Managing Accommodation Service

This report discusses the scale and size of accommodation services in the hospitality industry, different forms of ownership, the role of grading and classification systems, organization of front office functions, key roles in the housekeeping department, importance of forecasting linen stock and guest supplies, and the interrelationships between departments in a selected organization. The report focuses on Four Seasons Hotel London as an example.

Managing
Accommodation Service

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
P1. Scale and size of accommodation services within hospitality industry...........................1
P2. Different forms of ownership available to accommodation services...............................4
P3. Role of grading, classifications systems and online review sites.....................................5
P4. Explain the organisation of front office functions within a variety of accommodation
services...................................................................................................................................6
P5. Discuss key roles within front office department.............................................................8
P6. Review key roles found within housekeeping department...............................................9
P7. Importance of forecasting linen stock and other guest supplies to ensure sufficient supply
to meet demand.....................................................................................................................10
P8. Importance of interrelationships between housekeeping and other key departments to
provide quality provision and services.................................................................................10
P9. Examine the importance of scheduling maintenance or repair work to minimise disruption
to guests................................................................................................................................12
P10. Discuss the importance of security in selected organisation........................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
The effective management of the accommodation services in hospitality sector is
considered as the most tough to practice and the managers in accommodation providing
organisations have to face a lot of things while setting up the planning and control for the overall
process. The luxury hotel industry of UK has a well renowned name of Four Seasons Hotel
London in it, it is ranked among top class luxury hotel. The hotel was established in London
England in 1921 as a very small venture of accommodation service provider in United
Kingdoms. This report is prepared on the determined information and facts of the respective
hotel company. This report is divided in 10 pass points which ultimately covers all the aspects of
accommodation services and the related departments along with their functions. Such as the scale
and size range of accommodation service centre, their grading system and the role of the front
office management in the respective accommodation company. Forecasting of the linene stock
and other variables within the hotel, the interrelationships between housekeeping and other
departments of hospitality sector and importance of security and scheduling the maintains for
any repair work within the working place of the departments are further discussed in this paper.
P1 Identify the scale and size of the accommodation services found within the hospitality
industry
The hospitality sector within UK is flourished with a vast quantity of luxury
accommodation. Among them the Four seasons hotel England promises to provide the best
accommodation service to the customers. The scale and size of these accommodation services
are described as below:
Luxury – The highest range of service are classified in the luxury section. The visitors who
subscribes this segment are befitted from getting certain advantages.
Mid-range – The midrange segment involves the type of medium scale hospitality sector. He
hotels with rating of 3 and 4 are classified in midrange scale of accommodation service
Budget or Limited – The hotels in accommodation service which provides a very limited
options of facilities to its visitors and new guests. These are considered as the cheap source of
getting the accommodation service.
P2 Forms of ownership available to accommodation services
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The ownerships in accommodation services are generally classified in multiple forms
these are as sole traders, partnership, limited company by shares etc. some of the major
classifications are described with advantages and disadvantages hereby in relation to the
hospitality sector of UK:
Ownership Description Advantage Disadvantage
Sole Trader A single owner of an
accommodation service
is known as the sole
trader.
No profit is divided on
the basis of ownership.
The single person is liable
for all the negative factors
all by oneself.
Partnership When two or more
persons come together
to perform the business
according to their
proportion of ratio.
There is no compulsion
for paying the income
tax within these
partnership firms.
The rise of conflicts is
common in these type of
companies.
Limited
Company
A certain limit is
determined in these
types of firms in respect
of either shares or
liability.
Each and every
member is liable only
for their respective
share and investment in
the said organisation. .
Outsourcing of funds is
not allowed as these types
of organisations have
fixed capital.
Franchise It is a systematic
approach of expanding
the business by sharing
the ownership
particularly of every
branch under the
company's
Franchises can enhance
the revenue and
popularity of the firm.
