Guest cycle in front office/ Hotel guest cycle/ Front office training video/ Front office interview

Summary

Dr. Naveen Chahal from Hospitality Broadcast explains the guest cycle in the hospitality industry, detailing the five stages: Pre-Arrival, Arrival, Occupancy, Departure, and Post-Departure. He emphasizes the importance of front office staff's role in providing seamless service throughout the guest's journey. The video also touches on the significance of post-departure communication for future bookings and customer satisfaction.

Takeaways

• 🏨 The guest cycle is a continuous process that includes Pre-Arrival, Arrival, Occupancy/during the stay, Departure, and Post-Departure stages.
• 📞 Pre-Arrival involves activities such as guest search, evaluation, selection, and booking of a hotel room.
• 🛎️ Arrival stage includes guest reception, registration, and being escorted to the room by hotel staff.
• 🏢 Occupancy stage is crucial for guest satisfaction as it includes the actual experience of hotel facilities and services.
• 💼 Front Office staff plays a central role in managing guest interactions and services throughout the guest cycle.
• 📋 During Occupancy, the front office handles tasks like guest account management, mail/message handling, and room changes.
• 🏷️ Departure involves the guest checking out, settling the bill, and providing feedback on their stay.
• 📨 Post-Departure includes maintaining contact with the guest through mails, messages, and promotional offers.
• 🔁 The guest cycle is a never-ending process that can repeat, aiming to attract guests back for future bookings.
• 📈 Understanding the guest cycle helps in identifying and eliminating failure points to enhance guest experience.

Q & A

What is the guest cycle in the context of hotel management?

The guest cycle refers to the continuous process that a hotel goes through with a guest, starting from the search and booking stage to the post-departure stage, which includes Pre-Arrival, Arrival, Occupancy/During Stay, Departure, and Post-Departure.

Why is the Front Office staff crucial during the guest cycle?

Front Office staff is crucial as they are involved at all stages of the guest cycle, acting as the nerve center for the hotel. They handle guest services and activities, ensuring a smooth and satisfying guest experience.

What are the key activities performed by the Reservation Section during the Pre-Arrival stage?

During the Pre-Arrival stage, the Reservation Section handles queries, provides information about hotel facilities and services, assists in room booking, and helps in pre-registration activities such as room assignment and preparing welcome letters.

What is the standard check-in and checkout time in most hotels?

The standard check-in and checkout time in most hotels is 12:00 noon, and charges are typically based on a 24-hour period.

How does a hotel handle a guest who arrives without a reservation?

If a guest arrives without a reservation, they can book a room for the same date, and the hotel staff will assist them in immediately moving through the Arrival stage, skipping the Pre-Arrival activities.

What services are provided by the hotel upon a guest's arrival?

Upon arrival, hotels provide services such as pick-up from transportation hubs, car valet parking, luggage handling by bell boys, and a warm welcome by a Guest Relationship Executive (GRE), who assists with the registration process.

What is the role of the GRE during a guest's stay?

The Guest Relationship Executive (GRE) assists with the registration process, escorts the guest to their room, familiarizes them with room amenities, and may also handle luggage if necessary.

What are some of the functions of the front office department during a guest's stay?

During a guest's stay, the front office department handles guest accounts, mail and message delivery, key management, locker facilities, guest paging, room changes, providing information about hotel facilities and services, and handling guest queries and complaints.

How does the hotel ensure a smooth departure process for the guest?

For a smooth departure, the hotel updates all Point of Sale stations about the guest's checkout time, prepares a master bill, handles any financial transactions, and ensures the guest's luggage is ready for departure. Feedback is also taken to improve services.

What happens during the Post-Departure stage of the guest cycle?

In the Post-Departure stage, the hotel contacts the guest for any mail or messages, handles lost and found items, and engages in promotional activities to encourage future bookings, such as sending special offers or vouchers.

Why is understanding the guest cycle important for hotel management?

Understanding the guest cycle helps hotel management identify and eliminate failure points, ensuring a smooth and satisfying experience for guests, which can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth marketing.

Outlines

00:00

🏨 Understanding the Guest Cycle in Hospitality

Dr. Naveen Chahal introduces the concept of the guest cycle in the hospitality industry, emphasizing its importance for hoteliers. The guest cycle encompasses the entire journey of a guest, from the initial search and booking to post-departure interactions. It is divided into five stages: Pre-Arrival, Arrival, Occupancy/During the Stay, Departure, and Post-Departure. The Front Office staff plays a crucial role in managing guest experiences at each stage. Pre-Arrival involves activities before the guest's arrival, such as handling inquiries and reservations. Arrival includes the guest's check-in process and initial interactions with hotel staff. Occupancy/During the Stay is when the guest experiences the hotel's facilities and services, with the front office handling various guest requests and issues. Departure is the process of the guest checking out, settling the bill, and leaving the hotel. Post-Departure involves maintaining contact with the guest for potential future bookings and feedback.

