Managing Accommodation Services Solved Assignment (Doc)

Managing
Accommodation
Services

Table of Contents
SALUTATION................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
SPEECH MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................1
Introduction to the case................................................................................................................1
Front office...................................................................................................................................1
Security........................................................................................................................................6
Housekeeping...............................................................................................................................8
Maintenance...............................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
RERFERENCES............................................................................................................................12

SALUTATION
Ladies and gentlemen I am Honoured and privileged to be here and thank yor for your
presence as you have provided me your precious time.
INTRODUCTION
I am hotel manager of the Ritz Hotel London and invited in the Hoteliers Annual
Conference in Rome to deliver a speech on accommodation services. My topic for speech is
managing accommodation services. Accommodation service can be defined as the leisure which
is provided by hotel industry to all the visitors. In order to continue the success, it is very
important for all the organisations which are executing business under this sector to manage all
the services which are rendered to the customers according to their requirements (Ahmad, Jabeen
and Khan, 2014). My friends, I am going to discuss various topics such as the way in which front
desk plays vital role in customer experience and the way in which security could be essential and
effective in protecting hotels against threats. Along with this, impeccable cleanliness as an added
value differentiator and improvement in performance with the help of preventive maintenance
actions are also going to be discussed by me. According to me hospitality sector is facing one
major issue which is lack of technological advancement and in order to execute all the operations
it is very important.
SPEECH MAIN BODY
Introduction to the case
I have analysed that now a days technology is revolutionizing many industries including
the hotel industry. Interior designers are contributing in the development of front desk of the
hotels. In order facilitate the staff members most of the organisations under this sector are
providing tablets to their employees instead of PCs. Different technologies such as automatic
check in systems are facilitating hotels to enhance customer experience. (Buhalis and
Amaranggana, 2015).
Front office
Firstly I would like you all to know about hospitality industry, it is mainly concerned
with delivering services to the customers so that their satisfaction level could be enhanced. Main
purpose of the organisations such as Ritz Hotel London which are rendering accommodation
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services to the clients is to make sure that all the requirements are fulfilled or not. These are
security, maintenance, front office and housekeeping.
For all the hotels, it is very important to pay attention towards security of all the guests,
employees and other workers of the organisation as it is one of the foremost element which
should be focused by large hotels. If hotels are not able to make them feel secured, then it will
affect staff engagement and customer reviews and feedback. It is one of the main
accommodation service which is highly required by visitors. Size and scope of this service is
wide because it is required by clients as well as the staff members who are working within hotel
(Cascio, 2015).
Maintenance is another important accommodation service which is required by guests
who are visiting the hotel. All the organisations such as Ritz Hotel London are required to
conduct timely maintenance of all their air conditioners, wash rooms etc. so that customers can
spend quality time at the hotel. If an enterprise which is a part of hospitality industry is not able
to provide this service, then it will result negatively and bad reviews of visitors. Size and scope
of it is moderate as it is responsibility of hotel staff to fulfil needs of customers regarding
maintenance.
Front office of a hotel is required to be attractive so that it can attract the customers.
Most of the visitors want that this area of hotel should be very clean and the staff handling it
should respond to all the queries raised by them. Size and scope of this service of hotels is also
wide because if the front desk staff is not able to communicate with guests appropriately then it
may leave negative impact upon their mind set (Common, Flynn and Mellon, 2016). It is the
element which plays a vital role in customer experience because when clients get proper
interaction of employees of hotel then they can ask them for further assistance which will be
beneficial for them to stay properly. If the front desk staff fails to resolve the queries of visitors,
then it will affect their choice of same hotel next time they visit the city again. Importance of
front desk could be understood with the help of following chart:
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Illustration 1: Front office in hotels, 2019
(Source: Front office in hotels, 2019)
From the above chart it has been analysed that most of the bookings at hotel are done by
front office department. In order to enhance business hotels are required to maintain this division
properly.
