a specialization report(ksou)

A Specialization Report Hotel Tibet International

Submitted To International College of Hospitality Management Baneshwor, Kathmandu

Affiliated to Karnataka State Open University

In the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Catering Management (B.Sc. HCM), Sixth Semester

Submitted By Anil Bohara

KSOU Regd. No: 131681BSCHCM001 Date: 2015-10-01

Karnataka State Open University

An Specialization Report in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Catering Management (B.Sc. HCM)

2

1 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL August 21, 2015 AstivLamichhine Program Coordinator International College of Hospitality Management Karnataka State Open University Subject: Submission of internship report on “A Specialization Report” in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Catering Management (B.Sc. HCM), Sixth Semester. Sir, I am pleased to submit this internship report titled “A Specialization Report, Hotel Tibet International” for fulfilling requirement of the course internship program. It was my endeavor to present all that I learned during my nine months internship period and analyze the gathered guest satisfaction data on Hotel Tibet International. It will be my profound pleasure if this report can give a fair idea on the concerned issue. I hope you will be pleased to accept my report and oblige thereby. Sincerely yours _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Anil Bohara Roll: 131681BSCHCM001 International College of Hospitality Management Karnataka State Open University

International College of Hospitality Management

3

A Specialization Report | Submitted By Anil Bohara

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL ..................................................................................................................... 1 3 PREFACE ................................................................................................................................................ 5 4 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................. 6 5 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................ 7 6 CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................................... 11

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 11 6.1 Background of the Study ............................................................................................................. 11 6.2 Objective of the Study ................................................................................................................ 12

6.2.1 Broad Objective:.................................................................................................................. 12 6.2.2 Specific Objective: ............................................................................................................... 12

6.3 Scope of the Study ...................................................................................................................... 13 6.4 Methodology of the study .......................................................................................................... 13 6.5 Source of Data ............................................................................................................................. 13

6.5.1 Primary Sources: ................................................................................................................. 13 6.5.2 Secondary Sources: ............................................................................................................. 13

6.6 Data Collection Method .............................................................................................................. 13 6.7 Limitations of the Study .............................................................................................................. 14

7 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................................... 15 7.1 Hotel Industry in Nepal and Induction of Tibet International .................................................... 15 7.2 Company Profile & Literature Review: Hotel Tibet International ............................................... 16 7.3 Hotel Tibet International: Mission and Vision ............................................................................ 18

7.3.1 Mission: ............................................................................................................................... 18 7.3.2 Vision: .................................................................................................................................. 18

7.4 Departments in Tibet International ............................................................................................ 18 7.5 Different Services at Tibet International..................................................................................... 19

7.5.1 Accommodation Facilities: .................................................................................................. 19 7.5.2 Dining Facilities: .................................................................................................................. 19 7.5.3 Featured Service: ................................................................................................................ 19 7.5.4 Meeting and Event Facilities: .............................................................................................. 19

7.6 Facilities in Hotel Tibet International .......................................................................................... 20 7.7 Location of Hotel Tibet International .......................................................................................... 21



4

8 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................. 22 8.1 Internship Activities .................................................................................................................... 22 8.2 Discussions, Analysis and Findings .............................................................................................. 23

9 CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................................... 24 9.1 Front Office Department............................................................................................................. 24

9.1.1 Front Office Hierarchy of Tibet International ..................................................................... 25 9.1.2 Accommodation at Tibet International............................................................................... 25 9.1.3 Room Tariff ......................................................................................................................... 26 9.1.4 Types of Rooms at Tibet International ................................................................................ 27 9.1.5 Room Supplies and Amenities in Tibet International ......................................................... 28 9.1.6 Front Office Department Layout ......................................................................................... 30 9.1.7 Front Office Functions and Guest Interaction .................................................................... 31 9.1.8 Co-ordination with Other Departments ............................................................................. 32 9.1.9 Summary of Front Office Functions .................................................................................... 33 9.1.10 Front-of-the-House Operations .......................................................................................... 34 9.1.11 Back-of-the -House Operations........................................................................................... 34 9.1.12 The Reservation Office ........................................................................................................ 35 9.1.13 Check-In Process ................................................................................................................. 39 9.1.14 Check Out Process ............................................................................................................... 41 9.1.15 Tibet International Property Management System ............................................................ 42 9.1.16 Tibet International’s performance measurement with RevPAR ......................................... 48

9.2 Conclusion and Recommendation .............................................................................................. 49 9.3 References .................................................................................................................................. 50


5


3 PREFACE For nine months from November 2014 to July 2015, I did my internship at Hotel Tibet International. My induction into Four different divisions of Hotel Tibet International; one of the country‘s best Boutique hotel allowed me to practically experience the world of tourism and hospitality businesses in my country Nepal. As ‘to be’ graduate of ‘Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Catering Management’ from the country‘s best Hospitality school, I earned good grace of the directors of each division. I found that most of the managers working in the organization started as amateurs without any degree in this field of study. They somehow migrated to Middle East or other foreign countries and started from lowest ranks in hotels over there. They learned from mistakes and experiences. After 15-20 years of stay, they came back and joined. They often tell me if they had sophisticated excellent tourism education, they could direct and train the employees more efficiently and could climb the ladder much faster. Proper degree in this field is imperative for planning, problem solving, and business expansion and to come up with original innovative concepts (still tourism remains relatively unexplored industry of all). Only degree without industry attachment or practical knowledge is like a tiger without claw. Therefore, I needed to ensure that I get proper training during the internship period. And Hotel Tibet International fulfilled my wish. In this report, I will describe my experience during the internship period. This report contains the company profile, the functions of Front Office Department of the hotel. For this opportunity I would love to thank: Mr. Donald Cha: Former General Manager of Hotel Tibet International who accommodated me and arranged specialized learning materials to fortify my learning. Mr. Sunil Kapali: Food and Beverage Manager of Hotel Tibet International who prepared learning materials concerning knowledge on food and beverage departments despite being a busy person and inspired me to attend different functions as a part of his team. Mr. Guna Lama: Executive Chef of Hotel Tibet International who helped my induction and gave hands on training on food production. I also thank him for sharing real life stories that are thought provoking. Mr. Santosh Upadhaya: Front Office Manager of Hotel Tibet International who let me stand at the front desk and thus gave the opportunity to learn by doing which is inaccessible for most trainees. Mrs. Doma Pradhan: Housekeeping Executive for her friendliness and flexibility to my conditions and providing me with the resources on the housekeeping department of Hotel Tibet International. And of Course Mr. Animesh Mishra: Administrative and Account Chief of Hotel Tibet International for his vital supervision during my internship period despite being preoccupied with his professional and personal life. Beside my internship, I really enjoyed spending time with the Tibet International team. I thank them for creating such beautiful experience for me.



