An Analysis of Managing Accommodation Services at Brown's Hotel

This report provides an in-depth analysis of managing accommodation services, using Brown's Hotel in London as a case study. It examines the functions of the front office, emphasizing its role in customer interaction and service delivery. The report also explores the importance of the housekeeping department, its interrelation with other departments, and its impact on guest experience. Furthermore, it highlights the significance of forecasting linen stock and guest supplies to avoid mismanagement and ensure customer satisfaction. The role of scheduled maintenance in enhancing customer experience is discussed, alongside the importance of security measures in safeguarding the hotel and its guests. The report also focuses on the importance of communication between housekeeping and facilities department. The study underscores the interconnectedness of various departments within the hospitality industry and their collective contribution to achieving organizational objectives and building lasting customer relationships. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for adaptability and effective communication within the hospitality sector to ensure optimal service delivery.

MANAGING
ACCOMMODATION
SERVICES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Function of Front office within different accommodation services............................................3
Key roles within housing department.........................................................................................4
Relation of housekeeping with other departments......................................................................5
Importance of forecasting linen stock and other guest supplies.................................................5
Importance of scheduling maintenance.......................................................................................5
Importance of security in organization.......................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
The study is on hospitality management which encompass different types of services present in
the sector. Hospitality industry is one which provides accommodation with catering facilities to
people travelling domestically or foreign tourists. The organisation referred for study here is
Brown's hotel which is based in Mayfair, London and was established in 1837. It is considered to
be one of the oldest hotels at London. The study discusses the scale and size within hospitality
industry. The different types of ownership regarding accommodation services are emphasised.
The role of grading and classifications in hospitality has been illustrated with importance of
online booking sites. Focusing on the hotel departments, the role of front office in enriching
customer experience has been highlighted. The other department taken for study is
housekeeping, its importance and interrelation of it with other departments has been focused.
The role which security plays in safeguarding the hotel and the systems used for surveillance are
highlighted. Importance of maintenance function in enriching customer experience has been
discussed.
Function of Front office within different accommodation services
Front office or front desk in hospitality can also be called the nerve centre of the organisation. It
is because here the hotel first makes contact with the customer. In Brown's hotel, the front office
pleasantly greet and welcome the customers. They provide information to customers about the
accommodation, facilities available and the payment methods. They also have to note and solve
customer grievances if any. They manage the online and telephone conversations. They also
have to perform the tasks of check-in and check-outs and take feedback of customers of their
stay. Thus, they have a prominent role in convincing customers about the hotel as well as
building a long term relationship with them and thus helping achieve organisation's objectives
(García-Rodríguez, Dorta-Afonso and González-de-la-Rosa,2020).

As accommodation services are of different types, functions of front office can differ
slightly as per the facilities in the service provided. For e.g. in a motel, the front office will give
the information of rooms and lend accessories for cooking purpose, a hotel front staff has a
comprehensive facility of room and catering with other recreation facilities. Thus, front staff will
make customers aware of all the aspects with price ranges. A Guest House will have its front
office notifying customers about meal timings and which meal they would like to book for in
advance.
Recommendations on role of front office
The front office are the flag bearers of the organisation as being the centre of contact for
customers. It depends on their skills how they converse and convince customers as well the
timely service they provide with rectifications ,if any. Timely service promised if provided goes
a long way in building customer relationship and satisfaction about the hotel.
Recommendations are that the front office should place themselves in customer's shoes to
know his needs and then give him apt solution available. As mentioned above, keeping a timely
and sound service will help customer give positive reviews about the hotel. This can build a
chain of customers. Next, customers grievances of any maintenance repair should be done at
once and with a pleasant attitude. Customers can be helped in using their preferred method of
payment for convenience (Dikmen and Bozdağlar,2017).
Key roles within housing department
The role of housing department is to ensure the cleanliness and appeal of all the rooms and other
hotel areas. The look of the hotel has to be such that enthrals customers as they enter the
premises. This is like giving first impression of the hotel to the customers.
In Brown's hotel, the housekeeping have to clean rooms in a timely manner and update
the room cleaning status on a hotel chart or on the software. They can also do it on the mobile
app. This information is passed from housekeeping to front staff. A cleaned and well presented
room gives customer a nice experience about their stay.

