Task A:
Written account or class assessment with analysis within an organisation of your choice
After selecting an organisation (hotel) of your choice, carry out research into room division operation. Using your research, produce a written report of your findings which should include:
a) An analysis of the key aspects of legislation and regulatory requirements relevant to rooms division operations.
b) A review of the roles and responsibilities of a selection of accommodation and reception staff.
c) An evaluation of the variety of services offered by rooms division for a wide range of hospitality businesses with an emphasis on accommodation and front office department.
d) A review of the importance of the front of house area and the accommodation service to effective management.
e) An evaluation of the key aspects of planning and management of the front of house area and the accommodation service.
f) A Critical evaluation of the main operational issues affecting the effective management and business performance of the front of house area and the accommodation service.
Introduction
Hospitality organisations have been playing important role in maximising the satisfaction of the consumers by providing them with an array of effective services. In this study, the sincere efforts have been made in discussing the role of accommodation and front office services with special emphasis on illustrating their roles in maximising the satisfaction of the customers. In this regards, the key aspects of the legal framework have been illustrated with special emphasis on the roles and responsibilities of the hotel staffs associated with the front office services and accommodation services (Kim et al. 2012, p. 1312).
The importance of the front office and accommodation services has been highlighted with special emphasis on the operational issues. Furthermore, the discussion has been made on the techniques of revenue maximisation and sales techniques of the hotels. Hence, it can be said this research study has been framed with the objective of showing different aspects of hospitality organisation with special reference to the chosen hotel Hilton London Kensington (hilton.com, 2016).
Task A
1.1 Discourse on accommodation and front office services
A proper accommodation and infrastructural architecture are needed for the better functionality of any organisation. The front office services play the key role in organisational operability, where the front office executives need to deal with the customers on daily basis (Kuo et al. 2012, p. 950). Front office service includes several departmental staffs like the receptionist, payment section executive and the inquiry counter executive. In this technological age, all the organisations are using the online services and they are executing customer related works within a moment.
Therefore, they need to use the upgraded technological apparatus and the online banking and payment facility should be present in the front office outlet of the organisation. The proper accommodation ensures the infrastructural availability for the customers, where they could get comforts and facilities according to their need. In this context, a 4-star luxurious hotel is going to be discussed and the name of the hotel is Hilton London Kensington. It provides out an out customer facility and their hospitality is up to the mark. In the hospitality management system, the care should be given to the customer service and the payment process or the customer service delivery should be performed on time.
The check-in and check-out processes in the hotel could be performed in the proper manner with an efficient front office support system. The payment processes and the hotel-related queries could be solved with the help of this system. The front office workers and the hotel staffs could check the issues regarding their service delivery procedure through the intercom system (Sagrestano et al. 2014, p. 315). The room service and luxurious facility should meet the expectation of the customers.
1.2 Roles and responsibilities of a selection of accommodation and reception services staff
The customer of the hotel could get the facilities according to their requisition. The basic hospitality should be provided to every customer and the extra facility often charges more, but the service should be provided in proper order. It also ensures the reliability of the customers towards the hotel service. The staffs from the reception service should behave properly with the customers and they need to give proper information to the customers (Berezina et al. 2012, p.998).
They should keep in mind that some of the customers are coming first time in the hotel and for that reason, they need to follow the proper methodology. The housekeeping staffs and the room service should provide better facilities to the customers. The housekeeping department should focus on the hygiene and cleanliness of the hotel. The reservation supervisor needs to check the online and offline reservation procedure and help the process of booking for rooms.
1.3 Legal and statutory requirements applicable to room divisions operations
The legal and the statutory requirements are applicable to the room divisions operations, where the health and safety act should be maintained. It is the liability of the hotel to serve hygienic accommodation for fooding and lodging. The fire regulation is a big concern here. A fire extinguisher should be present in each corner of the hotel. The hotel staffs need to be trained enough, who could manage the emergency situation. The fire and smoke detectors could be helpful in this process. The customers and the staff's safety is a big issue here, so an emergency exit should be present in the hotel premises.
