the hospitality industry is booming there has not being a better yourself for a major role in the industry hotels are developed every year and there are now an amazing variety of employment opportunities this course on Academy Europe will introduce you to all the aspects of hotel management from food and beverage front office and sales while providing you with the knowledge and skills needed to find a top position developing your self-confidence and management skills if you enjoy working with people in a very busy environment then hotel work may offer the opportunities you have been looking for contents front office operations facilities and services the functions of the front office sales and selling Reza videos - front office operations in this chapter the front office operations in the hotel industry are emphasized however it must be remembered that some if not all front office functions which are identified can be applied to other sectors of the catering and accommodation industry in a hotel rooms fall into two broad categories those used for sleeping purposes and those used for other purposes sleeping accommodation this type of accommodation is usually classified according to the number and the type of beds and whether or not the bathroom is ensuite hotels tend to use standard abbreviations for coding purposes suites are bedrooms or combinations of bedrooms with a sitting room senior and possibly a kitchenette or pantry some hotels include family rooms these tend to be larger twin or double rooms with a sofa forward-slash pullout bed it is also useful to indicate whether a bedroom has a communicating door to the adjoining room and whether there is a shower rather than a bath or if there is both shower and bath in the bathroom non sleeping accommodation this category is concerned with rooms which are not used for the function of sleeping but they are available to sell and so produce revenue examples include the range of room types varies from one operation to another examples of factors which influence the range and variety of room types include the age and location of the premises and the type of client and market which is catered for generally the more traditional hotels tend to have a larger variety of room types particularly bedrooms compared to the more recently constructed post house type of hotel which usually has three types of bedrooms single twin and family reasons for classifying accommodation it is necessary to identify and classify all types of information within an operation for many reasons information related to the front office includes a information necessary for collating hotel brochures and any promotional documents be information useful for the analysis of the product that is the hotel this aids the front office personnel who are selling reserving and allocating accommodation see useful for analytical purposes to identify usage and determine occupancy percentages for each room type this subsequently aids I marketing and selling to redecoration three building of extensions for pricing D provides aid in the designing of systems to be used in the operation of the front office tariffs the front office personnel should be fully aware of the type or types of tariffs adopted by the particular hotel and they should know the exact price to be quoted what the price includes and what items will incur additional charges these are a room only where the bedroom is the unit of pricing and the rate for the bedroom only is quoted all other items incur additional cost luxury city center hotels and transient hotels often use this structure be bed and breakfast the price includes not only the rate for the bedroom but also for breakfast the breakfast may be English or continental depending upon the policy of the hotel a supplementary charge may be made if continental breakfast was quoted and an English breakfast is taken or if the breakfast is served in the bedroom the guest pays for the breakfast whether or not it is consumed see half-board the price includes bedroom breakfast and one other meal usually dinner this does vary and some hotels allow the customer a choice between lunch or dinner resort hotels tend to use this tariff default board here the price includes bedroom breakfast lunch and dinner and it may also include afternoon tea this system ensures the use of the dining facilities and increases the average guest a expenditure although the price is probably less than if all the meals were charged separately a supplementary charge is made if the guest uses the alar cart instead of the table D at menu this structure is also used by resort hotels II inclusive terms this is really an extension of the full board structure but it also allows the guests unlimited use of all the sporting and entertainment facilities this tariff is also used by resort hotels to develop packages which can be used to attract customers also it facilitates the accounting the actual price which is quoted will be influenced by many factors which include I supply and demand to what the customer can afford and is prepared to pay 3 what the hotel must charge in order to make a profit or to break-even for what competitors are charging accommodation is capable of great price variation which can be influenced by the following factors one room type whether or not it is a single twin room etc will affect the charge and the greater the number of room types within an establishment the greater the number of different room charges to the convenience of the room this includes such factors as location the view and the facilities within the room all these factors affect the price which is charged 3 the number of people within the room the price may vary according to whether a twin room is sold as a single whether an extra bed is put into the room or whether children are sharing the room with their parents this may be allowed at reduced rates many hotels accommodate