CHAPTER II

WHAT IS HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT?

When most people think of the hospitality means “ the reception and
entertainment of guest, visitors or strangers with liberality and good will”. The
word HOSPITALITY is derived from HOSPICE , the industry, they usually
think of hotels and restaurants. However, the true meaning of HOSPITALITY
is much broader in scope. According to the Oxford dictionary, Hospitality term
for a medieval house of rest for travelers and pilgrims. HOSPICE a word that
is clearly related to the hospital, also referred to an early form of what we now
call a nursing home. The hospitality industry is a service industry, one in
which employees take pride in caring about others.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

Hospitality business are open 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. One
essential difference between the hospitality business and other business
sectors is that we produce guest satisfaction an ephemeral product or as they
say in the service literature, an intangible.

Hospitality, then, not only includes hotels and restaurants but also refers to
other kinds of institutions that offer shelter, food, or both to people away from
their homes. We can also expand this definition, as many people have, to
include those institutions that provide other types of services to people away
from home. This might include private clubs, casinos, resorts, attractions, and
so on.

These different kinds of operations also have more than a common

historical heritage. They share the management problems of providing food
and shelter, problems that include erecting a building; providing heat, light,
and power ; cleaning and maintaining the premises; overseeing employees;
and preparing and serving food in a way that pleases the guest. We expect all
of this to be done “ with liberality and good will” when we stay in a hotel or
dine in a restaurant, but we can also rightfully expect the same treatment from
the food service department in a health care facility or while enjoying
ourselves at an amusement park.

The hospitality professions are among the oldest of the human

professions, and they involve making a guest, client and resident feel
welcome and comfortable.

The quality and characteristics beneficial for a career in the hospitality

industry are honesty, dedication, being a team player, preparedness to work
long hours over various shifts, communication skills, leadership and ambition,
just to name a few.

THE MANAGERS ROLE IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

As a successful manager in the hospitality industry, you must exhibit many

skills and command much specialized knowledge, all directed at achieving a
variety of management objectives.

A. A manager wants to make the guest feel welcome.

Doing this requires both a friendly manner on your part toward
the guest and an atmosphere of “Liberality and good will” among
the people who work with you in serving the guest. That almost
always translates to an organization in which workers get along
well with one another.
B. A manager wants to make things work for the guest.
Food has to be savory, hot or cold according to design, and on
time. Beds must be made and rooms cleaned. Gaming facilities
must be service oriented. A hospitality system requires a lot of
work, and the manager must see that it is done.
C. A manager wants to make sure that the operation will continue to
provide service while also making a profit.
When we speak of “Liberality and good will”, we don’t mean
giving the whole place away. In a restaurant or hotel operated
for profit, portion sizes are related to cost, and so menu and
room prices must consider building and operating costs.
Managing these aspects enables the establishment to recover
 the cost of its operation and to make enough additional income
to pay back any money borrowed as well as to provide a return
to the owner, who risked a good deal of money and time to
make the establishment a reality.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

To be sure that your strengths and weaknesses work well with your
chosen career, it is necessary to do assessment before choosing a specific
career.

LODGING OPERTION

A. Sales Manager
B. Front Office Managers
C. Guest Service Managers
D. Revenue Managers

FOOD SERVICE

A. Restaurant Managers
B. Banquet Managers
C. Food Service Managers
D. Bar Managers

CULINARY

A. Chef Supervisor
B. Banquet Cook
C. Station Cook

TRAVEL AND TOURISM

A. Meeting and Convention Planner

B. Festival Manager
C. Market Researcher
 ASSESSMENT

Apply your knowledge

1. Identify and explain the two differences between the hospitality

business and the other business sectors.
2. What are career opportunities in the hospitality industry?

FUNCTION OF THE HOTEL

The primary function of the hotel is to provide lodging accommodation.

A large hotel is run by a general manager and an executive committee
comprised of the key executives who head major departments: rooms division
director, food and beverage director, marketing and sales director, human
resources director, chief accountant or controller, and chief engineer or facility
manager. These executives generally have a regional or corporate
counterpart with whom they have a reporting relationship, although the
general manager is their immediate supervisor.

A hotel is made up of several businesses or revenue centers and cost

centers. A few thousand products and services are sold everyday. Each area
of specialty requires dedication and a quality commitment for each
department to get little things right all the time. Hotels are places of glamour
that may be awe inspiring.

