Understanding Masalas for F.Y B.Sc
Remember the last time you had a great biryani, chicken tikka or paneer makhani, what was it that made the experience so mouth watering!
Was it the masala?
Every kitchen commercial or household generally has a “hatri” or masala trolley to store different masalas; this is an integral part of creating that particular cuisine.
Spices can be divided according to the following classification
Spices
Dry Ground
Single Blends Single Blends
Spices can be the seed(Cumin),Flower(Clove),Resin (Asafetida),Leaf(Mint),Bark(Cinnamon),Root(Turmeric),Fruit(Amchoor),Stigma(Saffron) etc. coming from plant sources. Other not so common categories include mineral salts like black salt, Fungus (Dagad Phool or patthar ka phool).
Some other flavorings apart from Spices but equally important can be. Acids (Nimboo ka sat or Citric Acid), Oils (Sesame oil, Mustard Oil), Essences like (Kewra or Screw pine/Rose).
Masala can be defined a blend of various ingredients including spices. It generally contains spices (e.g. coriander powder, chili powder) +Thickening agents (e.g. Khus khus, cashew paste etc.)+acidic medium (tomato, yoghurt etc.)+liquid (coconut milk, stock etc.) .Some ingredients play more than one role like tamarind gives sourness and also acts as the liquid)
The Following chart has information regarding individual Spices.
The next Step is to understand Spice blends, these blends can be dry/dry roasted/crushed/fresh/ground etc. Every chef/Cook/Household/Proprietor has their own approach to these blends, these blends are highly guarded secrets in some cases .some blends are preparation specific Like Chana Masala, Mutton Masala, and Gram Masala. Some blends are cuisine /region/community specific like Malwani Masala, Chettinad Masala, Goda Masala, Parsi dhansak masala etc.
RICE
Rice is the seed of a monocot plant Oryza sativa. As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East, South, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the West Indies. It is the grain with the second highest worldwide production, after maize ("corn").
[1] Since a large portion of maize crops are grown for purposes other than human consumption, rice is probably the most important grain with regards to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.
[2]A traditional food plant in Africa, rice has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable land care.
[3]Rice is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a crop for up to 30 years.
[4]The rice plant can grow to 1–1.8 m tall, occasionally more depending on the variety and soil fertility. The grass has long, slender leaves 50–100 cm long and 2–2.5 cm broad. The small wind-pollinated flowers are produced in a branched arching to pendulous inflorescence 30–50 cm long. The edible seed is a grain (caryopsis) 5–12 mm long and 2–3 mm thick.
Types of Rice.
1. Paddy Rice - Rice still in its original state with no further
Treatment after threshing.
2. Brown Rice - (Husked Rice) Rice with the outer husk
Removed having a characteristic beige color.
3. White Rice - Brown rice from which all the germ is
Removed by passing through machines that rasp the grain. It is also called unpolished rice.
4. Polished Rice - White rice that has been passed through
Machines that remove any flour still adhering to the grain.
5. Glaze Rice - Polished rice covered with a fine layer of
French chalk and suspended in glucose,
Specially processed to give a shine.
6. Steamed Rice - Paddy rice that is cleaned, soaked in hot
Water, steamed at low pressure, de-husked & blanched.
7. Pre-cooked Rice - Rice that has been husked, soaked, boiled for
1 – 3 minutes. And dried at a high temperature.
8. Camolino Rice - Polished and lightly coated with oil.
9. Puffed Rice - In India it is roasted and fried on hot sand.
10. Wild Rice - The seed of an aquatic grass, related to the
Rice plant, it grows one by one up the stalks and resembles little black sticks. It is very expensive.
11. Basmati Rice - Indian rice with long grains, with a
Distinctive flavor. Old basmati rice is the most prized and is rarely available.
12. Sticky Rice - Round grain rice which has a very high starch
Content. Rarely available, it is most ideal for Chinese cooking.
13. Rice Flakes - Rice that is steamed, husked & flattened into
Flakes, it is eaten for breakfast with milk & sugar.
Or as a savory preparation (poha)
Rice is also used to make a variety of alcoholic drinks. :-
CHOUM - In Vietnam
SAMAV - In Malaysia
SAKE - In Japan
CHAO XING - In China
Nutrition: Rice has a very high Calorific value (350 cal, per 100 g. in whole rice & 120 cal. Per 100 g. in balanced rice). It is very rich in digestible starch (77 %) and also in vitamins B1, B2 and minerals.
Cooking of Rice
A) In Water:
1. Rice is put into the vessel with twice the amount of water, brought to a boil, and cooked till the water is absorbed.
2. Alternatively it can be poured into a vessel of boiling water, brought to a boil, cooked and drained off.
B) In Stock -In this method the rice is lightly fried in hot oil and stock is added to it. It is then cooked till the Rice is soft and all the stock has been absorbed.
C) In Milk : Rice is normally cooked in milk for making desserts. Short
Grained rice is ideal for this type of cooking because the
Grains stick together thus giving thickening properties to
The dish.
PULSES /LEGUMES/BEANS
A pulse is an annual leguminous crop yielding from one to twelve grains or seeds of variable size, shape, and color within a pod. Pulses are used for food and animal feed. The term "pulse", as used by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), is reserved for crops harvested solely for the dry grain. This excludes green beans and green peas, which are considered vegetable crops. Also excluded are crops that are mainly grown for oil extraction (oilseeds like soybeans and peanuts), and crops which are used exclusively for sowing (clovers, alfalfa). However, many of the varieties so classified and given below are also used as vegetables, with their beans in pods while young cooked in whole cuisines and sold for the purpose; for example black eyed beans, lima beans and Toor or pigeon peas are thus eaten as fresh green beans cooked as part of a meal. Pulses are important food crops due to their high protein and essential amino acid content. Like many leguminous crops, pulses play a key role in crop rotation due to their ability to fix nitrogen.
Protein content
Pulses are 20 to 25% protein by weight, which is double the protein content of wheat and three times that of rice. For this reason, pulses are called "vegetarian's meat". While pulses are generally high in protein, and the digestibility of that protein is also high, they often are relatively poor in the essential amino acid methionine, although Indian cuisine includes sesame seeds, which contain high levels of methionine. Grains (which are they deficient in lysine) are commonly consumed along with pulses to form a complete protein diet.
Health
Pulses have significant nutritional and health advantages for consumers
[1] They are the most important dietary predictor of survival in older people of different ethnicities
[2] And in the Seven Countries Study, legume consumption was highly correlated with a reduced mortality from coronary heart disease.
Examples
1. Dry beans
* Kidney bean, haricot bean, pinto bean, navy bean
* Lima bean, butter bean
* Azuki bean, adzuki bean
* Mung bean, golden gram, green gram
* Black gram, Urad
* Scarlet runner bean
* Ricebean
* Moth bean
* Tepary bean
2. Dry broad beans
* Horse bean
* Broad bean
* Field bean
3. Dry peas
* Garden pea
* Protein pea
4. Chickpea, Garbanzo, Bengal gram
5. Dry cowpea, Black-eyed pea, blackeye bean
6. Pigeon pea, Arhar /Toor, cajan pea, congo bean
7. Lentil
8. Bambara groundnut, earth pea
9. Vetch, common vetch
10. Lupins
11. Minor pulses include:
* Lablab, hyacinth bean
* Jack bean , sword bean
* Winged bean
* Velvet bean, cowitch
* Yam bean
Sprouts
Edible Sprouts are germinated plant seeds which are edible. They are usually produced by soaking the seeds at regular intervals over a 1-4 day interval. Sprouts are believed to be highly nutritious and rich in enzymes which promote good health.
Convenience: - They can be easily grown anywhere.
Offers a variation: - With their nutty flavor and crisp texture. Sprouts are simply a nice change from vegetable.
Cooking of Pulses and legumes. : Since pulses and legumes are very low in moisture content they have to be soaked in water. It’s advisable to soak pulses and boil them in the same water in which soaked as some nutrients may have bleached out to water.
Besides boiling pulses are roasted, fried and ground to make flour and then be used for various purposes.
Uses of Pulses
1. As dals - the basic course of Indian cookery.
2. As soups - e.g. Mulligatawny
3. Providing mutual supplementation of amino acids in Khicdi
4. As flour in missi roti, Besani roti.
5. As basic ingredient for idlis, uttapas and chillas.
6. As base ingredient or coating as in pakodas, wadas of various kinds.
7. As base for desserts like laddoos, mobanthal, payasam, Boondi.
8. As snacks like fried dal, sev, ganthias
9. Base ingredients for papads.
10. As stuffing as in dal kachories, puran polies, stuffed tikkis.
11. In chats and sprouted salads.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
hk - management&planning, guest room inspections, environment awareness in hotel industry, daily routine of hk dept, communication system in hk, work order.
House-Keeping Management and Planning
Example of productive standard worksheet:
Total Shift Time = 9 hrs X 60 mins = 540 mins.
Beginning of Morning Shift = 20 mins
Tea Break = 10 mins
Lunch = 30 mins
Evening Tea Break = 10 mins
End of Morning Shift = 20 mins
(handover)
Therefore., the room attendant is there for 450 mins in guest room (540-90).Therefore, mins & each room takes 30 mins to clean. Therefore, the attendant can clean 15 rooms in 450 mins.
(Turndown service) + Cleaning = (7-8 mins actually,10 mins/room)
450/10 =45 rooms/employee
Each employees cleans 45 rooms
5 mins – bed
10-15 mins – rack & carpet
10 mins – bathroom
Planning is probably the Executive Housekeepers most important management function. Without proper planning each day may present one prices after other. Since the Housekeeping is responsible for cleaning & maintaining so many different areas of the hotel. Planning should be undertaken in a systematic manner in order to obtain set objectives. Certain documents are essential & they are:
#Area Inventory List (AIL) : Planning the work of the Housekeeping Department begins with creating an inventory list of all items within each area that will need Housekeeping attention . Since most properties offered several different types of guestrooms, separate inventory list may be needed for guest room type . When preparing the guestroom ‘AIL’, it is a good idea to follow the same system that room attendant will use as their sequence of cleaning task & that supervisor will use in the course of their inspection.
Eg. Area within a guestroom may appear on an inventory list as they are found from right to left & from top to bottom around the room.
#Frequency Schedule : It indicates how often items on inventory list are to be cleaned. Items that must be cleaned on a daily or weekly basis become a part of a routine cleaning cycle and are incorporated into standard work procedures. Other items which must be cleaned, monthly or less frequently are inspected on a daily basis but they become part of a spring cleaning programme & are scheduled special cleaning projects.
#Performance Standard : They are required levels of performance that establish the quality of work that must be done according to the expectations of the property. The key to consistency in service is the performance standards which the Executive Housekeeper develops, daily inspections & periodic performance. Evaluation should follow up with specific on the job coaching & re-training. This ensures that all employees are consistently performing their tasks in the most efficient & effective manner.
# Productivity standards : (Refer previous example) It determines the quality of work to be done by department employees. Productivity standards must be determined in order to staff the department within the limitation with the hotel operating budget plans. Housekeeping Managers must know how long it should take a room attendant to perform the major cleaning tasks identified on the cleaning frequency schedules such as guestroom cleaning. Once this information is known, productivity standards can be developed, performance & productivity standard should be carefully balanced. If the quality expectation are set too high, the quantity of work that could be done may be low.
#Recycled & non recycled inventories: The Executive Housekeeper is responsible for 2 types of inventories. 1) Recycled inventory : It includes linen equipments & some guest supplies like extra bed, iron ,etc. The no. of recycled items that must be on hand to ensure smooth operations is expressed as a ‘PAR’. It refers to the standard number of items that must be on hand to support daily routine housekeeping operations eg. One par of linen is the total number of items needed to outfit all the hotel guestrooms once. Most sister hotels would on a ‘four-par’ of guest rooms linen (guestroom, floor pantry, laundry & linen). 2) Non-recycled inventory : They include cleaning supplies, guestroom supplies, guest-amenities like toothbrush, hair-conditioner,etc. They are used up during routine activities of the housekeeping department. A purchasing ordering for non recycled inventory items established a ‘par’ no. based on 2 figures i.e Maximum & minimum quantities.Tge minimum quantity is the least amount at which reordering is done taking into consideration the lead time (it is time taken by the supplier to convey goods from the time the order is placed).The maximum quantity is the amount ordered.
Guest room Inspectitions
Guest room inspection.
1. Bedroom:
i. Procedure.
Check guest room entrance door.
Note any scratch marks, sumdy or dirt/dust on surface.
Check for ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign on inside knob of the door.
Check proper operation of locks, chains and door stops.
ii. Check condition and cleanliness of light switches and surrounding wall area.
iii. Scan ceiling, walls, woodwork for any damage, dirt/dust.
iv. Check curtains for stains, check that hooks are in place and the rods work correctly.
v. Check window sills window for cleanliness, make sure windows are locked and that locks work properly.
vi. Make sure heating and air-conditioning unit is free from dirt and dust, operates correctly and the temperature is set according to property standards.
vii. Make sure telephone is clean and works properly.
viii. Check the bed
Make sure that the bed has fresh lineu.
Check condition of the bed spread and check the edges of the bed.
Look under the bed for trash or guest item.
Check head board for the dust.
ix. Check room furniture for scratches damage and dust check upholstery for stains.
x. Check lamps for starches and dust. Make sure light bulbs are of proper voltage.
xi. Turn –on television set to check for proper operation, turn-off and check for scratches , damage and dust.
xii. Check carpets and bade oafs or skirting boards for dirt, stain and dust.
xiii. Check that wardrobes are clean and have the proper anonym of hangers.
xiv. Check pictures and mirrors for dust,
xv. Check that bedroom amenities such as stationary and match-boxes are properly stacked.
xvi. Make a final check around the room to make sure that all items are well positioned and that all areas ceiling to the floor are cleaned and well maintained.
xvii. Complete a work order request and/or notifying the appropriated department for any item needing attention or repair.
BATHROOM
Procedure
i. Check bathroom door for scratches, marks or dust in the surface
ii. Check condition and cleanliness of light switches and surrounding wall area.
iii. Scan ceiling, walls and tiles for any damage, dirt and dust.
iv. Check shower area check tub and fixtures for watermarks, soap films and hair.
v. Check fixtures for correct position and operation.
Make sure bath not is in place.
vi. Inspect vanity and sink area
Check sink and counter area for watermarks, soap film and hair.
Check mirror for spots.
vii. Check toilet for cleanliness, flush to check for proper operation.
viii. Check floor and base board for dirt and dust.
ix. Make sure that towels are neat and cleanly arranged on towels racks.
x. Check toilet and facial issue and supply.
xi. Check that bathroom amenities such as soap, shampoo and mouth wash are properly stacked.
xii. Make a final check of bathroom to make sure all items are well positioned and that all areas from ceiling to floor are clean
xiii. Complete the work order request and/or notify the appropriate dept. for any item needing attention or repair.
ENVIRONMENT AWARENESS IN THE HOPITALITY INDUSTRY
The IHEI (International hotel Environmental Initiative) was founded in 1992 by 10 multinational hotel groups. The main objective was to :-
1. Raise environmental awareness in the hotel industry
2. Development of hotels specific to environmental information enabling hotels of all sizes to implement environmental programs
3. Promote the hotel sector to position itself as a leader in sustainable development within the tourism industry.
The 3 major basic principles of environmental conservation are –
1. Reduce: use less resource – leads to immediate cost savings.
2. Reuse: eg – laundry bags, washable napkins, rechargeable batteries
3. Recycle: eg – papers, bottles etc.
Following eco-friendly products can be used in hotels –
• Civil Work:
1. QED wall panels(Quite Easily Done) – It is used for internal partitions. Material is 4 inches thick per block and is made from fertilizer waste – terulite and vermin proof and is fire resistant.
2. Siporex – Used for external walls. It is completely inorganic, totally incombustible and offers twice the fire protection of concrete. As strong as R.C.C. but 1/4th its weight. Saves 30-40% cement and 35-50% steel compared to ordinary R.C.C.
3. Key Stone Kool Desk – Used around the swimming pool – a concrete desk surfacing material which lowers surface temperature and is completely non – skid.
• Plumbing:
1. Aerators/Flow Restrictors: Used in all taps and showers which will reduce water usage by restricting water flow
2. Sewage treatment plant: The waste water is treated and recycled for use in air-conditioning and gardening purposes.
3. Stockosorb Super Absorbent Polymer: Used for landscaping and gardening purposes. Specifically designed to improve the capability of soil to hold water and plant nutrient. It reduces the amount, frequency of watering required – it is non-toxic, environmentally safe and does not contaminate plants, soil and groundwater.
4. The Geberit Concealed Cistern for W.C.: it has a unique water-saving system which uses 6 lit of waters per flush(the conventional flush uses approx 15-20 lit of water).
5. Geberit Urinal Flush Valve: it ensures a definite flushing after every use as it is activated by infra-red sensor(the time set flushing system works irrespective of usage or not leading to water wastage)
Green Guest Rooms
1. Rubber wood: Processed and upgraded recycled wood – used for furniture and window frames
2. Nuwud MDF(Medium Density Fibrewood): Used for interior made from recycled waste wood.
3. Hangers: made from pressed particle board.
4. Eco-Directory: placed in a guest room, making the guest aware of the hotel’s environment awareness programs, it is energy saving program and how the guest can preserve the environment. Eco-tips and eco facts are also provided.
5. Hotel uses herbal products for guest amenities and soaps, shampoos, moisturizers etc.
6. Cloth laundry bags are used and newspapers are delivered in cane baskets
7. A Control Panel – known as green button is installed on the bedside table. The thermostat of the AC unit is stepped up by 20% saving in electricity. This is translated in rupee terms and displayed on the guest folio and profile
8. Eco Harvest: Basket containing of herbal pillow placed under the pillow to give sound sleep. Two aromatic oils and a bunch of neem sticks and 5 herbs.
9. Pen/Pencil: Eco-pens are made using recycled cardboard, reprocessed plastic and scrap wood.
10. Stationery: made from hand-made paper or recycled paper.
11. Eco-friendly slippers used in guest-rooms made from natural materials like jute.
12. Recycled Bin: placed in guest rooms with a sticker for guest use.
13. Guest Bathrooms: Glasses are placed upside-down – avoiding the use of plastic wrappers. Guests are requested in occupied rooms to reuse the towels. Soap dispensers are used near wash basins. The toilets have an option of water spray or toilet paper mae from recycled fibre upto 69%.
14. Photo Electric Controls for Lighting: These are sensitive to natural daylight and suitable for entrance light and corridor light as soon as daylight is adequate.
15. Heat pumps: the heat generated from AC can be used to heat the water used in kitchen and laundry.
16. Paints: the paints for the exterior of the hotel is water based paint with negligible V.O.C (volatile organic compound) contant of only 0.125% and the paint used for interiors has zero VOC content. If the VOC content of the paint is high it emits fumes which are harmful to the environment.
17. Cut flowers v/s potted flowers: rooms should have natural plants, with use of cut flowers to a minimum for few flower arrangement put in public area only.
DAILY ROUTINE OF HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT AND ROLE OF THE FLOOR SUPERVISOR
There are generally 3 shifts in HK dept.:
1) Morning Shift(7am-4 am):In the morning shift, the major cleaning of all guest rooms is done and general cleaning of public areas.
2) Afternoon Shift(1pm-10pm)/(3pm-12am):Turn down service is given to guest rooms, second service if required, departure room clearance is done by the second shift and public area functional areas are checked.
3) Night Shift (10pm-7am):Thorough cleaning of public areas is carried out.
THE ROLE OF THE FLOOR SUPERVISOR
The floor supervisors have an overall responsibility for the floors allotted to them. They are responsible not only for maintaining hygiene and cleanliness but also responsible for work force like GRA and houseman for their work and overall behavior. While working they also deal with guest complaints and requests demonstrating the following qualities:
1. Patience
2. Diplomacy
3. Presence of mind
4. Eye for details
5. Honesty
They should be prompt enough to attend to these in such a way that there is quick and effective solution. At the same time they carry out the task of training their subordinates in various standards of work. Also they train and brief the GRAs and houseman about use of various equipments and cleaning agents, safety and security, inculcate qualities like punctuality, etiquettes and manners while dealing with the guest. It is a job of middle management personnel. They report to their senior authority i.e. assistant housekeeper floor, deputy housekeeper.
Each floor supervisor is usually responsible for 50-60 rooms. Thus he/she is responsible for 1 or a maximum of 3 floors.
The staff enters the hotel premises through the time office in order to punch in their time cards. Each floor supervisor then collects the room status information sent by the front office to the house keeping. It states the early morning expected arrivals and departures of the day, group check ins/ check outs of the day, VIP inhouse guests. Any special request for extra bed, baby cots etc should be noted. Any supplies due to be returned from the check out rooms that day should be noted. The floor supervisor also finds out about the GRA working under her, goes through the duty roster. She checks the logbook for various messages regarding her floor. At the end she signs the key register, proceeds to the floor taking the necessary floor keys.
On the floor, the floor supervisor also helps to keep a check on the movement of the staff working under her. She checks the uniform of the room attendants, briefs them on the special cleaning tasks of the day and gives them the complementaries and supplies required for the guestroom. It is noted in the housekeeper day book or staff placement register. The book serves as an attendance register and is kept with the desk supervisor to help him/her to page the staff if required for any reason. Depending on the allocation of the section, pass keys(section/floor master keys) are collected and signed in the register. The room assignment sheet is given to the room attendant who is expected to fill while cleaning the room. The floor supervisor then records the first room occupancy at about 8:30 am. This also gives her an opportunity to check the corridors, elevator areas, fire exits and service area. It is also simultaneously recorded in the floor register.The physical occupancy report is submitted to the desk housekeeper who in turn prepares room status reports and passes the same to the front office for the necessary action.
While taking the occupancy , the floor supervisor checks the rooms taking the physical check of each room on a floor.She checks the occupied room for the number of guest present in the room.If the supervisor does not see any guest then the number of beds being used, clothes of the guest, sizes of shoes, number of toothbrushes are taken as indicators to decide number of guest present in the room. Additional information like sleep outs ,scanty baggage, guests who have packed their bags and relevant room number which does not feature in the expected departure list is also highlighted so that the front office can check with the guest if he is planning to cut down stay. A discrepancy report is made by the front office staff and is handed over to the senor authorities for execution of necessary action. The floor supervisor in big hotels has to check the room at least once every day. This report is made thrice a day, one in the morning at 8:30am,12:pm and one in the afternoon before 4:00pm.The room occupancy report is made in triplicate, one copy is given to the front office cashier, second copy to the reception and the third copy is retained with the housekeeping for their reference. The room occupancy report is then cross checked and compared with the front office department and the discrepancy report is made by the front office. The duty manager is informed accordingly for the necessary action.
Computerized status system: the problem in reporting housekeeping status to the front office can be eliminated when the computer system is directly connected to guestroom telephone with such a network that a floor supervisor can inspect guestrooms. Determine their readiness for sale and then enter a designated code on the room telephone to change the room status in the hotel’s computer system. This procedure can reduce not only number of guest forced to wait for the room assignment but also decreases the length of their wait.
FORMAT OF ROOM OCCUPANCY/STATUS REPORT
Room Occupancy Report
1st Floor
2nd Floor
Room no.
Code/Status
No. of guests
Room no.
Code/Status
No. of guests
101
Dep.
-
201
DL
-
102
V
-
202
O,SB
2
103
O
2+1
203
O,SO
_____________Signature of the desk housekeeper
The desired results of an established cleaning system are best achieved only when a guest room inspection is done. This serves the purpose of rectifying any problems that may have been previously overlooked during cleaning, before the guest notices. Room inspection not only helps to identify ordinary problems with cleaning but also helps to identify areas requiring special cleaning or maintenance.
An Inspection programme can be done in various forms. In some properties especially in smaller properties, occupied rooms are spot checked while the departure rooms are definitely checked daily.
Each floor supervisor is usually responsible for a certain number of rooms (45-60) and must be aware of the current status of each room that is assigned to her/him. The room is checked to ensure :
1) Correct standard of cleanliness has been maintained.
2) For any technical repairs(if any)
3) Correct room complementaries and adequate guest supplies have been provided.
A room inspection report or a check list should be completed by the floor supervisor who notes down the condition and proper operations of various fixtures of the room. It is also simultaneously recorded in the floor register so that a continuous record is maintained. An inspection programme is not effective if no follow up is given to an identified problem. Depending on the hotel procedures the floor supervisor is responsible for filling out work orders or maintenance request that are needed. The work order or job order is made in triplicate. Two copies (the original and the duplicate) are given to the maintenance engineer. The third remaining copy remains with the housekeeping department. The maintenance engineer hands over both the copies to the concerned technician who is required to attend to the complaint. The technician goes to the respective floor and asks the floor supervisor or GRA to open the concerned room. He then attends to the complaint and signs on both the work orders, writes the time and date against work completed. He takes acknowledgement from the floor supervisor. He hands over the original copy to the housekeeping department and the duplicate copy to the maintenance department. The copy given to the floor supervisor is then given to the desk housekeeper who files it in the work order files. At the end of the day a report is made by the desk housekeeper about complaints attended to in the day, that are to be followed up the next day, major maintenance complaints that can be attended to only by taking the rooms on O-O-O status. Thus the original copy is retained by the maintenance department for its future reference.
Inspection Programme Technology: (Guest Room Inspection)
A barcode is a group of printed bars, spaces and numerals that appear on the packaging of every retail item. These codes are to be scanned and read into a computer system. Each guest room is identified with a barcode tag. The tag is placed in a secret spot such as behind the door frame. The floor supervisor is given a barcode scanner and a set of carde that will feature condition of each item that needs to be inspected, attended or repaired. On entering the room, the supervisor scans the barcode tag this will now record the room number, time and date in the scanner. The condition of each inspected item is noted by scanning the proper barcode. Depending on the programme and the property’s needs, the information can be presented in a summary or report format with an overview of the condition of each inspected items.
Room Inspection Report/Checklist
Date:20/12/04
Room boy: James Bond Floor : 7
Dep #s : 701,702, 705.
Vac #s :703, 706, 707.
Occ #s : 704.
VIP #s: 706
Room no:
Status
Extra item provided
Electrical
Carpentry
Plumbing
Polishing
Carpet Cleaning
707
V
A.C. not working
ü
704
O
Extra bed
ü
701
Dep
ü
___________ Signature of Supervisor
Discrepancy Report: (made by front office)
Discrepancy Report
Date:13/12/2009 Time:15:45
Room no.
Status as per Front Office
Status as per Housekeeping
Action taken
101
O
O,SB
Informed D.M(duty manager) and security
102
C/O
VNR
-
Guest Room Inspection:
A supervisor has to check all the rooms on his/her floor, including all vacant room, departure room, expected arrival, VIP arrival, group arrival, blocked rooms and under repair rooms both out of service and out of order. After the end of the shift the floor supervisor has to take hand over from the GRA and make the entry in the floor register. The supervisor has to make the entry of all the DND, R/S, L/S on the floor.
The supervisor has to take the handover of lost and found from the GRA for the day. Before coming to the department the supervisor has to check the floor pantry, guest elevator, and service elevator, back-area of the floor, all fire exit and corridor. The supervisor has to check the floor pantry and has to take the count of all the items in the pantry like all loan item (iron board, hot water bag, water flask, weighing machine, etc) and make an entry in the floor register. After that the supervisor has to fill the log book kept in the department. The supervisor has to make an entry of all the rooms checked by him for the day. The supervisor has to fill the key register, hand over register. The supervisor has to hand-over the lost and found and keys to the desk attendant/supervisor before leaving for the day.
While dealing with the guest the floor supervisor comes across various complaints made by guests during their stay. The nature of these complaints is:
1) Technical / mechanical complaints: these are various complaints which include maintenance related problems eg AC not working, the job of the supervisor is not only to pass on these complaints but also to get them attended as early as possible.
2) Service related complaints: they are complaints related to inefficient working or cleanliness standards of the GRA. She briefs the GRA accordingly and attends to the complaint as soon as possible.
3) Attitude related problems: these imply problems regarding the behavior of the GRA which may require counseling ,
4) Unusual complaints: these imply undue demands made by the guest and also bad guest behavior.
5) Complaints like missing items from the room after the room is cleaned by the GRA which calls for alertness, investigation and involvement of seniors.
Communication System Used In Housekeeping Department
1. Telephone: Most common mode of communication in the hotel.
Advantages:
a) Quick contacts
b) Tow-way communication but can not be used for formal communication as there is no proof of what what has been said.
c) No extra labour.
Disadvanages: Distributing to the guest when used on guest floors or public area.
2. Written Memo:
Advantages: Used for formal communication as a proof is available of the document sent.
Disadvantages:
a) Time consuming as it may have to go through several channels before it reaches the concerned person.
b) One-way communication hence no clarification is possible.
c) Space required for stoppage of documents.
3. Pagers: Each pager has a particular number which is activated either by the telephone operator or the main office of the concerned person . When activated, it makes the sound ,the person inactivates the sound & contact the telephone number displayed on the screen.
4. Electronic room status indicator: There are two terminals, one at reception and other at the house-keeping. It works on a system of lights ; against each room number. There are three lights which signifies -
a) Green light – vacant room.
b) Red light – departure room.
c) white light – occupied room.
The reception can change the lights according to the occupancy of the rooms.
For the house-keeping office, number of lights can be changed. One can only view the status of the rooms at a glance. After the departure room has been cleaned,the room attendant inserts the sub-section is an master key into a key provided ,this changes the red light to a flashing light which is an indication that the floor supervisor has to check the room and then clear it to the reception.
5.Computer system: A terminal can be installed in the house - keeping office which is linked to a terminal like reception and the main computer in the control room. The reception can change from vacant to occupied. Front office cashier can change the status of rooms from occupied to departure and the house-keeping can change from departure to vacant.If the hotel has POS(point of sale). The individual outlets would be able to update the guest folios whenever they avail of credit facilities from their outlets. Any correction of billing would have to be made by front office cashier only.
Additional notes on work order
The floor supervisor informs the desk h/k about the maintenance jobs to be attended to which the desk h/k writes in the maintenance register and makes a work order in triplicate. The original copy is kept in the maintenance file with the desk house keeper and the other two go to the maintenance department. The maintenance engg, gives both these copies to the technician who is required to attend to this complaint. The technician proceeds to the respective floor and informs the GRA and opens the room & both the copies of work order are signed. After the work is done, the technician fills up the date and time against the work completed. One of these copies is given to the GRA/supervisor which is filed into maintenance report file. The other copy goes to the maintenance dept. for reference.
AT YOUR SERVICE DESK:
Nowadays, there is a new trend of At Your Service Desk(AYS) which caters to various guest requests and complaints e.g. second service, AC not working, movie tickets, etc.
Note Imp. Points:
Room occupancy report is prepared by floor supervisor whereas Room Status report is prepared by Desk housekeeper
Refer to notes for all Forms and Formats
Front of the house functional areas of hotel: Are areas in which the employees have extensive guest contact like FnB facilities and the front office
Back of the house functional areas of hotel in which employees have little or no guest contact such as engg. and maintenanence dept., laundry and so on.
Example of productive standard worksheet:
Total Shift Time = 9 hrs X 60 mins = 540 mins.
Beginning of Morning Shift = 20 mins
Tea Break = 10 mins
Lunch = 30 mins
Evening Tea Break = 10 mins
End of Morning Shift = 20 mins
(handover)
Therefore., the room attendant is there for 450 mins in guest room (540-90).Therefore, mins & each room takes 30 mins to clean. Therefore, the attendant can clean 15 rooms in 450 mins.
(Turndown service) + Cleaning = (7-8 mins actually,10 mins/room)
450/10 =45 rooms/employee
Each employees cleans 45 rooms
5 mins – bed
10-15 mins – rack & carpet
10 mins – bathroom
Planning is probably the Executive Housekeepers most important management function. Without proper planning each day may present one prices after other. Since the Housekeeping is responsible for cleaning & maintaining so many different areas of the hotel. Planning should be undertaken in a systematic manner in order to obtain set objectives. Certain documents are essential & they are:
#Area Inventory List (AIL) : Planning the work of the Housekeeping Department begins with creating an inventory list of all items within each area that will need Housekeeping attention . Since most properties offered several different types of guestrooms, separate inventory list may be needed for guest room type . When preparing the guestroom ‘AIL’, it is a good idea to follow the same system that room attendant will use as their sequence of cleaning task & that supervisor will use in the course of their inspection.
Eg. Area within a guestroom may appear on an inventory list as they are found from right to left & from top to bottom around the room.
#Frequency Schedule : It indicates how often items on inventory list are to be cleaned. Items that must be cleaned on a daily or weekly basis become a part of a routine cleaning cycle and are incorporated into standard work procedures. Other items which must be cleaned, monthly or less frequently are inspected on a daily basis but they become part of a spring cleaning programme & are scheduled special cleaning projects.
#Performance Standard : They are required levels of performance that establish the quality of work that must be done according to the expectations of the property. The key to consistency in service is the performance standards which the Executive Housekeeper develops, daily inspections & periodic performance. Evaluation should follow up with specific on the job coaching & re-training. This ensures that all employees are consistently performing their tasks in the most efficient & effective manner.
# Productivity standards : (Refer previous example) It determines the quality of work to be done by department employees. Productivity standards must be determined in order to staff the department within the limitation with the hotel operating budget plans. Housekeeping Managers must know how long it should take a room attendant to perform the major cleaning tasks identified on the cleaning frequency schedules such as guestroom cleaning. Once this information is known, productivity standards can be developed, performance & productivity standard should be carefully balanced. If the quality expectation are set too high, the quantity of work that could be done may be low.
#Recycled & non recycled inventories: The Executive Housekeeper is responsible for 2 types of inventories. 1) Recycled inventory : It includes linen equipments & some guest supplies like extra bed, iron ,etc. The no. of recycled items that must be on hand to ensure smooth operations is expressed as a ‘PAR’. It refers to the standard number of items that must be on hand to support daily routine housekeeping operations eg. One par of linen is the total number of items needed to outfit all the hotel guestrooms once. Most sister hotels would on a ‘four-par’ of guest rooms linen (guestroom, floor pantry, laundry & linen). 2) Non-recycled inventory : They include cleaning supplies, guestroom supplies, guest-amenities like toothbrush, hair-conditioner,etc. They are used up during routine activities of the housekeeping department. A purchasing ordering for non recycled inventory items established a ‘par’ no. based on 2 figures i.e Maximum & minimum quantities.Tge minimum quantity is the least amount at which reordering is done taking into consideration the lead time (it is time taken by the supplier to convey goods from the time the order is placed).The maximum quantity is the amount ordered.
