Hospitality Management Report: Front Office Supervisor Analysis

This report examines hospitality management, specifically focusing on the role of a front office supervisor in welcoming a German delegate to the Courthouse hotel. It addresses key issues such as overbooking, incidental charges, and communication gaps, proposing strategies for improvement. The report delves into the essential skills a supervisor must possess, including leadership, communication, and problem-solving abilities, to ensure a high standard of service. It also explores motivational techniques to encourage team performance and maintain guest satisfaction, emphasizing the importance of shared vision, staff support, and recognizing individual strengths. The report concludes by highlighting the Courthouse hotel's competitive advantage and the need for marketing and staff improvements to maintain its reputation in the face of new competitors. The report references several sources to support the analysis.

Running head: HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Hospitality Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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Introduction
The hotel Courthouse is an establishment, which is located in the large city’s centre. The
hotel is primarily facing competition on the faces of cost. Their prices are kept comparatively
lower. However, the quality and range of food is not having a right standard. However, the hotel
is seeking developments when the German chancellor is looking forward to visit the hotel. The
hotel is looking forward as well to bring improvements in the management of the hotel. The
hotel supervisor might face problems while dealing with the front house. In this respect, the hotel
must come up with strategies in order to bring improvements in the particular department.
Question 1
a) While welcoming the German delegate, the manager of the front of the house of the
hotel needs to take care of certain issues to raise the standard of the hotel industry. The work of
the front office is related with the direct interactions with the guests or they are conducted in
front of the guests. They are connected to direct interaction with the guests, which incorporates
the accommodation, reservation and so forth. However, the supervisor needs to take care of the
Front house of the hotel in order to raise its standard while welcoming the German councilor
(Miller, Walker & Drummond, 2007) In this point of time, the Supervisor needs to consider the
issues and solve them accordingly.
The practice of the hotel confirms more reservations that what the actual inventory can
permit. Hotel do not show information in order determine the percentage to what extent they can
over commit the rooms (Boella & Goss, 2013). Another drawback that is needed to consider is
the imposition of the charges, which are incidental, but on the basis of the miscellaneous items
that one can use at hotel in the form of valet parking or telephone calls. The front office usually

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get the approval for the amount which is requested and impose charge at the guest’s regularly.
The front offices at times failed to do their jobs regularly which results to the negligence, which
results to the birth of many hotel complaints from the guest. The reservation is also being one of
the major problems among the guests and this happens out of the negligence of the front officers.
While welcoming the German delegate, it is important for the front officers staffs to make a
grand welcome with their gestures and postures of welcoming the guest properly (Glickman,
Gordon & Ross, 2012). The Supervisor needs to take into consideration that there are lack of
staffs in the hotel who know German language. Therefore, the supervisor needs to recruit staffs
who knows the language and make a grand welcome to the guest. The front desk staffs do not
have proper communication with the other departments of the hotel industry, in this matter, if the
German delegate has some queries about the other departments then he can easily ask the front
office. In this matter, the supervisor needs to make the team ready for the providing a higher
quality of services to the delegate in terms of waging communication and offering help to the
Government delegate. The requirements of the staffs are needed to be fulfilled in order to
welcome the guest on that particular day. The staffs are needed to well dressed not like usual. If
these issues are taken into consideration and can be solved and well managed properly, then it
would be great in the eyes of the delegation that the hotel has raised its standard to a maximum
level (Glickman, Gordon & Ross, 2012).
b) The key skills that the supervisor of the front office needs to demonstrate while
welcoming the German delegate is present his leadership properly in order to see the functioning
of the staffs in related to the front office, which includes the grand welcoming of the visitor, and
greet the delegation properly. The supervisor needs to have both communication and proper
leadership skills. The leadership qualities of the supervisor would make him to overview the