6

4 ABSTRACT If I sum up my internship experience in 150 words, I only have to mention the titles of the contents briefly. It was 9 months of continuous learning from the experienced managers directly. In this report, I tried to illustrate the function of Front Office Departments including the deviation from the standard benchmarking. Sometimes it is justified acting by not following rules. I presented the organization chart of the department, which differ from organization to organization. I presented the screenshot of the front office software IDS that Hotel Tibet International purchased from India and configured according to their needs. As doing my specialization in Front Office Department this report is only focused on the Front Office Department. At the end, I will finish the report recommending probable solutions to the problems found and suggestions to improve quality of service.


7


5 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS Back to Back– A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged by tour operators so rooms are never vacant; a floor plan design that brings the piping of adjacent baths into a common shaft. Bed Tax– A tax added to the price of a hotel room. Block– An agreed: upon number of rooms set aside for members of a group planning to stay at a hotel Booking: Term used to refer to a completed sale by a destination, convention center, facility, hotel or supplier (i.e. convention, meeting, trade show or group business booking). C/O– Check out Complimentary: No charge is made for the item or service offered. DND– Do not disturb F&B– Food and beverage Galileo: Airline reservation system. GDS– Global Distribution Service General ledger – A collection of accounts that the controller uses to organize the financial activities of the hotel. GIT– Group Independent Travel Global distribution system (GDS) Gross Rate– Same as rack rate. The accommodation rate quoted to the public. Group, convention, trade show, meeting and incentive rates are negotiated by the hotel and program organizers. Group rate – Room rate offered to large groups of people visiting the hotel for a common reason. Group travelers – Person who are travelling on business or for pleasure in an organized fashion. Guaranteed reservations – Prospective guests who made a contact with the hotel for a guest room. Guest Folio – A form imprinted with the hotel’s logo and control number and allowing space for room number, guest identification, date in and date out, and room rate in the upper left-hand corner; it allows for guest charges to be imprinted with PMS and is filed in room number sequence. Guest histories – Detail concerning the guest’ visits, such as ZIP code, frequent of visits, corporate affiliation or special needs. Guest supplies – Commonly referred to as guest amenities or personal toiletries; care items such as small bottles of shampoo, hair conditioner, lotion, soap, mouthwash, shoeshine cloth, mending kit etc. HMS– Hotel Management System Hobart formula – A method used to computed room rate that considers such factors as operating expenses, desired return on investment and income from various departments in the hotel. Hospitality – The generous and cordial provision of services to a guest.



8

Hotel representative – A member of the marketing and sales department of the hotel who actively seeks out group activities planner. House count – The number of persons registered in a hotel on a specific night. Housekeeping room status – Terminology that indicate s availability of guest room such as available, clean or ready ( room is ready to be occupied ), occupied ( guest or guests are already occupying a room ), dirty or stay over ( guest will not be checking out of a room on the current day ), on change ( guest has checked out of the room, but housekeeping staff has not released the room for occupancy), and out of order ( the room is not available for occupancy because of a mechanical malfunction) Incentive program – An organized effort by management to understand employees’ motivational concerns and develop opportunities for employees to achieve both their goals and the goals of the hotel. Independent hotel – A hotel that is not associated with a franchise. In-house laundry – A hotel-operated department that launders linens, uniforms, bedspreads etc. In-room guest check out – A feature of the property management system that allows the guest to use a guest room television to check out of a hotel. Interdepartmental communication – Communication between departments. Interfacing – The ability of computers to communicate electronically and share data. Inter-hotel property referrals – A system in which one member-property recommends another member property to a guest. Job analysis – A detailed listing of the tasks performed in a job, which provides the basis for a sound job description. Job description – A listing of required duties to be performed by an employee in a particular job. Key fob – A decorative and descriptive plastic or metal tag attached to a hard key. Late charges – Guest charges that might not be included on the guest folio because of a delay in posting by other department. Leisure travelers – People who travel alone or with others on their own for visits to points of interest, to relatives, or for other personal reasons. Liabilities – Financial or other contractual obligations or debts. Limited service – A level of service provided by a hotel with guest room accommodations and limited food service and meeting space. Litigious society – An environment in which consumers sue providers of products and services for not delivering them according to expected operating standards. Manager’s report – A listing of occupancy statistics from the previous day, such as occupancy percentage, yield percentage, average daily rate, Rev PAR, and number of guests. Market segment – Identifiable group of customers with similar needs for products and services. Marquee – The curbside message board, which includes the logo of the hotel and space for a message. Mass marketing – Advertising products and service through mass communications such as television, radio, and internet.


9


Modified American Plan – A room rate that offers one meal with the price of a room rental. Night Audit – the control process whereby the financial activity of guest’s accounts is maintained and balanced on a daily basis. No-show factor – Percentage of guests with confirmed or guaranteed reservations that do not show up. OC– Occupied clean Occupancy percentage – The number of rooms sold divided by the number of rooms available. OD– Occupied Dirty On the job training – A training process in which the employee observes and practices a tasks while performing his or her job. ONL Occupied No Luggage OO– Out of order Orientation Check List – A summary of all items that must be covered during orientation. Outsourcing – Provision of service to the hotel, for example; a central reservation system by an agency outside of the hotel. Outstanding balance report – A listing of guest’s folio balances. Overbooking – Accepting reservations for more rooms than are available by forecasting the number of no show reservations, stay over’s, under stays, and walk INS, with the goal of attaining 100 percent occupancy. Package Rate – Room rate that include goods and services in addition to rental of a room. Paid in advance (PIA) – Guest who paid cash at check in. Paid-outs – Amount of monies paid out of the cashier’s drawer on behalf of guest or an employee of the hotel. Percent Yield – The number of rooms sold at average daily rate versus number of rooms available at rack rate multiplied by 100 Point of sale – An outlet in the hotel that generates income such as a restaurant, gift shop, spa etc. Policy and procedure manual – Publication that provides an outline of how the specific duties of each job are to be performed. Posting – The process of debiting and crediting charges and payments to a guest folio. Potential gross income – The amount of sales a hotel might obtain at a given level of occupancy, average daily rate and anticipated yield. Profit-and-loss statement – A listing of revenues and expenses for a certain time period. Property Management System (PMS) – A generic term for applications of computer hardware and software used to manage a hotel by networking reservation and registration databases, point of sales system, accounting system and other office software. Rack rate – The highest room rate category offered by a hotel.



