I am the first Front Office Manager at this property, and I'm looking for advice from people who have been in hotel management for a while.

Before this, I worked as a Front Office Manager at another hotel, where I also acted in an AGM capacity. That experience gave me the opportunity to learn quite a bit about different departments and how they all affect the front office. Even with that background, I know every property has its own challenges, and I'm walking into a situation where things are pretty disorganized.

We're understaffed, front desk agents call off frequently, there's little accountability, and communication between shifts and departments could be much better. It feels like we're constantly trying to cover the immediate problems instead of having a consistent system in place.

I also haven't had a proper tour of the property or a chance to sit down with management and go over my role in detail. I'd like to have a clear understanding of my responsibilities, what decisions I'm able to make on my own, and what needs to be brought to management. It's been a little difficult trying to get fully settled into the role without that clarity.

My goal is to build a strong team, improve communication establish accountability, and create smoother day to day operations. I want the agents to feel supported, but I also want clear expectations and for everyone to take responsibility for their role. For those who have walked into a similar situation, where would you start? What would you prioritize in your first 30 days? I'm trying to approach this strategically rather than changing everything at once. I know building a good team takes time, and I want to create an environment where people know what's expected of them and operations can run smoothly even when things get busy.

What can I expect in a night auditor interview with 450+ rooms? I have no experience in hospitality but I do have 3 years retail experience

Hi All,

I've recently joined an agency that supplies casual staff in F&B or housekeeping roles to five star hotels in the UK. My job is to cold call decision-makers (like F&B directors or managers, Executive Housekeepers), to introduce our company, and try to book a preliminary meeting to explore if we can get a contract.

I am petrified of cold calling, but want to do suceed in this role since I really need this job, but also because I want to get past this fear. I'd like your advice on any of the following:

1. Is there something I can say to myself or remember that might ease the nerves a bit?

2. Do Exec Housekeepers/ F&B Directors get such calls all the time, and do they really hate dealing with them? If so, how can I make it a conversation more worth their time?

3. Am I aiming too high, and should be trying people at positions below these?

Any other advice besides the above questions would be appreciated too. Thank you in advance!

i work at a choice hotel location in a rural area and recently i feel like i’ve been taken an advantage of and feel like i am underpaid, under appreciated, and overworked around here. i started in april and was under the impression that i would be working 1st and 2nd shift, and let them know that if needed i would work the occasional overnight shift when needed and stressed that i needed consistency and cannot function if im being scheduled random hours. cut to this month- when i went to take a look at my schedule, it seems as if i’ve only had 4 days to myself. i am working all hours and they are even expecting me to train someone new to take over the overnight shifts, but they refuse to give me a pay raise for the extra work. also, not to mention, i am literally having to do shifts where i will work a 10pm-7am and then in 24 hours i have to be back to work a 7am-3pm, i feel like im literally going insane but i dont know what to do or how to go about reporting the issues. ive brought issues up to the boss and even started that i will not be training until i receive a pay raise and then my boss informed me that they don’t have the funds to give a raise and that since im scheduled for that shift to begin with, id be required to train her. again, i am not letting my
guns down i told them if i am expected to pick up the slack for extra work and they want me to train someone, they were going to have to pay more than minimum wage and that it wasn’t fair that they expect me to do it but then pay the manager more than me but she’s able to get out of it. super frustrated with the unorganized-ness of this place and was wondering if this is how it is elsewhere? also we don’t have a breakfast attendant or laundry attendant, front desk is required to do all of those tasks on top of the front desk tasks… for $15 an hour…

For anyone at a Sheraton that’s transitioning to Power M or has already made the switch, what helped during the system downtime?
Any tips for preparing beforehand and getting comfortable with the new system? What do you wish you’d done before the transition or known on day one?

As the title says. I travel very occasionally with my company, often as part of a group reservation. I'm always super friendly with the clerk and they sometimes ask if I prefer a floor or something, but I usually say something like "I'll take the best room you got" jokingly. Do the clerks (sorry if that's the wrong term) have any say, or does the system just choose for them?

