In the front office, the staff is the most important part of your success. To do well, you have to have enough staff and they right staff. Each that interacts with the guest is important. Pre-arrival, arrival, departure experience is important. Staff service and going above and beyond will propel your area to greatness. Not everyone has these qualities, so you have to hirer those that are qualified to do so.
Pre-arrival is important to have a rooms controller, or someone designated to perform these responsibilities. A rooms controller is in charge of blocking all rooms for VIPs, elite members, groups, and specific room types (king, doubles, connecting room, etc). This makes it easier for check in process and guests will get with they want instead of showing up at check in and not getting what they want.
They can also send e-mail before guest arrives asking them if they need extra towels, early check in, refrigerator, extra pillows, etc. This makes guest feel special and will lead to successful stay.
Arrival/departure experience means having your best staff there to greet guests and ensure a flawless check-in. Using right language, thanking them, smiling, upbeat attitude, and going extra mile to ensure guest has a great stay. The bellman are important in this area. If you have a bell captain, they will be crucial in ensuring bags are organized, guests have luggage assistance on the spot. They make them feel special and ensure other bellman are on the same page. Having enough bellman on is important especially with a busy check-in or checkout day. This makes for every guest getting help and feeling welcome. Also, staff is not overwhelmed. You have to have enough concierge as well, guest need to know of places to eat and where to go in the area so they feel comfortable. Many operators to answer the phones so you can get wake-up calls and dispatch housekeeping/engineering calls. If you have enough staff, and staff that’s capable, you can succeed.
