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INTRODUCTION TO HOTEL ROOMS DIVISION

The Rooms Division

Rooms Division is the heart of the hotel, notably responsible for the guest first and last impression. The
hotel functional departments are rooms division, food and beverage, accounting, human resources,
engineering, and the sales/marketing and catering. All these depend on each other to come up with the
best service and enormous amount of generated revenues.

Within the hotel, the rooms division is the “nerve center” for the most operations. It is the area most
responsible for the hotel’s main product, the sleeping rooms. The performance indicators show that rooms
division plays a huge role of the hotel’s generation of revenue, since the hotel business is seen skyrocketing
in the international market. The more luxuries provided by the hotel to its guests, the more revenues are
added. It is also advantageous following the act of moving the business into urban locations to increase the
number of branches and thereby, becomes a chain of a certain business.

The functional areas having a vital role in the success of a hotel’s operation are composed of the following:
(Rodolfa, 2012):
Front Office
Reservations
Housekeeping
Night Audit
Loss Prevention/Security Department
As the structure is dependent on the hotel’s size, type, and level of service offered, the size and scope of
these areas may not be similar in all hotels. It is therefore important for future hospitality professionals to
be knowledgeable of these areas so that they will easily adapt in the industry, regardless of the hotel size
and type they will be in.

Areas of the Rooms Division

As enumerated, the following are the areas of rooms division that each of the future hospitality
professionals must be able to identify and familiarize with (Rodolfa, 2012):

FRONT OFFICE

This is frequently used to imply both front office and back office operations of a hotel. Being the most
visible of all, it is responsible for the incoming and outgoing guests. This area usually generates the greatest
amount of revenue on accommodation income through room sales.

Front office is composed of three (3) main sections: front desk, uniform services, and the back office whose
staff report directly to the Front Office Manager.

ᴥ Front Desk – This section plays a big role in the hotel’s operations since it is often the first and last
points of contact with a hotel guest. This is also called as the “hub” or “command center” of the
rooms division because so much information is funnelled through it.
 Some of the functions and activities of the front desk are:
 Check in the guest upon arrival
 Process guest’s financial transactions
 Organize services during guest’s stay
 Perform guest’s checkout

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ᴥ Uniform Services – Also referred to as guest services, this section encompasses the units within
the front office other than that of front desk. Within this section are the following areas:
 PBX (Private Branch Exchange) – This section manages the communications into and out
of the hotel.
 Bellstand – Assists guests to and from their rooms.
 Valet parking/garage – Manages the guests’ automobiles.
 Concierge – Serves as the guests’ liaison on both hotel and non-hotel services.
 Doorpersons – They assist guests upon entering the hotel premises.

ᴥ Back Office – This section supports the front office services including that crucial first contact for
many guests, the telephonist. This is located directly behind the front office together with
reservations so as to easily support the front office. The staff under back office are responsible in
liaising with guests other than that of what front office does, for instance communications over the
phone or written.

Some of the tasks of the back office section are the following:
o Reservation (booking and maintenance)
o Guest correspondence
o Generation of reports
o Receiving calls
o Transferring calls to the right department/person

THE RESERVATIONS
This area of the rooms division is also called as transient room sales. Making reservations is a necessity for
travellers and an important marketing tool for lodging establishments. Travellers in various market
segments depend on a well-organized reservation system that is easily accessible through toll-free
numbers or on the Internet to ensure a well-planned trip. To maximize room revenue, it strives to book
individual reservations in conjunction with group sales.

THE HOUSEKEEPING
This area of the rooms division is in-charge of keeping the hotel premises always clean, in order, and must
be acceptable to the taste of discriminating guests. This is very significant in the rooms division since the
staffs are directly connecting with front office and ensuring that the hotel’s main product, (the rooms) are
ready for sale. In this premise, it is critical that staffs in both areas are familiar with the services and
functions other than their usual routine.
The housekeeping group must collaborate with the front office section to determine what rooms are to be
cleaned, available for sale, and what rooms are occupied. This activity is called room inventory, which
ensures that there is no opportunity for cost incurred in vacant rooms.

THE NIGHT AUDIT

This area of the rooms division is led by the Night Audit Manager, and supported by two (2) to five (5)
auditors. This is the department/area that reconciles the hotel’s daily financial transactions and other
activities for reporting purposes. The team conducts its duties at night when the hotel is generally less busy
and assumes some front office duties aside from directly reporting to the accounting department.

