Managing Accommodation Services at Ritz Hotel: Types, Ownership, Grading, Front Office and Housekeeping Roles, and Inter-Departmental Relationships

This report covers the types of accommodation services, ownership forms, grading, and roles of front office and housekeeping departments at Ritz Hotel. It also discusses the importance of inter-departmental relationships for quality provision and services. Subject: Hospitality, Course Code: HOS101, College/University: UK College

MANAGING ACCOMODATION
SERVICES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
P1 Presenting the types of accommodation services available within the hospitality industry...3
P2 Different forms of ownership available to accommodation services.....................................4
P3 Role of grading, classification system....................................................................................5
P4 Presenting the role of the front office department within accommodation services..............5
P6 Presenting the key roles found within the house keeping department in RITZ.....................7
P7 Assessing the importance of linen stock and other stock to meet the demand.......................7
P8 Importance of inter- relationship between the housekeeping and other department with
company to provide quality provision and services....................................................................8
P9 Importance of scheduling maintenance or repair work to minimize disruption to guest.......9
P10 Assessing the importance of security within RITZ..............................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality and accommodation is one of the growing industry of United Kingdom that
contributed 4% in the GDP and growth of economy. Likewise, there are around 223045
hospitality business in UK that have employed around 137225 employees thereby lead in
increasing their overall living standard. This report is about Ritz hotel which is American
multinational company operating its function in Luxury hotel chain thus having 108 luxury
hotels and resorts in 30 countries. Moreover, it has explained about the scale and size of
accommodation services within hospitality industry, different forms of ownership available to
accommodation services and role of grading, classification system and online review sites in
booking. Furthermore, roles within the front office department and housekeeping department in
Ritz hotel. At last it has covered inter-relationship between the housekeeping and other
department, importance of scheduling and security in the company.
MAIN BODY
P1 Presenting the types of accommodation services available within the hospitality industry
Accommodation is a source which provides safety for the travellers who wish to travel at
new places. There are various types of accommodation services which are been categorized
under hospitality industries like rooms, banquets, customer services, leisure, food services etc.
Scale and Scope of hospitality industry:
The market is being segmented into groups of customers as follows
World Class Service:
These are being classified into luxury hotels, and they mostly focus on high ranks of
society such as political figures, big businessman, and wealthy clients. They provide services like
private dining facilities, world-class room and spa facilities, etc. All the staff present in such
hotels are highly trained and are professionals, and they ensure that they provide the best
customer services.
Mid-range services:
They are being classified as 3 to 4 star hotels and are considered the largest group under
which the public loves to travel. These hotels do not provide detailed service like luxury hotels

but has sufficient staffing to provide systematic services like room services, catering services etc.
They also provide various source of entertainment for its visitors.
Budget/limited service:
These are the type of services that are chosen by those people who want to have a
pleasant stay without incurring additional costs for the services been provided. These hotels
provide minimum basic necessities and amenities.
Size of industry:
According to the BHA there are total 45,800 hotels in UK in which budget hotel consists
of 64.07% market, mid-market hotels comprises 62.93% and luxury hotel comprises 94.96% of
the market. Also, 11% of the GDP in UK comes from the hospitality sector. Almost 1,50,000
jobs are generated in hotels every year.
P2 Different forms of ownership available to accommodation services
Accommodation services refers to the fee that has been provided for the room ,building,lodging
etc. for the person to stay and live for some period of time. The different types of ownership
available are as follows
Privately owned hotels: These are the type of hotels where there is the single owner and
several investors. In such hotels the manager has full authority in decision-making but it does not
have benefit of brand support as it has expectation of the quality. Eg: The Nare, Cornwall in
Roseland peninsular is a place where visitors can spend most of the time in outdoors.
Leased hotels: It is the type where the owner leases the place to the chains or
corporations on a fixed rent (Manaf, 2018). But major risk is that if the hotel does not operate
properly than less revenue is been received to the owner. Also, quality of services provided may
also vary from place to place. For e.g. : Fleurets which provided consultancy and advisory
services to the hotel sector.
Managed contract hotels: It is the type where existing owned hotel hires a management
company to carry out its day to day operations. The managing hotel charges eminence on total
revenue earned and also lends the brand name of the hotel too. Managing hotels are believed to
be well-organized. For e.g.: one managing organization ties up bond with other brand firm to
manage the hotel under the owner name and agrees to share the profit with the owner.
Franchises: It is the type where a particular amount of fee is being paid to the national
chain so that the company name, logo and other protocols can be used. Travellers attract to such