I'm working mid shift and a guest who doesn't speak English booked online with overlapping days, he checks out tomorrow and his new reservation checks in today.
My superviser was on site and standing there with me when he came in, and she took over and had me use Google translate. I wanted to tell him he overlapped his expedia online reservations and to call them to get it fixed. My supervisor said "no don't do that, I can fix it!" So she goes into the reservation and changes the rates from his expedia reservation and tries to check out the current reservation but it won't let her cause the audit hasn't been ran.
I tried to tell her several times not to mess with expedia expedia reservations but she told me that "management does this kind of thing all the time". Now his new reservation is sitting in my arrivals and his current one is in-house. He's already come and gone and it's late now to try to wait to see if he'll come back. I don't know if he'll come into the office tomorrow to sign paperwork and give info, etc.
We don't run our audit until the morning most days anyway, and I'm night shift. I plan to hand her the phone and keys and get the hell out of there before she can ask me to figure it out together cause it's going to be a mess and I wanna be out of dodge.
Should I just leave it so she has to figure out how to get all arrivals in to run audit, then immediately figure it out? She essentially made a crap bed and I don't wanna lie in it with her.

Hey everyone!

I recently got hired as a seasonal Bell Person at Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, and I'm really hoping to turn this into a permanent position.

I know showing up on time, working hard, having a positive attitude, and providing excellent guest service are important, but I really want to go above and beyond.

Does anyone have any tips or advice on how I can stand out, make a great impression on management, and increase my chances of being kept on permanently after the season ends?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions, especially the little things that can make a big difference!

Thanks in advance!

Last time I travelled solo I had a medical emergency and the emts and hotel staff couldn't get past the chain lock. I had to throw myself off the bed and crawl to the door and used the doorknob to pull myself up to open the door. I was lucky I was able to do that b/c it ended up being a stroke. What can I do in the future to balance safety from a break in with outside accessibility in the event of another emergency? I like travelling solo most of the time. For reference, I travel domestically in the U.S. Also, the stroke was a freak occurrence, they never found a cause and I have no risk factors other than having had that stroke. Any tips to make future travel safer or do I just have to accept the risk?

At least, make that $21 . We know you are selling out all the time, especially in this season. Why are you so greedy?

Hi everyone,

I booked a hotel through Agoda, but the room conditions were unacceptable, and I had to leave and book alternative accommodation on the same day.

I have already shared the alternative hotel's booking receipt, along with my credit card statement showing the charge for the alternate booking. The receipt bears my name, and the booking was made on the same day using my credit card. The email address associated with my original Agoda reservation is also the same one I am using to communicate with Agoda.

Despite submitting these supporting documents, I have not received a satisfactory resolution from Agoda. Unfortunately, I do not have photographs or videos documenting the condition of the original hotel.

I would appreciate advice from anyone who has faced a similar situation:

- Can I escalate this matter through the National Consumer Helpline or a consumer commission in India?

- What other options do I have to pursue a refund?

Any practical advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

I'm traveling to Texas and want to order a few things from Amazon and ship them to my hotel.

1. Before check-in: A package arrives 1-2 days before I get there. Will the hotel hold it for me?
2. During my stay: A package arrives while I'm already checked in. Can I just put my name + room number on the shipping address?

Any fees, time limits, or things I should know?

Thanks!

I applied for a receptionist or guest service position and went to a hiring event they had. Supposedly, 500-800 candidates came there and yes it was packed. Any tips on the best hotel in the SoCal area to apply?

Writing

Hi everyone! I would like to ask for your advice regarding a double booking on Agoda. I accidentally booked the same accommodation twice and would like to cancel one of the reservations for free. Has anyone experienced this situation before? Is it possible to request a free cancellation from Agoda or the property, even if the booking is non-refundable?

I already talked agoda they try to call the hotel but no one is answer so they sent an email. Also, I try to reach out the hotel thru whatsup they said I should talk to agoda.

Nawawalan na ako ng pag asa HAHAHA

Recently, we got a complaint that one of the employees entered an occupied room. Mind you, the guest never requested for anything nor gave permission.

