Head Receptionist, Egham

Head Receptionist

The Place

Great Fosters Hotel, AA Hotel of the Year 2018 and the most recent addition to Alexander Hotels a private group of luxury hotels of distinction just outside London.

A Grade 1 listed building in 50 acres of stunning gardens and parkland in Egham, Surrey.

4 Red Stars, 43 bedrooms spread across the Hotel and adjoining Cloisters and Coach House. A room or suite to meet every expectation. For dining the Award Winning Tudor Room with 1 Michelin Star and 4 Rosettes, as well as the Estate Grill which offers a delicious range of dining choices. A beautiful 14^th century Tithe Barn is available for functions together with the Orangery, the Conservatory and a range of other meeting and private dining rooms.

Please see the Hotels website for a full list of facilities and sample menus. www.greatfosters.co.uk

The Role

A smart, friendly, well organised, guest service focused individual is sort to head up our small Hotel Reception team reporting to our Guest Services Manager (FOH). You must have a five star smile! and a warm and welcoming personality. You are key to ensuring your team delivers a memorable guest service experience throughout our guests stay.

From the time a guest enters the hotel to the time they pay their bill and leave you and the reception team will be an important part of the guest experience. Your actions will determine the guest satisfaction levels and the extent to which they get the most out of their stay. You will also be key in providing internal departments with information so that they can perform to achieve excellence.

• 5 days per week including weekend shifts on a rota basis working a mixture of early (7am start) and late shifts (11pm finish) as you will be part of the reception operations team.
• Completing the full range of hotel reception duties during your shift and supporting your team members over busy periods and coaching them to develop their system knowledge and personal skills
• Ensure all team members are in full uniform and meet the company standard for Appearance and Personal Hygiene at all times.
• Ensure excellent standards of administration are achieved personally as well as through your team, in relation to billing, group and events billing, taking reservations, banking and float control.
• Enquiry handling – both in person and on the telephone.
• Ensure all shifts and floats are balanced and ‘end of day’ is accurately completed.
• Assisting with bedroom reservations during peak periods and when the Group Reservations Office is closed in the evening.
• Ensuring an accurate and up to date daily Activity report is completed and circulated to all departments to support them in the successful operation of the day.
• Being proactive in resolving any signs of guest dissatisfaction during their stay ensuring resolution before they depart.
• Encourage upselling as part of the culture of the team.
• Ensure close liaison with the Concierge and Nights team to ensure faultless service for arriving, resident and departing guests.
• Recruitment and selection of new team members including the organisation and assessment of candidates on job trials before confirming job offers through the HR team.
• Ensure a comprehensive Company and Departmental Induction is completed for all new team members.
• Ensure the team is up to date, trained, and records completed for all emergency procedures and all aspects of Health and Safety relating to their work and personal safety.
• Carry out 3 month reviews and annual appraisals with each team member encouraging and supporting them to be the best they can be.
• Liaise with the General Manager to gain support in dealing with any performance issues with the team to ensure they are encouraged/coached to return to the standard required.
• Ensure team members are all up to date with product development, room refurbishments and current and forthcoming offers.
• Liaise with the Group Reservations Manager to ensure that Mystery Guest Standards for taking reservations are achieved by you and the team.
• Encourage, coach, train and performance manage the team to ensure Mystery Guest Service Standards are achieved throughout the guest journey.
• Maintain and encourage good effective relations and communication with the Housekeeping, Concierge and Nights team to ensure the smooth operation of all Front of House areas.
• Put forward ideas to the General Manager to develop guest services or improve the guest experience.
• Ensure effective management and communication with the front of house teams to promote harmony, co-operation and motivation to achieve excellence each day.

Requirements

• Excellent standard of appearance, communication in writing, face to face and on the telephone with a warm and welcoming manner
• Previous supervisory experience in a quality hotel front office role
• Experience of computerised bedroom reservations system
• Experience of managing a team in a customer service environment
• Organised and good attention to detail
• Accurate data entry and computer work
• A genuine desire to serve our guests

The Benefits

£23,000/£24,000

4 weeks holiday

8 Bank holidays

Free car parking

In addition you will benefit from a range of company benefits including:

Discounted hotel accommodation for yourself and your family at all hotels
Discounted hair treatments at our two Utopia Spas
Discount off all food & beverage at all hotels
Discount of individual treatments booked in our two Utopia Spas
Discount on retail products in our two Utopia Spas
Refer a friend staff recruitment scheme In additional you will enjoy a range of other benefits when you celebrate your 1 yr, 3 yr and 5 yr anniversary including; your birthday off paid, complimentary overnight stays, complimentary lunch/afternoon tea and service related holiday