Director of Front Office
18 hours ago
New York
Company Description AKA Hotels + Hotel Residences offers a blend of sophisticated hotel accommodations and spacious furnished residences, featuring exceptional business, wellness, and lifestyle amenities in iconic neighborhoods. As leaders in long-stay living, AKA redefines the hotel experience by harmonizing residential privacy with boutique hotel hospitality and style. AKA's tranquil and contemporary designs provide guests with a unique balance of comfort and personalized service. A division of Korman Communities, a family-run real estate business since 1909, AKA pioneered the furnished suite concept in 1966, continuing its legacy of innovation and excellence. Role Description This is a full-time, on-site role for a Director of Front Office at AKA Hotels+Hotel Residences, located in New York, NY. The Director of Front Office will oversee daily front office operations, ensuring exceptional customer service and satisfaction. Responsibilities include managing front-desk staff, streamlining reservations, implementing budgeting strategies, and coordinating closely with other departments to deliver a seamless guest experience. This leadership role demands keen attention to detail, proactive problem-solving, and a commitment to maintaining high operational standards. CORE RESPONSIBILITIES LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE · Lead, mentor, and develop the Front Office team, ensuring team members are equipped to meet guest needs with professionalism, elegance, and urgency. · Foster a culture of continuous improvement, high engagement, accountability, and commitment to service excellence. · Conduct regular training sessions focused on luxury service standards, guest engagement, brand standards, and operational execution. · Provide ongoing coaching, counseling, and performance feedback to team members and managers. · Set clear expectations and priorities for the team and reinforce consistent follow-through. · Support recruitment, onboarding, retention, and succession planning for Front Office positions. · Ensure all Front Office team members are properly groomed, uniformed, and presentation-ready at all times. GUEST EXPERIENCE AND SERVICE EXCELLENCE · Ensure consistently elevated service delivery across the guest journey, including pre-arrival, arrival, in-stay, departure, and post-stay follow-up as applicable. · Lead and assist guest service representatives with daily operational Front Office duties. · Resolve guest issues, service failures, and inquiries promptly and professionally to ensure guest satisfaction and loyalty. · Anticipate guest needs and oversee effective service recovery for escalated concerns and VIP matters. · Ensure all guest reservations are accurate, including billing instructions, routing, room assignments, traces, and guest preferences. · Maintain high standards of arrival experience, lobby presence, bell service, concierge support, and overall first impressions. · Ensure luxury personalized service standards are consistently executed by all guest-facing team members. · Oversee the seamless daily operations of the Front Office departments. · Manage all Front Office operations, including Front Desk, Guest Services, Concierge, Bell/Door, Reservations interface, guest experience, and related guest-facing functions. · Supervise daily front desk activities according to established guidelines and luxury service standards. · Prioritize and delegate daily work responsibilities to Front Office staff. · Plan shift schedules and responsibilities based on business forecast, arrivals, departures, VIP activity, and operational needs. · Schedule and lead Front Office meetings to identify and resolve operational issues, accounting variances, guest concerns, and housekeeping discrepancies. · Develop and implement strategies to improve Front Office and Bell team performance, efficiency, and service execution. · Ensure the facility, Front Office work areas, lobby, and arrival areas are maintained in a clean, neat, safe, and secure manner. · Implement policies, processes, and systems that support operational efficiency, service consistency, and interdepartmental coordination. · Ensure effective communication and coordination with Housekeeping, Engineering, Security, Sales, and Accounting. · Manage staffing schedules, shift changes, payroll, and labor costs in alignment with business levels and productivity expectations. · Monitor timekeeping practices, overtime, meal break compliance, and staffing deployment to ensure operational effectiveness and labor compliance. · Actively manage union relationships, ensuring compliance with collective bargaining agreements and fostering a professional and constructive working relationship with union team members. · Partner with Human Resources on investigations, grievances, disciplinary matters, attendance issues, and corrective action as needed. · Ensure leadership practices and scheduling decisions are aligned with Local 6 requirements and other applicable labor obligations. · Analyze daily, weekly, and monthly operating results to identify trends, service gaps, labor opportunities, and financial risks. · Manage departmental budgets, expenses, and resource allocation effectively. · Identify process improvements to achieve financial, labor, and service goals. · Supervise billing, payment handling, paid outs, and other Front Office financial processes to ensure compliance with company standards and internal controls. · Ensure accurate folios, routing, settlement, deposits, and audit readiness at all times. · Partner with Accounting and night audit teams to ensure timely resolution of discrepancies and accurate reporting. · Support revenue optimization by aligning room inventory execution, upgrade strategy, and guest placement with commercial goals. · Ensure adherence to AKA luxury service standards and all luxury hospitality service expectations. · Maintain the highest standards of cleanliness, organization, presentation, and professionalism in all guest-facing areas. · Conduct routine inspections of lobby, Front Desk, bell storage, porte cochere, and related areas to ensure standards are upheld. · Ensure all service procedures, guest recognition practices, and operational standards are consistently followed. · Drive continuous improvement in service execution, process discipline, and guest satisfaction results. · Ensure compliance with company policies, PCI standards, AKA payment handling procedures, and guest privacy protocols. · Maintain a safe and secure environment for guests and team members by ensuring adherence to all safety and emergency procedures. · Ensure proper incident reporting, documentation, and escalation protocols are followed. · Partner with Security and Engineering to address safety, access, and operational concerns in a timely manner. · Ensure compliance with all NYC and property-required certifications, sanitation standards, and operational regulations. OTHER DUTIES • · Perform other duties as assigned based on business needs and operational priorities. Pay: $85,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year Benefits: • 401(k) matching, • Commuter assistance, • Dental insurance, • Health insurance, • Paid time off