“FRONT OFFICE PRACTICES AND ITS IMPACT ON GUEST SATISFACTION”

INTRODUCTION

The hospitality industry is striving to evolve itself and enhance the guest experience. The hotel front desk is
a vital part of the Front Office operations because it creates the guest’s first impression. In this era of
competition the hotels have adopted new practices to improve their level of performance and at the same
time delight the guest. Each guest is treated with utmost consideration to make him feel special. As there is
a lot of competition in the market every hotel distinguishes itself by adopting innovative practices to help
attract more and more guests. MAYFAIR LAGOON is the part of Mayfair Hotels and Resorts and was
launched in the year 2000 to cater for the business clientele. The hotel was one the first major Star hotels
in the temple city of India which is Bhubaneswar. Gradually the competition increased and more and more
hotels started coming up. It became necessary for the hotel to give the best services and to do something
new for their guest to keep them happy. The guest had more options to choose from and it was important
to retain the guest and give them the lifetime experiences so that they became the loyal customers. The
guest’s frank opinions helped the hotel to change a few of their practices and implement the new, cost-
effective and innovative ones in the industry. According to a survey Wi-Fi technology, on line reservations
and high speed internet access are the leading technological facilities being provided to customers by the

hotels. (Hotel Industry Trends in Technology, Sustainability survey, 2013).

Today’s customer wants quick service. The hotel offers flexible and simplified procedure for check-in. It
includes in- room check in where the guest doesn’t have to wait at the counter for his turn to come or do
the check-in process. The guest is escorted by the Guest Relation Executive and the rooming is done. With
the development in technology, the quick kiosk check- in concept was initiated where the guest checks in
himself. The Counter check- in system is practised by the hotel as it is not possible to do in- room check- in
for all the guests. The group check in is done in the coach by the front office staff to save on the time factor
for the guests. The group members are given preassigned rooms off the rooming list. The front desk staff
interacts with the guests, is attentive and strives to handle all customer complaints calmly.

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 OBJECTIVES

 To study the various current trends in the Hotel Front Office Department.
 To assess the guest satisfaction levels with respect
 Implementation of the current trends at Mayfair Lagoon, BHUBANESWAR

RATIONALE

The Rationale behind this study to understand the current Front Office practices and the related guest
satisfaction, an important component for hotel chain like Mayfair Hotels Resorts and to retain their brand
name and customer loyalty .It is essential that each property maintains the standard of the group of
company and brand .As different international brands are entering the Indian market, the company needs
to retain its position in the ever growing competitive market. The findings of the study will also assist in
formulating an action plan for the future improvements in the Front Office practices. The study will help
those aspiring to join the hotel industry to understand the kind of practices existing in the Hotel Front
Office, the guest expectations and their preferences. The study will help in better understanding about the
concept of guest satisfaction and guest retention. It will also lead to a lot of learning about the Front Office
Practices in the hotel.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. Research Design- The research will be descriptive and explanatory regarding the various services of the
Front Office Department and the satisfaction levels of the guests .

(a) Primary data- It was collected through the guest online feedback forms (Guest Satisfaction
Tracking System) of Mayfair Lagoon and Resorts, with help of my friend in Front office Department

(b) Secondary data-The secondary data was collected through books, trade journals, published
papers and internet.

2. Sample Size- The respondents for the study were 55 guests who stayed at the Mayfair Lagoon,
Bhubaneswar between 4th November2024 and 15th November 2024.The guests were randomly picked
and they responded to the online feedback form.

3. Research Instrument- The guest feedback survey was used as an instrument for data collection. The
questionnaire included factors of service quality related to the front office department of the hotel. The
questionnaire had various levels of degree of satisfaction related to the Front Office practices and services,
which range from 0 to 10 (10 is for the highest satisfaction, whereas, 0 is for the lowest satisfaction).
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 CONCLUSION

The most important elements in guest satisfaction leading to repeat customers are standardized products,
motivated and trained staff and quality management. An overall view of the study shows that most of the
guests are satisfied with the overall services of the Front Office department. The Front office department
on the whole seems to be one area which is a key promoter of the guest satisfaction. The motivational

techniques used for the staff like the Star-o-meter (earning star points for the quality services offered),
Employee of the Month Award, displaying such information on the display boards for everyone to know are
effective motivational tools. It can also be said that the training practices as well as the recruitment policies

for the hotel are effective.

The Front Offices practices followed during the departure like sending the bill a night before the departure

or slipping it early morning with the newspaper for the guest to check, offering goody bags and gifts while
leaving the hotel, catching such moments in the photos and mailing them to the guest, answering the
queries and effective handling of complaints have added to the level of guest satisfaction. It gets reflected
in the loyalty of the guests towards the Mayfair Lagoon.

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