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activities of the staffs to make sure that the activities in the office are running smoothly (Suh,
West & Shin, 2012). The supervisor’s responsibility is to welcome the delegate and as mentioned
before providing the guest with the best possible services. If the delegate faces any problems
regarding the service quality issue, it is the responsibility of the staffs to handle the problems
efficiently. It is the supervisor’s roles and responsibility again to functions as per the instructions
of the manager to see the duties of the front house of the hotel. He needs to take into account that
the staffs are adhered to the rules and regulations. As a leader, the supervisor must ensure that
the members of staff follow proper discipline (Miller & Walker, 2012).
It is the job of the supervisor of the front office to communicate and give direction to the
staff members in a concise and clear manner and if possible in a clearer format. The supervisor
must have a better communication skill while listening to the requests of the Government
delegate and give him the details about the timings of the outlet near the spots of the tourists and
to describe about the local attractions and overall services that the staffs of the hotel would give
to the German visitor. The supervisor needs to make sure that the appropriate room is selected
for the visitor to stay as per the requirements of the visitor and also confirming rates to the visitor
after handing over the keys to the delegate (Rothfelder et al., 2012). The supervisor needs to stay
alert and must apply his role model skills as well to the staffs during the emergencies. Other than
the leadership and communication skills, the supervisor needs to have the skill of dealing with
the internal and external customers and the supervisor must have a greater level of patience,
diplomatic and knows tactics. He must have the skills of doing calculations fast and solve
complex situations. The supervisor must have the skills related to the preparing the complex
reports related to rooms and the generation of revenue. The manager must possess excellent
management and organizing skills and also having the ability perform functions in pressured

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situations while dealing with any kinds of emergency problems. Thus, to become an effective
supervisor and to present his proper skills to the delegate, it is important for him to have these
skills present, which as a result would raise the standard of the hotel, and this in turn would
increase the publicity of the hotel.
c) The motivational techniques that the supervisor must use in order to ensure that the
team is giving their maximum performances in order to encourage the strategy planned by the
German owner are the following
It is the responsibility of the supervisor to share the vision of organization with each
member of the team. The staffs must have a collective vision, which would lead them to
prosperity and if the staffs are adhered to the rules and regulations of the vision, the position of
the hotel would easily be raised and this as well be appreciated by the important German
delegate (Lopes, 2016).
The supervisor must communicate with the other staffs of the front office, which would
open a new avenue for the organization to arrange the activities successfully.
The supervisor must support new ideas of the other staffs and help them to create any
types of brilliant ideas about the ways that they can arrange properly for the guests to come
(Riley, 2014).
Supervising do not mean keeping the steps under control. It is the way to ensure that the
activities of the organization are implemented at a highest level. It is also the process of giving
people to think independently, so that they can come up with new ideas in order to implement
their strategies to raise the organization (Tesone, 2012).

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Goals are needed to be set as well as the objectives. This would further encourage the
staffs to perform well. The supervisor needs to make sure that the goals are SMART enough and
they can be easily achievable.
Each staffs have their strengths and weaknesses. Someone might have a greater
communication problem and someone is having the skill of good public speaking. It is therefore
for the supervisor to give people to frame out their strength and weakness and to modify their
behavior accordingly.
The important thing that is needed to be taken into account is to make sure that the staffs
are not becoming bored. They are needed to be encouraged by making them remember that they
have to attend a special guest and their services matter most in this aspect. If they are
continuously being encouraged for their services and about their incentives, the staffs would
definitely work properly under the supervisor (Hawkins et al., 2012).
The supervisor must encourage staffs to encourage each other in terms of their work and
this would give further opportunity to develop growth in their field. The individuals are needed
to be encouraged stating that they have the potentiality to welcome the guest properly. It
provides employees to work properly (Vander & Davis, 1998).
It is important to survey the employees regularly about the stages of satisfaction. The way
they are conducting their business and how they are successful to give their best output.

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References
Boella, M., & Goss-Turner, S. (2013). Human resource management in the hospitality industry:
A guide to best practice. Routledge.
Brotherton, B. (Ed.). (2012). International Hospitality Industry. Routledge.
Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P., & Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2012). The basic guide to supervision
and instructional leadership. Pearson Higher Ed.
Hawkins, P., Shohet, R., Ryde, J., & Wilmot, J. (2012). Supervision in the helping professions.
McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Lopes, M., 2016. The hospitality industry (Doctoral dissertation).
Miller, J, Walker, J & Eich Drummond, K (2007) Supervision in the Hospitality Industry, New
Jersey, John Wiley and Sons
Miller, J, Walker, J (2012) Supervision in the Hospitality Industry, 7th Edition, New Jersey, John
Wiley and Sons
Riley, M., 2014. Human resource management in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Routledge.
Rothfelder, K., Ottenbacher, M. C., & Harrington, R. J. (2012). The impact of transformational,
transactional and non-leadership styles on employee job satisfaction in the German
hospitality industry. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 12(4), 201-214.

