Managing Accommodation Services: Front Office and Housekeeping

This report covers the size, scale, and scope of the accommodations sector, and the role of front office and housekeeping departments in offering effective accommodation services. It also discusses the significance of predicting linen stock, interrelationships among departments, and scheduling maintenance for minimizing disruption to guests. The report includes examples from InterContinental hotel and highlights the importance of customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry.

Managing accommodation services

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1
PART – A......................................................................................................................1
PART– B.......................................................................................................................1
Different front office functions within accommodation services................................1
Key roles within the front office department of InterContinental hotel......................2
Ways by which front office’s operation meet the mission and objectives of hotel....2
Major roles found within the Housekeeping department of Intercontinental hotel....3
Significance of predicting linen stock and other guest supplies...............................3
Significance of interrelationships amid housekeeping and other key departments..4
Importance of scheduling maintenance for minimising disruption to guests............5
Evaluating the role of maintenance within the accommodation services.................5
Discussing the importance of security within InterContinental hotel.........................6
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................6
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Focusing in relation with the hospitality industry, it is being referred as the
group of businesses which are offering different services to customers and one such
business is accommodation. This service is an important element of hospitality
industry as it includes different activities such as event planning, transportation,
travelling etc. All these are being engaged in offering different services to customers
by way of offering outstanding experiences. Moreover, it is one of the largest sector
of the tourists industry which provides different opportunities for advancement of
careers in different destinations (Frapin-Beaugé, Verginis and Wood, 2018). Thus, it
is crucial to gain comprehension about this crucial sector. Concerning this, the major
aim of the current research report is to offer detailed understanding in relation with
the accommodations sector available to the customers. The report will going to cover
different aspects such as size, scale and scope of varied kind of ownership and role
of front office and housekeeping department in offering effective accommodation
services. Further, the report will also going to throw light on the role facilities and
security plays within the accommodation services.
PART – A
Covered in PowerPoint presentation
PART– B
Different front office functions within accommodation services
Talking in relation with front office department, it is being referred as reception
where customers arrive for the first time at a place of business. The staff members of
the office are dealing with a contact to a significant person of the firm. This
department is being influenced by the revenue of the firm. The front office employees
are required to augment the delivery of their service through engaging with clients
and visitors. In regards with the accommodation services, the front office performs
different functions and it varies depending upon different kinds of accommodation
such as motels, hotels and hostels (Vallen and Vallen, 2013). Clients visit the hotels
in different forms such as educational trip, entertainment or for some business
purposes and all this significantly impact the function of front office departments.
Furthermore, the employees engaged in this department are required to comprise
different types of manners and etiquette like greeting them, supporting them with
luggage and boarding them to their room etc. Functions of front office includes:
 Reservation – This is the major function of the front office desk. It involves the
request of the customer in regards with booking the accommodation for
particular period of time. Seeking help from several ways reservations can be
done in these accommodation service providers such as through telephones,
websites and mobile applications.
 Communication – This is again an important function of the front offices as
they need to communicate with the customers regularly. This might be in
context of getting their feedbacks, solving any query or telling them about any
1

