Front Office Manager - voco Orchard Singapore

voco Orchard Singapore, along the world-famous Orchard Road, provides guests with the world-renowned voco™ experience from the moment they walk through its doors. Famed to be hotels to count on, yet different enough to be fun, voco hotels are unstuffy hotels where people feel comfortable to relax, and just get on with life. Hotels that stand out from the crowd, voco combines familiar comforts with the indulgences of a hotel, to create somewhere that’s dependable, but not vanilla. Somewhere premium, but with a laidback spirit. Somewhere reliable, but different.

voco Orchard Singapore is looking for an experienced and dynamic Front Office Manager to lead our front office operations. You manage all aspects of the front office areas which may include, but is not limited to reception, club lounge, concierge and bell desk to drive guest satisfaction and maximize hotel profitability.  

Your day to day

• Prepare departmental manning and budget for submission to corporate office and owners for approval.
• Monitor and control the departmental expenses on an ongoing basis to ensure performance against budget.
• Analyse departmental expenses and identify areas of improvement to drive departmental and hotel profitability.
• Assist in maintaining procedures for security of monies, credit and financial transactions, and guest security. Check billing instructions and guest credit for compliance with hotel credit policy.
• Analyze data and make decisions based on prior experiences and knowledge of circumstances to prepare daily and weekly forecast of expected arrivals and departures.
• Promote enrolment and administer loyalty programmes for hotel guests such as IHG One Rewards. 
• Maximise room occupancy at best rates and upsell the hotel’s facilities to drive hotel revenue and profitability.
• Assist in monitoring and controlling labor costs and expenses, and achieving revenue and profitability goals. 
• Provide leadership, direction and support to the front office team on a daily basis; conduct daily shift briefing with Front Office team to update on hotel status and operational requirements. 
• Manage the day-to-day activities of the front office team.  Schedule employees to ensure sufficient coverage at all areas. 
• Trains, manages and motivates the Front Office team in order to provide high standard of service for customers and meet departmental and hotel targets. 
• Ensure all staff is properly trained and have the tools and equipment needed to effectively carry out their job functions. 
• Promote teamwork and quality service through daily communication and coordination with other departments, including but not limited to Sales and Marketing, Catering, Outlets, Housekeeping, Finance, Maintenance and Guest Services. 
• Monitor and develop team member performance to include, but not limited to, providing supervision, scheduling, conducting counselling and evaluations and delivering recognition and reward. 
• Administer the performance management cycle in the front office department throughout the year with quarterly check-in sessions, regular catch ups. 
• Work closely with the Human Resources department in the recruitment of colleagues to ensure staffing are met. 
• Identify any training gaps and work with the Learning & Development colleagues to ensure training gaps are closed. 
• Ensure guests receive prompt, professional attention and personal recognition.  Ensure guests are greeted upon arrival.  Respond appropriately to guest complaints.  Implement appropriate service recovery gestures in order to ensure total guest satisfaction. 
• Review guest arrival reports, special requests from guests, and respond appropriately or forward requests to appropriate team members for decisions and actions. 
• Review VIP reservations and ensure proper handling of VIPs and groups, administer amenity orders, and resumes for incoming guests. Update system by inputting inventory and non-inventory groups. 
• Handle guest complaints and daily incidents. Conduct research to develop the most effective solutions and negotiate results. Listen and extend assistance in order to resolve problems. 
• Engage in the welcome and recognition of VIP guests. Manage the relationship with VIP guests to ensure their satisfaction and continued patronage for the hotel and IHG. 
• Follow up on any incidents in duty log to ensure they have been resolved. 
• Monitor all Guest Heartbeat surveys and any social media reviews, ensuring that guests are responded to when required and any outstanding issues resolved. 
• Analyse all Guest Heartbeat surveys and any social media reviews to identify any gaps or trends, put in place corrective preventive action to prevent negative issues from recurring. 
• Handle guest relocations as required. 
• May serve as Manager on Duty as required. 
• Schedule and regularly conduct routine inspections of the front office and public areas to ensure the appearance of such areas reflects highly on the hotel, brand, and Company.  Assist in creating and implementing action plans to correct deficiencies. 
• Ensure the cleanliness and tidy of the Front Office department and ensure all equipment is in good working order. 
• Maintaining the cleanliness, neat and being well-groom appearance at all times during on duty. 
• Be part of the Company Emergency Response Team and serves as Site Incident Commander in emergency situations. 
• Respond to emergency situations in accordance with the hotel Emergency Response Plan. 
• Be aware of duty of care and adhere to occupational, health and safety legislation, policies and procedures. 
• Be familiar with property safety, first aid and fire and emergency procedures and operate equipment safely and sensibly. 
• Initiate action to correct a hazardous situation and notify supervisors of potential dangers. 
• Log security incidents and accidents in accordance with hotel requirements. 
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What we need from you 

• Diploma/Degree in Hospitality Management or other relevant qualification.
• Minimum 5 years of progressive front office or rooms division experience, with at least 2 years’ experience as a Front Office Manager in an international hotel chain.
• Demonstrated understanding of guest satisfaction metrics, departmental forecasting, and manpower management.
• Oral and written fluency in English. Fluency in another language is an advantage. 
• Commitment to work a flexible schedule including evenings, weekends and public holidays, based on business needs
• Great communication skills, ability to interact with guests, employees and third parties that reflect highly on the hotel, the brand and the company.