Hospitality Management: Accommodation Services in the UK Market

This report provides a comprehensive overview of managing accommodation services within the UK hospitality industry, focusing on the scale and size of the sector, different types of ownership available to accommodation services, the role of grading and classification systems along with online review sites in influencing guest bookings, and the functions of the front office. It highlights the growth of the UK hotel market, its revenue generation, and the number of bedrooms available. Different ownership models like sole proprietorship, limited companies, and unincorporated associations are discussed, along with purchase options such as franchises and loans. The importance of grading and classification systems in ensuring quality and customer satisfaction is emphasized, alongside the functions of the front office in providing essential services such as reservations, room services, secretarial assistance, and personal services. The report concludes by assessing the key roles within the front office department and suggesting potential cost-saving measures for hotel operations.

MANAGING
ACCOMMODATION
SERVICES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
P1. Scale and size of accommodation service within hospitality industry.............................1
P2. Different types of ownership available to accommodation services................................4
P3. Role of grading, classification system and online review sites play for guests to book
accommodation.......................................................................................................................6
P4. Functions of front office within accommodation services...............................................7
Front Office in Accommodation Services..............................................................................8
P5. Key roles of front office department in hotels...............................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality industry provides two services viz. Accommodation services for people who
are travelling away from home and dining facilities outside their home. The former is a basic
need which provide lodging facility for tourist to stay and rest. UK have seen growth in hotel
industry over the last few years. The contribution is 3.8 million jobs out which 11% is of total
UK number (UK Hotel Market Statistics, 2018). It is a great source of revenue for UK therefore,
effective and proper management of accommodation services become necessary. The chosen
company is Starwood Hotels & Resorts headquartered in USA. This report covers scale of
accommodation service in UK, different forms of ownership, importance of
grading/classification and functions of front office.
P1. Scale and size of accommodation service within hospitality industry
UK hotel development index has name UK as one of the best country for investment in
hotel industry. This industry has seen a growth of 3.3% in hotel market and 68% contributed to
new rooms.
 Number of hotels in UK and other major European countries
Figure 1
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Interpretation: The data pertains to year 2016. The above graph shows that Italy has the
highest number of hotels due to the reason that it is one of the favourite places of tourists. People
from all over the globe visit Italy. Approx. 52.4million international tourists visit Italy every year
and is 5th most visited country.
 Revenue from Hotel Accommodation in UK (expressed in US$)
Figure. 2
Interpretation: The above graph shows the revenue earned by UK hotel industry from 2008 to
2019. These include accommodation services provided by resort, hotels, suite and apartment
hotels as well as motels. But does not include homes, flats, apartment for residential purpose and
permanent use (Revenue Generation in UK from accommodation sector, 2019).
 Number of bedrooms in UK
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Figure. 3
Interpretation: The above data is about 2011. This shows that highest number of hotels in UK
have 101-200 rooms. And the only some of the hotels have room between 25-50.Total number of
hotels in UK (Number of beds in UK hotels, 2016).
Number of hotels in UKFigure 4
Interpretation: The graph shows total number of hotels in UK between 2008 to 2012.
Consistency has always been there and highest numbers of hotels were in 2008 and 2012
(Number of hotels in UK, 2012).
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P2. Different types of ownership available to accommodation services
Types of ownership Description Advantage Disadvantage
Sole Trader Sole trader is an
individual who has
absolute ownership.
The liability is
unlimited. Owner has
the absolute authority to
employ staff (Burton
and Kellaway, 2018).
Minimum start-up
costs with maximum
privacy. Full control
over the business,
improved customer
service, easy
conversion of structure
and wind up of
business. Owner keeps
all the profits.
Unlimited liability for
unpaid debts due to
absence of legal
distinction, difficulty
in raising capital, taxed
as a single person.
Also, the life span is
limited to owner's life.
Limited Company The liability of
members is limited to
the nominal or
guaranteed amount
paid. Starwood Hotel &
Resorts is a private
limited company with
share capital.
