Front Desk & Reservations Agent ("Agente de Recepcion & Reservaciones")

Description

POSITION PURPOSE 

The Front Desk & Reservations Agent serves as the initial point of contact for hotel guests. They use their skills and professional experience to anticipate guest needs and ensure a positive experience during their stay. Responsibilities include booking reservations, checking guests in and out, and accommodating any special requirements or requests.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Greet and welcome guests upon arrival.
• Execute the registration and checkout process at the front desk.
• Accept payment for guests’ accounts both at the time of registration and at checkout.
• Maintain a house bank and make a deposit and accurate reports of receipts daily. Cash checks and exchange currency for guests.
• Accurately handle cash transactions and balance a cash drawer to the given amount. 
• Acknowledge rewards members and returning guests.
• Take and manage guest bookings, up-selling opportunities and tell them about ways to improve their stay.
• Handle cash and credit transactions.
• Review of the current day’s arrival reports. Check all special request reservations to ensure that the room is blocked by request, VIPs identified, billing is set up correctly, deposits are taken, and other departments are notified of room assignment.
• Attend all scheduled training, departmental and hotel meetings. 
• Ensure awareness of special promotions, daily activities, arriving VIP’s, Group/Conferences in house, special requests, and scheduled shuttles.
• Practice safe work habits and ensure safe work practices to avoid injury to self and others. 
• Ensure all privacy and security protocols are followed as well as departmental and company procedures.
• Answer all calls promptly and correctly transfer all calls to appropriate departments.
• Confer and cooperate with other departments to ensure coordination of guest needs. Logging of all guest requests and room defects in the appropriate system. Follow up with guest after the completion of requests and repairing of any defects to ensure resolution to their satisfaction.
• Accurately make and manage room reservations. 
• Assist the Sales team with room availability lists. 
• Support the research of Travel Agent commission requests. 
• Assist Department Managers by utilizing guest history for research purposes. 
• Verify the accuracy of incoming reservations. 
• Maintain comprehensive knowledge of rack rates, room types, package plans, discount policies, hotel services, and food and beverage operational hours. 
• Understand all available room types, their locations, and layouts. 
• Possess knowledge of local attractions, hotel facilities, services, directions, and activities both within and outside the hotel. 
• Accurately process reservations from hotel departments, travel agents, mail, telephone, fax, or central reservation systems referrals. Handle cancellations and modifications promptly and communicate updates to the Front Desk. 
• Process amenity requests from all non-guest parties. 
• Demonstrate general business communication skills, including the development and preparation of reservation-related correspondence. 
• Assist in training new Reservations Department staff and Front Office personnel undergoing cross-training.
• Answer inquiries pertaining to hotel policies, services, registration, shopping, dining, entertainment, and travel directions.
• Maintain an extensive knowledge of the hotel, its services, and facilities.  Along with a general knowledge of the city where the hotel is located and its attractions.
• Maintain lobby cleanliness and organization.

• Assist with handling mail, packages, facsimiles, and guest items. 

• Assist all guests professionally and courteously, with the highest quality standards for customer service.
• All other duties assigned by manager or supervisor.

SUPPORTIVE FUNCTIONS

In addition to the performance of the essential functions, this position may be required to perform a combination of the following supportive functions, with the percentage of time performing each function to be solely determined by the manager based upon the particular requirements of the hotel:

• Assist with any guest inquiry.
• Follow all company and safety and security policies and procedures.
• Report maintenance problems, safety hazards, accidents, or injuries.
• Perform other reasonable job duties as requested by direct and indirect supervisors.    

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Environmental conditions are inside; a job is considered “inside” if staff spends approximately 75 percent or more of the time inside.  Temperature is moderate and controlled by hotel environmental systems.
• Must be able to stand and exert well-paced mobility for up to four (4) hours in length.
• Must be able to exert well-paced ability to maneuver between functions occurring simultaneously.
• Must be able to exert well-paced ability in limited space and to reach other departments of the hotel on a timely basis.
• Must be able to lift up to 45 lbs. as needed.
• Must be able to push and pull carts and equipment weighing up to 250 lbs.
• Requires grasping, writing, standing, sitting, walking, repetitive motions, bending, climbing, listening, and hearing ability and visual acuity.
• Hearing, smelling, tasting, and visual ability to observe and distinguish product quality and detect signs of emergency situations.
• Talking and hearing occur continuously in the process of communicating with other staff, guests, and supervisors.
• Vision occurs continuously with the most common visual functions being those of near and color vision and depth perception.
• Must be able to bend, stoop, squat and stretch to fulfill cleaning tasks occasionally.
• Must have finger dexterity to be able to operate office equipment such as computers, printers, 10-key adding machine, multi-line touch tone phone, filing cabinets, FAX machines, photocopiers, dolly, and other office equipment as needed. 
• Ability to work primarily with fingers to pick, pinch, type and carry out substantial movements (motions) of the wrists and hands as well.

SPECIFIC JOB KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

The individual must possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities and be able to explain and demonstrate that he or she can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Must be able to speak, read, write, and understand the primary language used in the workplace.
• Requires good communication skills, verbal, written and electronic.
• Considerable knowledge of complex mathematical calculations and computer programs. 
• Must have excellent leadership capability and customer relations skills.
• Must be detail oriented with outstanding organizational and communication skills.
• Must possess basic computer skills.
• Must possess basic computational ability.   
• Ability to effectively deal with internal and external customers, some of whom will require high levels of patience, tact and diplomacy and collect accurate information to resolve conflicts.
• Knowledgeable about basic function of Windows OS, MS Office, PMS, PBX, Key system and POS.
• Self-driven and able to work independently.
• Exceptionally strong in issue resolution and proven analytical skills with a strong attention to detail.

EDUCATION

• High school or equivalent education required.

EXPERIENCE

• Experience in the hospitality industry preferred.

LICENSES OR CERTIFICATIONS

N/A

GROOMING

All Staff Members must maintain a neat, clean and well-groomed appearance per Azul Hospitality standards.  Refer to the property specific required grooming and uniform standards policy.

ATTENDANCE

Regular attendance in conformance with the standards, which may be established by Azul Hospitality, from time to time, is essential to the successful performance of this position.  Staff with irregular attendance / tardiness will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Upon employment, all staff is required to fully comply with Azul Hospitality rules and regulations for the safe and effective operation of the hotel’s facilities. Staff members who violate hotel rules and regulations will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.  Due to the cyclical nature of the hospitality industry, staff members may be required to work varying schedules to reflect the business needs of the hotel. In addition, attendance at all scheduled training sessions and meetings is required.  This job description is not an exclusive or exhaustive list of all job functions that a staff member in this position may be asked to perform from time to time.

Qualifications

Salary : $21 - $24