PRACTICAL 2

Appraisal of the various sub-sections of the front office with location and
importance.
 LAYOUT OF FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT

www.cuchd.in Campus: Gharuan, Mohali

 LAYOUT OF FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT

www.cuchd.in Campus: Gharuan, Mohali

 SUB SECTION OF THE FRONT OFFICE
1. Main Door – Entry point of guest to hotel.

2. Front Office Manager – Front Office Manager (FOM) is incharge of the front office
department and allocates the available resources (men,machine,materials & money)
of the department to achieve the goals of the department and the organization. The
basic function of the FOM is to directly supervise all the front office personnel.

3. Lobby Manager Desk – It is a separate office or desk for lobby manager in the hotel
lobby from where he / she watch the staff working & their activities. The lobby
manager is a key functionary in the lobby as he represents the management. The
lobby manager is a problem solver and holds the authority to make decisions
regarding guest affairs. He is the head of all uniformed services and coordinates with
the guest relation executive, front office reception and the front office cashier very
closely.

4. GRE Desk – The GRE reports to the front office manager and holds an independent
charge in the lobby. Check the arrivals & departures of the day especially the VIP’s
and plan to be there to receive them or see them off. Welcoming guest as per
procedures set by management. Manage all guest complaints & feedback and take
action appropriately. Maintain guest history cards of regular guests and VIP’s.
 SUB SECTION OF THE FRONT OFFICE
5. Lobby Seating Area – This space is usually used by the incoming and outgoing hotel guest, it
may be in the centre of the lobby area or may be on one side of the hotel lobby. Guest can also
have their tea coffee or small chatting over there.

6. Bell Desk – A section responsible to carry and store guest luggage, familiarize the guest with
their new surroundings and also delivers supplies.

7. Left Luggage Room – Left luggage room is also called as “Luggage storage or Bag Storage”, it
is place where a hotel guest can temporarily store his/her luggage ,so guest not need to carry
luggage unnecessarily.

8. Front Office Cashier – He/She is usually responsible for the collection of payments (cash,debit
card /credit cards) from the guest.

9. Reception – An area where guests are welcomed / received (check-in & check-out) in an
accommodation establishment. Assigning of room, issuing room key and source of continuous
information.

10. Information Desk – As name suggests ,the information desk provide information to guest. In a
small hotel the same function may be performed by the receptionist. The information desk may
be located next to the reception. It maintains resident guest rack ,handling guest room keys,
coordinating guest mails, telegrams, faxes ,courier, parcels. Also responsible for handling guest
messages & paging guests.
 SUB SECTION OF THR FRONT OFFICE

11. Travel Desk – The travel desk takes care of travel arrangements of guests , such as
air-ticketing , railway reservations, sightseeing tours and airport or railway station
pick-up or drop services. The hotel may operate the travel desk or it may be
outsourced to an external travel agency.

12. Concierge – He is the person who knows everything about the city, its sites & events.
Responsible for making reservations for dining in famous restaurants, obtaining
tickets for theatre ,musicals & sporting events. Providing information on cultural and
social events such as photo exhibition, art shows and local places of tourist interest.
Equipped with brochures, pamphlets, maps etc. to support the wide range of
knowledge he has of the hotel services and city highlights.

13. Telephones / Communication Section –It is responsible for answering incoming calls,
directing calls to guest rooms through the switchboard, providing information on
guest services, processing guest wake-up calls, answering inquiries about hotel
facilities and events, coordinating emergency communication.

14. Reservation - The reservation section of the front office department of a hotel is
responsible for receiving and processing reservation queries.
 SUB SECTION OF FRONT OFFICE

15. Safety Deposit Locker –A key concern for the guests is the safety of their belongings
especially cash, jewellery and important documents.

Hotels provide safe deposit lockers for these items. At the time of check-in guests are
advised to keep their valuables in the safe deposit lockers available at the front desk
.Some hotels may also provide in-room safe deposit lockers, depending on the room
category.

These safe deposit lockers have a single key and therefore only the guest can operate
the locker or there can be digital safe lockers which operates with coding.
 OUTCOME

Students will be able to explain layout of front office with its

importance.