Guest room Inspectitions
Guest room inspection.
1. Bedroom:
i. Procedure.
Check guest room entrance door.
Note any scratch marks, sumdy or dirt/dust on surface.
Check for ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign on inside knob of the door.
Check proper operation of locks, chains and door stops.
ii. Check condition and cleanliness of light switches and surrounding wall area.
iii. Scan ceiling, walls, woodwork for any damage, dirt/dust.
iv. Check curtains for stains, check that hooks are in place and the rods work correctly.
v. Check window sills window for cleanliness, make sure windows are locked and that locks work properly.
vi. Make sure heating and air-conditioning unit is free from dirt and dust, operates correctly and the temperature is set according to property standards.
vii. Make sure telephone is clean and works properly.
viii. Check the bed
Make sure that the bed has fresh lineu.
Check condition of the bed spread and check the edges of the bed.
Look under the bed for trash or guest item.
Check head board for the dust.
ix. Check room furniture for scratches damage and dust check upholstery for stains.
x. Check lamps for starches and dust. Make sure light bulbs are of proper voltage.
xi. Turn –on television set to check for proper operation, turn-off and check for scratches , damage and dust.
xii. Check carpets and bade oafs or skirting boards for dirt, stain and dust.
xiii. Check that wardrobes are clean and have the proper anonym of hangers.
xiv. Check pictures and mirrors for dust,
xv. Check that bedroom amenities such as stationary and match-boxes are properly stacked.
xvi. Make a final check around the room to make sure that all items are well positioned and that all areas ceiling to the floor are cleaned and well maintained.
xvii. Complete a work order request and/or notifying the appropriated department for any item needing attention or repair.
BATHROOM
Procedure
i. Check bathroom door for scratches, marks or dust in the surface
ii. Check condition and cleanliness of light switches and surrounding wall area.
iii. Scan ceiling, walls and tiles for any damage, dirt and dust.
iv. Check shower area check tub and fixtures for watermarks, soap films and hair.
v. Check fixtures for correct position and operation.
Make sure bath not is in place.
vi. Inspect vanity and sink area
Check sink and counter area for watermarks, soap film and hair.
Check mirror for spots.
vii. Check toilet for cleanliness, flush to check for proper operation.
viii. Check floor and base board for dirt and dust.
ix. Make sure that towels are neat and cleanly arranged on towels racks.
x. Check toilet and facial issue and supply.
xi. Check that bathroom amenities such as soap, shampoo and mouth wash are properly stacked.
xii. Make a final check of bathroom to make sure all items are well positioned and that all areas from ceiling to floor are clean
xiii. Complete the work order request and/or notify the appropriate dept. for any item needing attention or repair.
ENVIRONMENT AWARENESS IN THE HOPITALITY INDUSTRY
The IHEI (International hotel Environmental Initiative) was founded in 1992 by 10 multinational hotel groups. The main objective was to :-
1. Raise environmental awareness in the hotel industry
2. Development of hotels specific to environmental information enabling hotels of all sizes to implement environmental programs
3. Promote the hotel sector to position itself as a leader in sustainable development within the tourism industry.
The 3 major basic principles of environmental conservation are –
1. Reduce: use less resource – leads to immediate cost savings.
2. Reuse: eg – laundry bags, washable napkins, rechargeable batteries
3. Recycle: eg – papers, bottles etc.
Following eco-friendly products can be used in hotels –
• Civil Work:
1. QED wall panels(Quite Easily Done) – It is used for internal partitions. Material is 4 inches thick per block and is made from fertilizer waste – terulite and vermin proof and is fire resistant.
2. Siporex – Used for external walls. It is completely inorganic, totally incombustible and offers twice the fire protection of concrete. As strong as R.C.C. but 1/4th its weight. Saves 30-40% cement and 35-50% steel compared to ordinary R.C.C.
3. Key Stone Kool Desk – Used around the swimming pool – a concrete desk surfacing material which lowers surface temperature and is completely non – skid.
• Plumbing:
1. Aerators/Flow Restrictors: Used in all taps and showers which will reduce water usage by restricting water flow
2. Sewage treatment plant: The waste water is treated and recycled for use in air-conditioning and gardening purposes.
3. Stockosorb Super Absorbent Polymer: Used for landscaping and gardening purposes. Specifically designed to improve the capability of soil to hold water and plant nutrient. It reduces the amount, frequency of watering required – it is non-toxic, environmentally safe and does not contaminate plants, soil and groundwater.
4. The Geberit Concealed Cistern for W.C.: it has a unique water-saving system which uses 6 lit of waters per flush(the conventional flush uses approx 15-20 lit of water).
5. Geberit Urinal Flush Valve: it ensures a definite flushing after every use as it is activated by infra-red sensor(the time set flushing system works irrespective of usage or not leading to water wastage)
Green Guest Rooms
1. Rubber wood: Processed and upgraded recycled wood – used for furniture and window frames
2. Nuwud MDF(Medium Density Fibrewood): Used for interior made from recycled waste wood.
3. Hangers: made from pressed particle board.
4. Eco-Directory: placed in a guest room, making the guest aware of the hotel’s environment awareness programs, it is energy saving program and how the guest can preserve the environment. Eco-tips and eco facts are also provided.
5. Hotel uses herbal products for guest amenities and soaps, shampoos, moisturizers etc.
6. Cloth laundry bags are used and newspapers are delivered in cane baskets
7. A Control Panel – known as green button is installed on the bedside table. The thermostat of the AC unit is stepped up by 20% saving in electricity. This is translated in rupee terms and displayed on the guest folio and profile
8. Eco Harvest: Basket containing of herbal pillow placed under the pillow to give sound sleep. Two aromatic oils and a bunch of neem sticks and 5 herbs.
9. Pen/Pencil: Eco-pens are made using recycled cardboard, reprocessed plastic and scrap wood.
10. Stationery: made from hand-made paper or recycled paper.
11. Eco-friendly slippers used in guest-rooms made from natural materials like jute.
12. Recycled Bin: placed in guest rooms with a sticker for guest use.
13. Guest Bathrooms: Glasses are placed upside-down – avoiding the use of plastic wrappers. Guests are requested in occupied rooms to reuse the towels. Soap dispensers are used near wash basins. The toilets have an option of water spray or toilet paper mae from recycled fibre upto 69%.
14. Photo Electric Controls for Lighting: These are sensitive to natural daylight and suitable for entrance light and corridor light as soon as daylight is adequate.
15. Heat pumps: the heat generated from AC can be used to heat the water used in kitchen and laundry.
16. Paints: the paints for the exterior of the hotel is water based paint with negligible V.O.C (volatile organic compound) contant of only 0.125% and the paint used for interiors has zero VOC content. If the VOC content of the paint is high it emits fumes which are harmful to the environment.
17. Cut flowers v/s potted flowers: rooms should have natural plants, with use of cut flowers to a minimum for few flower arrangement put in public area only.
DAILY ROUTINE OF HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT AND ROLE OF THE FLOOR SUPERVISOR
There are generally 3 shifts in HK dept.:
1) Morning Shift(7am-4 am):In the morning shift, the major cleaning of all guest rooms is done and general cleaning of public areas.
2) Afternoon Shift(1pm-10pm)/(3pm-12am):Turn down service is given to guest rooms, second service if required, departure room clearance is done by the second shift and public area functional areas are checked.
3) Night Shift (10pm-7am):Thorough cleaning of public areas is carried out.
THE ROLE OF THE FLOOR SUPERVISOR
The floor supervisors have an overall responsibility for the floors allotted to them. They are responsible not only for maintaining hygiene and cleanliness but also responsible for work force like GRA and houseman for their work and overall behavior. While working they also deal with guest complaints and requests demonstrating the following qualities:
1. Patience
2. Diplomacy
3. Presence of mind
4. Eye for details
5. Honesty
They should be prompt enough to attend to these in such a way that there is quick and effective solution. At the same time they carry out the task of training their subordinates in various standards of work. Also they train and brief the GRAs and houseman about use of various equipments and cleaning agents, safety and security, inculcate qualities like punctuality, etiquettes and manners while dealing with the guest. It is a job of middle management personnel. They report to their senior authority i.e. assistant housekeeper floor, deputy housekeeper.
Each floor supervisor is usually responsible for 50-60 rooms. Thus he/she is responsible for 1 or a maximum of 3 floors.
The staff enters the hotel premises through the time office in order to punch in their time cards. Each floor supervisor then collects the room status information sent by the front office to the house keeping. It states the early morning expected arrivals and departures of the day, group check ins/ check outs of the day, VIP inhouse guests. Any special request for extra bed, baby cots etc should be noted. Any supplies due to be returned from the check out rooms that day should be noted. The floor supervisor also finds out about the GRA working under her, goes through the duty roster. She checks the logbook for various messages regarding her floor. At the end she signs the key register, proceeds to the floor taking the necessary floor keys.
On the floor, the floor supervisor also helps to keep a check on the movement of the staff working under her. She checks the uniform of the room attendants, briefs them on the special cleaning tasks of the day and gives them the complementaries and supplies required for the guestroom. It is noted in the housekeeper day book or staff placement register. The book serves as an attendance register and is kept with the desk supervisor to help him/her to page the staff if required for any reason. Depending on the allocation of the section, pass keys(section/floor master keys) are collected and signed in the register. The room assignment sheet is given to the room attendant who is expected to fill while cleaning the room. The floor supervisor then records the first room occupancy at about 8:30 am. This also gives her an opportunity to check the corridors, elevator areas, fire exits and service area. It is also simultaneously recorded in the floor register.The physical occupancy report is submitted to the desk housekeeper who in turn prepares room status reports and passes the same to the front office for the necessary action.
While taking the occupancy , the floor supervisor checks the rooms taking the physical check of each room on a floor.She checks the occupied room for the number of guest present in the room.If the supervisor does not see any guest then the number of beds being used, clothes of the guest, sizes of shoes, number of toothbrushes are taken as indicators to decide number of guest present in the room. Additional information like sleep outs ,scanty baggage, guests who have packed their bags and relevant room number which does not feature in the expected departure list is also highlighted so that the front office can check with the guest if he is planning to cut down stay. A discrepancy report is made by the front office staff and is handed over to the senor authorities for execution of necessary action. The floor supervisor in big hotels has to check the room at least once every day. This report is made thrice a day, one in the morning at 8:30am,12:pm and one in the afternoon before 4:00pm.The room occupancy report is made in triplicate, one copy is given to the front office cashier, second copy to the reception and the third copy is retained with the housekeeping for their reference. The room occupancy report is then cross checked and compared with the front office department and the discrepancy report is made by the front office. The duty manager is informed accordingly for the necessary action.
Computerized status system: the problem in reporting housekeeping status to the front office can be eliminated when the computer system is directly connected to guestroom telephone with such a network that a floor supervisor can inspect guestrooms. Determine their readiness for sale and then enter a designated code on the room telephone to change the room status in the hotel’s computer system. This procedure can reduce not only number of guest forced to wait for the room assignment but also decreases the length of their wait.
FORMAT OF ROOM OCCUPANCY/STATUS REPORT
Room Occupancy Report
1st Floor
2nd Floor
Room no.
Code/Status
No. of guests
Room no.
Code/Status
No. of guests
101
Dep.
-
201
DL
-
102
V
-
202
O,SB
2
103
O
2+1
203
O,SO
_____________Signature of the desk housekeeper
The desired results of an established cleaning system are best achieved only when a guest room inspection is done. This serves the purpose of rectifying any problems that may have been previously overlooked during cleaning, before the guest notices. Room inspection not only helps to identify ordinary problems with cleaning but also helps to identify areas requiring special cleaning or maintenance.
An Inspection programme can be done in various forms. In some properties especially in smaller properties, occupied rooms are spot checked while the departure rooms are definitely checked daily.
Each floor supervisor is usually responsible for a certain number of rooms (45-60) and must be aware of the current status of each room that is assigned to her/him. The room is checked to ensure :
1) Correct standard of cleanliness has been maintained.
2) For any technical repairs(if any)
3) Correct room complementaries and adequate guest supplies have been provided.
A room inspection report or a check list should be completed by the floor supervisor who notes down the condition and proper operations of various fixtures of the room. It is also simultaneously recorded in the floor register so that a continuous record is maintained. An inspection programme is not effective if no follow up is given to an identified problem. Depending on the hotel procedures the floor supervisor is responsible for filling out work orders or maintenance request that are needed. The work order or job order is made in triplicate. Two copies (the original and the duplicate) are given to the maintenance engineer. The third remaining copy remains with the housekeeping department. The maintenance engineer hands over both the copies to the concerned technician who is required to attend to the complaint. The technician goes to the respective floor and asks the floor supervisor or GRA to open the concerned room. He then attends to the complaint and signs on both the work orders, writes the time and date against work completed. He takes acknowledgement from the floor supervisor. He hands over the original copy to the housekeeping department and the duplicate copy to the maintenance department. The copy given to the floor supervisor is then given to the desk housekeeper who files it in the work order files. At the end of the day a report is made by the desk housekeeper about complaints attended to in the day, that are to be followed up the next day, major maintenance complaints that can be attended to only by taking the rooms on O-O-O status. Thus the original copy is retained by the maintenance department for its future reference.
Inspection Programme Technology: (Guest Room Inspection)
A barcode is a group of printed bars, spaces and numerals that appear on the packaging of every retail item. These codes are to be scanned and read into a computer system. Each guest room is identified with a barcode tag. The tag is placed in a secret spot such as behind the door frame. The floor supervisor is given a barcode scanner and a set of carde that will feature condition of each item that needs to be inspected, attended or repaired. On entering the room, the supervisor scans the barcode tag this will now record the room number, time and date in the scanner. The condition of each inspected item is noted by scanning the proper barcode. Depending on the programme and the property’s needs, the information can be presented in a summary or report format with an overview of the condition of each inspected items.
Room Inspection Report/Checklist
Date:20/12/04
Room boy: James Bond Floor : 7
Dep #s : 701,702, 705.
Vac #s :703, 706, 707.
Occ #s : 704.
VIP #s: 706
Room no:
Status
Extra item provided
Electrical
Carpentry
Plumbing
Polishing
Carpet Cleaning
707
V
A.C. not working
ü
704
O
Extra bed
ü
701
Dep
ü
___________ Signature of Supervisor
Discrepancy Report: (made by front office)
Discrepancy Report
Date:13/12/2009 Time:15:45
Room no.
Status as per Front Office
Status as per Housekeeping
Action taken
101
O
O,SB
Informed D.M(duty manager) and security
102
C/O
VNR
-
Guest Room Inspection:
A supervisor has to check all the rooms on his/her floor, including all vacant room, departure room, expected arrival, VIP arrival, group arrival, blocked rooms and under repair rooms both out of service and out of order. After the end of the shift the floor supervisor has to take hand over from the GRA and make the entry in the floor register. The supervisor has to make the entry of all the DND, R/S, L/S on the floor.
The supervisor has to take the handover of lost and found from the GRA for the day. Before coming to the department the supervisor has to check the floor pantry, guest elevator, and service elevator, back-area of the floor, all fire exit and corridor. The supervisor has to check the floor pantry and has to take the count of all the items in the pantry like all loan item (iron board, hot water bag, water flask, weighing machine, etc) and make an entry in the floor register. After that the supervisor has to fill the log book kept in the department. The supervisor has to make an entry of all the rooms checked by him for the day. The supervisor has to fill the key register, hand over register. The supervisor has to hand-over the lost and found and keys to the desk attendant/supervisor before leaving for the day.
While dealing with the guest the floor supervisor comes across various complaints made by guests during their stay. The nature of these complaints is:
1) Technical / mechanical complaints: these are various complaints which include maintenance related problems eg AC not working, the job of the supervisor is not only to pass on these complaints but also to get them attended as early as possible.
2) Service related complaints: they are complaints related to inefficient working or cleanliness standards of the GRA. She briefs the GRA accordingly and attends to the complaint as soon as possible.
3) Attitude related problems: these imply problems regarding the behavior of the GRA which may require counseling ,
4) Unusual complaints: these imply undue demands made by the guest and also bad guest behavior.
5) Complaints like missing items from the room after the room is cleaned by the GRA which calls for alertness, investigation and involvement of seniors.
Communication System Used In Housekeeping Department
1. Telephone: Most common mode of communication in the hotel.
Advantages:
a) Quick contacts
b) Tow-way communication but can not be used for formal communication as there is no proof of what what has been said.
c) No extra labour.
Disadvanages: Distributing to the guest when used on guest floors or public area.
2. Written Memo:
Advantages: Used for formal communication as a proof is available of the document sent.
Disadvantages:
a) Time consuming as it may have to go through several channels before it reaches the concerned person.
b) One-way communication hence no clarification is possible.
c) Space required for stoppage of documents.
3. Pagers: Each pager has a particular number which is activated either by the telephone operator or the main office of the concerned person . When activated, it makes the sound ,the person inactivates the sound & contact the telephone number displayed on the screen.
4. Electronic room status indicator: There are two terminals, one at reception and other at the house-keeping. It works on a system of lights ; against each room number. There are three lights which signifies -
a) Green light – vacant room.
b) Red light – departure room.
c) white light – occupied room.
The reception can change the lights according to the occupancy of the rooms.
For the house-keeping office, number of lights can be changed. One can only view the status of the rooms at a glance. After the departure room has been cleaned,the room attendant inserts the sub-section is an master key into a key provided ,this changes the red light to a flashing light which is an indication that the floor supervisor has to check the room and then clear it to the reception.
5.Computer system: A terminal can be installed in the house - keeping office which is linked to a terminal like reception and the main computer in the control room. The reception can change from vacant to occupied. Front office cashier can change the status of rooms from occupied to departure and the house-keeping can change from departure to vacant.If the hotel has POS(point of sale). The individual outlets would be able to update the guest folios whenever they avail of credit facilities from their outlets. Any correction of billing would have to be made by front office cashier only.
Additional notes on work order
The floor supervisor informs the desk h/k about the maintenance jobs to be attended to which the desk h/k writes in the maintenance register and makes a work order in triplicate. The original copy is kept in the maintenance file with the desk house keeper and the other two go to the maintenance department. The maintenance engg, gives both these copies to the technician who is required to attend to this complaint. The technician proceeds to the respective floor and informs the GRA and opens the room & both the copies of work order are signed. After the work is done, the technician fills up the date and time against the work completed. One of these copies is given to the GRA/supervisor which is filed into maintenance report file. The other copy goes to the maintenance dept. for reference.
AT YOUR SERVICE DESK:
Nowadays, there is a new trend of At Your Service Desk(AYS) which caters to various guest requests and complaints e.g. second service, AC not working, movie tickets, etc.
Note Imp. Points:
Room occupancy report is prepared by floor supervisor whereas Room Status report is prepared by Desk housekeeper
Refer to notes for all Forms and Formats
Front of the house functional areas of hotel: Are areas in which the employees have extensive guest contact like FnB facilities and the front office
Back of the house functional areas of hotel in which employees have little or no guest contact such as engg. and maintenanence dept., laundry and so on.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
bakery - methods of breadmaking, steps in breadmaking, puff pastry.
BREAD-MAKING METHODS
There are 5 methods of bread-making--------
1. Straight dough method.
2. No-time dough method
3. Delayed salt method.
4. Sponge and dough method.
5. Ferment and dough method.
Straight dough method--------
In this method all the ingredients are mixed together, and the dough is fermented for a predetermined time.
The fermentation time depends on the strength of the flour, strong flours require longer fermentation time to mature adequately.
Flours which require 2 -3 hours for maturing should be used for making bread by straight method.Flours that take very long for maturing should notbe used for straight dough methods because during prolonged fermentationit is diffcult to control the temperatureof the dough and rise in temperature causes acid taste and flavour in bread.
No-time dough method---------
In this method dough is not fermented in the ususal manner. It is allowed to ferment for a short period so the twin function of fermentation ie. production of gas and conditioning of gluten are achieved to some extent by increasing the amount of yeast .
and by making the dough a little slack and warm.
It is possible to get a good product using this method, but the product has poor keeping quality and lacks aroma.Due to short fermentation time, the gluten and starch are not conditioned to hold moisture and there is no flavour because flavour producing bi- products of fermentation are absent.As there is increased quantityof yeast present, the bread may have a strong yeast flavour.
Delayed -salt method--------------
This is a slight variation of the straight method, where all the ingredients are mixed except salt and fat.As salt has a controlling action on the yeast function, the speed of fermentation of a saltless dough will be faster and a reduction in the fermentation time is affected.The salt is added at the knock-back stage.The method of addingd salt depends on the convenience of indiviual bakers.
It may be sifted on the dry dough or it is creamed with fat and incorporated into the dough.
er way is chosen ,only 3/4 mixing is done [of the actual mixing time] and 1/4th is done after salt is added.
This method is suitable for strong flours if straight dough method is used.
Sponge and dough method------------
This method is normally used for strong flours.Sponge doughs are prepared in 2 stages. This procedure give yeast action a head start.
The 1st stage is called a sponge, a yeast starter or a yeast ferment.All mean thesame thing.
In this method, a part of flour, proportionate amount of water,all the yeast and yeast food are mixed together.Mixing operation are carriedout to incirporate all the ingredients evenly. The sponge is fermented fora pre determined time,which on the quality of flour,and the amount of flour in the sponge.
The sponge is then physically tested, by either taking a piece of sponge and try to break it with both hands,.if the piece breaks with a clean fracture then the sponge is ready for mixing If the sponge stretches and breaks unevenly, then some more fermentation time is needed.
Tear the sponge apart with both hands and examine the web structure, if the web structure is very fine then the sponge is ready.
An adequately fermented doughfeels dry to touch without any stickiness present.
When the sponge is ready,it should be broken down properly with the formula water, and mixed with the remaining flour, sugar , salt and fat.After the dough is mixed ,it is rested for 30-40 minutes.Pre-conditioning of the gluten [during the sponge stage ] hastens the conditioing process.
For the sake of identification and convenience, a sponge is indicated as 60/40 or 70/30, where the first number indicates the percentage of flour used in the sponge.
Ferment and Dough Method----------------
This a variation of the sponge and dough method. Rich doughs which contain milk, eggs, substantial amounts of fat and sugar, have a retarding effect on yeast activity. If all the formula yeast,part of the flour. yeast food and sufficient water is mixed together, the yeast get initially an environment which is conducive to vogorous activityand it is in a fit condition to take on the extra load of fermentation in the presence of milk, egg etc.
When the ferment is ready, it is mixed into the dough, along with the remaining ingredients, along with the remaining ingredients and allowed to ferment [second stage]. This method is used in making enriched breads, buns, danish pastry etc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
]
PUFF PASTRY
Ingredients: -
Refined Flour –
A good patent flour or one of medium gluten strength 13% flour is a structure builder and because of its gluten – forming ability, can dictate the lift.
Too soft a flour will result in a softer dough. The dough will be easier to handle but final volume and flake will be sacrificed.
It the flour is too strong then the dough will be tough to handle and the final product may suffer from shrinkage.
Water: -
It is a rule of thumb that the consistency of the dough should match the consistency of the roll in fat. If the dough is too soft then the layers may be ruptured by the hard fat. If the dough is firm, it will be difficult to roll out. The product may shrink and fat may leak out.
Water also serves as temperature control i.e. it should be cold to maintain firmness of fat.
Salt: -
Salt enhances flavor and also has a toughening effect on the gluten structure.
Acid: -
The addition of an acid improves sheeting ability by lowering the pH and mellowing the gluten. It has no effect on the leavening action.
Fats: -
Two types of fats are used in the production of puff pastry. They each perform a different role.
Fat is added to the dough to modify the dough itself and fat is used as a layering medium to assist in the raising of the puff pastry during baking.
Dough Fat: -
Soft fat may be used in the dough to give better eating quality to the finished product and also aids in the dough’s sheeting ability.
Also it should be noted that as the % of fat increases, volume decreases.
Maximum volume is obtained when 2.5 to 4% fat is used in the dough stage. It should have a melting point of around 33oC - 50oC.
Puff Pastry Shortening: -
This shortening is firm and waxy in nature and is exclusively used to make puffs. Because of its nature, it can be rolled out in smooth continuous sheets between the dough layers.
A melting point between 43oC – 50oC will produce excellent results, but should be high enough to with stand frictional heat to which it is subjected during sheeting and folding operation.
Puff Pastry: -
There are 2 types of puff pastry – Full and Three Quarter. There are three well-known methods of manufacture – English, French and Scotch.
The differences in these types are in the fat contents and in the number of rolls and folds given. Full puff pastry contains flour and fat in equal ratio. While ¾ pastry contains ¾ of fat to each kilo of flour.
The flour that is used in making of puff pastry should be strong, with good quality gluten.
A weak acid such as lemon juice is added. This provides greater extensibility to the gluten
Butter is the best for application as it gives a good flavor. Margarine also can be used but the melting point of margarine has to be lower than the temperature of the human body, otherwise there is a possibility of a thin film of fat remaining on the roof of the mouth after the pastry has been eaten.
The whole purpose of rolling and folding is to build up a structure of alternating layers of dough and fat. This process is known as lamination.
The English method (Three Fold): - (Flaky)
Sieve the flour; rub in 20 gms of butter or margarine. Make a bay or well, add salt and acid and make a dough and allow it to rest. Cream the margarine into a homogenous mass. The dough then rolled into a rectangle about 18” x 6”, the margarine is divided into approx. 3 parts. The first part is evenly distributed to cover 2/3rd of the rolled out dough. The flap of the dough containing no margarine is folded over to cover half of the treated area and then folded over to again cover the last portion. The pastry is given a half turn so that the open ends are parallel to the rolling pin. This process is repeated twice so as to finish all the margarine. Lastly one blindfold is given. The pastry is covered with a damp cloth and allowed to recover from the manipulation for about 30 minutes after each rolling. (7 – 9 layers)
French method: - (Continental Book Fold)
The dough is the same fashion as for the English method. The initial rolling out of the dough is different for it is rolled out to the shape of an open envelope with the four angles slightly thinner than the center.
The chilled margarine/butter is placed in the center of the rolled out square and the envelope is closed by bringing the four angles to the center. After proper relaxation of the dough, it is turned upside down and sheeted into a rectangular shape and folded in a book fold.
Scotch Method: - (Blitz)
This is the quickest way of making puff pastry.
The word is derived from the German word “Blitzen” meaning lightening.
In this method the chilled margarine is mixed into the sieved flour in pieces about the size walnuts. The folding process is a three fold followed by 3 – Four folds, all of which is accomplished in 25 min.
Baking: -
Puff pastry obtains its lifting power through the sealing of moisture in the dough, as heat penetrates the product, the layers of shortening melt and the water in the dough vaporizes and causes the layers to expand. The shortening also helps by holding in these vapors.
The gluten in the dough expands with the pressure of the steam and holds the steam in.
The shortening melts and penetrates the layers of the dough, making it flaky and tender.
The starch then gelatinizes and the proteins coagulate forming a rigid mass. The structure remains firm and flaky.
Oven Temperature: -
Proper oven temperature is important. A temperature of 204oC – 218oC with an even steady heat is very important.
Too low a temperature allows shortening to weep between the layers of dough resulting in poor quality and low volume.
Too high a temperature prematurely seals the piece and results in low volume and raw centers.
Washing: -
Puff pastry pieces are generally washed with an egg wash. Care should be taken to prevent the wash from running down the sides of the pieces while brushing the top. The eggs will coagulate with the heat of the oven, seal the sides and prevent the pastry from rising evenly. (Poor Volume)
Reasons for imperfect Pastry: -
• Puff pastry shrinks: -
1. Oven too hot
2. Not resting the dough before rolling out.
3. Not resting products before being baked.
4. Use of scrap dough.
5. Dough too soft.
• Puff Lacks Volume: -
1. Too many folds.
2. Not enough folds.
3. Use of scrap dough.
4. Dull cutters.
5. Cold oven.
6. Shortening too soft.
7. Flour too strong.
• Fat Runs Out: -
1. Dough not folded enough.
2. Oven is too cold.
3. Warm pans are used.
4. Melting point of fat is too low.
Steps in Bread-making
There are 12 stepsin bread-making. These steps are applied to all yeast products,with variations depending ona particularproduct.
The steps are--
1. Scaling of ingredients.
2. Mixing.
3. Fermentation.
4.Punching.
5 Scaling of the dough.
6.Rounding.
7.Intermediate proving/ Benching.
8.Moulding/ Panning.
9.Proofing.
10.Baking.
11.Cooling.
12.Storing.
Scaling of ingredients----------
All ingredients must be weighed accurately. Water, egg, milk must be measured by volume.Special care must be taken while measuringspices and other ingredientsused in small quantities.
Special care must be taken when measuring spices and other ingredients which are used in small quantities.This is particularly important with salt, which affects the rate of fermentation.
Mixing-----
The objective of this step is-
1. To combine all ingredients into a uniform, smooth dough.
2. To distribute the yeast evenly throughout the dough.
3. To develop gluten.
All the flour, yeast,water, yeast food is mixed sufficiently to make a homogenous mass.Fat should be added later, as it adversly affects water absorption and also gluten development.
Quantity and quality of gluten will decide the length of mixing times.Strong flours will need longer mixing time.
When the dough is properly mixed,the surface of the dough becomes smooth, the surface may also show round coined shaped gas bubbles trapped under a thin film of dough.
If the dough is over- mixed then the gluten structure will break down and rise during fermentation will be poor. The dough will heat up,be sticky and will tend to flatten out during intermediate and final proving. Breads produced from excessively mixed doughs will haveless volume and dark crumbly texture.
Fermentation-------------
After ther dough is correctly mixed it is fermented for a pre-determined time .The yeast acts on the sugars and starchs in the the dough to produce CO2 and alcohol..CO2 raises the dough fabric. Part of the alcohol evaporates, part is converted to acetic acid and the remaining contributes to the charecteristic flavour of bread.
There are three main sources of sugar in the fermenting dough--
---natural sugar presentin flour.
---formula sugar
---sugar produced from starch by enzymes.
The gluten becomes more smoother and more elastic, so it stretches farther and holds more gas.
An under-fermented dough will not develop proper volume and the texture of the product will be coarse.an under- fermented dough is called a young dough.
An over-fermented dough is called an old dough. An over-fermented dough becomes sticky [ due to over action of enzyme protease and acids], hard to work and slighly sour .
Knock-back-------
After 2/3rd of the fermented time is over , the dough is knocked back. Knock- back is not hitting the dough with your fist, but a method of deflating the dough, by extending the sides of the dough and putting it in the centre , so that the whole mass comes in contact with fresh air and the dough is virtually turned upside down.
Knock-back helps to equalise the temperature, the temperature of the upper surface is lower than the temperature at the base of the dough, this causes a variation in the speed of fermentation .
Knock-back helps the yeast to fuction efficiently. when the dough has fermented for some-time the yeast cells get surrounded by gas and other fermentation products which slow down their action, as it is drawn away from the food, so knock-back helps to expel
the gas,so that the yeast can carry on its function properly.
Knock-back helps to redistribute the yeast for further growth.
Scaling---------
Using a baker's scale,divide the dough into pieces of the same weight, according to the ptoduct being made.
During scaling allowance is made for theweight lossdue to evaporation of moisture in the oven. The weight loss is about 10-13%of the
weight of the dough.
Scaling should be done rapidly and efficiently to avoid over-fermenting the dough
Rounding--------
After scaling, the pieces of dough are shaped into a smooth, round balls. While dividing the dough by hand, it is desirable to cut the dough with a dough cutter. Pulling and breaking the dough should be avoided as it disturbs the trends of gluten strands which adversly affects the final texture of the product.
Intermediate Proving--------
Rounded portions of the douigh are allowed to rest for 10-20 minutes. This relaxes the gluten to make the shaping of the dough easier.
Moulding/Panning--------
The dough piece, soft and pliable, is moulded as per the desired shape. While moulding the pressure should be even throughout the dough piece.Uneven pressure will leave uneven gas pocket of uneven size in the final product.Mouldind should not be too tight or too loose.Moulded pieces are put into clean and well greased pans or trays. For units baked in pans, the seams must be centered on the bottom to avoid splitting during baking.The pan size must be matched to the weight of the dough.
Proofing------
Proofing is a continuation of the process of yeast fermentation that increases the volume of the shaped product.
The bread is proofed under suitable conditions [27-30 degrees] and 70-80% humidity. Under poofing results in poor volume and dense texture. Over proofing results in coarse texture and loss of some flavour.
French bread are given long proof to create its characteristic open texture, its strong gluten helps to withstand the long proof.
Rich doughs are slighly underproofed, because their weaker gluten structure does not withstand too much stretching.
During proofing operation the yeast should have sufficient food to affect a faster gas production. Therefore it is necessary that there is sufficient distatic activity in the flour to produce fermentable sugars for the yeast to carry on its functions.
Baking-------
Afterthe bread has acquired its full volume, it is baked. The temperature and the humidity of the ovenshould be well maintened in order to get good results.
The most important changes that take place are--
1. Oven spring, this is a rapid rise in the oven due to production and expansion of trapped gases as a result of the heat.The yeast is active at first but are killed as the temperature reaches 60 degrees inside the dough.
2. Coagulation of proteins and gelatinization of the starch. The product becomes firm and begins to hold shape.
3. Formation and browingof the crust.
Proofed breads are fragile, they should be handled carefully when being loaded into the oven.
Cooling-------
After baking the breads must be removed frm pans and cooled on racks to allow the escape of excess moisture and alcohol created during fermentation.
If the moisture gets trapped between thebresd and the surfaceofthe mould , this will make the product soggy,known as sweating.
When bread is hot the starch granules are in a swollen stateand are held unstably in a gluten framework. If bread is sliced in this state, the granules lump together giving a poor appearance to the slice..
Storing------
Breads to be consumed within 8 hours may be left on the rack. For longer storage wrap cooled bread in moisture-proof bags to preserve its freshness and to retard staling.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i
There are 5 methods of bread-making--------
1. Straight dough method.
2. No-time dough method
3. Delayed salt method.
4. Sponge and dough method.
5. Ferment and dough method.
Straight dough method--------
In this method all the ingredients are mixed together, and the dough is fermented for a predetermined time.
The fermentation time depends on the strength of the flour, strong flours require longer fermentation time to mature adequately.
Flours which require 2 -3 hours for maturing should be used for making bread by straight method.Flours that take very long for maturing should notbe used for straight dough methods because during prolonged fermentationit is diffcult to control the temperatureof the dough and rise in temperature causes acid taste and flavour in bread.
No-time dough method---------
In this method dough is not fermented in the ususal manner. It is allowed to ferment for a short period so the twin function of fermentation ie. production of gas and conditioning of gluten are achieved to some extent by increasing the amount of yeast .
and by making the dough a little slack and warm.
