Hotel Room Division Management

This assignment examines the crucial aspects of hotel room division management. It delves into the department's responsibilities, including guest check-in/out, room allocation, housekeeping coordination, and revenue management. The study analyzes the impact of various factors on room division performance, such as property size, electronic distribution channels, and technological advancements. Additionally, it explores best practices and strategies for optimizing room division operations and enhancing guest satisfaction.

ROOM DIVISION
OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.................................................................................................................................................3
1.1....................................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2 ................................................................................................................................................6
2.1....................................................................................................................................................6
2.2....................................................................................................................................................7
TASK 3 ................................................................................................................................................7
3.1....................................................................................................................................................7
3.2....................................................................................................................................................8
TASK 4.................................................................................................................................................9
4.1....................................................................................................................................................9
4.2....................................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................10
References...........................................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Room division can be stated as important part of the hospitality business, which is
composed of two sub-divisions, housekeeping and front office. The housekeeping department is
responsible for keeping and maintaining the cleanliness, health and hygiene within the entity (Baker
and Huyton, 2004). On the other hand, front office department is responsible for developing healthy
and sound relationship with customers. These two department play a major role in assuring long
term success, growth and prosperity of business. From the reports of US Accommodation Industry
it has been identified that room division department is responsible for generating majority of profits
for hotel. Therefore, the main share of profits of hotel is through the room occupancy and related
services. In this report, different aspects of room division operations management will be studied in
the context of International Hotel Group (IHG). It is a British multinational hotel business, founded
in 1777, headquartered in Denham. At present,company is operating in around 100 nations with
742000 accommodation and 5028 hotels. In this report, discussion will be provided regarding roles
and responsibilities of the accommodation and reception service staff. The significance of property
interior and design to effective management will be discussed. Thereafter,calculation regarding
room division performance indicator to evaluate the success of accommodation sales will be
provided.
TASK 1
1.1
The scope of room division operations of Inter Continental hotel group in Cambridge is very
wide. It further encompasses the accommodation section of the business. It means the lodging
where any of the housekeeping, maintenance, reception, valet and other services can be rendered
(Brookes, Altinay and Ringham, 2014). It not only involve sleeping and shelter but it means the
provision of accommodation to match the objectives and requirement of customers. There are
different types of accommodation facilities that are available for customers. Such as,
 Hotel: It is establishment that renders travellers with paid lodging and other hospitality
services. As per the,location, quality of services, size and facilities the hotels are provided
with various ratings.
 Hostel: It is feasible option for backpackers and budget travellers. The hostel provide
common bedrooms with shared facilities like, bathroom, kitchen to customers who want
cheap amenities (Crotts, Pan and Raschid, 2008).
 Motel: They are establishment that are deigned for the motorist like, bus drivers etc. Motels
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are nothing but roadside hotels with less number of facilities and large parking grounds for
motor vehicle.
 Boutique hotel: It can be deigned as stylish small hotel located in urban areas having not
more than 100 rooms. These hotels are designed as per specific theme and emphasis on
rendering personalized experience to customers (Enz, 2009).
 Resort: It is kind of facility that is especially designed for customers looking for recreation
and relaxation. It can be defined as accommodation facility that renders extensive guest
service along with lodging such as, spa, gym,swimming pool etc.
There are wide range of accommodation and front office services needed by customers of
IHG. The customers require clean room, prompt services, proper facilities like, WiFi, laundry, food
and beverage etc (Gayar and et.al., 2011). Thereafter, roles and responsibilities of accommodation
and front office staff are discussed as follows:
Front office
 Reservation supervisor: They are responsible for managing and receiving the reservation
request for forthcoming overnight accommodation. It check the availability of room and
provide lodging facility as per the needs of customers.
 Front office manager: It is key person of the business that is accountable for all aspects of
guest satisfaction in the front office. It also resolve the complaints of guest on time to
prevent their dissatisfaction (Jayawardena and et. al., 2013). The duty of front office
manager is to develop the work schedule of its team. Thereafter, it also supervise and
coordinate all routine operations in its department.
