Front-of-house manager pens hotel receptionist guide to improve standards across industry

Matt Shiells-Jones, a front-of-house manager for De Vere Venues, wrote and published the book How to Be a Hotel Receptionist…and Other Handy Stuff for Working With People, after he had difficulties finding any practical reference for his staff in dealing with certain problems or to help them improve in their role. 

He said: “I initially started writing a training guide for the guys I work with on reception and as I did I realised that there was nothing out there that was relevant to those working on reception desks today. 

“A lot of the books I came across were very old and were really process-driven – the most recent one I could find was from the ‘80s and there was just nothing out there that gives you advice on how to deal with someone when they’re screaming at you.” 

Qualities​ 

Shiells-Jones, who started out working in hospitality at the age of 12, believes that there are certain qualities a hotel receptionist should possess in the first place to be a success.

“A receptionist needs to be out-going and have a flair for dealing with people,” he said. “They shouldn’t be a jobs worth. For example, they need to realise that checking 20 pages of deposits can wait if a guest comes along and not just be stuck behind a desk. 

“I tell my staff it’s ok not to complete all the tasks in a day as long as they’ve made the guests feel happy.” 

Work in progress​ 

Some of the areas covered in the book, which is designed to be updated on a regular basis are: 

• Complaint handling
• Dealing with overbooking and out-booking
• Dealing with room allocations
• Handling the guest arrival and departure
• Telephone call handling skills
• Cash handling and key management 

The author is aiming for the book to be read by anyone working front-of-house and has pledged to donate 10 per cent of the profits of its sale to a mental health charity if he sells 100,000 copies. 

Shiells-Jones said he plans to update and amend it as time goes on with further revisions to be released based on feedback and recommendations from users of the book.  

“Every time I get back behind a reception desk I think of other things I should have included, but this is not a training manual as such, it is designed to be a useful read and a handy companion to other training that takes place and is as close as I could get to a ‘one-size fits all’ reception guide,” he said." 

Copies of the book can be bought at www.lulu.com​ or downloaded from Amazon for Kindle​.​