Hotel Management Discussion

This assignment involves participating in a discussion board with three main topics. The first focuses on the importance of physical elements (lighting, sound, scent, etc.) in influencing guest expectations and how franchisors maintain control across multiple hotels. The second explores the debate of whether salespeople should be involved in servicing clients or if it should be handled by a dedicated convention services manager. The third requires students to read an article on restaurant menu design, identify a key element, and respond to another student's post. A minimum of 50 words is required for the initial post.

Discussions:
#1:
Intangibility
This week we learned about the challenges of intangibility and how hotel companies attempt to
influence guest expectations and satisfaction by managing the physical environment (Lighting, sound,
scent, signage, textures, etc).
First, which of these physical elements do you believe is the most important, and why? Post your
answer on the forum, and provide a link to the website or cite the source where you found your best
information!
Second (and include this in the same post - not a separate post) think about how a Franchisor (brand)
would attempt to control the item above in ALL of their hotels - recognizing that they manage less than
half of them in most cases.
# 2:
WHO SERVICES?
One of the frequently discussed issues in convention management is the extent to which the
salesperson should be involved in the servicing process. The structure of the hotel staff is based
on how this issue is resolved.
Some hotels say that a salesperson is just that, and that he or she shouldn’t become involved in
servicing the client. They claim that the service function is a specialty distinct from selling, and
that there is a more efficient use of staff and a higher rebooking percentage when salespeople
spend 100 percent of their time selling. Howard Feiertag, a veteran hotel salesperson, says:
In my opinion, the person who books the business is not the best person to follow
through on the details. Large hotels should pass the booking to a convention services
manager. Small hotels should pass the food and beverage details to catering and the rooms
details to a room division manager or front office manager. Although salespeople often do not
like to let go of a piece of business, they should turn over the minutiae of the group to the
operations staff, remove themselves from the details and use their skills to book more
business.
Others hold that the convention salesperson should handle the sales and servicing completely.

They suggest that the sales representative should follow up all hotel visits, write up actual
bookings, and coordinate the servicing of the group during its stay at the hotel. Their position is
that the sales manager should sell, arrange, and work with the meeting from beginning to end.
They feel that the salesperson who does not get involved in servicing may be concerned only
with putting business on the books, thus perhaps making hasty promises that are impossible to
keep.
Which approach should you practice? Our experience says “the best approach is the one that
works.” No one procedure is best for all situations. However, if the size of the hotel justifies an
in- house convention services manager, we support separation of sales and service.
Read carefully the short passage in Chapter 10 entitled "Who Services?” The question of whether to
separate sales from service has been an ongoing debate for years. What's your opinion?
A. Should the sales person stay with the meeting planner, working together to plan all details up to the
time of the event?
Or
B. Should the sales person make the sale and "turn over" the planning details to a Convention Services
Manager (or Catering manager or other operations professional)?
Explain.
#3:
Directions:
Read one of the posted discussion articles and respond to the following question:

Restaurant Menu Design: How To Design A Restaurant Menu
http://restaurants.about.com/od/menu/a/Menu_Design.htm
Name the article you read and describe one key element that stood out and why
Respond and comment to one other posting
Requirements:
50 word minimum for your initial posting