10

Referral reservation service – A service offered by a management company of a chain of hotels to franchisee members. Registration card – A form on which the guest indicates name, home or billing address, phone number, date of departure, method of payment and etc. Residential hotel – hotels that provide long term accommodations for guest. Revenue management – A process of planning to achieve maximum room rate and most profitable guests ( guest who will spend money at the hotel’s food and beverage outlets, spa etc. ) that encourages front office manager, general manager and marketing or sales director to target sales periods and develop sales programs that will maximize profit for the hotel. Room blocking – reserving rooms for guests who are holding reservations. Room revenue – The amount of room sales received. Room sales projections – A weekly report prepared and distributed by the front office manager that indicates the number of the departures, arrivals, walk-ins, stay over’s, and no shows. S/O– Sleep out SA– Special attention Stay over’s – currently registered guest who wish to extend their stay beyond the time for which they made reservations. SWOT– Strength, weakness, opportunity and threat TIA– Tribhuvan International Airport Traveler’s checks – Prepaid checks that have been issued by a bank or other financial organization. Under stays – Guest who arrives on time but decide to leave before their predicted date of departure. Up sell – To encourage a customer to consider buying a higher priced product or service than originally anticipated. V– Vacant VC – Vacant Clean VCI– Vacant Clean Inspected VD– Vacant Dirty VIP– Very important person Walk in guest –Guest who requests a room rental without having made a reservation. Yield – The percentage of income that could be secured if 100 percent of available rooms are sold at their full rack rate.


11


6 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Hospitality industry today is expanding fast by the grace of globalization. Business arena has been expanding globally with newest technological invention. As well as patterns of Lifestyle and Leisure period spending style changed a lot. To keep up with the ever changing demand and to get a hold of newest market segment keeping pace with dynamism and variety, innovative ideas taking over old ones and evolving every day. Hotel industry of Nepal has been expanding rapidly. History of Hotel Industry in Nepal has turned into positive aspect after the peace process taken action in 2008. In first decade of 20 century the Hospitality Industry started booming and star hotels to Luxury guest houses have been established all over the country, still some more international chain hotels are in pipeline and have already started construction which includes Sheraton, Aloft, Marriot Fairfield and Marriot International. This indicates the demand of standard accommodation facilities for both domestic and international business and leisure tourists. The transformative education process like internship program consists of developing full personal and professional potential and involves addressing six key areas of development. These are internationality, guided hands-on learning, professionalism in the workplace, progressive learning principles, soft skill development and ultimately, employability. Internships are important, in terms of both employability and creating future industry leaders. If employees are already operational when they start, this will fast track them in the right direction, achieving middle management and executive levels at an increased rate. Internships as a route to entry have a proven success rate. Internship at Hotel Tibet International was productive and helped to achieve a professional edge. During my internship period, I worked in four different departments: Food and Beverage Service, Front Office, Food and Beverage Production and Housekeeping and tried to gather knowledge from each of them. I will describe my experience during the internship period. This report contains the company profile, the functions of all four different departments of the hotel, evaluation of the performance. 6.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Hotel Tibet International is one of the most exquisite, exclusive and magnificent boutique hotels in Kathmandu. It is located at Boudha, one of the UENSCO world heritage sites of Nepal. Hotel Tibet International has consistently sought to bring together the finest in art and architecture, comfort and cuisine, leisure and fun to create each moment is for Guests to enjoy. Experience the premier choice of hotel in Kathmandu; where it offers the personalize comfort for guest to enjoy. The Hotel Tibet International is the city‘s diplomatic zones and a host of attractions with a brand new streamlined approach to service. The Tibet International is renowned for its outstanding professional services. Spectacular 7-story‘s building, the Tibet International has 68 luxury and suite rooms plan. At present it is operating 68 fully fledged rooms including Tibetan Boutique Room, Tibetan Boutique Suite Room and Tibetan Boutique Executive Suite room Its guests will enjoy extensive facilities and extra privileges, including highly acclaimed spa, Private VIP lounge and an endless variety of activities. Fresh perspective at this new hotel in Kathmandu where the



12

spectacular hospitality, freedom and luxury is set only for guest. For its guest, it has assembled state-of-the-art conference and exhibition halls charged with breathing vibrancy, warmth light, lobby area, Spa, private dining room, karaoke and new terrace restaurant on the rooftop offering unrivalled panoramic views of the Boudha and Kathmandu city. The Hotel Tibet International is set on becoming a high performance National player in the field of hospitality industry and has been awarded as number 1 hotel in Kathmandu for 2 successive years 2011, 2012 and has been awarded as travelers’ choice from the opening year itself. It is concerned about the satisfaction level of its guest for better improvement, higher revenue as well as to stabilize its goodwill by providing different types of hospitality. The hotel has obligations to all the guests through its staff like (Front desk receptionist, Housekeeping staff, Telephone operator, Food & Beverage staff, Recreation staff), Service like ( Telephone service, Front desk service, Housekeeping services, Food & Beverage service), Condition like (Bed room, Bath room, public area) and so on. However, it is hard to satisfy all guests but satisfaction is the crying need for any hotel. With the introduction of new international hotel brands like Sheraton, Marriot Fairfield and ALOFT Hotel Tibet International will face challenges. These challenges they have to overcome with the competitive advantage and practice of international standard to satisfy their guest. As I observed, number of repeated guest in Hotel Tibet International is higher in comparison of other hotels despite being a national brand. Which means they are performing better to build own strong brand image. This makes Hotel Tibet International a place worth studying. 6.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 6.2.1 Broad Objective: The main objective of this report is to note down the adopted functions of four different divisions of Hotel Tibet International based on their extension of operation and evaluate the practice against the ideal one. The main objective of industrial training are as listed below: To empower the knowledge of hotel operation To compare their practical and theoretical knowledge To know the systematic and smooth operation of various department To learn the overall management aspects of hotel. 6.2.2 Specific Objective: The specific objectives of this report will be the following: Observe the daily operations of food and beverage department, front office department and housekeeping department Evaluate the daily operations against the standard benchmark Explaining the weakness of the hotel To measure fluctuation of performance through the timeline Measurement of guest satisfaction