It is possible to get a good product using this method, but the product has poor keeping quality and lacks aroma.Due to short fermentation time, the gluten and starch are not conditioned to hold moisture and there is no flavour because flavour producing bi- products of fermentation are absent.As there is increased quantityof yeast present, the bread may have a strong yeast flavour.
Delayed -salt method--------------
This is a slight variation of the straight method, where all the ingredients are mixed except salt and fat.As salt has a controlling action on the yeast function, the speed of fermentation of a saltless dough will be faster and a reduction in the fermentation time is affected.The salt is added at the knock-back stage.The method of addingd salt depends on the convenience of indiviual bakers.
It may be sifted on the dry dough or it is creamed with fat and incorporated into the dough.
er way is chosen ,only 3/4 mixing is done [of the actual mixing time] and 1/4th is done after salt is added.
This method is suitable for strong flours if straight dough method is used.
Sponge and dough method------------
This method is normally used for strong flours.Sponge doughs are prepared in 2 stages. This procedure give yeast action a head start.
The 1st stage is called a sponge, a yeast starter or a yeast ferment.All mean thesame thing.
In this method, a part of flour, proportionate amount of water,all the yeast and yeast food are mixed together.Mixing operation are carriedout to incirporate all the ingredients evenly. The sponge is fermented fora pre determined time,which on the quality of flour,and the amount of flour in the sponge.
The sponge is then physically tested, by either taking a piece of sponge and try to break it with both hands,.if the piece breaks with a clean fracture then the sponge is ready for mixing If the sponge stretches and breaks unevenly, then some more fermentation time is needed.
Tear the sponge apart with both hands and examine the web structure, if the web structure is very fine then the sponge is ready.
An adequately fermented doughfeels dry to touch without any stickiness present.
When the sponge is ready,it should be broken down properly with the formula water, and mixed with the remaining flour, sugar , salt and fat.After the dough is mixed ,it is rested for 30-40 minutes.Pre-conditioning of the gluten [during the sponge stage ] hastens the conditioing process.
For the sake of identification and convenience, a sponge is indicated as 60/40 or 70/30, where the first number indicates the percentage of flour used in the sponge.
Ferment and Dough Method----------------
This a variation of the sponge and dough method. Rich doughs which contain milk, eggs, substantial amounts of fat and sugar, have a retarding effect on yeast activity. If all the formula yeast,part of the flour. yeast food and sufficient water is mixed together, the yeast get initially an environment which is conducive to vogorous activityand it is in a fit condition to take on the extra load of fermentation in the presence of milk, egg etc.
When the ferment is ready, it is mixed into the dough, along with the remaining ingredients, along with the remaining ingredients and allowed to ferment [second stage]. This method is used in making enriched breads, buns, danish pastry etc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
]
PUFF PASTRY
Ingredients: -
Refined Flour –
A good patent flour or one of medium gluten strength 13% flour is a structure builder and because of its gluten – forming ability, can dictate the lift.
Too soft a flour will result in a softer dough. The dough will be easier to handle but final volume and flake will be sacrificed.
It the flour is too strong then the dough will be tough to handle and the final product may suffer from shrinkage.
Water: -
It is a rule of thumb that the consistency of the dough should match the consistency of the roll in fat. If the dough is too soft then the layers may be ruptured by the hard fat. If the dough is firm, it will be difficult to roll out. The product may shrink and fat may leak out.
Water also serves as temperature control i.e. it should be cold to maintain firmness of fat.
Salt: -
Salt enhances flavor and also has a toughening effect on the gluten structure.
Acid: -
The addition of an acid improves sheeting ability by lowering the pH and mellowing the gluten. It has no effect on the leavening action.
Fats: -
Two types of fats are used in the production of puff pastry. They each perform a different role.
Fat is added to the dough to modify the dough itself and fat is used as a layering medium to assist in the raising of the puff pastry during baking.
Dough Fat: -
Soft fat may be used in the dough to give better eating quality to the finished product and also aids in the dough’s sheeting ability.
Also it should be noted that as the % of fat increases, volume decreases.
Maximum volume is obtained when 2.5 to 4% fat is used in the dough stage. It should have a melting point of around 33oC - 50oC.
Puff Pastry Shortening: -
This shortening is firm and waxy in nature and is exclusively used to make puffs. Because of its nature, it can be rolled out in smooth continuous sheets between the dough layers.
A melting point between 43oC – 50oC will produce excellent results, but should be high enough to with stand frictional heat to which it is subjected during sheeting and folding operation.
Puff Pastry: -
There are 2 types of puff pastry – Full and Three Quarter. There are three well-known methods of manufacture – English, French and Scotch.
The differences in these types are in the fat contents and in the number of rolls and folds given. Full puff pastry contains flour and fat in equal ratio. While ¾ pastry contains ¾ of fat to each kilo of flour.
The flour that is used in making of puff pastry should be strong, with good quality gluten.
A weak acid such as lemon juice is added. This provides greater extensibility to the gluten
Butter is the best for application as it gives a good flavor. Margarine also can be used but the melting point of margarine has to be lower than the temperature of the human body, otherwise there is a possibility of a thin film of fat remaining on the roof of the mouth after the pastry has been eaten.
The whole purpose of rolling and folding is to build up a structure of alternating layers of dough and fat. This process is known as lamination.
The English method (Three Fold): - (Flaky)
Sieve the flour; rub in 20 gms of butter or margarine. Make a bay or well, add salt and acid and make a dough and allow it to rest. Cream the margarine into a homogenous mass. The dough then rolled into a rectangle about 18” x 6”, the margarine is divided into approx. 3 parts. The first part is evenly distributed to cover 2/3rd of the rolled out dough. The flap of the dough containing no margarine is folded over to cover half of the treated area and then folded over to again cover the last portion. The pastry is given a half turn so that the open ends are parallel to the rolling pin. This process is repeated twice so as to finish all the margarine. Lastly one blindfold is given. The pastry is covered with a damp cloth and allowed to recover from the manipulation for about 30 minutes after each rolling. (7 – 9 layers)
French method: - (Continental Book Fold)
The dough is the same fashion as for the English method. The initial rolling out of the dough is different for it is rolled out to the shape of an open envelope with the four angles slightly thinner than the center.
The chilled margarine/butter is placed in the center of the rolled out square and the envelope is closed by bringing the four angles to the center. After proper relaxation of the dough, it is turned upside down and sheeted into a rectangular shape and folded in a book fold.
Scotch Method: - (Blitz)
This is the quickest way of making puff pastry.
The word is derived from the German word “Blitzen” meaning lightening.
In this method the chilled margarine is mixed into the sieved flour in pieces about the size walnuts. The folding process is a three fold followed by 3 – Four folds, all of which is accomplished in 25 min.
Baking: -
Puff pastry obtains its lifting power through the sealing of moisture in the dough, as heat penetrates the product, the layers of shortening melt and the water in the dough vaporizes and causes the layers to expand. The shortening also helps by holding in these vapors.
The gluten in the dough expands with the pressure of the steam and holds the steam in.
The shortening melts and penetrates the layers of the dough, making it flaky and tender.
The starch then gelatinizes and the proteins coagulate forming a rigid mass. The structure remains firm and flaky.
Oven Temperature: -
Proper oven temperature is important. A temperature of 204oC – 218oC with an even steady heat is very important.
Too low a temperature allows shortening to weep between the layers of dough resulting in poor quality and low volume.
Too high a temperature prematurely seals the piece and results in low volume and raw centers.
Washing: -
Puff pastry pieces are generally washed with an egg wash. Care should be taken to prevent the wash from running down the sides of the pieces while brushing the top. The eggs will coagulate with the heat of the oven, seal the sides and prevent the pastry from rising evenly. (Poor Volume)
Reasons for imperfect Pastry: -
• Puff pastry shrinks: -
1. Oven too hot
2. Not resting the dough before rolling out.
3. Not resting products before being baked.
4. Use of scrap dough.
5. Dough too soft.
• Puff Lacks Volume: -
1. Too many folds.
2. Not enough folds.
3. Use of scrap dough.
4. Dull cutters.
5. Cold oven.
6. Shortening too soft.
7. Flour too strong.
• Fat Runs Out: -
1. Dough not folded enough.
2. Oven is too cold.
3. Warm pans are used.
4. Melting point of fat is too low.
Steps in Bread-making
There are 12 stepsin bread-making. These steps are applied to all yeast products,with variations depending ona particularproduct.
The steps are--
1. Scaling of ingredients.
2. Mixing.
3. Fermentation.
4.Punching.
5 Scaling of the dough.
6.Rounding.
7.Intermediate proving/ Benching.
8.Moulding/ Panning.
9.Proofing.
10.Baking.
11.Cooling.
12.Storing.
Scaling of ingredients----------
All ingredients must be weighed accurately. Water, egg, milk must be measured by volume.Special care must be taken while measuringspices and other ingredientsused in small quantities.
Special care must be taken when measuring spices and other ingredients which are used in small quantities.This is particularly important with salt, which affects the rate of fermentation.
Mixing-----
The objective of this step is-
1. To combine all ingredients into a uniform, smooth dough.
2. To distribute the yeast evenly throughout the dough.
3. To develop gluten.
All the flour, yeast,water, yeast food is mixed sufficiently to make a homogenous mass.Fat should be added later, as it adversly affects water absorption and also gluten development.
Quantity and quality of gluten will decide the length of mixing times.Strong flours will need longer mixing time.
When the dough is properly mixed,the surface of the dough becomes smooth, the surface may also show round coined shaped gas bubbles trapped under a thin film of dough.
If the dough is over- mixed then the gluten structure will break down and rise during fermentation will be poor. The dough will heat up,be sticky and will tend to flatten out during intermediate and final proving. Breads produced from excessively mixed doughs will haveless volume and dark crumbly texture.
Fermentation-------------
After ther dough is correctly mixed it is fermented for a pre-determined time .The yeast acts on the sugars and starchs in the the dough to produce CO2 and alcohol..CO2 raises the dough fabric. Part of the alcohol evaporates, part is converted to acetic acid and the remaining contributes to the charecteristic flavour of bread.
There are three main sources of sugar in the fermenting dough--
---natural sugar presentin flour.
---formula sugar
---sugar produced from starch by enzymes.
The gluten becomes more smoother and more elastic, so it stretches farther and holds more gas.
An under-fermented dough will not develop proper volume and the texture of the product will be coarse.an under- fermented dough is called a young dough.
An over-fermented dough is called an old dough. An over-fermented dough becomes sticky [ due to over action of enzyme protease and acids], hard to work and slighly sour .
Knock-back-------
After 2/3rd of the fermented time is over , the dough is knocked back. Knock- back is not hitting the dough with your fist, but a method of deflating the dough, by extending the sides of the dough and putting it in the centre , so that the whole mass comes in contact with fresh air and the dough is virtually turned upside down.
Knock-back helps to equalise the temperature, the temperature of the upper surface is lower than the temperature at the base of the dough, this causes a variation in the speed of fermentation .
Knock-back helps the yeast to fuction efficiently. when the dough has fermented for some-time the yeast cells get surrounded by gas and other fermentation products which slow down their action, as it is drawn away from the food, so knock-back helps to expel
the gas,so that the yeast can carry on its function properly.
Knock-back helps to redistribute the yeast for further growth.
Scaling---------
Using a baker's scale,divide the dough into pieces of the same weight, according to the ptoduct being made.
During scaling allowance is made for theweight lossdue to evaporation of moisture in the oven. The weight loss is about 10-13%of the
weight of the dough.
Scaling should be done rapidly and efficiently to avoid over-fermenting the dough
Rounding--------
After scaling, the pieces of dough are shaped into a smooth, round balls. While dividing the dough by hand, it is desirable to cut the dough with a dough cutter. Pulling and breaking the dough should be avoided as it disturbs the trends of gluten strands which adversly affects the final texture of the product.
Intermediate Proving--------
Rounded portions of the douigh are allowed to rest for 10-20 minutes. This relaxes the gluten to make the shaping of the dough easier.
Moulding/Panning--------
The dough piece, soft and pliable, is moulded as per the desired shape. While moulding the pressure should be even throughout the dough piece.Uneven pressure will leave uneven gas pocket of uneven size in the final product.Mouldind should not be too tight or too loose.Moulded pieces are put into clean and well greased pans or trays. For units baked in pans, the seams must be centered on the bottom to avoid splitting during baking.The pan size must be matched to the weight of the dough.
Proofing------
Proofing is a continuation of the process of yeast fermentation that increases the volume of the shaped product.
The bread is proofed under suitable conditions [27-30 degrees] and 70-80% humidity. Under poofing results in poor volume and dense texture. Over proofing results in coarse texture and loss of some flavour.
French bread are given long proof to create its characteristic open texture, its strong gluten helps to withstand the long proof.
Rich doughs are slighly underproofed, because their weaker gluten structure does not withstand too much stretching.
During proofing operation the yeast should have sufficient food to affect a faster gas production. Therefore it is necessary that there is sufficient distatic activity in the flour to produce fermentable sugars for the yeast to carry on its functions.
Baking-------
Afterthe bread has acquired its full volume, it is baked. The temperature and the humidity of the ovenshould be well maintened in order to get good results.
The most important changes that take place are--
1. Oven spring, this is a rapid rise in the oven due to production and expansion of trapped gases as a result of the heat.The yeast is active at first but are killed as the temperature reaches 60 degrees inside the dough.
2. Coagulation of proteins and gelatinization of the starch. The product becomes firm and begins to hold shape.
3. Formation and browingof the crust.
Proofed breads are fragile, they should be handled carefully when being loaded into the oven.
Cooling-------
After baking the breads must be removed frm pans and cooled on racks to allow the escape of excess moisture and alcohol created during fermentation.
If the moisture gets trapped between thebresd and the surfaceofthe mould , this will make the product soggy,known as sweating.
When bread is hot the starch granules are in a swollen stateand are held unstably in a gluten framework. If bread is sliced in this state, the granules lump together giving a poor appearance to the slice..
Storing------
Breads to be consumed within 8 hours may be left on the rack. For longer storage wrap cooled bread in moisture-proof bags to preserve its freshness and to retard staling.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i
bakery recipe standards- have to be written in the fp journal!
Standards For Bakery Recipes – 1st Year
1. Bread rolls
Golden brown in colour soft and spongy texture, smooth and even crust with a pleasing fresh baked aroma and taste.
2. Vanilla buns
Soft and springy with a light golden crust and a dominant aroma and taste of vanilla.
3. Madeira cake
Rich and dense structured cake with a light golden brown cake top and uniformly cracked where the strips of peel are intentionally placed.
4. Swiss rolls
A soft, light and airy cake sponge sread over with thinned down mixed fruit jam and neatly rolled into a cylinder.
5. Bread loaf
Smooth golden brown crusted bread, having a soft crumb with uniform web structure.
6. Genoise sponge
A light and airy but slightly moist sponge cake with ample height and a darker top.
7. Melting moments
Off white colour cookies flecked with crispy bits of cornflakes, flat and round in shape with a closed and compact texture and having a pleasing lemon aroma and taste.
8. Swiss tarts
A light golden yellow colored biscuit with a compact and crumbly texture, and a buttery flavour.
9. Brioche
A soft light and airy bread made from a rich yeast dough, with a golden brown colour and a smooth crust complete with a dainty knob of dough on the top of it.
10. Mango bavarois
A rich creamy dessert generously flavored with mango and with a light and airy texture.
11. Fruit cake
A rich dark brown cake heavily laden with fruit and nuts, and lightly flavored with mixed spices, has a distinct taste of the fruit and a very pleasing aroma.
12. Chocolate cookies
Brown in color wit dark flecks of chocolate spread over the surface and desirable cracks in the cookie.
13. Tri-color biscuits
Off white in color, neatly cut into a circular shape. Brittle texture and Dusted with icing sugar and garnished with three different colored jams.
14. Caramel Custard
Smooth and light baked custard, with a golden brown caramel top. Delicately flavored with vanilla or a hint of nutmeg.
1. Bread rolls
Golden brown in colour soft and spongy texture, smooth and even crust with a pleasing fresh baked aroma and taste.
2. Vanilla buns
Soft and springy with a light golden crust and a dominant aroma and taste of vanilla.
3. Madeira cake
Rich and dense structured cake with a light golden brown cake top and uniformly cracked where the strips of peel are intentionally placed.
4. Swiss rolls
A soft, light and airy cake sponge sread over with thinned down mixed fruit jam and neatly rolled into a cylinder.
5. Bread loaf
Smooth golden brown crusted bread, having a soft crumb with uniform web structure.
6. Genoise sponge
A light and airy but slightly moist sponge cake with ample height and a darker top.
7. Melting moments
Off white colour cookies flecked with crispy bits of cornflakes, flat and round in shape with a closed and compact texture and having a pleasing lemon aroma and taste.
8. Swiss tarts
A light golden yellow colored biscuit with a compact and crumbly texture, and a buttery flavour.
9. Brioche
A soft light and airy bread made from a rich yeast dough, with a golden brown colour and a smooth crust complete with a dainty knob of dough on the top of it.
10. Mango bavarois
A rich creamy dessert generously flavored with mango and with a light and airy texture.
11. Fruit cake
A rich dark brown cake heavily laden with fruit and nuts, and lightly flavored with mixed spices, has a distinct taste of the fruit and a very pleasing aroma.
12. Chocolate cookies
Brown in color wit dark flecks of chocolate spread over the surface and desirable cracks in the cookie.
13. Tri-color biscuits
Off white in color, neatly cut into a circular shape. Brittle texture and Dusted with icing sugar and garnished with three different colored jams.
14. Caramel Custard
Smooth and light baked custard, with a golden brown caramel top. Delicately flavored with vanilla or a hint of nutmeg.
Friday, April 16, 2010
fp recipes--12-16 april
Lentil Soup (Linensuppe – German) No. of Portions 4
Ingredients QTY Unit
Lentils (Masoor Dal) 100 Gm
Bacon 02 Rashers
Onion 50 Gm
Carrot 30 Gm
Celery 20 Gm
Garlic 5 Gm
Beer 150 Ml
Sausage 2 Nos.
Fresh Thyme 5 Gm
Parsley ¼ Bunch
Salt To taste
Pepper 3 Gm
Pre-preparation:
1. Chop onion, carrot, celery into small dices.
2. Chop the garlic finely.
3. Strip the thyme. Chop parsley fine.
4. Dice the bacon and the sausages.
5. Soak the lentils overnight. Boil it. Reserve the water.
Method:
1. Render the bacon. Keep the fat in the pan and keep the bacon aside.
2. In the same, pan sauté the mirepoix and garlic. Add half the thyme leaves.
3. Add the cooked lentils, beer and the liquid. Bring to a boil.
4. Simmer till the soup for some time.
5. Finish with thyme, chopped parsley, bacon and sausages.
To serve:
Serve piping hot, garnished with chopped parsley, maybe served as a complete meal. Served with German Rye Bread.
Standard:
Brown broth, thickened with lentils. Vegetables to be well cooked. Mild flavour of bacon, beer and thyme. Adequately seasoned.
Shepherd’s pie No. of Portions 4
Ingredients QTY Unit
Minced mutton / beef 500 Gm
Potato 450 Gm
Butter 25 Gm
Cream 50 ml
Onion 100 Gm
Flour 15 Gm
Tomato 100 Gm
Red wine 50 Ml
Salt, white pepper powder To taste
Fresh Rosemary 5 Gm
Oil 10 Ml
Parsley A sprig
Egg ½ No.
Pre-preparation:
1. Chop onions finely. Blanch and concasse the tomatoes.
2. Boil, mash and cream potatoes.
Method:
1. Heat oil. Sauté onions.
2. Add mutton / beef mince and simmer to cook
3. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Mix and cook well.
4. Grease a pie dish. Pour mince mixture.
5. Pipe the creamed potatoes on top with a star nozzle. Apply egg wash.
6. Bake at 190 degrees centigrade for 15-20 minutes.
To serve:
Serve hot garnished with a sprig of parsley.
Standard:
Golden brown crust of potatoes covering well cooked, flavourful, adequately seasoned minced meat.
Salad Caprese No. of Portions 4
Ingredients QTY Unit
Tomato 150 Gm
Mozzarella 100 Gm
FOR PESTO
Basil 20 Gm
Garlic 5 Gm
Pine nuts 15 Gm
Oil 20 Ml
Salt To taste
Pre-preparation:
Cut tomatoes into thick roundels.
Cut mozzarella into similar size slices.
Reerve some basil leaves for garnish.
Make pesto by grinding together the rest of the ingredients.
Chill the tomato and cheese slices.
Method:
Arrange alternate slices of tomato and mozzarella on a chilled plate.
Drizzle pesto over it.
Garnish with torn basil leaves.
To Serve:
Chilled, tomato and cheese cut and arranged neatly.
Standard:
Evenly sized roundels of tomato and cheese slices. Chilled, flavoured adequately with pesto.
Ingredients QTY Unit
Lentils (Masoor Dal) 100 Gm
Bacon 02 Rashers
Onion 50 Gm
Carrot 30 Gm
Celery 20 Gm
Garlic 5 Gm
Beer 150 Ml
Sausage 2 Nos.
Fresh Thyme 5 Gm
Parsley ¼ Bunch
Salt To taste
Pepper 3 Gm
Pre-preparation:
1. Chop onion, carrot, celery into small dices.
2. Chop the garlic finely.
3. Strip the thyme. Chop parsley fine.
4. Dice the bacon and the sausages.
5. Soak the lentils overnight. Boil it. Reserve the water.
Method:
1. Render the bacon. Keep the fat in the pan and keep the bacon aside.
2. In the same, pan sauté the mirepoix and garlic. Add half the thyme leaves.
3. Add the cooked lentils, beer and the liquid. Bring to a boil.
4. Simmer till the soup for some time.
5. Finish with thyme, chopped parsley, bacon and sausages.
To serve:
Serve piping hot, garnished with chopped parsley, maybe served as a complete meal. Served with German Rye Bread.
Standard:
Brown broth, thickened with lentils. Vegetables to be well cooked. Mild flavour of bacon, beer and thyme. Adequately seasoned.
Shepherd’s pie No. of Portions 4
Ingredients QTY Unit
Minced mutton / beef 500 Gm
Potato 450 Gm
Butter 25 Gm
Cream 50 ml
Onion 100 Gm
Flour 15 Gm
Tomato 100 Gm
Red wine 50 Ml
Salt, white pepper powder To taste
Fresh Rosemary 5 Gm
Oil 10 Ml
Parsley A sprig
Egg ½ No.
Pre-preparation:
1. Chop onions finely. Blanch and concasse the tomatoes.
2. Boil, mash and cream potatoes.
Method:
1. Heat oil. Sauté onions.
2. Add mutton / beef mince and simmer to cook
3. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Mix and cook well.
4. Grease a pie dish. Pour mince mixture.
5. Pipe the creamed potatoes on top with a star nozzle. Apply egg wash.
6. Bake at 190 degrees centigrade for 15-20 minutes.
To serve:
Serve hot garnished with a sprig of parsley.
Standard:
Golden brown crust of potatoes covering well cooked, flavourful, adequately seasoned minced meat.
Salad Caprese No. of Portions 4
Ingredients QTY Unit
Tomato 150 Gm
Mozzarella 100 Gm
FOR PESTO
Basil 20 Gm
Garlic 5 Gm
Pine nuts 15 Gm
Oil 20 Ml
Salt To taste
Pre-preparation:
Cut tomatoes into thick roundels.
Cut mozzarella into similar size slices.
Reerve some basil leaves for garnish.
Make pesto by grinding together the rest of the ingredients.
Chill the tomato and cheese slices.
Method:
Arrange alternate slices of tomato and mozzarella on a chilled plate.
Drizzle pesto over it.
Garnish with torn basil leaves.
To Serve:
Chilled, tomato and cheese cut and arranged neatly.
Standard:
Evenly sized roundels of tomato and cheese slices. Chilled, flavoured adequately with pesto.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
message & mail handling - FO
MESSAGE HANDLING
Receiving messages for in-house guests in their absence, recording them and communicating them to the guests as soon as possible is an important function of the front desk staff. The efficiency and professionalism of the hotel and the attitude of the staff is reflected by the way this function is carried out by the staff. Usually when a guest goes out of his room he would leave his room key at the counter where the information clerk would put it in the appropriate pigeon hole of his room in the mail and key rack. The guest my leave a filled “Location Form” indicating where he will be for the next few hours.
There are only two ways that a person can contact an in-house guest.
(1) In case of a phone call the telephone operator will connect it to the room of the guest. Since the guest is not in the room the call comes back to the operator who connects it to the Information Section of the Front Desk. After checking that the guest has left his key at the desk (as confirmed by the key being in the “Mail and Key Rack”) the telephone call is transferred to the “Message Desk”. The message clerk prepares the message slip in triplicate. It is important to read back the message to the caller and confirm the details before signing off. The top two copies are given to the Information Clerk who puts it the room no on the forms (from the Information Rack). The Top Copy is sent to the room to be slipped under the door. The Second Copy is put in the appropriate room no pigeon hole of the Mail and Key Rack. In addition, for further safety, an “attention card” or a “mail and message advise card” is put on the door knob of the room or “message light” is activated in those hotels which use electronic systems. The message details may also be fed into the computer and the guest may view it on the screen of the T.V. in his room.
(2) In case of the visitor coming to the hotel , he is asked to first try the house telephones to contact the guest. When he finds the guest is not in his room he comes to the Information Desk and fills in the message slip in triplicate as given above.
MESSAGE SLIP
To ___________________________ Room No _______
Date ________________ Time __________
DURING YOUR ABSENCE
Mr / Mrs / Ms ___________________________________________
Of _____________________________________________________
Tel No __________________________
Called by Telephone
Please call him/her
Came to see you
Will return
Wants to see you
Urgent
MESSAGE _____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Received by __________________________________
MAIL HANDLING
Importance :
Mail handling procedure is a very important function which the Front Office staff has to handle in a hotel. A receptionist in a hotel has to be very careful that all the mail receives due attention and are attended to without any delay to avoid embarrassment.
Types of mail - Incoming & Outgoing, Ordinary & Registered :
Basically while discussing there are two types of mail. Incoming & Outgoing.
Incoming Mail :
Various types of mail may be received in a hotel, like mail for Hotel Management and Hotel staff and mail for guests. In addition the mail may be an ordinary mail or registered/recorded mail etc.
Staff has to be extra careful about recorded mail. All incoming mail must be DATE AND TIME STAMPED. A proper record of all the recorded mail is kept as per requirement i.e., the entries are made in either registered letter book, parcels book or telegram book etc. No such record is maintained for ordinary mail. After having date and time marked the mail, it is sorted and classified under 3 main categories.
(1) HOTEL MAIL is identified by the designation of a senior manager of the hotel eg General Manager, Banquet Manager etc. This mail is delivered to the office of the managers concerned.
(2) STAFF MAIL is identified by the presence of the name of employee, designation and department mentioned in the address. This is usually sorted and delivered through the Time Office.
(3) GUEST MAIL : Any mail that is left is supposed to be guest mail
Guest Mail may belong to any one of the following categories
(1) Present Guest Mail
(2) Past Guest Mail
(3) Future guest Mail
(4) Wrongly Addressed Mail
PRESENT GUEST MAIL
The guest mail is first arranged in ALPHABETICAL ORDER and then checked against the INFORMATION RACK to identify the PRESENT GUESTS. Wherever applicable the room no is entered in pencil on the letters and then they are put in the appropriate room no pigeon hole in the MAIL AND KEY RACK to be handed to the guests when they come to deposit or collect their keys
Any mail that is left still belongs to guests who have already departed (past guest) or to guests who have still to arrive (future guests)
PAST GUEST MAIL
Sometime the hotel receives mail for the guests who have already departed from the hotel after having stayed for some period. The hotel to avoid any embarrassment as to what to do with such mail and how to hand it over to the person quickly, ask the departing guest to leave their forwarding address and for how long they would want their mail to be redirected to that address. A special program called “Mail Forwarding Card” is used for this. Many hotels keep these cards in the stationery folder in the room while others keep these slips at the Front Desk and give them to the guest at the time of departure. This card contains the address to which and the dates/period till by which the guest would like all the mail received by the hotel after his departure to be forwarded. These cards are filed alphabetically and when the expiry date is reached they are cleared out systematically. Any letter received after the expiry date is either returned back to the sender or in case the permanent address of the guest is available, is redirected to him at his permanent address.
The remaining mail is still in alphabetical order and checked against the Mail Forwarding Cards and where applicable they are Redirected. Details of mail redirected is entered on the reverse of the Mail Forwarding Card.
FUTURE GUEST MAIL
General mail for guests yet to arrive is kept in the back office in pigeon holes marked alphabetically. An indication is made in the reservation record about this awaited mail i.e., in case of Whitney system the words “Awaited Mail” is written on the Whitney slip. In case of diary system it is recorded in the diary against his name in remarks column and in case of Computer system it is updated in the computer. Later this mail is sent to the Front Desk and is kept with the receptionist in special slot on the day of arrival of the guest and when the guest arrives the receptionist hands over the mail to the guest at the time of registration.
If there is any mail that is delivered within thirty days after it has been received, it is marked “Addressee Unknown” and sent back to the Post Office which will send them to the Dead Letter Office..
Outgoing Mail :
Outgoing mail of the hotel include mail of the hotel and guest. Outgoing Hotel Mail is handled by the individual departments. The various departments have their own secretarial staff who maintain record of all outgoing mail. Large Hotels use Franking Machine for postage. If the volume of mail is high the use of Franking Machine save lot of time. This machine is hired / purchased generally from the Post & Telegram department or any authorized supplying company. This machine stamps on the envelope (or on an adhesive tape) the amount of postage required and the date cancellation mark. Advance payment has to be made to the post office to cover the value of the postage expected to be used. As the stamp value is printed on the envelope, the amount is reduced on the machine till it reaches zero value. The machine will then automatically lock and the post office will again charge it after further payment. While using the machine care must be taken that the correct denomination of stamp is put on envelopes. The date stamp must be altered every day as the post office will not accept the prior post dated mail. One of the most important thing for the staff to know is the current postal regulations.
Besides the outgoing mail of Hotel, the Hotel also provide the service of posting letter etc. for the guest staying at the hotel. Generally the bell desk keeps stamps and letter and parcels scale. The stamp folder is used to prevent the stamps from getting lost. The folder contains separate divisions for various denominations. The stamp folder should be kept under lock and key. The letter and parcel scale is used to weigh the mail to ensure that correct amount of postage is affixed.
Some hotels use a book called postage book to keep the record of postage used. All mail for dispatch if franked by a franking machine or if the stamps are used should be entered into postage book.
The procedure of sending ordinary mail for guest is simple. The guest leaves his mail (to be posted) at the Bell Desk where it is weighed and then the necessary stamps are affixed and posted. In case of Registered mail the mail is sent to post office, which issue an special official receipt. These receipts are retained as they are required to be produced in case a claim for clarification from the guest.
PAGING
Paging is used to locate a guest in the hotel. Guests may require this paging service during their stay in the hotel. Sometimes when a expecting a phone call or a visitor but he doesn’t want to wait for him in his room, and either goes to any of the public areas or goes out of the hotel; then in such cases he will leave the information about his whereabouts at the front desk. For this purpose he has to fill in a ‘Location form’
Location form tells about the whereabouts of the guest in case he is not in his room and is expecting a telephone call or a visitor. Sometimes this form is kept in the stationary folder in the guest room but more commonly it is with the front desk. The receptionist on the guest’s behalf can fill this in. it is made in duplicate; one copy is kept in the “Key and Mail rack”, the second copy goes to the telephone operator. Paging can be done for a guest whose location is known or for a guest who has not left any location form.
PROCEDURE FOR PAGING
1. Page Board System:
When a phone call is received for any guest or a visitor comes to visit the guest who is not in his room, the reception desk personnel will write the name and/or room number of the guest on both the sides of the Page board. This will be handed over to the bellboy. If the guest location is known, bell boy will carry that board to specific public area and will ring the bells attached to the board. This draws attention of the guest and the concerned guest gets his message.
Disadvantages:
• Time consuming- if the guest does not specify his location page board will have to be carried to all public areas of the hotel.
• When bell boy moves with the board and the bells are ringing, he might disturb many guests in the area.
2. Channel Music Or Public Address System:
When there is a phone call for a guest who has to be paged, the receptionist switches off the channel music of the lobby and other public area of the hotel. With the help of a microphone she announces the name and/or the room number of the guest, which is transmitted to all public areas simultaneously.
Receiving messages for in-house guests in their absence, recording them and communicating them to the guests as soon as possible is an important function of the front desk staff. The efficiency and professionalism of the hotel and the attitude of the staff is reflected by the way this function is carried out by the staff. Usually when a guest goes out of his room he would leave his room key at the counter where the information clerk would put it in the appropriate pigeon hole of his room in the mail and key rack. The guest my leave a filled “Location Form” indicating where he will be for the next few hours.
There are only two ways that a person can contact an in-house guest.
(1) In case of a phone call the telephone operator will connect it to the room of the guest. Since the guest is not in the room the call comes back to the operator who connects it to the Information Section of the Front Desk. After checking that the guest has left his key at the desk (as confirmed by the key being in the “Mail and Key Rack”) the telephone call is transferred to the “Message Desk”. The message clerk prepares the message slip in triplicate. It is important to read back the message to the caller and confirm the details before signing off. The top two copies are given to the Information Clerk who puts it the room no on the forms (from the Information Rack). The Top Copy is sent to the room to be slipped under the door. The Second Copy is put in the appropriate room no pigeon hole of the Mail and Key Rack. In addition, for further safety, an “attention card” or a “mail and message advise card” is put on the door knob of the room or “message light” is activated in those hotels which use electronic systems. The message details may also be fed into the computer and the guest may view it on the screen of the T.V. in his room.
(2) In case of the visitor coming to the hotel , he is asked to first try the house telephones to contact the guest. When he finds the guest is not in his room he comes to the Information Desk and fills in the message slip in triplicate as given above.
MESSAGE SLIP
To ___________________________ Room No _______
Date ________________ Time __________
DURING YOUR ABSENCE
Mr / Mrs / Ms ___________________________________________
Of _____________________________________________________
Tel No __________________________
Called by Telephone
Please call him/her
Came to see you
Will return
Wants to see you
Urgent
MESSAGE _____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Received by __________________________________
MAIL HANDLING
Importance :
Mail handling procedure is a very important function which the Front Office staff has to handle in a hotel. A receptionist in a hotel has to be very careful that all the mail receives due attention and are attended to without any delay to avoid embarrassment.
