The Group Arrival Standard

48 hours before arrival, check the final rooming list against the PMS line by line: names, room types, bed set-ups, shares, children, access needs and dietary notes. Send every difference to the group coordinator that day.

Call the group leader or tour manager to agree the coach arrival time, the number of guests and bags, who pays for what (master bill or each room), meal times, and one mobile number for the stay.

“Mr Novak, may I confirm the coach for 15:30, with 38 guests and about 45 bags?”

Name one person as the group’s contact for the whole stay, from guest relations or the front office, and give the leader that person’s name and direct line.

Plan the space: a meeting room, a lounge corner or a covered terrace for check-in, a coach stop away from the main door if the drive allows, and a route for bags to the service lift.

24 hours before, send the plan in writing to housekeeping, the bell desk, security, the restaurant and the duty manager: arrival time, rooms in order of priority, and the staff needed at the coach.

Block the group’s rooms and ask housekeeping to release them in floor order. Rooms for guests with access needs, small children or an early start the next day come first.

Two hours before the coach, prepare one envelope per room: two keys, the guests’ names, the room number written inside, breakfast hours, the Wi-Fi and the contact’s name. Sort them by surname.

Pre-fill the registration cards with what the hotel already holds, so each guest only signs and shows ID. Where the law allows, take passport details from the leader in advance, by a secure link.

Set up the check-in area 30 minutes before: a table per agent, the envelopes, water and a soft welcome drink, a sign with the group’s name, and chairs for anyone tired.

Brief the team in the area 15 minutes before the coach: who meets it, who checks in, who takes the bags, and who stays at the main desk.

Check yourself against The Presence Standard before the coach arrives: uniform, name badge, and the leader’s name and the group’s name in mind.

Meet the leader at the coach door before the guests step down. Confirm the head count and any change since the call, and agree the order: guests to the check-in area, bags to the bell team.

“Welcome, Mr Novak. Everything is ready in the Garden Room. May I take your guests straight through?”

One member of staff leads the group to the check-in area by the shortest route, walking at the front, while another stays at the main door to greet other arriving guests as usual.

“Welcome to [hotel name]. Please follow me to the Garden Room, where your keys are ready.”

Tag every bag with the room number or surname as it leaves the coach. Count them aloud against the leader’s number and note any difference before the coach drives away.

Move the bags on trolleys straight to the service corridor or the luggage room, never stacked in the lobby. The lobby is clear of group bags within 15 minutes of the coach arriving.

In the check-in area, the leader calls each room in turn; the agent hands over the envelope, checks ID, takes the signature and a card for extras, in under 2 minutes per room.

Keep the room number inside the envelope, and give each guest two facts: when and where breakfast is served, and when their bags will be in the room.

“Your room number is inside, Mrs Tanaka. Breakfast is from 07:00 on the terrace, and your bags will be up within 45 minutes.”

Keep one station at the main desk staffed and free for other guests during the whole group arrival. No group guest checks in at the main desk while the group area is open.

Write in the PMS every request heard at the table (a cot, a pillow, an allergy, a birthday) and send it to the department before the area is cleared.

For rooms not yet ready, give a time checked with housekeeping, store hand luggage and offer the lounge, as The Early Arrival Standard sets out.

Bell attendants deliver floor by floor in the service lift only, with every bag in its room within 45 minutes of the coach arriving. A bag without a readable tag goes to the bell desk, never to a guess.

At an occupied room, knock and announce the bell desk, wait and repeat before entering, as The Door Standard sets out. Place cases on the rack and leave.

Report the last bag delivered to the group contact, who tells the leader and clears the check-in area within 15 minutes of the last guest leaving it.

Each evening the contact gives the leader the next day’s times confirmed by the hotel: breakfast, meals, the coach, and any room change. One message, read back by the leader.

Seat group meals in their own room or section, and pass the group’s requests through the contact, so the rest of the hotel keeps its usual rhythm.

The evening before departure, agree with the leader the bag collection time, the coach time and how extras are paid. Print each room’s extras folio for the morning.

“Shall we collect the bags from 07:00 for the 09:00 coach, Mr Novak?”

Collect bags from the rooms floor by floor at the agreed time, tag and count them, and hold them in the luggage room or load them on the coach, never in the lobby.

Settle each room’s extras at a table in the group area from 60 minutes before the coach, and the master bill with the leader. The main desk stays free for other check-outs.

Load the coach with the leader present, count the bags against the arrival count, and check the luggage room is empty of the group’s bags before the coach leaves.

Within 24 hours, write a short group report: arrival and departure times, any problem, and requests to keep for the next visit. Send it to the group coordinator and to sales.