Questions and Answers in Front Office 5 1. What is front office? 2. What is the duty of the bellboy?

3 What are the things to remember when lifting items to bell cart? 4 What do you do when guest losses baggage? 5 When riding an elevator, what are the things to be observe? 6 What is Commercial Accounts? 7 What is 6 oclock policy? Are all guest required to abide by the policy? 8 What other department should have a contact with the front office? 9 What is Availability Board? 10 What is No-Show? 11 What is Over-Booking? Is it a good practice? 12 What is FIT? What is the difference to Walk-In? 13 What is the information needed about the guest by a Reservation Agent? 14 Name at least two popular Management System used by the hotel. What is the purpose of this? 15 What are the two forms of reservation? 16 What is Confirmation Number? 17 Guaranteed Reservation? 18 What is Central Reservation System? 19 Give at least four sources of reservation? 20 What are some of the product knowledge a front office clerk should remember 21 How do you greet guest? 22 What is the standard in answering telephone? 23 Explain the general flow of rooming the guest? 24 What are the roles and description of night audit? 25 What is the function of night audit? Why auditing is usually done by night? 26 How do handle guest complaint? Operate elevator; in form about facilities before leaving; check the luggage to make sure theres nothing left. Is any individual or company that has an existing credit account to the hotel that are allowed on signing privilege. The guest is required to check-in not later than 6 oclock or else the reserved room will be given to the wait-listed client. Housekeeping, F & B, room sales Also called room status bulletin, it indicates room status (usually color-coded) There is a reserved room but the expected guest did not arrive. Accepting more reservation than the actual number of rooms. Foreign Individual Travelers/ Free Independent Travelers.( FIT may have a reservation) Type of room, arrival date, no. of nights, no. of pax, name of the guest, address, contact no. , ETA, settlement of bills, remarks. Fidelio and Opera: for reservation registration, housekeeping and night audit. Manual and computerize A series of no. that is given to the guest during reservation and it is used when theyre going to confirm reservation. There is an agreement that the hotel move to hold the reservation but in return the guest or his sponsor have a deposit. Used by de luxe hotel to connect the reservation process to one another. Telephone, internet, in person, letter, computer Be familiar with service, amenities, & facilities of the hotel, have knowledge about room rate and no. of guest rooms, has a good communication skills. Eye contact and smile Bring the handset inch form the mouth, have pleasing voice personality. Greet the guest, prepare the registration of the guest, settlement of bills, issuing of key, escort guest to their room. Verify daily financial transaction balance, all front office accounts, resolve room status and rate discrepancies; monitor guest credit limit. Posting of charges, summarizing reports like daily summary of cash, check and credit activities. Listen, understand, sympathized, and take action.

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Answers: 1 Front office serves as the nerve center of the hotel. 2 Responsible for escorting the guest during checkin and check-out. Attending to their luggage and doing errands for the front desk. 3 When lifting, bend your knees. When loading items, start from biggest to smallest. Count each piece and handle with care. 4 Apologize. Ask about the identifying features, assist guest to the lost and found section. Call security for investigation. If cannot solve, assist to the manager (if guest is checking-out, ask about the address where would like to send the lost item.