personalized offers (Brigham, 2015). Communication can takes place via
telephones, emails or through application notifications.
 Bellhop service – This is being defined as the service wherein employees
helps the visitors with their luggage and requirements related to
transportation. During the stay of the clients in the properties of hotel, this
service is being offered to them.
Key roles within the front office department of InterContinental hotel
In the present task, InterContinental hotel of England is being taken into
consideration. In the hotel, the front office is that department which directly interacts with the
customers on their arrival. Furthermore, the front office is visible in a context to visitor. The
level of operation in the front office of Intercontinental hotel is regarded as very complex
because it supports the procedure of customer satisfaction in the operation of hotel.
Moreover, it is very critical because it is majorly influenced by different factors of good
behaviour from the employees of the hotel and the level of customized support to the clients.
The main roles involved in the front office department of the hotel comprises the operations
pertaining to offering services to the customers like helping with luggage, solving their
queries, check-in and check-out, documentation and so forth (O’Fallon and Rutherford,
2011). In addition to this, the front office also involves the functions of management of
routine administration and the services related to room. Roles and responsibilities also
includes creating data base of the client, handling accounts of guests, selling service and
coordinating with guests. Explanation of some of them are being elaborated below:
 Generating guest database – The main role of the front office department of
InterContinental hotel is to generate records of the information of visitors such as
their identity card, passport, country name and other details. Each of these details
are maintained by them accurately and perfectly.
 Handling the accounts of guests – All the accounts of guests are being maintained
and managed by the front office of the hotel. All the accounts are being maintained
on the basis of past and present data of the visitors.
 Coordination of visitor service – The employees of the hotel which are operating in
the front office are required to coordinate with the visitors for obtaining data about
them. Wide variety of services are provided to them which needs effective
harmonisation (Guerrier and Deery, 2018).
Ways by which front office’s operation meet the mission and objectives of hotel
The overall mission and objective of Intercontinental hotel is to develop great hotel
that the customers love by offering true hospitality to them. The operations of the front office
department of the hotel includes all the factors of mission and objectives that needs to be
attained in the longer period of time. Since, the front office is the only department which
involves direct interaction with the customers, they are accountable for satisfying the guest’s
needs and the long run objective of the hotel can be accomplished through having greater
level of satisfaction of the customers. Further, satisfying the guest through enhanced
hospitality is the prime objective of the front office department of Intercontinental hotel.
Furthermore, the front office are accountable for selling the services of the hotel which in
turn helps in attaining the financial goals of the company. The staff members with their
politeness and calmness resolves each and every queries of the customers which makes
them satisfied and repeat customers. In addition to this, code of conduct and guidelines
which are required to be followed by the front office department are also issued by the hotel.
2

The Intercontinental hotel also aligns the business objectives with the operations of the front
office of the hotel for planning the activities of the hotels in the longer period of time (Frapin-
Beaugé, Verginis and Wood, 2018).
Major roles found within the Housekeeping department of Intercontinental hotel
The housekeeping department of the InterContinental hotel is considered as the
liability because they does not makes any contribution towards the profitability of the hotel.
However, this department plays a crucial role as they helps in smooth functioning of all the
activities. The significant job of the housekeeping department is to make improvement in the
experience of customer engagement for retaining them in the coming future. Furthermore, if
this department is not up to the mark then customers will not be satisfied and it will going to
hamper the overall goodwill and brand name of the hotel. Some of the important role being
performed by the housekeeping department of InterContinental hotel are as follows:
 Role of administrative housekeeper – The workers employed in this department of
the hotel are required to make their environment safe from any form of damages and
harm such as unacceptable behaviour, robberies, falls and trips by effectively
evaluating the environment.
 Role of room attendants – The housekeeping department of Intercontinental makes
every suitable effort to make the trip of the visitors memorable as they are paying
high amount for their stay in the hotel. The main role of the room attendants is to
keep the room clean and healthy through proper sanitation, changing bed sheets,
mopping floors, cleaning washrooms and so forth (Casado, 2011).
 Role of public area supervisor – Further, the main role of the public area supervisor is
to uphold the space of the public area which is generally being utilized by the visitors
such as cleaning and maintaining corridors, entrance of the hotel, swimming pools,
common washrooms, passages etc. In addition to this, they are also responsible for
making sure that the full area of the hotel should be kept clean and clear all the time
with a view to make their customers contended and happy. They also monitors and
coordinate with the workers for having proper arrangement as per the needs of the
clients.
Significance of predicting linen stock and other guest supplies
Talking in reference with the linen stock, it is being referred as the most
expensive responsibility of the housekeeping department which encompasses
uniforms of the workers, bed sheets, pillow covers, bed covers, curtains, drapes and
many more. It is important that the department must maintain adequate supplies of
these stocks and other supplies for the purpose of identifying the customer
satisfaction level. All these stocks are required to be replaced properly and must be
laundered by the staff because visitors utilizes these things directly for fulfilling their
principle facilities. Additionally, if the need of linen is not able to fulfil the expectation
then it gives a bad picture of hotel in the intellects of clients. retention of the
customer is every crucial for the hotel due to the fact that new acquisition involves
too much cost which decreases the profit margins of the hotel up to some degree
(Wood, 2017). Some of the significant supplies in hotel is being described beneath:
 If the stock of the supplies such as raw materials, be sheets, curtains, covers
and food is not maintained effectively then the hotel will not be in a position to
3

