Chapter 4: Rooms Division Operations

1. Chapter 4: Rooms Division Operations

2. Functions and Departments Role of the Hotel General Manager Executive Committee Rooms Division Property Management Systems Energy Management Systems Call Accounting Systems Guest Reservation Systems Chapter 4 Rooms Division Operations

3. Chapter 4 Rooms Division Operations • Revenue and Yield Management • Reservations • Communications CBX or PBX • Guest Services/Uniformed Services • Concierge • Housekeeping • Security/Loss Prevention • Trends

4. Functions of a Hotel • Provide lodging accommodations • Revenue centers • Cost centers • Serve and enrich society • Create profit for the owners

5. Role of a General Manager • Provide owners with a reasonable return on investment • Keep guests and employees happy • Responsible for performance of hotel and employees • Accountable for the hotel’s level of profitability

6. Executive Committee • Makes all the major decisions affecting the hotel • Made up of key associates who head major departments: • General Manager • Director of Human Resources • Director of Food & Beverage • Director of Rooms Division • Director of Marketing & Sales • Director of Engineering • Director of Accounting

7. Figure 4-1 Executive Committee

8. Rooms Division • Departments: • Front office • Reservations • Housekeeping • Concierge • Guest services • Security • Communications

9. Figure 4-3 Guest Cycle

10. Front Office • Front Office Manager: Enhance guest services by developing to exceed guest needs • Guest Service Associate: Greet guests as they arrive at the hotel, escort them to the front desk, personally allocate the room, and take the guest and luggage to the room

11. Front Office • The hub or nerve center of the hotel • Responsibilities: • To sell and up-sell rooms • To maintain balanced guest accounts • To offer services such as handling mail, faxes, messages, and local and hotel information

12. Night Auditor • Posts charges • Closes the books on a daily basis • Balances guest accounts • Completes daily reports using the statistics on the following slides

13. Hotel Statistics • Occupancy Statistics: • Percentage of Occupancy = Rooms Occupied Total Rooms Available • Revenue Statistics: • Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) = Total Rooms Revenue Total Number of Rooms Sold

14. Property Management Systems • Center of information processing • Relates to front and back office activities • Examples of applications: • Room management • Guest accounting • Check in services • Information sharing • Internet access

15. Energy Management Systems • Extends guest in-room comfort • Examples: • Passive infrared motion sensors • Room occupancy status reporting • Automatic lighting controls • Minibar access reporting • Smoke detector alarm reporting • Central electronic lock control • Guest control amenities

16. Call Accounting Systems • Tracks guest room phone charges • Monitors where calls are made from and from which phones • CAS works in conjunction with PBX (telephone) and PMS • Offers different rates

17. Guest Reservation Systems • Global distribution systems (GDS): Electronic markets for travel, hotel, car rental, and attraction bookings • A central reservation system (CRS)houses the electronic database in the central reservation office (CRO) • Hotels provide rates and availability information to the CRO—usually by data communication lines

18. Figure 4–6: The Sequence and Relationships of aHotel Guest Reservation

19. Revenue and Yield Management • Revenue management is used to maximize room revenue at the hotel • Based on supply and demand • Yield management allocates the right type of room to the right guest at the right price • Examines demand for rooms over a period of a few years and determines the demand for a particular room each night

20. Reservations • Department is headed by the reservations manager • Desired outcome of the reservations department is to exceed guest expectations when they make reservations • Confirmed reservations are made with sufficient time for a confirmation slip to be returned to the client • Guaranteed reservations are given when the person making the reservation wishes to ensure that the reservation will be held

21. Communications CBX or PBX • Management of in-house, guest communications, and emergency center • Profit center: Hotels generally add a 50% charge to all long-distance calls placed from guest rooms

22. Guest/Uniformed Services • Uniformed staff is headed by a guest services manager • Consists of door attendants, bell persons, and the concierge

23. Concierge • Elevates property’s marketable value • Typically in a luxury hotel • Handles guest needs • Should have knowledge of the city • Many speak several languages • Assists guests with restaurant reservations, directions, tickets to shows, etc.

24. Housekeeping • Largest department in terms of people • Executive Housekeeper duties: • Leadership of people, equipment, and supplies • Cleanliness and servicing the guest rooms and public areas • Operating the department according to financial guidelines • Keeping records

25. Security and Loss Prevention • Providing guest safety and loss prevention • Includes: • Security officers • Equipment (i.e., smoke alarms, key cards, etc.) • Safety procedures • Identification procedures

26. Trends • Diversity of workforce • Increase in use of technology • Continued quest for increases in productivity • Increasing use of revenue management • Greening of hotels and guest rooms • Security • Diversity of the guest • Compliance of the ADA • Use of websites • In-room technology

27. The End