ownership because of the trust of quality and services the brand offers but chain standards must
be maintained for success(Hsu, Zhang and Lawrence, 2020). For e.g. Motel Six whose brand
image was affected due to budget hotel's involvement in crime and lack of proper maintenance.
P3 Role of grading, classification system
Grading and classification plays an important role in booking an hotel for future. Grading
helps in easy selection and booking of hotels in accordance to ranks. Hotels are being graded and
classified as one, two, three, four and five star on the basis of the facilities provided. The one and
two star hotels will be small to medium-sized with very basic amenities and is mostly preferred
by travellers who do not want to spend large amount of money on accommodation (Mohsin,
Rodrigues and Brochado, 2019). Three and four star hotels are quite large in the designs they
provide range of facilities that are not available in one and two star. Five star hotels are those
which fall under the category of luxury hotels where services provided are formal (What are the
benefits of grading and classifying hotels?, 2016). Majority of travellers always prefers the three
and four-star grade hotels as they are of much comfort and ease. The five-star grade is preferred
mostly by the business class.
Role of online review site to book accommodation:
Online review site plays an important role in choosing their accommodation. Reviews are
being made in accordance with the image of the hotel and services provided in it. Through
reviews the firm gets noticed locally too. Some of the online review sites are Facebook, yelp, trip
advisor, angi etc. These websites help in increasing the sales, and can benefit in search engine
rankings and also provide potential travellers for the hotels.
P4 Presenting the role of the front office department within accommodation services
The role of front office in different accommodation services are as follows:
Hotels:
In hotels, the front office manager is assigned for hiring, training, preparing budget and
ensures all the complaints are communicated with proper solutions. It works towards the
common goal of customer service (Chauhan, Shukla and Negi, 2018). It also manages all the
calls and communicates the payment method to its customers. Front office department also
ensures proper food and room services to their guests. It also handles the database of the clients
for any assistance required in case of emergency.
Lounges:

The important function of the front office in lounges is to manage the time regarding the
meetings, planning the work for the day, delegating the work properly to its workers etc.(Front
office department Introduction, operations and functions, 2021) It also organizes and maintains
the file, makes update and changes whenever required. Receiving the phone calls and redirecting
the same to the appropriate person.
Hostels:
In hostel, the role of front office manager is registrations and maintaining the records of
the guests. It also provides services related to bell desk, room management, analysing the total
revenue generated and, deciding whether to increase or lower the stock prices. It also includes
functions like sending packages, documents of the guests if received any from the outsiders. It
also responds to the queries in person if any and ensures cleanliness and hygiene at the front desk
area and other areas.
P5 Key roles of the front office department in Ritz hotel in UK
Ritz hotel in UK is the 5-star hotel in London, England and represents the symbol of
luxury in the world. The following are the services which are been provided at the front desk.
 Ensuring all the projects and policies are formulated in a proper manner according to the
norms and gold standards of the hotel.
 Administering and managing employees and managing all day to day operations.
 Creating a positive environment for its guests and identifies area for the improvement
(Shin, Perdue and Kang, 2019).
 Protecting the security and privacy of the guest’s confidential information and ensuring
all the needs of the guests are fulfilled.
 All accounts of the guests are properly maintained with the correct method of payment
and ensure quick availability of rooms and all the amenities soon after the booking of the
guests in prior.
 It also ensures proper check in and check out services for all the guests so that there is no
bad review from the guests.
 Timely hiring employee team members with the required skills to meet the needs of the
business operations.
 Addressing the guest’s problems and estimating the results to choose the best option
available at that time.