The optimum market
capturing can also be
achieved by the
accommodation service
provider.
This form increases a high
chances of brand failure
among the respective
market. If the said
franchisee would not be
able to operate on certain
standards of the ultimate
hotel.
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P3 Role that, grading, classifications systems and online review sites play when potential guests
look for and book accommodation
Accommodations are generally be classified according to the standards which are set up
by various online reviewing channels. These portals helps the visitors to select the right hotel as
per the guidelines which the accommodation service follows. The overall experiences of the
guests does also helps in getting the feedback for the particular hotel. TripAdvisor is one of the
most efficient website which categories numerous hotels and other accommodation providers by
rating them according to the quality services and other specific factors. It helps to the potential
visitors to choose the best place to stay by considering the star rating of a hotel. Thus the rating
system of hospitality firms consists of following components, these are discussed along with the
examples in the table below :
Grading System Definition Example
5 stars The rating of five star hotel is considered as
the top rank in hospitality sector. These type
of hotels provides the best amenities to their
guests .
Four Seasons Hotels
London
4 stars Those hotels which provides premium
services but on a limited value are
considered in the range of 4 star segment.
These service consists of providing valet
parking, laundering, private dining etc.
Edinburgh Grosvenor
Hotel
3 stars Such type of hotels provides the best
services in average criteria. For instance any
accommodation centre that provides
amenities like swimming pool, restaurants or
other entraining elements but only for a
specific period of time and in addition to
that they are considered as the public places
.
Ramada Hounslow
2 stars These hotels share the same qualities as of City Inn
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the 1 star hotel. Such as they provide the
same facilities with some extra amenities.
Such as wall coverings and timely mattress
changing
1 star In such type of hotel, only the basic facilities
are provided whereas the staying charges are
also the least.
School House Hotel
P4. Explain the organisation of front office functions within a variety of accommodation services
At the time of first interaction with the physical body of a hotel a front office is the only
and foremost place where a visitor is engaged. The staff of the front office is trained to influence
the potential people and maintaining good communication with the guests of hotel at the time of
their interaction. The front office is designed in most formal and effective manner because the
front office department represents the behaviour and other standards of that particular
accommodation service provider. The section of front office in Four Seasons Hotel London is
established with a purpose to communicate with the visitors in a way more possible elegant tone
as well as to handle their queries and managing other service related issues. In relation to Four
Seasons Hotels London the major operational function of Front Office are hereby:-
Reception: The reception is referred to as the front desk of the hotel where the staff is
obliged to greet and interact with every new visitor . Here in this function the front officer is
assigned to take the necessary information of the client and making entries in the hotel entry
checklist.
Reservation: This function of their front office is considered as the pre booking of the
rooms or staying locations with their respective guests. This is performed to ensure that the
regular and genuine consumers get their accommodation services without any excess time taking
process.
Telephone: The telephone section of the front office at Four seasons Hotel is responsible
to attend the calls and answer the queries off customers and making their bookings. This function
is also used to make a contact with the previous customers in case of any lost and found.
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Cash and Bill: here in this section the payment of the accommodation service is collected
by the staff from the respective visitors. Preparing bills and providing the receipts for the
payments are also integral function of front office.
Information: this section is quite interrelated with all the other factors as the information
is required to di any task and that is provided by the management and conveyed by the front
office people. .
Importances of these function
The necessities to establish and operate an efficient front office management are required
by the respective hotel in terms of increasing the effective role of accommodating the new and
potential visitors. The reception centre in a front office has a high value in representing the
overall hotel as well as the other functions like a good reservation system increases the
efficiency of managing the accommodations on time and cash and billing process helps in
maintaining the balance among financial system of hotel in a transparent manner.
P5 Key roles within the front office department for Four Seasons Hotel London
The front office department plays certain key roles while attending the guests. Thus they
have to be humble, respondent, formal as well as effective at the same time of operating their all
functions. The respective management of Four Seasons Hotel London has segmented the each
and every function of front office desk into sub groups and departments. These department are
assigned to perform their respective key functions. The reservation manager, guest services
manager and check in manager are the subordinate mangers to the front office management.
