What does a director of front office do?
A director of front office supervises and leads the daily activities of an establishment's front office, ensuring clients receive optimal services. They are primarily in charge of setting goals and guidelines, establishing protocols and timelines, recruiting and training staff, monitoring operations to ensure the workforce functions efficiently, and solving issues and concerns if any would arise. Moreover, a director of front office empowers staff to reach goals and implements the establishment's policies and regulations to ensure operations run smoothly and efficiently.
Director of front office responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of front office resumes:
- Manage facility procedures relate to insurance and billing and solve patients' queries regarding their insurance renewal and expiry.
- Yield rates to optimize revenue and balance PMS / CRS inventory daily.
- Maintain cleanliness and organization of back office, front desk and bell closet areas.
- Handle detailed group bookings pertaining to their VIP arrivals, special request and account billings.
- Provide excellent service as it pertains to all front office functions including check/in-out, PBX, and bell service.
- Organize and develop a report to track VIP's and special care guest including time share owners and repeat clientele.
- Direct front desk, service express (PBX), valet, concierge, recreation, marina operations and retail outlets.
- Monitor all reservations channels, hotel availability and rates.
- Maintain a departmental budget including payroll and operational expenses.
- Monitor and regulate room reservations, forecasting and departmental budget to maximize revenue.
- Create scheduling and inventory tools to reduce payroll and establish overall supply monitoring and expense control.
- Manage facility procedures relate to insurance and billing and solve patients' queries regarding their insurance renewal and expiry.
- Provide billing company medical record documentation to support professional and global CPT codes.
Director of front office skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Directors Of Front Office are proficient in Reservations, Quality Standards, and Front Office Operations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Customer-service skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Front Office that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Reservations, 12%
Monitored and regulated room reservations, forecasting and departmental budget to maximized revenue.
- Quality Standards, 6%
Developed and maintained quality standards for hotel.
- Front Office Operations, 6%
Job Duties: Department Head responsible for short and long term planning and the management of front office operations.
- Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Supervised practice of efficient sales techniques and communications to operations to ensure customer satisfaction and high return rate.
- Phone Calls, 5%
Perform basic bookkeeping, filing, phone calls and clerical duties.
- Cleanliness, 4%
Increased the overall cleanliness score of the hotel YOY by 1.39% by implementing an inspection program and incentive.
Common skills that a director of front office uses to do their job include "reservations," "quality standards," and "front office operations." You can find details on the most important director of front office responsibilities below.
Business skills. One of the key soft skills for a director of front office to have is business skills. You can see how this relates to what directors of front office do because "lodging managers need to operate a facility that is profitable." Additionally, a director of front office resume shows how directors of front office use business skills: "managed all front office operations including but not limited to operational budget, staff scheduling, departmental business plan and goals. "
Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling director of front office duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "lodging managers must have excellent customer-service skills." According to a director of front office resume, here's how directors of front office can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "managed customer concerns related to appointment scheduling and front office operations. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of directors of front office is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday director of front office duties, as "lodging managers interact regularly with many different people." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "trained and evaluated guest service agents detail oriented with strong follow-through standards strong administrative, communication, excellent interpersonal, organizational skills"
Leadership skills. For certain director of front office responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "leadership skills." The day-to-day duties of a director of front office rely on this skill, as "lodging managers must establish a productive work environment, which may involve motivating personnel, resolving conflicts, and handling guests’ complaints." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what directors of front office do: "provide guidance and leadership ensuring the delivery of consistent quality customer service. "
Listening skills. Another crucial skill for a director of front office to carry out their responsibilities is "listening skills." A big part of what directors of front office relies on this skill, since "lodging managers must have excellent listening skills for attending to the needs of guests and maintaining a good working relationship with staff." How this skill relates to director of front office duties can be seen in an example from a director of front office resume snippet: "communicated with customers via phone and email to ensure customer satisfaction. "
Organizational skills. While "organizational skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to director of front office responsibilities. Much of what a director of front office does relies on this skill, seeing as "lodging managers need to keep track of many different schedules, budgets, and people at once." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of directors of front office: "surpass organizational expectations in terms of revenue generation, profitability and guest services. "
The three companies that hire the most director of front offices are:
- Aimbridge Hospitality17 directors of front office jobs
- Marriott International15 directors of front office jobs
- Highgate Hotels14 directors of front office jobs
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Compare different directors of front office
Director of front office vs. Hotel manager
A hotel manager is in charge of overseeing the daily operations in a hotel, ensuring smooth workflow and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, devising strategies to improve hotel sales, coordinating with staff, managing schedules, and resolving issues and concerns promptly. They may also greet and assist incoming and outcoming guests, arrange reservations, and liaise with external agencies, including suppliers and vendors. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to maintain a safe and healthy environment for clients, all while implementing the hotel's policies and regulations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a director of front office are more likely to require skills like "quality standards," "front office operations," "customer satisfaction," and "phone calls." On the other hand, a job as a hotel manager requires skills like "pet," "hotel management," "guest service," and "culinary." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Hotel managers earn the highest salaries when working in the hospitality industry, with an average yearly salary of $78,018. On the other hand, directors of front office are paid more in the real estate industry with an average salary of $70,592.hotel managers tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of front office. In fact, hotel managers are 2.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Director of front office vs. Innkeeper
Each career also uses different skills, according to real director of front office resumes. While director of front office responsibilities can utilize skills like "quality standards," "front office operations," "customer satisfaction," and "phone calls," innkeepers use skills like "clean rooms," "wine," "front desk," and "concierge services."
In general, innkeepers achieve similar levels of education than directors of front office. They're 1.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of front office vs. Lodging facilities manager
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, directors of front office are more likely to have skills like "quality standards," "front office operations," "customer satisfaction," and "phone calls." But a lodging facilities manager is more likely to have skills like "front desk," "fine dining," "guest service," and "dryers."
Lodging facilities managers earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $55,750. Comparatively, directors of front office have the highest earning potential in the real estate industry, with an average salary of $70,592.When it comes to education, lodging facilities managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to directors of front office. In fact, they're 4.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Director of front office vs. Overnight manager
Types of director of front office
Updated January 8, 2025