Limited liability and
separate entity.
Various taxation
advantages, strong
control over
company's affairs.
Restricted capital
raising and dilution of
powers. High legal
restrictions and
financial requirements.
Unincorporated
association
The organization is
formed by executing an
agreement between
people who have mutual
interest. Such
businesses don't
required registration.
Minimal legal
compliances or
financial requirements.
Jointly and severally
liability for unpaid
debts. Such business
cannot hold assets in
its own name as there
is no legal identity.
Purchase Options
Purchase Method Advantage Disadvantage
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Franchise Franchises have a higher rate of
success than start-up business.
Restrictions on products selling by
and execution of formal agreement
with franchisor.
Bank loan Loans are cost effective. Also, the
interest amount is a tax-deductible
expense. Thus, borrower gets tax
benefits. (Chiu and et. al., 2013).
Loans are not flexible which
means that borrower have to pay
high amount of interest on loan.
Family Loan These loans usually have lower
interest rates with more flexible
repayment terms.
Lack of clarity of financial
liabilities. Also, there are
increased tax issues.
P3. Role of grading, classification system and online review sites play for guests to book
accommodation
Hotels look for systems and ideas which can provide uniformity in its services to ensure
quality. Thereby, it is vital to have a reliable system which grades and authenticate hotel's quality
regarding various facilities and services to increase customer satisfaction. A customer always
some of the information before booking a hotel. The trend to check the review have shifted to
online ratings. Customers can go online and check the reviews and ratings that have been
provided by those who have experienced its services. Grading and classification help consumers
to know about the qualities of services (Barlow and et. al., 2013). This increases transparency for
both business and tourists. The role of classifications systems, grading and online review is based
on services which are as follows: :
Basis Description Examples
Essential These are the most important needs and without
which a hotel can never fulfil its customers’
demands. Essentials are required for every
situation.
Rooms, housekeeping service,
parking facilities, food
services, restaurant, security
etc.
Basic Basic needs are vital to survive and are part of
accommodation. These are a part of essential
Food, hotel comfortable beds,
attentive answers to guest
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services and all the customers have right to
these services. However, more services may be
added by paying more. These are common for
all customers irrespective of how much they
have paid.
call, lighting, cleanliness,
upstanding customer service,
great amenities and easy
check-in and checkout
procedures.
Nice-to-have These are the items that are other than the basic
and essential services. These are provided to
make a customer stay for a long time (Brunner-
Sperdin and et. al., 2012). Value added services
are included in it. However, there are many
hotels who provide these services free of cost or
include the cost in the overall bill without
giving bifurcation.
Swimming pool services, wi-
fi, laundry, discretion with
names, details of Aesthetics,
attentive room service, etc.
Luxury These are upscale services provided by luxury
hotels. These services are provided when a
customer pay additional amount to avail these
services. These are customised services and
provided as per the order of guest. It leaves a
strong impression in the minds of its guests.
These are the wow factor.
Spa, modern cuisine, gym,
luxurious cars, pet sitting,
personal trainer in health club,
aroma holiday, cinema spa,
sky taxi, etc.
Hyper-luxury These are the services which are rare, exclusive,
of extremely high quality, and are premium . A
hotel provides these services for a limited time
and is available for certain customers who are
willing to pay the price. It is not always possible
for hotel to provide these services as they
require huge costs for creating them. Also, all
the hotels are not capable to make them avail.
These services require innovation and creativity
to satisfy customers.
Boutique designed room, golf
course, personal kitchen and
butler, Paparazzi Police,
booths for sunscreen
spraying, in suite shopping
etc.
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P4. Functions of front office within accommodation services
Front office or reception is the most important and visible area in a hotel. It is the most
important part for any business. Every hotel has a reception desk irrespective of its size or type.