 Providing all the relevant information in a timely manner to all the workers working in
the Ritz hotel.
P6 Presenting the key roles found within the house keeping department in RITZ
In Ritz, there are different roles played by house-keeping department which are as mentioned
below:
 Major roles and services followed are cabin cleaning, restore and requesting all the
amenities like cutlery, valet services etc. in accordance with the standard procedure of the
hotel.
 Presenting the challenges to the supervisor and resolve the conflict related issues in
carrying out the daily tasks and also handling the day and night team in executing the
tasks .
 Requesting the maintenance for the equipment’s that are not functioning with the
supervisor so that the work can be done smoothly.
 Ensures all the storage, inventory, and cleaning material is available in pantries and are
kept in spotless condition and in safe storage (Bhatnagar and Nim, 2019).
 Ensures minimum wastage, wear and tear of the materials provided by the hotel and
ensuring proper disposal of the garbage.
 Performs boarding duties as appointed and provides wheelchair assistance to the guests
when asked by the supervisor.
 Executing the training for the individuals to apply expertise, knowledge and service
standards in coordination with HR department.
 Ensuring proper communication with the guests and identifying their needs to avoid
conflicts and create the best customer experience and satisfaction.
 Assisting the laundry team and sharing responsibilities so that work can be completed on
the time.
 Participating in creating the fiscal budget when requested by the supervisor. Budget will
help to analysis the areas where the amount of funds needs to be increased and the areas
where the fund needs to be decreased.
 Maintaining good functional working relationships with all the supervisor, managers and
other members of the team.

P7 Assessing the importance of linen stock and other stock to meet the demand
It is important to have stability in stock and avoid overstocking of the products as it results
in wastage, damage and spoilage. Also, proper availability and supplies of the stock always make
rooms clean, ready and presentable to its visitors. It also serves as a tool of investments for
potential investors as it creates the brand image of the hotel and serves as a tool for expansion in
the future. The best linen stock values the class of guest experience within Ritz so that they can
have a positive impression of the hotel. E.g. As uniform of staff helps in creating the brand
image of the hotel so the uniforms must be provided on place and on time.
Also, managing other stocks in hotel ensures proper and timely supply of required
materials so that there are no delays and there is perfect use of space. Moreover, in this context
balance of stock ensures that manageable control can be established within the hotel so that
conflicts can be avoided within different departments. Other importance is that appropriate levels
of stock helps in making effective budgeting plans for the hotel as budget plays an important role
in every organization. For e.g. linen stock can be hired from other firms as it would cut down the
initial cost of buying linen which will help in distributing the budget over other resources of the
hotel. It also helps in maintaining the check on the loss of materials due to any carelessness,
stealing or any such reason. In excessive demand it helps to avoid any duplication of the stock in
the hotel thus helps in effective cost management.
P8 Importance of inter- relationship between the housekeeping and other department with
company to provide quality provision and services
The inter relationship between the housekeeping and other department is important for Ritz
as it helps in providing qualitative services to customers in limited time frame. Housekeeping is
the centre of circle that tries to maintain strong relationship with other departments so that all
task can be easily completed. The manner in which inter-relationship between department can be
illustrated in detailed as follows:
 Housekeeping with front office: In Ritz, there is strong relationship between the
housekeeping and front office department as housekeeper prepare the room so that guest
can leisure live or stay in the room. While Front office manager welcome the guest, or
enhance the front office sales after the room has been get clean. So, front office
department after cleaning the room report to the housekeeping department about the
number of rooms that are vacant after the guest departure so that housekeeping can clean

the same (Silys, 2017). Therefore, there strong relationship contributes in delivering
qualitative services to customers in limited time frame.
 Housekeeping with the food and beverage: It can be stated that food and beverage
department, restaurant, banquets constantly needs napkins and table cloths to clean the
area so that new guest can arrive and have breakfast, lunch and dinner. All the standard of
the hygiene needs to be maintained by the housekeeping department to represent the
restaurant in better manner (Gassmann and et.al., 2020). Therefore, the relationship
between the housekeeping with food and beverage in the Ritz is essential for customer
satisfaction and growth of firm in hospitality sector.
P9 Importance of scheduling maintenance or repair work to minimize disruption to guest
Schedule maintenance or repair work can be defined as any type of repair and upkeep work
has been performed within a set of time frame. It occurs at repeating intervals or in response to
work request so that no problem can be face by the customers in any circumstances. Scheduling
maintenance is important to minimise the disruption cause to guest because it helps in identifying
the problem or areas that require to be repair so that better services can be delivered to customers
and growth of organisation can be promoted to maximum extend (Wang, Tang and Cheng,
2018). Therefore, the importance of scheduling maintained for Ritz can be explained as follows:
 Identifying of the problem and create a work order: Schedule maintained is important
because it contribute in identifying the problem or error present in the hotel so that the
area can be get repaired in minimum time frame possible. So it helps in outlining the
scope of work that needs to be completed through including crucial information such as
what the problem, question and any other issue that need to be resolved.
 Inspect the asset and premises where work need to be performed: Furthermore, after
collection of all pinpoints and information related to what is the actual problem and the
areas that needs to be maintained. Secondly, it helps in inspecting the assets and premises
by consisting of all detailed such as what resources are required, scope of work so that
necessary arrangement can be made to have a well-equipped infrastructure (Ali and et.al.,
2018). Thus, it helps in maintaining the ambience of the hotel and contribute in making
customers happy and satisfied to maximum extend.

