Managing Accommodation Services in Hospitality Sector - Desklib

This essay discusses the size and scale of accommodation services, various forms of ownership, role of online sites and grading classifications, functions of front office and housekeeping, significance of forecasting linen stock, importance of interrelationships and scheduling maintenance and importance of security in Four Seasons hotel.

Managing
accommodation
services

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Size and scale of accommodation services in hospitality sector............................................1
P2 Several forms of ownership in terms of accommodation services........................................2
P3 Role of grading classification systems and online review sites in accommodation services 4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P4 Front office functions within a variety of accommodation services......................................5
P5 Roles within the front office department for the chosen organisation...................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P6 Roles found within housekeeping department in the chosen hotel........................................7
P7 Significance of forecasting linen stock and guest supplies to ensure sufficient supply to
meet demand...............................................................................................................................8
P8 Importance of inter-relationships between housekeeping and other departments to provide
quality provision and services.....................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P9 Importance of scheduling maintenance and repair work to minimise disruption to all guests
.....................................................................................................................................................8
P10 Importance of security within the chosen organisation ....................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In hospitality industry, accommodation sector is considered as one of the most important
element as it is engaged with the provision of accommodation that provides hotels, farm stay,
motels, apartments and so on. The role of the associated sector is that it provides safety to all
individuals who are not much aware about the places and also helping them to explore in an
efficient way (Al-Laymoun, Alsardia and Albattat, 2020). The below essay is based on Four
Seasons which is a five star hotel headquartered in Park Lane, London. The essay includes size
and scale of accommodation services, various forms of ownership, role of online sites and
grading classifications, functions of front office and housekeeping, significance of forecasting
linen stock, importance of interrelationships and scheduling maintenance and importance of
security.
TASK 1
P1 Size and scale of accommodation services in hospitality sector
Global hotel chains are defined as an enterprise which manages through a unique
direction within all the hotels located in different areas. In case of Consortia, it refers to those
associations which create a link within both small to medium sized travel agencies in order to
purchase market opportunities. Through this travel agency, guests are provided all
accommodation services at preferred rates.
In accordance with the hospitality industry, the aspect of accommodation is indulged with
numerous services offered to audiences. The size as well as scale is continuously getting
increased day by day and assuring high development. When a person travels, they always expect
that proper and effective services are being provided like good quality food, comfortable rooms
and many more. There are three range of services which is described below: -
Luxury services: - It refers to those facilities and services which offers luxury comforts
and large level of personalized service (Ghazvini, Timothy and Sarmento, 2020). The target
market of such hotels has always been the guests who could pay high amounts and always look
for standardised services. It comes under the category of 4-5 star hotels and they offers services
like lounge, effective furnishings, valet parking, Wi-Fi and many more.
Mid-range services: - In accordance with these services, they are considered as the
perfect interrelation with being both comfortable and value of money. Mid-range services are

mainly provided by 3 star hotels and always focuses on featuring bigger rooms. The services
involved in this hotel are like laundry services, in room food facilities, telephone services and
many more.
Budget service: - In context with this service sector, the hotel provides very less facilities
at a low price in comparison with other hotel services. They mainly comes under the category of
1-2 star hotel that focuses on providing comfortable stay and food which is also not expensive.
In context with four seasons hotel, they always provide luxury facilities and services to
guests and travellers (Greenhawt and et.al, 2020). They offer various amenities like swimming
pool for fun, housekeeping facilities, small conference rooms, clubs and many more.
Type of facilities: -
Restaurant: - In each restaurant, there are several types of facilities such as a dining area,
cashier station, parking, complimentary breakfast and many more.
Valet: - The facilities provided at valet are like own parking space, opening the car doors,
collection of keys and so on.
Concierge: - In accordance with this, the facilities which are provided are like booking
the rooms, making arrangements for spa, transportation bookings, porter services and many
more.
Staffing levels found within accommodation providers: -
There are several levels of staffing like reception, technical department, dining rooms,
gym area and so on (Rizova, 2021). They are all involved with different roles like in context
with reception area, they provide accommodation services like communicating with all the
guests, doing reservation, solving all the issues of guests and many more. In case of technical
and maintenance services, they are involved in laundry equipments, dispensers and so on.
P2 Several forms of ownership in terms of accommodation services
There are different ways of ownership being available to accommodation services which
is further described below: -
Independent owned properties versus chain hotel management
On the basis of independent owned properties, it refers to a hotel which is run and owned
in an independent way and does not give permission to other property owners to make the usage
of their brand name. It has been evaluated that, these hotels are functioned within a limited
number of market. In context with chain hotel management, it is an entire group of hotels which