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DOS 1. DO know what you want to achieve Before even thinking about whether you are going to use daily newspapers or lifestyle magazines, leaflets or posters, make sure you set clear and measurable objectives. A good advertising plan cannot exist in isolation irrespective of the budget. A good advertising plan should form part, and follow, a more holistic marketing plan. Advertising objectives cannot replace marketing objectives, but rather assist their achievement. For example, a marketing objective which calls for an increase in market share of 5% would be followed by an advertising objective of increasing level of prompted recall by 10%. Whether the latter objective is being achieved or not can be gauged through proper market research. 2. DO consider the most appropriate media No, not everyone watches TV and just because magazine is distributed in every household, it doesnt follow that the household member you want to communicate with will bother to open it. So make sure that the choice of media is based on a very good understanding of your target audience. Clive Falcon, Director at Informa Consultants, a full-service research agency, warns against spreading your budget across all media, hoping that some of it will strike current or potential customers! A good place to start is by getting into the habit of asking your customers what type of media they consume. For more in depth media consumption behavior, however, you need to consider investing in research reports and services. Clive recommends to have a good look at any local research available which can help you identify which media canbe the most effective fordifferent categories of people. Such research will give you better insight into media trends among potential and existing customers, and enable you to target them more effectively.This way you will be making your budget work harder with much less wastage. 3. DO validate your message Validating your message through facts, figuresand testimonials is a sure-fire way of helpingcustomers get over the inertia associated withtrying a new product or brand. No matter howappealing your message is and how professionalthe layout looks and feel, using real-life tangibleinformation will add credibility to your ad andbrand.Alison Bezzina, a copywriter with over 10 yearsof experience and with heavyweight brandssuch as Carlsberg and Vodafone under her belt warns that rounding up can work against you.When it comes to numbers being specific ismore credible. Make 9,684 in 8 days is by farmore credible than Make 10,000 in 10 days.The latter is just too clean to be true. 4. DO make the best use of headlines Headlines represent the most important andcritical part of any advertising real-estate.Countless research has shown that the headlineis the first thing your audience will look at andfrom there decide whether to read the rest of the message. The headline should not only beeye-catchy, appealing and interesting but alsocontain the most important keywords of yourcore message. What are the benefits of yourproduct? What problems does it solve? Aboveall; keep it short. According to Alison Bezzinayou have no more than 3.2 seconds to get theirattention the rest will be lost in translation. 5. DO pay attention to your environment Check out what your competitors are doing on aregular basis. What media are they using? What is their core message? How much are theyspending? What is their media schedule? What creative concepts are they using to get customers attention? Stop, think and takenotes. Use these as opportunities to learn moreabout your competitors. But why limit yourself to your competitive environment and industry?Go beyond into other product-market areas andthe socio-economic environment. What are themajor concerns of customers at the moment?Does your product or brand address any of these concerns? Are there any noticeabletrends? Use this newly acquired insight as part of your advertising message. Remember that,just like any other marketing tool, advertisingneeds to be fluid and inline with the trends of the moment. After all, youre not simply selling aproduct, youre selling its benefits! 6. DO hire a good agency If its important, its worth spending money on.A good agency will help you identify the most suitable media channels, develop the best creative concept and assist in negotiatingadvantageous rates with the media thanks totheir purchasing power. You can also exploit theexperience they have gained over the years withyour own target audience and productmarket area.David Brockdorff, Managing Director of BPCInternational Limited, counsels to seek professional advice on media planning andbuying. Its terribly easy to misspend preciousresources very quickly so get the best adviceyou can afford, not the cheapest. The increasedeffectiveness of your campaign, will more thancompensate for the additional financialinvestment required. 7. DO make your ads compelling It never stops to amaze me! Open any Sundaypaper and you will see an astounding number of ads selling the same thing in the same waythrough adverts that might as well have beenphotocopied! Unless you have money to wastemake sure that each and every advert, with nodistinction, has a compelling offer to make.Corporate and institutional advertising is fine if youre a large brand with a sizeable marketingbudget, but as a small business you need tomake every ad pay back in spades. Whether itsthe products value for money or its exclusivity,ensure that your message stands out from theclutter by offering

