Front Office Management Distance Learning Course

Manage Front Office Operations | Develop high-performance Front Office teams with our Front Office Management Distance Learning Course

Our Front Office Management Distance Learning Course is designed to equip you with the skills to manage front office operations, develop high-performance front office teams, and become a great leader.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the Front Office Management Course, you will be able to:

• Manage front office operations during the four stages of the guest cycle.

• Manage front office equipment and stationery

• Manage time

• Monitor front office and staff appearance

• Monitor the operation of systems

• Keep staff informed

• Monitor front office staff performance

• Deal with formal service quality systems

• Deal with informal service quality systems

• Handle quality problems

• Do forecasts and objectives

• Communicate changes effectively

• Maximize efficiency with communication

• Control systems in the front office

• Deal with front office staffing problems

• Deal with front office equipment problems

• Conduct front office staff training and orientation

• Manage the reservations process and tools managers use to track and control reservations

• Manage the registration process and creative registration options

• Deal with typical service requests that guests make at the front desk

• Deal with important issues in developing and managing a security program

• Create and maintain front office accounts

• Manage functions and procedures related to the check-out and account settlement

• Manage cleaning responsibilities of the front office department

• Conduct the front office audit process

• Deal with ratios and formulas used to forecast room availability

• Conduct revenue management including capacity management, discount allocation, and duration control

• Effectively hire and orient front office staff

Please note that our Front Office Manager Course is a distance learning course. If you would like us to come to your establishment, please note that we offer on-site training to 6 or more staff. 

Enrol Now and Become a Phenomenal Front Office Manager

In this certificate course, you will learn how to increase hotel front office efficiency, help sales grow and build high performance Front Office teams.

This is a complete professional course to train your team, as well as for individuals who work or plan to work at the Front Office as a Manager in the hospitality industry. It is suitable for all hotels, resorts, lodges and all other hospitality establishments.

In 3 months, you will become a phenomenal Front Office Manager. This is a distance learning course; we email you training material and assignments. No travel and accommodation expenses.

What are the Front Office Manager Duties?

The Front Office Management duties include the following:

• Managing and training the concierge, night auditors and team of receptionist. 

• Ensuring that the Front Desk provides professional and friendly service to guests at all times. 

• Monitoring the Front Office personnel appearance.

• Dealing with guests, including handling complaints and special requests.

• Scheduling Front Office staff roster.

• Troubleshooting emergencies.

• Liaising with other departments, including Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, etc

• Personally welcoming VIPs and VVIPs and ensuring that highest service standards are maintained.

In some hotels, the Front Office Manager also handles sales and marketing. 

Which Modules Does the Front Office Management Course cover?

In this course, we cover the following modules:

• Manage the Front Office Operations

• Building High performance team

• Front Office Procedures

• Planning and conducting successful meetings

• Reservations

• Front Office Audit and Financial Procedures

• Hotel Marketing

• Cultural Awareness When Dealing With Guests and Staff

• Verbal Communication

• Maintain Effective Working Relationships with other Staff Members

• Maintain a Secure Work Environment

• Monitor Customer Satisfaction

• Co-ordinate the Greeting and Assisting of Guests

• Maintain the Portering/ Concierge Service

Manage the Front Office Operations

As a front office manager, you need to ensure that the front office department functions well at all times.

This module will give you all the necessary information  you need in order to efficiently manage the front office operations. You will learn the following:

• Managing Front Office Resources

• Managing equipment and stationery

• Managing time and monitoring appearance

• Managing operation of systems

• Keeping staff informed

• Monitoring performance of staff

• Formal service quality systems

• Informal service quality systems

• Handling quality problems

• Forecasts and objectives

• Maximizing efficiency

• Control systems

• Staffing problems

• Equipment problems

Creating High Performance Front Office Teams

• Creating and maintaining a diversified team

• Inspiring others to share the leader’s/ organizational vision

• Facilitating open and clear communication among co-workers

• Empowering incumbents to take action

• Providing inspiration to others

Management Challenges in the Work Place

• Achieving a stretch goal

• Bringing out the best in your employees

• Dealing with underperforming employees

• Dealing with outstanding employees

• Hiring the right people

• Responding to a crisis

• Continuous improvement

Leadership Styles

• Authoritarian (autocratic)

• Participative, consultative, democratic

• Delegative(Free reign)