Relation of housekeeping with other departments
The housekeeping can be inter-related with other departments in the following ways:
a) House keeping after cleaning the room have to update the status and this information has to be
sent to the front staff who can then mark the rooms ready for move-in for the customers.
b) House keeping have to coordinate with maintenance department as and when they find any
technical glitches in the rooms. While cleaning the room, they also have to check the functioning
of electronic accessories like TV,AC, Fridge etc. and report if any error is there in the
functioning. Similarly, any problems with lightings and fittings have to be reported for correction
(MacNeil, 2018)
c) The housekeeping also remain in touch with event managing department at the hotel. Before
and after the host of event, house keeping ensures that hygiene standards are maintained as per
the event.
Importance of forecasting linen stock and other guest supplies
The importance of forecast lies in the understanding that it can save hotel from errors occurring
due to mismanagement. It can lead to loss of revenue and reputation. Forecasting helps in
keeping apt stock of supplies which can match demand as well as have an inventory if demand is
in excess. Speaking of hotel linen and other guest supplies like fabrics for the room, the stock has
to be near the number which meets demand. This will help in misuse of linen by hotel staff who
will think that linen is in plenty. There can also be damage to the inventory if there is not apt
space for storing inventory as inventory will keep piling up (Konovalova and et.al., 2018). This
can lead to loss of hotel investment. There is a term par stock which means the right amount of
inventory. If forecast is done as per the customer footfall in a particular season also bearing in
mind keeping a provision for excess of customer arrival, it will help in keeping the guest rooms
equipped to measure the right amount of supplies. Secondly, it will avoid extra storage and
maintenance costs for the hotel.
Importance of scheduling maintenance
In hotel industry, it can happen quite often that the rooms face technical glitches or have some
problems in lightings and fittings and thus require maintenance. This happens at every hotel and
thus there arises a requirement of scheduling these maintenance work. At Brown's hotel, the

maintenance and repair work is scheduled which solves the errors and also guest experience is
delightful. If the maintenance works are not scheduled , it may happen that there is time for
customer check in and repairs are pending.
The customer will notice it and then call the front office. This will not create a good impression
in he mind of customer (Cerchione and Bansal,2020). If the repair is a big one, then customers
would be asked to change the room causing them discomfort. Scheduling the work will help
make rooms ready in time for allotment to check in and also make the customer experience a
better one.
Importance of security in organisation
Brown's hotel lays importance to its security function. There is a well equipped and trained staff
for security. Having a sound security system is firstly necessary to help prevent acts of mischief
or creating disorder by outside forces. A well equipped security gives a feeling of safety to
customers who come from different countries. The duties and responsibilities of the hotel
security is:
a) Surveillance: The security staff have to do patrolling of hotel grounds, parking lots,
restaurants and lobbies. The security cameras are also installed at prominent places to help them.
b) Escort of guests: Security escorts guests to and fro from hotel. The parking spaces also have
security present to escort guests to the hotel (Goryushkina and et.al., 2019).
c) Order maintenance: The hotel has conference centres which sometimes have to
accommodate a large number of guests. Hotel security at Brown's have to maintain order and to
see that conference gets organised without any disruption.
d) Report to supervisors and management: The hotel security at Brown's reports real time
through walkie-talkies when doing surveillance of hotel areas to their seniors in command. This
helps in updating of safety systems as well.
The tools used in security systems are firearms which have to be present to help evade
any misshapen , security systems like alarms in case of emergency, radio systems for
conversation real time, computer systems to document important events.

Role maintenance plays in hospitality
Maintenance relates to fixing of any repairs to be done in hotel industry. They can be from fixing
the disruptions occurring in accessories like TV, AC, refrigerator to solving problems of
bathroom fittings or any dysfunction caused in electrical wiring of the rooms. These problems
are not noticeable at once but can cause discomfort when customers are handed over the rooms
(Rhou and Singal, 2020). The solution of these problems will help customer have a comfortable
stay without any disruption. This will also ensure that customers return next time to the same
hotel. People who have stayed at Brown's have given positive reviews and would like to visit
hotel once again.
A regular check of the areas where maintenance may be required will help staff know
about problems occurring beforehand. For e.g. if an electronic appliance like room heater is not
working, the maintenance team can repair it and thus it will save management the cost to buy
another one. This way maintenance can save costs for the management while solving the
problem.
Importance of communication between housekeeping and facilities department
The housekeeping department communication is vital for improving guest experience. Speaking
of facilities department, it is useful if house keeping can give them inputs about what facilities
are not present and requires in the room. The housekeepers know the rooms well and can suggest
accessories to be included in the room (Priya, 2021). For e.g. if a room is at a position which
receives very less sunlight, warm room heaters may be placed by the facilities department there
especially for a cooler country like UK. If a room's floor is furnished with carpets, housekeeping
can put a demand for vacuum cleaner to clean the place better. This way customer needs are also
fulfilled while enriching their stay at the hotel.
CONCLUSION
It can be said that hospitality industry is quite varied. Its departments are also inter linked with
each other which combine together to better customer experience and achieve organisational
objectives. Every function has to remain alert for changes to be made and communication is vital
for making a scheduled and managed work to happen. Different organisations in hospitality

require number of departments as per their size and function. Although, the overall objective is
to build a customer relationship to make the organisation flourish.

REFERENCES
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