are operated by the same company and owner. With respect to its benefits and drawbacks, it is
being described below: -
Pros and Cons of independent hotels: -
Pros: -
 Lower start-up costs Full control over operations
Cons: -
 Takes more time to gather customers and achieve profits
 Limited amount of funds
Pros and Cons of chain hotel management
Pros: -
 Higher flexibility Large number of customer demands
Cons: -
 High training cost is involved
 There are large number of competitors already present in the market
Management contracts: - In terms of these contracts, they are engaged with managing a
website and running all sponsorship programs (Ojino, Mich and Mvungi, 2020). In context with
hotels, their owner appoints a management company in order to operate the business on their
behalf.
Pros: -
 Saves time as well as resources Offers business continuity
Cons: -
 Destruction to the reputation
 Loss of control
Franchises: - On the basis of this ownership, all individuals pay an amount to national as well as
regional chain in context with using other hotel name and logo. Besides this, it is mainly a
development of hotel by the local proprietor with existing brand name.
Pros: -
 Strong brand portfolio

 Good reputation
Cons: -
 Expensive start-up costs
 Gets locked into a contract
In accordance with Four seasons hotel, it is a chain of hotels which offers services in
many cities like Austin, Dubai and so on (Almeida and et.al,, 2020). They are involved with both
benefits and drawbacks like as a luxury hotel, they has a very strong reputation but at the same
point of time, they are carried out with certain issues also like high competitors and so on.
P3 Role of grading classification systems and online review sites in accommodation services
By looking at the present scenario, maximum number of customers do check online
reviews before doing registration at the hotel. It help individuals to choose the most accurate one
in order to fulfil all requirements. In context with grading classification systems, it plays a
significant role in attracting customers and developing brand image in a positive way. In relation
with four seasons hotel, it is essential for them also to solve all the issues of guests appropriately
as it helps in developing brand image.
Grading classification systems
Grading Explanation Example
1 star These hotels are mostly owned
by a single owner only and
offer modest rooms with very
less facilities.
The grove hotel
2 star It refers to those hotels which
provides bare necessities with
some kind of comfort.
Garden View hotel
3 star These hotels offer average
facilities, good quality service
and always focus on meeting
the expectation of consumers
(Almeida and Campos, 2021).
Luna Simone hotel
4 star In terms of these hotel, they Salt house harbour hotel

provide deluxe services and
carries large services in terms
of pleasing the guest.
5 star These hotels provide all the
guests with luxury services
like elevators, 24-hour room
service, high internet network
and so on.
Four Seasons hotel
Impact of online review sites on accommodation services: -
By taking the example of Trip Advisor, it creates a direct impact on the revenue of hotel
owners as even one negative review could result into lot of loss in bookings and guests easily
trust those reviews. On the other hand, if there are positive comments, then it could make many
transformations and lead to good ratings.
Issues of grading classification systems: -
Due to different ratings within hotels, it creates a confusion and make it more
complicated for both hotels and consumers to properly understand about what is the actual
difference. Through the classification, many guests get frustrated also because they doesn't know
much about quality aspects.
TASK 2
P4 Front office functions within a variety of accommodation services
In hotel industry, front office is considered as the most important because they are
indulged with direct communication with all the guests. There are several functions within front
office like night audit, reservation which are further described below: -
In context with night auditor, they carry the role and responsibility of managing constant
financial transactions that takes place and remain as a desk clerk also for whole night shift. The
night auditor should has the capability to solve financial related issue (Verma, Singh and
Aggarwal, 2020). Their functional role is mainly to assist all travellers and guests with respect to
their overnight requests and run all the accounting operations in a flexible way. The skills which
are required to be a night auditor is to have strong customer service abilities, efficiency in
performing computer based tasks and so on.

