week 5 front desk
This week I trained at the front desk. The first day I spent learning how to check out people using Maestro Property Management Services. There were only two check-ins and I watched Thea as she did them. Since I was scheduled from 9:30-6 that day, all morning paper work was already done but she explained which reports had to be run every morning. I then posted in room charges such as Fiji water and other snacks from the room. If a guest was still in house in was easier to post than if they had checked out because you had to then open the closed portfolio and add the charge and close it out to the credit card and then close the portfolio. If they were still in house the charge was just posted. The checkout procedure was pretty easy. If there was a balance that was not charged to a master account, a non meeting guest, or if a guest had any incidentals, they were charged to the credit card they had given at check-in. Most of the guests that were with a company had check-out notes that popped up and showed where to charge everything. A CMP or Complete meeting package guest would have complimentary meals in our restaurant and would only have to pay for incidentals. A Social guest would be a walk-in. A transient guest had made reservations through our website or by telephone.
The second day was a normal shift from 7-3:30. I then learned the check-in procedure from Samantha. Check-in was just as simple as check-out with a few more steps. Check-in prompts for everything. First was reservation number or last name, then simply click the check-in button and the procedure would start. I would ask the guest if there is a floor preference or if they would like a specific room type and try to place guest in that room type if available. Once a room was selected, a credit card prompt came up where I would ask the guest for a method of payment. Once the card was swiped, the room key prompt popped up and I would ask the guest how many keys they would like and if they would like any assistance with their luggage. One key may be made by the check-in procedure; Additional keys were made by a program called Vision. Then check-in was complete. Around noon we had to fix all discrepancies on the housekeepers report and change all Occupied Dirty to Vacant Clean. The Third day we had some wedding arrivals and had to give out welcoming bags to the two different weddings. One of the weddings also received breakfast passes for the days they were staying there. Because Dolce is a 4 diamond property we refer to the guests by their name and we verify everything before they sign the contract. We verify how many nights, how many people, what type of room it is, and the rate. I also learned how to make a social walk-in file by entering their name and phone number and then selected a room for them. It was very hard to find a suite because most of the business people had already booked them. One guest received an upgrade because the room she wanted was not available and she stayed in a whirlpool suite. We also had a guest of another wedding who had made a reservation at another hotel but did not like their rooms and decided to stay with us instead.
My last shift at the front desk was mainly checking in and out people. We had 83 departures and almost 100 arrivals. Check-in was not until 3pm however if the room was listed on the housekeepers report as Vacant Clean it was fine to check the guest in. Checkout was at noon; however, late checkout was at 1. We stayed in contact with each other using walkie talkies and phone extensions.
I liked the front desk very much and enjoyed interacting with guests from all over the world. Answering phones was fun too because most of them were just transfers where I would connect the caller to another extension. I would like to do this as a fill-in job because some of the day was just standing at a computer terminal waiting for guests and phone calls. I like a faster paced environment.