Student resources

1. Student resources Hotel organisation Week (2)

2. Topics • On completion of this unit, the students will able to : • Explain what a mission statement • Describe how goals, strategies, and tactics are used to accomplish a hotel’s mission. • Create organization charts depicting the lines ofresponsibility among positions, departments, anddivisions within a hotel. • Distinguish front-of-the-house areas from back-of-the-house areas and revenue centers from supportcenters.

3. Topics 5.Describe the functions performed by departmentsand positions within the rooms division. 6.  Identify the functions performed by other divisionsand departments within a full-service hotel. 7.  Describe the organization of the front officedepartment including traditional work-shifts,alternative scheduling practices, and the purpose ofjob descriptions and job specifications.

4. Mission Statement • A Mission is the unique purpose that sets one hotel or motel company apart from others. • The purpose of the organization and outlines the kinds of activities performed for guests. • Moreover, the mission statement gives meanings and directions to hotel policies.

5. To define its mission a company should address the classic questions: • What is our business? • Who is the customer? • What is of value to the customer? • Successful companies continuously raise these questions and answer them thoughtfully and thoroughly.

6. Mission statement (continued) • A hotel’s mission statement should address the interests of its three main groups: • Guests • Management • Employees. • For example: “To provide the finest facilities and services in the market while providing a good place to work for its employees and a reasonable return on investment to the owners.

7. Cont. • To achieve our mission we must have the followings:- • Goals: Observable, measurable activities and standards to achieve mission. • Strategy: A method by which a department and division plans to achieve its goals. • Tactics: The day to day operating procedures that implement the strategy

8. Examples • Goal: Operate the front desk efficiently and courteously so that guests register within 2 minutes of arrival. • Strategy: Pre-register guests with reservation guarantees as room become available from the housekeeping. • Tactic: Pre-print registration cards for arriving guests and separate the cards of all gusts with a reservation guarantee.

9. HOTEL ORGANIZATION • In order to carry out its mission, global and departmental goals and objectives, every company shall build a formal structure depicting/outlining different hierarchy of management, supervision, and employee (staff) levels • Outlines the responsibility among positions, departments, and divisions within a hotel. • And representation of relationships between positions

10. An Organisational Chart

11. continued • There are two types of relationships that might exist between any two functions at any organization chart. These are: • Solid Lines: (i.e.: ) This kind of relationship shows Direct Line Accountability. To illustrate, if position A and B are linked with a solid line, it means (for example) that A shall report to B, that B shall tell A what to do, when to do, and how to it. Lastly, B shall be liable (i.e. responsible) for A. • Dotted Lines: (i.e. ---------) This kind of relationship entitles both positions linked with dotted lines to have a high degree of Cooperation and Communication but not a direct line accountability. Usually in the hotel

12. Basic Guest Needs · Safety · Security · Cleanliness · Comfort · Courteous, professional, friendly service · Well-maintained facilities and equipment

13. Hotel Divisions The hotel is made of divisions: · Rooms Division · Food and beverage Division · Sales and marketing Division · Account & finance Division Engineering and maintenance · Security · Human resources

14. Revenue Centers • · Front office • · Food and beverage • · Spa and Treatment centres • · Retail stores

15. Support Centers · Housekeeping · Accounting · Engineering and maintenance · Human resources · Security

16. Rooms Division Departments • · Front office • · Reservations • · Communications/telephone operators • · Concierge • · Housekeeping Note: In many mid-size and larger properties, reservations may be part of the sales department.

17. Room Division Organisational Chart

18. Front Office • The most visible department in the hotel. • Front office staff have more contact with guests. • Front office the focal point of activities and prominently located in the hotel’s lobby. • Front office serves as the control centre for guest requests and complaints. • It plays a role as an emergency operational place.

19. Front office positions • Typical functions and positions under the Rooms Division Department: • Front Desk receptionist: Registers guests, and maintains room availability information • Cashier: Closes guest folios, and properly checks out guests • Night Auditor: Perform auditing, and prepares daily reports to management (ex: Occupancy Report and Revenue Report)

20. continued • Telephone Operator: Manages the Switchboard and coordinates Wake-up Calls • Reservation Agent: Responds to Reservation Requests and creates Reservation Records • Concierge: Handles Guest Luggage, escorts Guests to their Rooms, and assists guests for any bit of information requested

21. Front Office Functions • · Sell guestrooms • Assign guestrooms • · Register guests • · Coordinate guest services/handle complaints • Provide information • · Track room status information • · Monitor guest accounts/credit • · Produce guest account statements • · Complete financial settlement

22. Reservation & Communication dept. • This could be the guests’ first contact with your establishment. • Responsible to provide friendly, professional service the guest can expect from the establishment. • Responsible for internal and external communication between the establishment and the guests. • Responsible for taking messages accurately for both internal and external customers- wake up calls for guest and all corresponding follow up actions.