Accommodation
 Housekeepers: They play a very crucial role by maintaining proper cleanliness in hotel.
They check the room before they are ready for sales. They also assure rooms are clean and
equipped with resources like, towels, linens etc.
 Room maids: They are responsible for cleaning the vacant and occupied rooms in the hotel
and other areas like, lobby etc. They are required to mop, clean the premises with
disinfectants (Kim, Ham and Moon, 2012). They also refill the guest supplies such as toilet
papers, room fresheners, soaps clean linen,towel and shampoo.
1.2
There are varied kinds of services rendered by the room division department in a range of
lodging facility such as, hotels, holiday camps etc. From the provided case scenario, it has been
identified that Inter Continental hotel Group is planning to start new business in Cambridge. Also,
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the company will be targeting the business travellers. Therefore, the accommodation facility must
be designed considering the needs of target customers (Lashley, 2007). The hotel must have free
WIFI so that customers can contact other delegates and carry other business work. Thereafter, there
must be conference facility so that meetings can be scheduled for business travellers. In addition to
this aspect, the conference hall must be well equipped with techniques like, mike, projector,sitting
facility, speakers, laptop etc. Since, business customers will comprise of key person of company
like, CEO,managing director etc. more concern must be taken of their safety and security. The
biometric technique can be used to prevent any unauthorized person to attend meeting and
conference of specific business customer (Wood and Verginis, 2004). In addition to this aspect,
breakfast, along with team, coffee can be offered to business customers during their meetings etc.
Furthermore, there are wide range of legal rules and regulations that must be considered by
the hotels while conducting various operations related to room division operations. They are
described as follows:
 Health and safety act: The primary purpose of this policy is to cut down the risk for service
users along with employees working in hotel. As per this policy, the management of IHG
must assure that it render healthy and risk-free surroundings to its employees and guests.
There must be safety equipments like, fire alarm, extinguishers, ladders, first aid kit
available in hotel (Xie and Peng, 2012). Also, the firm must check the chemicals that are
used in laundry and housekeeping section are kept safe and secured.
 Control of substances Hazardous to health regulations, 2002: This act relates to those
harmful substances that can have terrible effect on the well-being of employee operative in
organization (Huang and Ji, 2013). It is compulsory for establishment using hazardous
substance in their functional areas to stock, manage and use them safely. The act further
categories substances as, very deadly, harmful, toxic, and corrosive.
 Price tariff and display: It is important law which will stimulate the IHG hotel to render
genuine information about price and other additive or hidden charges related to product and
service. The tariff charge should concern the total cost that user is needed to pay. In addition
to this, guest must be prior informed about excess charges if room is used after checkout
time or other facility like Gym, Spa.
 Data-protection act 1988: It is crucial act laid down by Parliament of UK. This act generate
guideline to manage the data of identifiable living beings in UK (Hussain, 2012). As per this
act the hotels are required to keep the personal information furnished by guest to hotel in
safe and secured manner. The information must not be used other than the stated purpose
and should not be stored more than stipulated time frame.
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TASK 2
2.1
The front of house department play a important role in the effective management of
hospitality business. It further represent the first individuals that meet the target customers. They
play important role in maintaining the reputation of hotel among guest. It can also be defined as
nerve for operations of IHG (Kim, Lee and Law, 2008). It act as link between hotel and its
customers. They are the first person that is contacted by guest. They play influential role in making
guest develop a impression regarding the quality of services, standard amenities that will be
available in hotel. The front house area of IHG regards to front office department like, accounts,
cashier, housekeeping, reservation and receptionist etc.
Furthermore, the front of the house area regards to any staff members who interacts with
guest and take care of their different needs. It further comprises of department like, front office
department, sales and marketing, reservation, food and beverage, sports and entertainment etc. the
front office department is responsible for developing interpersonal relationship with customers by
communicating with them. It further identify different needs of customers so that best services can
be rendered. With the help of communication process, front office department process all the
inquiry of guest effectively (Das, 2010). They perform the functions like, reserving accommodation
and other facility for guest. They also maintain the record of check in and check-outs of the guest.
