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Section
A:
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1.
To create a professional image and to make guest comfortable about the staff
members is a factor of:
e.
Personal presentation
f.
An attentive manner
g.
Social skills
h.
Use of guest’s names
2
A small booklet which has the guest’s name, room number and room rate is:
e.
Credit card
f.
Key card
g.
Bedroom book
h.
Room status board
3.
Clear is a sign of:
e.
Room left
f.
Room occupied
g.
Room vacant and ready
h.
Room vacant but not ready
4.
Which of the following is not a part of ‘Property Management System’?
e.
General ledger
f.
Registration
g.
Night audit
h.
Computer terminal
5.
Arrange the following as procedure for payment by credit card:
i.
Ask the client to sign the audit roll (retain the card)
ii.
Obtain the card from the client
iii.
Check that the signatures on the card and the voucher agree.
iv.
Swipe the card through the machine.
e.
i, ii, iii, iv
f.
ii, iv, i, iii
g.
ii, iii ,i, iv
h.
iv, ii, iii, i
6.
When the interest and desire is converted into booking or enquiry it is a
result of:
e.
Interest
f.
Attention
g.
Action
h.
Desire
7.
Providing an individual ‘PIN’ number to the customer by the hotel authority is
a feature of:
e.
Voice mail
f.
Message waiting facility
g.
Fax
h.
Access to hotel services
8.
......................... Cheques help in controlling frauds in the hotels.
e.
Crossing cheques
f.
Cheque authorization
g.
Foreign cheques
h.
Blank cheques
9.
Which of the following is not included in the task performed mainly at the
reception?
e.
Filing
f.
Duplicating
g.
Word processing
h.
Reservation
10.
.................................... Chart is very time consuming to be
up-dated and its errors results in lower occupancy.
e.
Density chart
f.
Density reservation chart
g.
Stop-go chart
h.
Conventional chart
Part Two:
1.
Differentiate between the organizational structure of ‘Small and Medium sized
hotels’.
2.
State the main ways in which fire can be prevented in a hotel.
3.
List the main methods of ‘Non-verbal communication’.
4.
Write a short note on ‘Inside Availability’.
Section B: Caselets
Caselet 1
The
Benson Hotel, a mid-sized independent property required new leadership. Mike
Schwartz, Vice-president of Operations, pondered his next move as he reviewed
last month’s financial statements. The Benson was an eighty-five-room
three-star property with a full-service restaurant, lounge, and banquet and
health club facilities. The rapidly changing marketplace and new competition
from well-established franchises had made Mike’s job and the Benson’s position
more tenuous. Mike decided to commission a consultant’s report on the property.
He called up his longtime friend Jim Burke, who had worked for major chains
across the country and was now a hospitality consultant.
“Jim, how are you old buddy?” Mike
asked.
“I’m doing very well Mike. This
consulting work has run me off my feet. What can I do for you?” Jim asked.
“Well Jim, I need an independent
review of the Benson. We’re holding our own but these franchise guys with their
management contracts are really getting aggressive,” Mike said.
“Yes, I know what you mean Mike. I
have just completed a marketing study for a new building across. These guys
have some great programs. You have to try and stay ahead of them,” said Jim.
Mike asked, “Do you think you could
visit the property and have some lunch next week? I would like to start with an
employee survey and some site work. You’ll be working alongside my general
manager, Sean Waters. Sean’s been with us for about two years. Jim, I have some
concerns about this guy and I’d like to have a fresh set of eyes look at what’s
going on at the Benson. Okay?” Jim hesitated, “Okay Mike. How about next
Thursday 10.00a.m.? I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
“Wonderful, Jim. We’ll see you
then.”
Sean Waters had been recruited by
Mike as a rising star. Sean’s background led Mike to believe he possessed a
true spirit for hospitality, especially in the food service area. Sean had
worked his way up in reputable full-service properties and restaurants while
completing an undergraduate degree in hospitality. So, what had gone so wrong
at the Benson for mike to feel he needed to bring in a consultant to figure it
out? Three months later Mike had an interim report on his desk.
Physical Plant Priorities
The
following is a review of specific areas of the Benson Hotel that requires
attention.
Sales office: Located
just off the lobby, this space is open to the public and is well below the
standards for this level of property. The property has worked hard to attract
the corporate market. A well – renovated business center shared with a working
sales area would enhance this area greatly.
