Front Desk Agent - aloft Downtown Financial District - New York, NY

REPORTS TO: Front Office Manager

Purpose for the Position: To check in and out guests to the hotel, ensure proper room and miscellaneous postings, secure credit, answer questions, answer telephones, provide maximum levels of guest service and support the hotel's rooms division in any way required to ensure complete guest satisfaction.

Essential Responsibilities:

1. Greet, register, and assign rooms to guests of the hotel.
2. Verify customers' credit, and establish how the customer will pay for the accommodation.
3. Keep records of room availability and guests' accounts using computerized property management systems.
4. Compute bills, collect payments, and make change for guests.
5. Perform simple bookkeeping activities, such as balancing cash accounts.
6. Issue room keys and escort instructions to bellmen.
7. Review accounts and charges with guests during the check-out process.
8. Post charges, such as those for rooms, food, liquor, or telephone calls, to ledgers manually, or by using computers.
9. Transmit and receive messages, using telephones or telephone switchboards.
10. Contact housekeeping or maintenance staff when guests report problems.
11. Make and confirm reservations.
12. Answer inquiries pertaining to hotel services, registration of guests, and shopping, dining, entertainment, and travel directions.
13. Record guest comments or complaints, referring customers to managers as necessary.
14. Advise housekeeping staff when rooms have been vacated and are ready for cleaning.
15. Answer all incoming phones in three or less rings.
16. Complete "bucket checks" to ensure all accounts are current and comply with standards established by the hotel's controller and front office manager.

To do this kind of work, you must be able to:

• Be an outgoing, welcoming personality for the Hotel.
• Use logical thinking and personal judgment to perform a variety of office tasks that require special skills and knowledge.
• Make decisions based on your own judgment and company policy.
• Follow instructions without close supervision.
• Speak and write clearly and accurately.
• Be available for work days, evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Physical Demands:

Lifting 10 lbs. maximum and occasionally lifting and/or carrying such articles as dockets, ledgers, and small tools. Walking and standing are required only occasionally. Reaching, handling, feeling, talking, hearing, and seeing.

Environmental Conditions:

Inside: Protection from weather conditions but not necessarily from temperature changes. A job is considered "inside" if the worker spends approximately 75% or more of the time inside.

Math Skills:

Requires mathematical development sufficient to be able to compute discount, interest, profit and loss, commission, markups and selling price, ratio and proportion, and percentages. Calculate surface, volumes, weights, and measures.

Language Skills:

Must have developed language skills to the point to be able to read newspapers, periodicals, journals, and manuals. Write business letters, summaries, and reports using prescribed format and conforming to all rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style. Participate in discussions and debates. Speak extemporaneously on a variety of subjects.

Relationships to Data, People, and Things:

• Data: Compiling: Gathering, collating, or classifying information about data, people, or things. Reporting and/or carrying out a prescribed action in relation to the information is frequently involved.
• People: Speaking-Signaling: Talking with and/or signaling people to convey or exchange information. Includes giving assignments and or directions to helpers or assistants.
• Things: Operating-Controlling: Starting, stopping, controlling, and adjusting the progress of machines or equipment. Operating machines involves setting up and adjusting the machine or materials as the work progresses. Controlling involves observing and turning devices to regulate reactions of materials.

Specific Vocational Preparation:

Proficiency in Microsoft Office Professional with an emphasis on Word, PowerPoint, and Excel to format and create professional documents to be used and distributed on the executive level. Candidate must have strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize duties to complete within required deadlines. Creativity to accomplish required tasks, such as documents being appealing to the eye, to find and research various information needed to complete and compile reports.