On the basis of reception, it is an important area in the hotel because each guest need to
take information from reception only. They carries role and responsibility to assign rooms to
each guests as per their prices. They has the responsibility to provide conformation about all the
bookings being done, arrangement of luggage, directing the guests and so on. The skills which
are necessary for a reception sector are like capability to understand about people's reactions,
communication skills and many more.
In relation with organisational chart, it offers a systematic and accurate direction of all
the orders being done and also protect employees from being over-directed. To carry out all
goals and objectives, each hotel is necessary to initiate a formal structure which would show both
staff levels and hierarchy of management.
P5 Roles within the front office department for the chosen organisation
In front office department, the staff members need to tackle several transactions which
takes place between hotel and guests (Sharma and Kaushik, 2021). They carry different roles
and responsibilities like managing accounts, ensuring guest satisfaction and many more. In front
office department, there are several positions like record keeper, service coordination and so on.
This sector is engaged with roles like protecting the property rights and ensuring security

In relation with guest service manager, they carry the responsibility of assuring that the
important messages of guests are offered at correct time period, providing training to staff
members and many more. With respect to four seasons hotel, their guest manager plays the role
of leading in house operations on constant basis and in a smooth way. The skills which are
necessary for being a guest service executive are listening abilities and so on.
On the basis of communication manager, they has a role and responsibility to make sure
that important letters are being offered to all the guests on immediate basis and advanced
technologies are being used so that no disruption gets occurred while communicating with
guests. In context with chosen hotel, their communication manager assist that proper
coordination is being done in accordance with all marketing campaigns. To be a communication
manager, there are different skills which are necessary like confidence, planning abilities.
The front office employees communicate with several functional areas like housekeeping
and food and beverage sector. In accordance with the area of housekeeping, they interact with
front office sector regarding security concerns, room status and many more. It is very essential
that there is proper and effective interrelation between both food and beverage and front office
sector. It is indulged with many assumptions like how many guests could arrive , overall house
counts and so on.
TASK 3
P6 Roles found within housekeeping department in the chosen hotel
Housekeeping department refers to an operational sector which includes the
responsibility of cleanliness, maintenance and so on. This sector is very significant in hotel
industry because each individual expects that proper cleanliness is being there through which
high standards are followed. Housekeeping department carries different responsibilities like
checking up laundry requirements, reliable services, linen stocks and so on.
In context with in-house housekeeping, it is involved with cleaning of both internal areas
of hotel like rooms as well as public areas also. In this housekeeping, the areas get cleaned as per
the orders which does not involve any additional costs (Evelyn, 2020). On the other hand, in
case of contracted out housekeeping, focus is mainly on effective cleaning with high range of
time frames. An agreement is done between outsourcing company and hotel. In context with four

seasons hotel, they applied the way of contracted out housekeeping because it was considered
more flexible to them.
On the basis of executive housekeeper, they control and direct entire operations of
housekeeping and their employees. They has the responsibility to manage and maintain overall
budget for the sector. In accordance with this, they offer several updates and information
regarding what is happening at housekeeping sector.
P7 Significance of forecasting linen stock and guest supplies to ensure sufficient supply to meet
demand
It is necessary for the hotel to manage linen stock as it is necessary in meeting up regular
demands of the hotel in order to assure flexible circulation. Through forecasting stock, chances
of spoilage gets decreased and proper supply is done. In context with guest loan items, it refers to
equipments which a person needs everyday and are provided as per the request of guests. In
relation with bath facilities, it is essential to meet up the demand of people because by providing
necessary supply of cosmetics, razors, brand image gets enhanced.
P8 Importance of inter-relationships between housekeeping and other departments to provide
quality provision and services
It is crucial to maintain housekeeping and front office department because the
information regarding guests arrival is provided from front office staff members only. The front
office managers initiates an occupancy report which is engaged with full information regarding
check-ins and check-outs (Jennifer, 2020). Housekeeping sector also gets the information
regarding which room is required to have special attention and care.
On the basis of the inter-relationship between housekeeping and food and beverage
sector, it is essential so that both quality and provision could be managed. It is especially
important in the case of room services such as cleaning up the waste food, collecting trays so that
resistance could take place.
TASK 4
P9 Importance of scheduling maintenance and repair work to minimise disruption to all guests
Roles and responsibilities:
Within in the hospitality organisation as in the four seasons hotel scheduling
maintenance and repair play very important role in the management of effective guest services.

