Front Office Operations
What the exam tests
Front office questions test the guest cycle, room status codes, tariff plans and - heavily - the three performance metrics: occupancy percentage, ADR and RevPAR. Expect one calculation question and one role-play or procedure question (check-in, walk-in, overbooking).
Core rules and concepts
- Four stages of the guest cycle: pre-arrival (reservation), arrival (registration), occupancy (stay), departure (check-out and settlement).
- Sections: reservations, reception, concierge/bell desk, cashier, PBX, business centre, front office manager.
- Room status codes: VC (vacant clean), VD (vacant dirty), OC, OD, OOO (out of order - withdrawn from sale), OOS (out of service - sellable but needs attention), DND, SO (sleep-out), BL (baggage left).
- Room types: single, double, twin, triple, studio, suite (junior, duplex, presidential).
- Tariff plans: EP (room only), CP (room + breakfast), MAP (room + breakfast + one meal), AP (all meals).
- Occupancy % = rooms sold ÷ rooms available × 100. ADR = room revenue ÷ rooms sold. RevPAR = room revenue ÷ rooms available = ADR × occupancy.
Worked example
A 120-room hotel sells 90 rooms and earns ₹3,60,000 from rooms. Occupancy = 90 ÷ 120 = 75%. ADR = 3,60,000 ÷ 90 = ₹4,000. RevPAR = 3,60,000 ÷ 120 = ₹3,000, and the cross-check 4,000 × 0.75 = ₹3,000 confirms it. If 6 rooms were OOO, purists would use 114 rooms available and occupancy would read 78.9% - state your denominator.
Traps that cost marks
Dividing by rooms sold when computing occupancy; using ADR ÷ occupancy instead of multiplying; counting OOO rooms as sold; mixing MAP and AP; forgetting to check passport/visa and pre-registered guests; admitting a walk-in without checking availability against OOO rooms.