Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE AND THE GUESTS: PLANNING FOR QUALITY SERVICE
Objective 1
Explain that
effective management
of and emphasis on 
guest service is critical
to a hotel’s success.
Lodging as a Guest
Service Business
Objective 3
Describe a system to
design and evaluate 
service delivery
processes that
address guest service
expectations.
Objective 2
Provide an overview
of quality that includes
the role of managers,
suggest a model
to plan quality, and 
review quality 
components and their
impact on
competitiveness.
Objective 4
Discuss the role of 
empowerment, the
use of guest-friendly
processes, and
continuous quality
improvement in
meeting a hotel’s
quality goals.
Delivering Guest
Service through
Employees
Planning Guest
Service Processes
Developing a
Quality Culture
ROADMAP 4
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practice effective guest service skills? What tactics can be used to make sure guest ser-
vice is and remains a top priority of all staff members in the hotel? FOMs should
empower staff with service authority, ensure that guest-friendly processes are in use,
and emphasize continuous quality improvement. These are the topics of the remain-
der of this chapter.
MODERN FRONT OFFICE ISSUES AND TACTICS
The Guest Is Always Right (Kind Of)
A survey done with hotel guests by Orbitz (the travel Web site) yielded some interesting
findings that are probably well-known by experienced hoteliers:
•
Approximately 25 percent of respondents threw towels on the floor and used more
towels than necessary.
•
Approximately 60 percent of respondents removed complimentary toiletry items
when they departed, and almost 20 percent have taken or have considered taking toi-
letries from a housekeeper’s cart. Approximately 18 percent of respondents indicated
that they took guestroom towels.
•
Many respondents brought extra people into guestrooms without registering them
(29 percent), smoked in a nonsmoking room (12 percent), and brought pets into rooms
(11 percent).
•
About 30 percent of males ages 18 to 34 years admitted using, or considered using, the
swimming pool at another property.
Adapted from What we do in hotels when no one is looking: “Hotel habits” survey. Hotel Online Special
Report. Retrieved April 2, 2004, from http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2004_2nd/Apr04_
HotelHabits.html.