• Situational leadership model

• The managerial grid: Blake and Mouton

• Directive and Supportive behaviours

• Development levels

• Telling/ Directing

• Selling/ Coaching

• Participating/ Supporting

• Delegating

• Influencing strategies

The Speed of Trust

• Training people how to think

• Defining trust

• Blind spots

• Communicating with intention

• Preparation

• Mechanics

• Producing the win/win attitude

The Essentials of Management

• Elements of management

• Guidelines to ensuring successful planning and implementation

• The process of organizing

• Organizational theories

• Tools of control

• The top ten qualities of am excellent manager

Interviewing and Selection Skills

• Do your homework

• Don’t rush to judgment

• Studying behavior

• Changing things up

• Maintaining a consistent evaluation process

Running Effective Meetings

• How to prepare for meetings

• Tips on running weekly team meetings

• Preparing documents needed for the meeting

• Picking the right place and time for the meeting

• Arranging meeting venue

• Giving enough warning for the meeting

• Checking matters arising from previous meetings

• Setting time limits for the meeting

• Logistics –planning and organizing your meeting or training

• Standard items of the agenda

• Date and time of the meeting

• Venue, Attendance, Adoption of agenda

• Minutes from last meeting

• Matters arising

• Reports from sub-commitees

• Conducting meetings

• Mirroring techniques

• Using the power of silence to win people over

• Positive body movements

• Exploiting unique behavioural patterns to read people’s minds

Managing the Front Office Performance

• Performance cycle

• Organizational performance standards

• Level of performance

• Techniques of giving feedback –content, manner, timing, frequency

• Performance management and principle

• Organizational performance standards

• Level of performance

• Techniques of giving feedback –content, manner, timing, frequency

• Performance management and principle

• Guidelines for disciplining

• Distinguishing between discipline and punishment

Appraisal Skills

Performance –Ability x Motivation

• Enhancing ability

• Improving motivation

• Creating a performance improvement plan

• Giving effective feedback

Stretching Your Team to Develop

Feelings, values, needs

• Maslow’s need hierarchy theory

• Herzberg’s motivational maintenance theory

• Why do people work?

• Selecting the best

• Creating a vision and aligning it to people

• Determining which rewards are valued and important to each employee

• Empowering and consulting employees

• Providing opportunities beyond traditional roles

• Enhancing career development

• Recognisingcontributions

• Providing incentives and rewards

Decision Making and Delegation Skills

• Major pitfalls in delegation

• Benefits of delegation

• Five essential steps of delegation

• Decision making

• Team learning and performance

• Making the most of team learning

Team Evolution Stages

• Phase 1: Forming

• Phase 2: storming

• Phase 3: Norming -Charting a course)

• Phase 4: Performing –The action stage

• Productivity and morale in team development stages

• Managing remote teams

Coaching and Mentoring Skills

Types of mentoring

• Online mentorship programs

• Workplace mentoring

• Eight pillars of coaching and mentoring

• Limitations of mentoring

• Coaching vs Mentoring

• Benefits of coaching

• Limitations of coaching

Coaching and Mentoring Connection Process

Coaching process

• Phase 1: Planning the program’s purpose and design

• Phase 2: Identifying potential mentors and mentees

• Phase 3: Facilitating a joint orientation (mentor, mentee and supervisor)

• Phase 4: Matching mentors and mentees

Managing Challenging Behaviours

• Why do people become difficult

• Practical tips to dealing with difficult people

Managing Pressure

• Urgency vs Important

• Strategies for different quadrants on the matrix

Reservations

• Appropriate greeting

• Room types and room codes

• Rate structure of a hotel

• Upgrading and selling from top down

• Group Reservations

• Hotel website and guest reviews

Safety, Cost Controls and Formulas

• Emergency procedures

• Key control program

• Staffing and scheduling

• Cash handling procedures

• Petty cash account

• Revenue Management Procedures & meetings

• Calculating room rate spread

• Hotel occupancy percentage

• Formula for Average Guest per Room (APR)

• Formula for Average Guest Rate per Room (AGR)

• Formula for Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR)

• Formula for Average Room Rate (ARR)

• Formula for Potential Average Rate (PAR)

