Functional Departments in the Contemporary Hospitality Industry

This assignment discusses the various functional departments in the contemporary hospitality industry and their interrelationships. It also explores the operational roles within the industry and the skills required for success. Additionally, it addresses the current skill shortages in the industry and suggests solutions to overcome them.

Contemporary Hospitality Industry
INTRODUCTION
Hospitality industry is a service industry and a broad
category that includes lodging, event planning,
transportation, travelling and additional fields. This industry
divided in to three areas such as accommodation, food and
beverage, and travel and tourism.
Operational departments: Various operational departments of
hospitality industry are as following:
Front office department- In Sheraton, it is a department that
inform housekeeping to make up the room ready for sale to
the next guest online when a guest is about to departure. It is
the nerve centre of a hotel and the services of this department
are welcome the guests, carry their luggage, help them
resister and solving their queries etc.
Housekeeping department- In Sheraton, this department is
responsible for the management of the guest room and the
cleanliness of all public areas of the hotel. In the competitive
hotel market, it is play an important role because good
services and cleanliness make a positive impact on the guest
and customer whether they will return.
Food & beverage service department- This department
basically related to the food services. In Sheraton, this
department provide food & beverage services to the
customers and guests such as restaurants, bars, cafes etc.
Functional departments: Different functional department of hotel
industry are as following:
Accounting department- In Sheraton, this department handle
various important tasks such as invoicing customers, monitoring
and controlling of account receivables, budgeting, maintain
financial reports, dealing with banks in order to obtain finance
etc.
Human resource department- It is also an important deportment
of the hotel industry and wear various responsibilities. In
Sheraton, this department is responsible for the hiring, training
and development of the hotel staffs or for the welfare company
and having the responsibility of increasing productivity and
profit of the organisation.
Security department- It is related to provide protection to the
guests and staff of the hotel including their property etc. In
Sheraton, this department is work for the protection of the
customers and guests related to their personal information and
them also by patrolling, monitoring CCTV and investigating.
Interrelationship: Marketing Department- it is an important
department that interrelate with the other department. In Sheraton,
this department provide correct information to functional and
operational department of the company by doing market research.
It provides information about the consumers’ needs and taste to
the functional and operational department.
Finance department- It is also an important department of the
company because it provide fund and finance to food and
beverage department and marking department to purchase raw
material to fulfil the consumers’ needs and provide salary to the
employees.

The skills gaps create negative impact on the business of Sheraton.
For example, if receptionist will not have good communication
skill, they will not communicate with the customers. If there are
lack of problem solving skill they will not solve the queries of
clients by providing them proper solution. In context of hotel
general manger, if they will not have good management skill and
business skill, they will not help properly in running the business,
taking decision, designing policies and not provide motivation to
the employees. This create negative impact on the business of the
company because this way organisation will not achieve its
objectives and goals.
For solving these issues and problems, Sheraton can provide
training and development program to improve their skills. The
organisation can organize learning and motivational sessions that
help the employees to improve their skills and provide motivation.
By providing online training and coaching the company can solve
these issues and problems.
Different operational roles within the hospitality industry are
as following:
Receptionists- It is an important person and play an
important role within hospitality industry. In Sheraton, it
plays an important role in the growth of the company because
they provide various information related to the hotel such as
welcome the guests, room booking, help them resister and
solving their queries etc. There are some required skills such
as good communication skill, technical skills and problem
solving skills etc. and they belong from Front office
department which comes under functional department.
Hotel general manager- They help in making sure that a
hotel is running smoothly. In Sheraton, they play an
important role in the growth of the company and increasing
productivity or profit. The role of them is related to intact
with guests, managing staff, handling the finance of the hotel
and inn and others. Hotel general manger related to
management department which comes under operational
department and there are some required skills such as
management skill, business skill, leadership skills etc.
Front Desk Supervisor- In Sheraton, they are responsible for
making sure each guest has a pleasant experience at a hotel
and they belong from Front Office department which include
in to operational department. The work of them related to
check in and check out guests, taking reservation and
answering any questions the guest may have. There are some
skills that are required to them such as good communication
skill, customer service skill and time management skills etc.
Executive chef- An executive chef is a managerial role that
involves lot of work that done by them. In Sheraton, they
overseas operations in restaurants, hotel, cafes and other venues
that provide food services to the guests. They belong from food
& beverage departments which comes under functional
department and there are some skills that are required for them
such as business skill, motivational skill and multitasking skills
etc.
Skills gaps and Shortages: The shortage in current skills are
occurred cause of development of new or advance technology.
For example, in Sheraton, the hotel general manger use online
mode, internet and social media for providing motivation and
training or learning sessions through online video and others
that create shortage in current skills like leadership, motivation
and interpersonal skills etc. For hiring process, now these
companies give preference to aptitude test that create shortage
in communication skills and others (Wang, 2014). Receptionist
and front desk supervisor use technology to provide
information about the hotel and its service, for this they use
software and hotel application which create gap and shortage in
skill like communication and problem solving etc.
CONCLUSION
In this assignment, it has been concluded about different types of
business within the hospitality sector and their diverse products
and services. Various operational and functional departments and
different operational roles that are played by the persons in
hospitality industry and the skills required for that roles within
hospitality industry or current skill shortage are explained.