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A successful front office manager requires a perfect mixture of skillful hospitality & tight organizational skills, never settling for less than A +.

I going to show you what you have to do to be a successful front office manager.

Welcome to another edition of Hospitality Property School.

I am your instructor, Gerry MacPherson.

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Introduction

In any hospitality property, first impressions are everything.

The way your front desk staff greets and attends to guests can make or break the image of your property. And just to make things clear, if you operate a small B & B or inn and you are a one-person operation – you are the front office manages.

Like the best leaders, a front office manager, with the right knowledge training, and attitude leads by example and from the front.

If your personality is a perfect mixture of skillful hospitality and tight organizational skills, then working as a front office manager at a hospitality property might be an invigorating and fulfilling career path.

Success as a hospitality property front office manager, as with many other careers, requires constant improvement and self-evaluation. A successful front office manager at a hospitality property should never settle for less than A +.

The duties of hotel front office managers can be wide-ranging. Not only are these managers in charge of seeing that new employees get trained properly, but they’re also in charge of everything from assigning work schedules to handling finances.

No two days of working as a hotel front office manager are exactly the same.

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Here are 15 steps the can help make a successful front office manager?

1. Improve listening skills and then coach others to do the same

We all need to not only hear but listen with better intensity. The front desk is the communication centre of every hospitality property. It is the financial centre for reservations and much of the cash activity at many properties. A front office manager must be able to overseer both guest and staff interaction to ensure proper guest service and procedure. Guide those staff that need it, coach, appropriately and increase the two-way communication cycle.

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2. Work towards customer delight

In any hospitality property, customer service is supreme. The only method that will ensure your guests are satisfied with the service provided by the front desk is if you value your guests.

• Each guest has to be treated professionally and courteously.
• Be sure you have time to hear the tiniest problem and resolve it.
• When you make commitments to customers, – meet them.
• Train your employees to check-in guests quickly and also accelerate the check out as fast as possible.

When you are more focused on the requirements of your guests and are ready to accept both positive and negative feedback, you’ll be able to anticipate their needs and fulfil them.

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3. Make sure you and your staff know everything about the property & services

The most obvious requirement for any successful front office manager is to know all the details about the hospitality property’s product & services.

• Personally inspecting every type of accommodation in your hotel. Learn the differences and potential benefits of each type and how they can be of value to different customers. This tour should be monthly or even weekly to keep you aware of changes in the property and can also help management to be better aware of potential problems.

 

• Maintain your awareness of the property of the whole. This includes parking areas, public areas, access points to the hotel and the all-important curb appeal.

 

• If you have work with an adjacent restaurant or another external service that is part of your offerings, regularly assess their quality and how it affects your guests’ satisfaction.

 

• Effective front office managers take pride in their property and often offer to assist senior management in room inspections or in the sales effort as appropriate.

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Books with Tips & Strategies for Your Hotel, Resort, Inn, Bed and Breakfast

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4. Make sure you know everything about the services and product of those properties that you are competing with 

As in the preceding strategy, effective front office managers know who their competition is, and everything about them. They learn their strengths and weaknesses and plan accordingly as they try to increase market share at the expense of their competitors. It is not the sole responsibility of the “sales” team or general manager to be part of the Upselling effort – successful front office managers embrace the mantra “Everyone Sells.”

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5. Focus on the details

In the hospitality property industry, small things can have a large impact. If you want to be the best front office manager your guests have ever seen, pay close attention to details.

Constantly assess your time management.  The 80-20 rule of priorities and value remains true much of the time.

80% of our profits often come from 20% of the client base. 

The same holds true for problem areas or staff that need attention. The question needs to be not are we doing things “right”, but are we doing the “right” things correctly?

You have to juggle so many things simultaneously and if you are not organized, you won’t be able to prioritize work. If you’re able to organize yourself at work, you’ll be able to focus on each facet of your responsibility efficiently and this will assist you to identify areas of improvement. Then you can develop strategies to improve service, thereby becoming a better front office manager.

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6.     Show Off Your Extroverted Side

People with extroverted personalities often flourish in hospitality property front office manager positions. These jobs require constant interaction not only with staff but also with guests. An upbeat and pleasant attitude is a must for people in this position.

If you’re a front office manager, you want to make guests feel at ease and comfortable when in your presence. You want to make them feel like you’re there for them and that you can answer their questions and take care of any concerns they might have.

Introverts who prefer working alone are often better suited to other fields.

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7. Circulate with employees and guests

An exceptional front office manager makes time to speak with his staff and also guests. Any time you talk to your personnel, you will find out the issues they’re facing in providing good service to guests and then you may come up with solutions to assist them. You should also mix and talk to your guests to help them feel comfortable in your presence to speak out their concerns and ask questions.

If you have direct contact with your employees and guests, you’ll be able to assess situations, handle questions & concerns that staff and guests might have.

The legendary managers are those who know their clients and interact with them regularly. Effective front office managers professionally interact with guests as often as possible.