Front Office Audit and Financial Procedures

Auditing and Fincancial Procedures

• The impact of auditing

• The night auditor or Night manager

• Daily audits

• Checking and balancing transactions

• Petty cash

• Managing a float system

• Banking procedures

• Banking for foreign exchange

• Speedpoint banking procedures

• Night audit speedpoint responsibilities

• Debtor's control

• Identifying and resolving discrepancies

Financial Reports

• Completing night audit / fincancial transactions

• Pit checks

• Using information generated byt night audit

• Financial reports, accuracy and dealines

Generating Reports

• Financial and statistical reports

• Month end reports

• Departmental reports

• Credit limit report

• Telephone calls report

• Commission earnings report

• Improving security and auditing procedures

Hotel Marketing

• How to define hotel missions and goals

• Conducting a marketing audit

• Identifying market segments

• Marketing objectives and medium

• Analyzing and evaluating the marketing plan

Cultural Awareness When Dealing With Guests and Staff

Cultural groups

• Local Cultures

• Non verbal and verbal elements

• The culture and customs of South Africa’s main population groups

• African culture

• Western culture

• Asian culture

• South Africa’s main international tourist groups

Consequences of Cultural Diversity

• Preventing cultural misunderstandings

• Resolving cultural problems

• Cultural differences

• Learning to value cultural differences

Verbal Communication

• Effective communication

• Types of verbal communication

• Communication context

• Improving communication

• Communication Barriers

• Cultural differences

• Stereotypes

• Educational differences

• Voice and Articulation

Maintaining Effective Working Relationships With Other Staff Members

The front office is a link between the guests and all the other hotel departments. Therefore, it is important that a good working relationship is maintained at all times. This module contains the following elements:

Maintaining effective channels of communication

• Improving internal communication

• Communicating with your supervisor

• Organizational charts

• Dealing with staff in a polite and friendly manner

• Dealing with individual characters

• Effective communication with staff

• Welcoming new staff

Dealing with conflict situations

• What is conflict

• Causes of conflict

• Conflict management styles

• Conflict management tools

• The outcomes of conflict

• Conflict resolution

• Methods of conflict resolution

• Prioritizing work & dealing with obstructions and interruptions

Maintain A Safe Working Envorinment

Front office manager have to ensure a safe working enviroment at all times. This module contains the following elements:

• Legislative procedures

• Company procedures

Safety

• Preventative procedures

• Safety and emergency signs

• Safety and emergency numbers

• Adapting to safety procedures

First Aid and Accidents

• Identifying first aid officers and boxes

• What to do in the event of an accident

• Range of accidents

Fire

• Safety and evacuation procedures

• Small and large fires

• Hazards

• Emergency situations

Monitor Guest Satisfation

As a front office manager, guest satistaction is one of your top priorities. Contains the following elements:

• Cultural Consideration

• Interpersonal Skills

• Building a Rapport and Relationship with Customers

• Establishing a Professional Rapport & Relationship With Colleagues & Internal Guests (suppliers)

• Supporting Subordinates

• Monitoring Guest Satisfaction

• Customer Feedback

• Effective Survey Techniques

Customer Requirements

• Providing Information

• Directions

• Travel Information

• Guest Services

• Telephone Number

• Information, Policy and Practice

• Referring Requests Outside Your own Area of Responsibility

• Following Up Requests

Problems with Meeting Guest Requirements

• Evaluating/Dealing with Complaints

• Dealing with Customer Complaints Effectively

• Identifying the Nature of the Complaint or Incident

• Reassuring the Guest

• Tools for effective Negotiation and Communication

• Heat Approach

• Customer Complaints Procedure

• Product and Service Complaints

• Complaints –Environment Complaints

• Personal Complaints

• Written Complaints

• Documenting Complaints and Giving Feedback

• Efficient Work Practices

• Promoting Product Services

Co-ordinate The Greeting and Assisting of Guests

Front office managers need to co-ordinate the greeting and assisting of guests on check-in and on check out. This module contains the following elements:

• Daily planning

• Task allocations

• Customer satisfaction

• Effective work practice

• Roles in the department

• Greeting and assisting of individual arrivals

• Maintaining standards

• Assisting with individual departures

• Greeting and assisting group arrivals

• Co-ordinatinggroup departures

• Communication difficulties

• Special needs

• Requests for additional services

• The chauffeur service

• Valet parking service

Maintain The Portering / Concierge Service

The porter/ concierge service falls under the frotn office manager's department. As a front office manager, it is your duty to ensure that this department functions well. This module contains the following elements:

Managing Customer Service

• Managing and co-ordinating customer service

• Managing customer care skills

Minimize Disruptions to Service

• Staffing problems

• Equipment problems

• Power failures

Handling Customers Complaints

• Handling a customer complaint

• Follow up

• Responsibility of the front office manager

Whether you are a hospitality establishment and would like us to train your front office management or you are an individual and would like to take the front office manager distance learning course, we would like to hear from you. Please contact us on the form below. 

What are the job opportunities for a Front Office Manager?

Being a front office manager offers endless job opportunities worldwide. You can get jobs as a front office manager in resorts, hotels, game lodges and other hospitality establishments worldwide. 

How much salary does a Front Office Manager earn?

Being a front office manager comes with more responsibilities and so does the earning potential. Depending on the location and the size of the establishment, front office manager can earn around R40 000 per month, or even more. Some of the packages of being a front office manager may include free accommodation or housing allowance, transport allowance, fully paid flight tickets (once a year), etc. In some countries, your salary is tax free!

How much is the Front Office Management Course?

Please fill in the contact form below to get details about pricing. 

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