13


6.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY This report is an attempt to present operation of Tibet International and the mechanism they use to compete against their competitors. As it is my first industrial attachment, I tried to match and find the difference between the things I learned in the book and the practice in the real world. Then I measured the guest satisfaction, which I think will explain if the practice of this organization is paying off in their favor. The completion of this report will help the organization recheck its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that will aid it in strategizing further ahead. 6.4 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY Research is a procedure of logical and systematic application of the fundamentals of science to the general and overall questions of a study and scientific technique, which provide precise tolls, specific procedures and technical information, rather than philosophical means for getting and ordering the data prior to their logical analysis and manipulation. 6.5 SOURCE OF DATA The sources of data include primary and secondary data sources. 6.5.1 Primary Sources: Primary data is collected by internal report and data of Hotel Tibet International. 6.5.2 Secondary Sources: The secondary data is data, which is collected and compiled from different sources and are used in research for this study. The secondary data include material collected from Newspaper Magazine Internet 6.6 DATA COLLECTION METHOD The various method of data gathering involves the use of appropriate recording forms. These are called 'tools' or 'instruments of data collection. Collection Instruments: Hotel Tibet International Internal Report and data analysis. Observation Practical work in Hotel Tibet International The survey questionnaire is pre prepared by the organization and supplied at guest rooms to find out guest satisfaction I used Microsoft Excel to analyze the data with graphical presentation. The target population was the guests that visit Hotel Tibet International. Mostly luxury traveler, business traveler and international governmental organization's staff occupy most of it.



14

6.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The only limitation I faced is the lack of access to the confidential data and management of the training department. I had to roll into four different divisions of the hotel within this period. Functions in each of these departments are so broad that and is not possible to cover everything at a time on this period alone. Despite that, I tried to sum up my learning within these couple of days left after the internship. During my internship period, I had to keep myself busy for 8 hours a day learning new things and facing new situations. It was little tiring yet immensely interesting. Another factor is the lack of access to the confidential data. During my period, I came to observe with their business reports, predictions and expected business expansion plans. This information could be ripe fruit for the enrichment of my report and I could have more data to decide and work on. Still I tried to gather available data from the website and the daily business reports.


15


7 CHAPTER TWO 7.1 HOTEL INDUSTRY IN NEPAL AND INDUCTION OF TIBET INTERNATIONAL It was only the five decades back that the hotel building concept has been started. The "Himalayan inn" and "The Paras Inn" was considered as the first hotel establish in Nepal in 1950 and 1951. The credit full goes to Mr. Nara Samsher Rana, for the first time invited foreign hotel expert Mr. Mandis for managing and training his staffs as well as hotel at his own palace, where staff college in currently operating. Despite the certain factors, the hotel remained closed after one year and Mr. Mandis joined to hotel show views, which was located at Lazimpat. It was in 1954 A.D., Mr. Boritch Lissanevitch the Russian master chef was invited to organize a banquet party for the 160 royal invitees during the coronation of late King Mahendra Shah. Mr. Boritch was requested to stay in Nepal and help to promote and organize hotel and tourism industry by the king in the same year, first tourist standard hotel named "Hotel Royal" located at the Bahadur Bhawan, Kantipath, was introduced with the assistance of Mr. Boritch by the year 1958, hotels like: - Coronation, Hotel Green View, Hotel Emporer, Hotel Panarama etc. were established. The Hotel Royal got closed at 1960, and Mr. Boritch started a restaurant called "Yak & Yeti" at Lal Durbar, which later converted into "Hotel Yak & Yeti". In the year 1964, the first four star hotel of Nepal named "Hotel Shankar", located at Lazimpat was established. In the same year after 9 months, "Hotel Del' Annapurna", located at the Durbar Marg has been established, which was the first five star hotel in Nepal whereas "Hotel Soaltee" was the second five star hotel in Nepal, located at Tahachal, was introduced in the year 1966. Realizing the organizational needs and the promotion of hotel, Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has been established in 1967. In the year 1972, "Hotel Blue Star" has been established, located at Thapathali, Kathmandu. Slowly and gradually, with the increase in the number of tourists visiting Nepal has created a new dimension in the field of hotel industry. By the end of 2008, there were almost 9 five star hotels, more than 20 four star and three star hotels and more than 100s of tourist standard hotels, located inside and outside the valley. History of Hotel Tibet International May 2008 : Debut of Tibet International June 2009 : They started their own construction to develop as a Boutique hotel November 2010: The director body recruit the management body of Tibet International March 2011 : Initial staffing requirements was completed April 2011 : Started the training program for the executives as well as for the staffs September 2011 : It has been soft open Figure: Tibet International operation timeline



16

7.2 COMPANY PROFILE & LITERATURE REVIEW: HOTEL TIBET INTERNATIONAL

Picture: Exterior of Tibet International As mentioned in their website; HOTEL TIBET INTERNATIONAL a Tibetan concept boutique hotel takes its inspiration from the Tibetan architecture. For those seeking privileged location, captivating luxury, tailor made services, elegance and an overall enchanting experience, Hotel Tibet International is the ideal destination. Just as the deep blue sky changes color, from moment to moment, in the Cycladic light, Hotel Tibet International, with its unique location, acknowledged as one of the best boutique hotels, proffers its guests, a true enchantment of the senses. The sense of escapism that is experienced in this Boutique Hotel in Nepal is enhanced by Tibetan architectural buildings. Hotel befits all that is extravagant and indulgent. Discrete, bespoke and personalized service is what makes a great hotel. The personalization has evolved from the size of this Boutique Hotel, where dedication to service is one of the cornerstones of our philosophy. With 68 rooms, this property contains all the amenities and services you would expect from a 4.5-star hotel. All rooms have in room safe, ironing board, internet access – wireless as well as other amenities. Restaurant, meeting facilities, laundry service/dry cleaning are some of the extra comforts you'll find at this Kathmandu hotel. The hotel provides superior