ORGANIZATION OF THE HOTEL

Organization differs among larger, midscale, and smaller

organization. The midscale and smaller organization is less
complex in the management structure than the large ones.
 However, someone must be responsible for each of the key result
areas that make the operation successful.

Sample of a small hotel organizational management

Front Office Manager

Assistant front Office Manager

Lobby Manager

Bell Captain /Bill

Reservationist
Clerk/bell Boy
Receptionist/Cashierx

Doorman

Lift Operator

1. What is the difference between a small organizational structure and

large organizational structure? Please explain.
 LARGE HOTEL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

FRONT OFFICE MANAGER

Assistant front Office Lobby Manager

Reservation Manager Manager

Reservation
Supervisor Concierge Senior Bell
Senior Senior Informationist Business Center Captain
Receptionist Night Manager
Manager

Business Center Night Auditor

Reservation Telephone and Junior Receptionist
Junior Information’s Clerks
Clerk Computer
Operator

Trainees Trainees
Lift Chauffer/car
Doorman/porter
Operator/valet valet
 ROOMS DIVISION DEPARTMENT

The rooms division director is responsible to the GM for the efficient and effective
leadership and operation of all rooms division departments. They include concerns such
as the following: Financial responsibility for rooms division, employee satisfaction goal,
guest satisfaction goals, guest services, guest relations, security and gift shop.

A. Seven Deadly Sins in the Hospitality Management

Customers only need one reason to get upset and walk away. Unfortunately,
business provides them with a lot of these reasons. They’re usually the result
of front-line props being under-trained, over stressed or both. So it’s vital that
everyone understands the sins of the service and how to avoid them.
 Apathy
Customers questions and issues are important to them, and they expect
that those questions and issues will be important to the people they do
business with. When employees don’t seem to care perhaps because
they’re preoccupied or express no emotion in their tone-customers will be
upset.
 The Brush-off
This often comes in the form of phone trees, where customers can’t dial
through to a person. In other situations, it’s when one front-line
representative passes a customer onto someone else for help. The person
who hears customers first should almost always make sure they’re happy
to the end.
 Coldness
This is apathy and the brush-off combined at their worst. In this situation,
an employee might fail to acknowledge that a customer has brought up a
legitimate problem or might address it as if it’s a nuisance. Front liners
need to stay warm and focused on one person at a time.

 Condescension
When employees use jargon acronyms or language that doesn’t sound
like what customers use, they’re condescending. Front line employees
want to mimic customer’s language and rate of speech and avoid
company and industry jargon.

 Robotism
This is often displayed in a customer service pro who starts interactions by
asking for account numbers, phone numbers or other generic information,
 rather than trying to make conversation. Employees want to ask at least
one personalized question before going to task.
 Rule books
When employees just follow the rules, rather than common sense or their
hearts, they come across as cold and uncaring. That might be ok for
routine transactions, but complex, emotional and special situations always
call for thoughtfulness.
 Runaround
Employees might give customers the runaround when they continually
suggest customers look at a website, fill out paperwork or make another
call. Many times, employees need to walk them through what they need to
do. Eventually, customers will be able to figure it out for themselves.
B. Guest Services/Uniformed Services
Because of first impressions are very important to the guest, the guest service
or uniformed staff has a special responsibility. The guest service department
or uniformed staff is headed by a guest services manager who may also
happen to be the bell captain. The staff consists of door attendants and bell
persons and the concierge, although in some hotels the concierge reports
directly to the office manager. Door attendants are the hotels unofficial
greeters. Dressed in impressive uniforms, they greet guests at the hotel front
door, assist in opening/closing automobile doors, removing luggage from the
trunk, hailing taxis, keeping the hotel entrance clear of vehicles, and giving
guests information about the hotel and local area in a courteous and friendly
way. The bell persons main function is to escort guest and transport luggage
to their rooms. Bell persons also need to be knowledgeable about the local
area and all facets of the hotel and its services. Because they have so much
guest contact, they need a pleasant, outgoing personality. The bell person
explains the services of the hotel and points out the features of the room.
C. Concierge
The concierge is a uniformed employee of the hotel who has her or his
own separate desk in the lobby or on special concierge floors. The concierge
is a separate desk in the lobby or on special concierge is a separate
department from the front office room clerks and cashiers. Until 1936, a
concierge was not an employee of the hotel but an independent entrepreneur
who purchased a position from the hotel and paid the salaries, if any, of his
her uniformed subordinates.
Today’s concierge, as one historically minded concierge put it, has come
to embody the core of a hotels efforts to serve guests in a day when the inn is
so large that the innkeeper can no longer personally attend to each guest.
 Services in the concierge
1. Sell Tickets to the hottest shows, concerts, etc.
2. Arrange restaurant reservation.
3. Sell and book airline tickets.
4. Arrange VIP requests such as shopping, going to the spa, etc.
5. Handle business affairs