23. Reservation & Communication dept. (continued) • Responsible for communications between the hotel staff/other department • The first contact for in times of danger/emergency. • Responsible for offer information of the hotel as well as outside surrounding area. • Reservations: • The reservation sales agent (RSA) is responsible for accepting reservation from telephone, fax , letter, email and direct from people who walk in to the hotel to make reservation.

24. continued • Answering the guest accommodation inquiries. • Selling the hotel guest rooms. • Accepting guest requests for accommodation ( room type, arrival date, method of payment. • Explaining the hotel facilities and hotel policy. • Recording the reservation information accurately • Maintaining accurate internal records ( to achieve 100% occupancy) • Assisting in forecasting / staffing and other pre arrival activities. • Preventing overbooking of hotel guest room.

25. Concierge Services Staff · Bell attendants · Door attendants · Valet parking attendants · Transportation personnel · Concierge

26. Food and beverage Division • According to the statistics, F&B Department constitutes the second largest revenue generator of a typical hotel with an average of 23.1 for Food sales, and 8.6 % for Beverage sales. In a five-star hotel, Food and Beverage outlets might have the following forms: •  Room Service/Quick Service •  Specialty Restaurants •  Coffee Shops •  Bars • Lounges •  Clubs •  Banquets/Catering Functions  Wedding, Birthdays…

27. CONT. • Australia's 5,891 accommodation businesses generated $9.9 billion in income during 2006-07, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The main sources of income for these businesses, which range from hotels to bed and breakfast establishments, included takings from accommodation (66%); meals (14%), and sales of liquor and other beverages (6%).

28. Sales and marketing Division • A typical hotel should usually have Sales & Marketing division • A typical Sales & Marketing Division is composed of four different departments: • Sales • Convention Services • Advertising • Public Relations

29. AccountingDivision • The Accounting Division monitors the financial activities of the property. Some of the activities that are undertaken in the Accounting Division are listed below: • Pays outstanding invoices • Distributes unpaid statements • Collects amounts owed • Processes payroll • Accumulates operating data • Compiles financial reports • Makes bank deposits • Secures cash loans • Performs other control and processing functions

30. Engineeringand Maintenance Division • This very department maintains the property's structure and grounds as well as electrical and mechanical equipment. • Some hotels might have this very division under different names, such as maintenance division, property operation and maintenance department…

31. Security Division • Security division personnel are usually screened from in-house personnel, security officers or retired police officers, across certain physical skills, and prior experience. • Some of the functions of the security division are listed below: • Patrols the property • Monitors supervision equipment • Ensures safety and security of guests, visitors, and employees

32. Human resources Division • Some of the duties of the human resources division are listed below: • Responsible for external & internal recruitment • Calculates employees' salaries, compensation, and tax withholding… • Administrates employees' paperwork, monitors attendance… • Maintains good relations with Labor Unions • Ensures employees' safety and working conditions

33. Other Divisions • All the above mentioned departments and/or divisions should exist in a typical five-star hotel, however there might be some revenue generators that are specific to certain hotels but not existing in others. Below is a list of some possible extra or other divisions that might exist in a hotel: • Retail Outlets (i.e.: Shops rented to outsiders or managed by the hotel) • Recreation Facilities (ex: Fitness Center, Tennis Courts, and Cinema Saloons…) • Conference Centers • Casinos

34. Work shifts • Work Shift: • The Front Office Manager shall schedule his/her employees according to seasonality, business volume, and available staff in hand • The most commonly used scheduling is the TraditionalScheduling, which assumes that every employee shall work 40 Hours per Week. • Moreover, the hotel shall ensure a 3 shifts per day, each of which lasts for 8 hours. • A possible example to traditional scheduling is shown below:

35. Example • Day Shift 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. •  Evening Shift 3 p.m. - 11 p.m. •  Night Shift 11 p.m. - 7 a.m.

36. Work hours • Flexible Work Hours or Flextime: This kind of alternative scheduling entitles that employees might start work, for example, one hour earlier, just to leave again one hour earlier. • Compressed WorkSchedule: Employees, instead of working 5 days per week, 8 hours per day, might work 4 days per week, 10 hours per day. Therefore, compressed work scheduling means working all the 40 hours per week in less than the standard 5 days per week. • Job Sharing: This kind of scheduling entitles that two or more part-timers occupy the job of one full timer.