17


recreational and leisure facilities including garden, massage, and meditation. Guests seeking that perfect blend of attentive care and modern convenience will find it at this lovely hotel. A 1-minute walk from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu. And merely 10-minutes’ drive from Pashupatinath Temple and Tribhuvan International Airport. Hotel Tibet International provides pampering spa treatments. Its modern boutique rooms are decorated with Tibetan fabrics and old photographs. Fitted with wooden flooring, all air-conditioned rooms come with a flat-screen TV, personal safe and tea/coffee making facilities. All the rooms have a minibar. En suite bathrooms have hot-water showers. At Shambhala Spa, guests can enjoy a relaxing Tibetan massage, do a manicure or get a facial. There is also a meditation room and a Tibetan carpet showroom. Day trips can also be arranged at the tour desk. Shangri La Kitchen serves authentic Tibetan and Indian cuisines, with a hint of Continental flavors. Private dining rooms with karaoke sets are also available. Delicious tea-based drinks are offered at Shambhala Tea Garden. Year of Established 2010 Type of Hotel Boutique Address P.O.Box 908, Boudhanath Road Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal Telephone + 977-1- 4488188/ 4467746/ 4467741 Fax +977 -01- 4487963 E-Mail [email protected] Web http://www.hoteltibetintl.com.np Transport Airport – 4 Km, (10 Minutes By Car) Accommodation 68 Guest Rooms Location City‘s nearest hotel from Boudhanath as well as closest from TIA Figure: Tibet International at a Glance 7-stories high edifice of classic stature structured for 68 luxuriously furnished guest rooms and suites, including the exclusive club floors with its private VIP lounge. Each room is equipped with central air-conditioning, satellite television, International Direct Dialing, mini bar and an electronic safe. Tibet International boasts on running the first Tibet Boutique Hotel in Nepal, Shangri-La Restaurant, offering international multi-cuisine delights and three meals per day. There is also a terrace Norbulinka cafe´, Yak Bar, which caters a wide selection of light and mouthwatering delicacies. Recently, the hotel launched café named ‘Akama’ opposite lobby which serves the best hot and cold drinks.



18

Apart from the restaurants, the hotel also caters many events in its elegant Celebration Hall and six other luxurious banquet and event venues. One of the biggest authentic Thai rejuvenation facilities in the country, Shambhala Spa, is also part of Tibet International. And as business and luxury travelers constitute most of its hotel occupants, Tibet International ensures its guests the convenience of a fully equipped Business Center and car services. 7.3 HOTEL TIBET INTERNATIONAL: MISSION AND VISION 7.3.1 Mission: The Tibet International mission is to exceed the expectations of their guests. Inspire their associates and provide superior financial results to those who entrust with managing their assets 7.3.2 Vision: Vision of Tibet International is to be a world class and renowned hotel by its service excellence and product quality. 7.4 DEPARTMENTS IN TIBET INTERNATIONAL Tibet International is a classic Tibetan Boutique Hotel. Within four years of its operation, it gets much popularity from various types of guest for its excellent service and guest friendly ambiance. This hotel has been operated consisting of its ten important departments. These Department‘s brief list is given below: Front Office Department IT Department Food and Beverage Service/Production Department Security Department Purchase and Store Department Finance and Accounting Department Maintenance Department Sales and Marketing Department Housekeeping Department Human Resources Department Figure: Departments of Tibet International


19


7.5 DIFFERENT SERVICES AT TIBET INTERNATIONAL 7.5.1 Accommodation Facilities: Each of our 68 guest rooms and suites has been immaculately decorated with complete attention to the comfort of guests. They offer numerous categories of rooms to ensure that they may cater to the individual needs of their valued guests. The following facilities are included in rooms: Central Air-Conditioning Satellite Cable Television Bathrobe &Hairdryer International Direct Dialing Mini Bar Electronic Safe 24-Hours Room Services Laundry Services Room Type Rate* Tibetan Boutique Room USD 200 ++ Tibetan Boutique Suite Room USD 300 ++ Tibetan Executive Suite Room USD 450 ++ Figure: Tariff of Tibet International 7.5.2 Dining Facilities:

Shangri-La Kitchen Norbulinka Breakfast Terrace Yak Bar Café Akama Shambhala Tea Garden Executive Lounge Shangri-La Dining 7.5.3 Featured Service:

Tour Desk Business Centre Shambhala Spa Carpet Showroom Meditation Centre 7.5.4 Meeting and Event Facilities:



20

7.6 FACILITIES IN HOTEL TIBET INTERNATIONAL

Figure: Facilities in Hotel Tibet International


21


7.7 LOCATION OF HOTEL TIBET INTERNATIONAL Tibet International Kathmandu is located in Boudha just ten minutes away from the Tribhuvan International Airport and 2 minutes away from the Boudhanath Stupa. It is surrounded by manicured gardens and with views of the mountain ranges; the Tibet International offers a boutique atmosphere for both business and leisure travelers. It is just 20 minutes’ drive from the Thamel (tourist hub of Nepal); 10 minutes from Pashupatinath Temple (Holy temple for Hindus) and most of the tourist attractions of Kathmandu can be visited within a day trip.

Figure: Map of Hotel Tibet International



22

8 CHAPTER THREE

8.1 INTERNSHIP ACTIVITIES It was 9 months long internship program. Unlike other organizations, Tibet International was pre-prepared about my arrival. The internship-training modules from all departments were prepared by the head of the organizations. So I went through a process of learning bookish knowledge and see how that works in the real life. First 2 Months The first two months of my internship period I attended classes under Food and Beverage Manager Mr. Sunil Kapali who tried to illustrate their learning from experiences toward me. I learned the organizational hierarchy of Food and Beverage department and the roles they play. Here I was taken to the Shangri-La restaurant to see the real food and beverage operation. I did mise en place‘, observed the how skillfully managers handle guests and lead staffs. I had a tour to different outlets of food and beverage department. Manager provided me hard copy of training module to learn at home. I learned different crucial challenges the food and beverage department has to go through during daily operations and how to handle problems. Second 2 Months This week was induction into the hotel Front Office for the first time. I learned how to deal with guest check-in and check-out. Their software was custom made but still the concept was same. Since the front office connects all the departments letting them know guest requirements, the woks of the front desk employees are not that easy as it seems. I gathered the knowledge on property management system, reservation and wake up calls. I learned the telephone skills of the receptionist; how to take reservation and accommodate guest properly. I learned about processing guest check out system, change payment and night auditing activities. How to arrange the guest bills in their folders and handling communication with the concierge and security department. Third 2 Months For this period, I worked in the Main kitchen and Satellite kitchen. It was not about mastering the skills. Goal was to know operations and to find out what go wrong and take necessary steps as a manager. Fourth 2 Months These two months was my induction into the Housekeeping Department. Here I learned the hierarchy of this department. I learned how to make beds and how fast we need to prepare check in rooms and layouts. I leaned about the cleaning components and their use. I learned about relationship between Housekeeping Department and other departments. Delivering guest room supplies and how to prepare room attendants checklist. As I worked, I found that the work of this department is more tiring than other departments being


23


mostly physical. Work of this department is more sensitive than other since the guest interaction is greater than other departments. Final 1 Month This was the period to specialize in one department and I choose Front Office Department where I get further knowledge of operation of Front Office. The total nine months period was surprisingly interesting and enjoyable. The attitude of the Tibet Internationals’ team toward me was unforgettable and I learned a lot from them. 8.2 DISCUSSIONS, ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS My internship at Tibet International included induction into four core departments: Food and Beverage Service Department, Food and Beverage Production Department, Front Office Department and Housekeeping Department. I gathered knowledge and collected data from each of these department. I want to present the discussions, analysis and findings differently.



