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
Pay: $85,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Work Location: In person