Banquet Servery:
Located on the lower level from the main kitchen, this area seems more of a
storage area; in fact this could serve as a limited holding area for banquet
service. There is no counterspace and no secure shelving to store dishes,
glassware or cutlery. Floors and walls are in need of refinishing. Guests have
gained access to this area on occasion.
Exterior Garbage Area: The
main compactor located in the rear parking lot of the hotel should be enclosed.
It is unsightly to guests and can be viewed from the road by surrounding
residences. A possible solution would be to pour a concrete slab allowing for
drainage and build an enclosure on three sides to ensure access for pick up.
Access for persons with disability: Presently,
the Benson has no access or rooms for guests with disabilities. At least two
units should be converted for this purpose. The main reconfigurations are the
bathrooms and doorways. On a few occasions guests with disabilities were
observed leaving the hotel for other properties in the area that had such
facilities. It is a good marketing initiative and may become necessary to
maintain the rating of the property.
Lobby: The lobby chairs
and broadloom should be upgraded to reflect the marketplace and reputation of
the property.
Back Office Computer: There
is presently no stand alone back office computer. The computers on the property
are dated and solely devoted to a property management system that is not
Windows based. The following functions could be served with a back office
computer:
·
Inventory analysis
·
Database marketing
·
Effective and
professional word processing
Parking Lot:
The rear parking lot is of particular concern; it does not reflect a three –
star property.
Human Resources
The
Benson Hotel, like many others before it, had over the years placed people in
positions of authority with little or no training to support their efforts.
This was true in the following revenue centers.
Dining Room:
During high season the dining room enjoys record covers on many nights.
However, there was one very stressful situation observed. The staffing was
mixed with senior staff followed by poorly trained “warm bodies”. The situation
was made worse by the supervisor. Rachel was perceived by the staff as unfair,
unapproachable and often playing favorites with her friends and family. Rachel,
in all fairness, has had no training and was clearly not the person for the
job. She repeatedly showed disrespect for her fellow workers and kitchen staff.
Unfairness was clearly displayed in the allotment of high-gratuity-paying work
such as banquets and bus tours. Rachel played favorites. She would schedule
herself and friends to serve high-gratuity events. If you were not her
favorite, you were relegated to breakfast shifts or similar low gratuity work.
An example is the new girl, Donna, who Rachel hired this summer. Rachel is
already giving preferential shifts to Donna over Isabel, who has been at the
Benson for more than five years. Rachel based her decision on Isabel’s poor
performance, which Rachel said other employees would agree with. This was not
the case when fellow workers were asked. Rachel had also threatened to lay off
Isabel in the slow months instead of Donna or Rachel’s daughter Lucy. This was
clearly an old management style and unacceptable in any operation. Rachel is
also resentful that the kitchen receives 25% of group meal gratuities. In her
opinion they do not deserve it. This feeling has permeated among her allies,
instilling an “us against them” animosity between the kitchen and service
staff.
Kitchen Operation:
The kitchen staff is competent, but leadership is seriously lacking in this area.
James, the interim kitchen supervisor, has difficulty coping with the
restricted responsibilities placed on him and often projects these feelings
onto fellow staff. This attitude also has a further negative effect on Rachel
and her staff in the dining room. Chef Wilhelm left three months ago and
provided little incentive for James to perform his duties as sous-chef. James
is somewhat adrift, constantly complaining that he is doing a chef’s job and
receiving cook’s pay.
Management
controls and reporting such as inventory are inaccurate at best., with related
reports poorly presented (see section concerning the back office computer).
Production and food handling require improvement from a quality and sanitation
point of view. It seems that many foods taken out for preparation or serving
then are left out in a hot kitchen to deteriorate or go to waste. Scheduling of
kitchen employees does not seem to relate to business peaks and valleys. This
has resulted in calling in casual kitchen staff on short notice, resulting in
paid-outs over the counter. One such employee is Gerald, the dishwasher, who is
Lucy’s boyfriend. Rachel on occasion has taken it upon herself to all Gerald in
for dishwashing duty when clearly it is James’s responsibility to make the
call. This situation provides an opportunity for Rachel to extend her influence
beyond the realm of her authority and has led to increased friction between
Rachel and James.