24

9 CHAPTER FOUR

9.1 FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT Front office department is the heart of the hotel. It connects all the departments informing them the guest needs. Front office is the place that has to face complains and queries from the guest. This department takes the heat. From pre-arrival to departure front has to serve guests accommodating them with all the services they need. Front office department of Tibet International is situated at ground floor of the building. Regardless of the class or type of the hotel, front office is the most visible and essential focal-point of a hotel. The focal point of activity within the front office is the reception desk, which is located in the front lobby of a hotel and dispenses all front-of-the-house activities of the hotel. It is the communication center of the hotel with great amount of guest contact. Guests interact with the hotel for the first time by interacting with the staff of the front office, and they form the first impression about the hotel based on the efficiency, competency and behavior of the front office staff. The reception desk performs the functions like the sale of rooms, guest registration, room assignments, handling of guest requests, maintenance of the guest accounts, cashiering along with handling mail and providing information. The financial tasks usually handled by the front desk personnel include receiving cash payments, handling guest folios, verifying cheques and handling foreign currency and credit cards. In this Unit, you will be familiarized with all these aspects of the front office management.


25


9.1.1 Front Office Hierarchy of Tibet International

Figure: Front Office Hierarchy of Tibet International 9.1.2 Accommodation at Tibet International Each of our 68 guest rooms and suites has been immaculately decorated with complete attention to the comfort of guests. They offer numerous categories of rooms to ensure that they may cater to the individual needs of their valued guests. The following facilities are included in rooms: Central Air-Conditioning Satellite Cable Television Bathrobe & Hairdryer International Direct Dialing Mini Bar Electronic Safe 24-Hours Room Services Laundry Services

Room Division Manager

Front Office Manager

Duty Manager Night Manager Reservation Manager

Assistant Front Office Manager

Night Auditor

Cashier

Trainee

Front Office Supervisor

Telephone Operator

Trainee

Front Desk Officer

Front Office Assistant

Trainee

Business Center Supervisor

Business Centre Clerk

Trainee

Resrvation Supervisor

Reservation Clerk

Trainee

Travel Desk Manager

Tour Assistant

Lobby Manager

Guest Relation Executive

Guest Relation Officer

Bell Captian

Bell Boy Doorman



26

9.1.3 Room Tariff

Figure: Tariff of Tibet International


27


9.1.4 Types of Rooms at Tibet International Room is a place which is sold to the guests either for day purpose or night purpose where guests find complete privacy; security as well as comfort. Each hotel has a variety of rooms to satisfy the need of customer. Likewise Tibet International, Kathmandu also has variety of room to satisfy the guest. Room Type Tibetan Boutique Room Tibetan Boutique Suite Room Tibetan Executive Suite Room Figure: Room Type of Tibet International

Figure: Tibetan Boutique Room

Figure: Tibetan Boutique Suite Room



28

Figure: Tibetan Executive Suite Room 9.1.5 Room Supplies and Amenities in Tibet International Contents and supply of a room depend upon types of guest such as business people or general, types of hotel such as motel, hotel, and resorts. The facility and quality of the room is based upon the class of hotel. The below given are Tibet International, Kathmandu’s basic supplies in normal guest room but the supplies may vary in regal Tibetan Boutique, Tibetan Boutique Suite and Tibetan Executive Suite. In the Room: Each bed contains Bed With Mattress 1 Bed Pad/Mattress Protector 3 Bed Sheets (2bed Sheet and Night Spread) 1 Blanket 4 Pillow And Pillow Case 1 Bed Spread Bed Side Table: Telephone Remote Notepad With Pencil Plate Switches: Column Lamp/Vestibule Lamp/Dressing Lamp Writing Table: Placed In Compendium (2 Large Envelops, 2 Post Card,2 Small Evelops,2 Large Wiring Paper, Room Service) 1 Notepad With Pencil 1 Ashtray 1 Matchbox Dressing Mirror With Bulb & Chair Dust Bin and Bin Liner Service Directory International Dialing


29


Inside Cupboard: 1 Iron 1 Iron Board 8 Hangers (3 Ladies & 5 Gents) Laundry Bag With Laundry List in Folder& Collect My Laundry Card 1 Extra Pillow with Cover In Plastic Bag Shoe Shine Mitt Door Knob Card Table by Lounge Chair/Sofa: 1 ashtray with match box Fruit basket Magazine/Newspaper Dresser: Clean Glass Clean Cup/Mug Clean Spoon Mineral Water with Complimentary Neck Tag 1 Coffee Maker Coffee Sachets Tea Bags Milk Sachets Sugar Sachets Equal Sachets 1 Packet. Lays 1 Packet. Peanuts 1 Packet. Cashew Nuts Cold Drinks Entrance Door: Do Not Disturb Card Make up Room Card Make my Room Wall: Pictures Wall Hanging Lights Long Mirror Chest of Drawer with Television Air Condition Sprinkle Call



