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1 Introduction
The heart of the hotel organization is Front Office department. Success of hotel organization
depends largely on Interdepartmental interaction. In this step, as Front Office department is the
hub, the heart, and the nerve centre of the hotel for all departments, front Office department has
huge responsibility to assist the guest from the first checks in to finally checks out of the hotel.
(Kasavana, M., 2009)
2 Identify and explain any four major pre-arrival activities with examples.
Pre-Arrival activities by the front office department involves activities carried out from the point
of reservation to the point when the guests checks in.
2.1 Registration
A hotel has to acquire certain details about every individual who stays there as this is a lawful
responsibility on the hotels aspect. In addition to these basic requirements of nationality and full
names, they have to give the place of issue of their passport and passport number. It is not
necessary in law for a guest staying at a hotel to provide their true name, but for whose are
suspected not using their true name should be viewed carefully by the hotel staff. (Chakravarti,
B., 2006).
2.2 Prepayment
Prepayment for guaranteed reservations should be received before the expected date of arrival.
Prepayments can be made using a variety of payment methods such as cash and credit cards. In a
case of a no-show, the pre-paid amount is offset against the nights room rate, tax and service
charge/VAT. (Kasavana, M., 2009)
For credit cards, the hotel will follow-up on a no-show by forwarding a completed credit card
charge voucher to the respective card company. Companies that guarantee reservations by
commercial contract will also be similarly billed for no-show. Until the guest has checked in,
pre-payments received will be recorded in the city ledger. (Chakravarti, B., 2006).
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2.3 Pre-Registration
The process by which section of a registration card or their equivalents are completed for guests
with reservations prior to their arrival is referred to as pre-registration. As many parts of the
registrations were accomplished in advance, it increases the actual check-in process. To verify
the information of arrival guests is the only process the Front Desk Agent needs to carry out. It
also provides VIP guests a sensation of significance to know that the hotel prepared for and has
the knowledge of their arrivals. (Chakravarti, B., 2006).
2.4 Pre-assignment
Prior to registration, the allocation of a particular room to a guest is called pre-assignment. For
all expected arrivals except for repeat guests, groups, crew and VIPs hotels do not pre-assign
rooms. This practice is similar to pre-registration. The reason includes the rotation of the room
usage, number of individuals, security and availability as to avoid from repeated occupation of a
specific room. (Bardi, J., 2003)
There are some general guidelines that need to be put in place when assigning rooms to the
different types of guests. For example, before assigning rooms for VIPs, the staff should do a
check of the room, away from the lift, upgrade room, better view, and try to assign the same
room for repeat guests. For regular guests, upgrade the room or assign a room with better view
and more facilities if possible. (Chakravarti, B., 2006).
3 Conclusion
Pre-arrival activities entail all activities which must be done before a guest checks in. This
enables the hotel to provide a better service to the guest upon arrival. To maintain a high quality
standard in front office department is very important since the guests first impression about the
hotel depends on it. To offering and enhancing guest services that meet guest requirements are
the main duties of front office managers. (Bardi, J., 2003)

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References
1. Shine, (2012). Function of Front Desk and Reservation. Available at:
http://hmshine.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/recent-trends-about-operating-rooms-division-in-
hotels/
2. Kasavana, M. and Brooks, R. (2009). Managing front office operations. 1st ed. Lansing,
Mich.: American Hotel & Lodging Association, Educational Institute.
3. Bardi, J. (2003). Hotel front office management. 1st ed. New York: J. Wiley.
4. Chakravarti, B. (2006). Concept of front office management. 1st ed. New Delhi: A.P.H. Pub.
Corp.