Employability Skills: Travelodge Case Study (BUS101)

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Employability Skills
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Executive Summary
Travelodge is a leading organization in the hospitality sector. In this
assignment, proper analysis and evaluation of the manager has been done
as well as some strategies have been formulated so that the performance of
the organisation is optimised. Several methods have been used to deal with
the issues and the problems that an organisation faces along with the study
of team dynamics. The method to enhance the performance of the team
have been analysed in details in the assignment.
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Table of Contents
Introduction.....................................................................................................5
Task 1..............................................................................................................6
Introduction..................................................................................................6
1.1 Develop a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives........6
1.2 Evaluate own effectiveness against defined objectives.........................7
1.3 Make recommendations for improvement..............................................7
1.4 Review how motivational techniques can be used to improve quality of
performance.................................................................................................8
Conclusion....................................................................................................8
Task 2............................................................................................................10
2.1 Develop solutions to work-based problems. You need to develop
solutions to at least two work-based problems identified during your work
experience or in your role as a manager at Travelodge Hotel (a written
report)........................................................................................................10
Introduction................................................................................................10
Discussion...................................................................................................10
Conclusion..................................................................................................11
2.2 Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various
levels. You need for example to write a formal letter to senior management
of the hotel to inform them about the problem and a memo to all staff....11
2.3 Identify effective time-management strategies in relation to the work-
based experience or in your role as a manager at Travelodge. Present your
evidence as a written report to your line manager....................................12
Introduction................................................................................................12
Discussion...................................................................................................12
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Conclusion..................................................................................................13
Task 3............................................................................................................14
3.1 Explain the roles people play in a team and how they can work
together to achieve shared goals...............................................................14
3.2 Analyse team dynamics........................................................................14
3.3 Suggest alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goals. 15
Task 4............................................................................................................17
Introduction................................................................................................17
4.1 Evaluate tools and methods for developing solutions to problems with
reference to your chosen organisation or Travelodge Hotel.......................17
4.3 Evaluate the potential impact on the business of implementing the
strategy. You should consider both financial and non-financial impacts on
the business...............................................................................................18
Conclusion..................................................................................................19
Conclusion.....................................................................................................20
Reference List................................................................................................21
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Introduction
Employability skills are the basic traits that are required in the workplace.
These are the common skills required to do a job. It holds a huge importance
as it makes a person employable that benefits the workforce as well as the
corporation (Youthcentral.vic.gov.au, 2019). The person who is employed
must possess all the skills that are required for him to work in a company like
Travelodge. This assignment deals with the capabilities required by the
employee to develop responsibilities that will benefit the organisation. The
strategy to improve the performance of the managers and the time
management skills have been briefed in a detailed manner.
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Task 1
Introduction
Travelodge is one of the largest hotel brands operating in the UK market. It has a high brand
recognition attracting about 18 million customers (Travelodge.co.uk, 2019). So, in order to be
profitable in the hospitality sector, a manager must try to create an effective programme where
the performance evaluation can be carried out and subsequently the flaws can be computed out.
1.1 Develop a set of own responsibilities and performance
objectives
Travelodge has a huge branding and in order to make profits, it is important that the employees
develop their own responsibilities and develop accordingly to it. This will benefit the company
also. It is the duty of the manager to maintain the cooperative atmosphere in a company so that
the employees feel free to work.
Being a manager of Travelodge, I think the responsibilities that one must have are the following:
 Working with team members to create effective personal development plans.
 Trying to check if any kind of repair or maintenance is required in his hotel.
 Ensuring that the food supplied to the visitors meet the hotel standards.
 Making sure that the rooms are clean and tidy (travelodge.co.uk, 2019).
 Creating an effective feedback policy to produce action plans for specific targets.
 Ability to maintain a motivated team who has the potential to give a warm welcome to
the guests.
The objectives that the manager requires to develop are:
 Increasing the profit margin of hotel.
 Developing better relationships with the customers.
 Working to develop the brand score of hotel.
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 Improving the services offered to customers of hotel.
1.2 Evaluate own effectiveness against defined objectives
In order to fulfil the objectives set by the company, it is very important that it
adopts an effective management policy which will help it to achieve the
goals every day. Some of them are -
 Increasing the profit margins of hotel: Travelodge experienced a
revenue rise of 8% in the first half of 2017 and this had happened due
to the successful application of our business strategy. I have adopted
the Ideas Revenue Management system to ensure that we are in the
profitable side and as a result, there have been a profit of 317.2 million
dollars (hospitalityandcateringnews.com, 2018).
 Developing better relations with the customers: Being a
manager, I have been able to target the customers by giving them a
better bed experience. My colleagues and employees are trained
properly who are available to serve the needs of customers at any
time. Stronger hotel booking support teams helps to maintain better
relations with the consumers (travelodge.co.uk, 2019).
 Developing the brand score of Travelodge: I have been successful
in rebranding our company. Our 100 million pounds refit programme
has developed several rooms which have been able to cater to the
needs of the consumers and our stakeholders played a major impact
(Travelodge.co.uk, 2019).
 Improving the services offered: I have been able to develop the
service by creating an effective team but due to the large visitor
turnover, I have been not able to fulfil the customers due to large
employee turnover.