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8. Hold regular one-on-one sessions with all direct employees in this department, including the night auditor

While the night shift is usually quieter, it still represents 30% of the day and needs to be included in discussions & communication. These sessions should not be formal “reviews” but guideposts to reinforce positive actions or to correct a potentially dangerous course of action. When it becomes apparent that these are honest dialogues, the sessions will actually be anticipated as opportunities to clear the air.

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9. Training must be maintained and increased

There is no excuse today for poorly or untrained front desk staff.  When running high occupancy, many managers claim to be “too busy” to train. When occupancy is flat or declining, cutting ongoing training to “save money” will really cost more as it will drive the good staff to consider leaving and the loyal customers to the competition because it appears you don’t care.

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10. When hiring people, pay attention to the “human” resource role

Recruit and select people wisely. Encourage your General Manager to pay competitively or better and lead in incentives. As Front Office Manager, recognize your team regularly with “thank you’s” and expressions of appreciation.

Retain the champions by whatever it takes to keep them.

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Are these making sense? Let me know by leaving a comment.

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11. Be a team player

Even as a front office manager, you should be capable of being a team player and be able to work with your subordinates and other department heads without letting your ego come in the way. This will help create a team that can take ownership and excels in its work. If your team works skillfully, it reflects on your managerial abilities and skills.

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12. Be proactive

Don’t wait for top management to tell you the way to enhance your department. You’re the front office manager and you ought to have the insight and ability to initiate improvement to get the desired results. Remember, the prosperity of the hotel depends on your as well as your staff’s ability to handle guests and address their concerns. If you’re able to make guests happy without having to be told, you have turned into an exceptional front office manager.

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13. Plan, coordinate and implement revenue management strategies regularly

This is another example of blended learning. Some hospitality properties are fortunate to have a full-time revenue manager working with their property, while other companies sometimes have someone at the owner’s or management company office regularly watch inventories and demand patterns.  The blended learning must come from “people” who recognize trends and cycles and anticipate the necessary steps.

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14. Review your market analysis monthly

It should not just be the sales team or general manager that has an interest in trends or shifts in markets. Understanding your guest’s needs is essential and sharing observations on changing guest preferences, needs or demands should be a critical part of front office monthly management practices.

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15. Be open to improvement

When things are running smoothly, you will get a pat on the back. But if things go are not running smoothly, you should be able to stand up and take responsibility. You need to be able to sit back, analyze the problem and come up with an answer, to ensure that it does not occur again. Do not try and blame your employees or others if things go wrong. Instead, use problems to enhance yourself and your department.

When you are a front office manager, you’re accountable for your guests’ satisfaction and well-being. If your guests are content with your service, they’ll return as well as get the word out about your hospitality property to friends and family. So creating a good impression and ensuring your guests leave the property with positive thoughts needs to be your ultimate goal. If you achieve this goal, you have become an outstanding front office manager.

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16. Focus on Customer Service

Improve guest experience by providing top-notch customer service that increased repeat business; built and maintained long-lasting business relationships. This can be done by providing superior customer service and work quality while demonstrating attention to detail, flexibility and innovation in problem solving.

Generated and implemented an administrative correspondence tracking system, increasing overall improvement and the effectiveness of providing superb customer service while specializing in complaint handling and resolution.

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17. Guest Rooms

Maintain the highest standard of service to the guests, including maintenance and cleanliness for the guest rooms, associated facilities, meeting and banquet spaces and public areas.

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18. Guest Problems

Resolve guest problems quickly, efficiently, and courteously in an efficient and discreet manner.

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In Conclusion

When you’re the front office manager of a hospitality property, a lot of responsibility is in your hands.

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If things go right, you can probably pat yourself on the back. If things go wrong, however, there’s a chance you might have been able to prevent it.

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The answer to being a good hotel front office manager is having the honesty and confidence in being able to admit to yourself that you could have approached something in a more effective manner. If you’re capable of analyzing your actions and figuring out how you could have proceeded differently, then you open yourself up to improvement in the future. If you stubbornly stick to the same routine over and over, you block out an improvement which negatively affects your output as a manager, along with the rest of the property.

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If someone has helpful advice for you on how to be a more efficient and productive worker, you should always be open to hearing it.

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Do you have any interesting stories about being a front office manager?

Leave them in the comments.

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You will have access to this post for six weeks before it gets locked in the “vault” for Hospitality Property School Group members only. When you see that we have something new, don’t mark it “Unread” or file it away in the belief you’ll read it later because you might miss your chance.

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To see all the other valuable material you’d have access to as a member of the Hospitality Property School Group, check out the short video in the episode post-show notes.

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In the next episode, I will talk about the importance of housekeeping.

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That’s it for today’s episode,

Until next time, have a fun day.

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PS. Did you see the latest INNsider Tips? You can find the link in the show notes.

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⇒ TO READ OR LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE ON KEYSTONE HOSPITALITY PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT:

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