Assistant Manager - Front Office

Position Statement

The Assistant Manager, Front Office provides leadership and guidance to front desk team members during the assigned shift to ensure that consistent quality service is provided.

An Assistant Manager, Front Office serving Hilton Brands is always working on behalf of our Guests and working with other Team Members. To successfully fill this role, you should maintain the attitude, behaviours, skills, and values that follow:
• Able to read, write, speak and understand the English language to communicate effectively with guests and employees.
• Able to access and accurately input information using a moderately complex computer system, including Hilton property management systems.
• Good interpersonal skills to provide overall guest satisfaction.
• Basic mathematical comprehension to understand and interpret numbers as they apply to operations in hotels.
• Able to effectively deal with internal and external customers, some of whom will require high levels of patience, tact and diplomacy to defuse anger, collect and analyse accurate information and resolve conflicts.
• Able to work under pressure and deal with stressful situations during busy periods.
• 2 to 3 years of related working experience preferred.

What will it be like to work for Hilton?

Hilton is the leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For nearly a century, Hilton has offered business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. Hilton is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Our vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality unites us as a team to create remarkable hospitality experiences around the world every day. And, our amazing Team Members are at the heart of it all!

What will I be doing?

As the Assistant Manager, Front Office, you will be responsible for performing the following tasks to the highest standards:
• Supervise front desk team members to ensure smooth and efficient operation during the assigned shift.
• Understand departmental objectives for self and team, and work together to achieve the goal accordingly.
• Communicate effectively both verbally and in writing to provide clear directions to staff.
• Assign and instruct Front Office Executive in the details of work, observing their performance and encouraging improvements.
• Use creative management skills to solve guest and team member problems, ensuring compliance with company standards to ensure consistent high-quality guest relations.
• Manage desk, resolve guest concerns, handles emergencies and other challenges that may occur during the assigned shift, implementing resolutions by using discretion and judgment.
• Greet guests with a friendly and sincere welcome, using a positive and clear speaking voice.
• Listen to and understand requests, issues and situations from both guests and team members.
• Support and motivate team members by leading by example and employing competent and consistent management practices.
• Actively take part in training the team, supporting and leading formal training sessions and focusing on on-the-job training to ensure that all team members are of the same standard.
• Attend training where and when required.
• Act as a coach and mentor to team members, reinforcing standards and expectations and motivating team members to strive for established targets.
• Be involved with the development of high potential team members to ensure that all team members are trained to progress to the next level of their career.
• Contribute to the hotel and team by sharing new ideas and suggestions for improvements, being innovative and creative to provide quality service and customer care to team members and guests.
• Responsible for the smooth induction and facilitation of training for new team members, ensuring that they are trained to the minimum level standard and that they can competently complete their jobs and know what is expected of them.
• Create a warm and welcoming arrival for guests, ensuring that they feel welcome and “at-home” upon arrival.
• Check-in guests in accordance with their reservation details, ensuring that the registration cards are completed, reservation information confirmed, Hilton Honors numbers enquired, and method of payment is secured.
• Ensure that guests are informed on hotel facilities and room features, and luggage is delivered in a prompt manner.
• Handle complaints promptly and efficiently, taking the necessary action, and informing the Duty Manager/ Assistant Front Office Manager to follow-up where appropriate.
• Follows-up with all guests to ensure satisfaction with problem resolutions.
• Maintain awareness of guests’ profiles and specific preferences, ensuring that they are acted upon for each reservation.
• Liaise with Sales, Reservations and the Business Development teams to handle corporate guests.
• Promote Hilton Honors and its associated benefits to guests who are not already enrolled in the program, ensuring that existing Hilton Honors members receive personal and professional service that recognizes them as important guests and that their benefits are received.
• Allocate room in accordance to the guests’ reservations, preferences and remarks, maintaining a systemized and sales focused approach to room inventory management.
• Ensure that guests’ profiles and information is input into the OnQ system in a timely and accurate way.
• Apply Hilton brand standards in each and every action, acting as a role model and example of how the standards should be carried out in a practical setting.
• Knowledgeable of the hotel’s facilities and services as well as basic knowledge of Hilton International
• Keeping up to date with information on facilities, attractions, places of interest, sights and activities in and around the hotel.
• Ensure communication, coordination and cooperation between the front desk and other operating departments, specifically Housekeeping, F&B and Finance.
• Maintain hotel systems to ensure accuracy of information and data, and that it is easy to use and operate, in an organized and systemized way.
• Ensure that the front desk equipment and systems are functioning at all times, and the work area is maintained in a clean, tidy and organized way.
• Pass on information effectively, ensuring that all necessary details are communicated to the intended person and that any pending action is completed, and guest satisfaction is confirmed.
• Conduct daily briefings, shift handovers, attend meetings and effectively communicate information to team members.
• Ensure that the Duty Manager/ Assistant Front Office Manager are kept aware and up to date with operational issues.
• Ensure that the day-to-day functions of the front desk are completed, including but not limited to Duty Manager checklists, trace reports, credit limit checks, online back-ups, allocation of rooms, Lost Interface, Pay-Masters, discount and rate discrepancies, and registration cards.
• Check registration cards, meetings and functions information, billing instructions, financial records and reservation backups to ensure that all information received is acted upon.
• Complete reports where and when requested, ensuring that they are complete and delivered on time to the respected parties.
• Ensure that the front desk is kept stocked and maintained with requisitions and that par levels are maintained, and stock tracked.
• Keep up to date and aware of competitor activities in order to be proactive and create market advantage.
• Adhere to the hotel selling strategy of Demand Based Pricing and maintain rate integrity by offering clear, transparent, and value for money rates to guests.
• Comply with Health & Safety, Emergency Management, the Disaster manual, Fire procedures and regulations. In the absence of the Guest Relations Manager, be a part of the Fire Team and take action accordingly.
• Adhere strictly to standard cash handling procedures amongst team members, ensuring that all team members balance their float and drop the required amount.
• Adhere to the company’s credit policy at all times when handling cash, credit card transactions, city ledgers, LPO and third-party payments for rooms, meetings, F&B and any other charges that may be incurred by guests.
• Maintain safety deposit boxes, ensuring that guests’ valuables are safe and secure at all times.
• Maintain the efficiency of departure by checking all guests’ folios to ensure accuracy of charges.
• Manage costs effectively by minimizing and controlling expenses.
• Maintain awareness of sales opportunities within the hotel, maximizing revenue in an ethical and responsible manner, adhere to Hilton brand standards and ensuring that guests receive value for money.
• Handle guest relocations as required.
• Familiar with and master the hotel operating system.
• Carry out any other reasonable duties and responsibilities as assigned.