From my understanding, the person was trying to stock up on something.

My coworker didn’t check the papers to see what rooms are occupied, but just thought it was ok to go in there to stock up, even if there was a guest.

I’ve never heard of an excuse where they thought it’s ok to go into the rooms without any sort of permissions.

To top it off this was around very early in the morning, like 3 AM. I don’t know the exact time, but it was around that time.

Isn’t it common sense that you just never enter an occupied room unless it’s a service or you get requested to by the guest?

today is my 3rd day part time as a front desk workers at an IHG hotel, its a smaller hotel with a lot of extended stay guests so I really only have 4 check ins a night. How do you guys keep yourself from blowing ur head off?

Other than Red Roof Inn and AVID; what other hotels are void of carpets mostly hardwood floors or tiles etc?

If a hotel requires you to call a guest by their last names, but your name badge says only your first name, do you care if the conversation is:

You: Hello, Mr. Jones!

Guest: Hello, Devin, how are you?

If a guest is called by their last name but the guest knows only your first name, would you prefer to be called by your first name or would you prefer to avoid using names?

Our boss went and spent like $300-400 on vacuums for hk staff, and i could tell brand new out of the package, that they were absolute crap. They are advertised as commercial, but their cheap vacuums that we had well worn out were still better than these. I am trying to convince him to get us a couple more, as he only got 2 vacuums, and should really have at least 2 more for the size of our hotel. Important features we're looking for is that they are lightweight, easy to go up and downstairs(as well as vacuuming stairs), an easily accessible wand to quickly get into small spaces and corners without having to struggle swapping one to the other, got to be powerful enough to stand up to hotel use, cord type isnt particularly important, the ones we have now have longer cords which is nice in some areas, like longer reach, ok thats about it, but inconvenient as the cord is also thicker which makes it more in the way, it detaches near the vacuum, which has us constantly accidentally stepping on and unplugging, plus the cord gets tangled up much more and takes longer to wrap back up. The other thing that is the most important thing is cost. I have an extremely frugal boss and getting him to spend money sometimes is like pulling teeth. So if i keep it under 200, i think i may have a shot at at least getting 1 more if anything. So curious if anyone has any vacuums that they found work really great and would recommend? Random thought, but how great would it be if you could actually go in to Walmart and actually test them instead of just having displays?

Hey people,

I am employed at a hotel chain, which has multiple locations across the EU. As an employee, I get discounted room rates at these.

I recently booked a 2-night stay using my employee discount for a little trip to London. So far, so good. YET I have since gotten on sick leave, having experienced mental and physical exhaustion as a result of the work environment not being...so great.

Anyways, my question is, will my managers/HR know I used my employee discount to travel elsewhere? I booked using my employee email, which is the standard procedure.

The thing is I can't just cancel the trip, because my friend who is travelling along is reliant on this. I already booked transportation tickets etc it would be a loss of money to cancel.

Anyone here working as a front desk would have an idea ?

Hey, I have a degree in hotel Management, and instead of doing a job training (6months), I did an apprenticeship (1yr) with a 5 star property in delhi in kitchen- bakery and pastry.

When my training ended, I gave a trade test there and was not hired (chefs working there told me the executive pastry chef doesn't want to hire females). This was back in March.

Since then, I've given trade tests at one more property, they wanted someone to charge for night shift, the head chef praised my desserts a lot, and then I was told the hotel Policy doesn't allow them to hire a female for the night shift.

I've been looking for jobs for the past 7months, either the hotel HR doesn't reply at all, or an acquaintance from that hotel tells me they don't want to hire females. Hotel industry works mainly on references, which i don't have much of.

Is it possible to get a job? I am still applying for jobs but not hearing anything at all from anywhere. Or should I say a heartfelt goodbye to the industry and look into other jobs?

Is there any chef here who knows of any vacancies in delhi or Uttar Pradesh? This is going to be my last attempt to secure a job in hotel as a chef, pleading to fellow hoteliers for help.