My friends, I would like to tell you all about Clefs d’Or (Golden Key Concierge) which
is is an association which was founded in year 1929 where concierges work together to help all
the guests. There are 3000 members of this association all around the world and more than 20000
concierges are employed by the association in different hotels so that they can help the front desk
to fulfil requirements of customers. The staff members who comes from this association to the
hotels makes sure that they deliver seasoned services to the customers to enhance their level of
satisfaction.
Housekeeping is also a part of accommodation services which are provided by hotel to
the customers. In order to pay attention toward cleanliness of hotels it is very important for
housekeeping staff to make sure that all the rooms are cleaned properly. Timely cleaning of wash
rooms and bedsheets is very important in organisations such as Ritz as it helps to provide higher
level of satisfaction to the customers with good services.
According to me there are different forms of accommodation services which are available
in hospitality industry. These are franchise, privately owned and leased. All these types of
ownerships depend upon nature of hotel.
In franchise model of ownership, a large hotel provide franchise to other party to execute
operations in a different location with the name of the brand. Biggest advantage of it is that due
to big name of hotel it will be very easy for organisations to establish their business successfully
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in a new location and deliver accommodation services (Engelbrecht, Kruger and Saayman,
2014).
Privately owned ownership provide high level of freedom and authority to hotel to
execute business according to its own terms and conditions. If a new such type of organisation is
established in market, then it will be very difficult for it to capture the market share because there
is no set brand image of it.
Leased hotels are also a type of privately owned organisation but the building in which
all the operational activities are performed belongs to other party. In such businesses lessee pay a
certain amount to the lessor as the rent of premises (Types of ownership, 2019).
I have analysed that there are various types of elements which are focused by guests
when they look or book an accommodation. These are online review sites, grading and
classification systems. With the help of all of them customers analyse that the hotel is having
good ranking for its services or not. It guides them to book for a room in a well maintained hotel.
Grading is a system which helps guests to determine the standard of services which are
provided by hotels to their customers. With the help of it they can compare the level of services
of different organisations which are delivered by hotels to the visitors (Jamieson and Jamieson,
2014).
Classification system of hotels allows consumers to recognise the quality and
differentiate between facilities offered by organisations to guests. With the help of it
transparency level of leisure services can also be analysed by them which helps them to select
the best place to stay.
Online review sites such as TripAdvoisor, Google, Expedia etc. are also analysed by
guests before looking or booking hotels. With the help of it they can check reviews of the hotels
which are written by visitors who have visited the place before.
All the ways such as grading, classification system and online review sites which are
used to analyse standard of hotel to deliver best services plays vital role for the potential guests
who are looking to book an accommodation. With the help of them, they can determine the level
of facilities which could be delivered by hotel to them (Khoo-Lattimore and Prayag, 2015).
My friends I think that for all the hotels it is very important to organise all the front office
functions in appropriate manner as it helps to enhance customer experience. There are different
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types of functions which are executed by front desk employees. These are reservation,
communication, receiving payments, resolving queries etc.
One of the main front office function is resolving queries of guests who are visiting the
hotel. When they select a hotel to stay they have various questions regarding room, restaurant
and their specific requirements. In order to satisfy them with the services with the hotel it is very
important for the staff who is handling queries to answer all of them appropriately. Proper
organisation of it can help to establish a good image of hotel in the mind of customers.
Another function of front office is reservation in which the receptionist is required to
handle all the reservations properly because if it is not managed properly then it can create
problem of mismanagement of rooms. Proper organisation in this function is very important to
allot rooms to the guests quickly otherwise they have to wait for a long period at reception
(Lovelock and Patterson, 2015). While reserving the room for guests the staff members are
required to make sure that rooms are cleaned so that proper housekeeping services could be
provided to them.
Proper communication is required to be made by front desk staff members because with
the help of it they will be able to analyse requirements of customers. If the receptionist is not
able to interact with guests appropriately or this function is not organised properly then it may
result in unsatisfactory nature of customers.
