Duty Manager

The Duty Manager assists the Front Office Manager in the administration and management of all Front Office operations to ensure profitability, control costs and quality standards, ensuring total guests’ satisfaction. This role efficiently coordinates the day-to-day operation of the Welcome Desk and Guest Relations division, providing leadership at the frontline level.

As the Duty Manager, you will be responsible for performing the following tasks to the highest standards:

• Communicate effectively both verbally and in writing to provide clear direction to team members, observing performance and encouraging improvement. 

• Interview, select, train, supervise, evaluate, counsel, and administer disciplinary procedures for Front Office team members. 

• Monitor lobby traffic and assign team members as required.

• Review VIP reservations and ensure the proper handling of VIPs and groups, administering amenity orders, and managing incoming guests. 

• Update the system by inputting inventory and non-inventory groups, monitoring special reservation handling requests and oversee rate changes for in-house guests.

• Compute daily payroll, schedules and other reports, analyze data and make decisions based on prior experiences and knowledge of circumstances to prepare daily and weekly forecasts of expected arrivals and departures.

• Manage the Front Office team, resolve guests’ concerns, and implement resolutions by using discretion and judgment.

• Lead and motivate team members by leading by example and employing competent and consistent management practices.

• Take responsibility of the hotel as the Duty Manager in the absence of the Assistant Front Office / Front Office Manager.

• Complete night shift duties acting as the Night Manager when he / she is not on duty.

• Actively take part in training the team, facilitating formal training sessions and on the job training to ensure that all team members are of the same standard. 

• Attend training where and when required.

• Act as a coach and mentor to team members, reinforcing standards and expectations and motivating team members to strive for established targets.

• Maintain discipline amongst team members, ensuring consistency in accordance with the team member handbook, Chinese Labor Law and HR guidelines, appropriately discipline when and where required.

• Conducts PDRs, one-to-one meetings throughout the year, ensuring that the feedback given to team members is fair, unbiased and provides a platform for continued improvement, according to the Hilton standards.

• Be involved with succession planning and development of high potential team members to ensure that all team members are trained to progress to the next level of their career.

• Contribute to the hotel and team by sharing new ideas and suggestions for improvements, being innovative and creative to provide quality service and customer care to team members and guests.

• Responsible for the smooth induction and facilitation of training for new team members, ensuring that they are trained to the minimum level standard and that they can competently complete their jobs and know what is expected of them.

• Create a warm and welcoming arrival for guests, ensuring that they feel expected and immediately “at-home” when they arrive.

• Check-in guests in accordance with their reservation details, ensuring that the registration card is completed, reservation information confirmed, Hilton Honors and Frequent Flyer numbers enquired about, and method of payment secured.

• Ensure that guests are escorted to their rooms, hotel facilities and room features are explained, and luggage is delivered in a prompt manner.

• Handle complaints promptly and efficiently, taking the necessary action, and informing the Guest Relations Manager to follow-up, where appropriate. 

• Follow-up with guests to ensure satisfaction with problem resolution.

• Maintain awareness of guests’ profiles and specific preferences, ensuring that they are acted upon for each reservation.

• Act as the first point of contact and liaison for VIP guests, ensuring that they are treated personally and recognized as an individual.

• Allocate rooms in accordance to guests’ reservations, preferences and remarks, maintaining a systemized and sales focused approach to room inventory management.

• Promote Hilton Honors and its associated benefits to guests who are not already enrolled in the program, ensuring that existing Hilton Honors members receive personal and professional service that recognizes them as important guests and that their benefits are received.

• Liaise with Sales, Reservations and Business Development teams to handle corporate guests.

• Ensure that guests’ profiles and information are input into the Police Report system in a timely and accurate way.

• Apply Hilton’s brand standards in every action, acting as a role model and example of how the standards should be carried out in a practical setting.

• Knowledgeable of the hotel’s facilities and services as well as basic knowledge of Hilton International, MEAP and other properties in China. 

• Up to date with information on facilities, attractions, places of interest, sights and activities in and around the hotel.

• Ensure communication, coordination and cooperation between the Front Desk and other operating departments, specifically Housekeeping, F&B and Accounts.

• Maintain the hotel systems to ensure accuracy of information and data, ensuring that it is easy to use and operated in an organized and systemized way. 

• Ensure that the Front Desk equipment and systems are functioning at all times, and that the area is maintained in a clean, tidy and organized way.

• Pass on information effectively, ensuring that all necessary details are communicated to the intended person and that any pending action is completed, and guest satisfaction is confirmed. 

• Conduct daily briefings, shift handovers, attend meetings and effectively communicate information to team members.

• Ensure that the Front Office Manager is kept aware and up to date of operational issues. 

• Ensure that the day-to-day functions of the front desk are completed, including but not limited to the Guest Services Manager’s checklists, trace reports, credit limit checks, online back-up, allocation of rooms, Lost Interface, Pay-Masters, discount and rate discrepancies, and registration cards. 

• Check registration cards, meeting and function information, billing instructions, financial records and reservation backup to ensure that all information received is acted upon.

• Complete reports where and when requested, ensuring that they are complete and delivered on time to the respective parties.

• Keep up to date and aware of competitor activities in order to be proactive and create market advantage.

• Adhere to the hotel’s selling strategy of demand-based pricing and maintain rate integrity by offering clear, transparent, and value for money rates to guests. 

• Comply with Health & Safety, Emergency Management, Disaster manuals, Fire procedures and regulations. 

• In the absence of the Guest Relations Manager, be a part of the Fire Team and take action accordingly.

• Adhere strictly to standard cash handling procedures amongst team members, ensuring that all team members balance their float and drop the required amount.

• Adhere to the company’s credit policy at all times when handling cash, credit card transactions, city ledgers, providing currency exchange services, LPO and third-party payments for rooms, meetings, F&B and other.

• Maintain safety deposit boxes, ensuring that guests’ valuables are always safe and secure.

• Follow-up on outstanding accounts to ensure no loss of revenue and secure method of payment for upcoming reservations.

• Maintain the efficiency of departure by checking all guests’ folios to ensure accuracy of charges.

• Manage costs effectively by minimizing and controlling expenses.

• Manage and approve rebates, refunds and discounts where applicable.

• Maintain awareness of sales opportunities within the hotel, maximizing revenue in an ethical and responsible manner, ensuring that guests receive value for money and adhere to Hilton brand standards.

• Adhere to the hotel’s security and emergency policies and procedures.

• Carry out any other reasonable duties and responsibilities as assigned.

• The Management reserves the right to make changes to this job description at its sole discretion and without advance notice.

A Duty Manager serving Hilton Brands is always working on behalf of our Guests and working with other Team Members. To successfully fill this role, you should maintain the attitude, behaviours, skills, and values that follow:

• Able to read, write, speak and understand English to communicate effectively with guests and employees.

• Able to effectively deal with internal and external customers, some of whom will require high levels of patience, tact and diplomacy to defuse anger, collect and analyze accurate information and resolve conflicts.

• Strong interpersonal skills to provide overall guest satisfaction.

• Excellent mathematical comprehension to understand and interpret numbers as they apply to operations in hotels.

• Thorough organization and supervisory skills.

• Proficient in accomplishing tasks.

• Able to work under pressure and deal with stressful situations during busy periods.