Types of mail - Incoming & Outgoing, Ordinary & Registered :
Basically while discussing there are two types of mail. Incoming & Outgoing.
Incoming Mail :
Various types of mail may be received in a hotel, like mail for Hotel Management and Hotel staff and mail for guests. In addition the mail may be an ordinary mail or registered/recorded mail etc.
Staff has to be extra careful about recorded mail. All incoming mail must be DATE AND TIME STAMPED. A proper record of all the recorded mail is kept as per requirement i.e., the entries are made in either registered letter book, parcels book or telegram book etc. No such record is maintained for ordinary mail. After having date and time marked the mail, it is sorted and classified under 3 main categories.
(1) HOTEL MAIL is identified by the designation of a senior manager of the hotel eg General Manager, Banquet Manager etc. This mail is delivered to the office of the managers concerned.
(2) STAFF MAIL is identified by the presence of the name of employee, designation and department mentioned in the address. This is usually sorted and delivered through the Time Office.
(3) GUEST MAIL : Any mail that is left is supposed to be guest mail
Guest Mail may belong to any one of the following categories
(1) Present Guest Mail
(2) Past Guest Mail
(3) Future guest Mail
(4) Wrongly Addressed Mail
PRESENT GUEST MAIL
The guest mail is first arranged in ALPHABETICAL ORDER and then checked against the INFORMATION RACK to identify the PRESENT GUESTS. Wherever applicable the room no is entered in pencil on the letters and then they are put in the appropriate room no pigeon hole in the MAIL AND KEY RACK to be handed to the guests when they come to deposit or collect their keys
Any mail that is left still belongs to guests who have already departed (past guest) or to guests who have still to arrive (future guests)
PAST GUEST MAIL
Sometime the hotel receives mail for the guests who have already departed from the hotel after having stayed for some period. The hotel to avoid any embarrassment as to what to do with such mail and how to hand it over to the person quickly, ask the departing guest to leave their forwarding address and for how long they would want their mail to be redirected to that address. A special program called “Mail Forwarding Card” is used for this. Many hotels keep these cards in the stationery folder in the room while others keep these slips at the Front Desk and give them to the guest at the time of departure. This card contains the address to which and the dates/period till by which the guest would like all the mail received by the hotel after his departure to be forwarded. These cards are filed alphabetically and when the expiry date is reached they are cleared out systematically. Any letter received after the expiry date is either returned back to the sender or in case the permanent address of the guest is available, is redirected to him at his permanent address.
The remaining mail is still in alphabetical order and checked against the Mail Forwarding Cards and where applicable they are Redirected. Details of mail redirected is entered on the reverse of the Mail Forwarding Card.
FUTURE GUEST MAIL
General mail for guests yet to arrive is kept in the back office in pigeon holes marked alphabetically. An indication is made in the reservation record about this awaited mail i.e., in case of Whitney system the words “Awaited Mail” is written on the Whitney slip. In case of diary system it is recorded in the diary against his name in remarks column and in case of Computer system it is updated in the computer. Later this mail is sent to the Front Desk and is kept with the receptionist in special slot on the day of arrival of the guest and when the guest arrives the receptionist hands over the mail to the guest at the time of registration.
If there is any mail that is delivered within thirty days after it has been received, it is marked “Addressee Unknown” and sent back to the Post Office which will send them to the Dead Letter Office..
Outgoing Mail :
Outgoing mail of the hotel include mail of the hotel and guest. Outgoing Hotel Mail is handled by the individual departments. The various departments have their own secretarial staff who maintain record of all outgoing mail. Large Hotels use Franking Machine for postage. If the volume of mail is high the use of Franking Machine save lot of time. This machine is hired / purchased generally from the Post & Telegram department or any authorized supplying company. This machine stamps on the envelope (or on an adhesive tape) the amount of postage required and the date cancellation mark. Advance payment has to be made to the post office to cover the value of the postage expected to be used. As the stamp value is printed on the envelope, the amount is reduced on the machine till it reaches zero value. The machine will then automatically lock and the post office will again charge it after further payment. While using the machine care must be taken that the correct denomination of stamp is put on envelopes. The date stamp must be altered every day as the post office will not accept the prior post dated mail. One of the most important thing for the staff to know is the current postal regulations.
Besides the outgoing mail of Hotel, the Hotel also provide the service of posting letter etc. for the guest staying at the hotel. Generally the bell desk keeps stamps and letter and parcels scale. The stamp folder is used to prevent the stamps from getting lost. The folder contains separate divisions for various denominations. The stamp folder should be kept under lock and key. The letter and parcel scale is used to weigh the mail to ensure that correct amount of postage is affixed.
Some hotels use a book called postage book to keep the record of postage used. All mail for dispatch if franked by a franking machine or if the stamps are used should be entered into postage book.
The procedure of sending ordinary mail for guest is simple. The guest leaves his mail (to be posted) at the Bell Desk where it is weighed and then the necessary stamps are affixed and posted. In case of Registered mail the mail is sent to post office, which issue an special official receipt. These receipts are retained as they are required to be produced in case a claim for clarification from the guest.
PAGING
Paging is used to locate a guest in the hotel. Guests may require this paging service during their stay in the hotel. Sometimes when a expecting a phone call or a visitor but he doesn’t want to wait for him in his room, and either goes to any of the public areas or goes out of the hotel; then in such cases he will leave the information about his whereabouts at the front desk. For this purpose he has to fill in a ‘Location form’
Location form tells about the whereabouts of the guest in case he is not in his room and is expecting a telephone call or a visitor. Sometimes this form is kept in the stationary folder in the guest room but more commonly it is with the front desk. The receptionist on the guest’s behalf can fill this in. it is made in duplicate; one copy is kept in the “Key and Mail rack”, the second copy goes to the telephone operator. Paging can be done for a guest whose location is known or for a guest who has not left any location form.
PROCEDURE FOR PAGING
1. Page Board System:
When a phone call is received for any guest or a visitor comes to visit the guest who is not in his room, the reception desk personnel will write the name and/or room number of the guest on both the sides of the Page board. This will be handed over to the bellboy. If the guest location is known, bell boy will carry that board to specific public area and will ring the bells attached to the board. This draws attention of the guest and the concerned guest gets his message.
Disadvantages:
• Time consuming- if the guest does not specify his location page board will have to be carried to all public areas of the hotel.
• When bell boy moves with the board and the bells are ringing, he might disturb many guests in the area.
2. Channel Music Or Public Address System:
When there is a phone call for a guest who has to be paged, the receptionist switches off the channel music of the lobby and other public area of the hotel. With the help of a microphone she announces the name and/or the room number of the guest, which is transmitted to all public areas simultaneously.
front office
DIFFERENT RACKS USED IN THE FRONT OFFICE
1. INFORMATION RACK:
An Information rack is composed of two index listings of in-house guests. One by the guests last name and another by assigned room number. An Information rack is commonly used to assist Front Office employees with proper routing of telephone calls, mails, messages and visitors inquiries. The Information rack normally consists of aluminium slots designed to hold guest information slips. These slots can be easily arranged and rearranged to fit the immediate needs of the hotel. Computer systems eliminate the need for an Information rack since guest name and room number data are easily retrievable through computer system.
2. ROOM RACK
This is the most important piece of Front Office equipment in non-automated and semi-automated hotels. The room rack is an array of metal file pockets designed to hold room rack slips that display guest and room status information. The Room rack is normally recessed into the front desk counter , tilted against the desk, or mounted below or behind the desk. When key slots are added to the Room rack, it can serve as combination room and key rack.
The Room rack contains a summary of information about the current status of all rooms in the hotel. A room rack slip or in some hotels, the guest registration card itself can be inserted into the Room rack to display guest information, room number and room rate. At one glance the room rack informs the front office assistant of the occupancy and housekeeping status of all rooms. The room rack may also contain information about room types, features and rates. This information may be used to match available room with guest request during the registration process. Need for room rack is eliminated in a computerised system.
3. MAIL AND KEY RACK
A key rack is an array of numbered compartments used to store guest room keys. To minimise the number of racks in the front desk area, hotels may combine the key rack with either the room rack or the mail and message rack. A combination of these is either a free standing wall unit, an under the counter row of compartments, or a set of drawers. Some front offices use rack as room divider by placing it between the front desk and the telephone operators.
When mail and message compartments of the rack are open from both sides, telephone operators and front office assistants have equal access to rack contents.
If guest room telephones are equipped with ‘message lights’, they can be used to notify guests when they have messages at the desk. In room message lights can be activated with a control switch beside each room’s slot in the mail, message and key rack.
LUGGAGE CONTROL AND BELLBOYS CONTROL
Many guests arrive at the hotel with heavy baggage or several pieces of luggage. Guests receive help from the bell attendants. Bell attendants provide baggage service between the Lobby area and the guest room.
ACTIVITIES AT THE BELL DESK ON ARRIVAL:
1. Bell boy returns to the bell desk with errand card and hands it over to the bell captain.
2. Hotel tags are prepared and fixed by the bell boy in the presence of the guest to identify the luggage and avid confusion or mistakes.
3. Bell boy escorts the guest to the room with the luggage.
4. Places luggage on the luggage stand or as directed by the guest.
5. Returns to the bell desk and punches time of return on the errand card.
The details on the errand card are filled up by the bell captain. He also makes entries of the details into his control sheet on the bell boys return.
The errand card contains details such as the description and the number of pieces of baggage, the time at which the bell boy left the counter, time of return etc.
ROOM SELLING TECHNIQUES
UPSELLING ROOMS
Mark Gordon an experienced F. O. & GM trains his staff in 3 non pressure selling techniques. They are especially effective in inducing guests to accept medium-priced and deluxe rooms instead of minimum - rate accommodations this techniques are.
1. The choice - of - door technique
The FOA gives the guest a choice of rate categories and asks, “which would you prefer”? No presume is applied, the guest does that all by himself. People tend to avoid extremes and are likely to select the middle choice. Thus a guest being offered a room are of Rs.4000, Rs.5000 or Rs.6000 will likely go for the Rs.5000 room even if he had planned on the lowest rate.
2. The Door-in-the-face technique
This approach has to be handled with fact and without presume. It can result in drastic increase of the average rate per occupied room. FOAs start from the top down quoting the highest priced room in the category the guest wishes.
A single room on our club floor, with patio and sitting room at Rs.7,500/-. The guest may accept this or ask for something less expensive, at which the FOA quotes the next date down, say the Deluxe room on the 4th floor with KB and view of the garden at Rs.6800”. By comparison this room still appears of above average quality but considerably less expensive than the previously quoted one. According to the theory of reciprocity, many guests will be convinced that after rejecting the highest rate, accepting the middle rate room is a rational compromise.
3. The Foot-in-the-Door Technique
This technique is based on the notion that people who have already agreed to one proposition will quite easily agree to another one. The reservationist while taking a reservation over the phone or selling a room over the counter can use this by saying, ‘We are holding a std. room in the East wing for you, Mr. Sharma for an extra Rs.500 you have a deluxe room in our lake view wing or for Rs.600 per person you can take advantage of our week end package, which includes the American b’fast in your room plus dinner for two at the Zodiac grill. The guest can simply say “no, thank you” or accept the upsale suggestion.
Upselling is not a game or a way to squeeze extra rupees out of unsuspecting travelers. It should be part of a professional receptionists and guest services representatives repertoire. It should be seen as one more way to
(a) provide better services to the guests by offering choices
(b) Increase rooms revenue for the hotel.
Upselling techniques
1. Know the product
2. Control the encounter
Ask specific questions such as, “we have a quiet double room on our. Silver floor. Is that suitable for you?” Avoid asking e open-ended questions, such as ‘what kind of a room are you looking for?”
3. Sell high, but avoid high-pressure selling techniques
4. Always quote the full rate plus tax
5. Turn a negative aspect of a room or rooming situation into an advantage for the guest eg. A room without a view becomes a quiet room. A room near the elevator or near the busy pool may be noisy but is ‘handy’ and easily accessible if you plan to do much ---
6. Sandwich the price between descriptive phrases, “one of our extra - large rooms at Rs.6,500/- plus tax overlooking the garden” or quote the price of more than one room giving the guest a choice.
“We have double rooms for Rs.6500/- but the ones with the new minibar are Rs.6,800/- “
7. Ask for the sale
Once all the information has been presented to the guest the FOA must gently but resolutely, close the sale. “If that is a suitable choice, may I ask you to sign the registration card”, is an effective way to move negotiations to a close.
8. Listen to guest conversational comments, such as “Oh what a hot day ! I could do with something cool”. They will help to determine their needs better and to sell other services of the hotel. “Our outdoor pool and bar are still open.”
9. Sell the whole hotel by making suggestions for dinner. “Just dial 7 on your room phone to make a reservation” or for drinks in the lounge “The new entertainer is fantastic’ and for recreational facilities. “There is no charge for the use of the Sauna and the health club”.
10. Try to anticipate the guest’s needs and offer services, suggestions, and assistance.
REGISTRATION
INTRODUCTION :
The registration process begins when the guest arrives at the reception or the arrival section of the hotel. The process terminates when he has signed the registration card or guest arrival register, has been assigned a room and goes to his room.
The registration procedure differs for the different categories of the guests, like guests with reservation, without reservation, foreigners, groups, etc.
This process of registration is very important for the hotel as it not only contributes significantly to the basic information the hotel needs to monitor its business, but it is also a legal requirement. A complete record of present and past guests has to be maintained. It is a legal requirement that each guest must be registered. Guest signature is important as it signifies his consent to pay for all the services provided by the hotel and abide by the rules and regulations of the hotel. It also serves as a proof of his stay in the hotel from a certain date to another certain date. So in short, registration serves as legal contract between the hotel and the guest. We can summarize the objectives of the registration system as follows :
1. To provide guest information to he hotel.
2. To fulfill legal requirements.
3. To provide mode of payment.
4. To provide information about the date of departure.
A registration process is based on the following four concepts.
1. Collection : It helps the hotel in capturing information pertaining to the guest needs, expected or actual date of departure, billing instructions like cash or credit, mode of payment and personal data like his occupation, date of birth, purpose of visit, his office and residential address, etc.
2. Assignment and allocation of room : The assignment of room matching the guest requirement both in terms of type and the rate of the room.
3. Credibility of the guest : Based on the policies like advance payment and credit limits, etc. of the hotel and also on the basis of information provided by the billing instructions, the hotel decides upon fixing the credit limit for the guest.
4. Future planning of the room sales : The hotel can maximize it’s occupancy through a knowledge of room availability based on the information from the registration records.
VARIOUS TYPES OF REGISTRATION RECORDS :
Information about the guest which may be required by the hotel or police may be registered in two ways 1. In the form of a ‘Hotel Register’ also known as ‘Red Book’ or ‘F form’. 2. Individual guest ‘Registration cards’.
• The register can be a ‘Bound Book Register’ which is normally used by small hotels. Thick book which can be used for long time.
Merits :
1. All records are available in one book.
2. No filing is required.
3. Wastage is minimum.
Demerits :
1. Only one guest can register at a time.
2. It is bulky and difficult to carry to other departments.
3. Being very bulky and used for long period, it looks shabby on the counter.
4. Privacy can not be maintained.
5. Pre-registration not possible.
6. If the book is misplaced all the record is lost.
• Another type of register is a ‘Loose Leaf Register’ which is same as the bound book register in it’s contents but the pages are not bound. One page or sheet is used for each day.
Merits :
1. To some extent privacy is maintained.
2. Easy to hand over to customer to write details.
3. If one sheet is lost only one day’s record is lost.
Demerits :
1. It can be very easily misplaced.
2. If for a day, one full sheet is not completed, the rest goes waste.
3. Only one guest can register at a time.
4. Filing becomes an additional job.
• Individual guest registration cards are most widely used in hotels these days. They may be duplicate or triplicate depending on the hotel
Merits :
1. Many guests may be registered at the same time.
2. Privacy can be maintained.
3. Storage is easy.
4. No wastage.
5. Guests can be pre registered.
6. More mobile.
Demerits :
1. Expensive.
2. If not properly stored, may be lost.
DOCUMENTS GENERATED IN THE REGISTRATION PROCESS :
1. Registration Card : Used to collect guest personal data.
2. Room Rack Slip : A document on which the information is transferred from the registration card in the form of a summary. This slip is placed in the room rack.
3. Information rack Slip : Used to provide guest name and room no. A copy of this slip goes to room service, housekeeping, telephones, etc. These departments also maintain information racks.
4. Bell Boy’s Errand Card : It is communicate the guest arrival to the bell desk and to keep a check on the movement of the bell boys.
5. Other Support Documents :
a) Arrival notification slips : These slips are prepared and distributed to all the concerned departments.
b) ‘C’ Form : The Registration of Foreigners Act 11939 Section 3(e) Rule 14 makes it obligatory on the part of the hotel to send information about the foreigners registered at the hotel. In this connection any person who is not an Indian National or one who does not hold an Indian passport is termed as a foreigner. The form which is used to notify F.R.R.O. (Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Madras) is called as ‘C’ form. Within 24 hours from the time of registration of a foreigner (12 hours for Pakistani, Chinese and other middle eastern countries) the information should reach the F.R.R.O. In the cities where there are no F.R.R.O. this information should reach the office of the Superintendent of Police of that area or town. Nepal and Bhutan and Shree Lanka nationals are exempted from the ‘C’ form notification. The ‘C’ form is made in duplicate pr in triplicate. It is made in duplicate if sent to F.R.R.O. (original copy goes to F.R.R.O.). If it is sent to the S.P. office, it has to be made in triplicate (two copies sent to the S.P. office). A bell boy is debuted to do this work everyday and it is his duty to bring the acknowledgment of their receipt from the F.R.R.O. The ‘C’ forms are serially numbered and contain all the information about he guest which is collected from the G.R. card (guest registration card).
TYPES OF REGISTRATION SYSTEMS :
Non-Automatic Systems: It refers to a manual system. This system is used for small hotels where the installation of automatic system would prove to be quite expensive and waste. All the forms like ‘C’ form, room rack slip, information rack slip, arrival notification slip, etc. are produced and distributed manually. It is wholly dependent on guests accurate and legible completion of the registration card.
1. Semi-Automatic System : It is a combination of manual and automated systems which involves the usage of the office machinery, clerical equipment and people.
2. Fully Computerised System : It is system in which various section of the front office department are connected to each other with the help of computer interfaces. The data collected at one point can be transmitted and utilized at any other location. This system speeds up the process and reduces the no. of errors.
CREATIVE OPTIONS IN REGISTRATION
Hotels have experimented with different techniques to make registration more efficient and effective.
Techniques tried with varying degree of success include :
1. Eliminating the front desk : Instead of the front desk, a host waits at the reception area with a list of expected guests and their pre-assigned rooms. The host identifies the guests, completes an abbreviated registration process. Marriot, Hilton and several other hotel companies are currently using this procedure at selected hotels. Credit is established at the time of reservation, through a special interface between the central reservation computer and the credit card company. With everything else in place, all the hotel staff has to do is pre-register the guest and attach a room key to the registration card. When the guest arrives at the hotel a simple verification of information on the registration card completes the process.
2. Having ‘Hotel Greeter’ registering the guests at a special lobby location : The regular front desk is screened off and used only for sorting and filing records. The screen can be temporarily removed, for check-in and settlement at peak time.
3. Creating a unique, separate registration area for VIP guests : This concept is similar to hotel greeter concept, but is only available for VIP guests.
4. Self-registration : Self registration terminals are usually located in lobbies of fully automated hotels. These terminals can vary in design. Some resemble the Automated Bank Teller Machine (ATM), while the others possess both video and audio capability. Recent technological advances allow hotels to place these terminals at off premises locations such as airports, car rental agencies, etc. To use an advanced self registration terminal, a guest generally must have made a reservation which led to creation of reservation and registration record.
FLOW OF ACTIVITIES AT THE SELF-REGISTRATION TERMINAL
1. Guest enters his reservation confirmation number or valid credit card.
2. Terminal reads information from the magnetic strip, passes the information to hotel computer to locate the reservation record.
3. Terminal prompts the guest to feed in additional data with the help of key pad.
4. Computer which is interfaced with computerised room management system, enables automatic room and rate assignment.
5. Some terminals print & request the guest to sign the registration card & deposit it in a card drop box.
6. Some terminals then direct the guest to a guest room key pick-up area. In other cases, the terminal dispenses the guest room key.
REGISTRATION
Registration procedure can be divided into six steps -
1. Pre-registration activity
2. Creating a registration record
3. Assigning the room and rate
4. Establishing the method of payment
5. Issuing the room key
6. Fulfilling special request
Pre-registration activity
Information is taken from the reservation record for quick check-in. It includes printing of the registration card, room and rate assignment, creation of a guest folio, other functions may also be part of the pre-registration activities. Sometimes room number is not assigned especially when the occupancy is high. Pre-registration can help plan for special requests. This leads to innovation in registration.
Option- when the driver goes to the airport to pick up the guest. He can get the guest signature on the registration card, take an imprint of the credit card, the room key can be given to the guest even before reaching the hotel. The check in can be carried out at the airport itself.
The registration record
Registration cards- have details about the guest taken from the reservation record such as name of the guest, address, contact no., date of arrival, date of departure, type of room, special request etc. At check out they are stored as guest history record. It is a database for future trends.
Flow of guest registration information:
Room rack slip
POS charge status
Guest folio slip
Registration record
Housekeeping schedule
Information rack slip Guest history card
Room and rate assignment
Involves identifying and allocating an available room in a specific room category. If not available, identify an acceptable available room. The room can be pre- assigned. A variety of room rates exist for similar types of rooms. Rates differ based on room view, location, furnishing etc.
I. Room status
Effective room and rate assignment depends on accurate and timely room status information. Housekeeping uses status- occupied, vacant, on- change, out of order. The housekeeping status should be communicated to the front office and it should be checked against the front office status. The discrepancy should be rectified. Communication between front office and housekeeping is written, spoken, through telephones, computers, interface in- room telephone. Occupancy report is sent by the housekeeping to the front office.
Computers
Computers give instantaneous access to the room status. Pagers can be connected to the computer terminals. At times the rooms are ready in all respect but there could be a delay in clearing the rooms as the housekeeper may be clearing a number of rooms together. It can be made faster when the telephone and computer are interfaced.
Room rates
A room rate is the price a hotel charges for overnight accommodation.
Rack rate – standard rate for each room.
Food plans – room rate is inclusive of breakfast, lunch or dinner. Eg. Continental plan, European plan, American plan, Bermuda plan, modified American plan.
Special rates – these are discounted rates.
• Commercial or corporate rate – for frequent guests
• Complimentary – for business promotion
• Group rates – for groups, tour operators etc.
• Family rates – for families with children under 12.
• Day rates – hourly rate generally for a minimum of four hours. Applicable only during slack seasons.
• Package plan rates – room rate includes room rent and some facilities.
• Frequent traveler rate – for regular guests or guests who are flying with the airline that is part of the intersell agency or the co- marketer of the hotel.
Room locations
Front Office assistants should know the location of each room in the hotel. Room rack should contain information about the room types, rate, décor etc. computers record this information in their room history records.
II. Future blocks
Future blocks implies the showing of reservations on charts. Example: advance letting chart, density chart etc.
III. Methods of payment
Hotels accept different modes of payment such as cash, credit card, direct billing, special programmes and groups. Hotels have policies regarding the different modes.
IV. Issuing the room keys
By issuing the room keys the registration process is complete. Hotels have guidelines for the issue of room keys. Never announce the room number to the guest. When using key card draw the attention of the guest on the room number while writing it on the key card. Bell boy escorts the guest.
V. Fulfilling special request
Part of registration is making sure that any special requests made by guests are acknowledged. Sometimes even the room could be blocked in advance. Example inter connecting room.
VI. Creative options in registration
Apart from the traditional method, innovations could be used in the registration process. Some of them could be eliminating the front desk and having hotel greeters, creating a unique separate registration area for a VIP, combining the hotel registration with the meeting registration in a separate area of the building. Also, having a separate desk for the registration of groups.
VII. Self registration
Self registration terminals are installed in the lobby. They are interfaced with the front office computer terminals. It makes use of the credit card that was used for guaranteeing the reservation. These machines resemble the bank ATM machines.
VIII. When guest cannot be accommodated
Guaranteed reservation: hotel makes arrangement for the guest in a hotel of the same standard in the vicinity. Hotel may go to the extent of paying for the accommodation of the guest when it is walking the guest.
Walk in guest: hotel is not liable to provide accommodation to a walk in guest if there is no room available. But hotel can offer to assist the guest in finding accommodation in a similar hotel in the vicinity. The hotel may make reservation for the guest in the other hotel.
Guest with non- guaranteed reservation: reservation is held till the reservation cancellation hour, in case the room position is minus the hotel can release the room. The hotel must be tactful in dealing with non guaranteed reservations. Guests should be told about the hotels policy regarding the cancellation hour at the time he makes the room reservation.
Guests with guaranteed reservation:
• Review all front office transactions to ensure full occupancy.
- accurate counts of occupied rooms, compare room racks.
• Telephone due outs/ expected check outs.
• Check the condition of Out Of Order rooms.
• Identify pre- blocked rooms.
• Guests are encouraged to return to the hotel as VIPs.
• Management should prepare a follow up letter.
• For members of a convention, the planner should be informed.
• In case of a tour group, tour operator should be informed.
• If no room is available in the hotel guest can be sent to another hotel.
REGISTRATION SITUATIONS
DNS (Did Not Stay):
The guest sometimes wants to move-out almost immediately after being shown the room. If the room is not satisfactory to the guest the receptionist should try and provide alternative accommodation to this guest in the same hotel. If that is not possible then she should try and accommodate the guest in some other hotel of similar standard.
If the guest departs for reasons, which are beyond hotel’s control, the receptionist should express her regret and should assist the guest with departure. If the room is not being used, no charges will be made to the guest. All the forms and records will be marked ‘DNS’. Management is informed about these DNS cases and the reasons for the same.
DNA (Did Not Arrive):
At the end of the day, the receptionist should take following steps:
1. Check for reservation slips in the reservation rack.
2. Check the room rack to verify that the guest has not checked-in already.
3. Double check the arrival dates.
4. Check with the airline company for delay in the flight (if flight no. is given)
5. Time stamp the reservation form and attach it with folio card (in case of advance payment), mark it as ‘DNA’.
6. These reservation forms are kept with the next day’s reservations as the guaranteed reservation guest may arrive the next day.
RNA (Registered Not Assigned):
A guest arriving early in the morning, when the rooms are not available, may be asked to register himself. He is requested to deposit his luggage in the left luggage room and return to the hotel for room assignment later in the day (by hotel’s check-in time). The registration card is marked ‘RNA’ and kept at the reception counter. As soon as room of the required type is available, room assignment will be done. Room no. is then mentioned on the registration card.
PIA (Paid In Advance):
At arrival, if the guest has very little luggage (scanty baggage/ scanty luggage), then payment in advance is normally requested. This situation should be handled with extreme care and tact. Guest with cash payment should be informed about the hotel’s policy, very politely and advance should be collected. All the other revenue centers should be informed that the guest has to in cash for all the services and products provided to him. A ‘Cash Only Slip’ or a ‘PIA guest list’ is sent to all the service outlets.
If the guest holds a credit card and wants to make the payment through the same, then his card is validated and an imprint of the card is taken on the credit card voucher.
No Information:
The guest may request that no information regarding his/her presence in the hotel be given to any caller or visitor. ‘No Information’ should be clearly marked on the slips so that the staff can respond appropriately.
Signature check in:
The Registration card is filled in before the arrival of the guest as a part of the pre registration activity. The details are taken from the reservation record. The guest only signs on the registration card at the time of arrival. This saves a lot of time and is found convenient by guests as well as the hotel.
ARRIVAL PROCEDURE
ARRIVAL PROCEDURE GUEST ARRIVES AT THE HOTEL: Doorman greets the guest, opens door of the vehicle and helps guest alight. Bellboy unloads guest luggage, carrries it to the bell desk, directs the guest to the reception counter. GUEST ARRIVES AT THE RECEPTION COUNTER: Check expected arrivals list. Reconfirm accommodation requirements and mode of payment and special instructions with the guest. Check correspondence file for clarification if necessary. If the guest is an unknown FIT, if the mode of payment is cash ask the guest for an advance voucher or the pre-typed GR card or registration record and give it to the guest for completion. In the mean time check for the mail and messages for the guest. Decide on the room to be allocated from room rack availability of the type of room required. Prepare the key card and/ or welcome slip. Collect key, prepare lobby attendant’s errand card. Check that the registration card is properly filled. Ensure guest signature and then sign. In some hotels details of advance voucher are noted on the registration record at this stage. Hand over to the guest to the guest key card and / or welcome slip. Call for the Bell boy, enter his name on the errand card. Hand key to the Bell boy and instruct him to escort the guest to the room. (announce guest name and room number clearly but softly, at the same time indicating guest to the bell boy so as to avoid mistakes). After the guest leaves the counter inform Telephone department and Room Service immediately on phone. Prepare rack slips for room rack and Information rack. If hotel policy dictates prepare rack slips for Room Service and Telephone department. Also the slips themselves serve as arrival notification slips ( permanent notification slips). Otherwise temporary notification slips may be prepared and sent. Housekeeping department has to be informed. Attach reservation form and relevant correspondence to the guest registration card and sent to the Cashier to open the guest folio. In some hotels, guest folio is opened by the Receptionist and sent to the cashier with the rest of the forms to be maintained till the guest departure. Make entries in the arrival and departure register. Prepare ‘C’ Forms for foreigners. FORMATS: Expected arrival list Registration card, C Form Key card / Welcome slip Arrival-Departure register Bell boys errand card Bell captains control sheet Arrival notification slip ARRIVAL PROCEDURE Pre-arrival procedure: Refer log or memorandum. Calculate room position. Block room for existing reservation. Make amenities voucher if required. Keep registration cards ready. Formula for calculating room position: Room position = Available rooms -Expected arrivals + Exp. Dep. – Out of order / blocked rooms. Overbooking percentage = Cancellations + No shows X 100 No. of rooms F.I.T ARRIVAL PROCEDURE Guest without a reservation (walk in guest): Find out the requirement of the guest and allot a room as per the guest request. Guest with a reservation: Obtain the name of the guest. Check for the name of the guest in the expected arrivals list and tick it off. Check if the room is already blocked or allocated from the room rack. If not, then identify a suitable vacant room from the room rack to be assigned to the guest. Confirm the mode of payment. If cash, then request an advance payment. If the guest is paying by credit card, take an imprint of the credit card and validate the card. Offer a blank registration card if the guest is not pre-registered. Let the guest fill up the registration card and check it to see if all details have been entered. Prepare the key and welcome card. Summon the bell boy ad fill the errand card for the bell boy. Let the bell boy escort the guest to the room. LUGGAGE CONTROL AND BELLBOYS CONTROL Many guests arrive at the hotel with heavy baggage or several pieces of luggage. Guests receive help from the bell attendants. Bell attendants provide baggage service between the Lobby area and the guest room. Activities at the bell desk on arrival: Bell boy returns to the bell desk with errand card and hands it over to the bell captain. Hotel tags are prepared and fixed by the bell boy in the presence of the guest to identify the luggage and avid confusion or mistakes. Bell boy escorts the guest to the room with the luggage. Places luggage on the luggage stand or as directed by the guest. Returns to the bell desk and punches time of return on the errand card. The details on the errand card are filled up by the bell captain. He also makes entries of the details into his control sheet on the bell boys return. The errand card contains details such as the description and the number of pieces of baggage, the time at which the bell boy left the counter, time of return etc.
FRONT OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Time filed Transferred
From last sheet Memorandum Time completed Transferred to next sheet
FRONT OFFICE LOG BOOK
S.No. Particulars Time
(given) Time
(completed) Completed by Transferred
REGISTRATION CARD
IX. Name ________________________________________________________________________________
Surname first name
Arriving from _______________________ Company Design. _____________________________
Next destination _____________________ Organisation _________________________________
Date of birth ________________________ Address ______________________________________
Residential address __________________ __________________________________________
Arrival on ______ Dep. On __________ FOR FOREIGNERS
PURPOSE OF VISIT Date of arrival in India:_____________
Business 0Conference 0 Leisure Duration of stay in India:__________
MODE OF PAYMENT Passport no. _______________________
0Cash 0Travellers cheque 0 BTC 0voucher Nationality _______________________
Credit card 0Visa 0Master card 0Amex0Diners Date of issue:_____________________
Credit card no. _______________________ Place of issue:____________________
Expiry date _________________________ Certificate of registration
(Only for foreigners residing in India)
No. ___________________________
Bill to _____________________________ Date: __________________________
Room to be charged to ______________ Issued at: ______________________
Room types_________ Room no.________
Room rate No. of guests Room type
I agree to release my room(s) by 12 noon on the date of departure. Should I fail to check out, I authorise the management to pack and remove my belongings to the hotel check room so that my room will be available for incoming guests with confirmed reservations. The management is not responsible for any theft or loss of the valuables from the room.
Signature of the receptionist _____________ Guest’s signature ________________
AMENITIES VOUCHER
Date: ___________
From : Front Office
To : Room Service / Housekeeping / Pantry
Please supply:
0 fruit basket ( small / large / special)
0 flower arrangement (small / large)
0 bottle of wine
To _________________ Room no. ______________ at ________________________
(Guest’s name) (time)
Authorised by ___________________________________________________________
Card to be attached of __________________ Signature ______________________
Copies: 1. Room service/ Pantry / Housekeeper
2. F & B Controls
3. File copy
KEY CARD
Guest name ___________________________________________________________
Room no. ______________________________________________________________
Arrival Date __________________ Departure date ___________________________
Signature of the guest _______________________
Room key, on presentation of this card.
Purpose: This card is an authorization for guest to collect key.
MOVEMENT LIST
X.
Date: __________________ Day:____________________________
S no. Name Arr.flt.
No. Room no. No. of persons Instructions Departure date Booked by
BELL BOYS ERRAND CARD
(ARRIVAL)
Room no. Name:
Items No. of pieces
Suite case
Brief case
Hand bag
Suit hanger
Others
FOR OFFICE ONLY
Company
Contact
Departure date
Remarks
BELL CAPTAIN
LOBBY MANAGER
ROOM CHECKLIST
AC operation Mini bar flask
Music Leather folder
Television Bath robe
Brass ashtray – 2L, 2 S Mini
Lobby attendant Time: Date:
LOBBY ATTENDANT ERRAND CARD
(Departure)
Room no: Name:
Items No. of pieces
Suit case
Brief case
Hand bag
Suit hanger
Others
ROOM CHECK LIST
Brass ashtrays – 2L, 2S Bath robe
Mini bar flask Leather flask
DEPARTURE
INFORMATION RECEPTION CASHIER
Lobby attendant: Time: Date:
BELL CAPTAINS CONTROL SHEET
Sheet no. _____
Captain ________________
Date __________________ Shift from_________ To __________________
FIT DEPARTURE PROCEDURE
AT THE RECEPTION:
• The receptionist receives the errand card.
