Hospitality Operations: Front Office and Housekeeping
This domain tests the guest cycle, room-status discipline, reservation and billing controls, and cleaning and linen systems.
Front office
Guest cycle: pre-arrival (reservation), arrival (registration, check-in, key issue), occupancy (concierge, cashiering), departure (check-out, settlement), post-departure (guest history, marketing). Reservations are guaranteed (credit card, advance deposit, agent voucher) or non-guaranteed; overbooking requires a planned walk procedure. Room-status codes: VC, VD, OC, OD, OOO (out of order, removed from inventory), OOS (out of service, still in inventory), DL, DND, SO, NS, CO, CI, EA. Postings go to the guest folio; the night audit reconciles charges.
Housekeeping
Cleaning types: daily, departure/checkout, deep or spring, and public-area cleaning. Sequence: dust high to low, dry before wet, clean to dirty, work clockwise, never mix acid with hypochlorite (chlorine gas). Linen control uses par stock and FIFO; torn linen is discarded, not returned to circulation. Safety: MSDS for chemicals, wet-floor signs, key control and a lost-and-found log.
Worked example
A guest checks out at 10 am and the system shows VD. Housekeeping cleans, the supervisor inspects, and the room is updated to VC, allowing a 2 pm walk-in to be assigned. Reasoning chain: checkout triggers VD, priority cleaning follows, inspection protects quality, and only then does the room re-enter sellable inventory. Selling an OOO room would breach the inventory rule.
Traps
- Selling out-of-order rooms.
- Confusing OOO with OOS.
- Forgetting to update status after checkout.
- Mixing cleaning chemicals or skipping the supervisor check.