Function of collecting payments from guests is also performed by front office department
of the hotels. High level of organisation is required for it because a small mistake can result in
inappropriate management of cash.
Guest service is also a front office function in which the staff members are required to
make sure the rooms that are going to be provided to clients are maintained properly and these
are highly secured for them and children with them.
As a summary I would like to say that for front desk department it is very important to
organise all its functions properly because a small mistake can leave negative impact upon
customer experience. In order to satisfy them with facilities of hotel it is vital to understand their
requirements and then try to fulfil them which is possible with effective management of all the
functions.
I would like to provide you detailed information regarding front office department, it is
mainly concerned with different activities such as attending customers, interacting with them,
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resolving their queries etc. In Ritz Hotel all these processes are conducted by various employees.
The key roles in this division are front office manager, telephone operator, cashier, receptionist
etc.
In order to manage and monitor all the tasks of front office of Ritz Hotel London the
manager is responsible to analyse work which is performed by all the other employees of the
organisation. Main responsibility of managers is to make sure that the reception is managed
properly so that all the problems of customers could be resolved (Perić, Đurkin and Wise, 2016).
A telephone operator in Ritz Hotel is responsible to handle all the calls which are made
by clients to make query regarding arrangements of rooms or services of hotel. Another
responsibility of the operator is to listen the calls which are made by customers from the rooms
of the hotel to fulfil their requirements.
Cashier at the front desk of the Ritz is responsible to collect cash from customers and
provide them information regarding such facilities which may charge extra cash. In order to keep
the track record of monetary resources it is vital for cashier to manage the work appropriately
and should also have experience in the same work.
Receptionist at the front desk of Ritz Hotel is responsible to attend the customers provide
them information regarding rooms, restaurants and other services of the organisation. In order to
communicate with guests appropriately it is very important for receptionist to have good
communication skills.
Security
As a hotel manager I have assessed that for all the hotels whether it is large or small it is
very important to focus on security of itself, guests and employees as it can help to make them
feel safe. Everybody is concerned about their security because they want that while working or
staying at hotels they should be secured with high technology devices such as biometric
machine, CCTV cameras etc. Now a days security have become an issue because most of the
hotels share guest's personal data with outsiders which affects their privacy. For example, there
are various employees are working in Ritz Hotel so the top level management are required to pay
attention towards their security so that they can work effectively (Rose, 2014). If it is focused by
them then it will help to protect hotel and staff members from threat and wicked activities such
as sharing client's personal information with others, discrimination at work place etc. Apart from
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this, touching customer's luggage without their permission, harassment with employees, threat of
terrorism for hotel are also considered as such activities.
Security and technology are interlinked with each other because in order to provide a
secure and safe environment to guests and staff members hotels are required to use technological
devices such as CCTV cameras which helps to keep eye on every activity within the hotel. Other
hi-tech tools which could be used by hotels for security are digital keys, service automation,
mobiles as door keys etc. A statistics regarding technology in security is as follows:
Illustration 2: Technology in hotels for security, 2019
(Source: Technology in hotels for security, 2019)
From the above chart it has been analysed that technology helps an organisation to reduce
cost and make the check in and check out process easily.
While visiting different hotels I have analysed that there should be internal as well as
external security staff at hotels so that security could be assured. Internal staff tries to make sure
that guests are secured in the hotel or not. External staff is responsible to pay attention at the
people who are visiting the hotel. If they find any suspicious person then they take strict action
against it. There are various advantages as well as disadvantages of such staff. Benefit is that the
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guests and other members will be safe in the hotel. Drawback of security staff is that sometimes
it may result in wrong identification of suspicious person and guests get disturbed.
If all these problems are dealt by hotel staff appropriately then it will be beneficial for the
organisation as it will contribute in enhanced customer experience, highly engaged employees
etc. Hotel manager of Ritz Hotel also pay attention towards security of guests and keep their
personal information safe as it can help to make them feel that they are secure in the hotel.
