Introduction of Guest Cycle

The guest cycle refers to a comprehensive experience that a guest has in a hotel, from booking to departure and subsequent interaction with the hotel. This rate of the business will be split into the four-stage guest cycle that has been traditionally associated with the hotel business. Yet, different sections of the industry have adopted these four phrases too. The four-stage guest cycle includes pre-arrival, arrival, occupancy and departure. The purpose is to create a coherent guest experience within the stages. This enables employees to efficiently provide guests with a clear understanding of the flow of the visitor’s individual and business demands within each phase of the guest cycle. It also ensures all business transactions come at the exact moment and are processed accurately. In essence, the first and most consequential stage of the guest cycle is the pre-arrival stage. In the pre-arrival stage, the guest chooses a hotel. Numerous factors can influence a guest's choice, including advertisements, prior interactions with the hotel, and recommendations from travel agencies, friends, or business acquaintances. This preference may also be impacted by the simplicity with which reservations can be made and the manner in which the reservation agent describes the hotel's facilities, room rates, and amenities. The approach and efficiency of the front office personnel may impact a caller's selection of a hotel. A reservation agent's ability to reply swiftly and properly to future accommodation requests is essential (Guest Cycle in Hotel, 2017). Moving on to the arrival stage, whereby it has been confirmed that the guest has physically entered and observed the property. The hotel will begin to form an impression on the minds of its guests. During check-in, guests have their first face-to-face engagement with hotel employees. As a result, guests create a judgment about the standards and services that the hotel can deliver to them at this time (Sharma, 2020). Likewise, this stage typically requires the most document processing, such as signing in and registering, as well as determining and applying the customer's payment method. Additionally, the front office must maintain continual contact with the housekeeping team in order to quickly place guests in their rooms without creating any delays for the guests. On the other hand, the front office staff's portrayal of the hotel is vital throughout the guest cycle, particularly during the occupancy stage. The front desk, as the center of hotel activities, is responsible for managing guest services. Among other things, the front desk gives information and materials to guests. To increase guest satisfaction, the front office should react promptly and accurately to inquiries. Furthermore, a concierge may be on-site to provide additional guest services. Throughout the guest cycle, the primary front office aim is to enhance return visits. Appropriate guest relations are essential to accomplishing this goal. Clear, constructive communication between the front office, different hotel departments and divisions, and guests is necessary for good guest relations. To handle a guest's complaint, the hotel should be notified of it. Front desk agents should pay close attention to guest complaints and attempt to resolve them as promptly as possible (Kumar, 2020). Consequently, the departure of a guest brought the fourth stage of a guest cycle to completion. Checking the guest out of the hotel and establishing a guest history record is the final aspect of guest service. When a guest checks out, he or she vacates the room, obtains an appropriate statement of account for settlement, returns the room keys, and departs the hotel. The front office updates the room availability status and notifies the housekeeping department after the guest has checked out. During check-out, the front office gauges the guest's satisfaction with the stay and invites the guest to return in the future. Therefore, the more information a hotel has about its customers, the better equipped it is to meet their demands and devise marketing techniques to boost revenue. After the guest has checked out, the front office can review the guest's stay data. Front office reports can then be used to analyze operations, identify problem areas, highlight areas that may require remedial action, and illustrate company trends. Analysis can assist managers in establishing a performance standard against which they can measure the success of front office operations (Guest Cycle in Hotel, 2017).