children under a certain age free of charge for the market segment type of client a businessman for instance who does not pay his own account may not be so sensitive to the price which is charged high prices may attract a certain segment of the population who prefer to use the most expensive hotel a business executive may be willing to pay a little extra for first-class services and pampering for example a bowl of fruit toweling bathrobe disposable slippers for regular customers and resident guests for celebrities for guests buying other accommodation and facilities for example dinner dance wedding guests there may be discounts for bulk reservations for instance conferences and tours complimentary accommodation may be allocated for many reasons for example for promotional purposes to encourage future business as prizes for a competition to visiting personnel from other hotels in the chain or from head office vie fluctuation in pricing may occur for the following reasons at certain times of the year supply and demand change lower prices are charged in the offseason to encourage occupancy and higher prices are charged in the high season because the demand is high pricing may change at certain times of the week or year to promote sales and to encourage occupancy this often relates to special package deals such as mini weekends and bargain breaks for special events and functions such as special Christmas and New Year events speciality weekends when trying to undercut competitors for selling accommodation particularly bedrooms after a certain time in the evening this may apply in transient and commercial hotels particularly with chance custom pricing is an extremely complex subject and whether the policy is to have separate charges for each room type depending upon the class of business or the time of year or to have a set standard rate without any fluctuations it is important that the front office personnel know exactly what the prices are the guests too must understand the tariff and the price charged difficulties may be encountered with the guest who tries to compare prices particularly in a hotel where there are many variations facilities and services the facilities and services which are offered by a hotel will vary from one operation to another the factors which could influence the provision of these services and facilities include a the type of hotel B the type of client C the basic needs of the particular client D the expectations of the client either satisfaction of the client if how much the client is willing to pay G the standard of the hotel H the location of the premises 1 the size and physical layout of the premises J the cost-effectiveness of the service or facility the majority of the facilities and services which are provided will tend to be revenue producing and as such they could be classed as sales outlets many of these sales outlets may only be patronized by the client because he is already a paying guest at the hotel it must also be remembered that if these services and facilities were not advertised promoted or sold to the client they may in fact go unused and the client may use similar services and facilities elsewhere it is necessary to identify which services and facilities are revenue producing and to what extent this is in order that a the type and volume of sales may be monitored B the performance of the sales outlets may be analyzed C customer usage of the sales outlets and his satisfaction may be assessed D the sales outlet may be effectively controlled either accounting system may be effectively devised and the customer correctly built F a selling campaign may be launched if necessary the functions of the front office the front office can be described as the nerve center of the hotel because it is through this office that potential guests make their queries are offered accommodation are registered are allocated a room are monitored with regard to expenditure are billed etc the front office has a very large public relations role to play and that contact with the potential and actual guests is very important particularly as impressions are made very quickly and impressions are long-lasting because most of the contact the guest has with the hotel in the early stages is through the front office the guest identifies this office as representative of the hotel the individual functions of the front office which varies slightly from one operation to another are listed below and will be discussed later in the lesson in detail I sales and selling to advance reservations three reception for accounting and check out the information services six communications seven security it is important to remember that the activities of the front office indeed of the whole hotel operation revolve around the activities of the guests it is possible to plot the sequence of the guests activities by using a flow chart commencing from the time when the potential customer first makes contact with the establishment until the account has been settled this concept is often referred to as the guests cycle and it is being increasingly utilized in the hotel industry to enable management to monitor chart and control the guests transactions in a more efficient manner from the information which is provided by the guests cycle the activities which must be carried out by the operation particularly the front office can be determined these activities fall into three sections a pre arrival B arrival and check-in C check out sales and selling this section is really concerned with in-house sales that is selling within the hotel and encouraging the guests to spend more rather than with operational sales which involves attracting the potential guests to the hotel in a larger hotel the latter may be carried out by the sales department although there is a strong case for arguing that the advance reservations Clark is also concerned with this aspect of