• Check name on the expected departure list.
• Inform the housekeeping control desk.
• Notes down the name of the housekeeping staff and time informed in the departure intimation register.
• Checks for the room key and signs on the errand card.
• Informs telephone.
• Informs room service.
• Updates room rack (slip folded in half) and information rack.
• Enters details in an alphabetical order in the register against the guest name.
• Enters details in the arrival / departure register.
• Keep registration card for filing.
AT THE CASHIER’S DESK:
• The cashier checks the guest folio for any unposted vouchers.
• Calls up the room service, coffee shop for any last minute billing.
• Updates bills and checks billing instructions.
• Checks all entries against the vouchers and arranges them date-wise.
• Presents the bill to the guest to check and rectify(approve) charges. Also reconfirm the billing instructions.
• Queries if any are answered and vouchers are presented.
Bell desk
Bell desk / Bell stand / Porter’s lodge
Operations at this desk are controlled by Bell captain / head hall porter. In case of large & very large hotels this responsibility is taken care of by the senior bell captain.
There are bell boys/ porters/ page boys working under the bell captain.
This small desk is located:
• In the lobby
• In front of the front desk
• Near the entrance
• Near the luggage elevator
The ‘left luggage room is located next to this small desk.
Bell desk communicates with:
1. Doorman
2. Reception/ Information/ CashierS
3. Lobby manager
XI. Functions performed
1. Paging of guests.
2. Handling mail & messages for in-house guests.
3. collection of room keys from the guest at the time of departure & depositing at the reception.
4. Handling and distribution of newspapers & magazines.
5. Attending outside calls.
6. Postage stamps and outgoing mail.
7. Handling other services like door service, car parking, crew/ group wake call service.
8. Helping lobby manager to check discrepant rooms.
9. Handling and storage of luggage left by the guest for temporary storage.
XII. Basic equipment used
1. Luggage trolley
2. Intercom telephones
3. Postage scales
4. Date & time stamping machines
5. Stamp folder
6. Luggage net
7. Paging board
LEFT LUGGAGE FACILITY
Hotel guests, at times wish to leave their luggage in the custody of the hotel left luggage room. The luggage will be kept in the left luggage room under following circumstances:
* On arrival : The guest may not need all the luggage, he is carrying with him to his room.
* On departure : When he intends to return to the hotel after a short trip to another city OR when the guest wants the luggage piece to be picked-up by another friend or relative OR when the guest is not able to make immediate payments of the bills OR when the guest checks out of the room at noon to save extra billing but is bound to leave by an evening flight.
This service is provided only to hotel residents.
Conditions Applied for Accepting Left Luggage :
Hotel accepts baggage or package for storage in a condition that hotel shall be in no way liable for loss caused to it through water, fire, theft, or any such causes.
Hotel shall not be responsible for the luggage after 30 days of storage.
Precious items, jewelry, important documents ,etc. won’t be accepted for storage. Guest is advised to contact any scheduled bank and hire a locker for such purposes.
No edibles, explosives or inflammable material should form a part of the content of goods being given for storage.
Guests are requested to ensure that the baggage handed over for storage is properly locked and secured.
Guests are requested to sign the register in the left luggage room at the time of handing over and receiving their baggage.
In some cases, a fixed charge per piece per day will be levied for each baggage occupied for storage.
Baggage will be handed over only on the production of baggage check.
INFORMATION DESK
Front office staff must know the following points :
Hotel Product Check List
• Room number and location of each room : floor and access.
• Type of accommodation available : single, double, twin, etc.
extra bed etc.
• Additional facilities : Terrace, private balcony, Jacuzzi, etc.
• Room facilities : Telephone, mini bar, channel music, fax machine, etc.
• State of furnishings : Newly redecorated, good, poor, old fashioned, etc.
• Fire emergency drill.
• Hotel rates : per person, per day, per room, etc.
• Details of tariff : Half board, full board, B.P., etc.
• Special tariffs : High / mid / low season, festival season, discount rates.
Standing Arrangements :
• Service charges.
• Reservation deposit policy.
• Price and service times of all meals in the restaurant.
• Room and floor service facilities & charges.
• Policy for pets and dogs.
• Car parking, garage, petrol, car repairs facilities.
• Telephone call charges.
• Corkage charges.
• Liquor, cigarettes and snacks service time and charges.
• Cheque, traveler’s cheque and personal cheque policies.
• Credit card policy
• Travel agents and company business policy.
Hotel facilities :
• Number and position of public cloak room, staircases, elevators, etc.
• Position and amenities of lounge, TV room or reading room, restaurants, etc.
• Opening and closing hours of bar, games room, health club, swimming pool, etc.
• Provision for packed food, early dinner, late supper.
• Banqueting and conference facilities.
• Theater tickets, taxi hire, car hire, laundry, dry cleaning, etc.
GUEST COMPLAINT HANDLING
How to handle complaints:
1. Listen carefully
When a guest complaints do not interrupt, listen carefully. Because a guest who is complaining. Do not interrupt and give excuses. The guest is angry and to lessen the anger, let him tell you the entire problem.
2. Clarify
If you are in doubt about the specific problem of your guest then do not guess his problem but, clarify it by asking questions and understanding the nature of problem.
3. Think about your guest wants
When a guest complaints he might tell you so many things along with the actual problem. But you have to try and the important message from the complaint, i.e. find out the root cause.
4.Think how you can help
Considering the nature of the problem and the complaint, decide the plan of action quickly.
5. Act immediately
Take immediate action and take the action in front of the guest so that he feels that he is taken care of.
6. Follow-up
Merely taking action is not sufficient, so follow-up with the other departments, if the complaint has been handled.
7. No false promises
It is very dangerous to make false promise. If you can’t solve a particular problem do not promise, otherwise you may loose not only one customer but many.
8. Ask senior
If you feel you can’t solve a certain problem or you are not authorized to take a decision, ask your senior to help you.
MAIL HANDLING
Importance :
Mail handling procedure is a very important function which the Front Office staff has to handle in a hotel. A receptionist in a hotel has to be very careful that all the mail receives due attention and are attended to without any delay to avoid embarrassment.
Types of mail - Incoming & Outgoing, Ordinary & Registered :
Basically while discussing there are two types of mail. Incoming & Outgoing.
Incoming Mail :
Various types of mail may be received in a hotel, like mail for Hotel Management and Hotel staff and mail for guests. In addition the mail may be an ordinary mail or registered/recorded mail etc.
Staff has to be extra careful about recorded mail. All incoming mail must be DATE AND TIME STAMPED. A proper record of all the recorded mail is kept as per requirement i.e., the entries are made in either registered letter book, parcels book or telegram book etc. No such record is maintained for ordinary mail. After having date and time marked the mail, it is sorted and classified under 3 main categories.
(1) HOTEL MAIL is identified by the designation of a senior manager of the hotel eg General Manager, Banquet Manager etc. This mail is delivered to the office of the managers concerned.
(2) STAFF MAIL is identified by the presence of the name of employee, designation and department mentioned in the address. This is usually sorted and delivered through the Time Office.
(3) GUEST MAIL : Any mail that is left is supposed to be guest mail
Guest Mail may belong to any one of the following categories
(1) Present Guest Mail
(2) Past Guest Mail
(3) Future guest Mail
(4) Wrongly Addressed Mail
PRESENT GUEST MAIL
The guest mail is first arranged in ALPHABETICAL ORDER and then checked against the INFORMATION RACK to identify the PRESENT GUESTS. Wherever applicable the room no is entered in pencil on the letters and then they are put in the appropriate room no pigeon hole in the MAIL AND KEY RACK to be handed to the guests when they come to deposit or collect their keys
Any mail that is left still belongs to guests who have already departed (past guest) or to guests who have still to arrive (future guests)
PAST GUEST MAIL
Sometime the hotel receives mail for the guests who have already departed from the hotel after having stayed for some period. The hotel to avoid any embarrassment as to what to do with such mail and how to hand it over to the person quickly, ask the departing guest to leave their forwarding address and for how long they would want their mail to be redirected to that address. A special program called “Mail Forwarding Card” is used for this. Many hotels keep these cards in the stationery folder in the room while others keep these slips at the Front Desk and give them to the guest at the time of departure. This card contains the address to which and the dates/period till by which the guest would like all the mail received by the hotel after his departure to be forwarded. These cards are filed alphabetically and when the expiry date is reached they are cleared out systematically. Any letter received after the expiry date is either returned back to the sender or in case the permanent address of the guest is available, is redirected to him at his permanent address.
The remaining mail is still in alphabetical order and checked against the Mail Forwarding Cards and where applicable they are Redirected. Details of mail redirected is entered on the reverse of the Mail Forwarding Card.
FUTURE GUEST MAIL
General mail for guests yet to arrive is kept in the back office in pigeon holes marked alphabetically. An indication is made in the reservation record about this awaited mail i.e., in case of Whitney system the words “Awaited Mail” is written on the Whitney slip. In case of diary system it is recorded in the diary against his name in remarks column and in case of Computer system it is updated in the computer. Later this mail is sent to the Front Desk and is kept with the receptionist in special slot on the day of arrival of the guest and when the guest arrives the receptionist hands over the mail to the guest at the time of registration.
If there is any mail that is delivered within thirty days after it has been received, it is marked “Addressee Unknown” and sent back to the Post Office which will send them to the Dead Letter Office..
Outgoing Mail :
Outgoing mail of the hotel include mail of the hotel and guest. Outgoing Hotel Mail is handled by the individual departments. The various departments have their own secretarial staff who maintain record of all outgoing mail. Large Hotels use Franking Machine for postage. If the volume of mail is high the use of Franking Machine save lot of time. This machine is hired / purchased generally from the Post & Telegram department or any authorized supplying company. This machine stamps on the envelope (or on an adhesive tape) the amount of postage required and the date cancellation mark. Advance payment has to be made to the post office to cover the value of the postage expected to be used. As the stamp value is printed on the envelope, the amount is reduced on the machine till it reaches zero value. The machine will then automatically lock and the post office will again charge it after further payment. While using the machine care must be taken that the correct denomination of stamp is put on envelopes. The date stamp must be altered every day as the post office will not accept the prior post dated mail. One of the most important thing for the staff to know is the current postal regulations.
Besides the outgoing mail of Hotel, the Hotel also provide the service of posting letter etc. for the guest staying at the hotel. Generally the bell desk keeps stamps and letter and parcels scale. The stamp folder is used to prevent the stamps from getting lost. The folder contains separate divisions for various denominations. The stamp folder should be kept under lock and key. The letter and parcel scale is used to weigh the mail to ensure that correct amount of postage is affixed.
Some hotels use a book called postage book to keep the record of postage used. All mail for dispatch if franked by a franking machine or if the stamps are used should be entered into postage book.
The procedure of sending ordinary mail for guest is simple. The guest leaves his mail (to be posted) at the Bell Desk where it is weighed and then the necessary stamps are affixed and posted. In case of Registered mail the mail is sent to post office, which issue an special official receipt. These receipts are retained as they are required to be produced in case a claim for clarification from the guest.
PAGING
Paging is used to locate a guest in the hotel. Guests may require this paging service during their stay in the hotel. Sometimes when a expecting a phone call or a visitor but he doesn’t want to wait for him in his room, and either goes to any of the public areas or goes out of the hotel; then in such cases he will leave the information about his whereabouts at the front desk. For this purpose he has to fill in a ‘Location form’
Location form tells about the whereabouts of the guest in case he is not in his room and is expecting a telephone call or a visitor. Sometimes this form is kept in the stationary folder in the guest room but more commonly it is with the front desk. The receptionist on the guest’s behalf can fill this in. it is made in duplicate; one copy is kept in the “Key and Mail rack”, the second copy goes to the telephone operator. Paging can be done for a guest whose location is known or for a guest who has not left any location form.
PROCEDURE FOR PAGING
1. Page Board System:
When a phone call is received for any guest or a visitor comes to visit the guest who is not in his room, the reception desk personnel will write the name and/or room number of the guest on both the sides of the Page board. This will be handed over to the bellboy. If the guest location is known, bell boy will carry that board to specific public area and will ring the bells attached to the board. This draws attention of the guest and the concerned guest gets his message.
Disadvantages:
• Time consuming- if the guest does not specify his location page board will have to be carried to all public areas of the hotel.
• When bell boy moves with the board and the bells are ringing, he might disturb many guests in the area.
2. Channel Music Or Public Address System:
When there is a phone call for a guest who has to be paged, the receptionist switches off the channel music of the lobby and other public area of the hotel. With the help of a microphone she announces the name and/or the room number of the guest, which is transmitted to all public areas simultaneously.
SAFE CUSTODY OF GUEST VALUABLES
The hotelier has a liability towards the property of a guest and he is obliged to accept articles such as jewelry, cash, etc for safekeeping. The hotel can either accept articles from the guest for safekeeping or can provide facilities like lockers where the guest can keep his valuables.
The hotel has to display a notice informing the guest about the safekeeping facilities in a prominent place where it can be noticed by the guest. The hotelier must also inform the guest about these facilities orally. Once he has accepted the responsibility for the safety of the guest valuables, the guest can clam damages for the following:
1. The property was lost or damaged in spite of the fact that they were given for safekeeping.
2. The hotel refused to accept guest’s valuables for safekeeping and later they were lost or stolen.
3. The hotel failed to display a notice in a prominent place and the guest was not aware of this facility.
PROCEDURE
1. COMMON SAFE:
When a guest deposits his valuables for safe custody, he is given a specially prepared envelope in which he puts the articles. He seals the envelope and signs across it. The cashier gives a receipt for the envelope. The receipts are serially numbered and are in triplicate. Top copy is given to the guest, second copy is attached to the envelope and the third copy is the book copy. A deposit register is also maintained in which the details of the receipt are posted.
When the guest requests for the return of the property, he gives back the original of the receipt. This is cancelled and is attached to the third copy in the book. The deposit receipt book is checked against the deposit register to ensure that all deposits have been entered in the register and all the receipts are returned to the book after returning the guest article.
2. INDIVIDUAL SAFE DEPOSIT LOCKERS:
As the above process is time consuming and could lead to confusion, mostly individual safe deposit lockers are used. When valuables are to be deposited the guest is given the key of the locker, which he signs for and the particulars are recorded in the ‘Safe deposit locker record sheet’. There are two keys for each locker. When the locker has to be opened, both the keys have to be used. The cashier is responsible for the control key and the second key is the guest key. The cashier uses his key and then h guest can open the locker with his key. This prevents the guest or the staff from tampering with the lockers. The front desk must verify the identity of the guest before granting him the access to the safe deposit box. The guest is required to sign a form requesting the access to the locker and the staff will verify the signature with the guest signature on the safe deposit locker form. A few hotels also take a deposit for the key. It is refunded at the time of departure on production of the key receipt.
In some hotels safe deposit lockers are also placed in the guest rooms. In- room safes are generally placed in the guest room closet or wardrobe. Guest convenience is the main advantage of the in-room safe. Several different types of in-room safe systems exist. A few of them have mechanical locks while others have electronic locks that can be coded by the guests. Every guest staying in the room can lock the safe with his own code and the guest is requested to leave the safe open when he checks out.
In case a guest does not remember the code, he can take help from the hotel security officers who have a master key that will open the safe.
SAFE DEPOSIT FORM:
ASSIGNED TO:__________________ SAFE DEPOSIT BOX NO.:___________
ROOM DATE TIME CASHIER GUEST
I HEREBY AUTHORIZE THE PERSON, WHOSE SIGNATURE IS SHOWN IN THE BOX ABOVE, TO HAVE THE ACCESS TO THE LOCKER.
GUEST SIGNATURE DATE TIMES OPENED CASHIER
A CHARGE OF RS.500/- WILL BE MADE FOR LOST KEYS.
SURRENDERED BY:
GUEST SIGNATURE DATE TIME CASHIER
SAFE DEPOSIT LOCKER APPLICATION
FROM : Mr./Mrs./Ms.____________________________________________
ROOM NO. : _______________
Please allot me a safe deposit locker for my personal use.
I agree to pay the charges for the same as per the terms and conditions of the organisation.
LOCKER NO. : _______________ KEY NO. : _____________
DATE OF ALLOTMENT : _______________
TIME OF ALLOTMENT : ________________
SIGNATURE OF THE GUEST : _______________
SIGNATURE OF THE FR. OFFICE CASHIER : ______________
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. I confirm to use the safe deposit locker for storing valuables and cash at my
risk.
2. I undertake not to misuse the safe deposit locker for the storage of damaged,
Combustible and other objectionable items.
3. I assure to keep the safe deposit locker key in my possession and hand over the
same at the time of check-out.
4. In case of loss of safe deposit locker key, I agree to pay Rs. 1,500/- towards the
cost of replacement of the lock.
5. I agree to pay a rent of Rs. 25/day
____________________
Guest Signature.
ROOMING LIST
GROUP NAME : CHECK-IN DATE : TIME :
TRAVEL AGENCY : CHECK-OUT DATE : TIME :
ROOM NO.
GUEST NAME ROOM TYPE CHECK-IN TIME REMARKS
ROOM NO.
GUEST NAME ROOM TYPE CHECK-IN TIME REMARKS
x
TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE: THIRTY-SIX TIPS
Before you answer be prepared (this includes knowing how to use the phone/system features):
1. Turn away from your computer, desk or other work.
2. Have pens, pencils and notepaper handy.
In answering the phone:
3. Answer calls promptly, by the second or third ring.
4. Smile as you pick up the phone.
5. Assume your "telephone" voice, controlling your volume and speed.
6. Project a tone that is enthusiastic, natural, attentive and respectful.
7. Greet the caller and identify yourself and your company/department/unit.
8. Ask, "To whom am I speaking?"
9. Ask, "How may I help you?"
In the course of the conversation:
10. Focus your entire attention on the caller.
11. Enunciate/articulate clearly. Speak distinctly.
12. Use Plain English and avoid unnecessary jargon and acronyms.
13. Use action specific words and directions.
14. Use the caller's name during the conversation.
15. Always speak calmly and choose your words naturally.
16. Use all of your listening skills:
a. Focus your full attention on the caller and the conversation.
b. Listen "between" the words.
c. Use reflective/active listening to clarify and check for understanding.
17. If there is a problem, project a tone that is concerned, empathetic, and apologetic.
18. Avoid the Five Forbidden Phrases.
a. "I don't know"
Instead, say: "That is a good question; let me find out for you" or offer to connect the caller with someone who could provide the answer.
If a call involves some research, assure the person that you will call back by a specific time.
If you do not have an answer by the deadline, call back to say, “I don’t have an answer yet, but I’m still researching it.” There is no excuse for not returning calls.
b. "I/we can't do that."
Instead say: "This is what I/we can do."
c. "You'll have to"
Instead say: "You will need to" or "I need you to" or “Here’s how we can help you.”
d. "Just a second"
Instead: Give a more honest estimate of how long it will take you and/or let them know what you are doing.
e. "No."
Instead: Find a way to state the situation positively.
19. Use "LEAPS" with the emotional caller to vent.
L Listen; allow the caller to vent.
E Empathize; acknowledge the person's feelings
A Apologize when appropriate, even if the problem is not your fault, you can say, "I am really sorry this has happened" and mean it.
P (Be) Positive
S Solve; suggest/generate solutions that you can both agree on and/or ask what you can do to help and, if reasonable, do it! If not, find a compromise.
In concluding the call:
20. End the conversation with agreement on what is to happen next; if you are to follow-up, do so immediately.
21. Thank the caller for calling; invite the caller to call again.
In transferring calls:
22. Transfer ONLY when necessary; get the information yourself.
23. If you must transfer, avoid the use of the word "transfer." Say instead: "I am going to connect you with".
24. Explain why you are "transferring" the call.
25. Give the caller the person's name and direct number
26. Stay on the line and introduce the caller.
In taking messages:
27. Identify yourself and for whom you are answering the phone.
28. Practice political sensitivity.
29. Indicate the period of time the person will be unavailable.
30. Write down all the important information given:
a. The name of the caller. Ask for spelling if unclear.
b. The (correct) telephone number of the caller.
c. The message. Ask for clarification if necessary.
31. Read back what you've written to be sure you've understood the message correctly.
32. Always assure the person that you will deliver the message promptly.
33. Deliver the message in a timely fashion.
NEVER:
34. Eat, drink or chew gum while on the phone.
35. Leave an open line:
a. Place the caller on hold
b. Check back with the caller frequently: every 30-45 seconds.
ALWAYS:
36. Put a smile in your telephone voice and let your personality shine!
The Complaint Call
Complaint callers who are irate are really saying, "I rate." They have bought into society's "the squeaky
wheel gets the grease" mentality. When that happens, try the EAR method:
E mpathize with the caller.
A pologize and acknowledge the problem.
Accept R esponsibility. (You'll do something.)
Empathize with the caller. This is different from sympathy, where you take on someone else's problem.
Try to understand how the person is feeling.
Apologize and acknowledge the problem. You don't have to agree with the caller, but express regret that there is a problem. People want to be heard, and no one's complaint is trivial.
Each deserves prompt handling, so do not deal with it in a trivial manner.
Accept responsibility. Make sure something is done. Take it upon yourself to DO something.
Many times, that's all that people want: the reassurance that something will be done. People want to be helped. They want to know that you care.
Use these phrases to get that sentiment across: "How can I help you?" "What can I do for you?" "I'll make sure this message/information gets to the right person."
The acceptance of responsibility may be as simple as forwarding the call to the appropriate individual or sending the caller more information.
If you do forward the caller to someone else on your staff, follow up with that person to make sure the caller was taken care of.
If you get an irate caller, or even one who is calm, cool, and collected, here are some more methods to handle complaint calls:
First, don't overreact, especially if the caller starts using "trigger" words or phrases, such as: "I want to talk to someone who knows something." Most people respond by getting defensive when their "hot-button words" are pressed.
Remember, a positive attitude is the most important asset you have.
Second, listen completely to the complaint. Allow the caller the opportunity to vent some frustration.
When you listen, don't try to apply logic to the situation. Many people are beyond logic if they are angry, so accept the feelings being expressed. Avoid argument and criticism.
Third, do not blame anyone -- the caller, yourself, or someone on your staff -- even if you know who is to blame for a problem. This information should not be shared with the caller.
Fourth, paraphrase the caller's comments, and ask questions if you do not understand the information being presented to you. Restate the problem as you understand it.
Fifth, offer solutions and, if appropriate, offer alternatives. Providing alternatives empowers callers. It gives callers a feeling that they were not dictated to and that they were part of the solution.
Finally, confirm the solution with the caller. Make sure the caller agrees with what has been decided.
Of course, not everyone will be happy, no matter what you do. These people will not be content; they just like being grumpy. Usually, these are the people who want to talk to the person "above you." If that is what it takes to lessen their anger, then do so. By the time they have been transferred to a supervisor, they usually have become calmer and less demanding. It seems that they just needed to vent their anger at someone: you. Just remember that most people are not that way and keep a firm grip on that positive attitude of yours.
How do people answer the phone in different parts of the world?
In Spain they say "Get on with it!"
In Italy they say "Ready!"
In the Czech Republic they say "Ahoy!"
In Japan they say "Mushi-mushi!"
In New Zealand they ask "Are you there?"
In Hong Kong they say "Waay!"
In the Netherlands they say "With..."
In Finland they state their full name
Ways to answer the Phone!
"Hi."
"Hola!"
"Hey wassup ?"
"You have reached the residence of ___________, but no one is here right now... so please leave a...."
"Thank you, please pull around."
"Do-do-do- I'm sorry, you call cannot be completed as dialed!"
"Burp!"
"Talk to I!"
"911 Emergency!"
"Pizza Hut, may I take your order?"
Role-play 1
Employer: "Hello, Johnson Industries."
Applicant: "Hi, my name is student's name, and I am calling about the ad in the Sunday paper for the Customer Service Representative Position." (speak clearly and state who you are and why you are calling)
Employer: "OK, what I need you to do is come down to the office and fill out an application."
Applicant: "Could you tell me where you are located?" (you may want to write the information down)
Employer: "Do you know where the McDonalds® is on Main Street?"
Applicant: "Yes, I do." (try to say more than "yeah" or "no")
Employer: "Good, we are located right across the street."
Applicant: "When is a good time to come by and who should I ask for?"
Employer: "You can come by any time before 5 p.m. today, and ask for me, Fred Stevenson."
Applicant: "Thank you Mr. Stevenson." (always be polite)
Employer: "You are welcome."
Role-play 2
Receptionist: "Good afternoon, McDonnel and Associates."
Applicant: "Hi, may I please speak to Ms. Fredrickson?" (use formal names)
Receptionist: "Ms. Fedrickson is in a meeting right now."
Applicant: "May I leave a message?" (ask to leave a message)
Receptionist: "Yes."
Applicant: "My name is student's name and I am calling about the status of the job opening as her assistant. My number is 555-1234."
Receptionist: "OK, I'll give her the message."
Applicant: "Thank you." (always be polite)
Role-play 3
Applicant: "Hello." (When you are doing a job search, answer the phone with an appropriate greeting each time you answer the phone. You may give a potential employer the wrong impression if you answer the phone with a greeting such as "Yo" or "Yea.")
Employer: "Hi, may I speak to student's name."
Applicant: "This is she/he." (make sure people respond in a polite way)
Employer: "This is Ms. Fredrickson from McDonnel and Associates."
Applicant: "How are you Ms. Fredrickson?"
Employer: "I am fine. I have read over your application, and I am interested in having you come in for an interview."
Applicant: "That would be great. When would you like me to stop by?"
Employer: "How does Tuesday at 10 a.m. sound?"
Applicant: "That sounds good. Your office is located by Evergreen School on Elm Street, right?"
(don't forget to ask where you need to be)
Employer: "That's correct."
Telephone Etiquette-Workshop
Telephone Skills
Work Related Telephone Skills
OBJECTIVES
1. Develop proper phone skills for speaking to a potential employee.
2. Develop proper phone skills when at work.
MATERIALS NEEDED
Access to at least one telephone most recent local Sunday newspaper, paper, pens or pencils
SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES
Job Search/Job Survival – A $199.00 video package by Educational Design, Inc. (1800 221-9372). The Job Search video provides dramatizations of appropriate phone skills when contacting a potential employee.
INSTRUCTIONAL FORMAT
This lesson will provide training on proper phone etiquette when looking for work and while on the job. It is important to stress that a person's presentation on the phone is a significant factor in obtaining a job.
Additionally, poor phone skills at work can decrease an employee's chance for advancement or a pay raise.
1. Discuss contacting a potential employer.
First, one may have to answer a want ad with a call to the company. This call might involve answering questions, obtaining information about the job, and finding out where and how to apply for the position.
Second, following an interview or submission of an application, the applicant should follow up with a phone call to ask about the status of the position. This demonstrates an interest to the employer.
Regardless of why the applicant is calling, it is important that he speak clearly, identify who he is, and indicate the position in which he is interested.
2. Use modeling and role-playing to provide students an opportunity to learn and practice telephone skills when contacting a potential employee. There are sample scripts below to help guide the roleplays.
It is suggested that the applicant ask questions such as "Who will interview me? How long will the interview last? Should I bring anything?"
3. It is suggested that the class look at employment classifieds from the local Sunday paper and find want ads that instruct the reader to call a number for more information. Have each student make at least one call to practice the skills learned above.
4. Discuss phone etiquette at work. Different companies will have different procedures for answering the phones, directing phone calls, and taking messages. Review these basic procedures.
• Greet the caller and indicate the organization. "Hello. This is Krueger Automotive. How may I help you?"
• If the person the caller is asking for is available, transfer the call.
• If the person the caller is asking for is not available, ask if you can take a message. Never tell the caller why the person is not available unless they are in a meeting, with a customer, or on another line. Telling the caller that the person is in the bathroom or running errands is too personal.
• Write down all the necessary information that your boss wants you to when taking
messages.
• If the caller is a customer who wants help from you, be as helpful as possible. Direct the caller to person who can help if you can't. Always return calls as quickly as possible if you need to get the correct information and indicated that you would call back.
• Ask about the company's policy is on personal phone calls. A good rule of thumb is to only make or receive personal phone calls during breaks.
See the unit titled Family Responsibilities for additional information. Find out about the policy regarding cell phones and pagers.
5. Practice taking phone messages. The trainer can model appropriate ways to take phone messages.
It is suggested that the class decide on a company name and what information they should get for taking a message. It does not matter who the caller asks for because that person will never be in the office. The class members can critique and provide suggestions to the person answering the phone.
6. If it is feasible, it is suggested that students get an opportunity to answer phones at the program where they are receiving training. This will give them an opportunity to practice what they learned within the framework of an actual workplace's procedures.
SIGNS OF GENERALIZATION
Students use proper phone etiquette when searching or working at a job. If students can complete exercise number 3 and number 6 above, they should have the skills for future situations involving the phone and work.
http://www.workshopsinc.com/manual/Ch9L3.html
QUALITIES TO TRANSMIT BY TELEPHONE
FRIENDLINESS -
Your voice will carry your attitude over the phone.
CONFIDENCE -
Prepare yourself. This will enable you to speak with confidence. Know your property. Know how to analyze your status data quickly.
INTELLIGENCE -
Remember that you are talking with individuals from different backgrounds
and levels of education. Meet your caller on his level.
CLARITY -
It is embarrassing for the listener to ask you to repeat a statement.
CREATIVENESS -
If the opportunity avails itself, help solve problems. Use your expertise to offer alternatives he may not have thought of.
ENTHUSIASM -
Find out the positive points about your property and concentrate on them.
INTEGRITY -
Be honest, If you do not know, admit it & offer to find out. Do not mislead your prospect.
TACTFULNESS -
Be tactful in any situation. Try to convince the guest without hurting his feelings.
PRIDE -
Take pride in your company and your work. Let the pride reflect in your voice and your speech. Pride generates enthusiasm. Your pride in the hotel will instill interest & confidence in the mind of the caller.
USE OF TELEPHONE BY FRONT OFFICE STAFF
1. The telephone is to be used for reception business. If you want to make a private call, use the private call box in the lobby. If somebody telephones you personally (not on business), keep your conversation as brief as possible and offer to telephone back from the call box when you are free. Unless you do this, you may keep waiting a potential guest who wants to make a booking.
2. When the telephone rings answer it immediately. The call should be attended within three rings. If you are attending to a guest at that time, first answer the phone, excuse yourself. Do not let the telephone ring without answering it. Although it may at times be irritating the telephone should always come before any desk work, but should not take precedence over the guest at the counter with whom you were dealing before the telephone rang.
3. Do not keep the caller waiting for a long time before attending to him.
A caller on the telephone should never be left longer than 45 seconds without somebody picking up the telephone and telling him again “I am sorry to keep you waiting."
4. Answer the telephone by saying, “RECEPTION (inf. or reservation) GOOD MORNING (good afternoon or good evening), MAY I HELP YOU? Do not answer "Hello".
5. Speak clearly. Pronounce the words carefully. The caller may find it more difficult to understand you on the telephone than if you speak to him at the counter.
6. Be brief and to the point, but not abrupt. Remember that telephone time costs money and that the switchboard operator may be holding another call for you.
7. Be polite, friendly and helpful. On the telephone only your voice can indicate the welcome we want every potential guest to receive. Do not interrupt the caller while he is talking. You must never sound short, sharp, irritated and impatient.
8. Be accurate in what you say. The guest wants to have confidence in you. Do not ‘THINK’ or ‘SUPPOSE’ if you do not know the answer; find out and call back.
9. Be courteous in explaining the hotel rules. Do not use the phrase “You have to”, “I suggest” or “would you mind” is preferable. Never argue with the guest, the guest is always right. If you can not deal with a certain problem, inform the seniors in the department, so that they can deal with it.
10. Take the correct name and contact number of the caller. This information will help you if you have telephone the caller back.
11. Finally, Always remember that you represent the hotel or the organisation you are working for when you pick-up a telephone call at work. Caller does not see you or your hotel, so your voice alone has to help the caller become and remain a satisfied customer.
VISITOR’S TABULAR LEDGER.
Visitor’s tabular ledger is a ledger meant for keeping the record of registered guests in an analysed form. It serves the purpose of a day book (sales book) on one hand and registered guest’s personal account on the other. It is maintained for keeping the record of all the transactions relating to the sale of goods and services to registered guests in a systematically analysed form.
There are two types of V.T.L. 1) horizontal 2) vertical. V.T.L. is maintained in a loose leaf form. A separate ledger is maintained for each day. This ledger is maintained in the back office. It is written on the basis of vouchers or checks received by the cashier. As and when a transaction with a guest relating to sales takes place, the concerned department prepares a check and sends them to the cashier’s department. The cashier will immediately post the bill in the guest account, in the V.T.L. The guest account in the V.T.L. is closed as soon as the guest checks out. In case he continues to stay in the hotel, his account for the day is closed before the night audit (at about 12 midnight).
The balance c/f is calculated and transferred to the respective accounts in the new tabular ledger which is opened for the next day.
The completed V.T.L. gives following information:
The sale of each department and the total sale of each type meal, beverage
or other services.
The total debit balance of a departed guest transferred to the ledger
account or transferred to other guest’s account.
Cash paid by the guest during the day.
The details of individual guest’s account and the total amount the resident
guest owes at the end of the day.
Advantages of the V.T.L.:
1. All personal a/cs of registered guests are opened in V.T.L. and so the names of all the registered guests, their room nos., no. of rooms occupied, etc. can be seen at a glance.
2. All personal a/cs of guest’s are opened in V.T.L. and transactions relating to them for the day are recorded in their account. Therefore the day’s details of each personal a/c can be seen without wasting time.
3. Each guest’s personal a/c is debited directly with the help of vouchers without first entering the amount in the journal and therefore there are less chances of mistakes.
4. The posting is done directly so it takes less time.
5. By opening guest’s a/c in the V.T.L. one a/c for each guest is maintained up to the minute. So the final bill can be prepared easily at the time of guest check-out.
6. Every department sends the original copy of the check to the bill clerk for posting. So all the original bills are at the cashier’s desk, for checking and verification if required.
7. In case of controversy between the hotel and the guest, the tabular sheet can prove helpful for rechecking of all the entries.
8. The V.T.L. is prepared from the original vouchers and hence the control and checking of a/cs with the departmental sales summary sheets can be done efficiently.
