What Is Back of House?
Defining the Back of House
"Back of the House" refers to positions within the organization that do not directly interact with guests. The back of the house supports operations in many crucial ways and face different challenges than the front of the house. The back of house staff usually work during normal business hours in an office on or off site, depending on the role. It is important for the back of the house to understand their role in the organization and how their work directly contributes to the customer facing goal of a premier guest experience.
What positions make up the Back of House
- Engineering & Maintenance: Engineers take care of hotel preventive maintenance and respond to work orders that arise on the property.
- Housekeeping: Housekeeping maintains a property by cleaning rooms, public areas, linens and towels for guests.
- Finance: The hotels finance team oversees cost controls, revenue forecasts and identifying business risks.
- Sales and Marketing: The sales and marketing team is responsible for growing the hotel relationships and maintaining the hotel's brand.
- Chef and Cooks: Chef and cooks curate and execute the restaurant menu for guests
Resources for Back of House Operations
A successful back of house leads to a thriving front of house and an overall positive guest experience. Managers of back of the house operations can pick up resources and information that help empower teams to provide better service. Here are a few that may be of interest:
Research Articles:
- Hotelier Guide to Maintenance, Inspections & Audits
- Ultimate Hotel Operations Management Guide [+10 Free Checklists]
- Hotel Laundry Management Guide: Process, Tips & Checklists\
- Benefits of a Digital Work Order System [+ free excel template]
- How to Conduct a Hotel Maintenance Audit [+ Checklist]
- 5 Steps for Hotel Preventative Maintenance [+ Checklist]
- Proactive Maintenance Examples, Types and Strategies [+checklist]
- How Do Hotels Prevent Bed Bugs? [+Pest Control Checklist]
- What Is Reactive Maintenance And Why It Matters
- Best Hotel Room Inspection Checklist
- 3 Housekeeping Performance Standards Every Hotelier Needs
- How Do Hotels Prevent Bed Bugs? [+Pest Control Checklist]
Checklists, Logs and Calendars:
- Best Hotel Room Inspection Checklist
- Hotel Housekeeping Checklists
- Hotel Laundry Checklists
- Hotel Boiler PM Checklist
- Hotel Boiler PM Log
- Hotel CCTV PM Checklist
- Hotel Chiller PM Checklist
- Hotel Dryer PM Checklist
- Hotel Sauna PM Checklist
- Hotel Steam Room PM Checklist
- Hotel Washer Extractor PM Checklist
- Hotel Daily Maintenance Checklist
- Hazard Report Form
- Hotel Preventive Maintenance Calendar
- Pool Maintenance Calendar
- Hotel Boiler PM Log
- Hotel Maintenance Work Order Log
- Food Delivery and Storage Checklist
- Food Premises Inspection Checklist
- Hotel Restaurant ADA Compliance Checklist
- Hotel Restaurant Pest Control Checklist
- Hotel Café Opening Checklist
- Hotel Café Closing Checklist
- Hotel Café Operations Checklist
- Hotel Café Quality Management Checklist