Thus the important skills and qualities are needed to be performed from such actions in the terms
of front office section of the hotel. As the respective mangers and their associates are selected for
completing the tasks related to them and their capabilities. The division of work in the sub
departments according to their specialism increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the
overall operations of front office departments. The suitable placement of these servicemen in the
constitution of Four Season Hotel London’s front office management are as follows :
Position Number of Persons
Front Office Manager 1
Guest Services Manager 1
Guest Services Assistant 2
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Check-in Desk Manager 1
Check-in Desk Night Clerk 2
Check-in Desk Clerk 1
Reservations Manager 1
Reservations Clerk 2
Porter (Bell-Hop) 2
Night Porter 1
Concierge 1
P6.The key roles found within the housekeeping department in a selected organisation
Housekeeping department provide clean and comfortable stay to their guest and its
becomes their aim to satisfy their respective customers. In addition to this, housekeepers are
invisible for most of the guests and for this, housekeeping department make sure hat they
maintain high standards in their premises which put positive impact on the frame of mind of
employees and helps in developing its mage in public. For this few roles of housekeeping
department are discussed as under:
 Cleaning and freshening the rooms is the important role which housekeeping department
plays. As fresh rooms put positive impacts on the arrival of guests and for this,
housekeeping department carry its stock such as hospitality carts with towels and
bathrobes, fresh lines, cleaning supplies, toiletries and so on.
 Moreover, housekeepers are trained and skilled enough to knock on the door if the rooms
are occupied as they are allowed to enter at that time only when the guests are not in their
room or the room is vacant. For this, there role is to change the beds once in a day and
also provide fresh towels and they also replace used and dirty materials, wipe floor and
make sure that guests return to clean room as it helps in satisfying their respective guests
and remove any sort of rubbish from the room.
P7 Importance of forecasting linen stock and other guest supplies to ensure sufficient supply to
meet demand
In today's growing and high competitive world, hospitality sector is classified according to the
management of increased room supplies along with balanced revenue for the optimum
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profitability of the hotel. Hotels in this segment can enhance by practicing effective performance
in the overall management as well as with its outcomes, yet the harsh competitive rivalry makes
it necessary for revenue collection managers in the confines of Four Seasons Hotel London to
persistently bring about changes for the practice of optimum efficient strategies in the
management of it. In this context, it is important for the hotel management to forecast about
linen stock and various other essential guest supplies as operations like this leads to drive sales
increment, managerial and organisational efficiency, satisfied fulfilment of visitor service and
maximisation of income. The important guest supplies within any hotel are respectively bedding,
bar supplies, clothing & textile, centre table supplies, furniture supplies etc. Forecasting the
future need of all these is due necessary in any large scale hospitality company as these factors
leads in anticipating the demands and need of customers and predicting the sales of rooms and
services. This is important for the making of effective decisions in regards to the pricing,
operational and growth strategies of the respective hospitality sector.
P8.The importance of interrelationships between housekeeping and other key departments
within a selected organisation to provide quality provision and services
Coordination with front office: In order to develop coordination and cooperation among
various departments, house keeping department plays significant role in order to regularly make
modification in the suitable information regarding the rooms. For this, the role of front office
department is to provide suitable list for guest and their expected time as at what time they arrive
in hotel and then notify the housekeeping department in order to make preparation of rooms in
advance. For this, the front office of Four seasons are not allowed to assign rooms to their guests
until and unless rooms are not cleaned and officially released by housekeeping department. For
this, both the housekeeping and front office department should have prominent data and
information regarding the product and also inform regarding the change in the status of room as
they always determine that rooms are occupied, vacant or under repair etc.