9. The items of sale are in an analysed form. Income generated by each department can be seen at a glance.
10. The allowance given to the guests is also recorded in the V.T.L. so it is easy to know the total allowance given to the guests on that day.
GLOSSARY OF FRONT OFFICE TERMS
1. Accounts Receivable : A company, organization or individual, registered or not, who has an outstanding bill with the hotel.
2. Adjoining Rooms : Two rooms side by side with a common wall without a door on the common wall.
3. Advance Deposit : Payment of money by the guest on a room reservation that the hotel is holding.
4. After Departure : (AD) A late charge.
5. Allowance : A reduction to the folio, as an adjustment either for unsatisfactory service or for a posting error. Also called a “REBATE”.
6. American Hotel and Lodging Association : (AH & LA) A federation of regional and state associations composed of individual hotel and motel properties throughout the Americas.
7. American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) : A professional association of travel agents and tour operators.
8. Average Room Rate or Average Daily Rate : Computed by dividing the rooms revenue by the number of rooms occupied.
9. Back to Bank : A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged by tour operators so rooms are never vacant.
10. Bank : Coins and small bills given to a cashier for making change.
11. Bed and Breakfast : (B & B). The room tariff includes the charge for the room and a continental breakfast.
12. Bed Board : A wooden board placed under the mattress to provide a firmer sleeping surface.
13. Blanket Reservation : A block of rooms held for a particular group with individual members requesting assignments from that block.
14. Bucket : The file that holds the guest folio, often recessed in the counter top. Also known as “Cashier’s Well”
15. Cabana or Kababa : A room on the beach or near the swimming pool separated from the main building, used for changing.
16. Cancellation : A guests request to the hotel to void a reservation previously made.
17. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) : A television screen or monitor that displays information put out by the computer.
18. Check-in : All the procedures involved in receiving the guest and completing the registration sequence.
19. Check-out : All the procedures involved in the departure of the guest and the settlement of the account.
20. City Ledger : An accounts receivable ledger of non registered guests.
21. Commercial Hotel : A transient hotel catering to a business clientele.
22. Commercial Rate : A reduced room rate given to business persons to promote occupancy.
23. Confirmed Reservation : The hotels agreement, usually in writing, to the guest’s reservation request.
24. Cut off Date : That date on which the block of unreserved rooms are released for general sale.
25. Day Rate : A reduced charge for occupancy of less than overnight; usually half the daily rate, for less than six hours arrival before check-out time, also used when the party arrives and departs the same day.
26. Did not Stay (DNS) : Means the guest left almost immediately after registering.
27. Duplex : Two rooms on two different floors with a private staircase connecting the two rooms.
28. Efficiency Room : Accommodations that include kitchen facilities.
29. Fam Trip : Familiarization trip taken by travel agents at little or no cost to acquaint themselves with properties and destinations.
30. Folio : A weekly bill of the hotel for keeping transient account receivable records. Also called “Guest Bill” or “Account Card”
31. Guest History Card : A record of the guests visits including rooms assigned, rates, special needs and credit rating.
32. Hard Copy : Computer term for material that has been printed on a paper rather than merely displayed on the monitor.
33. Hollywood Bed : Twin beds joined by a common headboard.
34. Hospitality Room : A room hired by a hotel guest on an hourly basis in order to entertain his own guests.
35. Hot List : A list of lost or stolen credit cards furnished to hotels and other retailers by credit card companies.
36. House Count : The number of registered guests in the hotel.
37. Housekeeper’s Report : A linen room summary of the status of guest rooms used by the front office to verify the accuracy of the room rack.
38. Hubbart Room Rate Formula : A basis for determining room rates.
39. Information Rack : An alphabetical listing of registered guests.
40. Junior Suite : One large room with a partition separating the living room furnishings from the bed room furnishings.
41. Lanai : A Hawaiian term for veranda: A room with a balcony usually overlooking gardens or swimming pool.
42. Late Charge : A departmental charge that arrives at the front desk for billing after the guest has checked out.
43. Late Checkout : A departing guest who remains beyond the checkout hour with permission of the front desk and thus without charge.
44. Lockout : Denying the guest access to his room, usually because of an unpaid bill.
45. Log Book : A record of activities maintained by several operating departments. Also used to record guest complaints.
46. Mail and Key Rack : A piece of front office equipment where both mail and keys are stored by room number.
47. Master Key : One key controlling several pass keys and opening all the guest rooms on one floor; also called a Floor Key.
48. Miscellaneous Charge Order (MCO) : Airline voucher authorizing the sale of services to the guest named on the form, with payment due from the airline.
49. Morning Call : A wake-up telephone call made by the telephone operator at the guest’s request.
50. Murphy Bed : A standard bed that folds or swings into a wall or cabinet in a closetlike fashion.
51. NCR 2000 : A front office posting machine manufactured by the National Cash Register Company, USA.
52. Night Audit : A daily reconciliation of accounts receivable that is completed during the night shift.
53. Off-Season Rate : A reduced room rate charged by resort hotels when demand is lowest.
54. On Change : The status of a room recently vacated but not yet cleaned for a new occupant.
55. Out-Of-Order (OOO) : The room is not available for sale because of some planned or unexpected shutdown of facilities.
56. Over and Short : A discrepancy between the cash on hand and the amount that should be on hand.
57. Overstay : A guest who wishes to extend his stay beyond the scheduled date of departure.
58. Paid In Advance (PIA) : A room charge that is collected prior to the arrival of the guest : it is the usual procedure when a guest is unknown and has scanty baggage, and wit some motels it is standard procedure for all guests.
59. Paid-Outs : Money disbursed to guests either as advances or loans or to balance the account, charged to their account like other departmental charges.
60. Parlour : A living room not used as a bedroom.
61. Pass Key : A submaster key limited to a set of rooms (12-16) and allowing access to no other rooms; usually given to chambermaids.
62. PBX : Private Branch Exchange. A telephone switchboard
63. Penthouse : A luxurious suite of rooms located at the topmost floor of the hotel, opening onto the terrace. It may have a skylight.
64. POS : Point of Sale
65. Preassign : Reservations are assigned and specific rooms blocked before the guest arrives.
66. Preregistration : A procedure in which the hotel completes the registration prior to the guest’s arrival; used with groups and tours to reduce congestion at the front desk.
67. Rack Rate : The standard rate quoted on the printed tariff card.
68. Referral : A reservation system for independently owned properties developed to counter the reservation advantages of the chains and their affiliates.
69. RNA - Registered, Not Assigned. A guest who has registered but is waiting for a specific room assignment until space becomes available.
70. Residential Hotels : A hotel catering to long term guests who have made the property their home or residence. Payment is on monthly basis.
71. Resort : A hotel that caters to vacationing guest providing recreational and entertainment facilities.
72. Rollaway Bed : A portable bed with wheels that can be put in a room as an extra bed.
73. Room Count : The number of occupied rooms in the hotel.
74. Rooming a Guest : The entire precedure by which the desk greets and assigns new arrivals and the bell staff directs them to their rooms.
75. Rooming List : The list of names furnished by a group in advance of arrival and used by the hotel to preregister and preassign the party.
76. Room Rack : A piece of front office equipment representing the guest rooms in the form of metal pockets arranged floorwise in the same sequence, with colour coding and symbols to identify the type of room and their facilities.
77. Room Service : Food and beverage service provided in the privacy of the guest room by the designated room service waiter.
78. Service Charge : A percentage (usually from 10 - 20 per cent) added to the bill for distribution to service employees in lieu of direct tipping.
79. Skipper : A guest who leaves the hotel without settling his bill.
80. Sleeper : 1. A departed guest whose room rack slip remains in the rack giving the appearance of an occupied room.
2. A person staying in the hotel room without the knowledge of the hotel.
3. A red slip put on the room rack to block a room for the arrival of a VVip.
81. Sleep out : A room that is taken, occupied and paid for but the guest does not sleep in it during the night.
82. SPATT (Special Attention) : A label assigned to important guests designated for special treatment. Also used for physically challenged visually impaired etc. guests.
83. Stayover : All registered guests who remain overnight.
84. Turn Away : To refuse walk-in business because rooms are unavailable; the guest so refused.
85. Turn-down : An evening service rendered by the house-keeping department which replaces soiled bathroom linen and prepares the bed for use.
86. Turn-in : The sum deposited with the general cashier by the departmental cashier at the close of each shift.
87. Understay : A guest who checks out before the scheduled date of departure.
88. Upgrade : To move a registered guest to a better room or class of service.
89. VIP (Very Important Person)
90. Voucher : The form used by the operating departments to notify the front desk of the charges incurred by a particular guest; A form furnished by a travel agent as a receipt for a client’s advance reservation payment.
91. Walking a Guest : To refuse accommodation to a guest with a confirmed reservation due to unavailability of rooms and who is sent to another hotel of similar standard for a day.
92. Walk-in : A guest without a reservation who requests for accommodation.
93. Credit Limit : This is the limit of amount of money up to which the guest is allowed credit facility. After the limit is reached the hotel requests the guest to clear his bill either partly or fully.
94. D.G.C.A. Director General of Civil Aviation.
95. D.O.T. Department of Tourism.
96. D.N.A. Did Not Arrive/
97. E.C.O. Express Check Out. An activity which involves compilation and early morning distribution of guest folios to all those guests who are expected to check out that morning.
98. F.E.R.A. Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.
99. F.H.R.A.I. Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India.
100. F.I.T. Free Independent Traveller.
101. Franking Machine : A machine used for printing postage stamp value on the envelope.
102. G.I.T. Group Inclusive Tour.
103. G.O.I. Government of India.
104. I.A.A.I. International Airports Authority of India.
105. I.A.T.A. International Air Transport Association
106. I.C.A.O. International Civil Aviation Organisation
107. I.D.D. International Direct Dialling.
108. I.L.O. International Labour organisation
109. I.C. Integrated Circuit.
110. T.A.A.I. Travel Agents Association of India.
111. U.F.T.A.A. Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association.
112. W.T.O. World Tourism Organisation.
REPORTING AND PRESENTING STATISTICS
1. Potential room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of lettable rooms * 100
2. Actual room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms available * 100
3. House count = (No. of guests) brought forward + arrivals of the day – Departure for the day
House count is the total no. of guests staying in a hotel on a particular day at a given point of time.
4. Double occupancy % is the % of rooms occupied by two persons.
Double occupancy % = house count- No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms sold* 100
5. Bed occupancy % = No. of beds occupied / Total no. of beds * 100
6. Single occupancy % = 100 – Double occupancy %
7. Local occupancy % = local in house / house count * 100
8. Foreign occupancy % = foreigners in house / house count * 100
If either local or foreign occupancy % is given the following formulae may also be used:
Foreign occupancy % = 100 – local occupancy %
Local occupancy % = 100 – foreign occupancy %
9. Ave. rate per room = Total revenue from room sales / total no. of rooms sold
10. Ave. rate per guest = Total revenue from room sales / house count
11. Percentage no- shows = No. of room no shows / No. of room reservations * 100
12. % walk ins = No. of room walk ins / total no. of room arrivals * 100
13. % overstays = No. of overstay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100
14. % understays = No. of understay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100
15. Occupancy % = No. of rooms occupied / No. of rooms available * 100
16. Potential ave. double rate = double room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as doubles
17. Potential ave. single rate = Single room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as singles * 100
18. Forecasted rooms revenue = rooms available * occ. % * ave. daily rate
MECHANICAL BILLING
N.C.R. (National Cash Register) Machine:
In many hotels today, the tabular ledger has been replaced by a N.C.R. machine which is capable of recording and storing all charges incurred by the guest, producing individual bills for the presentation of guest and maintain daily summary totals. The main advantage if this method of keeping guests account is that it eliminates duplication of work (in a tab sheet every transaction is recorded twice. Once in the tab sheet, second time transfer to the guest bill).
Merits:
1. It eliminates duplication of work
2. Need for a separate receipt is eliminated
3. Arithmetical accuracy is ensured
4. The bills are neat and clean
5. The charges are printed on the audit roll which helps the control department
6. The machine shows the total of every department separately
Duties and responsibilities of the cashier:
• Dispose with petty cash
• Authorize V.P.O.
• Give charges to customers
• Accept advance deposit
• Custody of safe deposit
• Authorized movement of luggage by signing the bell boys errand cards after settling the bill
• Render accounts through cash envelope at the end of the shift.
The types of machine now normally employed are equipped with analysis key. The machine has the following visible parts:
1. Amount keys
2. Room number keys
3. Control keys for printing the names of departments or heads of revenue :
a. Identification keys : Room, Bar, Restaurant, Laundry, Local, Trunk Call
b. Debit balance key
c. Credit balance key
d. Debit pick up key
e. Credit pick up key
f. Plus & minus key
g. Debit transfer key
h. Credit transfer key
i. Allowance key
j. Paid in full key
k. Paid key
l. Total key
m. Sub-to all and misc. key
n. Date change key
o. Audit roll tape
p. Left printer
q. Right printer
As the charges are posted to the guest bill, they are automatically added so that at all times the guest bill is up to date provided no charges are left to be posted. The charges are printed on the audit roll simultaneously department wise which helps the control department.
.
VISITOR TABULAR LEDGER
A hotel maintains various types of ledgers to keep the record of the debtors, creditors, purchases, sales, assets, expenses etc. Visitors Tabular Ledger is one of these ledgers. As its very name shows , it is a ledger meant for keeping the records of registered guests in an analysed form. It serves the purpose of the day book on the one hand and registered guest’s personal account on the other. It is maintained for keeping the record of all transactions relating to sales of goods and services to registered guests In a systematically analysed and chronological order. There are two types of ledgers-one, horizontal Tabular Ledger and the other, vertical Tabular Ledger. On one side of this ledger, one column is provided to each registered guest and on the other side one column is provided for each item of sale of food, beverages, services etc. As in this ledger several columns are drawn to keep the record of the guest on the one hand and the record of sales of different items to guest on the other, therefore, it is known as Visitor Tabular Ledger.
Visitor Tabular Ledger is maintained in loose-leaf form. A separate ledger is maintained for each day. The number of tabular sheets used for the day depends upon the number of columns in the sheet and the number of rooms available for guests.
The tabular sheet used in some hotels contain only the debit side. So it fails to give the data of the credit side at a glance. For credits transactions other books are to be seen and referred. But in other hotels the tabular sheet contains both debit and credit side. Such Visitors Tabular Ledger records all aspect of both debit and credit transactions either on upper and lower sections or on the left and right section. Such visitors tabular ledger does not confine itself only to sales but it also includes all transactions that concern sales. This implies that amount paid by customer against outstanding debits, allowances and transfer to other ledgers are also recorded. Thus both debit and credit transactions relating to customers are recorded in the their respective columns. In such tabular Ledger if one column is provided for cash sales, it can give the picture of the total sales of the hotel(both cash and credit) of the day.
Tabular Ledger is maintained in the bill office. It is written up on the basis of voucher or checks received by them. As and when the transaction with the guest relating to sale or receipt or allowance or transfer etc. takes place the concern department prepares a check and sends the original copy of the check to the bill department. The bill department immediately posts the check in the customer account in the visitors tabular ledger and in his individual bill. Thus the sales record and the customers account are always complete to the minute.
The customer account, in day’s Tabular Ledger, is closed as soon as as he checks out either after making the bill payment or with the permission of the management even without settling the bill. In case of customers, who continue their stay, their accounts for the day are closed at 12 midnight by the bill clerk on the night duty . the balance carried forward is calculated and transferred to the respective accounts in the new Tabular Ledger which is opened for the coming day.
The completed Visitors Tabular Ledger gives the following formation
(a) The sales of each department and total sale of the hotel of a particular day. Not only this, the sale of each type of meal, beverages and services
(b) The total debit balance of a departed guest transferred to ledger account or transferred to other guest accounts.
(c) Cash paid by guest during the day and allowances given to them.
(d) The details of individual customer account and the total owing by resident guest at the close of the day.
Advantages of visitor tabular ledger
The advantages of visitors Tabular Ledger can be summed up as under-
(1) All personal accounts of the registered guests are opened in daily visitors tabular ledger(sheets) so the names of all the registered customers and the number of rooms and room number occupied can be seen at one glance
(2) On personal accounts of registered guest are opened in daily visitors tabular ledger and transactions relating to them for the day are recorded in their accounts in the tabular sheet, therefore, the days detail of each personal account can be seen without wasting time it save the necessity of opening personal accounts of registered guest in the debtors ledger.
(3) Each customer’s personal account is debited directly with the help of vouchers known as “checks” without first entering the amount into the journal or book of prime entry, so they are less chances of mistakes
(4) The posting is done directly so it takes less time
(5) By opening customer’s account in the visitors tabular ledger the account of each guest is always complete up to the minute. Therefore the bill can be prepared easily at the time of the checking out of the guest
(6) Every department sends the original copy of check to the bill clerk for posting, so the original copy of check are available with the bill clerk. In case of need they can be seen and verified.
(7) In case of controversy, between the hotel guests and bill clerk/cashier, over certain payments, the tabular sheet can prove helpful to the solution of such problem because it indicates the receipt side also
(8) The tabular sheet is prepared with original copy of the check and each department prepares a statement or summary of its day’s sales or services with the help of duplicate copy so the control and checking of the account can be done efficiently.
(9) In tabular ledger the items of sales are recorded in an analysed form. It shows at a glace how much income has been derived from different departments such as restaurant, bar, telephone, tobacco, laundry, etc.
(10) If one column of chance (cash) sale is added then the management can the total business of the hotel for the day and the credit position.
(11) It provides the control a ready guide to check the term and condition settled with each and every resident guest, the room rates agreed upon and whether the rates inclusive of or without board.
(12) It serves as a guide for the minute wise accumulation of debit item under each personal account. Any personal account showing abnormally high debit balance can be referred to the credit department which looks after the interest of the establishment in order to ensure safeguard of the credit facilities.
(13) Allowances given to the customers are recorded in Visitors Tabular Ledger; so it is easy to know the total allowance given to customers and whether It was approved and recorded in correct accounts.
(14) Visitors Tabular Ledger is kept in loosed-leaf form using the required number of sheets for each day and carrying forward all the totals from page to page to the final total for the day. Thus the grand totals can be found in the last sheet with the loose leaf method. The entire Visitors Tabular Ledger for one day can be sent to the control department without disturbing the next day’s work.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantages of visitors tabular ledger can be mentioned as under
(1) the tabular sheets which are used for guests accounts are unwieldy in dimension.
(2) The columns are too many in the tabular sheet and they are close to each other.there is every lity of wrong posting.
(3) If any mistake is commited, then it is difficult to locate it till the customer points it out. Such errors, lead to wrong summary and wrong postings in other ledgers.
(4) In the V.T.L. there is no provision for narration like journal, so it is difficult to know why the customer’s account has been debited. So is the case with V.P.O. column. As no explanation is given so it is not known on account of which the money has been paid by the front office to an outsider on behalf of the customer.
Hints for writing up the daily Visitors Tabular Ledger
The following points may be useful for a person writing Visitors Tabular Ledger (VTL):-
1. Use ink ¬ pencil.
2. Use capital letters for writing the names of the guest.
3. The information regarding the room nos., no. of guest, plan, rate, etc. should be written as soon as the account is opened.
4. The writing should be clear & legible.
5. Make small but clear figures, especially several items are to be charged to the same room number on the same day. Use the top position of the line for the first item and leave space for subsequent items.
6. Don not use noughts in case there is no figure of rupee paisa because it may give scope for manipulating accounts. Put dashes (-) instead of noughts.
7. A complete VTL has two sides – one debit and the other Credit. Enter the amount in guests account as per rules given below-
(a) Service write the amount on the debit side in the guests account in the laundry column.
(b) If the guest makes the payment, write it in the guests account on the credit side in cash/deposit column
(c) If the guest checks out without settling the bill and the amount is to be collected either from his office or from travel agency etc., write the amount on the credit side in the ledger column.
(d) If the guest checks out without settling the bill and other guest is willing to pay the bill, write the amount on the credit side in transfer column in outgoing guest’s account. Write it on the debit side in transfer column of the guest who Is willing to pay the bill.
8. either when the guest checks out or at the end of the day charge sales tax,service charge, surcharge etc. and apartment if it has not been charged so far.
9. after debiting the guest account for all the charges, calculate Daily Total.
10. add balance b/f in the daily total and find out grand total.
11. find the total of the credit side. It should tally with the grand total.
12. calculate the total of each item of sale and credits on the opposite side. Totals of the vertical columns must reconcile with the totals of horizontal columns. This is to check the arithmetical accuracy.
13. daily visitors tabular ledger is the basic record so it should be neat, clean and free from cuttings, erasures and over writings.
1. INFORMATION RACK:
An Information rack is composed of two index listings of in-house guests. One by the guests last name and another by assigned room number. An Information rack is commonly used to assist Front Office employees with proper routing of telephone calls, mails, messages and visitors inquiries. The Information rack normally consists of aluminium slots designed to hold guest information slips. These slots can be easily arranged and rearranged to fit the immediate needs of the hotel. Computer systems eliminate the need for an Information rack since guest name and room number data are easily retrievable through computer system.
2. ROOM RACK
This is the most important piece of Front Office equipment in non-automated and semi-automated hotels. The room rack is an array of metal file pockets designed to hold room rack slips that display guest and room status information. The Room rack is normally recessed into the front desk counter , tilted against the desk, or mounted below or behind the desk. When key slots are added to the Room rack, it can serve as combination room and key rack.
The Room rack contains a summary of information about the current status of all rooms in the hotel. A room rack slip or in some hotels, the guest registration card itself can be inserted into the Room rack to display guest information, room number and room rate. At one glance the room rack informs the front office assistant of the occupancy and housekeeping status of all rooms. The room rack may also contain information about room types, features and rates. This information may be used to match available room with guest request during the registration process. Need for room rack is eliminated in a computerised system.
3. MAIL AND KEY RACK
A key rack is an array of numbered compartments used to store guest room keys. To minimise the number of racks in the front desk area, hotels may combine the key rack with either the room rack or the mail and message rack. A combination of these is either a free standing wall unit, an under the counter row of compartments, or a set of drawers. Some front offices use rack as room divider by placing it between the front desk and the telephone operators.
When mail and message compartments of the rack are open from both sides, telephone operators and front office assistants have equal access to rack contents.
If guest room telephones are equipped with ‘message lights’, they can be used to notify guests when they have messages at the desk. In room message lights can be activated with a control switch beside each room’s slot in the mail, message and key rack.
LUGGAGE CONTROL AND BELLBOYS CONTROL
Many guests arrive at the hotel with heavy baggage or several pieces of luggage. Guests receive help from the bell attendants. Bell attendants provide baggage service between the Lobby area and the guest room.
ACTIVITIES AT THE BELL DESK ON ARRIVAL:
1. Bell boy returns to the bell desk with errand card and hands it over to the bell captain.
2. Hotel tags are prepared and fixed by the bell boy in the presence of the guest to identify the luggage and avid confusion or mistakes.
3. Bell boy escorts the guest to the room with the luggage.
4. Places luggage on the luggage stand or as directed by the guest.
5. Returns to the bell desk and punches time of return on the errand card.
The details on the errand card are filled up by the bell captain. He also makes entries of the details into his control sheet on the bell boys return.
The errand card contains details such as the description and the number of pieces of baggage, the time at which the bell boy left the counter, time of return etc.
ROOM SELLING TECHNIQUES
UPSELLING ROOMS
Mark Gordon an experienced F. O. & GM trains his staff in 3 non pressure selling techniques. They are especially effective in inducing guests to accept medium-priced and deluxe rooms instead of minimum - rate accommodations this techniques are.
1. The choice - of - door technique
The FOA gives the guest a choice of rate categories and asks, “which would you prefer”? No presume is applied, the guest does that all by himself. People tend to avoid extremes and are likely to select the middle choice. Thus a guest being offered a room are of Rs.4000, Rs.5000 or Rs.6000 will likely go for the Rs.5000 room even if he had planned on the lowest rate.
2. The Door-in-the-face technique
This approach has to be handled with fact and without presume. It can result in drastic increase of the average rate per occupied room. FOAs start from the top down quoting the highest priced room in the category the guest wishes.
A single room on our club floor, with patio and sitting room at Rs.7,500/-. The guest may accept this or ask for something less expensive, at which the FOA quotes the next date down, say the Deluxe room on the 4th floor with KB and view of the garden at Rs.6800”. By comparison this room still appears of above average quality but considerably less expensive than the previously quoted one. According to the theory of reciprocity, many guests will be convinced that after rejecting the highest rate, accepting the middle rate room is a rational compromise.
3. The Foot-in-the-Door Technique
This technique is based on the notion that people who have already agreed to one proposition will quite easily agree to another one. The reservationist while taking a reservation over the phone or selling a room over the counter can use this by saying, ‘We are holding a std. room in the East wing for you, Mr. Sharma for an extra Rs.500 you have a deluxe room in our lake view wing or for Rs.600 per person you can take advantage of our week end package, which includes the American b’fast in your room plus dinner for two at the Zodiac grill. The guest can simply say “no, thank you” or accept the upsale suggestion.
Upselling is not a game or a way to squeeze extra rupees out of unsuspecting travelers. It should be part of a professional receptionists and guest services representatives repertoire. It should be seen as one more way to
(a) provide better services to the guests by offering choices
(b) Increase rooms revenue for the hotel.
Upselling techniques
1. Know the product
2. Control the encounter
Ask specific questions such as, “we have a quiet double room on our. Silver floor. Is that suitable for you?” Avoid asking e open-ended questions, such as ‘what kind of a room are you looking for?”
3. Sell high, but avoid high-pressure selling techniques
4. Always quote the full rate plus tax
5. Turn a negative aspect of a room or rooming situation into an advantage for the guest eg. A room without a view becomes a quiet room. A room near the elevator or near the busy pool may be noisy but is ‘handy’ and easily accessible if you plan to do much ---
6. Sandwich the price between descriptive phrases, “one of our extra - large rooms at Rs.6,500/- plus tax overlooking the garden” or quote the price of more than one room giving the guest a choice.
“We have double rooms for Rs.6500/- but the ones with the new minibar are Rs.6,800/- “
7. Ask for the sale
Once all the information has been presented to the guest the FOA must gently but resolutely, close the sale. “If that is a suitable choice, may I ask you to sign the registration card”, is an effective way to move negotiations to a close.
8. Listen to guest conversational comments, such as “Oh what a hot day ! I could do with something cool”. They will help to determine their needs better and to sell other services of the hotel. “Our outdoor pool and bar are still open.”
9. Sell the whole hotel by making suggestions for dinner. “Just dial 7 on your room phone to make a reservation” or for drinks in the lounge “The new entertainer is fantastic’ and for recreational facilities. “There is no charge for the use of the Sauna and the health club”.
10. Try to anticipate the guest’s needs and offer services, suggestions, and assistance.
REGISTRATION
INTRODUCTION :
The registration process begins when the guest arrives at the reception or the arrival section of the hotel. The process terminates when he has signed the registration card or guest arrival register, has been assigned a room and goes to his room.
The registration procedure differs for the different categories of the guests, like guests with reservation, without reservation, foreigners, groups, etc.
This process of registration is very important for the hotel as it not only contributes significantly to the basic information the hotel needs to monitor its business, but it is also a legal requirement. A complete record of present and past guests has to be maintained. It is a legal requirement that each guest must be registered. Guest signature is important as it signifies his consent to pay for all the services provided by the hotel and abide by the rules and regulations of the hotel. It also serves as a proof of his stay in the hotel from a certain date to another certain date. So in short, registration serves as legal contract between the hotel and the guest. We can summarize the objectives of the registration system as follows :
1. To provide guest information to he hotel.
2. To fulfill legal requirements.
3. To provide mode of payment.
4. To provide information about the date of departure.
A registration process is based on the following four concepts.
1. Collection : It helps the hotel in capturing information pertaining to the guest needs, expected or actual date of departure, billing instructions like cash or credit, mode of payment and personal data like his occupation, date of birth, purpose of visit, his office and residential address, etc.
2. Assignment and allocation of room : The assignment of room matching the guest requirement both in terms of type and the rate of the room.
3. Credibility of the guest : Based on the policies like advance payment and credit limits, etc. of the hotel and also on the basis of information provided by the billing instructions, the hotel decides upon fixing the credit limit for the guest.
4. Future planning of the room sales : The hotel can maximize it’s occupancy through a knowledge of room availability based on the information from the registration records.
VARIOUS TYPES OF REGISTRATION RECORDS :
Information about the guest which may be required by the hotel or police may be registered in two ways 1. In the form of a ‘Hotel Register’ also known as ‘Red Book’ or ‘F form’. 2. Individual guest ‘Registration cards’.
• The register can be a ‘Bound Book Register’ which is normally used by small hotels. Thick book which can be used for long time.
Merits :
1. All records are available in one book.
2. No filing is required.
3. Wastage is minimum.
Demerits :
1. Only one guest can register at a time.
2. It is bulky and difficult to carry to other departments.
3. Being very bulky and used for long period, it looks shabby on the counter.
4. Privacy can not be maintained.
5. Pre-registration not possible.
6. If the book is misplaced all the record is lost.
• Another type of register is a ‘Loose Leaf Register’ which is same as the bound book register in it’s contents but the pages are not bound. One page or sheet is used for each day.
Merits :
1. To some extent privacy is maintained.
2. Easy to hand over to customer to write details.
3. If one sheet is lost only one day’s record is lost.
Demerits :
1. It can be very easily misplaced.
2. If for a day, one full sheet is not completed, the rest goes waste.
3. Only one guest can register at a time.
4. Filing becomes an additional job.
• Individual guest registration cards are most widely used in hotels these days. They may be duplicate or triplicate depending on the hotel
Merits :
1. Many guests may be registered at the same time.
2. Privacy can be maintained.
3. Storage is easy.
4. No wastage.
5. Guests can be pre registered.
6. More mobile.
Demerits :
1. Expensive.
2. If not properly stored, may be lost.
DOCUMENTS GENERATED IN THE REGISTRATION PROCESS :
1. Registration Card : Used to collect guest personal data.
2. Room Rack Slip : A document on which the information is transferred from the registration card in the form of a summary. This slip is placed in the room rack.
3. Information rack Slip : Used to provide guest name and room no. A copy of this slip goes to room service, housekeeping, telephones, etc. These departments also maintain information racks.
4. Bell Boy’s Errand Card : It is communicate the guest arrival to the bell desk and to keep a check on the movement of the bell boys.
5. Other Support Documents :
a) Arrival notification slips : These slips are prepared and distributed to all the concerned departments.
b) ‘C’ Form : The Registration of Foreigners Act 11939 Section 3(e) Rule 14 makes it obligatory on the part of the hotel to send information about the foreigners registered at the hotel. In this connection any person who is not an Indian National or one who does not hold an Indian passport is termed as a foreigner. The form which is used to notify F.R.R.O. (Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Madras) is called as ‘C’ form. Within 24 hours from the time of registration of a foreigner (12 hours for Pakistani, Chinese and other middle eastern countries) the information should reach the F.R.R.O. In the cities where there are no F.R.R.O. this information should reach the office of the Superintendent of Police of that area or town. Nepal and Bhutan and Shree Lanka nationals are exempted from the ‘C’ form notification. The ‘C’ form is made in duplicate pr in triplicate. It is made in duplicate if sent to F.R.R.O. (original copy goes to F.R.R.O.). If it is sent to the S.P. office, it has to be made in triplicate (two copies sent to the S.P. office). A bell boy is debuted to do this work everyday and it is his duty to bring the acknowledgment of their receipt from the F.R.R.O. The ‘C’ forms are serially numbered and contain all the information about he guest which is collected from the G.R. card (guest registration card).
TYPES OF REGISTRATION SYSTEMS :
Non-Automatic Systems: It refers to a manual system. This system is used for small hotels where the installation of automatic system would prove to be quite expensive and waste. All the forms like ‘C’ form, room rack slip, information rack slip, arrival notification slip, etc. are produced and distributed manually. It is wholly dependent on guests accurate and legible completion of the registration card.
1. Semi-Automatic System : It is a combination of manual and automated systems which involves the usage of the office machinery, clerical equipment and people.
2. Fully Computerised System : It is system in which various section of the front office department are connected to each other with the help of computer interfaces. The data collected at one point can be transmitted and utilized at any other location. This system speeds up the process and reduces the no. of errors.
CREATIVE OPTIONS IN REGISTRATION
Hotels have experimented with different techniques to make registration more efficient and effective.
Techniques tried with varying degree of success include :
1. Eliminating the front desk : Instead of the front desk, a host waits at the reception area with a list of expected guests and their pre-assigned rooms. The host identifies the guests, completes an abbreviated registration process. Marriot, Hilton and several other hotel companies are currently using this procedure at selected hotels. Credit is established at the time of reservation, through a special interface between the central reservation computer and the credit card company. With everything else in place, all the hotel staff has to do is pre-register the guest and attach a room key to the registration card. When the guest arrives at the hotel a simple verification of information on the registration card completes the process.
2. Having ‘Hotel Greeter’ registering the guests at a special lobby location : The regular front desk is screened off and used only for sorting and filing records. The screen can be temporarily removed, for check-in and settlement at peak time.
3. Creating a unique, separate registration area for VIP guests : This concept is similar to hotel greeter concept, but is only available for VIP guests.
4. Self-registration : Self registration terminals are usually located in lobbies of fully automated hotels. These terminals can vary in design. Some resemble the Automated Bank Teller Machine (ATM), while the others possess both video and audio capability. Recent technological advances allow hotels to place these terminals at off premises locations such as airports, car rental agencies, etc. To use an advanced self registration terminal, a guest generally must have made a reservation which led to creation of reservation and registration record.
FLOW OF ACTIVITIES AT THE SELF-REGISTRATION TERMINAL
1. Guest enters his reservation confirmation number or valid credit card.
2. Terminal reads information from the magnetic strip, passes the information to hotel computer to locate the reservation record.
3. Terminal prompts the guest to feed in additional data with the help of key pad.
4. Computer which is interfaced with computerised room management system, enables automatic room and rate assignment.
5. Some terminals print & request the guest to sign the registration card & deposit it in a card drop box.
6. Some terminals then direct the guest to a guest room key pick-up area. In other cases, the terminal dispenses the guest room key.
REGISTRATION
Registration procedure can be divided into six steps -
1. Pre-registration activity
2. Creating a registration record
3. Assigning the room and rate
4. Establishing the method of payment
5. Issuing the room key
6. Fulfilling special request
Pre-registration activity
Information is taken from the reservation record for quick check-in. It includes printing of the registration card, room and rate assignment, creation of a guest folio, other functions may also be part of the pre-registration activities. Sometimes room number is not assigned especially when the occupancy is high. Pre-registration can help plan for special requests. This leads to innovation in registration.