1.3 Make recommendations for improvement
I have experienced huge problems in serving the needs of the visitors, so, to
rectify that, we have taken appropriate steps to solve the issue. I have
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upgraded our hotel service and as a result of which we saw a record visit of
18 million customers in the year 2015. I think that our advertising campaign
played a major role in attracting a wider customer base which is ‘That’s
Travelodging’ and that led to about 12% growths in our sales
(Travelodge.co.uk, 2019). I have provided better quality breakfast that has
attracted more visitors to book our hotels. I have modernised our hotels and
due to which more people tend to visit. However, to minimise the labour
turnover, I should possess effective analytical skills which will help to analyse
the performance and the activities of the employees in an organisation. I
think that I should have better management skills which will help me to
prioritise the tasks and complete them within a stipulated time. I should be
able to create a talented pool of employees who will remain motivated and
committed to fulfil the tasks assigned to them. I must possess a flexible
mentality where I can keep a balance between the priorities of the
consumers and the business of hotel. I should provide better online facilities
and discounts which will help them to book our hotels at a higher frequency.
Finally, I should be able to develop a developmental pipeline which will
position the company at a profitable place.
1.4 Review how motivational techniques can be used to improve
quality of performance
There is always a time when the employees are not satisfied with the job and
as a result of which, the hotel chain may experience the turnover. So, to
minimise it, the manager may try to implement several motivational
techniques which will encourage the employees to perform better. The
techniques that can be adopted by the manager to inspire the employees
are –
 Reward and incentive programmes: The manager can use the
incentives and rewards to attract the best employees available. This
will boost the morale of the employee and they will stick to the
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company. If any employee does task in a proper manner, he should be
given appreciation and appraisals to boost the performance.
 Constructive feedback: He has to give constructive feedback to the
employees at right time which will benefit the performance of them.
This will increase the faith of the employee on the company and they
will be motivated to work more.
 Better relationship at an executive level: If an employee does
anything wrong, it has to be rectified privately. It is very necessary for
the manager to have faith on his employees which will not only
improve the relationship between them but also boost their morale.
The manager should be able to set clear and well-defined goals that
will help the employee to complete the task within a stipulated time.
The motivational techniques mentioned above not only improve the
performance of the employees but also maintains a healthy atmosphere in
the workplace.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that a managers holds a huge importance in a leading
hotel chain of Travelodge which gives bigger responsibility to maintain the
team. So, to reduce the employee turnover, better incentives and appraisals
should be provided which will retain the employees then only, the company
can remain in a profitable place.
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Task 2
2.1 Develop solutions to work-based problems. You need to develop
solutions to at least two work-based problems identified during your
work experience or in your role as a manager at Travelodge Hotel (a
written report).
Introduction
Travelodge is a big name in the hospitality sector however there are various
problems in the operation of the organization that needs to be resolved.
Unless, the problems are resolved it might affect the administration of the
organization and affect the quality of services delivered to the customers
thereby affecting the level of customer satisfaction.
Discussion
The role of a manager brings great set of responsibilities with itself. For a big
organization like Travelodge, the role of manager becomes more
complicated and tough, as the complexities of an organization increases with
an increase in its size. While delivering services as the manager in the
organization Travelodge, it was found that the there are certain drawbacks in
the operation and administration of the organization.
The management of the organization is such that the guests need to register
for their breakfast in the morning and this creates a problem for the guests
as it creates a crowd on the front-desk of the hotel as people have to stand
in queues (Travelodge.co.uk, 2019). This creates inconvenience for the
guests of the hotel. Moreover, this also creates a rush for the chefs of the
hotel to cook food according to order made by the guests, thus the breakfast
is served late and there have been complaints many times that the taste of
the breakfast served is not good.
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Therefore, it is recommended that the registration of breakfast must be
done the previous night as in this way the rush for the cooks will decrease
and the inconvenience caused for the guests as they no longer need to stand
in queues for the purpose of registration. The quality and taste of food
delivered to the guests will improve and the breakfast will be delivered on
time without delay.
Conclusion
It can be concluded, that the problems stated above are serious issues and
can be tackled since every problem has a solution. However, the
management should be very particular regarding the issues stated such that
quick actions are taken to resolve the issues.
2.2 Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at
various levels. You need for example to write a formal letter to
senior management of the hotel to inform them about the problem
and a memo to all staff
Letter
To: The Senior Manager
From:
Date:
Subject: Reduce the crowd at the front-desk and improve the quality of
services delivered
The management and operation of Travelodge needs improvement in order
to address the issues in its administration. As per the rules of the
organization the guests need to register their breakfast in the morning within
a specific time-period (Travelodge.co.uk, 2019). This creates a problem for
the guests as they need to make queues and stand for this purpose. This
creates a crowd on the front-desk of the hotel which the guests find irritating
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and inconvenient as per the feedback obtained. This also affects the quality
of the breakfast served and delays the delivery of the breakfast as well.
Thus, it is recommended that the registration for the breakfast must be done
the previous night so as to reduce the rush and inconvenience caused both
to the employees and guests of the hotel.
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