Thy assure maximum occupancy of hotel by enhancing customer satisfaction level. The duty of
front office department is to welcome the guest and greet them.
The reservation department play a important role in assuring the demand of hotel
accommodation and services is properly met by ensuring proper supply. They further maintain the
record of reservation like, customer name,phone umber, address along with copy of identification
prof. They handle the reservation request of the guest properly. Thereafter, the accounts department
maintain the financial statements of hotel. The department is accountable for recording and
reporting the flow of cash within IHG through sale of rooms, services in restaurants etc. They
further check that proper salaries and wages are paid to employees. Other than this, they check the
expenses of business does not exceed the income. The front house area also involve the functions of
food and beverage department (Fijalkowski, 2011). It is important division of hotel that serve the
eatables and drinks during the stay of guest. They assure the food and beverage offered to guest is
of good quality and taste. Overall, it can be stated that front of hose department play important role
in generating revenue for business.
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2.2
There are varied operational issue that can impact the proper management and performance
of front office area. The discussion of which is provided as follows:
 Poor motivation among employee: The employees working in front office department
have to many times deal with ill-tempered guest. The are too much pressurized by
management to handle the stubborn customers nicely and assure their satisfaction with
services of hotel (Giesbrecht and et. al., 2015). This further creates frustration on the part of
employees. The low motivation among employees directly affect the quality of services
offered by them to guest.
 High employee turnover: There is high employee turnover in front office department due
to too much pressure and stress level. The employees in this department have poor work and
social life balance (HG about company, 2015). In addition to this aspect, the long working
hours including night shifts, more work on holidays and weekends leads to stress and
anxiety among employee. This further become reason for high employee turnover and
absenteeism impacting the performance of business.
 Lack of use of upgraded techniques: The failure to use new and upgraded techniques can
lead to ineffectiveness of entire front office department. With the increased digitalization in
present scenario, the customers want effective front office service in hotels but also on its
official website. Therefore, department must handle the queries and complaints of customers
on e-portals. Thereafter, another technique like self check out facility must be used to
prevent guest from waiting . Thereafter, computers can be used for preparing and
maintaining the records of vacant and occupied room, for preparing the bill of services used
by guest etc.
TASK 3
3.1
Property interior is important concept that relates to design and coordination of the
decorative attributes of the interior of hotel so as to induce maximum customers to make a visit to
hotel (Room division management, 2016). The property interior play, research, coordinate and
manage the design of hotel including its colour scheme, texture, lightning, furnitures and fittings. It
can also be defined as art and science of increasing the effectiveness of interiors to attain a better
and more appealing environment for the guest. The role of property interior is to create attractive
physical surroundings so as to induce maximum customers to purchase the services offered by
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business. The main objective of using interior designing is to increase footfall in hotel and change
the visitors into actual customers (Baker and Huyton, 2004). The superior, attractive interior
designing of hotel also render a soothing and comfortable experience to guest. The interior design
must be changed from time o time so that customer experience something new every time it visit
the hotel. The customer taste and preference can be kept into consideration during interior
designing. Such as, colours, glowers , flowers etc mostly preferred by customers must be kept. The
organization must have proper knowledge of building impact on customers using interiors by
making arrangements, proper choice of furniture, paintings, curtains and other decorative items. To
enhance the attractiveness through interior designing the management of IHG hotel can use modern
art,or art inspired by local culture of Cambridge (Brookes, Altinay and Ringham, 2014). Other than
this, interior designer make use of different colours that further have psychological impact on
customers. Therefore, they use various colours that can help in keeping customers calm, cheerful,
comfortable in room. Other than this, colours play important role in making a room look larger or
smaller. Overall, with the help of attractive interior designing IHG can enhance the sales of hotel
services and generate maximum revenue to business.