There should be enough accommodation present in the hotel which could ensure the safety of the customers during the emergency situation. The data protection should be performed through proper data security procedure. A hotel always deals with several customer’s records on the daily basis and the data protection of those customers record is important for maintaining the goodwill of the hotel. The transactional information and the personal identification of the customers should not be disclosed publicly.
1.4 Evaluation of the services provided by the rooms division in hospitality businesses
The service provided by the hotel can be evaluated in terms of financial profitability and customer satisfaction. The hotel has been successful in maintaining its standard and reputation when it comes to the matter of satisfying the consumers. While engaging itself in the process of satisfying the consumers, the organisation has laid emphasis on increasing the efficacy of the room divisions. It has put its diametrical focus on acting according to the service requests of the consumers. In every guest rooms and executive rooms, the air condition systems have been installed (Majumder et al. 2015, p.130).
It has played important making the service users comfortable. In every guest room, the ordered foods are served according to the requests of the service users. The customers also get the best quality facilities when it comes to the matter of sleeping in the guest rooms. Other than these, there are a lot of facilities available in the form of luxurious facilities. The customers can get different facilities like spa, gym, swimming pools etc. It has been utilitarian in making the customers feedback better which is the manifestation of the better customer experience.
2.1. Importance of the front of house area to effective management
The bright light can be shed on the discourse related to the importance of the front of house area and accommodation service to effective management with reference to the chosen hotel Hilton London Kensington. It can be said that the frontal part of the house area is of great importance to the effective management. The frontal part of the house area plays important role in maximising the customer satisfaction by providing them with excellent quality service. In addition to that, the frontal of house area of the hotel Hilton London Kensington makes the arrivals feel pleased through warm welcoming.
The possibility of revenue generation will be in favor of the hotel Hilton London Kensington if the customers are satisfied with the services of the hotel. In this aspect, the frontal part of the house area carries the value as it has become the source of revenue generation for the hotel Hilton London Kensington. Hence, it can be averred that the frontal part of the house area provides the base for the maximisation of the customer satisfaction.
In addition to that, the frontal part of the house area in hotel Hilton London Kensington plays important role in answering the phone call made by the consumers along with the maintenance of the records of the details pertinent to the arrival and departure of the consumers (Kranke et al. 2013, p. 44). The customers can make the calls to the front office of Hilton London Kensington at any point of time whenever they are in need of services.
2.2 Evaluation on the key aspects of planning and management of the front of house area
The planning and management of the frontal part of the house area and accommodation service play important role in the process of the maximisation of the consumers (Mendes and Snow, 2014, p. 120). Hence, it is important to focus on increasing the effectiveness of the interior design of the hotel Hilton London Kensington. The hotel Hilton London Kensington has put sincere efforts in making the effectual planning of the entire system of the front desk and accommodation service for creating the brand image in the minds of the consumers.
The front office has been designed in such a way that it will leave the good imprint in the minds of the consumers. Inside the hotel, a flower bouquet has been put near the front office for creating the sense of charm in the minds of the consumers. The sofas and chairs are available so that the visitors can wait for getting services after making orders and they can book and reserve rooms for themselves. The entire front desk office is segmented into five rooms with information system installed in each of them. The hotel has been kept neat and clean from every aspect (Pantouvakis and Bouranta, 2013, p. 189). The arrivals in the hotel Hilton London Kensington have been made impressed with the services provided by the front desk office.
2.3 Key operational issues affecting the effective management and business performance of the front office area
The bright light can be shed on the discourse of key operational issues which have been playing important role in influencing the effective management and business performance of the Hilton London Kensington. In this case, it can be said that the success of the hospitality organisations lies in the creation of the marvelous design of the front office. It will not only help the organisation in creating the brand image as one of the prominent hotels in the United Kingdom, but will also help in retaining the existing customers. Consequently, the consumers will keep coming in the hotels for getting services pertinent to the hospitality.
