Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
What exactly do employees in the front office department do? As Roadmap 1 indi-
cates, this is the topic of this first section of the chapter. Historically, the department
has been referred to as the front office or the front desk. However, the functions of
this department extend far beyond the hotel lobby and the front desk at which guests
have had face-to-face contact with a front desk agent during registration and check-
out. Today, technology allows guests to register at a hotel while in the shuttle van
from the airport, at curbside at the hotel entrance, or at a kiosk in the lobby. Guests
can check out using their guestroom’s television. In these instances, direct personal
contact with the front desk agent is no longer necessary.