Coordination with security: Safety and security of guests and employees are the
responsibility of hotel and its security department which is related with the prevention of them
and safety of hotel and to keep the care of keys of staff and lost property. For this, housekeeping
department of Four seasons need to report and inform about any suspicious thing which they find
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in their surroundings and after that immediately inform to their staff regarding any unidentified
and wrong thing. For this, the rooms of hotels are considered as the most private place as the
employees of hotel and restaurant need to make sure and are concerned with the safety and
privacy of guests. For this, security department is responsible for arranging and organising
training sessions and handling any sort of emergency of their staff.
P9 Importance of scheduling maintenance or repair work to minimise disruption to guests
Hospitality sector is largely characterised by customers whose demands and expectations
keep on inflating with the passage of each day. In this regard, facilitation of maintenance or
repair work is regarded as the key. When the hotel authority pays importance and focus to the
areas whereby the past customers have undergone issues and take measures to repair the same, it
provides an edge to the hotel. With reference to Four Seasons London, it has been noticed that
the management and staff of this hotel is excessively focussed upon ensuring that all the
offerings of the entity are upgraded and developed to best suit the needs and demands of people.
Within the confines of the respective hotel, a number of posts are devised to look upon
this segment of work. These are acknowledged to be Facilities Manager, Maintenance Engineers
and some more. There are several types of maintenance which are carried out by the
management and staff members of Four Seasons London. These are namely routine, preventative
and scheduled. The cost to carry out such repair and maintenance work is effectively managed by
the concerned hotel. The rooms are timely refurbished so as to ensure that least disruption is
caused to the guests staying within the premises.
The scheduling for maintenance of fixtures and fittings, plumbed and electrical items is
done at a time frame of 45 days, implying that the repair work is carried out once in every 45
days. For the purpose of ensuring that maintenance takes place in a timely manner, Four Seasons
London has adopted a Computerised maintenance management system whereby all the
maintenance schedules are recorded so that none of them are missed. This helps a great deal in
making sure that the guests having a stay within the premises of the hotel do not experience any
kind of negative or adverse incident, which places a bad influence upon their consumer purchase
behaviour. In this manner, the respective hotel effectively taps the mindsets of clients and
ensures that the guests do not leave the premise dissatisfied or disappointed with the services
provided by the management. This provides a competitive advantage to the firm over other top
notch hotels.
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P10 Importance of security within Four Seasons London
Security and safety is regarded as the primary concern for each and every hospitality
organisation. In this regard, it has been analysed that hotel industry pays due emphasis over
security concerns. This is because the concerned corporate sector is majorly posed to the risk of
stealing, theft, terrorist attacks or fire mishap. Looking upon this, Four Seasons London takes
effective measures with the help of which it can ensure safety and security within the confines of
the hotel. Security guards are present 24*7 at the entrance of the hotel building to ensure that no
trespasser makes entry within the hotel. Further, key card access is provided to the guests having
stay at the hotel so that no unknown person can gain access to the room or any of its belongings.
The premise of Four Seasons London is equipped with systems such as fire safety equipment,
earthquake and safe vault security system. Further, Security Manager is the designation that
pertains to the hotel staff just to ensure that the guests do not have to undergo any safety or
security concern. For more security and safety, risk assessment security plans are devised in a
timely manner. The whole building is fitted with cameras and alarms. Also, there is an
emergency gate for the exit of guests in case fire breaks out in the premise of Four Seasons
London.
CONCLUSION
In the above report a brief discussion about the major factors of accommodation service
sector is given which emphasise on the efficiency of work within the respective organisation.
The system and culture of the organisation are the key elements to describe the value of the hotel
within the market. The grading of each hotel differentiates it from other hotel in terms of quality
and charges and security within the company is also necessary to be implemented accordingly
with the policies of work and the staff working nature, the front office management within the
said organisation of accommodation service is also essential to be manged effectively by
considering the above elements which were discussed earlier.
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