05:04

🛎️ Guest Services and Front Office Operations

This paragraph delves into the specific services provided by the front office during a guest's stay. It highlights the importance of a seamless guest experience, which includes handling guest accounts, managing mail and messages, key handling, providing locker facilities, paging guests, room changes, and offering information about hotel services. The front office also coordinates with other departments to address guest queries and complaints. The paragraph explains the significance of guest satisfaction during their stay, as it influences their likelihood to return and provide positive recommendations. It also outlines the various functions of the front office, such as concierge services, travel desk facilities, and handling financial transactions during check-out.

10:09

📨 Post-Departure Engagement and the Continuous Guest Cycle

The final paragraph discusses the post-departure stage, where the hotel maintains contact with the guest after they have checked out. This includes managing post-departure mail, messages, and lost items. It also covers the hotel's marketing efforts to engage with guests through special offers and discounts, aiming to encourage repeat bookings. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the cyclical nature of the guest cycle, which is a continuous process that repeats with each guest interaction. Understanding and managing this cycle effectively can lead to improved guest satisfaction and a successful hospitality business.

Keywords

💡Guest Cycle

The 'Guest Cycle' refers to the continuous process that a hotel guest goes through from the moment they start considering a hotel stay until after they have checked out and possibly returned for future stays. In the video, Dr. Naveen Chahal explains that this cycle includes stages such as Pre-Arrival, Arrival, Occupancy/During the Stay, Departure, and Post-Departure. Understanding the guest cycle is crucial for hoteliers as it helps in providing a seamless and satisfying experience to guests, which can lead to repeat business.

💡Pre-Arrival

Pre-Arrival is the first stage of the guest cycle where potential guests search for hotels, evaluate their options, and make a booking. This stage is critical as it sets the initial impression of the hotel. In the script, it is mentioned that the Reservation Section of the hotel handles queries and provides information about the hotel's facilities and services during this phase, aiming to convince the guest to choose their hotel.

💡Reservation

A 'Reservation' is the act of booking a hotel room in advance. It is a key activity during the Pre-Arrival stage where the guest confirms their stay at the hotel. The script highlights that the details obtained during reservation help in pre-registration activities such as room assignment and special request handling, which are essential for a smooth guest experience.

💡Arrival

Arrival is the stage when the guest checks into the hotel. It involves activities like pick-up services from transportation hubs, valet parking, luggage handling by bell boys, and the registration process. The script describes how the hotel staff, including the Guest Relationship Executive (GRE), ensures a warm welcome and assists the guest during this stage, which is vital for creating a positive first impression.

💡Occupancy/During the Stay

This stage encompasses the guest's entire experience while staying at the hotel. It includes their interaction with hotel services and facilities, which directly influence guest satisfaction. The script mentions that the front office plays a significant role during this phase by handling guest accounts, addressing queries and complaints, and coordinating with other departments to ensure a pleasant stay.

💡Departure

Departure is the stage when the guest checks out of the hotel. It involves the settlement of the bill, returning of the room key, and the guest's departure from the hotel. The script emphasizes the importance of a smooth and hassle-free departure process, including addressing any last-minute issues and gathering guest feedback to improve future services.

💡Post-Departure

Post-Departure refers to the activities that take place after the guest has checked out. This includes following up with the guest for any mail or messages, handling lost and found items, and maintaining contact for future promotions or offers. The script explains that post-departure communication is essential for building long-term relationships with guests and encouraging repeat business.

💡Front Office

The 'Front Office' is the nerve center of a hotel, involved in all stages of the guest cycle. It is responsible for managing guest services and activities, including handling reservations, registrations, guest accounts, and协调 with other departments. The script highlights the importance of the front office in ensuring a systematic approach to operations and delivering excellent guest service.

💡Guest Relationship Executive (GRE)

A 'Guest Relationship Executive' is a hotel staff member who plays a crucial role in welcoming guests, assisting with the registration process, and familiarizing them with the hotel's amenities. The script describes how GREs contribute to creating a positive guest experience by providing personalized service and attention during the Arrival stage.

💡Check-in and Check-out

Check-in and check-out are the processes of registering a guest's arrival and departure from the hotel. The script mentions standard check-in and check-out times, typically at 12:00 noon, and how these processes are managed by the front office to ensure efficiency and guest satisfaction.

💡Folio

A 'Folio' is a guest's account record maintained by the front desk, which tracks all financial transactions during their stay. The script explains that daily auditing of the folio is an essential function of the front office, ensuring accurate billing and financial management for both the guest and the hotel.