something irresistible. Eachad has to excite, generate interest and clearlystate your unique selling proposition. This isagain confirmed by David Brockdorff, Incompetitive markets, differentiation andemphasising points of difference remain theover-riding priorities for all branded productsand services. 8. DO measure your advertising money As a small business, if there is one rule youshould follow it should be If you cant measureit, dont do it. You simply dont have theresources to waste. And nowhere is this moretrue than in advertising. So do measure thereturn-on-investment of your advertising byincluding tracking elements within the adsthemselves or within your customertouchpoints. These could include measuring thenumber of phonecalls and matching them withyour media schedule, including cut-out couponsor simply asking customers. Franco Aloisio,Senior Manager Communications at GO, firmlybelieves that obtaining feedback on campaigns via recalls, customer touchpoints, market research etc helps to optimise campaigns andunderstand what works and what does not.The often-quoted marketing expression I knowthat half my advertising works I just dont know which half might sound humorous, but it is also, many times, scarily true. Measuring youradvertising effectiveness will help youdetermine which half isnt working and needsyour attention. 9. DO consider partnering with other brands Especially if youre competing with big-budget brands, pooling your resources with a non-competing complimentary brand can yieldtremendous results. This can be done in variousways, such as by investing in joint advertisingcampaigns, distributing each others flyers orsamples in shopping bags, or sharing costs of direct mailings or door drops. The possibilitiesare endless. The critical factor is that thepartnership is not only beneficial for both but also delivers added value to your respectivecustomers. Its not simply about saving money,its about creating synergies. 10. DO be honest and transparent The pressure to deliver business results in theimmediate future can tempt many a businessinto being economical with the full pictureabout its product or terms and conditions. Thisshould be avoided at all costs. Any potentialbenefits that could be derived in the short-termwill more than outweigh the negative long-termimpact on your brand. With each ad youreputting on the line your credibility as a trustedand professional business. Dont ruin in one daywhat took years to build! Once you loose yourcustomers respect and trust, you might not beable to gain it back. 11. DO make it easy for your audience to take action Each ad should contain a clear and easy tofollow call-to-action. What is it that you want your audience to do once they have listened toor seen your advert? Include multiple contact points such as telephone numbers and emailaddresses, business hours, time limits forspecial promotions and sales. DONTS 1. DONT do nothing Especially in these challenging times, if youre asmall business, finding the cash to invest inadvertising can be difficult. When times aretough, the marketing budget tends to be the first victim of any merciless cost-cutting exercise.But doing nothing can be worse. Experience andresearch have both shown us that companieswith the discipline and stamina to continueinvesting in their brands, come out stronger (interms of market share and profitability) from arecession than brands that dont. 2. DONT be too impatient In the words of Joe Scerri, who has over 35years of experience in the advertising industryand is currently Art Director for BPCInternational Limited Yes, sometimes thegreatest ideas come in the shower, but unlessyoure a real hotshot genius you have to burnthe midnight oil like the rest of us. Coming upwith the right creative concept and message istough work. It requires long hours of planning,research, trying out different executions,meetings with designers and your own staff, etc.Furthermore, advertising takes time to work and start showing the desired results. Afrequently asked question is How long do Ihave to wait for my advertising to work? Theanswer depends on various factors including, (i)your share of voice in the market (youradvertising spend vis--vis that of yourcompetition); (ii) the product purchase cycle,for example, in the case of white goodsadvertising will take longer to produce resultssince people dont buy refrigerators everyday,whilst advertising for fast moving consumergoods tends to show results quicker; (iii) thecurrent economic situation and perceived cost,etc.What is important to understand is that advertising is a long-term investment in yourbrands, not an unavoidable short-term expensethat has to be burdened. Treat advertising as aninvestment rather than a cost. 3. DONT make promises you cant keep Test, verify, check and cross-check each andevery single claim you are making in youradvertising. Especially in industries with a highlevel of advertising competitiveness it can betempting to somewhat exaggerate certainproduct benefits or claims. Resist suchtemptations. Instead make sure that all thosethat will be impacted by the campaign (whetherits sales, delivery, production, customerrepresentatives, suppliers, etc) are not only fullyaware of the marketing communications inprogress but are also fully prepared and able tohandle the fulfilment requirements that will begenerated through advertising.Making

