CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE HOSPITALITY

INDUSTRY
What is the hospitality industry?
The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields
within the service industry that includes lodging, event
planning,theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and
additional fields within the tourism industry. The
hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industry
that mostly depends on the availability of leisure time
and disposable income.
A hospitality unit such as a restaurant, hotel, or even
an amusement park consists of multiple groups such as
facility maintenance, direct operations
(servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchen
workers, bartenders, management, marketing, and
human resources etc)

Case Study
"ABC" hotel is a 3-star hotel with 180 rooms. It's in
business for the past four years. It has four Food and
Beverage outlets. Recently another 3-star hotels with
200 rooms opened up for business just 100 meters
away. It is called the "xyz" hotel and also has Food and
Beverage outlets. Because of this competitor, the
"ABC" hotels business is down by 30%.
You're newly appointed as a Sales Manager in
"ABC" hotel. What are the steps and strategies that
you're going to implement to increase the business?


Case Study - Answer
Evaluate Resources
Clarify Goals
Define Customers
Examine Competitors
Case Study - Answer
Key questions to address include:
Are the business and the target market clearly
defined?
Who is/are the business competitors?
What is the business specific strategy for
success?
Are the competitions moves being tracked
regularly?
Is the business taking advantage of the
competitions weaknesses and/or any
competitive opportunities?
Case Study - Answer
Key questions to address include:
What has been learned from the competitions
mistakes/strengths?
How do the business prices and products
compare with the rest of the industry?
Who are the customers? Does the business have
(or can it build) a loyal base?
Are the employees trained in customer service?
What trends are ahead, and can the business take
advantage of them?

Define The Hotel Proprietors Act,
1956
Inns and innkeepers.
(1)A hotel within the meaning of this Act shall, and any other
establishment shall not, be deemed to be an inn; and the duties,
liabilities and rights which immediately before the commencement
of this Act by law attached to an innkeeper as such shall, subject to
the provisions of this Act, attach to the proprietor of such an hotel
and shall not attach to any other person.
(2)The proprietor of an hotel shall, as an innkeeper, be under the
like liability, if any, to make good to any guest of his any damage to
property brought to the hotel as he would be under to make good
the loss thereof.
(3)In this Act, the expression hotel means an establishment held
out by the proprietor as offering food, drink and, if so required,
sleeping accommodation, without special contract, to any traveler
presenting himself who appears able and willing to pay a
reasonable sum for the services and facilities provided and who is in
a fit state to be received

Differences between Business and
Leisure Hotels
Leisure hotels characteristics:
Activities centered around fun Games, parties,
etc
Facilities are often recreational in nature Water
parks, theme parks, spas, game rooms, cinemas,
Length of stay of guests are longer (Usually
1week or more)
Usually located at remote areas (mountains,
jungles, islands etc)
More emphasis on relaxation and ambiance
Differences between Business and
Leisure Hotels
Business hotels characteristics:
Activities centered around work seminar rooms,
meeting rooms, lecture theaters
Facilities are often there to facilitate work
rooms with wifi, work desk, rooms for 1 4
people at most
Length of stay of guests are short (1-3 days)
Usually located at dense areas ( Airports,
business and trade zones)
More emphasis on work
4 sectors of the hospitality industry
food and beverage
lodging
Recreation
travel and tourism
4 sectors of the hospitality industry
food and beverage
lodging
Recreation
travel and tourism
4 sectors of the hospitality industry
Food and Beverage
The food and beverage industry, also known as
the foodservice industry, consists of businesses
that prepare food for customers. It is the largest
segment of the hospitality industry in the US.
Commercial foodservice are food and beverage
businesses that compete for customers. They are
designed to make a profit. Commercial
foodservice businesses include: quick-service
restaurants, full-service restaurants, catering
businesses, and hotel and club foodservice


4 sectors of the hospitality industry
Food and Beverage
Institutional Foodservice
Institutional foodservice provides customers
food and drink in an institution, such as a
school, hospital, assisted living community,
military base, prison, or factory.
Institutional foodservice customers generally
do not have the time or ability to seek food in
a commercial foodservice business.



