A day at the front desk of the Hôtel du Centre
They are the first four faces you will see as you walk through the door of the Hôtel du Centre. Anaïs, our front desk Manager, as well as Marianne, Fuka and Milenka, our three Receptionists, they will welcome you from 6.00 am till 10.00 pm, every day of the year without exception... and always with a smile.
Welcome to the "Point I" of the hotel!
In charge of supervising the front desk and in close association with both her team of Receptionists and all the services of the hotel, as well as with all the customers, Anaïs is a central link.
On the front line for an effective group effort within the establishment, including with the rooms and restaurants teams, it is also towards her that all the staff members turns to for all specific requests and most bookings made by professionals.
If necessary, she can always rely on the support of William, the current Supervisor of the Business Center, but also on the assistance of some outside casual staff who are happy to be called upon as backups when it arrives at the Hôtel du Centre.
Holding an equally important position, their role is just as major: they are Marianne, Fuka and Milenka, our charming Receptionists, first and last contact with each visitor of the establishment.
In addition to their warm smile and their very high availability with guests, their strength is an extreme versatility. Business Center, fitness room, accommodation, catering, continuous welcoming and telephone calls, directions, information, requests of all kinds, in French, in English: knowing everything, knowing how to anticipate, while being constantly interrupted, without losing the main thread, while remaining multitasking, without losing their good mood... is part of their daily life!
On a rotating weekly schedule, with two daily shifts, our hostesses alternate each week between opening shift and closing shift...
First shift: 6.00 am - 2.00 pm
5.45 am: the day has barely begun on the business district that it is already time for our morning Receptionist to go backstage.
A change of shift procedure is required first of all with the night watchman about the last eight hours: night check-outs and late arrivals, departures before opening, booked shuttles, etc.
A brief setting up of the premises is then done: rearranging of the sofas, making available the newspapers, checking the front desk counter, turning on the music... At 6 o'clock in the morning, the curtain rises!
A quick debriefing is also required with a part of the HK team, which in turn is arriving: scheduled check-ins and check-outs, rooms to entirely set up and special features of the day...
Then, as every day, the timetable of our first hostess will take place according to the demands and whereabouts of each one: adaptability and awareness are essential!
The majority of check-outs will take place up to 8.00 am before processing the many incoming emails, at the same time as the daily deliveries are to be received. The planning of the arrivals will follow at about 10.00 am, with the printing of orders, encoding of room key cards, etc.
With the clock displaying 11.00 am, the first customers of the La Pergola restaurant arrive at the front desk...
Second shift : 2.00 pm - 10.00 pm
Although the afternoon is just beginning, it is at 1.45 pm that the next shift begins with our evening Receptionist: she is informed without delay about what occurred previously and what is impending.
It is then 2.00 pm and the continuance of events is progressing for our second hostess. When she is not on the phone, she will certainly be on the walkie-talkie.
"Hullo. Front desk to HK. A baby cot is required in room 605 for a check-in scheduled at 4:30 pm. Thank you."
The same pace will be kept, relentlessly, until evening... and until the last minute!
"It has already happened to us at 10.00 pm, when the front desk was going to close, to receive a team of "customers from a company" without any booking and a call from the airline company Aircalin is announcing a flight cancellation! We managed to accommodate everyone, but the allotment of the rooms wasn’t easy in the moment..."
It is now time for our Receptionist to pass on the keys of the house to the night watchman before wishing sweet dreams to the Hôtel du Centre. Then, she can leave and authorise herself to go home to take a well deserved rest...