If an organisation is not able to protect its guests and employees from threats and wicked
activities, then it can result in various disadvantages. Such as:
 Reduction in employees engagement due to discrimination at workplace whether it is on
the basis of gender or pay scale (Sanz-Blas, Ruiz-Mafé and Perez, 2014).
 Bad impression of hotel in mind of customers due to low level of security of their
personal information and luggage.
 Due to safety issues customer engagement will be decreased which may result in
decreased profits of the organisation.
In order to ignore all such types of problems it is very important for the hotels to pay
attention towards security of itself, employees and guests. It will help to execute all the
operational activities appropriately and reach to the organisational goals successfully.
Housekeeping
As I have mentioned earlier that there are various elements which are required to be
focused by hotels. One of them is cleanliness and for all the hotels it is very important to make
sure that cleanliness is focused by them as it can help to add value to the brand image. It helps
customers to differentiate between the hotels which are selected by them to stay while visiting a
new city. If impeccable cleanliness is focused by organisations then it will work as an added
value differentiator as it helps to establish a good image in the mind of clients.
Interiors design, cleaning and impeccability leaves positive impact upon mind set of
guests because it can help them to stay at a place which is highly hygienic and attractive. It helps
to increase customer engagement and their retention level. For all the large and small hotels it is
very important to pay attention towards such factors so that they can satisfy guests. It is very
important for different departments such as housekeeping, security, maintenance and front office
to communicate with each other. With the help of it all of them can get aware of actual needs of
customers and form decision accordingly. As Cesar Ritz said that The Customer is Never Wrong
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so the hotel staff is required to make sure that their needs get fulfilled. Now a days different
tools are used in housekeeping division of hotels. All of them could be analysed with the help of
following chart:
Illustration 3: Housekeeping in hotels, 2019
(Source: Housekeeping in hotels, 2019)
According to me, housekeeping department of all the hotels is responsible to make sure
that all the rooms are cleaned properly or not. It is interrelated with other divisions of the hotel.
In order to operate all the activities which are allocated to housekeeping funds are required
which are taken from finance department so it is related with it (Tidd and Bessant, 2018).
Information regarding checking out of guests is gathered from front desk of hotel so that rooms
could be cleaned and arranged for new customers. It shows that this division is having
interrelationship with other departments of hotel.
As a hotel manager of Ritz Hotel I have assessed that there are various roles in
housekeeping department of Ritz which are performed by employees who are working with it.
These are manager, laundry executive, cleaner etc.
Manager in housekeeping division of Ritz Hotel is responsible to monitor, analyse, assist
and control work of all the staff members who are part of it. Main responsibility of managers is
to make sure that all the jobs which are allocated to the department performed appropriately. In
order to make sure that front desk is properly cleaned or not the housekeeping manager is
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required to meet front office executive. With the help of it best services could be provided to
clients because a clean reception will help to portrait a good image of hotel in their mind.
Laundry executive is the person who handles all the washing of bedsheets, towels etc. at
Ritz Hotel. Main responsibility of the executive is to make sure that in all the rooms all the
laundry facilities should be provided.
Cleaner in the housekeeping department of Ritz is responsible to clean all the rooms in
appropriate manner so that guests can rest there properly. If the visitors do not feel that the place
where they are staying is not cleaned then it can affect the image of hotel so the cleaner is
required to fulfil all the requirement of the job (Tussyadiah, 2016). Cleaner is also required to
make sure that maintenance services are provided in each and every room so that guests can stay
in the room properly without any kind of issues related to repair.
Maintenance
I would like you all to know that for all the organisations which are executing operations
activities under hospitality industry it is very important to forecast linen stock and other guest
supplies to ensure sufficient supply to meet demand. With the help of it the hotels such as Ritz
will be able to estimate requirements of clients for future period which is required to be fulfilled.
If a hotel is not able to forecast future demand of its services, then it will be very difficult for it to
survive in the market because of lack of information regarding needs of clients.
