Front Office Manager

JOB TITLE: Front Office Manager

REPORTS TO: Assistant General Manager 

SUPERVISES DIRECTLY: All front office personnel including guest reception, concierge, reservations, PBX and bell staffs. 

Purpose for the Position: To assume full responsibility for the management of the day-to-day and long-term hotel guest reception, reservations and telephone service operations, while maintaining established revenue, expense and quality standards. To work with the General Manager to ensure an efficient operation that provides levels of service that consistently exceeds visitor, guest and ownership expectations. 

Essential Responsibilities:

• To ensure that guests are greeted, checked in and allocated rooms promptly and courteously.
• To ensure that check-in procedures are strictly adhered to and that the correct address and charge out details are obtained from each guest.
• To be readily available at all times to deal with problems or complaints.
• To ensure that rooms have been serviced and maintained to the standards established by the Company.
• To ensure maximum room occupancy within agreed overbooking policy.
• To ensure effective liaison between reservations and front office staff with other departments (e.g. housekeeping).
• To ensure that all charges are correctly entered on the guest's bill and that this is up to date at all times.
• To ensure that credit control procedures are strictly adhered to, that no bills exceed the stipulated limit without prior approval and that written confirmation, purchase orders, or order numbers are on file.
• To ensure that accounts are balanced daily.
• To ensure effective and speedy check-out procedures.
• To ensure that luggage is delivered to and collected from rooms speedily.
• To ensure that enquiries, messages, theatre bookings are dealt with courteously and efficiently.
• To ensure that all Front of House staff are correctly dressed at all times.
• To ensure that all Front of House areas are clean and orderly at all times.
• To ensure that newspapers and parcels are delivered to rooms without delay.
• To ensure that incoming and outgoing telephone calls are handled promptly and courteously.
• To ensure maximum security of all items left in safety deposit boxes.
• To carry out systematic checks of all Front of House areas for maintenance requirements, repairs or refurbishing, ensuring that these are acted on without delay.
• To ensure that the Hotel Entrance is easily accessible to cars and taxis at all times.
• To hold regular performance appraisals with all staff, identifying areas for development and training needs and ensuring that this training is affected.
• To carry out or ensure that regular On-the-Job training is taking place to agreed standards.
• To hold regular meetings with all Heads of Department. To ensure that manning levels are correct and these are not exceeded without permission.
• To ensure that the most suitably qualified person is appointed in the event of a vacancy - wherever possible this should be an internal promotion.
• To ensure maximum security in all areas under your control.
• To act as Duty Manager when required.
• To attend Management Meetings as required.
• To ensure accurate and timeliness submission of all reports and administrative work.
• To prepare and submit on the required format annual budgetary information and updates as required.
• To monitor trends within the industry and make suggestions how these could be implemented.
• To be familiar with all local Civil Defence measures.
• To ensure that staff under your control are trained in Civil Defence measures.

To do this kind of work, you must be able to:

• Read and interpret business records and statistical reports.
• Use mathematical skills to interpret financial information and prepare budgets.
• Analyze and interpret established policies.
• Understand government regulations covering business operation.
• Make business decisions based on production reports and similar facts as well as on your own experience and personal opinions.
• See differences in widths and lengths of lines such as those on graphs.
• Deal with the general public, customers, associates, union and government officials with tact and courtesy.
• Plan and organize the work of others.
• Change activity frequently and cope with interruptions.
• Speak and write clearly.
• Accept full responsibility for managing an activity.
• Complete all assigned tasks, reports, projects etc. in a professional manner and on an on-time basis.
• Be available for work evenings, weekends and holidays. 

Physical Demands: Lifting 20 lbs. Maximum with frequent lifting and/or carrying of objects weighing up to 10 lbs. Requires walking or standing to a significant degree, reaching, handling, feeling, talking, hearing. 

Environmental Conditions: Inside: Protection from weather conditions but not necessarily from temperature changes. A job is considered “inside” if the worker spends approximately 75% or more of the time inside. 

Math Skills: Requires mathematical development sufficient to be able to: Deal with system of real numbers; algebraic solution of equations; and probability and statistical inference. Apply fractions, percentages, ratio and proportion. 

Language Skills: Must have developed language skills to the point to be able to: Read newspapers, periodicals, journals, and manuals. Write business letters, summaries and reports using prescribed format and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction and style. Participate in discussions and debates. Speak extemporaneously on a variety of subjects. 

Relationships to Data, People and Things:

Data: Coordinating: Determining time, place, and sequence of operations or action to be taken on the basis of analysis of data; executing determination and/or reporting on events. 

People: Supervising: Determining or interpreting work procedures for a group of workers, assigning specific duties to them, maintaining harmonious relations among them and promoting efficiency. A variety of responsibilities are involved in this function. 

Things: Handling: Using body members, hand tools, and/or special devices to work, move, or carry objects or materials. Involves little or no latitude for judgment with regard to attainment of standards or in selecting appropriate tools, objects or materials.