30

Bathroom Linen & Supplies: Hand Towels Bath Towels Wash Cloth 1 Bath Mat 1 Bath Soap 1 Hand Soap 1 Shampoo 1 Moisturizing Lotion 1 Bath Gel 1 Sanitary Bag 1 Sewing Kit 1 Shower Cap 1 Ashtray with Matchbox Rolls of Toilet Paper 1 Packet of Tissue Paper Glass with Cover on Coaster 1 Waste Basket. 9.1.6 Front Office Department Layout Layout of any front office department must be scientific and be designed keeping in mind flexibility and smooth operation. Front office of Tibet International is also designed scientifically. There are two workstations to process check-in and checkout process. At the back office there is computer with internet connection and fax machine to check out information and receive important documents. Front office manager sits at a separate office at the corner of the back office. Guests can wait in lobby if process takes time or in rush. So it is enough to ensure smooth flow for guests. Most Front desks are located in the hotel lobby. A typical Front desk is approximately 3½ feet high and 2½ feet deep. The layout and design depends on duties performed at the front desk and the size and type of the hotel. To direct the guest to the proper activity center, signs may be placed. Since the guest’s information is considered confidential, the front desk design usually screens forms/equipment from visitors. It’s not only the aesthetic appeal and type of hotel but also the type of the working system i.e., whether the hotel is fully automated, semi-automated or manual along with the accessibility factor for the staff members. In a semicircular arrangement, there is normally a straight wall at the back of the desk with a door leading to front office support services. Circular and semicircular front desks allow greater flexibility; also look wise it is more appealing. But at the same time, problem can arise as guests can approach from any side and equipment being fixed in specific places. Now a day’s computerized system (fully or semi-automated) has become the system of choice, nevertheless there are hotels still using manual system so as to fulfill needs of guests and management. 1. Information Rack 2. Automated Switchboard 3. Automated Alarm Clock


31


4. Fax Machine 5. Computer Terminal 6. Registration Card Rack 7. Telephone 8. Printer 9. Cash Drawer 10. Posted Voucher Rack 11. Hold Mail Rack 12. Folio Bucket 13. Date and Time Stamp 14. Key Drawer 9.1.7 Front Office Functions and Guest Interaction The primary function of the front office is that of a facilitator between the guest and other departments of the hotel. Another job of Front office desk is also to support and help in providing services to the guests. The number of interactions and transactions between the guest and the hotel during a guest stay determine the type and nature of front office operations. The stages of guest stay are: · Pre-Arrival, · Arrival, · Occupancy and Departure Various transactions between the guest and the hotel, therefore, depend upon the stage of the guest stay. The transactions can be best understood by going through the guest cycle.

Figure: Guest Cycle (Source: Principles of Hotel Front Office Operations, Sue Baker, Jerenry Huyton and Pam Bradley)



32

Figure shows the following transactions and exchange of services between a guest and the hotel: · Reservations, · Check-In and Registration, · Mail and Information, · Uniformed Service and Baggage Handling, · Telephone Calls and Messages, · Handling Guest Accounts, And · Check-Out and Bill Settlement. All these services and transactions are handled by the front office department. The functions and services of the front office department can be differentiated depending upon the area where they are being performed. Some of the functions are performed by the reception desk as front-of-the-house operations and rest are performed as back-of-the-house operations. Table 1 gives a brief summary of the functions performed by the front office as described by Michael I. Kasavana. 9.1.8 Co-ordination with Other Departments Without the coordination of various other departments in the hotel, front office department cannot function effectively. The following sections show the type of liaison required with various sections in the hotel – Housekeeping – Exchanging the room status report to reconciliation of discrepancies and smooth flow of sales of rooms is one of the major tasks to be coordinated. Minute details from house count, to security concerns, and special guests requests are the issues which need to be sorted together. Also for room change the room has to be readied. A hotel gets repeat customers, when a guest feels at home and is provided with all possible basic amenities and necessities like shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash, electrical equipment’s, and in-house entertainment, most of which are given by the housekeeping. Not to forget also the laundry, linen handling and dispatch are done by the housekeeping department. Starting from the projection of sales during the planning phase of the management cycle to the executing of the plans, there has to be close link between the two departments. Food and Beverage Service Department – Communication activities like reporting predicting the anticipated house counts basically to do with the sales of Food and beverage, VIP services and the preparation behind it. For the In house customers, usually in an automated system, it’s the computer terminals/interface which helps in transferring the data to the guest folio in the front office terminal to be charged. If the hotel has a manual system, then all the vouchers have to be signed by the customer and needs to be posted manually into the folio promptly to avoid the late charges. Also during the functions (Banquet Department) the guests need to be greeted and informed about various details like venue direction, billing, any last minute paid out for the function to be done by FO Cashier, other necessary announcement via message boards for example and also booking and allocating rooms if required. Production Department – This department goes in sync with the Food and Beverage Service Department for the preparation of the Food and Beverage and the set up as per the estimated number of guest arrival in- house and out house and for the function, if any. Also


33


to act on special requests like food diet for sick customers. For the purchases of raw material proper house count is very important and also paid outs for any emergencies during the function. Engineering and Maintenance – Any request about the maintenance work through the customer and also the room status has to be coordinated well for prompt dealing of the problem. For example – to rectify any plumbing problem, the maintenance person needs to know whether the room is occupied or not. Usually any repair from the guest is directed to Front Office or the Housekeeping department. Security Department – Measures like fire safety and emergency situations like bomb threats, terrorism, and security of diplomatic customers’ appeals to be looked into by both Front office and Security Department. Also for routine investigation of the guests, security concerns need the cooperation of each other. Sales and Marketing Department – It is the guest history which is maintained by the Front Office Department which is most valuable for the sales and marketing department. Also during the planning stage, it is the forecasting of the room sales, very much needed for purchases of supplies by housekeeping and other departments, staffing and other needs, is done in close coordination between both front Office and Sales and Marketing department. Stores– Responsible for constant supply of relevant forms, formats, stationery for running the department. 9.1.9 Summary of Front Office Functions FUNCTIONS AREA OF OPERATIONS 1) Sell guest rooms Front of the house activity Accept reservations Handle walk-ins Perform the registration process 2) Provide information on hotel services Front of the house activity Concerning internal hotel operations About external events and locations 3) Coordinate guest services Front of the house activity Liaison between front and back-of-the-house areas Handle guest problems and complaints 4) Chart room status reports Back of the house activity Coordinate room sales and housekeeping: occupied status On-change status, out -of-order status 5) Maintaining guest accounts Back of the house activity Construction of folio and account