4 sectors of the hospitality industry
Food and Beverage
Foodservice within a consumer business is a food and
beverage business that is located within a consumer
business such as a movie theater, sports arena,
museum, theme park, airport, or train station.
It could be full-service or quick-service. Customers
generally do not seek these places out to dine in on
any given day.
Rather, they eat in these places because they are
customers to the business they are within and choose
to eat there out of convenience.
Providing foodservice within a consumer business is
another way for that consumer business to provide
service to its customers
.



4 sectors of the hospitality industry
Lodging
Lodging also known as accommodation, is a
place to sleep for one or more nights. A
business in the lodging
industry is a business that provides a place for
people to sleep overnight. It can be one of
many sleeping places
such as a fancy hotel, a youth hostel, an elder
hostel, a campground, or highway side motel.
.



4 sectors of the hospitality industry
Lodging
Types of Lodging:
Luxury Hotels
Convention Hotels
Resort Hotels
Extended Stay Hotels
Time Share Hotels
Budget Hotels
Motels
Chalets

.



4 sectors of the hospitality industry
Recreation
Recreation is any activity that people do for rest, relaxation, and
enjoyment. The goal of recreation is to refresh a persons body and mind.
Any business that provides an activity for rest, relaxation, and enjoyment
in order to refresh a persons body and mind is in the recreation business.
Recreation businesses are incredibly diverse because people have varying
ideas on what activities they participate in for rest, relaxation and
enjoyment.
There are four general types of recreation businesses: entertainment,
attractions, spectator sports, and participatory events.
Entertainment businesses provide a show for you to watch such as a
movie or live theater, and concerts.
Attractions are places of special interest to visit such as natural scenery,
museums, zoos, and historical sites.
Spectator sports are sport that you watch others play such as foot ball
games, baseball games, or the Olympics.
Participatory sports or events are sports or events in which you take part
in yourself such as sports, yoga retreats

.



4 sectors of the hospitality industry
Travel and Tourism
The travel industry is in the business of moving people
from place to place. Busses, planes, cabs, boats, and
passenger trains are all part of the travel industry. When
people travel they spend money on hospitality.
Pleasure or leisure travel is when a person takes a vacation
and spends money on lodging, food, and recreation while
on that trip.
Business travel is when a person travels for work and also
spends money on lodging and food. Some business
travelers also spend money on recreation.
The tourism industry provides those people with services
that promote travel and vacations. Travel agencies, tour
operators, cruise companies, convention planners, and
visitors bureaus are all part of the tourism industry

.




Why is the Front Office referred to as
the nerve center of the hotel?
The front desk of a hotel is the first and last stop
for guests.
In between arrival and departure, its the place
guests call or visit when looking for information
or extra services.
Its the hotels nerve and traffic center, which is
why we give it special attention. A bad or
insufficient experience at a hotels front desk can
sour a travelers stay. Conversely, when guests are
handled deftly by front-desk personnel it can
immensely enhance ones visit.


Why is the Front Office referred to as
the nerve center of the hotel?
Answering guests questions is a continuous
activity. Among the most frequently asked
questions concern:
1. Dining recommendations
2. Nearby clothing shops, shoe stores and
pharmacies
3. The availability of Wi-Fi service
Provides guests access to guest data and
preferences, room assignments, temperature
controls, and wake-up calls. To help guests with
the task of keeping their children entertained,
there are snacks and activities including
movies and X-Box games



CHAPTER 2

FRONT OFFICE ORGANIZATION


What is the purpose of a hotel's mission statement? Who are the
three groups of people whose interests are addressed in a
mission statement?

A mission statement is a statement of the
purpose of a company, organization or person,
its reason for existing.
The mission statement should guide the actions
of the organization, spell out its overall goal,
provide a path, and guide decision-making.
It provides "the framework or context within
which the company's strategies are formulated."
It's like a goal for what the company wants to do
for the world.