Employee Audit
This
part of Jim’s report was a detailed employee audit interviewing employees on
issues from the parking lot all the way up to the general manager. It provided
Mike with some food for thought. Jim’s opening comments was: “If I had to make
only one general statement about the relationship between the employer and
employees at this time, I would have to say that it is limping along at a slow,
steady pace. Most of the employees appear satisfied with the type of work they
are doing and they speak well for the company.” Under the section “Lack of
Credibility on the Part of the General Manager,” Mike’s worst fears were
confirmed. Jim’s report continued, “As far as remainder of the employees are
concerned, they do what they have to and then ignore the general manager. His
level of credibility with these employees is zero. One employee was very
philosophical about it when she said, “At leads we know what we have to deal
with, and we are learning how to deal with him. If they get rid of him we could
get someone worse.” Supporting comments from employees included:
·
The general manager is
always right.
·
The morale of the
employees varies with the moods of the general manager.
·
The general manager
intimidates some employees
·
The general manager
tries to impress the upper management by pitching in to help when they are
here, but when they are not here he doesn’t lift a finger.
Jim
summed up this section of his report to Mike like this: ‘This is a case of
employees working well in spite of the general manager rather than because of
him. The main problem with this situation is that a reputable company such as
the Benson Hotel cannot support the actions of a general manager with this type
of comportment and still maintain a workable relationship with its employees.
My opinion at this point this is that something has to change.
Questions
1.
Do you feel it was necessary for Mike to commission a consultant’s report on
the Benson? Why or why not? How would you have approached the situation?
2.
Identify and propose solutions for the supervisory challenges in the kitchen
and dining areas of the Benson Hotel.
Caselet 2
The
Rainbow Golf Resort had something to celebrate. The 120 – unit golf resort
consisting of villas and condominiums had recently been “re-branded” from a
franchise to an independent property. The new owner, Ken Okura, was reviewing
the present organizational structure of the Rainbow along with the files of key
personnel presently running the operation. During the transition period Ken had
recruited his own team including a Vice-president of Operations, Director of
Sales and Marketing and Director of Food and Beverage to restructure the
organization; however, he still had a few key areas to fill in. In the past,
each member of the resort’s management team had staked out his or her own turf
with little internal communication. As a case in point, Ken often noticed
Shirley, the accountant, regularly directing the front desk on policies and
procedures. All this happened under the watch of Jeremy, the resort’s Room
Division Manager, who didn’t seem to take notice of such actions. Ken thought
that this overlap of authority surely must confuse the front desk staff.
The
transition period had provided Ken with a window of opportunity to evaluate the
line and supervisory staff. Ken had retained Ted Barrow, a human resources consultant;
his report’s findings were quite a surprise to Ken. Ted’s report began with the
following staff concerns:
·
The management does not
work together. There is no teamwork, only “flexing” for power. Managers are out
to protect their turf. Their attitude pervades the resort.
·
There is no apparent
overall direction for the resort. If there is, it is not being communicated
throughout the organization.
·
There is no general
manager to controller on site. The feeling is that if these people were around,
conflict among the department heads could be avoided.
·
There is insufficient
training. Employees are thrown into their jobs without being ready to perform
them properly. They should have proper preparation before they have to deal
with guests.
·
Some departments (front
desk in particular) are terribly understaffed. This causes service problems as
well as high staff turnover.
·
The staff morale is
low. Employees work in separate departments and get caught in a rut. There is
no overall team spirit. Its more like “every man for himself”
·
There is little or no
awareness of how other departments operate. This knowledge is necessary to help
us understand how we impact each other.
·
Many people are
currently unhappy. The labor pool is small and if they leave it will be tough
to replace them. Management should work to keep the staff happy.
·
There seems to be a
consensus that staff members want to be able to provide food service, but too
many constraints are placed on them to be able to do so.
·
It is difficult to know
who to go to if someone has a problem with his or her manager. There should be
someone designated, as the resort manager so that employees have someone to
communicate with should the need to arise to do so arise.
Ken
assembled his new team to map out strategies to address the operational
challenges and employee concerns.
Questions
1.
Identify and describe four short-term operational strategies Ken should
implement immediately at the Rainbow Golf Resort.
2.
Which form of top-down communication would be most suitable for the Rainbow
Golf Resort to achieve its objectives?
Section C: Applied Theory
1.
Explain how the hotel receptionist can contribute to customer satisfaction?
2.
Discuss the methods of payments in a hotel.
3.
Discuss about the main principles of “Hotel Billing”.
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