offer money value that the client has spent on their stay. This can influence
the sales of the hotel in future.
 On contrary to this, if more stock is being acquired by the employees then
needed then it will also augment the cost of inventory and leads in decreased
profit margins of the hotel.
 For keeping the clients satisfied and happy, it is vital for the hotel to make
sure that their employees behave adequately with the clients and dress well to
be presentable in front of them. In case their uniforms are not appropriately
ironed and washed then clients will not be contended due to the fact that they
imagine environment not only in the place of work however also in the
employees, their behaviour and uniforms (Bernini and Cagnone, 2014).
Significance of interrelationships amid housekeeping and other key departments
Focusing in relation with the housekeeping department, it has a very
significant role in the success and growth of InterContinental hotel because the key
objective is to create the experience of the client unforgettable. This aim will be
attained only if all the other departments such as front office and human resource
department work together in coordination for attaining the desired objectives.
Significance of interrelationship between housekeeping and other departments is
illustrated in the subsequent paragraph:
 Front office department – The main work of this department is to take as well
as give answers to the any complaint of the customer speedily and make
them contended during their stay in hotel. The role of housekeeping
department is offering data in regards with the status of room to the front desk
which involves stock related to facilities, demands of customers, visual
appealers of the room and so forth. Their inter-relationships makes sure
smooth stay of the clients. This in turn helps in increasing their rate of
retentions.
 Engineering department – The main function of the engineering department is
to coordinate, operate and maintain all the equipments and machineries being
installed in the hotel such as escalators, elevators, generators, inverters, air
conditioners and so on (Hayes and Ninemeier, 2016). The workers staffed in
the housekeeping department monitors whether all the machineries and
equipments are kept in order or not prior giving rooms to the customers so
that if any issues occurred then it can be fixed by the engineering department
hurriedly.
 Laundry department – The laundry department of the InterContinental hotel is
responsible for making sure effective cleaning of best covers, bed sheets,
pillow covers, curtains, drapes and linen stock and their ironing so that
environment which is health and germ free is maintained. It is the
accountability of the housekeeping department to change the linen stock on
timely basis for making sure uninterrupted operation of activities and healthy
environment is being offered to the customers.
4

Importance of scheduling maintenance for minimising disruption to guests
In order to make the visitors satisfied from the services being offered by the
hotel, repair work along with schedule maintenance is very significant. Repairing and
maintaining of the hospitality building is necessary as the effectiveness of the
building reflects the service quality of the hotel which in turn directly impacts the
selection decision of the clients. If the building of the hotel is maintained adequately
then it will support in appealing the potential clients and will keep them contended
with the services and products provided by the InterContinental hotel. Rooms which
are well maintained helps in reducing the possibility of getting grievances in relation
with services (Powell and Watson, 2016). Different spaces in the Intercontinental
hotel which requires regular maintenance such as restaurants, pool area, clubs and
guest rooms. In addition to this, it also helps in augmenting the security as well as
safety of the guests of the hotels and its workers through making sure that the
amenities, service and building are safe for the customers. Besides, it also supports
in diminishing the disruption to visitors because when all the machineries,
equipments and infrastructure are maintained effectively it decreases the possibility
of repair and damage at the time of availing of services by the clients. Considering
the example, the maintenance department of the InterContinental hotel always males
sure that subsequent to the checkout of the guests from the room, it is cleaned and
properly sanitised. All the things are being arranged effectively prior allotting rooms
to other guests. Furthermore, the repair department also works in line with this
department to ensure that all the things are managed adequately prior getting
another reservation. All this helps in developing an optimistic picture of the hotel in
the eyes of clients about the services being provided by them (Bowling, 2014).
Evaluating the role of maintenance within the accommodation services
Right from maintaining the assets of the hotel along with the spaces being
utilized by the guests, maintenance plays an important role in augmenting the
services being provided by the hotel. InterContinental hotel carries out different
activities for schedule maintenance and these are:
 Routine maintenance – The human resource department of the
InterContinental hotel is accountable for keeping and preserving day to day
actions for effective management of service quality in each and every
condition. Seeking support from this, workers carry out their activities
effectively on right time and according to the expectation of the client. For
example, human resource manager of the hotel monitors day to day events in
the hotel regularly being carried out by the workers and upholds them in the
condition of huge demand (Chathoth and et. al., 2016).
 Scheduled maintenance – Furthermore, by making effective plans,
groundwork and schedule management, and significant direction is being
offered to the staff members in regards with the manner activities needs to be
performed. All this further aids in offering services effectively, adequately and
timely which leads towards development of values amid the clients. Moreover,
schedule maintenance also helps in decreasing the disruption which the guest
5

