ROOMS DIVISION DEPARTMENT

Rooms Division

One of the most important and biggest departments in the hotel is the Front Office and the Housekeeping Department. 

Every hotel must have a rooms division, a department devoted to handling guests' needs and providing a smooth and comfortable stay. The rooms department handles everything from taking a guest's reservation to preparing their room and getting the guest checked in for the night.

As mentioned earlier, the organizational chart of a company may vary depending on the number of employees and how big the company is. Below is an example of an organizational chart of luxury hotels.

Rooms Division Organizational Chart

Rooms Division may be subdivided into two:

1. Front Office Department

2. Housekeeping Department

but, some of the hotels include safety and loss prevention because they have a very big role in controlling the room's safe.

FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT

Front Desk is a very important department in the hotel, making direct contact with guests. The main function of this department are communication and accounting.

The Front Office is also called the nerve center of a hotel. It can be defined as a front of the housing department located around the foyer and the lobby area of a hospitality property. As this department is located around the foyer area of the hotel and is visible to the guests, patrons, and visitors, they are collectively called “Front Office”.

Should guests have any problems or require to appreciate or comment, they would normally go directly to the Front Office, because it is convenient to contact and converse with other departments. Therefore, this department is the direct delegate to link the work and report the consequence to other departments.

This department is one of the major operational and revenue-producing departments of the hotel which generates two-thirds of the revenue earned by a hotel from the sale of the guest rooms. It involves providing valuable services to the guests during the entire guest cycle consisting of Pre-arrival, Arrival, Occupancy, and Departure.

Importance of Front Office Department:

Traditional Front Office functions include reservation, registration, room and rate assignment, guest services, room status, maintenance and settlement of the guest account, and creation of guest history records.

The Front Office develops and maintains a comprehensive database of guest information, coordinates guest services, and ensures guest satisfaction. These functions are accomplished by personal in diverse areas of the Front Office Department.

The front office is also known as the face of the hotel. It is the first guest contact area and also the nerve center of the hotel. All the activities and areas of the front office are geared towards supporting guest transactions and services.

HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT

Housekeeping is an operational department in a hotel, which is responsible for cleanliness, maintenance, aesthetic upkeep of rooms, public area, back area, and surroundings. Housekeeping means performing all the duties towards cleaning, maintaining orderliness, and running a house or a business property. In the case of hotels, the housekeeping duties involve maintaining the hotel to the best possible state in terms of cleanliness and keeping it at the highly desirable ambiance.

The housekeeping department, in any hotel business, contributes to a major amount of profit though it is considered as an ancillary service. The simple reason being, a customer demands a clean, tidy, and pleasing ambiance.

Housekeeping generates the first impression on a guest’s mind. The housekeeping efforts clearly show how the hotel will take care of its guests. Housekeeping is a critical part of any hotel. Strict cleanliness is an expected standard that has to be met. It's easy to assume that housekeeping only involves someone coming in to change the bedding and bring fresh towels. However, a housekeeper's duty is more than that. It includes checking on appliances, bringing items to guests as they need them and making sure guests are comfortable. In hotels, the major part of revenue comes from the rooms, so housekeeping is a top concern.

Importance of Housekeeping Department Department:

1.) Comfort: It is the duty of the housekeeping department to ensure comfort and a welcoming atmosphere to the guests as well as strive to extend courteous, reliable and satisfactory service from the staff of all departments.

2) Cleanliness and Hygiene:  A high standard of cleanliness and general upkeep in all areas. Clean and well-maintained areas and equipment create a favorable impression on the guest. Hygiene is maintained especially in the washrooms, toilets, pool changing room, health club, etc

3) Privacy: Housekeeping staff ensures the privacy of the guests and they should be trained with proper procedures to enter the room.

4) Safety and Security: The housekeeping department staff should ensure the safety and security of the guests with the help of security services.

5) Décor: This work is an art and the housekeeping staff is mainly responsible for creating a pleasant atmosphere.