It serves as a nexus between the guests and hotel. Receptionist collect the guests and assist them
in completing all the formalities. A hotel makes huge investment to make its reception look
attractive, luxurious and beautiful. This desk is a communication centre for overall hotel
operation.
Also, the receptionist has to behave in a nice and polite way. This build a positive image
of the hotel. Front office involves tasks regarding attending calls, using printer and fax machine,
solving queries of guests (Buhalis and Amaranggana, 2015). However, these are possible only
through proper training. Further, there are other functions such as desk clerk, cashier, checking
reservations, room key, etc. This department involves large costs. Office front manager prepares
a budget in consultation with general manager. The activities may vary in every hotel.
Fig. 5 Front Office plan
Starwood Hotel & Resorts
(Source: Self-generated )
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Front Office in Accommodation Services
Services Equipment’s
A. Reservations This service is provided the
front desk or reception in the
hotel. It is necessary for guests
to have reservation, as without
it, a person can not claim his
right to use and access the
services of a hotel unless and
until he has a valid
reservation. But, a guests can
have reservation only when
rooms are available. Together
with required payment may
and terms and conditions have
been agreed by guests.
Telephone can be used to
make booking from a distance
and printer is used to print
form that is to be filled by
guests as well as receipt of
payment.
B. Rooms The prime service of hotel is
services related to a room such
as housekeeping, security,
maintenance etc. A room of a
hotel should be cleaned before
it is allotted to a person as
customer expect a decorated,
aromatic clean room. Further,
related items and services are
also provided like towels,
bathroom related items, fans,
AC, locker, upgrading
reservation during registration,
promotional packages, movie
Every room has a separate
telephone to make calls to
reception, housekeeping etc.
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library, etc.
C. Secretarial Services These services are related with
clerical work such as keeping
files and records, collecting
cash, preparing itinerary,
photocopying, printing
documents, etc. These services
saves time.
The equipments that are used
consist telephone, fax
machine, computer, printer etc.
D. Personal services These are the most important
services in order to maximise
customer satisfaction. These
include TV, wardrobe,
internet, food, baby sitting,
shopping, bell staff assistance
with luggage and equipment,
concierge etc. A customer
may demand additional
services, hence, such services
can be customised according
to the needs wished of guests
on paying extra money.
TV, safety lockers etc.
P5. Key roles of front office department in hotels
A hotel front office department is required for efficient and smooth running of the overall
hotel activities. The role includes various administrative, staffing and guests related queries.
Training is provided to reception and reservation staff (Jamieson and Jamieson, 2014). Basically,
front office plays multiple tasks. In current scenario, Starwood Hotel & Resorts is considering to
reduce the costs by removing one of the staff positions.
Starwood Hotel & Resorts front office department has many employees and each
personnel has been assigned separate jobs to perform. These are front office manager,
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reservations manager, check-in desk clerk, guest services assistant etc. In present context, where
Starwood Hotel & Resorts is focusing on redundancy approach and willing to remove one of an
ineffective roles that could be handled by another one. Based on the analysis, key roles within
front office department of hotel are comprise Night Porter, Check-in Desk Manager (Check-in
Desk Clerk (1) and Check-in Desk Clerk (2), Concierge, Front Office Manager, Reservations
Manager, Guest Services Manager, Guest Services Assistant (1), Guest Services Assistant (2)
and Porter (Bell-Hop) etc. Starwood Hotels & Resorts, may remove Guest Service Assistant (1)
& (2) as their service can be handled by Check-in Desk Clerk (1) & (2) This will save the cost of
hotel. However, the manager will need to make changes in the structure and work assigned as
number of employees will be reduced.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that, hotel industry in UK is a growing
market which attracts investors to investment. Further, tourists book hotels to stay and have rest.
A hotel business has many functions which make its guests stay pleasant. Also, its image greatly
depends on the reviews given by the customers. To retain and improve its reputation and image,
hotels have to manage its business effectively. This will ensure that customers are satisfied
beyond their expectations.
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