Case Study

Case Study 1

1. What appears to be the underlying problem or problems with front office operations? What hotel information should Frank be checking?

The underlying problems with the front office operations are arrivals and departures, lack of clean rooms, traffic and congestion at the door, requests not honored, and personnel unknowledgeable about groups.

The information that Frank should be checking is the reservations for each day, week, and month. When reservations are high there should be more employees working at the front desk so they do not have to be waiting for a long time. During major arrival and departure days, the staff has to be increased so that the guests are quickly addressed and they can continue with their trips or business without wasting too much time.

2. What other departments may be affecting front office performance and, as a consequence, the guest ratings of the front office?

When hotels are dealing with rooms not being ready for their guests, there can be two reasons why. The first is the housekeeping staff is low due to the number of rooms for a particular day. The second is the housekeeping department is being inefficient and not working to its full potential. Frank should check how long they take in cleaning a room. He should work and find a solution with the housekeeping manager. However, if the housekeepers are working efficiently then Frank needs to increase the employees in the morning so they can get the rooms ready when the arrivals arrive.

Another problems is that the staff is not well informed about several things including group rates, special needs, etc. Training is a must in those situations. Information is power and guests feel more satisfied with the staff if the staff knows what the guest is talking about because it shows they care about the guests and have an understanding.

3. What should the room division management team be doing to turn this situation around? Develop a plan,...