Look at arrivals and departures per hour, not just occupancy
Occupancy says little about how busy the desk will be. A full hotel with guests staying three nights has a quiet front desk day. A hotel at seventy per cent occupancy where almost every room turns over has a busy one. So pull the number of arrivals and departures per day from your property management system and look at the hours when guests actually arrive: after the first flights, after the afternoon trains, with a group or late in the evening. Those numbers belong in the same forecast as the rest of the staff rota.
Set a minimum staffing level per part of the day
As long as the front desk is open, someone must be at the desk who cannot be pulled away for something else. Phone, email, luggage and guest questions come on top of that. Write down per part of the day:
• how many people are at the desk at minimum;
• who leads the shift and may decide on complaints, upgrades and payments;
• who is authorised for the cash float, key cards and the end-of-day close.
That is the floor. Everything above it is planned from arrivals and departures.
Plan peak shifts around check-out and check-in
In many hotels the check-out peak falls in the morning and the check-in peak in the afternoon and early evening. A full extra shift is often not needed; a shorter shift or a few hours of overlap around those peaks helps more. Keep in mind any minimum shift lengths in your collective agreement or employment contracts. Also agree a simple threshold, for example: up to fifteen arrivals per hour one receptionist, above that a second, and for a group or more than thirty arrivals in the afternoon a third. The right numbers depend on how long a check-in takes at your hotel, how many guests check in online in advance and how many questions usually come with it. Adjust them when reality turns out differently.
Groups and late arrivals need their own approach
A coach with forty guests arriving at once can block a front desk for an hour. Prepare groups in advance: check the rooming list, have key cards and registration cards ready and, where possible, set up a separate table or desk for the group with one person handling only the group. Late arrivals after the evening shift pass to the night. Agree what is ready at handover so the night shift does not start with open questions. Read more in night reception.
Take work away from the desk before adding people
Part of the peak can be reduced without extra hours. Online check-in or pre-registration, key cards prepared in the morning for guests whose rooms are ready, invoices for business guests checked the evening before and a quick check-out with the bill sent by email. Each of these steps saves a few minutes per guest. It does not solve a structural shortage, but it makes peaks more predictable and work at the desk calmer.
Map the tasks beyond the desk
Front desk staff do far more than check guests in and out: phone and email, reservations, questions about the restaurant and transport, luggage, cash differences, complaints, lost property and coordination with other departments. List which tasks can wait or move elsewhere during peaks. For example, the phone can divert to reservations or a back office during the check-in peak, and administrative work can move to a quieter hour. That keeps the desk free for the guest standing in front of it.
Coordination with housekeeping decides the afternoon peak
If rooms are not ready at three o’clock, the queue at the desk grows and guests wait in the lobby. More receptionists will not fix that. Agree with housekeeping in which order rooms are released, based on the arrivals list and known early arrivals, and have housekeeping report finished rooms straight away. Read more about that side in housekeeping staffing.
System knowledge and languages: who can step in?
At the desk, people need to know your property management system, the till and payment procedures and often one or more of your guests’ languages. That makes covering harder than for many other roles. So train a few people from other departments in advance who can help out at peaks, for example from reservations or guest relations. See also cross-training. Which languages you really need depends on your guests; that is covered in language requirements in hotel hiring.
Core team and flexible cover: who does what?
The front office supervisor and the experienced receptionists who know your systems, regular guests and procedures belong to the core team. For predictable peaks such as conferences, trade fairs, summer weeks and holidays you can bring in extra staff. Make sure their system logins are ready in advance, that the cash and key card procedures have been explained and that everyone knows room numbers and guest details are never shared casually. If you have been filling the same shift with outside staff every week for months, that is a sign to open a permanent role.
Measure waiting times and review them every week
A few simple numbers are enough: arrivals and departures per hour against the forecast, how long guests waited at the busiest moment, the number of missed calls, review comments about check-in and check-out and the amount of front desk overtime. Review these numbers briefly every week with the front office manager and adjust the thresholds when they do not fit.
Checklist for general managers and front office managers
• Do you plan the front desk on arrivals and departures per hour, not just on occupancy?
• Is it written down per part of the day how many people must be at the desk and who leads the shift?
• Are there agreed thresholds for a second or third person when arrivals or groups increase?
• Are groups prepared in advance, with their own space or person on arrival?
• Has work been taken away from the desk, such as online check-in and invoices checked in advance?
• Can the phone divert to another place during peaks?
• Are rooms released in the order of the arrivals list?
• Have people from other departments been trained to help out?
• Do extra staff get system access in advance and a briefing on cash, keys and privacy?
When AXXAZ Hospitality helps
AXXAZ Hospitality supplies reliable hospitality staff to hotels across Europe, including the front office: receptionists for busy weeks, conferences, groups or absence. The more clearly your minimum staffing, thresholds and procedures are defined, the more precisely we can add to your team. It all starts with a clear staffing brief. Get in touch.
In one sentence
Plan the front desk on arrivals and departures per hour, set a minimum and clear thresholds, take work away from the desk, coordinate with housekeeping and use extra staff for peaks and absence, not for a structural shortage.
Read more — Insights
