Every hotel has a different nomenclature for the front office staff. Some call them guest service agents while same others call them guest service officers. But in the hierarchy of positions in a hotel, the front office job is very basic. No fancy degrees or diplomas from hotel management institutes are required, though these are a help. All that one looks for in a front office staff are good communication skills, a pleasing personality and the right attitude. Though this is a job where one starts at the very beginning, there are cases where people have gone up to being general managers of hotels.

The front office job is essentially for anyone who likes to meet new people. This job gets you in touch with not only people from your own country but from countries all over the world. From behind counters you get a ringside view of the different accents, mannerisms, habits, and idiosyncrasies of the guests of different countries. And while you help these guests around the hotel, there is an immense opportunity to learn about their culture.

According to Mr Karan Singh Rai, a Lobby Manager who started out as a front office executive in a five-star hotel in Mumbai, manning the front office is a very important job. "The front office is the first and the last point of contact for the guests", he says. He believes that along with a pleasing persona, the front office staff must have good general knowledge too." The guests call up for all sorts of information. They want to know not only about the hotel, but also about the city in which they are staying, its attractions, the site and the scenes, monuments, etc. Therefore, the front office executive must be well informed and not cut a sorry figure", he says.