Option- when the driver goes to the airport to pick up the guest. He can get the guest signature on the registration card, take an imprint of the credit card, the room key can be given to the guest even before reaching the hotel. The check in can be carried out at the airport itself.
The registration record
Registration cards- have details about the guest taken from the reservation record such as name of the guest, address, contact no., date of arrival, date of departure, type of room, special request etc. At check out they are stored as guest history record. It is a database for future trends.
Flow of guest registration information:
Room rack slip
POS charge status
Guest folio slip
Registration record
Housekeeping schedule
Information rack slip Guest history card
Room and rate assignment
Involves identifying and allocating an available room in a specific room category. If not available, identify an acceptable available room. The room can be pre- assigned. A variety of room rates exist for similar types of rooms. Rates differ based on room view, location, furnishing etc.
I. Room status
Effective room and rate assignment depends on accurate and timely room status information. Housekeeping uses status- occupied, vacant, on- change, out of order. The housekeeping status should be communicated to the front office and it should be checked against the front office status. The discrepancy should be rectified. Communication between front office and housekeeping is written, spoken, through telephones, computers, interface in- room telephone. Occupancy report is sent by the housekeeping to the front office.
Computers
Computers give instantaneous access to the room status. Pagers can be connected to the computer terminals. At times the rooms are ready in all respect but there could be a delay in clearing the rooms as the housekeeper may be clearing a number of rooms together. It can be made faster when the telephone and computer are interfaced.
Room rates
A room rate is the price a hotel charges for overnight accommodation.
Rack rate – standard rate for each room.
Food plans – room rate is inclusive of breakfast, lunch or dinner. Eg. Continental plan, European plan, American plan, Bermuda plan, modified American plan.
Special rates – these are discounted rates.
• Commercial or corporate rate – for frequent guests
• Complimentary – for business promotion
• Group rates – for groups, tour operators etc.
• Family rates – for families with children under 12.
• Day rates – hourly rate generally for a minimum of four hours. Applicable only during slack seasons.
• Package plan rates – room rate includes room rent and some facilities.
• Frequent traveler rate – for regular guests or guests who are flying with the airline that is part of the intersell agency or the co- marketer of the hotel.
Room locations
Front Office assistants should know the location of each room in the hotel. Room rack should contain information about the room types, rate, décor etc. computers record this information in their room history records.
II. Future blocks
Future blocks implies the showing of reservations on charts. Example: advance letting chart, density chart etc.
III. Methods of payment
Hotels accept different modes of payment such as cash, credit card, direct billing, special programmes and groups. Hotels have policies regarding the different modes.
IV. Issuing the room keys
By issuing the room keys the registration process is complete. Hotels have guidelines for the issue of room keys. Never announce the room number to the guest. When using key card draw the attention of the guest on the room number while writing it on the key card. Bell boy escorts the guest.
V. Fulfilling special request
Part of registration is making sure that any special requests made by guests are acknowledged. Sometimes even the room could be blocked in advance. Example inter connecting room.
VI. Creative options in registration
Apart from the traditional method, innovations could be used in the registration process. Some of them could be eliminating the front desk and having hotel greeters, creating a unique separate registration area for a VIP, combining the hotel registration with the meeting registration in a separate area of the building. Also, having a separate desk for the registration of groups.
VII. Self registration
Self registration terminals are installed in the lobby. They are interfaced with the front office computer terminals. It makes use of the credit card that was used for guaranteeing the reservation. These machines resemble the bank ATM machines.
VIII. When guest cannot be accommodated
Guaranteed reservation: hotel makes arrangement for the guest in a hotel of the same standard in the vicinity. Hotel may go to the extent of paying for the accommodation of the guest when it is walking the guest.
Walk in guest: hotel is not liable to provide accommodation to a walk in guest if there is no room available. But hotel can offer to assist the guest in finding accommodation in a similar hotel in the vicinity. The hotel may make reservation for the guest in the other hotel.
Guest with non- guaranteed reservation: reservation is held till the reservation cancellation hour, in case the room position is minus the hotel can release the room. The hotel must be tactful in dealing with non guaranteed reservations. Guests should be told about the hotels policy regarding the cancellation hour at the time he makes the room reservation.
Guests with guaranteed reservation:
• Review all front office transactions to ensure full occupancy.
- accurate counts of occupied rooms, compare room racks.
• Telephone due outs/ expected check outs.
• Check the condition of Out Of Order rooms.
• Identify pre- blocked rooms.
• Guests are encouraged to return to the hotel as VIPs.
• Management should prepare a follow up letter.
• For members of a convention, the planner should be informed.
• In case of a tour group, tour operator should be informed.
• If no room is available in the hotel guest can be sent to another hotel.
REGISTRATION SITUATIONS
DNS (Did Not Stay):
The guest sometimes wants to move-out almost immediately after being shown the room. If the room is not satisfactory to the guest the receptionist should try and provide alternative accommodation to this guest in the same hotel. If that is not possible then she should try and accommodate the guest in some other hotel of similar standard.
If the guest departs for reasons, which are beyond hotel’s control, the receptionist should express her regret and should assist the guest with departure. If the room is not being used, no charges will be made to the guest. All the forms and records will be marked ‘DNS’. Management is informed about these DNS cases and the reasons for the same.
DNA (Did Not Arrive):
At the end of the day, the receptionist should take following steps:
1. Check for reservation slips in the reservation rack.
2. Check the room rack to verify that the guest has not checked-in already.
3. Double check the arrival dates.
4. Check with the airline company for delay in the flight (if flight no. is given)
5. Time stamp the reservation form and attach it with folio card (in case of advance payment), mark it as ‘DNA’.
6. These reservation forms are kept with the next day’s reservations as the guaranteed reservation guest may arrive the next day.
RNA (Registered Not Assigned):
A guest arriving early in the morning, when the rooms are not available, may be asked to register himself. He is requested to deposit his luggage in the left luggage room and return to the hotel for room assignment later in the day (by hotel’s check-in time). The registration card is marked ‘RNA’ and kept at the reception counter. As soon as room of the required type is available, room assignment will be done. Room no. is then mentioned on the registration card.
PIA (Paid In Advance):
At arrival, if the guest has very little luggage (scanty baggage/ scanty luggage), then payment in advance is normally requested. This situation should be handled with extreme care and tact. Guest with cash payment should be informed about the hotel’s policy, very politely and advance should be collected. All the other revenue centers should be informed that the guest has to in cash for all the services and products provided to him. A ‘Cash Only Slip’ or a ‘PIA guest list’ is sent to all the service outlets.
If the guest holds a credit card and wants to make the payment through the same, then his card is validated and an imprint of the card is taken on the credit card voucher.
No Information:
The guest may request that no information regarding his/her presence in the hotel be given to any caller or visitor. ‘No Information’ should be clearly marked on the slips so that the staff can respond appropriately.
Signature check in:
The Registration card is filled in before the arrival of the guest as a part of the pre registration activity. The details are taken from the reservation record. The guest only signs on the registration card at the time of arrival. This saves a lot of time and is found convenient by guests as well as the hotel.
ARRIVAL PROCEDURE
ARRIVAL PROCEDURE GUEST ARRIVES AT THE HOTEL: Doorman greets the guest, opens door of the vehicle and helps guest alight. Bellboy unloads guest luggage, carrries it to the bell desk, directs the guest to the reception counter. GUEST ARRIVES AT THE RECEPTION COUNTER: Check expected arrivals list. Reconfirm accommodation requirements and mode of payment and special instructions with the guest. Check correspondence file for clarification if necessary. If the guest is an unknown FIT, if the mode of payment is cash ask the guest for an advance voucher or the pre-typed GR card or registration record and give it to the guest for completion. In the mean time check for the mail and messages for the guest. Decide on the room to be allocated from room rack availability of the type of room required. Prepare the key card and/ or welcome slip. Collect key, prepare lobby attendant’s errand card. Check that the registration card is properly filled. Ensure guest signature and then sign. In some hotels details of advance voucher are noted on the registration record at this stage. Hand over to the guest to the guest key card and / or welcome slip. Call for the Bell boy, enter his name on the errand card. Hand key to the Bell boy and instruct him to escort the guest to the room. (announce guest name and room number clearly but softly, at the same time indicating guest to the bell boy so as to avoid mistakes). After the guest leaves the counter inform Telephone department and Room Service immediately on phone. Prepare rack slips for room rack and Information rack. If hotel policy dictates prepare rack slips for Room Service and Telephone department. Also the slips themselves serve as arrival notification slips ( permanent notification slips). Otherwise temporary notification slips may be prepared and sent. Housekeeping department has to be informed. Attach reservation form and relevant correspondence to the guest registration card and sent to the Cashier to open the guest folio. In some hotels, guest folio is opened by the Receptionist and sent to the cashier with the rest of the forms to be maintained till the guest departure. Make entries in the arrival and departure register. Prepare ‘C’ Forms for foreigners. FORMATS: Expected arrival list Registration card, C Form Key card / Welcome slip Arrival-Departure register Bell boys errand card Bell captains control sheet Arrival notification slip ARRIVAL PROCEDURE Pre-arrival procedure: Refer log or memorandum. Calculate room position. Block room for existing reservation. Make amenities voucher if required. Keep registration cards ready. Formula for calculating room position: Room position = Available rooms -Expected arrivals + Exp. Dep. – Out of order / blocked rooms. Overbooking percentage = Cancellations + No shows X 100 No. of rooms F.I.T ARRIVAL PROCEDURE Guest without a reservation (walk in guest): Find out the requirement of the guest and allot a room as per the guest request. Guest with a reservation: Obtain the name of the guest. Check for the name of the guest in the expected arrivals list and tick it off. Check if the room is already blocked or allocated from the room rack. If not, then identify a suitable vacant room from the room rack to be assigned to the guest. Confirm the mode of payment. If cash, then request an advance payment. If the guest is paying by credit card, take an imprint of the credit card and validate the card. Offer a blank registration card if the guest is not pre-registered. Let the guest fill up the registration card and check it to see if all details have been entered. Prepare the key and welcome card. Summon the bell boy ad fill the errand card for the bell boy. Let the bell boy escort the guest to the room. LUGGAGE CONTROL AND BELLBOYS CONTROL Many guests arrive at the hotel with heavy baggage or several pieces of luggage. Guests receive help from the bell attendants. Bell attendants provide baggage service between the Lobby area and the guest room. Activities at the bell desk on arrival: Bell boy returns to the bell desk with errand card and hands it over to the bell captain. Hotel tags are prepared and fixed by the bell boy in the presence of the guest to identify the luggage and avid confusion or mistakes. Bell boy escorts the guest to the room with the luggage. Places luggage on the luggage stand or as directed by the guest. Returns to the bell desk and punches time of return on the errand card. The details on the errand card are filled up by the bell captain. He also makes entries of the details into his control sheet on the bell boys return. The errand card contains details such as the description and the number of pieces of baggage, the time at which the bell boy left the counter, time of return etc.
FRONT OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Time filed Transferred
From last sheet Memorandum Time completed Transferred to next sheet
FRONT OFFICE LOG BOOK
S.No. Particulars Time
(given) Time
(completed) Completed by Transferred
REGISTRATION CARD
IX. Name ________________________________________________________________________________
Surname first name
Arriving from _______________________ Company Design. _____________________________
Next destination _____________________ Organisation _________________________________
Date of birth ________________________ Address ______________________________________
Residential address __________________ __________________________________________
Arrival on ______ Dep. On __________ FOR FOREIGNERS
PURPOSE OF VISIT Date of arrival in India:_____________
Business 0Conference 0 Leisure Duration of stay in India:__________
MODE OF PAYMENT Passport no. _______________________
0Cash 0Travellers cheque 0 BTC 0voucher Nationality _______________________
Credit card 0Visa 0Master card 0Amex0Diners Date of issue:_____________________
Credit card no. _______________________ Place of issue:____________________
Expiry date _________________________ Certificate of registration
(Only for foreigners residing in India)
No. ___________________________
Bill to _____________________________ Date: __________________________
Room to be charged to ______________ Issued at: ______________________
Room types_________ Room no.________
Room rate No. of guests Room type
I agree to release my room(s) by 12 noon on the date of departure. Should I fail to check out, I authorise the management to pack and remove my belongings to the hotel check room so that my room will be available for incoming guests with confirmed reservations. The management is not responsible for any theft or loss of the valuables from the room.
Signature of the receptionist _____________ Guest’s signature ________________
AMENITIES VOUCHER
Date: ___________
From : Front Office
To : Room Service / Housekeeping / Pantry
Please supply:
0 fruit basket ( small / large / special)
0 flower arrangement (small / large)
0 bottle of wine
To _________________ Room no. ______________ at ________________________
(Guest’s name) (time)
Authorised by ___________________________________________________________
Card to be attached of __________________ Signature ______________________
Copies: 1. Room service/ Pantry / Housekeeper
2. F & B Controls
3. File copy
KEY CARD
Guest name ___________________________________________________________
Room no. ______________________________________________________________
Arrival Date __________________ Departure date ___________________________
Signature of the guest _______________________
Room key, on presentation of this card.
Purpose: This card is an authorization for guest to collect key.
MOVEMENT LIST
X.
Date: __________________ Day:____________________________
S no. Name Arr.flt.
No. Room no. No. of persons Instructions Departure date Booked by
BELL BOYS ERRAND CARD
(ARRIVAL)
Room no. Name:
Items No. of pieces
Suite case
Brief case
Hand bag
Suit hanger
Others
FOR OFFICE ONLY
Company
Contact
Departure date
Remarks
BELL CAPTAIN
LOBBY MANAGER
ROOM CHECKLIST
AC operation Mini bar flask
Music Leather folder
Television Bath robe
Brass ashtray – 2L, 2 S Mini
Lobby attendant Time: Date:
LOBBY ATTENDANT ERRAND CARD
(Departure)
Room no: Name:
Items No. of pieces
Suit case
Brief case
Hand bag
Suit hanger
Others
ROOM CHECK LIST
Brass ashtrays – 2L, 2S Bath robe
Mini bar flask Leather flask
DEPARTURE
INFORMATION RECEPTION CASHIER
Lobby attendant: Time: Date:
BELL CAPTAINS CONTROL SHEET
Sheet no. _____
Captain ________________
Date __________________ Shift from_________ To __________________
FIT DEPARTURE PROCEDURE
AT THE RECEPTION:
• The receptionist receives the errand card.
• Check name on the expected departure list.
• Inform the housekeeping control desk.
• Notes down the name of the housekeeping staff and time informed in the departure intimation register.
• Checks for the room key and signs on the errand card.
• Informs telephone.
• Informs room service.
• Updates room rack (slip folded in half) and information rack.
• Enters details in an alphabetical order in the register against the guest name.
• Enters details in the arrival / departure register.
• Keep registration card for filing.
AT THE CASHIER’S DESK:
• The cashier checks the guest folio for any unposted vouchers.
• Calls up the room service, coffee shop for any last minute billing.
• Updates bills and checks billing instructions.
• Checks all entries against the vouchers and arranges them date-wise.
• Presents the bill to the guest to check and rectify(approve) charges. Also reconfirm the billing instructions.
• Queries if any are answered and vouchers are presented.
Bell desk
Bell desk / Bell stand / Porter’s lodge
Operations at this desk are controlled by Bell captain / head hall porter. In case of large & very large hotels this responsibility is taken care of by the senior bell captain.
There are bell boys/ porters/ page boys working under the bell captain.
This small desk is located:
• In the lobby
• In front of the front desk
• Near the entrance
• Near the luggage elevator
The ‘left luggage room is located next to this small desk.
Bell desk communicates with:
1. Doorman
2. Reception/ Information/ CashierS
3. Lobby manager
XI. Functions performed
1. Paging of guests.
2. Handling mail & messages for in-house guests.
3. collection of room keys from the guest at the time of departure & depositing at the reception.
4. Handling and distribution of newspapers & magazines.
5. Attending outside calls.
6. Postage stamps and outgoing mail.
7. Handling other services like door service, car parking, crew/ group wake call service.
8. Helping lobby manager to check discrepant rooms.
9. Handling and storage of luggage left by the guest for temporary storage.
XII. Basic equipment used
1. Luggage trolley
2. Intercom telephones
3. Postage scales
4. Date & time stamping machines
5. Stamp folder
6. Luggage net
7. Paging board
LEFT LUGGAGE FACILITY
Hotel guests, at times wish to leave their luggage in the custody of the hotel left luggage room. The luggage will be kept in the left luggage room under following circumstances:
* On arrival : The guest may not need all the luggage, he is carrying with him to his room.
* On departure : When he intends to return to the hotel after a short trip to another city OR when the guest wants the luggage piece to be picked-up by another friend or relative OR when the guest is not able to make immediate payments of the bills OR when the guest checks out of the room at noon to save extra billing but is bound to leave by an evening flight.
This service is provided only to hotel residents.
Conditions Applied for Accepting Left Luggage :
Hotel accepts baggage or package for storage in a condition that hotel shall be in no way liable for loss caused to it through water, fire, theft, or any such causes.
Hotel shall not be responsible for the luggage after 30 days of storage.
Precious items, jewelry, important documents ,etc. won’t be accepted for storage. Guest is advised to contact any scheduled bank and hire a locker for such purposes.
No edibles, explosives or inflammable material should form a part of the content of goods being given for storage.
Guests are requested to ensure that the baggage handed over for storage is properly locked and secured.
Guests are requested to sign the register in the left luggage room at the time of handing over and receiving their baggage.
In some cases, a fixed charge per piece per day will be levied for each baggage occupied for storage.
Baggage will be handed over only on the production of baggage check.
INFORMATION DESK
Front office staff must know the following points :
Hotel Product Check List
• Room number and location of each room : floor and access.
• Type of accommodation available : single, double, twin, etc.
extra bed etc.
• Additional facilities : Terrace, private balcony, Jacuzzi, etc.
• Room facilities : Telephone, mini bar, channel music, fax machine, etc.
• State of furnishings : Newly redecorated, good, poor, old fashioned, etc.
• Fire emergency drill.
• Hotel rates : per person, per day, per room, etc.
• Details of tariff : Half board, full board, B.P., etc.
• Special tariffs : High / mid / low season, festival season, discount rates.
Standing Arrangements :
• Service charges.
• Reservation deposit policy.
• Price and service times of all meals in the restaurant.
• Room and floor service facilities & charges.
• Policy for pets and dogs.
• Car parking, garage, petrol, car repairs facilities.
• Telephone call charges.
• Corkage charges.
• Liquor, cigarettes and snacks service time and charges.
• Cheque, traveler’s cheque and personal cheque policies.
• Credit card policy
• Travel agents and company business policy.
Hotel facilities :
• Number and position of public cloak room, staircases, elevators, etc.
• Position and amenities of lounge, TV room or reading room, restaurants, etc.
• Opening and closing hours of bar, games room, health club, swimming pool, etc.
• Provision for packed food, early dinner, late supper.
• Banqueting and conference facilities.
• Theater tickets, taxi hire, car hire, laundry, dry cleaning, etc.
GUEST COMPLAINT HANDLING
How to handle complaints:
1. Listen carefully
When a guest complaints do not interrupt, listen carefully. Because a guest who is complaining. Do not interrupt and give excuses. The guest is angry and to lessen the anger, let him tell you the entire problem.
2. Clarify
If you are in doubt about the specific problem of your guest then do not guess his problem but, clarify it by asking questions and understanding the nature of problem.
3. Think about your guest wants
When a guest complaints he might tell you so many things along with the actual problem. But you have to try and the important message from the complaint, i.e. find out the root cause.
4.Think how you can help
Considering the nature of the problem and the complaint, decide the plan of action quickly.
5. Act immediately
Take immediate action and take the action in front of the guest so that he feels that he is taken care of.
6. Follow-up
Merely taking action is not sufficient, so follow-up with the other departments, if the complaint has been handled.
7. No false promises
It is very dangerous to make false promise. If you can’t solve a particular problem do not promise, otherwise you may loose not only one customer but many.
8. Ask senior
If you feel you can’t solve a certain problem or you are not authorized to take a decision, ask your senior to help you.
MAIL HANDLING
Importance :
Mail handling procedure is a very important function which the Front Office staff has to handle in a hotel. A receptionist in a hotel has to be very careful that all the mail receives due attention and are attended to without any delay to avoid embarrassment.
Types of mail - Incoming & Outgoing, Ordinary & Registered :
Basically while discussing there are two types of mail. Incoming & Outgoing.
Incoming Mail :
Various types of mail may be received in a hotel, like mail for Hotel Management and Hotel staff and mail for guests. In addition the mail may be an ordinary mail or registered/recorded mail etc.
Staff has to be extra careful about recorded mail. All incoming mail must be DATE AND TIME STAMPED. A proper record of all the recorded mail is kept as per requirement i.e., the entries are made in either registered letter book, parcels book or telegram book etc. No such record is maintained for ordinary mail. After having date and time marked the mail, it is sorted and classified under 3 main categories.
(1) HOTEL MAIL is identified by the designation of a senior manager of the hotel eg General Manager, Banquet Manager etc. This mail is delivered to the office of the managers concerned.
(2) STAFF MAIL is identified by the presence of the name of employee, designation and department mentioned in the address. This is usually sorted and delivered through the Time Office.
(3) GUEST MAIL : Any mail that is left is supposed to be guest mail
Guest Mail may belong to any one of the following categories
(1) Present Guest Mail
(2) Past Guest Mail
(3) Future guest Mail
(4) Wrongly Addressed Mail
PRESENT GUEST MAIL
The guest mail is first arranged in ALPHABETICAL ORDER and then checked against the INFORMATION RACK to identify the PRESENT GUESTS. Wherever applicable the room no is entered in pencil on the letters and then they are put in the appropriate room no pigeon hole in the MAIL AND KEY RACK to be handed to the guests when they come to deposit or collect their keys
Any mail that is left still belongs to guests who have already departed (past guest) or to guests who have still to arrive (future guests)
PAST GUEST MAIL
Sometime the hotel receives mail for the guests who have already departed from the hotel after having stayed for some period. The hotel to avoid any embarrassment as to what to do with such mail and how to hand it over to the person quickly, ask the departing guest to leave their forwarding address and for how long they would want their mail to be redirected to that address. A special program called “Mail Forwarding Card” is used for this. Many hotels keep these cards in the stationery folder in the room while others keep these slips at the Front Desk and give them to the guest at the time of departure. This card contains the address to which and the dates/period till by which the guest would like all the mail received by the hotel after his departure to be forwarded. These cards are filed alphabetically and when the expiry date is reached they are cleared out systematically. Any letter received after the expiry date is either returned back to the sender or in case the permanent address of the guest is available, is redirected to him at his permanent address.
The remaining mail is still in alphabetical order and checked against the Mail Forwarding Cards and where applicable they are Redirected. Details of mail redirected is entered on the reverse of the Mail Forwarding Card.
FUTURE GUEST MAIL
General mail for guests yet to arrive is kept in the back office in pigeon holes marked alphabetically. An indication is made in the reservation record about this awaited mail i.e., in case of Whitney system the words “Awaited Mail” is written on the Whitney slip. In case of diary system it is recorded in the diary against his name in remarks column and in case of Computer system it is updated in the computer. Later this mail is sent to the Front Desk and is kept with the receptionist in special slot on the day of arrival of the guest and when the guest arrives the receptionist hands over the mail to the guest at the time of registration.
If there is any mail that is delivered within thirty days after it has been received, it is marked “Addressee Unknown” and sent back to the Post Office which will send them to the Dead Letter Office..
Outgoing Mail :
Outgoing mail of the hotel include mail of the hotel and guest. Outgoing Hotel Mail is handled by the individual departments. The various departments have their own secretarial staff who maintain record of all outgoing mail. Large Hotels use Franking Machine for postage. If the volume of mail is high the use of Franking Machine save lot of time. This machine is hired / purchased generally from the Post & Telegram department or any authorized supplying company. This machine stamps on the envelope (or on an adhesive tape) the amount of postage required and the date cancellation mark. Advance payment has to be made to the post office to cover the value of the postage expected to be used. As the stamp value is printed on the envelope, the amount is reduced on the machine till it reaches zero value. The machine will then automatically lock and the post office will again charge it after further payment. While using the machine care must be taken that the correct denomination of stamp is put on envelopes. The date stamp must be altered every day as the post office will not accept the prior post dated mail. One of the most important thing for the staff to know is the current postal regulations.
Besides the outgoing mail of Hotel, the Hotel also provide the service of posting letter etc. for the guest staying at the hotel. Generally the bell desk keeps stamps and letter and parcels scale. The stamp folder is used to prevent the stamps from getting lost. The folder contains separate divisions for various denominations. The stamp folder should be kept under lock and key. The letter and parcel scale is used to weigh the mail to ensure that correct amount of postage is affixed.
Some hotels use a book called postage book to keep the record of postage used. All mail for dispatch if franked by a franking machine or if the stamps are used should be entered into postage book.
The procedure of sending ordinary mail for guest is simple. The guest leaves his mail (to be posted) at the Bell Desk where it is weighed and then the necessary stamps are affixed and posted. In case of Registered mail the mail is sent to post office, which issue an special official receipt. These receipts are retained as they are required to be produced in case a claim for clarification from the guest.
PAGING
Paging is used to locate a guest in the hotel. Guests may require this paging service during their stay in the hotel. Sometimes when a expecting a phone call or a visitor but he doesn’t want to wait for him in his room, and either goes to any of the public areas or goes out of the hotel; then in such cases he will leave the information about his whereabouts at the front desk. For this purpose he has to fill in a ‘Location form’
Location form tells about the whereabouts of the guest in case he is not in his room and is expecting a telephone call or a visitor. Sometimes this form is kept in the stationary folder in the guest room but more commonly it is with the front desk. The receptionist on the guest’s behalf can fill this in. it is made in duplicate; one copy is kept in the “Key and Mail rack”, the second copy goes to the telephone operator. Paging can be done for a guest whose location is known or for a guest who has not left any location form.
PROCEDURE FOR PAGING
1. Page Board System:
When a phone call is received for any guest or a visitor comes to visit the guest who is not in his room, the reception desk personnel will write the name and/or room number of the guest on both the sides of the Page board. This will be handed over to the bellboy. If the guest location is known, bell boy will carry that board to specific public area and will ring the bells attached to the board. This draws attention of the guest and the concerned guest gets his message.
Disadvantages:
• Time consuming- if the guest does not specify his location page board will have to be carried to all public areas of the hotel.
• When bell boy moves with the board and the bells are ringing, he might disturb many guests in the area.
2. Channel Music Or Public Address System:
When there is a phone call for a guest who has to be paged, the receptionist switches off the channel music of the lobby and other public area of the hotel. With the help of a microphone she announces the name and/or the room number of the guest, which is transmitted to all public areas simultaneously.
SAFE CUSTODY OF GUEST VALUABLES
The hotelier has a liability towards the property of a guest and he is obliged to accept articles such as jewelry, cash, etc for safekeeping. The hotel can either accept articles from the guest for safekeeping or can provide facilities like lockers where the guest can keep his valuables.
The hotel has to display a notice informing the guest about the safekeeping facilities in a prominent place where it can be noticed by the guest. The hotelier must also inform the guest about these facilities orally. Once he has accepted the responsibility for the safety of the guest valuables, the guest can clam damages for the following:
1. The property was lost or damaged in spite of the fact that they were given for safekeeping.
2. The hotel refused to accept guest’s valuables for safekeeping and later they were lost or stolen.
3. The hotel failed to display a notice in a prominent place and the guest was not aware of this facility.
PROCEDURE
1. COMMON SAFE:
When a guest deposits his valuables for safe custody, he is given a specially prepared envelope in which he puts the articles. He seals the envelope and signs across it. The cashier gives a receipt for the envelope. The receipts are serially numbered and are in triplicate. Top copy is given to the guest, second copy is attached to the envelope and the third copy is the book copy. A deposit register is also maintained in which the details of the receipt are posted.
When the guest requests for the return of the property, he gives back the original of the receipt. This is cancelled and is attached to the third copy in the book. The deposit receipt book is checked against the deposit register to ensure that all deposits have been entered in the register and all the receipts are returned to the book after returning the guest article.
2. INDIVIDUAL SAFE DEPOSIT LOCKERS:
As the above process is time consuming and could lead to confusion, mostly individual safe deposit lockers are used. When valuables are to be deposited the guest is given the key of the locker, which he signs for and the particulars are recorded in the ‘Safe deposit locker record sheet’. There are two keys for each locker. When the locker has to be opened, both the keys have to be used. The cashier is responsible for the control key and the second key is the guest key. The cashier uses his key and then h guest can open the locker with his key. This prevents the guest or the staff from tampering with the lockers. The front desk must verify the identity of the guest before granting him the access to the safe deposit box. The guest is required to sign a form requesting the access to the locker and the staff will verify the signature with the guest signature on the safe deposit locker form. A few hotels also take a deposit for the key. It is refunded at the time of departure on production of the key receipt.
In some hotels safe deposit lockers are also placed in the guest rooms. In- room safes are generally placed in the guest room closet or wardrobe. Guest convenience is the main advantage of the in-room safe. Several different types of in-room safe systems exist. A few of them have mechanical locks while others have electronic locks that can be coded by the guests. Every guest staying in the room can lock the safe with his own code and the guest is requested to leave the safe open when he checks out.
In case a guest does not remember the code, he can take help from the hotel security officers who have a master key that will open the safe.
SAFE DEPOSIT FORM:
ASSIGNED TO:__________________ SAFE DEPOSIT BOX NO.:___________
ROOM DATE TIME CASHIER GUEST
I HEREBY AUTHORIZE THE PERSON, WHOSE SIGNATURE IS SHOWN IN THE BOX ABOVE, TO HAVE THE ACCESS TO THE LOCKER.
GUEST SIGNATURE DATE TIMES OPENED CASHIER
A CHARGE OF RS.500/- WILL BE MADE FOR LOST KEYS.
SURRENDERED BY:
GUEST SIGNATURE DATE TIME CASHIER
SAFE DEPOSIT LOCKER APPLICATION
FROM : Mr./Mrs./Ms.____________________________________________
ROOM NO. : _______________
Please allot me a safe deposit locker for my personal use.
I agree to pay the charges for the same as per the terms and conditions of the organisation.
LOCKER NO. : _______________ KEY NO. : _____________
DATE OF ALLOTMENT : _______________
TIME OF ALLOTMENT : ________________
SIGNATURE OF THE GUEST : _______________
SIGNATURE OF THE FR. OFFICE CASHIER : ______________
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. I confirm to use the safe deposit locker for storing valuables and cash at my
risk.
2. I undertake not to misuse the safe deposit locker for the storage of damaged,
Combustible and other objectionable items.
3. I assure to keep the safe deposit locker key in my possession and hand over the
same at the time of check-out.
4. In case of loss of safe deposit locker key, I agree to pay Rs. 1,500/- towards the
cost of replacement of the lock.
5. I agree to pay a rent of Rs. 25/day
____________________
Guest Signature.
ROOMING LIST
GROUP NAME : CHECK-IN DATE : TIME :
TRAVEL AGENCY : CHECK-OUT DATE : TIME :
ROOM NO.
GUEST NAME ROOM TYPE CHECK-IN TIME REMARKS
ROOM NO.
GUEST NAME ROOM TYPE CHECK-IN TIME REMARKS
x
TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE: THIRTY-SIX TIPS
Before you answer be prepared (this includes knowing how to use the phone/system features):
1. Turn away from your computer, desk or other work.
2. Have pens, pencils and notepaper handy.
In answering the phone:
3. Answer calls promptly, by the second or third ring.
4. Smile as you pick up the phone.
5. Assume your "telephone" voice, controlling your volume and speed.
6. Project a tone that is enthusiastic, natural, attentive and respectful.
7. Greet the caller and identify yourself and your company/department/unit.
8. Ask, "To whom am I speaking?"
9. Ask, "How may I help you?"
In the course of the conversation:
10. Focus your entire attention on the caller.
11. Enunciate/articulate clearly. Speak distinctly.
12. Use Plain English and avoid unnecessary jargon and acronyms.
13. Use action specific words and directions.
14. Use the caller's name during the conversation.
15. Always speak calmly and choose your words naturally.
16. Use all of your listening skills:
a. Focus your full attention on the caller and the conversation.
b. Listen "between" the words.
c. Use reflective/active listening to clarify and check for understanding.
17. If there is a problem, project a tone that is concerned, empathetic, and apologetic.
18. Avoid the Five Forbidden Phrases.
a. "I don't know"
Instead, say: "That is a good question; let me find out for you" or offer to connect the caller with someone who could provide the answer.
If a call involves some research, assure the person that you will call back by a specific time.
If you do not have an answer by the deadline, call back to say, “I don’t have an answer yet, but I’m still researching it.” There is no excuse for not returning calls.
b. "I/we can't do that."
Instead say: "This is what I/we can do."
c. "You'll have to"
Instead say: "You will need to" or "I need you to" or “Here’s how we can help you.”
d. "Just a second"
Instead: Give a more honest estimate of how long it will take you and/or let them know what you are doing.
e. "No."
Instead: Find a way to state the situation positively.
19. Use "LEAPS" with the emotional caller to vent.
L Listen; allow the caller to vent.
E Empathize; acknowledge the person's feelings
A Apologize when appropriate, even if the problem is not your fault, you can say, "I am really sorry this has happened" and mean it.
P (Be) Positive
S Solve; suggest/generate solutions that you can both agree on and/or ask what you can do to help and, if reasonable, do it! If not, find a compromise.
In concluding the call:
20. End the conversation with agreement on what is to happen next; if you are to follow-up, do so immediately.
21. Thank the caller for calling; invite the caller to call again.
In transferring calls:
22. Transfer ONLY when necessary; get the information yourself.
23. If you must transfer, avoid the use of the word "transfer." Say instead: "I am going to connect you with".
24. Explain why you are "transferring" the call.
25. Give the caller the person's name and direct number
26. Stay on the line and introduce the caller.
In taking messages:
27. Identify yourself and for whom you are answering the phone.
28. Practice political sensitivity.
29. Indicate the period of time the person will be unavailable.
30. Write down all the important information given:
a. The name of the caller. Ask for spelling if unclear.
b. The (correct) telephone number of the caller.
c. The message. Ask for clarification if necessary.
31. Read back what you've written to be sure you've understood the message correctly.
32. Always assure the person that you will deliver the message promptly.
33. Deliver the message in a timely fashion.
NEVER:
34. Eat, drink or chew gum while on the phone.
35. Leave an open line:
a. Place the caller on hold
b. Check back with the caller frequently: every 30-45 seconds.
