Front Office

Services

Quarter 2
Self-Learning Module 11
PROVIDE PORTER SERVICES
LO1.2. Assist guests with luggage.

Writer: Sarah Minette M. Reyes

Reviewers: Maria Elizabeth N. Villabroza
Maria Kathrina Blanca L. Regalado
 EXPECTATIONS
At the end of this module, the learner must be able to:
A. recognize the safety precautions in lifting guest luggage;
B. realize the importance of properly handling guests’ luggage; and
C. respond to guest request for luggage assistance following the establishment’s
procedures.

PRETEST
Directions: Multiple Choice. Encircle the correct answer.
1. ALL are proper trolley management EXCEPT __________.
A. Follow procedures on where to put specific luggage.
B. Arrange luggage by following the first in, first out procedure.
C. Deliver the luggage beginning from the luggage at the top of the others.
2. ALL are steps in proper lifting EXCEPT _________.
A. Bend your back.
B. Bend your knee.
C. Keep a straight back.
3. Which is NOT an information needed in the arrival errand card?
A. Porter’s name
B. Porter’s picture
C. Bell Captain’s signature

RECAP
We have previously discussed regarding the duties of a porter and what are the
necessary preparations to be done in order for them to be able to welcome the guests
properly. Can you discuss briefly what preparations are to be done for the following
types of guests?
1. Person with disability
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. VIP
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 LESSON
Assist guests with their luggage
One of the main duties of a bell
attendant/porter is to assist guests with their
luggage upon arrival and departure to the
establishment. Before a porter is able to assist
guests with their luggage, health and safety
issues must be prioritized. Basic precautions to
follow are:
✓ test all bags for weight before lifting
them- do not be deceived by small bags
✓ ensure the correct lifting techniques are
followed (see Figure 1)
✓ use a trolley if luggage is too heavy or if
there are too many bags
✓ treat all luggages carefully; it may contain fragile or breakable items.

Trolley Management
Throughout a shift, the porter must assist
guests with their luggage several times. There
are times when luggage may have to be removed
from the boot of a car or from the compartment
in a tour bus. In which case, all luggage must
be treated as an item of great value and should
never be left unattended, especially outside the
hotel. Here is the how to properly manage a
trolley:
✓ Securely – make sure that the luggage
are not easily stolen or misplaced. There
are times when a number of guests arrive
at the same time, with this situation,
make sure not to misplace or switch any
of the guests’ luggage by tagging the luggage (see Figure 2). Also make sure
that luggage are placed according to weight, heaviest items at the bottom and
lightest items at the top.
After checking-in, the front desk officer will call the attention of the Bell
Captain, give him the arrival errand card (see Figure 3) which indicates details
of the guest/s and assign a porter to deliver the luggage to the guests’ room/s.
NOTE: When guests have just arrived and the room number is not yet
provided, simply ask for the guests’ names and write down the number of
luggage they have, return the lower half of the luggage tag to the guests and
attach the upper half to the luggage.
 ✓ Within an acceptable
time frame- the luggage
trolley must be ready to
be brought to the guest
rooms as soon as the
guests complete the
check-in procedure.
✓ Multi room delivery- use
of luggage trolley
indicates several check-
in, coordinate with the
front desk as to which
rooms the luggage
owners are in. Deliver
the luggage beginning
from the luggage at the
top of the pile so as not to mishandle any luggage.
✓ Follow procedures on the proper placement of luggage on the trolley and on
the proper unloading within rooms
▪ clothes on hangers may have to be hung up
▪ suitcases must be put with heaviest at the bottom of the trolley and
onto the appropriate racks in the rooms
▪ briefcases at the top of the heavier luggage and next to the bed in the
room.
NOTE: These must be adhered to with every guest, unless the guest
requests something else.

Remember that luggage can be heavy – sometimes very, very, heavy – and therefore
the porter must be aware of some basic occupational health and safety issues
regarding handling luggage, including:
✓ test the weight of bags before lifting – give them a test lift
✓ adopt the correct posture for lifting
✓ use an approved trolley if luggage is too heavy to lift comfortably and correctly.