3.2
The fundamental aspects of planning and management of front house of area and
accommodation service relate to administration of the different functions such as the hotel should
ascertain the objective of hotel. The front office manager shall set the strategies and tactics to reach
these particular and measurable objectives (Crotts, Pan and Raschid, 2008). The front office
manager should manage the work among employees which can be finished at proper time. The
planning and management is required to prevent dissatisfaction among guest. Further, to maintain
the reputation of hotel among customers there must be proper planning by management. It will
further help in having optimum utilization of resources. With the help of proper management, IHG
will be able to generate maximum revenue. The accommodation services provide majority of share
to profits of business (Enz, 2009). Therefore, more focus will be given on the attractive and clean
rooms equipped with proper technology and amenities. Also, the staff must be trained properly to
address different needs of guest. The effective management will also help in avoiding the
operational issues faced by business. Such as, planning can be done to motivate the employees
using various rewards so as to enhance their morale and employee retention rate of business.
TASK 4
4.1
Yield management can be defined as a pricing policy that assist in knowing, anticipating and
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rousing the behaviour of customers so as to assure maximum yield and income from room division
of IHG. It is arranged mode framed to intensify the profits by maximizing the demand of rooms,
booking schedule and negotiable pricing. Yield management play an crucial role in increasing the
value and sale of rooms of IHG. This aspect help the administration of firm in checking the correct
number of guests that can take on accommodation services (Gayar and et.al., 2011). The yield
management assist entity in rendering effective services during peak seasons. Further, with the
occupancy rate, the profit ratio of IHG will be directly increased through the yield management. In
this respect, different tactics can be used by establishment to gain the occupancy rate. Therefore,
business can make viable modification in its tariff structure. In this respect, hotel can use
differential pricing structure which means charging different prices from different customers. For
instance, for rendering honeymoon suit with garden view, attractive furniture etc. hotel can charge
little extra tariff. Thereafter, price reduction can be rendered to students on education trip etc. The
company can also charge contrasting prices in different business seasons like, high prices in
holidays and peak season etc (Jayawardena and et. al., 2013). From the provided scenario, it has
been identified that IHG hotel is expanding its business in Cambridge. The entity will be focusing
more on business customers. Therefore, management of IHG can provide discount to such
customer. Thereafter, to boost the sales of services,company can provide advertisement in business
magazine newspaper etc.
4.2
Forecasting is an crucial technique that assist business in predicting the forthcoming
sales by using the past records. It further assist management of hotel in taking possible business
decisions. With the aid of prediction methods, IHG predicts the demand of services in future
specifically, in peak season (Kim, Ham and Moon, 2012). Therefore, proper services can be
offered by hotel to its customers by assuring their satisfaction level. Further, with the help of
forecasting management of entity can compare the actual performance of IHG with the planned
one. With this aspect, management can determine ground for the fluctuation in such results and
assure they are not continued in future. Further, to assure proper prediction of sales, company is
needed to collect different operational and financial reports for statistics. This further help in
distinguishing the redundant expenditures that can be avoided in future for raising the revenue of
business (Lashley, 2007). The success of accommodation sales can be calculated through measuring
the occupancy rate, average room rate etc. The formula of which is as follows:
Occupancy ratio: Total no of occupied rooms/ Total no of available rooms.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that room division is significant part of hotel
industry. The room division department must consider various legislation to avoid legal
consequence such as, health and safety act, data protection act, control of hazardous substances to
health etc. From the report it has been identified that there are different types of services rendered
by room division such as accommodation, house keeping etc. It ascertained that front house area is
responsible for interacting with customers and maintaining their loyalty with the services offered by
IHG hotel.
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REFERENCES
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Science & Business Media.
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IHG about company, 2015. [Online]. Available through: <http://www.ihgplc.com/?pageid=326>
[Accessed on 30th January, 2016].
Room division management. 2016. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.roomsdivision.com/en/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=52http://www.roomsdivision.com/en/
index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=52>. [Accessed on 30th
January, 2016].
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