P10 Assessing the importance of security within RITZ
It is very important as investing in installation of proper security ensures that guests feel safe
and protected. It also protects owner from any damages that may be caused from criminal
activities like theft or any other. This problem can be overcome by continuously monitoring the
entrances and exits of the hotel. Moreover, security is provided through physical inspections
around the hotel to provide a sense of security to its guests. This will also help in creating a
greater sense of satisfaction. Not only that a proper security will help in preventing any property
damage to the hotel. Security is also important for the company as it ensures the safety and
security of customer’s personal information or no harm can be cause to them in any
circumstances. Round the year, there are range of customers or guest that come to the hotel in
order to enjoy their leisure time and have fun. They come for either travelling or leisure so that
security of hotel is essential for the guest coming from different parts of the world. The reason
which says that safety and security of Ritz is important because providing good customer
services is one of the main objective of firm (Tomašević Lišanin, Galfi and Palić, 2018). It helps
in building and retaining strong brand image of company in mind of customers as they feel
happy when company take crucial steps to ensure their security and privacy.
CONCLUSION
From the above report there are certain things that can be concluded such as it the
hospitality industry have wide scale and size that helps in generating lot many employment
opportunity across United Kingdom. Front office of Ritz hotel plays a crucial role in motivating
customers to be part of the organisation so that it can earn high profit margin and sales volume.
Furthermore, it can be stated that repair maintenance is essential for minimizing the disruption
cause to the guest thereby lead in creating strong brand image of firm. At last it can be
summarised that it has helped in understanding that inter-relationship between department and
security is important for the company.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Ali, L. and et.al., 2018. Price fairness, guest emotions, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in
peer to peer accommodation sector. Journal of Global Business Insights. 3(2). pp.41-51.
Bhatnagar, E. and Nim, D., 2019. Impact of Housekeeping Services and Practices on Customer
Satisfaction and Repeat Business. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management. 12(8).
pp.46-57.
Chauhan, A., Shukla, A. and Negi, P., 2018. Safety and security measures adopted by the hotels
and their impact on customer relationship management. International Journal of Research-
Granthaalayah. 6(1). pp.118-125.
Gassmann, S. E and et.al., 2020. My home is your castle: forecasting the future of
accommodation sharing. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management.
Hsu, L., Zhang, J. J. and Lawrence, B., 2020. The Moderating Role of Hotel Type on Advertising
Expenditure Returns in Franchised Chains. Journal of Advertising. 49(5). pp.575-591.
Manaf, M.H., 2018. Application of lean to hotel’s operations. Tourism Management
Perspectives, 2(12). pp.103-115.
Mohsin, A., Rodrigues, H. and Brochado, A., 2019. Shine bright like a star: Hotel performance
and guests’ expectations based on star ratings. International Journal of Hospitality
Management. 83. pp.103-114.
Shin, H., Perdue, R. R. and Kang, J., 2019. Front desk technology innovation in hotels: A
managerial perspective. Tourism Management. 74. pp.310-318.
Silys, G., 2017. Information System for Accommodation Service Searching and Management.
Tomašević Lišanin, M., Galfi, A. and Palić, M., 2018. ROLE OF THE NEW MEDIA AS A
DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL FOR ACCOMMODATION SERVICES IN TOURISM.
CroDiM: International Journal of Marketing Science. 1(1). pp.93-101.
Wang, T. C., Tang, T. W. and Cheng, J. S., 2018. Art-oriented model of hotel service innovation.
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Online
Front office department Introduction, operations and functions. 2021.[online]. Available
through:<https://setupmyhotel.com/train-my-hotel-staff/front-office-training/743-front-
office-introduction-operations-functions.html>.
What are the benefits of grading and classifying hotels?. 2016.[online]. Available
through :<https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/373/153520.html>.