ACTIVITIES
Activity 1
Directions: Assuming you are the porter on duty and during your shift, you are
expecting the following guests. How will you assist them with their luggage?
NOTE: Don’t get confused. Make sure to check the arrival time.
Figure 4
PERAYA RESORT
Arrival List October 29, 2020

Registration Guest name No.

Special requests,
Arrival date of ETA Remarks
number First name/Surname if any
pax
2002568 10/29/2020 Ms/May/DelaCruz 3 14:35 N/A -
3008953 10/29/2020 Mr/Perawat/Ruangroj 16:50 A bouquet of red
2 roses, a bottle of VIP
champagne
5382691 10/29/2020 Mr/Tay/Twan 2 14:00 N/A VIP
6271538 10/29/2020 Mr/Tum/Jacobs 19:00 One guest has
2 leg cast and PWD
walks with cane

1. How would you welcome your first arriving guests?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Does your third expected guest have any special requests? If yes, what do you
need to prepare and how are you going to assist them? If no, what do you need to do
to assist them?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. How are you going to assist your guest who is a PWD?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 2
Directions: Answer the following questions based on the date given in Figure 4.
1. Who made the last reservation and are there any requests?
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. The guests whose reservation numbers are 3008953 and 6271538, made special
requests, assuming that they arrived at the same time. Who will you assist first? Why?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
 WRAP-UP
We learned that upon the start of his shift, a porter must prepare for arrivals of
expected guests. Discuss briefly how you are going to assist guests with their
luggage, upon arrival.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

VALUING
Porters are expected to assist guests with their luggage as soon as they walk by the
hotel entrance or go down their vehicle. Assisting guests with their luggage is not as
easy as lifting your bags for school, because some guests bring heavy luggage,
especially if they are staying at the hotel for a long time or if they are there because
of an event. Precautionary measures must always be taken in handling guests’
luggage, not only to avoid mishandling, but also to avoid accidents on the part of the
porter.
How about you, have you ever experienced assisting someone who was carrying a
heavy load and can’t handle it by themselves? If so, can you share your experience?
If not, share an experience where you were the one who experienced being assisted
with your heavy load.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
How did you feel after you assisted someone/ you were assisted by someone?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

POSTTEST

Directions: Multiple Choice. Encircle the correct answer.

1. Assuming that you have a PWD and VIP guest who arrived at the same time,
who will you prioritize?
A. I will assist the PWD first, because they need more assistance than the VIP.
B. I will assist the VIP first, because they bring more sales for the establishment.
 C. Prioritize them both, ask assistance from another porter to assists either the
VIP or the PWD, while you assist the other.
2. Which is a necessary information in the guest folio, but not in the arrival
errand card?
A. Guest’s name
B. Guest’s room number
C. Guest’s contact number
3. Which is not a safety precaution on behalf of the porter?
A. test the weight of bags before lifting
B. adopt the correct posture for lifting
C. use of housekeeping trolley

KEY TO CORRECTION
3. C 2. C 1. C

Post-test

3. B 2. A 1. A

Pretest

References
Published Reference:
Anutosh Bhakta. 2012. Professional Hotel Front Office Management. New Delhi. Tata McGraw Hill Education Private Limited
Online References:
Guest Luggage Handling Procedure: https://setupmyhotel.com/train-my-hotel-staff/how-to-define-sop-in-hotels/front-office-
sop/341-sop-bell-desk-guest-luggage-handling-procedure.html
Provide Porter Service: https://slideplayer.com/slide/4541485/
Provide Porter Services: https://slideplayer.com/slide/6268369/
Photo References:
Figure 1: Accessed 26 August 2020, at 12:15:42 GMT +08:00: https://bit.ly/3htBi7T
Figure 2: Accessed 26 August 2020, at 16:20:34 GMT +08:00: https://bit.ly/3jf4lwb
Figure 3: Accessed 26 August 2020, at 18:59:27 GMT +08:00: https://bit.ly/31tzlm2