As an experienced hotel manager of Ritz Hotel I want to say that for large hotels such as
The Ritz London it is vital to take preventive maintenance actions and schedule it so that
performance could be improved and disruption of guests could be minimised. If proper steps are
taken by organisations for repairs on timely basis, then it will reduce the possibility of the
struggle of customers regarding failure of air conditioner or other devices which are used by
them when they stay in a hotel. With the help of it performance will be improved because all the
services which will be rendered to clients will be of high quality because of proper maintenance
(Wirtz and Lovelock, 2016). The below chart shows importance of maintenance in hotels:
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Illustration 4: Maintenance in hotels, 2019
(Source: Maintenance in hotels, 2019)
The chart above shows that there is the highest requirement of maintenance in hotels as it
helps guests to spend their time at hotel easily.
With the help of it hotel will be able to enhance satisfaction level of customers with high
level of their facilities which will be delivered to them according to their requirements. If a hotel
is not able to take preventive actions for maintenance, then it may directly affect the performance
because low level of services will leave negative impact on market image of organisation.
CONCLUSION
Fellow colleagues at the end I would like to conclude that for all the hotels it is very
important to make sure that they are focusing on management of all the accommodation services
which are delivered by them. As we have discussed before that in order to enhance customer
experience it is very important for hotels to pay attention towards their front desk functions
which should be performed appropriately so that a good image of organisation could be
represented in front of clients. Along with this, security of employees and guests is also required
to be considered as a main element because it will be beneficial for organisation to enhance work
quality, profits and productivity. Impeccable cleanliness and preventive maintenance actions may
add value to the organisation and improve the performance because both the elements help to
attain long term business goals.
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RERFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Ahmad, S. Z., Jabeen, F. and Khan, M., 2014. Entrepreneurs choice in business venture:
Motivations for choosing home-stay accommodation businesses in Peninsular
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Buhalis, D. and Amaranggana, A., 2015. Smart tourism destinations enhancing tourism
experience through personalisation of services. In Information and communication
technologies in tourism 2015 (pp. 377-389). Springer, Cham.
Cascio, W. F., 2015. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill.
Common, R., Flynn, N. and Mellon, E., 2016. Managing public services: Competition and
decentralization. Elsevier.
Engelbrecht, W. H., Kruger, M. and Saayman, M., 2014. An analysis of critical success factors
in managing the tourist experience at Kruger National Park. Tourism Review
International. 17(4). pp.237-251.
Jamieson, J. and Jamieson, C., 2014. Managing Asperger syndrome at college and university: A
resource for students, tutors and support services. Routledge.
Khoo-Lattimore, C. and Prayag, G., 2015. The girlfriend getaway market: Segmenting
accommodation and service preferences. International Journal of Hospitality
Management. 45. pp.99-108.
Lovelock, C. and Patterson, P., 2015. Services marketing. Pearson Australia.
Perić, M., Đurkin, J. and Wise, N., 2016. Leveraging small-scale sport events: Challenges of
organising, delivering and managing sustainable outcomes in rural communities, the
case of Gorski Kotar, Croatia. Sustainability. 8(12). p.1337.
Rose, J., 2014. Working with young people in secure accommodation: from chaos to culture.
Routledge.
Sanz-Blas, S., Ruiz-Mafé, C. and Perez, I. P., 2014. Key drivers of services website loyalty. The
Service Industries Journal. 34(5). pp.455-475.
Tidd, J. and Bessant, J. R., 2018. Managing innovation: integrating technological, market and
organizational change. John Wiley & Sons.
Tussyadiah, I. P., 2016. Factors of satisfaction and intention to use peer-to-peer
accommodation. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 55. pp.70-80.
Wirtz, J. and Lovelock, C., 2016. Services marketing. World Scientific Publishing Company.
Online
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<https://bizfluent.com/about-5598328-types-hotel-ownership.html>
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<https://spine.osu.edu/ergonomics/evaluating-housekeeping-cleaning-tools>
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Front office in hotels. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
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