Key Players in Hospitality Operations

1. Key Players in Hospitality Operations Chapter 3

2. Unit Essential Question What are the vital departments in a hotel and how do these departments address diversity?

3. Essential Question 1 What are the responsibilities of the human resources department and how is it involved in employee compensation and recognition?

4. Human Resources Department Human Resources – The People Factor • Human Resources (HR): Department responsible for recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training, development, compensation, benefits, supervision, employee, evaluation, and separation.

5. Human Resources Department Human Resources – The People Factor • HR Responsibilities: • Recruitment: • Essential to find potential employees. • According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA), job growth in the hospitality industry will require a yearly growth of 200,000 people through 2006.

6. Human Resources Department Human Resources – The People Factor • HR Responsibilities: • Interview: • Conduct placement tests. • Administer drug tests. • Check references.

7. Human Resources Department Human Resources – The People Factor • HR Responsibilities: • Orientation: • Teaches new hires about the procedures, policies, and philosophies of the company. • Ensures a new hire gets off to good start.

8. Human Resources Department Human Resources – The People Factor • HR Responsibilities: • Training: • Provides instruction in basic skills that pertain to a new hire’s department and job description. • May assign a mentor to assist the new employee in learning the ropes. • A good training program increases productivity, boosts morale, and creates loyalty to the company.

9. Human Resources Department Human Resources – The People Factor • HR Responsibilities: • Development: • Assists employees in obtaining necessary training and education to improve their skills and knowledge. • Provide job opening information and assist employees with lateral and upward transfers.

10. Human Resources Department Human Resources – The People Factor • HR Responsibilities: • Compensation: Includes benefits as well as salary. • Ensures every employee receives fair and equitable remuneration (payment for work). • Design employee incentive plans or reward systems.

11. Human Resources Department Human Resources – The People Factor • HR Responsibilities: • Benefits: • Health insurance. • Retirement plans. • Family care plans.

12. Human Resources Department Human Resources – The People Factor • HR Responsibilities: • Employee Recognition Programs: • Designed to help employees feel significant and improve morale. • Tangible rewards. • Intangible rewards.

13. Essential Question 2 What activities and who are involved in front-of-the-house operations?

14. Front-of-the-House Operations In Front • The Front Desk: • Front Desk Agents: • Determine if a guest has a reservation or is a walk-in. • Provide a good first impression.

15. Front-of-the-House Operations In Front • The Front Desk: • Front Desk Agents: • Will upsell: provide guests with information on rooms with better accommodations and amenities. • Should be well trained to retrieve information from the guest tracking system. • Notes guest’s preferences from previous stays.

16. Front-of-the-House Operations In Front • The Front Desk: • Front Desk Agents: • Maintain guest confidentiality. • Go over the guest folio with guest at check out. • Handle any number of situations that may occur from medical or other emergencies to providing directions or other simple services.

17. Front-of-the-House Operations Food and Beverage Outlets • Are a major part of front-of-the-house operations. • Provides guests with: • Products to eat and drink. • Banquet and meeting rooms. • Coffee shops. • Cocktail lounges. • Pool-side snack bars. • Vending machine services

18. Front-of-the-House Operations Food and Beverage Outlets • Servers • Maitre d’hotel: Manages reservations, greets and seats guests, and handles complaints. • Cashier: Accepts payment from guests and balances the register.

19. Front-of-the-House Operations Food and Beverage Outlets • Servers • Wait staff: Servers – main connection between the customer and the food production staff. • Well-trained servers use a coding system when taking orders, they do not “auction off” the food when it arrives. • Bus staff: Assists waitpersons in serving food, refilling beverages, cleaning tables, and re-setting tables for the next customers.

20. Front-of-the-House Operations Food and Beverage Outlets • Types of Menus • Short order menus: Feature items that can be prepared quickly and easily. • A la carte menus: List and price items separately.

21. Front-of-the-House Operations Food and Beverage Outlets • Types of Menus • Table d’hôte menus: Fixed prices for meals normally consisting of appetizer, salad, soup, entrée, dessert, and beverage. This menu is used for banquets. • Menus du jour: Offer a different specialty each day.

22. Front-of-the-House Operations Food and Beverage Outlets • Types of Service • American service: Places the food on the plate in the kitchen before it is brought to the table. • English service: Large serving dishes remain on the table and customers serve themselves. Referred to as “family style” in the United States.

23. Front-of-the-House Operations Food and Beverage Outlets • Types of Service • French service: Elaborate, involving several waitpersons serving food from a chafing dish or rolling cart. • Russian service: All food is dished into serving dishes in the kitchen and brought to the table. • Banquet service: Used for large events and is usually a combination of any of the other services.

24. Essential Question 3 What activities and who are involved in back-of-the-house operations?

25. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • Includes the following: • Human resources • Management • Accounting • Reservations • Operations • Housekeeping • Banquet operations

26. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • Housekeeping: • Responsible for the daily cleaning and care of guest rooms, the front desk and lobby areas, restaurants, banquet and meeting rooms, restrooms, and other offices and rooms on the property. • Housekeepers average 17¢ per room per day.

27. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • Housekeeping: • Executive housekeepers: Plan and coordinate activities of the housekeeping department. • Orders and receives supplies. • Maintains the lost and found department. • Reports the status of rooms to the front desk. • Check out (C/O)  Stayover (S/O) • Vacant ready (V/R)  Out of order (OOO)

28. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • The Engineering Department: • Maintains the mechanical equipment and the physical upkeep of the hotel. • Facilities director: Manages the engineering department. • Must be knowledgeable in: • HVAC systems. • Electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and environmental systems. • Read blueprints and building schematics.

29. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • The Engineering Department: • Responsible for landscaping and exterior maintenance. This provides the guest with a first impression. • Must be cognizant of conservation, recycling, and other environmental issues.

30. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • The Kitchen: • Provides food for the on-site restaurants, special events, conferences, meetings, room service, and employee dining room. • Executive chefs: Responsible for training and managing the kitchen staff.

31. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • The Kitchen: • Sous chefs: • Assistant chefs who report directly to the executive chef. • Oversees the day-to-day food production process.

32. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • The Kitchen: • Production chefs: • Referred to as station chefs. Responsible for specific categories of food. • Pastries and breads • Soups • Vegetables • Fruits and salads • Meats • Desserts • Reports to the sous chefs.

33. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • The Kitchen: • Line chefs: • Prepares the food ordered by the customers. • Must know a variety of cooking methods. • Reports to the sous chefs.

34. Back-of-the-House Operations Back of the House • The Kitchen: • The cost of food and beverage supplies account for 35 to 40 percent of sales. • Any food waste or spoilage can drastically affect profit of the food and beverage department.

35. Essential Question 4 How does the hospitality industry address cultural diversity and create opportunities for minorities?

36. Diversity Issues in the Hospitality Industry Vive La Differences • Hotels must be sensitive to the needs of a diverse workforce in order to recruit and retain effective employees. • African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-American/Pacific Islanders make up 26 percent of the U.S. population. • By 2020 these minority populations are expected to increase to 36 percent. • By 2050 they will makeup 47 percent.

37. Diversity Issues in the Hospitality Industry Vive La Differences • Multinational Hotels: • Major hotel brands that have hotels located in more than one country. • Must maintain the same standard of service while employing personnel of varying cultures.

38. Diversity Issues in the Hospitality Industry Vive La Differences • To Know Me is to Love Me: • Hotel management need to have cultural understanding. • Hoteliers use cultural differences by developing multi-ethnic mentor programs. • Some hotels and restaurants provide English classes. • Many hotels do business with minority and women-owned supply companies.