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Suh, E., West, J. J., & Shin, J. (2012). Important competency requirements for managers in the
hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 11(2),
101-112.
Tesone, D. V. (2012). Principles of management for the hospitality industry. Routledge.
Van der Wagen, L & Davies, C (1998) Supervision and Leadership in Tourism and Hospitality,
London, Hospitality Press

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Question 2
d)The most important advantage that the Courthouse hotel have in comparison to the
other hotels that have newly opened is that The Courthouse has a reputation and legendary name
associated with the hotel owing to the long period of time that it has been operating. The hotel’s
management is concerned that the required standard of service will not be met. The supervisors
of the hotel company firstly needs to change its marketing and communication technique and
present the image of the company as a hotel that values the tradition it has been following but
keeping up with the contemporary dynamics of the hotel industry (Kandampully et al. 2015).
This will give a unique identity to the hotel in comparison to the competitors in the market who
are placing themselves as latest and modern. The courthouse needs an image change and a boost
of makeover from the marketing department as this will ensure that the company remains in the
limelight and hold on to the popularity even when the season is lean and the market is down.
Another major issue that needs to be addressed by the management of the hotel is that the staff of
the company needs a major makeover. Starting from the way they dress to the way they talk to
the way they present themselves has to go through a major change. The staff members are very
supportive and cooperative hence it will not be difficult to incorporate some training activities
within their roster. Also to combat the high flow of business when the delegates are in the hotel
par time staff can be appointed for back up support to the full timers. These par time staff can be
interns of hotel management courses as they will already have skills and proper training and
extra effort will not be invested in polishing these new recruits. To deal with the high flow of
guests during the peak season the hotel can invest in a new chef as the standard of the food has to
be top notch in order to retain the international clientele form the exposure that the hotel will
gain from the foreign delegates (Mok et al. 2013). The lack of some of the very significant

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facilities should be incorporated like a banquet hall because if there is going to be press
conferences held within the premises of the hotel a banquet hall is very necessary. Instead of
immediately investing on the major addition to the hotel that is planned by the new owner the
focus should be on improving what is at disposal by refurbishing and upgrading the facilities
within the capacity of the hotel. Extra attention should be paid to the room service operations of
the hotel as it ensures feedback and further goodwill of the company. The people who are on the
back end of the room service should go through a through process of learning telecommunication
skills in order to understand and act according to the instructions given by the guests
immediately. A contingency plan is very important for any business organization especially hotel
business, the management should draw a crisis management guideline for the guests as well as
the staffs of the hotel (Radojevic et al. 2015).

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e) In order to implement the changes in the organization the supervisor needs to
communicate with the marketing team to rebrand and change the image of the hotel. Rebranding
is not an easy course hence it should be strategized and planned keeping in mind the possible
outcomes of the strategies. The idea is to place the hotel as ethically driven traditionally valued
yet contemporary in its outlook (Jones et al. 2016). The changes that will be incorporated in the
infrastructure of the hotel have to be at par with the marketing team and the plans that the
department have in mind. The changes that will have to be incorporated with the existing staffs
and employees should begin with a meeting with all the staff and the management explaining the
situation and the crisis scenario that the company is going through. It is very important to
maintain a transparency in the organization in the hierarchy regarding the operations and the
future plans of the company. In this meeting the staffs will be asked to go through a skill
development and training session which will be included within their shift timings, for a few
days maybe they have to stretch but that will be discussed later. After this is the formulation of
the employee roster where the training period is going to be placed and the criteria for the
evaluation of the progress will be mentioned (Kim et al. 2015).
After this the hiring of the new part time staff members should begin, the hotel needs to
collaborate with hotel management institutes in order to appoint interns in various categories to
help with the operation of the day to day business. If the management finds a person who is
worthy of full time employment after the internship period is over then he or she can be absorbed
full time as well (Boella & Goss-Turner 2013).

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Food and beverage is the most important factor when it comes to hotel industry. An
investment in the kitchen by appointing a new head chef is important for a hotel that is in crisis.
In order to increase the quality and standard of the food and the choice of cuisine for the guests
appointing a new and famous chef will be a good option, a famous chef will also bring goodwill
associated with him or her to the hotel. It will also ensure publicity for the hotel. This person can
be appointed as head chef and can take in charge of the kitchen (Zervas et al. 2014).
For the crisis management and contingency plan, the management with the seniors of the
Hotel has to come together to formulate a strategy, before this the marketing team has to be
ready with their plan so that the company can analyze a plausible outcome to make this
contingency plan (Xie et al. 2014). For the safety and precaution of the guests and the employees
a document has to be drawn up and in the reception area as well as in the corridors of the hotel.