might receive because of inappropriate management of events and
postponements of services. Schedule will provide an aid in prioritizing the
services based on their significance in addition with the time being consumed
to carry out the same.
Discussing the importance of security within InterContinental hotel
Throwing light in relation with security, it is very essential as it normally helps
in attracting the visitors in the business of hospitality. It is obligatory on the part of
hotel to make sure safety as well as security of the visitors along with the staff
members as they are the key resources that belongs to them. In regards with this,
Intercontinental hotel makes sure that as and when their guest enter the premise of
the hotel for seeking accommodation services they provide them harmless and
protected environment throughout their stay. With this, the hotel satisfies the client
which in turn helps in augmenting the image of the brand in the market. A satisfied
clients with their word of mouth augments the footfalls of the customers towards the
hotel which increases the overall efficiency of the hotel (Bowie and et. al., 2016).
Other than this, safety of the employees and other resources of the hotel is also
necessary because it impacts the work being carried out by them. Workers which are
protected and secured employs more efforts to perform his or her role as compared
to the employees who possess fear of being injured. Since, Intercontinental hotel is
quite famous multinational chain in the accommodation services, it is important for
them to uphold effective management of security as well as amenities with a view to
offer enhanced service quality. Subsequent are some of the measures being
adopted by the hotel for offering security:
 Key card locks – Security over the entering of the room is being offered by
intercontinental hotel by offering key card locks which are magnetic and
having flash memory functions. Seeking support from this system, individual
can be constrained from entering a room which does not possess any
authorization.
 Fire alarm – In each and every rooms of customers, fire alarm and smoke
detectors are being installed by the hotel which are being checked 24 hour a
day. With this system in place, the staff members can easily respond quickly
in the situation of fire or any other form of emergency. With this system
customer and employees feel safe and secure (Intercontinental hotels and
Resorts, 2021).
CONCLUSION
Thus, from the above analysis it can be concluded that for the purpose of
attaining success and growth in the hospitality industry, it is obligatory on the part of
hotels to make sure effective maintenance of services regularly and updating them
according to the requirements of the clients. Other than this, it has also been
originated that housekeeping, security, front office and maintenance are important
departments which helps in augmenting the service quality through offering prompt
services.
6

7

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Bernini, C. and Cagnone, S., 2014. Analysing tourist satisfaction at a mature and
multi-product destination. Current Issues in Tourism, 17(1), pp.1-20.
Bowie, D. and et. al., 2016. Hospitality marketing. Routledge.
Bowling, A., 2014. Research methods in health: investigating health and health
services. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Brigham, G.H., 2015. Housekeeping for Hotels, Motels, Hospitals, Clubs, Schools.
New York: Ahrens.
Casado, M., 2011. Housekeeping Management. 2nded. New Jersey: John Wiley &
Sons.
Chathoth, P.K. and et. al., 2016. Co-creation and higher order customer engagement
in hospitality and tourism services: A critical review. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(2), pp.222-245.
Frapin-Beaugé, A.J.M., Verginis, C.S. and Wood, R.C., 2018. Accommodation and
facilities management. London: Sage.
Guerrier, Y. and Deery, M., 2018. Research in hospitality human resource
management and organizational behaviour. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 17(2), pp.145–160.
Hayes, D. and Ninemeier, J., 2016. Hotel Operations Management. 3rded. Harlow:
Pearson.
O’Fallon, M. and Rutherford, D., 2011. Hotel Management and Operations. 5thed.
New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Powell, P.H. and Watson, D., 2016. Service unseen: The hotel room attendant at
work. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 25(2), pp.297–312.
Vallen, G. and Vallen, J., 2013. Check-In Check-Out: Managing Hotel Operations.
9thed. Harlow: Pearson.
Wood, R.C., 2017. Working in Hotels and Catering. 2nded. Oxford: Thomson
Business Press.
Online references
Intercontinental hotels and Resorts. 2021. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.ihgplc.com/>. [Accessed on 8thFebruary 2022].
8