Concierges serve to elevate a property marketable value and its image. They
provide the special touch services that distinguish a top property to make sure they can
cater to guests precise needs, concierges should make sure that they know precisely
what the guest is looking for budget-wise, as well as any other parameters. The
concierge needs not only a detailed knowledge of the hotel and its services, but also of
the city and even international details. Many concierges speak several languages; most
important of all, they must want to help people and have a pleasant, outgoing
personality.

D. Housekeeping

Housekeeping is the largest department in terms of the number of people

employed. Up to 50 percent of the hotel employees may work in this department. The
person in charge is the executive housekeeper or director of services. Her or his duties
and responsibilities call for exceptional leadership, organization, motivation, and
commitment to maintaining high standards. The importance of the housekeeping
department is underlined by guest surveys that consistently rank cleanliness.

The following are the ten rules for effective housekeeping leadership
1. Utilize people power effectively. Spread responsibilities and task to get work
done properly and on time.
2. Device easy methods of reporting work that has to be done. Encourage feedback
from all associates and continuous communication with the associates.
3. Develop standard procedures for routine activities. Help associates to develop
consistent work habits.
4. Install inventory controls. Control cost for supplies and equipment.
5. Motivate housekeeping associates. Keep high morale, motivation and
understanding.
6. Accept challenges presented by guests and management. Remain unflappable in
the face of any request.
7. Involve associates in planning. Encourage associates to use imagination to make
the job easier and quicker without changing the standard.
8. Increase educational level of staff. Support training, encouragement and
educational classes.
 9. Set recruitment programs to develop management trainees. Give trainees
opportunities to advance.
10. Cooperate and coordinate with other departments, such as front office,
engineering and maintenance and laundry.

E. Security/Loss Prevention

Providing guest protection and loss prevention is essential for any lodging
establishment regardless of size. Violent crime is a growing problem, and protecting
guests from bodily harm has been defined by the courts as reasonable expectations
from the hotels. The security/loss division is responsible for maintaining security alarm
systems and implementing procedures aimed at protecting the personal property of
guests and employees and the hotel itself.

A. Security Officers
 Make regular rounds of the hotel premises including guest floors, corridors,
public and private function rooms, parking areas, and offices.
 Duties involve observing suspicious behavior and taking appropriate action,
investigating incidents, and cooperating with local law enforcement agencies.
B. Equipment
 Two-way radios between security staff are common
 Closed-circuit television cameras are used in out-of-the-way corridors and
doorways, as well as in food, liquor, and storage areas.
 Smoke detectors and fire alarms, which increase the safety of the guests, are
a requirement in every part of the hotel by law.
 Electronic key cards offer superior room security. Keycards typically do not
list name of the hotel or the room number. So if lost or stolen, the key is not
easily traceable. In addition, most key cards systems record every entry in
and out of the room on the computer for any further reference.

C. Safety Procedures
 Front-desk agents help maintain security by not allowing guests to reenter
their rooms once they have checked out. This prevents any loss of hotel
property by guests.
 Security officers should be able to gain access to guests rooms, store rooms,
and offices at all times.
 Security staff develop catastrophe plans to ensure staff and guest safety and
to minimize direct and indirect cost from disaster. The catastrophe plan
reviews insurance policies, analyzes physical facilities, and evaluates
possible disaster scenarios, including whether they have a high or low
 probability of occurring. Possible disaster scenarios may include fires, bomb
threats, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and blizzards. The well prepared
hotel will develop formal policies to deal with any possible scenario and will
train employees to implement chosen procedures should they become
necessary.

D. Identification Procedures
 Identification cards with photographs should be issued to all employees.
 Name tags for employees who are likely to have contact with guests not only
project a friendly image for the property, but are also useful for security
reasons.

Assessment

1. Briefly, define the function of a hotel.

2. Why is the concierge an essential part of the personality of a hotel?
3. Explain the importance of accident and loss prevention. What security measures
are taken in order to protect guests and their property?