Highlights

The guest cycle is a continuous process that includes Pre-Arrival, Arrival, Occupancy, Departure, and Post-Departure stages.

Front Office staff plays a crucial role in all stages of the guest cycle, acting as the hotel's nerve center.

Pre-Arrival stage involves guest search, evaluation, selection, and booking of the hotel room.

Reservation Section handles queries and provides information to impress and convince guests to choose the hotel.

Pre-registration activities include assigning rooms, preparing welcome letters, and addressing special requests.

Arrival stage begins when the guest checks in at the hotel, which includes various welcoming procedures.

Guests without reservations can skip the Pre-Arrival stage and directly enter the Arrival stage.

During Occupancy, guests experience hotel facilities and services, which significantly impact their satisfaction.

Front Office coordinates with other departments to address guest queries, requests, and complaints.

Departure stage involves the guest vacating the room and settling the bill, with the hotel ensuring a smooth process.

Post-Departure stage includes follow-up with the guest, handling lost and found items, and sending promotional offers.

The guest cycle is a never-ending process that repeats itself, aiming to attract guests back to the hotel.

Understanding the guest cycle helps identify and eliminate failure points for a smooth and satisfying guest experience.

Promotion and special offers sent post-departure can lead to future bookings and maintain guest loyalty.

The guest cycle includes various services such as mail/message handling, key handling, and concierge services.

Front Office operations are systematic and involve handling guest accounts, room changes, and providing information.

Guest feedback during check-out is crucial for improving services and enhancing future guest experiences.

Transcripts

Are you planning a vacation trip? Or just thinking about where you would want to go.

After deciding the place, you will look for accommodation and book a room in the hotel.

You travel that place, stay in the hotel and come back. For a guest, it's a simple process

but from the hotelier's perspective; during this process, guest goes through different

stages, these are all parts of a guest cycle. So in this video, we will discuss the ‘Guest

Cycle’. Hello friends, I am Dr. Naveen Chahal, welcomes you on Hospitality Broadcast.

For a hotel, the guest cycle is the continuous process that starts from guest search/inquiry

for hotel, later he selects the hotel and books a room, and guest moves through various

stages of his relationship with the hotel before coming back at home. Many books suggest

that Guest goes through four major stages, these are; Pre-Arrival, Arrival, Occupancy/during

the stay and Departure. But I would say there is one more stage to complete this cycle called

Post-Departure. All hotel employees must be aware of guest

services and activities at all stages of the guest cycle especially the Front Office staff.

As it works as a nerve center for the hotel. Front office staff involves at all stages

of the guest cycle From pre-arrival to departure. It also represents a systematic approach to

front office operations during all stages of the guest cycle.

For a better understanding of front office operation, I would recommend watching my video

on ‘Introduction to the front office’ and ‘Sub Departments or sections of front

office department’. You can check the eye button above and the link is also provided

in the description below.

The first stage is Pre-Arrival, Pre acts as a prefix, which means before, so this stage

involves all those activities which are done before the arrival of the guest in the hotel.

At this stage guest search for hotel, evaluate his options, finally, choose a hotel and book

a room. From the hotel perspective, there are two

major activities performed by mainly Reservation Section. First to handle any query and provide

information related to hotel facilities and services. Here is your chance to impress the

guest and convince him that staying with your hotel is the best decision. Once the guest

is convinced, he/she will book his room. Booking of a hotel room in advance is what we call

reservation. For full detail on reservation/its types/modes check the eye button and a link

is also in the description. The details that we get during the reservation

also helps in completing pre-registration activities like assigning room, preparing

a pre-arrival or welcome letter, and taking care of special requests. These activities

may be done prior to check-in date or may be done on the same date of arrival. It depends

on the hotel. Now the day of guest check-in comes. And bring

us to the next stage i.e Arrival.

The guest enters into the second stage of the guest cycle when he arrives and checks

in at a hotel. The date of arrival is considered as the check-in date. For example, a guest

booked a room for two days from 06 December to 08 December. It means 6th December is the

check-in date and 8th December would be check-out date. Most of the hotel charges on 24 hours

basis and the standard check-in and checkout time is 12:00 noon.

