Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Albany East Greenbush is seeking an experienced, energetic, and highly organized Front Office Manager to lead our Front Desk team and help deliver an exceptional guest experience from arrival through departure.
The Front Office Manager is a key member of the hotel leadership team and is responsible for the successful day-to-day operation of the Front Office. This position combines hands-on guest service, team leadership, training, scheduling, service recovery, administrative oversight, and operational accountability.
We are looking for a leader who is highly visible, approachable, detail-oriented, and comfortable working alongside the team. The ideal candidate understands that successful hotel operations require more than managing the desk—they require anticipating guest needs, supporting employees, communicating effectively with other departments, and taking ownership of the operation.
Essential ResponsibilitiesGuest Experience & Front Office Operations
- Lead daily Front Desk operations to ensure an efficient, welcoming, and professional guest experience.
- Ensure accurate and seamless check-in, check-out, room assignment, reservation, billing, and payment processes.
- Maintain a strong presence in the lobby and at the Front Desk, particularly during peak arrival and departure periods.
- Recognize and appropriately assist Marriott Bonvoy members, including ensuring loyalty benefits and preferences are properly acknowledged.
- Respond promptly and professionally to guest questions, requests, concerns, and complaints.
- Take ownership of guest service recovery and empower team members to resolve concerns whenever possible.
- Follow through on unresolved guest matters to ensure proper resolution and documentation.
- Review arrivals, departures, special requests, VIPs, groups, room assignments, and pertinent guest notes.
- Coordinate room blocking, pre-registration, group arrivals, rooming lists, and special accommodations as needed.
- Assist with managing sold-out situations, room discrepancies, reservation issues, relocations, and other operational challenges.
- Ensure the Front Desk and lobby areas remain clean, organized, welcoming, and consistent with Fairfield and Marriott standards.
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, motivate, and support Front Desk Agents, Night Auditors, and other Front Office associates.
- Create and maintain departmental schedules based on occupancy, business levels, associate availability, and operational needs.
- Assist with recruiting, interviewing, selection, onboarding, and training of Front Office team members.
- Ensure new associates receive thorough and consistent training before working independently.
- Conduct ongoing coaching and refresher training to reinforce service expectations, operational procedures, and brand standards.
- Provide timely feedback, recognition, counseling, and performance management when appropriate.
- Monitor attendance, punctuality, professionalism, uniform standards, and overall associate performance.
- Encourage teamwork, accountability, effective communication, and a positive workplace culture.
- Conduct shift communications and ensure important operational information is properly communicated between shifts.
- Help identify future leaders and support the continued professional development of Front Office associates.
Hotel Operations & Interdepartmental Communication
- Work closely with Housekeeping to ensure accurate room status, priority rooms, early arrivals, room changes, stayovers, and special requests are communicated and addressed.
- Coordinate with Maintenance/Engineering regarding out-of-order rooms, guest maintenance concerns, preventative maintenance issues, and urgent repairs.
- Partner with Sales and hotel leadership regarding groups, corporate accounts, room blocks, special arrivals, billing instructions, and upcoming hotel activity.
- Communicate relevant guest feedback and operational concerns to the appropriate department and ensure appropriate follow-up.
- Participate in hotel leadership meetings and contribute to operational planning and problem-solving.
- Serve as Manager on Duty when scheduled and provide leadership throughout the hotel in the absence of senior management.
- Be prepared to assist in other operational areas when business needs require additional leadership support.
Reservations, Rooms & Revenue Awareness
- Monitor occupancy, arrivals, departures, room availability, room types, and reservation activity throughout the day.
- Ensure reservations and guest profiles contain accurate information, preferences, payment methods, and billing instructions.
- Identify opportunities to maximize room revenue through appropriate upselling and room-type management.
- Work with management to minimize unnecessary room moves, billing errors, reservation discrepancies, and preventable guest concerns.
- Maintain awareness of hotel rates, packages, promotions, local corporate accounts, groups, and significant events affecting hotel demand.
- Identify potential corporate or group business opportunities discovered through guest interactions and communicate appropriate leads to Sales or hotel leadership.
- Assist in ensuring group reservations, room blocks, routing instructions, and billing arrangements are properly executed.