THE LOSS PREVENTION/SECURITY DEPARTMENT

Led by the Director of Loss Prevention, this area of the rooms division is also vital in hotel operations. Its
main task is the safety and security of the hotel guests and employees. The team will need to safeguard
the common areas of the hotel and guest room hallways. They should ensure that all accidents, guest
complaints, and the like are handled carefully and professionally.
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The Rooms Division Personnel

Rooms Division Manager – This position was used to be called as Resident Manager, however, some hotels
still use the title until now, while other hotels also use the Director of Rooms title. Rooms Division Manager
is presently used by most hotels because of the longstanding responsibilities for coordinating the
operations of room-related hotel functions. On the contrary, whatever they may call it, one (1) thing in
common is that, all of them manage the day to day operations of the rooms division of the hotel.

Below are some of the functions of the Rooms Division Manager (Rodolfa, 2012):
 Manages the areas of the hotel rooms division
 Supervises employees engaged in the operations of the front and back areas of the hotel
 Ensures proper staffing, purchasing, and budgeting
 Maintains open communications with other divisions and within his/her division
 Monitors availability of control systems
 Develops monthly plans

Department Heads of the Rooms Division

The areas of the rooms division are also managed by department heads. There lookout is to manage
and control the system of their specific area to ensure the safety of the hotel’s operations, workers,
as well as, guests. These heads are directly reporting to the Rooms Division Manager or the Hotel’s
Resident Manager.

The department heads significantly work hand in hand to ensure that the hotel operations, especially
the entire Rooms Division operation, is running smoothly in accordance with the company standard
operating procedures while considering the hotel’s ultimate goal - that is to give satisfaction to
guests.
Front Office Manager – This person is responsible for a large portion of the most visible
aspects of hotel’s daily operations. S/he oversees the functions and performances of the
front desk and the uniform services.

The staffs under the Front Office Manager are the following:
TITLE BASIC DUTIES/FUNCTIONS
Responsible for the daily operations of the front desk and closely
Front Desk Manager
communicating with housekeeping department
Ensures the quality and efficiency of front desk activities while
Front Desk Supervisor
supervising the works of the front desk staff
Front Desk Clerk Ensures efficient guest check-in and checkout
Leads and supervises the bellstaff, and ensures staffing levels are
Bell Captain
adequate
Assist guests to front desk for registration, to their rooms, and out of
Bellstaff
their rooms during check-out
Doorperson Greets and assists guests arriving at the hotel
Also called as Garage Supervisor; supervises the valet parking and
Valet Supervisor
parking/garage staff
Parking Attendant Parks, cares, drives, and retrieves guests’ vehicle
PBX Supervisor Closely monitors the hotel switchboard and the staff of this unit
Ensures smooth flow of internal and external hotel’s telephone
PBX Operator
communications
Monitors and manages staff in providing assistance to guests on their
Concierge Manager
personal requests

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Director of Services – This person can be viewed as the “behind-the-scenes” version of the
front office manager. He/she is responsible on the other aspects of hotel services specifically
the housekeeping and laundry operations where guests expect them to be excellent in
rendering their services so as to meet the satisfaction of the guests. Director of Services
carries a vital role in the rooms division, thus, interaction with the Front Office Manager is
significant for a smooth flow of hotel operations.

The following are the staffs reporting to the Director of Services:

TITLE BASIC DUTIES/FUNCTIONS
Responsible for the daily operations of the housekeeping department
Executive Housekeeper
and closely coordinating with front desk
Ensures quality and efficiency of housekeeping activities (guest rooms
Assistant Executive
cleaning and other areas for maintenance) while supervising the works
Housekeeper
of the housekeeping staffs
Ensures standards of cleanliness are maintained and works closely with
Senior Housekeeper
housekeepers
Room Attendant Cleans and prepares guestrooms
Assists room attendant by providing supplies such as linens, towels,
Houseperson
and amenities
Responsible in supervising, monitoring, and managing the internal
Laundry Manager
laundry operation of the hotel
Monitors and ensures adequate supplies of linens, uniforms, and
Linen Attendant
towels
Ensures that employee uniforms are properly cleaned and arranged
Tailor/Seamstress
and repairs linens when needed

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Below is a sample of a Rooms Division Organizational Chart

Source: Ismael, Ahmed. (2002) Front office operations and management. USA: Thompson/Delmar

(The chart is not common to hotels as it varies depending on its type and size)

References:
Rodolfa, Bernardo Jr. B. (2012). Hotel Rooms Division Management and Control System. Manila: Purely Books Trading
& Publishing Corp.
Ismael, Ahmed. (2002) Front Office Operations and Management. USA: Thompson/Delmar.

Lago, Elpedia M. (2011). Room Division Management and Control System. Manila: Mindshapers, Co., Inc.
O’Shannessy, Vivienne. (2011). Front Office Skills: A Practical Approach. Pearson Education South Asia Pte. Ltd.

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