Diploma in Hotel and Hospitality Management: Soft Skills Report

This report analyzes two case studies involving receptionists at the 'Wanderlust' Hotel, focusing on their handling of guest complaints and demonstrating the importance of soft skills in the hospitality industry. The first case highlights a receptionist who effectively manages a guest's dissatisfaction by re...Read More

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Diploma in Hotel and Hospitality management
Nam of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Answer to Question 1a...............................................................................................................3
Answer to Question 1b...............................................................................................................3
Answer to Question 1c...............................................................................................................4
Answer to Question 1d...............................................................................................................5
Answer to Question 2a...............................................................................................................5
Answer to Question 2b...............................................................................................................5
Answer to Question 2c...............................................................................................................6
Answer to Question 3a...............................................................................................................6
Answer to Question 3b...............................................................................................................6
References and Bibliography.....................................................................................................7

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Answer to Question 1a
Given the two different situations in the hotel it can be easily said that the receptionist
in the first case handled the situation in the best possible way and were able to increase the
reputation of the hotel.
The dealing of the receptionist in the first case is important as because he listened to
the total complaint with calm and did all the possible enquires to manage a different room for
the guests. However, as he was unable to solve the problem he decided to refund the guests
and offered discounts on their stay. Apart from this he also provided free dinner for the guests
which helped to make the guests happy. This helped the management to increase the
reputation of the hotel.
Answer to Question 1b
The receptionist in the first case was able to highlight different soft skills that helped
him to manage the situation in a professional manner. Some of the soft skills that was
displayed by the receptionist included Customer Service skills, Communication skills and
flexibity skills. All these skills helped the receptionist to ensure satisfaction of the guests
which is undoubtedly the primary objective of the hotels.
The different soft skills has been presented and explained below;
a. Customer Service Skills- Customers are the main priorities of the hotel business. The
customers are the ones who provides the funds that helps the management of the
business to pay salary and other kind of business expenses that helps the hotel
industry to stay profitable (Wesley Jackson and Lee 2017). Therefore the management
has to take utmost care of the customers and deliver the best possible customer service
experience.

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b. Communication Skills- The presence of exceptional communication skills is another
demand of the hotel industry. Communication acts as the key to success in hotel and
hospitality industry. The better, the communication, the better will be business
success. The receptionist has a great communication skill as he listened to the
complaint of the customer keenly and then promptly contacted all the higher
authorities concerned to solve the problem (Hughes Mylonas and Ballantyne 2017).
Ultimately his friendly communication skill made the customers happy.
c. Flexibility Skills- The flexibility skill displayed by the people involved in the hotel
and hospitality industry helps them to ensure all types of customization possible for
the clients (Hughes Mylonas and Ballantyne 2017). Offering the customers discount
on their stay and also offering them free dinner within a short notice is surely the
display of great flexibility.
Answer to Question 1c
As mentioned earlier soft skills has a significant role to play in the development and
growth of the hospitality business and also to develop the customer satisfaction (Losekoot et
al. 2018). The soft skills presented by the receptionist in the first case has been effective to
ensure the satisfaction of the customers in spite of a huge mistake from the part of the
management. As the customers are the biggest asset of the hotels, therefore the management
of the hotels must be pro-active to ensure maximum satisfaction for the customers (Ariffin et
al. 2018). On the other hand both communication and flexibility are two of the most
important elements of the business process. The better, the communication, the better will be
business success, while the flexibility of the management can help ensure better success.

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Answer to Question 1d
In case of the second receptionist, the lack of soft skills is clearly evident from his
behaviour towards the customers. The absence of proper communication skills, absence of
proper networking skills and the inability to handle the situation in a much better manner is
clearly evident. The lack of patience can also be identified when he hardly listened to the
complaints of the customer and mentioned his inability to manage any extra room. Apart
from this he was also incapable of satisfying the customers with extra benefits and offers.
Answer to Question 2a
As a manager it will be his duty to conduct the interview by presenting a real life case
study which can be quite a different situation and will confuse the applicants. The case study
that will be used is as follows;
Suppose you are selected as the new food and beverage servers and bartenders so
what will you do in these situations?
a. Suppose while serving the food it spills on the dress of the customer. What will you
do?
b. How will you respond to customers who are dissatisfied with their food, table or
another issue?
c. How will you treat a regular customer who is notorious for leaving bad tips?
Answer to Question 2b
The best answer to question no 1 is to not make a scene and offer ultimate help for the
customer. The customer can also be offered free laundry service and discount on the different
foods.

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The best answer to the second question will be to listen to the customer and their
complaints and then do the best to find a creative solution to resolve the different issues
without getting angry.
On the other hand, the best answer to the last question will be hat tips are nothing but
a part of the external payment. As a server one has the obligation to serve the customers in
the best possible manner.
Answer to Question 2c
The answer is surely justified and important as because customer satisfaction and
hotel business are synonymous to each other and thus it is the duty of the people serving the
customers to do their best in order to ensure success (Ariffin et al. 2018). The better the
service provided, the more will be the reputation of the employees.
Answer to Question 3a
It is important to conduct a training needs analysis to get an idea for the need of the
training. The training needs analysis helps to identify the best requirement or need that can
help in the needs for the training. A proper analysis of the training need can ensure business
success in the most efficient manner (Stavrinoudis and Psimoulis 2017). The training needs
analysis helps the management to ensure training is done just for the need for training, it
helps to support the cost effective training, provides the information on the climate of the
organization and also provides the necessary commitment from the managers and the
trainees.
Answer to Question 3b
Training is important in the hospitality industry as because it helps to develop the
company culture and develop the talents of the industry (Stavrinoudis and Psimoulis 2017).

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The development of the talents in the industry helps to provide easy problem solving and also
provide the necessary safety and security to the management.

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References and Bibliography
Ariffin, A.A.M., Maghzi, A., Soon, M., Lam, J. and Alam, S.S., 2018. Exploring the
Influence of Hospitality on Guest Satisfaction in Luxury Hotel Services. E-review of Tourism
Research, 15.
Hughes, K., Mylonas, A. and Ballantyne, R., 2017. Enhancing tourism graduates’ soft skills:
the importance of teaching reflective practice. In Handbook of teaching and learning in
tourism. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Jaykumar, P., 2018. HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT INSTITUTES-THE SKILLS
TRAINING INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE. Journal of Services Research, 18(2).
Knezevic, M., Cerovic, S., Dzamic, V. and Radojevic, T., 2017. Total Quality Management
Implementation and Guest Satisfaction in Hospitality.
Losekoot, E., Lasten, E., Lawson, A. and Chen, B., 2018. The development of soft skills
during internships: The hospitality student’s voice. Research in Hospitality
Management, 8(2), pp.155-159.
Naik, N.K.K. and Kanade, S.R., 2019. HRM IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: AN
OVERVIEW. Advance and Innovative Research, p.136.
Stavrinoudis, T. and Psimoulis, M., 2017. How do education and training policies determine
customer satisfaction and hotels’ performance. European Journal of Tourism Research, 17,
pp.177-190.
Wesley, S.C., Jackson, V.P. and Lee, M., 2017. The perceived importance of core soft skills
between retailing and tourism management students, faculty and businesses. Employee
Relations.