In case if a guest arrives at a hotel without a reservation, and book a room for the same

date then the guest immediately jumps to the arrival stage skipping pre-arrival. Now, let's

understand this process. When a guest arrives, pick up is provided from pick up point (if

requested) such as airport, railway station or a bus stand. Once the guest reaches the

hotel, a car valet parks your car , bell boys pick up the luggage, a Doorman opens the lobby

gate and a GRE (Guest Relationship Executive) welcomes you to the hotel. In India, some

hotels welcome with aarti, tilak, and garlanding, or offering a welcome drink. GRE helps you

in the rest of the registration process. In the case of foreigners, a separate ‘C’

form is also filled. That is a topic for another video. After the registration process, GRE

will escort the guest to his room and familiarize him with the amenities and supplies provided

in the room. Along with the GRE, the bell boy also assists the guest to deliver all

baggage. In case GRE is busy, then the bell boy takes the responsibility of escorting

the guest to his room and luggage handling. Once the guest is checked in into his room,

the next stage of the guest cycle begins i.e Occupancy or during the stay.

During the stay, the guest gets a first-hand experience of hotel facilities and services.

This is where guests get physical with hotel products and services. Excellent and flawless

service would lead to a satisfied and delighted guest, which would contribute to the overall

experience and make the guest come back to the hotel again. A satisfied guest also gives

positive feedback to potential guests as well. During this stage, guest interacts with front

office staff a lot related to all type of queries, requests, complaints, So it becomes

important to have smooth coordination of front office with the other departments of the hotel.

Some of the functions of the front office department during guest stay in the hotel.

1. Handling guest account (Folio) – Guest account is created and maintained at the front

desk and daily auditing is done by night auditor. 2. Mail/Message handling – Receiving mails

and messages on the behalf of guests and delivery of the same on their arrival.

3. Key Handling – Accepting the guestroom key when the guest goes out of the premises

and handing over the same when he comes back. 4. Locker Facility – to keep valuable items

like documents, jewelry. 5. Guest Paging – Paging is the process

of locating a guest inside hotel premises when he is not in his room. Paging is done

to pass a message to the guest. Today we also used a digital information board at public

places displaying the guest name. 6. Guest Room Change – Changing guest room,

in case the guest wants to upgrade, or some other problem such as electric equipment failure,

plumbing problem, etc. 7. Proving information related to hotel facilities

and services. 8. Concierge and travel desk facilities; providing

information related to the city and prepare travel itineraries and arrange other facilities

such as booking of airline or railway ticket, making inter and intra-city travel arrangements,

cinema hall ticket, reserving hotel rooms on other location, etc.

9. Handling guest queries and complaints related to hotel products, facilities, and services.

There were some of the activities those are performed by front office staff during the

say. Finally, the check-out date arrives. This

brings us to our next stage i.e departure.

Finally, on the day of checkout, the guest vacates the room and departs your hotel. Guest

informs the front desk about departure time. The same information is passed to all Pint

Of Sale stations such as bar, spa, food outlets, travel desk, etc so that the guest folio can

be updated if some updating is required. The same information is passed to bell desk so

that the bell boy pick up luggage from a guest room on time. By the time guest reaches to

the front desk, a master bill is prepared based on financial transactions between the

hotel and the guest and presented to the guest. Cashier handles any doubts or queries related

to any financial transaction in the bill. After the guest is satisfied, the bill is

settled by the same mode of payment preferred by the guest during the reservation. In the

case of foreign guests, foreign currency is also exchanged. But do not, during bill settlement

changes are always given in Indian currency, not the currency provided by the guest. After

bill settlement, the guest returns the room key, the bell boy puts the guest's luggage

in his car and the guest leaves the hotel. Some brands also provide complimentary Breakfast

Basket if checking out in the morning. Once the guest checked out front office updates

the room status from occupies to vacant. At the time of departure, the front office

should try to cover up for any unpleasant experience during the stay. And should ensure

the smooth and hassle-free departure of the guest. One should also take feedback during

check out to improve services and provide a better experience to the guest next time.

Now we move to the last stage. i.e Post departure.

Post departure means after the guest checked out of the hotel. Guest is contacted for any

post-departure mail or messages; any lost and found articles etc. Once the guest left

the hotel, the sales and marketing team look for an opportunity to stay in touch for example

sending flyers/vouchers with special discounts or offers on some special occasion such as

birthday, wedding anniversary, etc. These promotional activities help in making

a future bookings in the same hotel or some affiliated hotel of the same brand at different

locations. Well, guys that were all about all stages

of the guest cycle. If you remember, I told you in the beginning that this is called a

cycle due to a continuous process as it never ends. It repeats itself after a certain time.

For example, even after leaving the hotel, the guest is attracted to the promotional

offer; offered on your anniversary and the guest booked the hotel. And this cycle begins

again. That’s why it is a never-ending exercise. This cycle is repeated for each booking separately.

Understanding the guest cycle helps you to identify and eliminate any failure points

which results in a smooth and satisfying experience for the guest.

Well, I hope that you like this video, if you have any doubts or suggestions comment

down below. and don't forget to subscribe to hospitality broadcast. Thank You for watching.

Stay Tunes..