selling it is important to identify the link with marketing all members of staff in a hotel from doorman to manager where the front office personnel or not are sales personnel they should be concerned with caring for the guests and the relationship which is developed with the guests when selling hotel accommodation it is important to consider certain factors a hotel accommodation is a saleable commodity which provides a greater contribution to fixed costs and subsequent profits than any other sales outlet in the hotel this is because the marginal costs that is the cost of the items which are used by the guests while staying are comparatively low be accommodation in this context not only includes bedrooms but also conference meeting and function rooms etc see accommodation unlike for instance food and liquor is limited by two factors i time to quantity if a room is not sold on a particular night then the revenue is lost forever the quantity of rooms is static and cannot fluctuate to meet demand incentives may be introduced to encourage personnel to increase sales and these may include a in occupancy bonus if the occupancy percentage has increased over the same period compared to the previous year be a commission that is a flat rate for each sale for example a monetary incentive for booking in the restaurant see a receptionist of the month competition in order to be able to sell the hotel effectively everyone concerned must know the hotel and what it has to offer in other words the hotel personnel like any other sales person must have full knowledge of the product which in this case is the hotel this will involve having full knowledge of the following a the premises the personnel must be familiar with the location of the premises and be able to advise guests on how to get to the hotel by various means of transport they must also be able to advise the guests on car parking arrangements be familiar with the type of hotel the total number of rooms and the variety of room types etc be organisational structure all personnel should be familiar not only with the functions of all the other departments in the hotel but also with the heads of the departments it is also important chat front office personnel know the management team and that they are kept informed with regard Co which members of the management are on duty at any given time see accomodation one-bedroom it is particularly important that all front office personnel know the number and types of rooms which are available their location color schemes conveniences etc many hotels have developed a card index of room inventories sometimes incorporating a photograph of the particular room as an aid for personnel it is also beneficial if all front office personnel can spend a few days with the housekeeping department not only to become familiar with the rooms but also to understand the importance of good communications between the two departments to non residential accommodation public areas here again the personnel must know what these areas are like and where they are in order to be able to direct guests for example conference rooms meeting rooms etc the number varieties seating capacities and any special names given to these rooms must be fully known D facilities and services full details of all facilities and services must be known particularly all food and beverage outlets a house rules and regulations rules and regulations such as checkout times procedure for credit sales key collection etc must be thoroughly known by all personnel F prices forward-slash tariffs it is imperative that if personnel are selling to a guest then they must be fully conversant with all prices and tariffs for all services they must know exactly what the guest will receive for the price which is paid and whether extra charges will be incurred for any items G competition personnel should be familiar with other hotels and similar facilities in the area in order to emphasize the benefits and advantages of their own operation if effective selling is to take place and the sales be increased then all sales opportunities within the guests cycle should be identified the following are examples of sales opportunities reservations when a potential guest is making an air query with regard to accommodation there is the opportunity to convert this into an actual reservation it offers an opportunity for creative selling a check-in at this time after the guest has registered there is a good opportunity to sell the other facilities and services which the hotel has to offer for instance one guest arrives before a meal time the dining facilities can be mentioned and by asking a guest if a meal can be booked for him there is a possibility of increasing meal sales - if the guest arrives lace then the room service or the 24-hour shop can be mentioned be enroute to the bedroom here is an opportunity for the porter to mention some of the other facilities and services which are available to the guests such as Sounders hairdressing entertainment C in the room with the use of printed information and giveaways the facilities and services can be promoted if in-room video is provided then the activities services and special events can be effectively publicize by this means D check out when the guest is settling his account on departure there is still another opportunity to sell the hotel for instance the guest can be encouraged Coe returned by issuing prepaid reservation postcards a hotline telephone number or even an incentive such as a discount voucher if the hotel is part of a chain or a syndicate then other hotels may be promoted these are just a few examples of the sales opportunities which may occur they should not be overlooked particularly if sales are down and need to be increased these opportunities news be pointed out to the appropriate personnel and incorporated into the standard procedure for that section of the guests cycle