ALWAYS:
36. Put a smile in your telephone voice and let your personality shine!
The Complaint Call
Complaint callers who are irate are really saying, "I rate." They have bought into society's "the squeaky
wheel gets the grease" mentality. When that happens, try the EAR method:
E mpathize with the caller.
A pologize and acknowledge the problem.
Accept R esponsibility. (You'll do something.)
Empathize with the caller. This is different from sympathy, where you take on someone else's problem.
Try to understand how the person is feeling.
Apologize and acknowledge the problem. You don't have to agree with the caller, but express regret that there is a problem. People want to be heard, and no one's complaint is trivial.
Each deserves prompt handling, so do not deal with it in a trivial manner.
Accept responsibility. Make sure something is done. Take it upon yourself to DO something.
Many times, that's all that people want: the reassurance that something will be done. People want to be helped. They want to know that you care.
Use these phrases to get that sentiment across: "How can I help you?" "What can I do for you?" "I'll make sure this message/information gets to the right person."
The acceptance of responsibility may be as simple as forwarding the call to the appropriate individual or sending the caller more information.
If you do forward the caller to someone else on your staff, follow up with that person to make sure the caller was taken care of.
If you get an irate caller, or even one who is calm, cool, and collected, here are some more methods to handle complaint calls:
First, don't overreact, especially if the caller starts using "trigger" words or phrases, such as: "I want to talk to someone who knows something." Most people respond by getting defensive when their "hot-button words" are pressed.
Remember, a positive attitude is the most important asset you have.
Second, listen completely to the complaint. Allow the caller the opportunity to vent some frustration.
When you listen, don't try to apply logic to the situation. Many people are beyond logic if they are angry, so accept the feelings being expressed. Avoid argument and criticism.
Third, do not blame anyone -- the caller, yourself, or someone on your staff -- even if you know who is to blame for a problem. This information should not be shared with the caller.
Fourth, paraphrase the caller's comments, and ask questions if you do not understand the information being presented to you. Restate the problem as you understand it.
Fifth, offer solutions and, if appropriate, offer alternatives. Providing alternatives empowers callers. It gives callers a feeling that they were not dictated to and that they were part of the solution.
Finally, confirm the solution with the caller. Make sure the caller agrees with what has been decided.
Of course, not everyone will be happy, no matter what you do. These people will not be content; they just like being grumpy. Usually, these are the people who want to talk to the person "above you." If that is what it takes to lessen their anger, then do so. By the time they have been transferred to a supervisor, they usually have become calmer and less demanding. It seems that they just needed to vent their anger at someone: you. Just remember that most people are not that way and keep a firm grip on that positive attitude of yours.
How do people answer the phone in different parts of the world?
In Spain they say "Get on with it!"
In Italy they say "Ready!"
In the Czech Republic they say "Ahoy!"
In Japan they say "Mushi-mushi!"
In New Zealand they ask "Are you there?"
In Hong Kong they say "Waay!"
In the Netherlands they say "With..."
In Finland they state their full name
Ways to answer the Phone!
"Hi."
"Hola!"
"Hey wassup ?"
"You have reached the residence of ___________, but no one is here right now... so please leave a...."
"Thank you, please pull around."
"Do-do-do- I'm sorry, you call cannot be completed as dialed!"
"Burp!"
"Talk to I!"
"911 Emergency!"
"Pizza Hut, may I take your order?"
Role-play 1
Employer: "Hello, Johnson Industries."
Applicant: "Hi, my name is student's name, and I am calling about the ad in the Sunday paper for the Customer Service Representative Position." (speak clearly and state who you are and why you are calling)
Employer: "OK, what I need you to do is come down to the office and fill out an application."
Applicant: "Could you tell me where you are located?" (you may want to write the information down)
Employer: "Do you know where the McDonalds® is on Main Street?"
Applicant: "Yes, I do." (try to say more than "yeah" or "no")
Employer: "Good, we are located right across the street."
Applicant: "When is a good time to come by and who should I ask for?"
Employer: "You can come by any time before 5 p.m. today, and ask for me, Fred Stevenson."
Applicant: "Thank you Mr. Stevenson." (always be polite)
Employer: "You are welcome."
Role-play 2
Receptionist: "Good afternoon, McDonnel and Associates."
Applicant: "Hi, may I please speak to Ms. Fredrickson?" (use formal names)
Receptionist: "Ms. Fedrickson is in a meeting right now."
Applicant: "May I leave a message?" (ask to leave a message)
Receptionist: "Yes."
Applicant: "My name is student's name and I am calling about the status of the job opening as her assistant. My number is 555-1234."
Receptionist: "OK, I'll give her the message."
Applicant: "Thank you." (always be polite)
Role-play 3
Applicant: "Hello." (When you are doing a job search, answer the phone with an appropriate greeting each time you answer the phone. You may give a potential employer the wrong impression if you answer the phone with a greeting such as "Yo" or "Yea.")
Employer: "Hi, may I speak to student's name."
Applicant: "This is she/he." (make sure people respond in a polite way)
Employer: "This is Ms. Fredrickson from McDonnel and Associates."
Applicant: "How are you Ms. Fredrickson?"
Employer: "I am fine. I have read over your application, and I am interested in having you come in for an interview."
Applicant: "That would be great. When would you like me to stop by?"
Employer: "How does Tuesday at 10 a.m. sound?"
Applicant: "That sounds good. Your office is located by Evergreen School on Elm Street, right?"
(don't forget to ask where you need to be)
Employer: "That's correct."
Telephone Etiquette-Workshop
Telephone Skills
Work Related Telephone Skills
OBJECTIVES
1. Develop proper phone skills for speaking to a potential employee.
2. Develop proper phone skills when at work.
MATERIALS NEEDED
Access to at least one telephone most recent local Sunday newspaper, paper, pens or pencils
SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES
Job Search/Job Survival – A $199.00 video package by Educational Design, Inc. (1800 221-9372). The Job Search video provides dramatizations of appropriate phone skills when contacting a potential employee.
INSTRUCTIONAL FORMAT
This lesson will provide training on proper phone etiquette when looking for work and while on the job. It is important to stress that a person's presentation on the phone is a significant factor in obtaining a job.
Additionally, poor phone skills at work can decrease an employee's chance for advancement or a pay raise.
1. Discuss contacting a potential employer.
First, one may have to answer a want ad with a call to the company. This call might involve answering questions, obtaining information about the job, and finding out where and how to apply for the position.
Second, following an interview or submission of an application, the applicant should follow up with a phone call to ask about the status of the position. This demonstrates an interest to the employer.
Regardless of why the applicant is calling, it is important that he speak clearly, identify who he is, and indicate the position in which he is interested.
2. Use modeling and role-playing to provide students an opportunity to learn and practice telephone skills when contacting a potential employee. There are sample scripts below to help guide the roleplays.
It is suggested that the applicant ask questions such as "Who will interview me? How long will the interview last? Should I bring anything?"
3. It is suggested that the class look at employment classifieds from the local Sunday paper and find want ads that instruct the reader to call a number for more information. Have each student make at least one call to practice the skills learned above.
4. Discuss phone etiquette at work. Different companies will have different procedures for answering the phones, directing phone calls, and taking messages. Review these basic procedures.
• Greet the caller and indicate the organization. "Hello. This is Krueger Automotive. How may I help you?"
• If the person the caller is asking for is available, transfer the call.
• If the person the caller is asking for is not available, ask if you can take a message. Never tell the caller why the person is not available unless they are in a meeting, with a customer, or on another line. Telling the caller that the person is in the bathroom or running errands is too personal.
• Write down all the necessary information that your boss wants you to when taking
messages.
• If the caller is a customer who wants help from you, be as helpful as possible. Direct the caller to person who can help if you can't. Always return calls as quickly as possible if you need to get the correct information and indicated that you would call back.
• Ask about the company's policy is on personal phone calls. A good rule of thumb is to only make or receive personal phone calls during breaks.
See the unit titled Family Responsibilities for additional information. Find out about the policy regarding cell phones and pagers.
5. Practice taking phone messages. The trainer can model appropriate ways to take phone messages.
It is suggested that the class decide on a company name and what information they should get for taking a message. It does not matter who the caller asks for because that person will never be in the office. The class members can critique and provide suggestions to the person answering the phone.
6. If it is feasible, it is suggested that students get an opportunity to answer phones at the program where they are receiving training. This will give them an opportunity to practice what they learned within the framework of an actual workplace's procedures.
SIGNS OF GENERALIZATION
Students use proper phone etiquette when searching or working at a job. If students can complete exercise number 3 and number 6 above, they should have the skills for future situations involving the phone and work.
http://www.workshopsinc.com/manual/Ch9L3.html
QUALITIES TO TRANSMIT BY TELEPHONE
FRIENDLINESS -
Your voice will carry your attitude over the phone.
CONFIDENCE -
Prepare yourself. This will enable you to speak with confidence. Know your property. Know how to analyze your status data quickly.
INTELLIGENCE -
Remember that you are talking with individuals from different backgrounds
and levels of education. Meet your caller on his level.
CLARITY -
It is embarrassing for the listener to ask you to repeat a statement.
CREATIVENESS -
If the opportunity avails itself, help solve problems. Use your expertise to offer alternatives he may not have thought of.
ENTHUSIASM -
Find out the positive points about your property and concentrate on them.
INTEGRITY -
Be honest, If you do not know, admit it & offer to find out. Do not mislead your prospect.
TACTFULNESS -
Be tactful in any situation. Try to convince the guest without hurting his feelings.
PRIDE -
Take pride in your company and your work. Let the pride reflect in your voice and your speech. Pride generates enthusiasm. Your pride in the hotel will instill interest & confidence in the mind of the caller.
USE OF TELEPHONE BY FRONT OFFICE STAFF
1. The telephone is to be used for reception business. If you want to make a private call, use the private call box in the lobby. If somebody telephones you personally (not on business), keep your conversation as brief as possible and offer to telephone back from the call box when you are free. Unless you do this, you may keep waiting a potential guest who wants to make a booking.
2. When the telephone rings answer it immediately. The call should be attended within three rings. If you are attending to a guest at that time, first answer the phone, excuse yourself. Do not let the telephone ring without answering it. Although it may at times be irritating the telephone should always come before any desk work, but should not take precedence over the guest at the counter with whom you were dealing before the telephone rang.
3. Do not keep the caller waiting for a long time before attending to him.
A caller on the telephone should never be left longer than 45 seconds without somebody picking up the telephone and telling him again “I am sorry to keep you waiting."
4. Answer the telephone by saying, “RECEPTION (inf. or reservation) GOOD MORNING (good afternoon or good evening), MAY I HELP YOU? Do not answer "Hello".
5. Speak clearly. Pronounce the words carefully. The caller may find it more difficult to understand you on the telephone than if you speak to him at the counter.
6. Be brief and to the point, but not abrupt. Remember that telephone time costs money and that the switchboard operator may be holding another call for you.
7. Be polite, friendly and helpful. On the telephone only your voice can indicate the welcome we want every potential guest to receive. Do not interrupt the caller while he is talking. You must never sound short, sharp, irritated and impatient.
8. Be accurate in what you say. The guest wants to have confidence in you. Do not ‘THINK’ or ‘SUPPOSE’ if you do not know the answer; find out and call back.
9. Be courteous in explaining the hotel rules. Do not use the phrase “You have to”, “I suggest” or “would you mind” is preferable. Never argue with the guest, the guest is always right. If you can not deal with a certain problem, inform the seniors in the department, so that they can deal with it.
10. Take the correct name and contact number of the caller. This information will help you if you have telephone the caller back.
11. Finally, Always remember that you represent the hotel or the organisation you are working for when you pick-up a telephone call at work. Caller does not see you or your hotel, so your voice alone has to help the caller become and remain a satisfied customer.
VISITOR’S TABULAR LEDGER.
Visitor’s tabular ledger is a ledger meant for keeping the record of registered guests in an analysed form. It serves the purpose of a day book (sales book) on one hand and registered guest’s personal account on the other. It is maintained for keeping the record of all the transactions relating to the sale of goods and services to registered guests in a systematically analysed form.
There are two types of V.T.L. 1) horizontal 2) vertical. V.T.L. is maintained in a loose leaf form. A separate ledger is maintained for each day. This ledger is maintained in the back office. It is written on the basis of vouchers or checks received by the cashier. As and when a transaction with a guest relating to sales takes place, the concerned department prepares a check and sends them to the cashier’s department. The cashier will immediately post the bill in the guest account, in the V.T.L. The guest account in the V.T.L. is closed as soon as the guest checks out. In case he continues to stay in the hotel, his account for the day is closed before the night audit (at about 12 midnight).
The balance c/f is calculated and transferred to the respective accounts in the new tabular ledger which is opened for the next day.
The completed V.T.L. gives following information:
The sale of each department and the total sale of each type meal, beverage
or other services.
The total debit balance of a departed guest transferred to the ledger
account or transferred to other guest’s account.
Cash paid by the guest during the day.
The details of individual guest’s account and the total amount the resident
guest owes at the end of the day.
Advantages of the V.T.L.:
1. All personal a/cs of registered guests are opened in V.T.L. and so the names of all the registered guests, their room nos., no. of rooms occupied, etc. can be seen at a glance.
2. All personal a/cs of guest’s are opened in V.T.L. and transactions relating to them for the day are recorded in their account. Therefore the day’s details of each personal a/c can be seen without wasting time.
3. Each guest’s personal a/c is debited directly with the help of vouchers without first entering the amount in the journal and therefore there are less chances of mistakes.
4. The posting is done directly so it takes less time.
5. By opening guest’s a/c in the V.T.L. one a/c for each guest is maintained up to the minute. So the final bill can be prepared easily at the time of guest check-out.
6. Every department sends the original copy of the check to the bill clerk for posting. So all the original bills are at the cashier’s desk, for checking and verification if required.
7. In case of controversy between the hotel and the guest, the tabular sheet can prove helpful for rechecking of all the entries.
8. The V.T.L. is prepared from the original vouchers and hence the control and checking of a/cs with the departmental sales summary sheets can be done efficiently.
9. The items of sale are in an analysed form. Income generated by each department can be seen at a glance.
10. The allowance given to the guests is also recorded in the V.T.L. so it is easy to know the total allowance given to the guests on that day.
GLOSSARY OF FRONT OFFICE TERMS
1. Accounts Receivable : A company, organization or individual, registered or not, who has an outstanding bill with the hotel.
2. Adjoining Rooms : Two rooms side by side with a common wall without a door on the common wall.
3. Advance Deposit : Payment of money by the guest on a room reservation that the hotel is holding.
4. After Departure : (AD) A late charge.
5. Allowance : A reduction to the folio, as an adjustment either for unsatisfactory service or for a posting error. Also called a “REBATE”.
6. American Hotel and Lodging Association : (AH & LA) A federation of regional and state associations composed of individual hotel and motel properties throughout the Americas.
7. American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) : A professional association of travel agents and tour operators.
8. Average Room Rate or Average Daily Rate : Computed by dividing the rooms revenue by the number of rooms occupied.
9. Back to Bank : A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged by tour operators so rooms are never vacant.
10. Bank : Coins and small bills given to a cashier for making change.
11. Bed and Breakfast : (B & B). The room tariff includes the charge for the room and a continental breakfast.
12. Bed Board : A wooden board placed under the mattress to provide a firmer sleeping surface.
13. Blanket Reservation : A block of rooms held for a particular group with individual members requesting assignments from that block.
14. Bucket : The file that holds the guest folio, often recessed in the counter top. Also known as “Cashier’s Well”
15. Cabana or Kababa : A room on the beach or near the swimming pool separated from the main building, used for changing.
16. Cancellation : A guests request to the hotel to void a reservation previously made.
17. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) : A television screen or monitor that displays information put out by the computer.
18. Check-in : All the procedures involved in receiving the guest and completing the registration sequence.
19. Check-out : All the procedures involved in the departure of the guest and the settlement of the account.
20. City Ledger : An accounts receivable ledger of non registered guests.
21. Commercial Hotel : A transient hotel catering to a business clientele.
22. Commercial Rate : A reduced room rate given to business persons to promote occupancy.
23. Confirmed Reservation : The hotels agreement, usually in writing, to the guest’s reservation request.
24. Cut off Date : That date on which the block of unreserved rooms are released for general sale.
25. Day Rate : A reduced charge for occupancy of less than overnight; usually half the daily rate, for less than six hours arrival before check-out time, also used when the party arrives and departs the same day.
26. Did not Stay (DNS) : Means the guest left almost immediately after registering.
27. Duplex : Two rooms on two different floors with a private staircase connecting the two rooms.
28. Efficiency Room : Accommodations that include kitchen facilities.
29. Fam Trip : Familiarization trip taken by travel agents at little or no cost to acquaint themselves with properties and destinations.
30. Folio : A weekly bill of the hotel for keeping transient account receivable records. Also called “Guest Bill” or “Account Card”
31. Guest History Card : A record of the guests visits including rooms assigned, rates, special needs and credit rating.
32. Hard Copy : Computer term for material that has been printed on a paper rather than merely displayed on the monitor.
33. Hollywood Bed : Twin beds joined by a common headboard.
34. Hospitality Room : A room hired by a hotel guest on an hourly basis in order to entertain his own guests.
35. Hot List : A list of lost or stolen credit cards furnished to hotels and other retailers by credit card companies.
36. House Count : The number of registered guests in the hotel.
37. Housekeeper’s Report : A linen room summary of the status of guest rooms used by the front office to verify the accuracy of the room rack.
38. Hubbart Room Rate Formula : A basis for determining room rates.
39. Information Rack : An alphabetical listing of registered guests.
40. Junior Suite : One large room with a partition separating the living room furnishings from the bed room furnishings.
41. Lanai : A Hawaiian term for veranda: A room with a balcony usually overlooking gardens or swimming pool.
42. Late Charge : A departmental charge that arrives at the front desk for billing after the guest has checked out.
43. Late Checkout : A departing guest who remains beyond the checkout hour with permission of the front desk and thus without charge.
44. Lockout : Denying the guest access to his room, usually because of an unpaid bill.
45. Log Book : A record of activities maintained by several operating departments. Also used to record guest complaints.
46. Mail and Key Rack : A piece of front office equipment where both mail and keys are stored by room number.
47. Master Key : One key controlling several pass keys and opening all the guest rooms on one floor; also called a Floor Key.
48. Miscellaneous Charge Order (MCO) : Airline voucher authorizing the sale of services to the guest named on the form, with payment due from the airline.
49. Morning Call : A wake-up telephone call made by the telephone operator at the guest’s request.
50. Murphy Bed : A standard bed that folds or swings into a wall or cabinet in a closetlike fashion.
51. NCR 2000 : A front office posting machine manufactured by the National Cash Register Company, USA.
52. Night Audit : A daily reconciliation of accounts receivable that is completed during the night shift.
53. Off-Season Rate : A reduced room rate charged by resort hotels when demand is lowest.
54. On Change : The status of a room recently vacated but not yet cleaned for a new occupant.
55. Out-Of-Order (OOO) : The room is not available for sale because of some planned or unexpected shutdown of facilities.
56. Over and Short : A discrepancy between the cash on hand and the amount that should be on hand.
57. Overstay : A guest who wishes to extend his stay beyond the scheduled date of departure.
58. Paid In Advance (PIA) : A room charge that is collected prior to the arrival of the guest : it is the usual procedure when a guest is unknown and has scanty baggage, and wit some motels it is standard procedure for all guests.
59. Paid-Outs : Money disbursed to guests either as advances or loans or to balance the account, charged to their account like other departmental charges.
60. Parlour : A living room not used as a bedroom.
61. Pass Key : A submaster key limited to a set of rooms (12-16) and allowing access to no other rooms; usually given to chambermaids.
62. PBX : Private Branch Exchange. A telephone switchboard
63. Penthouse : A luxurious suite of rooms located at the topmost floor of the hotel, opening onto the terrace. It may have a skylight.
64. POS : Point of Sale
65. Preassign : Reservations are assigned and specific rooms blocked before the guest arrives.
66. Preregistration : A procedure in which the hotel completes the registration prior to the guest’s arrival; used with groups and tours to reduce congestion at the front desk.
67. Rack Rate : The standard rate quoted on the printed tariff card.
68. Referral : A reservation system for independently owned properties developed to counter the reservation advantages of the chains and their affiliates.
69. RNA - Registered, Not Assigned. A guest who has registered but is waiting for a specific room assignment until space becomes available.
70. Residential Hotels : A hotel catering to long term guests who have made the property their home or residence. Payment is on monthly basis.
71. Resort : A hotel that caters to vacationing guest providing recreational and entertainment facilities.
72. Rollaway Bed : A portable bed with wheels that can be put in a room as an extra bed.
73. Room Count : The number of occupied rooms in the hotel.
74. Rooming a Guest : The entire precedure by which the desk greets and assigns new arrivals and the bell staff directs them to their rooms.
75. Rooming List : The list of names furnished by a group in advance of arrival and used by the hotel to preregister and preassign the party.
76. Room Rack : A piece of front office equipment representing the guest rooms in the form of metal pockets arranged floorwise in the same sequence, with colour coding and symbols to identify the type of room and their facilities.
77. Room Service : Food and beverage service provided in the privacy of the guest room by the designated room service waiter.
78. Service Charge : A percentage (usually from 10 - 20 per cent) added to the bill for distribution to service employees in lieu of direct tipping.
79. Skipper : A guest who leaves the hotel without settling his bill.
80. Sleeper : 1. A departed guest whose room rack slip remains in the rack giving the appearance of an occupied room.
2. A person staying in the hotel room without the knowledge of the hotel.
3. A red slip put on the room rack to block a room for the arrival of a VVip.
81. Sleep out : A room that is taken, occupied and paid for but the guest does not sleep in it during the night.
82. SPATT (Special Attention) : A label assigned to important guests designated for special treatment. Also used for physically challenged visually impaired etc. guests.
83. Stayover : All registered guests who remain overnight.
84. Turn Away : To refuse walk-in business because rooms are unavailable; the guest so refused.
85. Turn-down : An evening service rendered by the house-keeping department which replaces soiled bathroom linen and prepares the bed for use.
86. Turn-in : The sum deposited with the general cashier by the departmental cashier at the close of each shift.
87. Understay : A guest who checks out before the scheduled date of departure.
88. Upgrade : To move a registered guest to a better room or class of service.
89. VIP (Very Important Person)
90. Voucher : The form used by the operating departments to notify the front desk of the charges incurred by a particular guest; A form furnished by a travel agent as a receipt for a client’s advance reservation payment.
91. Walking a Guest : To refuse accommodation to a guest with a confirmed reservation due to unavailability of rooms and who is sent to another hotel of similar standard for a day.
92. Walk-in : A guest without a reservation who requests for accommodation.
93. Credit Limit : This is the limit of amount of money up to which the guest is allowed credit facility. After the limit is reached the hotel requests the guest to clear his bill either partly or fully.
94. D.G.C.A. Director General of Civil Aviation.
95. D.O.T. Department of Tourism.
96. D.N.A. Did Not Arrive/
97. E.C.O. Express Check Out. An activity which involves compilation and early morning distribution of guest folios to all those guests who are expected to check out that morning.
98. F.E.R.A. Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.
99. F.H.R.A.I. Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India.
100. F.I.T. Free Independent Traveller.
101. Franking Machine : A machine used for printing postage stamp value on the envelope.
102. G.I.T. Group Inclusive Tour.
103. G.O.I. Government of India.
104. I.A.A.I. International Airports Authority of India.
105. I.A.T.A. International Air Transport Association
106. I.C.A.O. International Civil Aviation Organisation
107. I.D.D. International Direct Dialling.
108. I.L.O. International Labour organisation
109. I.C. Integrated Circuit.
110. T.A.A.I. Travel Agents Association of India.
111. U.F.T.A.A. Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association.
112. W.T.O. World Tourism Organisation.
REPORTING AND PRESENTING STATISTICS
1. Potential room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of lettable rooms * 100
2. Actual room occupancy % = No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms available * 100
3. House count = (No. of guests) brought forward + arrivals of the day – Departure for the day
House count is the total no. of guests staying in a hotel on a particular day at a given point of time.
4. Double occupancy % is the % of rooms occupied by two persons.
Double occupancy % = house count- No. of rooms sold / No. of rooms sold* 100
5. Bed occupancy % = No. of beds occupied / Total no. of beds * 100
6. Single occupancy % = 100 – Double occupancy %
7. Local occupancy % = local in house / house count * 100
8. Foreign occupancy % = foreigners in house / house count * 100
If either local or foreign occupancy % is given the following formulae may also be used:
Foreign occupancy % = 100 – local occupancy %
Local occupancy % = 100 – foreign occupancy %
9. Ave. rate per room = Total revenue from room sales / total no. of rooms sold
10. Ave. rate per guest = Total revenue from room sales / house count
11. Percentage no- shows = No. of room no shows / No. of room reservations * 100
12. % walk ins = No. of room walk ins / total no. of room arrivals * 100
13. % overstays = No. of overstay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100
14. % understays = No. of understay rooms / No. of expected check outs * 100
15. Occupancy % = No. of rooms occupied / No. of rooms available * 100
16. Potential ave. double rate = double room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as doubles
17. Potential ave. single rate = Single room revenue at rack rate / No. of rooms sold as singles * 100
18. Forecasted rooms revenue = rooms available * occ. % * ave. daily rate
MECHANICAL BILLING
N.C.R. (National Cash Register) Machine:
In many hotels today, the tabular ledger has been replaced by a N.C.R. machine which is capable of recording and storing all charges incurred by the guest, producing individual bills for the presentation of guest and maintain daily summary totals. The main advantage if this method of keeping guests account is that it eliminates duplication of work (in a tab sheet every transaction is recorded twice. Once in the tab sheet, second time transfer to the guest bill).
Merits:
1. It eliminates duplication of work
2. Need for a separate receipt is eliminated
3. Arithmetical accuracy is ensured
4. The bills are neat and clean
5. The charges are printed on the audit roll which helps the control department
6. The machine shows the total of every department separately
Duties and responsibilities of the cashier:
• Dispose with petty cash
• Authorize V.P.O.
• Give charges to customers
• Accept advance deposit
• Custody of safe deposit
• Authorized movement of luggage by signing the bell boys errand cards after settling the bill
• Render accounts through cash envelope at the end of the shift.
The types of machine now normally employed are equipped with analysis key. The machine has the following visible parts:
1. Amount keys
2. Room number keys
3. Control keys for printing the names of departments or heads of revenue :
a. Identification keys : Room, Bar, Restaurant, Laundry, Local, Trunk Call
b. Debit balance key
c. Credit balance key
d. Debit pick up key
e. Credit pick up key
f. Plus & minus key
g. Debit transfer key
h. Credit transfer key
i. Allowance key
j. Paid in full key
k. Paid key
l. Total key
m. Sub-to all and misc. key
n. Date change key
o. Audit roll tape
p. Left printer
q. Right printer
As the charges are posted to the guest bill, they are automatically added so that at all times the guest bill is up to date provided no charges are left to be posted. The charges are printed on the audit roll simultaneously department wise which helps the control department.
.
VISITOR TABULAR LEDGER
A hotel maintains various types of ledgers to keep the record of the debtors, creditors, purchases, sales, assets, expenses etc. Visitors Tabular Ledger is one of these ledgers. As its very name shows , it is a ledger meant for keeping the records of registered guests in an analysed form. It serves the purpose of the day book on the one hand and registered guest’s personal account on the other. It is maintained for keeping the record of all transactions relating to sales of goods and services to registered guests In a systematically analysed and chronological order. There are two types of ledgers-one, horizontal Tabular Ledger and the other, vertical Tabular Ledger. On one side of this ledger, one column is provided to each registered guest and on the other side one column is provided for each item of sale of food, beverages, services etc. As in this ledger several columns are drawn to keep the record of the guest on the one hand and the record of sales of different items to guest on the other, therefore, it is known as Visitor Tabular Ledger.
Visitor Tabular Ledger is maintained in loose-leaf form. A separate ledger is maintained for each day. The number of tabular sheets used for the day depends upon the number of columns in the sheet and the number of rooms available for guests.
The tabular sheet used in some hotels contain only the debit side. So it fails to give the data of the credit side at a glance. For credits transactions other books are to be seen and referred. But in other hotels the tabular sheet contains both debit and credit side. Such Visitors Tabular Ledger records all aspect of both debit and credit transactions either on upper and lower sections or on the left and right section. Such visitors tabular ledger does not confine itself only to sales but it also includes all transactions that concern sales. This implies that amount paid by customer against outstanding debits, allowances and transfer to other ledgers are also recorded. Thus both debit and credit transactions relating to customers are recorded in the their respective columns. In such tabular Ledger if one column is provided for cash sales, it can give the picture of the total sales of the hotel(both cash and credit) of the day.
Tabular Ledger is maintained in the bill office. It is written up on the basis of voucher or checks received by them. As and when the transaction with the guest relating to sale or receipt or allowance or transfer etc. takes place the concern department prepares a check and sends the original copy of the check to the bill department. The bill department immediately posts the check in the customer account in the visitors tabular ledger and in his individual bill. Thus the sales record and the customers account are always complete to the minute.
The customer account, in day’s Tabular Ledger, is closed as soon as as he checks out either after making the bill payment or with the permission of the management even without settling the bill. In case of customers, who continue their stay, their accounts for the day are closed at 12 midnight by the bill clerk on the night duty . the balance carried forward is calculated and transferred to the respective accounts in the new Tabular Ledger which is opened for the coming day.
The completed Visitors Tabular Ledger gives the following formation
(a) The sales of each department and total sale of the hotel of a particular day. Not only this, the sale of each type of meal, beverages and services
(b) The total debit balance of a departed guest transferred to ledger account or transferred to other guest accounts.
(c) Cash paid by guest during the day and allowances given to them.
(d) The details of individual customer account and the total owing by resident guest at the close of the day.
Advantages of visitor tabular ledger
The advantages of visitors Tabular Ledger can be summed up as under-
(1) All personal accounts of the registered guests are opened in daily visitors tabular ledger(sheets) so the names of all the registered customers and the number of rooms and room number occupied can be seen at one glance
(2) On personal accounts of registered guest are opened in daily visitors tabular ledger and transactions relating to them for the day are recorded in their accounts in the tabular sheet, therefore, the days detail of each personal account can be seen without wasting time it save the necessity of opening personal accounts of registered guest in the debtors ledger.
(3) Each customer’s personal account is debited directly with the help of vouchers known as “checks” without first entering the amount into the journal or book of prime entry, so they are less chances of mistakes
(4) The posting is done directly so it takes less time
(5) By opening customer’s account in the visitors tabular ledger the account of each guest is always complete up to the minute. Therefore the bill can be prepared easily at the time of the checking out of the guest
(6) Every department sends the original copy of check to the bill clerk for posting, so the original copy of check are available with the bill clerk. In case of need they can be seen and verified.
(7) In case of controversy, between the hotel guests and bill clerk/cashier, over certain payments, the tabular sheet can prove helpful to the solution of such problem because it indicates the receipt side also
(8) The tabular sheet is prepared with original copy of the check and each department prepares a statement or summary of its day’s sales or services with the help of duplicate copy so the control and checking of the account can be done efficiently.
(9) In tabular ledger the items of sales are recorded in an analysed form. It shows at a glace how much income has been derived from different departments such as restaurant, bar, telephone, tobacco, laundry, etc.
(10) If one column of chance (cash) sale is added then the management can the total business of the hotel for the day and the credit position.
(11) It provides the control a ready guide to check the term and condition settled with each and every resident guest, the room rates agreed upon and whether the rates inclusive of or without board.
(12) It serves as a guide for the minute wise accumulation of debit item under each personal account. Any personal account showing abnormally high debit balance can be referred to the credit department which looks after the interest of the establishment in order to ensure safeguard of the credit facilities.
(13) Allowances given to the customers are recorded in Visitors Tabular Ledger; so it is easy to know the total allowance given to customers and whether It was approved and recorded in correct accounts.
(14) Visitors Tabular Ledger is kept in loosed-leaf form using the required number of sheets for each day and carrying forward all the totals from page to page to the final total for the day. Thus the grand totals can be found in the last sheet with the loose leaf method. The entire Visitors Tabular Ledger for one day can be sent to the control department without disturbing the next day’s work.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantages of visitors tabular ledger can be mentioned as under
(1) the tabular sheets which are used for guests accounts are unwieldy in dimension.
(2) The columns are too many in the tabular sheet and they are close to each other.there is every lity of wrong posting.
(3) If any mistake is commited, then it is difficult to locate it till the customer points it out. Such errors, lead to wrong summary and wrong postings in other ledgers.
(4) In the V.T.L. there is no provision for narration like journal, so it is difficult to know why the customer’s account has been debited. So is the case with V.P.O. column. As no explanation is given so it is not known on account of which the money has been paid by the front office to an outsider on behalf of the customer.
Hints for writing up the daily Visitors Tabular Ledger
The following points may be useful for a person writing Visitors Tabular Ledger (VTL):-
1. Use ink ¬ pencil.
2. Use capital letters for writing the names of the guest.
3. The information regarding the room nos., no. of guest, plan, rate, etc. should be written as soon as the account is opened.
4. The writing should be clear & legible.
5. Make small but clear figures, especially several items are to be charged to the same room number on the same day. Use the top position of the line for the first item and leave space for subsequent items.
6. Don not use noughts in case there is no figure of rupee paisa because it may give scope for manipulating accounts. Put dashes (-) instead of noughts.
7. A complete VTL has two sides – one debit and the other Credit. Enter the amount in guests account as per rules given below-
(a) Service write the amount on the debit side in the guests account in the laundry column.
(b) If the guest makes the payment, write it in the guests account on the credit side in cash/deposit column
(c) If the guest checks out without settling the bill and the amount is to be collected either from his office or from travel agency etc., write the amount on the credit side in the ledger column.
(d) If the guest checks out without settling the bill and other guest is willing to pay the bill, write the amount on the credit side in transfer column in outgoing guest’s account. Write it on the debit side in transfer column of the guest who Is willing to pay the bill.
8. either when the guest checks out or at the end of the day charge sales tax,service charge, surcharge etc. and apartment if it has not been charged so far.
9. after debiting the guest account for all the charges, calculate Daily Total.
10. add balance b/f in the daily total and find out grand total.
11. find the total of the credit side. It should tally with the grand total.
12. calculate the total of each item of sale and credits on the opposite side. Totals of the vertical columns must reconcile with the totals of horizontal columns. This is to check the arithmetical accuracy.
13. daily visitors tabular ledger is the basic record so it should be neat, clean and free from cuttings, erasures and over writings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
