Front Office Manager
Dalmeny Resort Hotel, Lytham St Annes
Salary: From £33,000 per annum, depending on experience
Hours: 40 hours per week, working five days out of seven
Important experience requirement
Applicants must have substantial, recent experience working within a hotel Reception and Reservations environment, ideally as a Front Office Manager, Assistant Front Office Manager, Reception Manager or in a comparable senior hotel front-office position.
This is not an administrative or entry-level management role. The successful candidate will be responsible for running the entire Front Office department, comprising both Hotel Reception and Central Reservations.
You must already understand hotel reception and reservations procedures and be capable of leading, training and developing an established team from the outset. Training will be provided on Dalmeny Resort Hotel’s specific systems and procedures, but the successful candidate will not be taught the fundamentals of hotel Reception or Reservations management.
Applications that do not demonstrate recent and relevant hotel Reception and Reservations leadership experience will not be progressed.
About the role
Dalmeny Resort Hotel is looking to appoint an experienced, confident and commercially aware Front Office Manager to lead our Reception and Central Reservations teams.
Reception is the heartbeat of our hotel and is central to the guest journey, from the initial enquiry and reservation through to arrival, the stay itself and departure. Our Central Reservations team is equally important, generating more than 40% of our future bookings.
This is therefore a key operational and commercial leadership position. The successful candidate will take full responsibility for the performance, standards, training and day-to-day management of both teams.
We need a hands-on manager who can provide clear direction, explain and implement procedures, develop team members, maintain effective controls and ensure consistently high standards of service and accuracy.
You will not simply oversee the department from an administrative perspective. You will be expected to understand its operation in detail, identify problems, train the team correctly and take ownership of performance.
Key responsibilities
- Lead and manage the Hotel Reception and Central Reservations teams.
- Take full responsibility for the daily operation and performance of the Front Office department.
- Ensure guests receive a warm, professional and efficient experience throughout their journey.
- Train, coach and develop receptionists and reservations agents.
- Establish, document and consistently implement front-office procedures.
- Ensure reservations, amendments, cancellations, deposits and guest accounts are processed accurately.
- Oversee arrivals, departures, room allocations, upgrades, special requirements and group bookings.
- Ensure billing, payment, cash-handling and end-of-shift procedures are completed correctly.
- Manage complaints, room moves, overbookings and other operational issues confidently.
- Monitor telephone and online booking enquiries, conversion, upselling and team sales performance.
- Work closely with Revenue, Housekeeping, Food and Beverage, Sales and the Duty Management team.
- Produce and manage departmental rotas in line with occupancy, demand and payroll budgets.
- Manage attendance, performance, conduct, training and team development.
- Maintain accurate guest records and ensure compliance with data-protection requirements.
- Monitor and report on departmental KPIs, including booking conversion, occupancy, ADR, RevPAR and average booking value.
- Support the continued development of systems, procedures and communication across the hotel.
- Participate in the hotel’s operational management and duty-management responsibilities as required.
Essential experience and skills
- Substantial, recent experience within a busy hotel Reception department.
- Current or recent experience as a Hotel Front Office Manager, Assistant Front Office Manager, Reception Manager or comparable senior hotel front-office leader.
- Direct operational experience of hotel Reservations, not solely general administration or customer service.
- Proven experience leading, training and developing hotel Reception and Reservations employees.
- A strong working knowledge of hotel property-management systems.
- Experience managing reservations, rates, billing, deposits, guest accounts, room allocations and daily controls.
- Experience handling complaints, overbookings, room moves and complex guest situations.
- Experience preparing rotas and managing departmental payroll costs.
- Confidence managing employee performance, standards and accountability.
- A commercial understanding of occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, booking conversion and upselling.
- Strong attention to detail and the ability to maintain accurate operational and financial controls.
- Excellent communication, leadership and organisational skills.
- The ability to remain visible, calm and decisive in a busy operational environment.
Desirable experience
- Previous experience using Guestline Rezlynx.
- Previous experience using ResDiary.
- Experience working within a busy resort, leisure or full-service hotel.
- Experience managing a combined Reception and Central Reservations operation.
- Experience leading a team of ten or more employees.
The person we are looking for
We are looking for an experienced hotel front-office professional who understands that this department requires visible, knowledgeable and accountable leadership.
You must be comfortable setting expectations, explaining procedures, training employees and ensuring that agreed processes are followed. You should be capable of identifying what is not working and implementing practical solutions without needing to be shown how a hotel Reception or Reservations department operates.
This position may suit an established Front Office Manager or an experienced Assistant Front Office Manager or Reception Manager who already possesses the necessary operational knowledge and is ready to take full departmental responsibility.
Application requirement
Please ensure your CV clearly demonstrates your recent hotel Reception and Reservations experience, including:
- The hotel front-office management positions you have held.
- The Reception and Reservations teams you have managed or supervised.
- The hotel property-management systems you have used.
- Your responsibilities for training, procedures, departmental controls and performance.
- The size and type of hotel environments in which you have worked.
General customer-service, retail, administrative or other front-of-house experience without direct hotel Reception and Reservations management experience will not meet the essential requirements of this role.
Pay: £33,000.00-£37,500.00 per year
Benefits:
- Canteen
- Free parking
- Gym membership
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
