The Third International Conference on Culinary, Fashion, Beauty, and Tourism (ICCFBT) 2020 ICCFBT Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, Universitas Negeri Padang, November 4th – 5th 2020 2020 ISBN 978-623-95788-2-4 The Communication Relationship Between Receptionist And Reservation Clerk To Front Office Operations In The Premier Basko Hotel Padang Dwi Pratiwi Wulandari, Tri Hutari Tourism Department, Universitas Negeri Padang [email protected] Abstract This study aims to determine how the communication between the Receptionist and the Reservation Officer as well as the obstacles that exist and how to overcome them and find out how the Front Office operational activities at the Premier Basko Hotel. This research is descriptive quantitative. The sampling technique in this study was purposive sampling. The results of this study stated that: based on descriptive analysis, 58.3% of respondents said that there was frequent communication between Receptionist and Reservation Clerk, 63.9% of respondents stated that employees were able to smooth the operations of the Front Office Department. Based on the bivariate analysis in this study, there are two variables, namely the frequent occurrence of communication between Receptionist and Reservation Clerk so that they are able to streamline the operations of the front office department according to their function, including: providing information on products and facilities, reporting room status, recording and checking payments according to SOPs, making reports, able to provide a solution for each guest complaint and can coordinate with other sections and departments. Keyword: Communication, Relationship, Receptionist and Reservation Introduction The tourism industry in Indonesia is one of the largest foreign exchange earners contributing and is a catalyst in the development of several fields, such as the economy and transportation. In addition, through tourism it can expand employment and broaden cultural insights. Indonesia, as one of the countries that has natural wealth, tourist destinations and unique and distinctive cultural diversity, of course, attracts the interest of many tourists, both domestic and foreign. However, tourist attractions in Indonesia still need some improvement so that tourism in Indonesia is more advanced. For example, by increasing the human resources of the local population, restructuring tourist objects, increasing security in tourist destinations, cleaning and improving facilities for tourist needs. The main facilities for the needs of tourists are hotels. Hotel is a type of accommodation that uses part or all of a building to provide lodging, dining, drinking and other services for the public which are managed commercially (Kesrul, 2003: 25). Hotels have several departments to facilitate their daily service activities. One such department is the Front OfficeFront Office or. This department has an important role in hotel operations, because employees who work at the front office are the first to deal directly with guests as well as give the first and last impression of a hotel service. 431 Dwi Pratiwi Wulandari, Tri Hutari A professional Front Office employee must know their job well, have broad general knowledge, are skilled at using computer systems in hotels and are good at diplomacy. One part of the Front Office department that is responsible for check in, check out and guest transactions is the Front Desk Agent or commonly known as the Receptionist (J. Martin, 1991: 45). receptionist In carrying out their duties, thewill always communicate with the Reservation Clerk who is in charge of accepting hotel room bookings according to existing availability. In addition, Reservation Clerk is responsible for the completeness of guest documents such as booking confirmation letters, travel agent vouchers, guarantee letters, and other documents. In their operational activities, the receptionist and reservation officer must be able to communicate and cooperate well so that the check in and check out process can run smoothly. In addition, regarding vouchers and guarantee letters, guest reservation data information, and the number of rooms available. As explained on Wikipedia (2013): “Communication is a process in which a person or persons, groups, organizations, and Public creating, and using information to connect with the environment and other people. And communication is a process of delivering information (messages, ideas, ideas) from one party to another. In general, communication is carried out verbally or verbally which can be understood by both parties. So from the above quotation it can be concluded that communication is carried out by one or many people with the aim of sharing information, messages and ideas and creating relationships with their environment. So by creating good communication with fellow employees at the hotel, it will create a conducive work climate related to the smooth running of the hotel. One of the hotels with 5 star standards (*****) in Padang City is Premier Basko, which is located on Jalan Prof. DR. Hamka No.2 A Padang which is a very strategic location, apart from being on the main road entering downtown Padang. and adjacent to office areas (DPRD offices, PU offices) and higher education centers, namely UNP, Bung Hatta and Stikes Syedza Santika, and Basko hotel is the only hotel with 5 star standard (*****) with facilities: room superior to precedint suites, business centers, billiards, SPA and salons, fitness centers, pubs, restaurant, Lounge, Wi-Fi, Parking area, Bar, Swimming pool, Smoking area, Meeting room , Ball Room, coffee shop, Mall and others. The various facilities provided at the Premier Basko Hotel and these facilities have been grouped according to their departments so that with the many existing facilities it will involve many employees working in each department, therefore communication must go well in order to create smooth operations. But on the contrary, at Premier Basko Hotel, it is considered that there is often miscommunication or communication that is not going well which results in smooth operations, based on guest comments reviewed on Tripadvisor (12 June 2014) which state that the Primer Basko Hotel is a 5 star hotel (***** ) who are not friendly, because the staff at the Receptionist does not provide detailed information to guests and does not take the initiative in providing solutions to a problem. Such as the activity of distributing Hotel Vouchers to Travel so that guests do not get vouchers as they should, this is considered to be related to the smooth operation of the Front Office Department. In addition, Tripadvisor states that Premier Basko Hotel has a very bad rating in tourist ratings (5 June 2014) so it is very worrying that the Premier Basko Hotel which has a 5 star standard (*****) has very poor service quality. Especially at the Department Front Office, because in that department is the main place in serving guests when entering the hotel. Bad comments made by guests are an indication that there is a miscommunication between Receptionist and Reservation Clerk 432 The 3rd International Conference on Cullinary, Fachion, Beauty, and Tourism (ICCFBT)2020 is also associated with the smooth operation of the Front Office Department. Therefore, the authors are interested in researching at Premier Basko Hotel. Based on all the thoughts above, the title of this study is "COMMUNICATION RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN RECEPTIONIST AND RESERVATION CLERK TOWARDS FRONT OFFICE OPERATIONS IN BASKO PREMIER HOTEL". Understanding Front Office Front Office according to Trezno and Heldin (2000: 18): "Front Office is the department responsible for the sale of hotel rooms based on a systematic way through reservation to delivery of rooms to hotel guests and providing information services to guests while in the hotel. " Meanwhile, according to Peter Abbott & Sue Lewry (2005: 5) Front Office is "a term used in hotel to cover the various sections which deal with reservations, rooms allocation, reception, billing and payments" Or what can be translated "front office is a term in a hotel which includes several parts including booking a room, providing a room and payment. " Sstructures are at the front office organization in a hotel is influenced by the size of the hotel, a lot, or at least the number of employees as well as the operating system used in the hotel. The bigger the hotel, the more complex the structure is used. Vice versa, if the hotel is small, then the organizational structure is simple. The following is an example of a front office organizational structure in a large hotel. Sections that are in the organizational structure of the front office a five-star hotel: 1. Front Office Manager Creating guest satisfaction and giving a positive impression to guests in his work area. 2. Assistant Front Office Manager Helping the smooth running of tasks in the front office and replacing the front office manager when unavailable and coordinating several tasks according to his job. 3. Duty Manager. Supports front office operational work as a whole and controls cross-departmental operations for certain shifts 4. Executive Lounge Manager Ensuring the highest satisfaction of guests and staff according to service standards in accordance with the provisions on the executive floor. 5. Front Desk Supervisor Providing reception and departure services for guests at the hotel by providing instructions to the front desk staff and controlling the computer access code at the front desk. 6. Chief Concierge Ensures that all guests have a