However, the creation of bad impression can lead to the loss of revenue and financial profitability of the organisations. The front office personnel needs to be trained in such a manner that they can play the prominent role as coordinator between service providers and service users (Albayrak and Caber, 2015, p. 48). Slight mistake in choosing the right words while interacting with the customers can lead the organisation to the path of a major loss in the context of the management of the brand equity. Consequently, the goodwill of the hotels may get affected. The industrial standards are to be maintained while designing the front desk office in the hotel like Hilton London Kensington. In addition to that, the sincere efforts are to be main for in increasing the design for making the customer experience better.
The front office staffs should be well-dressed and should be presentable while interacting with the customers. They should refrain themselves from misbehaving with the customers. Else, it may affect the overall goodwill of the organisation.
3.1 Importance of the accommodation service to effective management
The accommodation service provided by the Hilton London Kensington is equally important in the context of customer service. The design of the interiors of the hotel Hilton London Kensington has attracted a lot of customers (Park et al. 2014, 238). In this context, the name of different facilities can be mentioned installed in the guest rooms such as air condition, hair dryer, phone with the availability of the facility of sending voicemails, LCD televisions etc. In addition to that, the executive rooms and suites are available in the Hilton London Kensington.
With the help of these facilities, the hotel Hilton London Kensington has been able to provide comfort to a lot of customers thereby resulting in maximising the customer satisfaction. With the help of the accommodation service, the hospitals have been able to provide the guest's safety. In addition to that, the value of the accommodation services has been increased with the existence of sanitation and room service. Even the lifts are available so that the guests do not feel any difficulties in moving from one floor to another floor.
3.2 Evaluation on the key aspects of planning and management of the accommodation service
The key aspects of accommodation service planning can also be discussed for shedding the bright light on the hospitality services provided by the Hilton London Kensington. In this context, it can be said that the accommodation services provided by the hotels have created put the great impact on the minds of the consumers thereby resulting in the maximisation of consumer satisfaction (Boon-Itt and Rompho, 2012, p.52). Apart from the room services, a lot of facilities are available such as gym, executive rooms for the professionals, bar, restaurants etc.
In addition to that, every guest room is well decorated from every aspect. The good decoration of the guest rooms has played the prominent role in making the guests comfortable. In the executive rooms, the professionals can hold meetings related to the business planning. In addition to that, the bar and restaurants inside the hotel have provided the customers with the better experience when it comes to the matter of testing different continental cuisines including the English dishes and different sorts of alcohols such as champagne, wine etc. The existence of gym has played the prominent role in increasing the satisfaction of the work-out lovers.
3.3 Key operational issues affecting the effective management and business performance of the accommodation service
There are key operational issues which affect the effective management and business performance of the accommodation services in most of the hotels in the United Kingdom such as Hilton London Kensington. The guest rooms of the hotel Hilton London Kensington are well-decorated. However, the sincere efforts are to be made for making more improvement in the accommodation services through effective utilisation of customer satisfaction strategy.
The unwillingness in maintaining cleanliness in the room may incur damage to the reputation of the hotels like Hilton London Kensington. In this way, the performance of the hospitality business can be improved (Nakanishi and Nakashima, 2014, p.470). In addition to that, the Hilton London Kensington needs to put sincere efforts in maintaining the cleanliness of the guest rooms, bars, executive rooms and suites, in a regular manner. The glasses and dishes which are usually served to the customers are needed to be cleaned in a daily manner. Furthermore, the importance is to be given in regularly checking up the functionality of the air conditions in every room.
The taxis are needed to be available all the time for the tourists so that they can travel the country at any point of time. In short, the guests of the hotel Hilton London Kensington needs to be felt comfortable while enjoying the services related to the accommodation. It will help the Hilton London Kensington in gaining the competitive advantage over the rival companies in the context of business performance thereby resulting in increasing the level of operational efficiency (Berry et al. 2013, p. 190).
Conclusion
This research study has been framed with the objective of showing different aspects of a hotel’s operations, with the help of this study, the idea has been got regarding how to maximise the performance of the business with respect to the hospitality organisation.