Reservations Agent

Since 1947, The Colony Palm Beach has been the center of Palm Beach social life hosting-- U.S. Presidents, European Royalty and welcoming travelers from around the world. Be part of a historic, luxury boutique hotel exhibiting polished charm and ambiance only steps away from world-famous shopping and dining on Worth Avenue and the crystal blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

For more information visit http://thecolonypalmbeach.com

The Colony Palm Beach is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Drug Free Work Place.

JOB OVERVIEW:

Assist guests with booking and confirming reservations. Responsible for providing attentive, courteous, and efficient service to all guests, staff members and callers.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Consistently offer professional, courteous, and engaging service.
• Ensure that all calls are responded to within 3 rings and using correct greeting and telephone etiquette.
• Follow sales standards to achieve revenue goals according to company guidelines.
• Provide accurate and thorough information on the hotel’s accommodations, packages, promotions, services, and amenities.
• Assist guests with planning and booking hotel, restaurant, and package reservations.
• Book and enter room reservation requests using the Property Management System.
• Assist guests with inquiries about hotel facilities in an informative and helpful way.
• Maintain complete knowledge of:
  • All hotel features/amenities/services and hours of operations.
  • Room availability and daily house count.
  • All hotel restaurant food concepts, menu price range, dress code, and ambiance.
  • All hotel room types, number/names, layout, appointments, amenities, and locations.
  • All hotel room rates, special packages and promotions.
  • Scheduled daily group activities, names, and location of meeting/banquet rooms.
  • Local events, attractions, holiday schedules.
• Transfer calls, respond to guest inquiries.
• Update reservations ensuring an excellent and memorable guest experience. Responsible for keeping accurate records about bookings, payments, and any additional information that hotel staff might need when interacting with a guest.
• Process payments and send payment information and confirmations to the guest. 
• Ensure revenue is maximized by up-selling guest rooms and recommending hotel facilities and amenities.
• Assist the Sales Department with room blocks and group bookings.
• Enter rooming lists while ensuring accuracy, as required.
• Provide support to guests who have already made a travel purchase by confirming, changing, or canceling reservations.
• Fully comprehend and be able to operate all relevant aspects of the hotel PMS system.
• Must at all times be attentive, friendly, helpful, and courteous to all guests and staff.
• Monitor and maintain cleanliness and working condition of departmental equipment/supplies.
• Prepare work orders for equipment repairs and distribute to Engineering.
• Maintain knowledge of all safety and emergency procedures, and accident prevention policies.
• Report accidents, injuries, and unsafe work conditions to the supervisor or manager.
• Successful completion of all required trainings/certifications.
• Ensure that the appropriate level of confidentiality and security for all guest and company information is achieved, aiding in creating a feeling of comfort and confidence for guests.
• Comply with quality assurance expectations and standards.
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

SECONDARY FUNCTIONS:

• Assist with the daily operations of the Front Desk and Switchboard, when needed.
• Assist Front Desk staff with guest room tours.
• Retrieve theater tickets, flowers, and other items as requested.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Ability to enforce hotel’s standards, policies, and procedures 
• Ability to prioritize and organize work assignments.
• Ability to be a clear thinker in pressure situations and exercise good judgments.
• Ability to work well under pressure.
• Excellent communications skills.
• Ability to focus on time sensitive guest requests and tasks.
• Ability to understand guest inquiries and provide responses.
• Ability to focus attention on guests' needs.
• Ability to remain stationary at assigned post for extended periods of time.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of guests and pertinent hotel information.
• Ability to ensure security of guest room access and hotel property.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Ability to ensure security and confidentiality of guest and employee information and materials.
• Ability to work cohesively with other departments and co-workers as part of a team.
• Prolonged periods of sitting.
• Ability to remain stationary at assigned post for extended periods of time.
• Able to grasp, lift and/or carry, push, pull, or otherwise, move goods weighing a maximum of 30 lbs.

Education/Experience Requirements:

• High School Diploma or equivalent.
• 1 year of hotel reservations experience, preferably in a luxury hotel/resort.
• Thorough knowledge of hotel standard services and amenities.
• Availability to work holidays, weekends, and periods of high demand.
• Computer Skills - Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
• Proficient with a hotel PMS system.
• Oral Comprehension - demonstrates ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Reading Comprehension - demonstrates understanding of written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Writing - communicates effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Excellent guests service skills.
• Excellent telephone etiquette skills.
• Ability to heavy volume of phone calls.
• Ability to focus attention on guest needs, remaining calm and courteous at all times.
• Previous data entry experience.

Desirable:

• Previous guest service experience in a luxury hotel/resort.
• Previous five-star guest service/Forbes training.
• Fluent in a secondary language.
• Sales experience.