37. Job description • Job description lists all tasks of a work position. it outlines reporting relationships, responsibilities, working conditions, equipment and materials to be used. • All job descriptions shall be tailored and customized to reflect the needs of each single hotel property, and work position.

38. Job Descriptions • Job Descriptions are used for following : • · Evaluate job performance • · Train/retrain employees • · Avoid duplication of duties • · Ensure tasks are performed • . Determine staffing levels

39. Job Specification Factors · A list of the personal qualities, skills and traits needed to successfully perform the tasks outlined by a job description. Formal education · Work experience · General knowledge · Previous training · Physical skills · Communication ability · Equipment skills

40. Front Office Job Specifications · Professional demeanor (behaviour) · Congenial (natural) personality · Helpful attitude · Flexibility · Well-groomed appearance

41. Week (2) Front Office Terminologies

42. Front Office terminology Occupied: A guest is currently registered to the room. Complimentary/FOC: The room is occupied, but the guest is assessed no charge for its use. Stay over: The guest is not expected to check out today and will remain at least one more night. On-change: The guest has departed, but the room has not yet been cleaned and readied for re-sale. Do Not Disturb: The guest has requested not to be disturbed.

43. continued • Sleep-out: A guest is registered to the room, but the bed has not been used. • Skipper: The guest has left the hotel without making arrangements to settle his or her account. • Vacant and ready: The room has been cleaned and inspected and is ready for an arriving guest. • Evening Turndown ServiceThis is a mini service of the room. This is generally carried out in the late afternoon or early evening.

44. continued • Out-of-order: The room cannot be assigned to a guest. A room may be out-of-order for a variety of reasons including the need for maintenance, refurbishing, and extensive cleaning. The room is taken out from the inventory. • Lockout: The room has been locked so that the guest cannot re-enter until a hotel official clears him or her. • Waitlist: A list of bookings that cannot be accommodated unless a guaranteed booking subsequently cancels. • Overbooking: The practice of accepting more reservations than actual rooms available in an attempt to maximize occupancy.

45. Terminology • Due out: The room is expected to become vacant after today’s checkout time. • Checkout: The guest has settled his or her account, returned the room keys, and left the hotel. • Late Check-out: The guest has requested and is being allowed to check out later than the hotel’s standard check-out time.  • Day Use: Guest room is used between the hours of 10.00am to 4.00pm. Day use or discounted rate applies. • House Limit: A credit limit established by the hotel.

46. Terminology • Late Charge: A transaction requiring posting to a guest account that does not reach the front office system for posting until after the guest has checked out./ • ( The guest had checked out but there are charges to be charged to his account) • Registration Card: A printed form for a registration record, a legal document between the guest and the hotel • MOP : Method of payment • SOB: Source of Business

47. Terminology • Voucher: A Document detailing a transaction to be posted: used to communicate information from an unconnected point of sale to the front office system. • Cancellation hour: The hour after which a property may release for sale all unclaimed non-guaranteed reservations, according to property policy. • Rack Rate: The standard rate, without any discounts, it is also referred as the published rate. • IDD: International direct dialing • E.T.A. :Estimated time of arrival for a guest.

48. Terminology • No Show: A guest who made a room reservation but did not register or cancel. • FIT: Free independent traveler, a traveler who is not part of group. • Floor limit: A limit a assigned to hotels by credit card companies indicating the maximum amount in credit card charges the hotel is permitted to accept from a card member without special authorization. • Hold 6.00pm This means the room can be sold after 6.00pm if the guest has not contacted the establishment to advise of a later arrival time. Known as a 6.00pm hold. • STD: ( Subscriber truck dialling) National long-distance call

49. Terminology • Due-out: Guests expected to check out on a given day who have not yet done so. • PIA :( Paid in advanced) A guest who pays his or her room charges in cash during registration or reservation. • Rack Rate: The standard rate established by a hotel for a particular category of rooms. • Walk in: A guest who arrives at a hotel without a reservation • Walking/bump: turning away a guest who has reservation because of a lack of rooms.

50. Terminology • Room rate: The price a hotel charges for a overnight accommodation. • Log book: A journal in which important front office events and decisions are recorded for reference during subsequent shifts. • Registration Card: Legal document sign between a hotel and its guest and it is also a collection of important guest information.