Handing over at the end of the shift.

Reception can very often be a 24 hour a day job and therefore certain duties and
responsibilities need to be handed over at the end of each shift for follow through and
completion by other staff members.

Therefore there is a need to record and relay all the relevant information accurately and in
sufficient detail, to allow the other staff member to carry out the duties effectively.

Unfinished work

There is a need for continuity and consistency in staff of performance and work
standards, if the hotel is going to operate smoothly. The receptionist therefore needs to
ensure that any unfinished work is handed over in a form that can easily follow and acted
upon by another staff member.

Examples of unfinished work are:

 Following up on a guest enquiry

 Allocating rooms for a V.I.P. arrival the following day
 Organizing room keys for an early morning group arrival

It is not enough to just tell someone what needs to be done. All handover information
should be written down in a special handover book kept for this purpose.

The information should be clear with enough detail so that the reader understands what
he needs to be done and why, and the handwriting needs to be legible.

Special requests

If guests have made any special requests which for some reason where not auctioned
during the course of the day, theses requests should be noted and hand over to a member
of staff coming on duty.

The responsibility now lies with this person to see that the guest’s request is complied
with.

Examples of special requests include:

 A copy of a specific news paper only available from the main news agent
 A tour of the kitchens
 The use of a laptop computer for a few hours

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Late arrivals and departures

It is important that details on late arrivals and departures are clearly highlighted as several
departments need to know this information and it has implications for work loads. For
example, if a particular room is going to be a late departure a number of departments
need to know this:

 The room may be required for another guest therefore housekeeping will need to
service the room and this may involve keeping staff on duty after the shift has
finished.

 The room may have been allocated for a V.I.P arrival and so the receptionist will
have to allocate another room and tell housekeeping about the change.

 If the guest requires transport, the porter will need to know at what time the
luggage is to be taken from the room and when to order the transport.

Urgent Messages

Urgent and important messages need to be given a high priority at the time of handing
over duties. Very often guests complain that messages left for them were not passed on,
and so it is very important that all messages taken are [passed on to the guest promptly.
Urgent messages should always be actioned as a matter of priority.

Special incidents

Information on any special incident which occurred during the shift should be noted and
brought to the attention of the next shift. It is important that the receptionist is aware and
up-to-date on the day’s activities so any queries regarding the incident can be answered.

For example, consider a situation where the hotel is overbooked and a guest has been
booked out to a nearby hotel. The important details to record for handover include:

Guest name
Name & Telephone number of the hotel where the guest has been sent
Day
What/ if any acknowledgement is the hotel going to make to the guest as a form of
apology, etc

Think what the implications of not reporting this incident in the handover book would be:

 Messages or telephone calls for the guest would not reach him and what if there
was an urgent message?

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  The hotel would lose business in a number of ways, in the short term by the guest
not returning the following day and in the long term by the guest deciding never
to stay in your hotel again.
 The hotel is not given the opportunity to appologise to the guest and to regain its
goodwill

Tidying up

The end of a shift is in some ways the same as the beginning of a shift in that certain
tidying up and organizing needs to be done.
Ex; all equipment & supplies should be checked and everything should be left clean, tidy,
replenished and in working order.
Always try to adopt and put into practice this motto: if this is practiced by all staff it
would be possible to achieve a greater degree of productivity and efficiency throughout
the hotel.

Handover

Each hotel will have its own procedure for handing over at the end of the shift. It is usual
to have a quick meeting with the takeover staff and to verbally go through the unfinished
work etc. This ensures that everything is clear and any queries arise can be addressed. A
written record of all of this is in the handover book which is left at reception.

DO:

 Write it down
 Keep a record of any unfinished work
 Record special requests
 Make a note of expected late arrivals and departures
 Pass on urgent and important messages as a priority
 Write down details of special incidents or problems
 Use the handover book at all times
 Check equipment and supplies before you leave
 Tidy up

Don’t

 Rely on verbal messages

 Forget to leave your messages clear, legible and easy to understand
 Leave your work area in a mess