Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Front of the House Reservations

Reservations are mainly taken at the front of the house, for the food industry as well as the hotelier businesses. Restaurants, cafes, and bars will filter all of their reservations through the front of the house as this is a main responsibility for the front of the house manager. Hotels also include reservations at the front of the house. More businesses are requiring reservations making the front of the house duties very important.
The front of the house oversees more than just reservations. Besides reservations there are reception responsibilities, operations, customer service and more. Hotel front desk responsibilities involve all of the above as well as check out information, special requests, billing, housekeeping information etc.
Reservation software is a great way to keep track of the front of the house reservations. Reservations programs are easy to use and affordable. They can take web bookings, avoid double bookings, track customers, analyze reservation patterns, create confirmations and receipts, automate any calculations, and can create reports.
Front of the house reservation books can be found for full years as well as partial years. They will include complete calendars, monthly at a glance calendar, daily contact lists, daily duty lists for managers, sections, hosts, bussers and bar. There is a notes section where you can write any special information needed for that day or any reminders.
Despite the popularity of electronics, reservation books are still used as they can be found in many styles so you can have a book that blends into the design of your restaurant and hotel. Most hotels use software as there is much more information needed for each reservation. The front of the house can be challenging and require a lot of customer service skills but it is a great way to utilize organizational skills and interact with individuals.