Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE : HUB OF THE HOTEL
The FOM In Action: A Solution
hoteliers to prepare for the situation that Bino, the
assistant manager at the Hilotown Hotel, now
faces. Bino, other managers, and subordinates in
the front office and other departments may need to
help clean rooms because there is an insufficient
number of housekeepers to work their regular
hours and a reasonable number of overtime hours.
Despite the shortage of housekeepers, the hotel
must achieve its room cleanliness and other quality
standards. The situation is not as simple as one front
office employee quickly cleaning a specific room.
Instead, the room must be cleaned 
properly so it can
be enjoyed by the next occupant in the same way it
was experienced by previous guests when the room
was prepared by a trained housekeeper. In situations
such as Bino’s, room inspection after cleaning should
receive special attention to ensure that the property’s
standards are maintained.
What should the manager responsible for front
office activities do when another department is
understaffed at a time when significant business
volume is expected? Plans to recruit and train new
staff members for the affected department must be
implemented, but what about the short term?
Teamwork is essential in the operation of a
hotel. Employees in the same department and in the
same position are encouraged to help each other.
Persons in one department are also responsible for
working with those in other departments to attain
the hotel’s goals. For example, interdepartmental
teamwork involves housekeeping personnel
preparing rooms so they can be rented by front
desk staff. Teamwork also means that a person in
one position in one department may actually work
in another position in another department. Cross-
training and job rotation are tactics implemented by