed.
• By following these rules, the employees and management
will stand a better than average chance of turning that
complaining guest into a permanent repeat guest for the
hotel.
• The following represent a few basic ideas for handling
guest complaints:
• Do not argue with a guest who is complaining; assume he or she is
correct, because the guest may be right.
• Always listen with undivided attention to what the guest is
complaining about
Guest Complaints continued…
• Try to put yourself in the guest’s place; how would you
feel?
• Never raise your voice or yell at the guest, if you are
pleasant, you may be able to turn the guest around
• By objective and get all of the facts; try to weed out the
subjective statements the guest may be making
• Show the guest you are concerned about the situation
• When the guest is correct, tell him of her that you and the
hotel will go to work on correcting the situation at once
• When the guest is very loud or if you feel the situation is
of a private nature, move the guest to a location that is out
of he hearing range of the other guests
 Guest Complaints continued…
• If the guest is wrong and complaint is in regard to a policy
of the hotel that you know must be followed, be pleasant
but explain the policy and the need for it. An example of
this is the check-out time policy
• A front office employee should be supported by the
supervisor. If the guest’s complaint can not be resolved by
the employee, the supervisor should step in and attempt
to resolve it
• In the case of an accident or theft, employees should
never accept responsibility on behalf of the hotel. A
manager is the only person who should handle these
matters
 Six Steps in Handling Guest Complaints
In dealing with guest’s complaints, there are
several steps to follow:
• Addressing the guest
• Giving attention
• Determining the solution options
• Finding answers
• Taking action
• Checking up
 Addressing the Guest
• The guest may be bothered by the problem for a
long time or that the incident has possibly
occurred more than once.
• So that when the guest finally decides to lodge
the complaint, he or she may be extremely
emotional in the way chosen to confront the
employees.
• When a guest comes forward with a complaint,
the employee receiving it should address the
guest with his or her full attention.
 Attention
• The next step involves paying attention to what
the guest is saying. The employee should listen
to the guest and not try to speak while the guest
is talking.
• The best approach is for the employee to keep a
pleasant expression and to nod in agreement
• The employee should never argue with the guest
about what is being said
 Determination
• Now it is time to determine exactly what the
problem is. The employee should focus on the
facts of the problem and deal with the problem,
not the personality.
• The employee can focus his or her questions on
clarifying the problem and repeating to the guest
in his or her own words what the problem is,
always including who, what, where, and when in
this analysis.
 Answers
• At this point, the guest is ready to hear some answers to
the problem he or she has brought forward. The employee
should indicate that the guest’s feelings and
understandable and that the employee would feel the
same way if he or she were in the guest’s position.
• The employee might offer a solution to the problem. If the
guest is not happy with that solution, an alternative one
can be suggested.
 Action
• Action should be taken immediately after the
complaint is discussed.
• When the guest sees that the employee is taking
action to solve the problem, he or she will feel
vindicated.
• For example, if the solution means housekeeping
has to be called, a note should not be made to
call later. The call should be made while the guest
is still there.
 Check-up
• After the problem is resolved, the guest should be
contacted to ensure that he or she is satisfied
with the resolution.
• This is just one more way of showing the guest
that the problem has received attention and the
hotel wants to make sure he or she is satisfied.
• When guest complaints are handle in this
manner, a bad situation can be turned around
into a positive experience. Through a problem
resolution process such as this, the hotel may
gain a loyal customer and very positive word-of-
mouth advertising.
 Managing Stress
• The hotel business is considered to be a “people”
business.
• This is so because of the high degree of contact a hotel’s
employee have with its guests.
• Along with this high degree of guest contact, comes a
great number of stress-producing occasions. Thus,
managing stress is part of a manager’s job. A manager
who wants his or her employees to be free of stress might
try the following:
 Managing Stress continued…
A manager who wants his or her employees to be free of
stress might try the following:
• Talk to the employees. Tell them what changes are
planned way ahead of their implementation.
• Let them know how these changes will affect them.
• Listen to all employees. Let them know that their ideas
are respected. Always be honest with them. If a manager
is caught in a lie, the employees will never how what to
believe in the future.
• When it is really busy on the front desk, jump in and give
them a hand. This makes the manager seem more
approachable in the future.
 Managing Stress continued…
• Employees must know what is expected of them
in their job. If a good training program is set up,
the employees will not feel a great deal of stress
from not knowing what to do or how to do it.
 References
• Cruz, Z. Macro Perspective of Tourism and Hospitality.
Rex Book Store
• Osorno & Bajao. 2019. Fundamentals of Lodging
Operations. Books Trading, Inc.
• https://skytouchtechnology.com/8bestpractices-
hotelguest-service/
• https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article109092.html