promises you cant keep will onlygenerate negative word-of-mouth. The impact on your brand will eclipse whatever shorttermsales results you would have generated. 4. DONT over complicate your message The amount of detail and information that goesinto an advert will depend on the type of product, the level of involvement and the type of media being used amongst others. For example,an ad in a specialised magazine for a car willcarry more technical specs than if the sameproduct is being advertised on a radio station.However, do keep in mind that we are living in asociety that is being ever more populated bycash-rich time-poor consumers. People haveneither the time nor the inclination to gothrough long-winding copywriting. So go for asimple yet effective message, based on yourunique selling proposition, for a high recall andresponse rates.Franco Aloisio, Senior ManagerCommunications for GO, recommends to avoidtechnical jargon and words that are not easilyunderstood unless of course the message istargeted to a specific audience that requiressuch level of detail. In other words make surethat the core message is tailor-made for youraudience. 5. DONT be a copy cat Do something different, creative, original. Just because you cant afford the budgets of yourcompetitors, it does not necessarily follow that your campaigns cant be just as effective. Asconsumers, we are being exposed to literallyhundreds of commercial messages every singleday. To protect ourselves from this overload ourbrains have developed inbuilt mechanisns that allow us to filter most of these messages withthe result that we literally become numb tothem. If you want your message to work, dont copy your competitors - use a completelydifferent and innovative medium, developcreative concepts that allow you to fly over theclutter in the media. And change your executionon a regular basis so you expose your audiencesto fresh messages. Most importantly, make surethat you truly understand your audiencesexpectations, and deliver messages based onsuch knowledge. 6. DONT imitate the big boys Sure, TV ads are sexy and can be particularlycreative, but can also be prohibitively expensivefor a small business. There are still many thingsyou can do however the get the word out.Consider organising community-based andcharity events that generate media and publicinterest, send out educational and informativematerial about your products to the right TVand radio shows, or sponsor small-scale localevents with gifts and prizes. If youre workingon a shoestring budget, consider partneringwith another brand as described in the previousedition. 7. DONT ignore the power of communities Whatever our lifestyle, we base our lives aroundcommunities. We want, and seek, to form part of communities and groups. These can range fromprofessional associations (lawyers, doctors,architects, retail, etc) to social not-for-profit entities (based on hobbies, religious beliefs, etc).As a small business you should considerexploiting the benefits that such communitiesprovide; not only you are reaching large groupswith one execution but you also stand thechance of generating even more positive word-of-mouth about your brand and product, wellbeyond the confines of the group. Participate intheir newsletters or meetings, offer them yourservices for their activities or annual meetings.Just make sure that whatever you are providingnot only fits in well with the communitys beliefsand scope but also provides added-value;finding the best-fitting community can be a challenge, but the rewards will make it worthwhile. 8. DONT put the onus of sales solely on advertising Advertising and marketing communications ingeneral can contribute significantly towardsachieving your sales targets. After all,advertising will remind your customers about your specific offer, the benefits of your brandsand why they should buy from you rather thanfrom the competition. However, depending onthe product, the decision to buy depends onvarious factors such as readiness andwillingness to purchase, disposable income,product purchase cycle, perceived benefits, etc.This means that achieving the desired level of sales depends on much more than youradvertising spend. 9. DONT expect advertising to cure all ills If you are loosing customers because of badservice, an advertising blitz might help youregain sales levels for a short period. But thenew customers will soon be lost to your badservice. Advertising does not solve management problems. You need to get to the root of what iskeeping your organisation from reaching itspotential, rather than use advertising to mask more chronic and serious illnesses. 10. DONT ignore your own advertising real-estate Whether its tent cards on restaurant tablespromoting a particular high-margin wine,delivery vans highlighting a freephone, bannerstands in retail shops reminding customers of special promotions, newsletters invitingrecipients to visit the new web site, everycompany possesses a considerable amount of space that can be used to reinforce its message and the best part is that its free of media costs. 11. DONT loose brand focus Irrelevant of the product or how good the offeris, dont ever, ever, loose brand focus. With eachcommunication you are promoting your brandand building its reputation one ad at a time.According to David Brockdorff, ManagingDirector for BPC International Limited, Yourbrand is one of your most precious assets,whatever business you are in. Whatever thefuture throws at you, youll certainly be in bettershape to handle it with a strong brand at yourdisposal. Furthermore, when

making apurchase decision or scanning an advert,prospective customers will also make certainassociations between the advert and the brand.This makes presentation even more important.According to Rene Rossignaud, a veteranphotographer who has worked on hundreds of advertising shoots for some of the most prominent local brands, When a companyspends time and money on photoshoots it doesnot go unnoticed by prospective customers, whotend to be very quick in concluding that aquality ad means a quality brand. Creative and effective advertising has alwaysbeen and remains synonymous with any successful marketing and sales plan. The level of competition and the increasing sophistication of our customers just make it somewhat harder toachieve. I certainly hope that you will find thesetips useful and easy to follow.