Direttore del Front Office

Role Purpose

As Director of Rooms you’ll lead the front office to ensure a memorable guest experience is delivered and departmental revenue and profit goals are met - always following safety and compliance requirements and local policies and procedures. 

Key Accountabilities

People 

• Direct everyday activity, plan and assign work work ensuring you always have the right staffing numbers    
• Develop your team and improve their performance through coaching and feedback, and create performance and development goals for colleagues - recognize good performance  
• Train colleagues to make sure they hit hotel revenue goals to the standards we expect and have the tools they need to work effectively  
• Recommend or initiate any HR elated actions where needed   
• Drive a great working environment for teams to thrive - connect departments to create sense of one team   
• Interact with outside contacts: guests, vendors, and other contacts as needed  
• Develop and maintain great working relationships with key clients and outside contacts to increase revenue  

Financial 

• Oversee night audit function and preparation of daily financial reports.  
• Prepare and submit statistical, performance, and forecast analyses and reports as required.  
• Maintain procedures for security of monies, credit and financial transactions, guest security, and inventory control 
• Use company systems and processes to maximise revenue. Develop plans to increase occupancy and ADR through walk-ins and upselling at the front desk  
• Hit all personal/team sales goals and maximise profitability  
• Help prepare the departmental budget and financial plans including the hotel marketing plan

Guest Experience

• Provide guests with information (example: loyalty programmes, area attractions, restaurants, facility information) to enhance their experience  
• Schedule conventions and/or business group activities at the hotel and coordinate with other hotel-level departments to facilitate services agreed upon by the sales office and prospective clients  
• Communicate to appropriate departments all pertinent information requirements and special needs for arriving VIP’s, large groups and other key guests  
• Lead marketing efforts to up sell guests on hotel services, offerings, and amenities  
• Ensure front office staff provides guests with prompt service, professional attention and personal recognition  
• Ensure guests are greeted upon arrival and make time to interact effectively with guests. Respond appropriately to guest complaints, solicit feedback and build relationships that drive continuous improvements in guest satisfaction.   
• Conduct routine inspections of the front office and public areas and take immediate actions to correct any deficiencies  
• Ensure that guest satisfaction data is analyzed and that plans are developed and implemented to achieve established goals  
• Communicate to appropriate departments all pertinent information related to the expected arrival and departure of VIP’s and other key guests, or other special guest needs  

Responsible Business 

• Work closely with key business leaders, officials, and representatives of local community groups within the city to ensure constant high-profile exposure for the hotel 
• Effectively communicate and market aspects of the hotel that are sustainable or “green” and use information to gain new business opportunities 
• Act as a central communications point during emergency/crisis situations; develop and maintain relationships with local fire, police, and emergency personnel.   
• Develop awareness and reputation of the hotel and brand in the local community and promote team member involvement in community outreach efforts.  
• Work with advertising agencies, consulting firms, and vendors to maximise advertising investments and ensure ads represent brand identity 
• Raise the awareness and reputation of your hotel and the brand locally – occasionally acting as hotel representative for media related enquiries 
• Identify improvements to marketing activities and overall hotel sales performance and work with other departments  
• Ad-hoc duties – unexpected moments when we have to pull together to get a task done  
• Regularly audit all financial transactions to ensure governmental regulations and data privacy requirements are met.  
• Perform other duties as assigned. May also serve as manager on duty.  

Accountability

This is the top rooms division job in a luxury, resort, or major flagship hotel with an extensive range of facilities and services, demanding competitive pressures, and a large number of VIP and key guests. Directly and indirectly supervises a large number of front office employees.

Key Skills & Experiences

• Bachelor’s degree / higher education qualification / equivalent in Hotel Administration, Business Administration  
• Four years of guest service/hotel experience with two years in a management capacity, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience 
• Must speak local language (s)   
• Other languages preferred