Purpose of a hotel's mission statement

A mission statement addresses the interest of:
The owners
The employees
The customers

Front Office Organizational Chart
Organizational charts are used for:
organizational and supervisory communication,
workforce planning,
departmental or team planning,
resource planning,
change management,
organizational restructuring or redesign, and
job analysis.

Front Office Organizational Chart

Why should an organizational chart be
flexible?

Increased coordination between senior
management and junior level staff
Providing services in different geographical
areas of the country
Existence of special purpose teams that can be
dissolved after target competition
Improved efficiency and complete customer
satisfaction

Which hotel departments and divisions are
typically classified as revenue centers
Front Office Department (Rooms and
reservations)

Food and beverage department

Merchandise stores

Concierge department


Which hotel departments and divisions are
typically classified as support centers?
Kitchen Department

Security Department

Housekeeping Department

Maintenance Department



What seven main divisions are typically found in
the organization of a full-service hotel?

Rooms Division
Food & Beverage
Accounting
Human Resources
Engineering and Maintenance
Sales & Catering
Security Department
How does the front office interact with the rest of the
rooms division and the other main divisions in a full-
service hotel
Food and Beverage
1. Manual posting of outlet charges
Accounting
1. Night Audit
2. Currency Control
Human Resources
1. Staffing
2. Training

How does the front office interact with the rest of the rooms
division and the other main divisions in a full-service hotel
Engineering and Maintenance
1. Maintain the quality of the guest room
2. Hotel infrastructure maintenance
Sales and Catering
1. Transient room sales
2. Group bookings



How does the front office interact with the rest of the rooms
division and the other main divisions in a full-service hotel
Front of the House:
1. Rooms Division
2. Sales and Catering
3. Food and Beverage
Back of the House:
1. Human Resources
2. Accounting
3. Engineering
Security Department
1. Informing the security department of any suspicious
activities



What is the three traditional front
office work shifts?
Work Shift:
The Front Office Manager shall schedule his/her
employees according to seasonality, business volume,
and available staff in hand
The most commonly used scheduling is the Traditional
Scheduling, which assumes that every employee shall
work 40 Hours per Week. Moreover, the hotel shall
ensure 3 shifts per day, each of which lasts for 8 hours.
A possible example to traditional scheduling is shown
below:

Day Shift 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Evening Shift 3 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Night Shift 11 p.m. - 7 a.m.


What variations on the traditional workweek
might a hotel adopt?

Sometimes, due to non-availability of staff, seasonality, and
volume business, the Front Office manager might be forced
to adopt an Alternative Scheduling, which might be
arranged under the following patterns:

Flexible Work Hours or Flextime: This kind of alternative
scheduling entitles that employees might start work, for
example, one hour earlier, just to leave again one hour
earlier.
Compressed Work Schedule: Employees, instead of working
5 days per week, 8 hours per day, might work 4 days per
week, 10 hours per day. Therefore, compressed work-
scheduling means working all the 40 hours per week in less
than the standard 5 days per week.
Job Sharing: This kind of scheduling entitles that two or
more part-timers occupy the job of one full timer.


Differences between Job Description
and Job Specification
Importance of Job Description
Performance management
Training and employee development
Compensation
Recognition and rewards
Discipline
Return-to-work programs
Essential job function analysis
CHAPTER 3

ROOMS

What is room status?

Describing the status of a hotel room
determines its readiness for new occupancy. A
room status code will combine both the
occupancy and cleanliness information
relating to a hotel room.

What is room status?

Vacant/Ready (VR): Available for sale. This is the only status
that a room can be sold in
Vacant/Clean (VC): The room has been cleaned by a
housekeeper, but it has not been inspected yet by a
supervisor or manager to ensure that it is V/R.
Vacant/Maintenance (VM): A room has been taken out of
inventory for a specified reason, normally to allow repairs
to take place.
Occupied/Dirty (OD): A guest is occupying the room, but it
has not yet been serviced by housekeeping since the
previous night
Occupied/Clean (OC): Room is occupied and has been
serviced by housekeeping.

What is a room rack?

