Guest Service Associate Job Description

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A guest service associate is a professional responsible for providing exemplary services to the guests whenever they make an entry in the hotel, during their period of stay, and whenever they will depart. Guest service responsibilities include taking care of the guests in a professional and courteous manner so that guests will be tempted to revisit their hotels in future, thus guaranteeing better business. Thus, most of the responsibilities are customer centric and they may at times need to handle administrative and clerical work as well.

Key Responsibilities of a Guest Service Associate

The guest service associate takes care of the customers by personally attending to their requests and resolving their issues or concerns in a professional manner. He/she is responsible for providing quality information regarding their hotel and the services that are being offered, and convince the guests that they have come to the right place. Thus, he/she is responsible for making that valuable first impression on the guests, so that they always make it a point to reserve rooms in their hotels. To get a better idea, here is some detailed information on what are the key responsibilities that need to be handled by a guest service associate:

To answer the telephone calls and to keep a track of the in house activities like giving information regarding the availability of the rooms and making reservations based on it
To give outstanding services to the guests that have checked in and greet them in a friendly manner and interact with them in a positive way
To maintain up to date knowledge on the current services that are being offered and make sure that this information is conveyed to the customers in an effective way
To ensure that the rooms have been allocated properly, hand over the keys to them and ensure that all the registration and check in procedures have been followed as per the given standards
To enter all the relevant guest related information, so that it can be retrieved in case there is a requirement, and to maintain and update the accounts and post them accurately
To practice safety standards and ensure that all the house keeping work is carried out in a proper manner like maintaining the rooms, cleaning of the rooms, etc.

Apart from these major responsibilities, he/she is also involved in computing the bills and their subsequent collection of payments. He/she promptly receives and conveys the messages and is responsible for the overall supervision of the staff members and may at times help in planning their schedules. He/she may also be involved in providing valuable assistance to the guests by guiding them on local entertainment and recreation areas and giving them information regarding the transportation.

The guest service associate is also involved in canceling the reservations and forecasting the future requirements. He/she also handles marketing and selling responsibilities by tempting the clients to buy expensive rooms that would generate more revenue by emphasizing on the fact that these rooms have special and better facilities. He/she updates the guests on different kinds of services that can be offered in house for their guests at the most affordable rates. Thus, he/she makes sure that maximum sales is achieved by him, thus ensuring better prospects.

Essential Skills

A guest service associate should essentially be a people's person, who has the drive for maintaining and nurturing professional and personal relationships by demonstrating strong and excellent communication skills.
He/she should have a good business acumen and should be able to generate revenue for the hotel he/she is employed in.
He/she should be comfortable working in pressure situations and should be able to deal with a diverse range of people and help in resolving their issues in a calm and quiet manner.
He/she must flexible to work and should have excellent organization and management skills.
He/she should be adaptable to the changing conditions and keep himself/herself updated with the current knowledge in the hotel industry.

Educational Background

The individuals aspiring to make a career as a guest service associate should possess a high school diploma or should have completed a general education diploma. Those with proficiency in computers and those who have a previous work experience in handling a diverse range of customers will definitely be preferred.

Work Schedule

A guest service associate needs to be flexible and comfortable to work even at odd hours. He/she may be required to do his duty in rotational shifts and may even need to work for extended hours, especially during weekends and holidays. He/she may need to work overtime during the peak season.

Salary Details

The average salary of a guest service associate is dependent on the experience, educational background, skills as well as location, type and size of the industry he/she is employed in. Normally, it varies in the range of $4 to $11 on an hourly basis.

Career Prospects

There is a huge demand for guest service associates with the ever increasing number of hotels as well as the customers. Due to the increased number of customers, there are ample opportunities for guest service associates to grow and advance to higher managerial or supervisory positions.

Thus, to become a complete professional, it is essential that you should be able to shoulder the guest service associate responsibilities efficiently and effectively.

For help with the resume, explore Guest Service Associate Resume

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