Financial & Administrative Responsibilities
- Ensure Front Desk associates consistently follow established procedures for cash handling, credit cards, deposits, direct billing, refunds, adjustments, and guest account security.
- Review Front Desk transactions and reports for accuracy and address discrepancies promptly.
- Monitor folios, billing concerns, payment authorizations, routing instructions, and outstanding guest balances.
- Assist with payroll review, timekeeping, scheduling, and labor management for the Front Office department.
- Monitor departmental labor and operating expenses while maintaining appropriate service levels.
- Maintain organized Front Office records, logs, reports, checklists, and other required documentation.
- Utilize Microsoft Word, Excel, hotel systems, and reporting tools to support scheduling, documentation, performance tracking, and departmental organization.
- Review daily operational and Front Office reports and communicate significant findings to hotel leadership.
- Assist with inventory and ordering of Front Office supplies while controlling unnecessary departmental expenses.
Brand Standards, Quality & Guest Satisfaction
- Maintain a working knowledge of Fairfield by Marriott brand standards, property procedures, and guest service expectations.
- Serve as a role model for professional, courteous, and consistent hospitality.
- Monitor guest feedback, satisfaction results, surveys, online reviews, and recurring service concerns.
- Work with hotel leadership to develop action plans when patterns or opportunities for improvement are identified.
- Reinforce Marriott Bonvoy knowledge and ensure associates understand appropriate member recognition and enrollment opportunities.
- Support brand audits, quality assurance initiatives, training requirements, and property-level improvement plans.
- Help ensure the hotel consistently delivers a clean, comfortable, welcoming, and dependable experience for every guest.
Safety, Security & Compliance
- Maintain awareness of hotel emergency procedures and ensure Front Office associates understand their responsibilities during emergencies.
- Follow and enforce procedures related to guest privacy, room keys, payment information, lost and found, incident reporting, and hotel security.
- Respond appropriately to emergencies, guest incidents, disturbances, safety concerns, and other situations requiring management involvement.
- Complete and maintain required incident documentation and communicate serious concerns promptly to hotel leadership.
- Ensure confidential guest, employee, and business information is handled appropriately.
Qualifications
- Previous hotel Front Desk or Guest Services experience is required.
- Previous supervisory, management, or leadership experience in a hotel environment is strongly preferred.
- Marriott or Fairfield experience is preferred but not required.
- Experience working with a hotel Property Management System (PMS) and reservation systems is strongly preferred.
- Strong understanding of hotel Front Office operations, reservations, guest billing, room inventory, and service recovery.
- Excellent leadership, communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.
- Demonstrated ability to coach and hold team members accountable while maintaining a respectful and professional work environment.
- Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Comfortable addressing challenging guest situations calmly, professionally, and confidently.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, email, and general computer systems.
- Ability to analyze operational information and make sound decisions based on hotel and guest needs.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Dependable, professional, and able to maintain confidentiality.
- Must be able to work independently and as part of the hotel leadership team.
Schedule & Availability
Hospitality is a 24/7 operation. The Front Office Manager must have flexible availability based on the needs of the hotel, including mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays. Occasional overnight or emergency coverage may be necessary.
This is a hands-on management position. The Front Office Manager should expect to work directly with guests and associates and provide Front Desk coverage when business or staffing needs require it.
What We're Looking For
We are looking for someone who takes genuine ownership of the guest experience and of their department.
Our ideal Front Office Manager is someone who:
- Leads by example and is willing to work alongside the team.
- Notices problems before they become larger problems.
- Communicates clearly and follows through.
- Can balance excellent hospitality with strong operational accountability.
- Understands the importance of cleanliness, accuracy, professionalism, and consistency.
- Coaches employees to improve rather than simply pointing out mistakes.
- Remains composed and solutions-focused when the hotel is busy or unexpected challenges arise.
- Builds positive relationships with guests, associates, and fellow managers.
- Takes pride in developing a Front Office team that guests can trust and coworkers enjoy being part of.
If you are passionate about hospitality, enjoy developing people, and are ready to take ownership of a Front Office operation, we would love to hear from you.
Pay: $24.00 - $25.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k) matching
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
Work Location: In person