Such as facility manager pay important role in manage the inventory by assuring the needs of
customers facilities and its presence in the adequate quantity. Maintenance manager of the
organisation is important in the process of repair and maintenance as they monitor the hotel
services effectiveness and any error or mistakes, in order to manage that with in the right time to
prevent the disruption to all guest. At that situation role of the Maintenance engineer is fix the
error with appropriate solution. Security manager have to monitor the security system of the
hotel and if found any error the, they have to inform maintenance engineer to repair or fix that.
Security guards have to make sure that every thing is well managed along with the ensures of
safety, within the organisation. And if they found any damages in the property or any
maintenance issues within the organisation then they have to communicate with other managing
staff regarding that.
Maintenance:
Different types of maintenance,
Routine- is done in pre planned basis to identify and prevent the problem. Such as
Preventative is the type of maintenance which in the four seasons hotel managing staff have to
make the assessment of the pre define error or risk and then prevent it to happen by managing
this with in the right time. Such as prevention of sort-circuit and other electrical issue, AC
services.
Scheduled- Is the type of maintenance with is done on the basis of given timeline, in
hotels this effectively done with the communication of housekeeping and engineering
department. Such as room cleaning and line management.
Cost implications of maintenance requirements is involving the level of expenses
associated with the repair of hotel assets and management system. KPI measurement use to
analyse the cost of maintenance expenses. The current cost of the four seasons hotel
maintenance is 15$.Room refurbishments is one of the most important schedule maintenance as
this is involving the cleaning of room, decoration and improvement of its attractiveness. This
helps to reduce the disruption of customers by assuring the satisfaction of their needs with
interactive refurbishments
Relationship between maintenance department and the housekeeping department, there
are the various situation during which both department want help of each other. Such as at the
situation when housekeeper found electrical error in the room then they can inform it to

maintenance department and at the situation where maintenance department need some cleaning
support then the communicate both housekeeping department.
P10 Importance of security within the chosen organisation
Security:
There are the various reason due to which security is very important in hospitality
organisation, such as customers belong from the higher calls status due to which there is higher
risk of their safety issues, in context to which that is important to implement some security
measures like, Key card access, after-hours access to the property (Ahani and Nilashi, 2020).
These tools helps to reduce the risk of strangers or criminals come inside the hotel or customers
room. Risk assessment security plans is important as this helps to pre analyse the safety issues
and risk, alarms can help to make peoples alert about the risk, camera systems helps to keep
thinks in control by monitoring every one. Health and Safety and fire procedures are important to
prevent any health complication issues, burning of the customers or worker. For which there is
the first-aid box and emergency doctor facility along with the fire preventions measures in hotel.
CONCLUSION
From the above essay it has been concluded that, the success of hospitality sector is
majorly dependent on the type of accommodation services which they provide. There are several
types of accommodation like luxury, mid-range services and is associated with the classification
of hotels. There are several forms of ownership like chain hotels, independently owned and it
was analysed that as per the present scenario, chain hotels are more important. There are several
issues when hotels get classified on the basis of grades because it creates lot of confusion with
hotel and individuals. All front office sectors has different roles and responsibilities like night
auditor has to perform different tasks while reception department has to focus on something else.
Besides this, housekeeping sector is involved with in-house and contracted out which is done as
per the requirements and preference of hotels.

REFERENCES
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