Definition: The published full price for which hotel
rooms are sold. Discovering a hotel's rack rates for
various rooms can be a good indicator of what kind of a
discount you are really getting through travel agents
and online travel booking services. You can usually find
out a particular hotel's rack rates from their web site,
or by calling the hotel directly.
Also Known As: full price; published rates
Examples: Booking online or going through a travel
agent can save you a percentage off the rack rates,
even in peak seasons.

Types of Rates
Rack Rate: Is the Standard rate or Published tariff
defined by the hotel management for a particular
room category / type. This is generally printed on
the tariff sheet of the hotel
Corporate or Commercial Rate: These are rates
offered to companies that provide frequent
business for the hotel or its chain. This rate may
vary according to the volume of business
guaranteed by the companies
Types of Rates
Group Rate: These are rates which is offered
to groups, meetings and conventions using the
hotel for their functions.
Promotional Rate Codes: These rates are
generally offered during low occupancy
periods to any guest to promote occupancy.
Early Bird Rates, Stay for 3 and pay for 1 etc.

Types of Rates
Family Rate: A rate reserved for families with
children. Usually these rate include Extra Bed
charges and may also include some free add-on
activities for children.
Package Rate: Rates that includes a guest room in
combination with other available events or
activities. ( Eg: Best of London package which
includes room rental, all meals, site seeing,
airport transfers etc. ) Package rate can be also a
simple room and meal package like American
Plan ( AP), Modified American
Plan (MAP), Continental Plan ( CP )

Types of Rates
Best Available rates ( BAR ) : These rate codes
are the lowest discounted rate available for a
day which can be offered to the guest by the
Reservation or Front desk staff. BAR can be off
different types:
'Dynamic BAR' - Has different tiers and
each tiers will be opened and closed
according to the occupancy of the hotel. ( The
new age hotel management software's does
this automatically for the Revenue Mangers.)

Types of Rates
Best Available rates ( BAR ) : These rate codes are
the lowest discounted rate available for a day
which can be offered to the guest by the
Reservation or Front desk staff. BAR can be off
different types:
'Dynamic BAR' - Has different tiers and each tiers
will be opened and closed according to the
occupancy of the hotel. ( The new age hotel
management software's does this automatically
for the Revenue Mangers.)
Complimentary Rate: A Room rate with zero
room charge which is offered to special guests,
industry leaders, Gov. officials etc.

Rate type defined by each code.
Rack Rate RR
Corporate / Commercial Rate COR1, NEG1
Group Rate GR, GRP1
Package Rate American Plan (AP), Family
Rate (FR), Modified American Plan (MAP),
Continental Plan (CP)
Best Available Rates (BAR)
Complimentary Rates COMP

What is an occupancy report?
A hotel occupancy report details the status of
bookings of rooms and conference facilities
within the hotel. The report details rooms that
are occupied or unoccupied currently or within a
specific period of time such as in the past year.
The report indicates whether the hotel is
operating at optimum level or needs to be
marketed more effectively.


What is an occupancy report?
Summary of the day's business from which the general
manager and different department heads can view
Contains a summary of a hotel's financial activities
during a 24 hour period
The daily operations report provides a means of
reconciling cash, bank accounts, revenue, and accounts
receivable.
The report also serves as a posting reference for
various accounting journals and provides important
data that must be input to link front and back office
computer functions.


What is in-house use rooms?

House Use rooms are normally occupied by
Senior Management and should be authorized by
the General Manager or Resident
Manager. Complimentary Rooms are normally
occupied by Business Associates, Group Leaders
and invited Travel Agents.
House Use rooms are normally occupied by
internal employee i.e. GM/ RM and it must not
be included in the Hotels occupancy figures

What is in-house use rooms?

Obtain House Use Form and Complimentary Room Request
Form.

Ensure that form is signed and verified by GM/RM.

Make a new reservation. Ensure that the correct code is
keyed in the FIDELIO system to track the actual room count
for complimentary rooms and House Use rooms
respectively.

Attach House Use form or Complimentary Room Request
form to the reservation form and/or Correspondence.

File the reservation