34

Posting to folios (updating) Supervision of credit levels Documentation of guest’s transactions 6) Settlement of guest accounts Front of the house activity Preparation of guest statement Reconciliation of folio Perform the checkout procedure 7) Construct guest history file Back of the house activity Record the guest’s personal data for future references Figure: Summary of front office functions (Source: Michael L Kasavana, VNR’s Encyclopedia) 9.1.10 Front-of-the-House Operations Front-of-the-House operations are known so because these operations take place in front of the guests. Thus, these operations are related either to direct interaction with the guest or they are being conducted in front of the guest. The front office activities start from the time a guest calls or sends in a request for reservation/ accommodation. Staff of the front office department starts interacting with guest by taking in guest information and reservation request, leading to confirmation of reservation and finally to the handling of guest on arrival and guest check-in. Check-in activity is a must for both, a guest with reservation or a walk-in-guest, i.e., one without prior reservation. The reservation system of hotels varies but nowadays since it is mostly computerized; therefore, features are the same. Check-in procedures require the collection of a lot of information. This is because information helps in building guest record data and serves the purposes of a ready reckoned in case of any emergency involving the guest. Front office takes in the guest information for future use and provides the guest with information about the hotel and its various services and thus, becomes the connecting link between the guest and the hotel. The pivotal role played by the front office is quite apparent from this very fact that it is the center of all activities connected with guests in the hotel. Therefore, decisions regarding the sale of a room to a particular guest, availability and allocation of a room, maintaining guest account by coordinating with the housekeeping and room service are the major front-of-the-house activities. Finally, the account settlement or deciding on the time of account settlement is generally a part of check-out process, performed by front office. Thus in short we can say that front office is the first and last place (as in check-in and check-out), wherein a guest interacts with the hotel. 9.1.11 Back-of-the -House Operations As the name suggests these operations involve the activities which do not take place in front of the guests. The front office activities start the moment an enquiry or request regarding accommodation is made. This enquiry is answered keeping in view converting it into a reservation request. Although reservation is an activity of front office, major hotel lines/chain of hotels has centralized reservation system, operational 24 hours a day 365 days a year. (Reservation and its various intricacies will be discussed in the later sections).


35


A confirmed reservation leads to browsing of information, i.e., guest record to determine whether this is a repeat guest and if yes what are the personal information and preferences of the guest. This helps you giving personal touch to guest’s stay with the hotel. When the guest checks -in, his or her account gets activated. This account keeps track of the guest’s financial interaction with the hotel. These financial interactions involve room rent, room services, laundry, food and beverage at the hotel’s outlet and any other facility used by the guest during his or her stay. For instance, these financial transactions begin the moment when he/she while waiting for allocation of a room start making phone calls to his/her associates to inform them the arrival or order for something in the lobby itself. The daily night auditors help the back of the office department in the hotel in maintaining the guest accounts. Many hotels have a credit line extended to their guests or to the companies which they represent. The credit limit is predetermined and the hotel allows the guest to accumulate the amount before asking for either a full or partial payment. Many a times a guest is asked to provide his/her credit card during check-in while cash is expected mode of payment during checkout with multinational brands coming into India the concept of property management system has emerged which allows night auditors to flash guest’s folio on day to day basis on their T.V. monitors. This kind of arrangement saves lot of guest’s time at the time of checkout. It also co-ordinates with housekeeping and room sales to maintain the status of occupied as well as unoccupied rooms. Finally, the guest record or personal data is maintained by the front office, which is essentially a back-of-the-house activity. Thus, the Guest cycle which started by taking guest booking, receiving guests, providing for their stay and billing them on departure gets completed. 9.1.12 The Reservation Office The term “reservation” used in the context of a hotel, means the booking or reserving of a room (accommodation) by a guest. Reservations lead to reserving of a particular type of room for a particular guest for a given period of time. Reserving a room ensures or guarantees the guest the availability of a room on arrival at the hotel, as reservation is a commitment made by the hotel, when the hotel has accepted the reservation request. A great deal of importance is attached with the reservation system because it helps in: Selling the primary product of the hotel, i.e., lodging or accommodation, Building a good first impression on the prospective client, Generating customers for the other departments of the hotel, and Generating and providing information to the other departments of the hotel. The organizational structure of the front office has already been discussed. The reservation clerks takes in the reservation bookings. And they are passed on. The reservation procedure differs from hotel to hotel depending on the reservation system used by the hotel. The process of reservation can be indicated through figure below:



36

Figure: Simplified diagram of a reservation system (Source: Principles of Hotel Front Office Operations, Sue Baker, Jerenry Huyton and Pam Bradley) It is often said that reservation system is the engine of a lodging property, since everything else operates accordingly. Hotels and motels depend on the reservation system and can go out of business if the system does not work well. 9.1.12.1 Types of Reservation System The reservation system comes into action once a request for reservation comes to the hotel. It can be a direct query from the guest, or from a travel agent or tour operator among others sources. An effective and efficient reservation system is essential for maximizing a hotel’s profitability. Reference has already been made to the reservation systems of a hotel in MTM-4. The type of reservation system depends on the type and size of hotel. Many small hotels and motels use a booking dairy to keep track of reservation and resident guests. The front desk manager can double up as the reservation supervisor and the front desk clerk as reservation clerk. In a very small establishment (as in case of Bed and Breakfast lodges) you may see owners performing the task of reservation supervisor. The most common manual system used by hotels of any type or size is known as Whitney System, devised by Whitney Paper Corporation of New York in the 1940s. In this system each reservation is recorded on a small, multipart piece of paper mounted in a metal frame, which, in turn, is filled in date and alphabetical order on a metal rack. The slips are usually color coded to denote the type of guest. Usually there is one rack for every day over say, the


37


next three months, and fewer racks for future periods. Copies of the slip, also on racks, may be sent to other departments such as reception or telephones when the guest arrives. This system gave rise to the expression “rack rate”, which is how hoteliers often refer to the price for rooms (Source: Paul R. Gamble, VNRs Encyclopedia). Whitney System, though very efficient, generates lots of paperwork. This problem, however, is solved by computerized reservation system. The computerized system can perform all the tasks of Whitney System and organizes the guest data more efficiently. The guest’s record is maintained in the hard disk of the computer. This not only helps in matching the guest information, but also provides information about the importance of the guest which can be judged from the data available on computer. This kind of information compiled on computer based reservation systems not only provides their credit standing and the reliability of the booking done through the agent but it also makes searching for data very easy. The large group/chain of hotels has Central Reservation Systems which handle the reservation of the various properties of a single group atoned to centralized reservation office. For example, a hotel may have central reservation number, i.e., 24-7-365- symbolizing availability 24 hours a day 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Nowadays, many single hotels have come together to form their own Central Reservation System serving these individually owned establishments. The use of computers in reservations has simplified check-in and checkout process. The hotel does not need much information during these operations as data is fed simultaneously. Though computerized reservation systems are proved to be of a great help to hoteliers, it is up to a particular hotel to choose and use a system most suitable to their requirements. The most recent and most used way of making reservations accessible at far-flung locations is via internet. In such operations direct bookings and reservations requests can be made over the internet by just a click on the website of the hotels concerned. In some cases the reservation is directly upgraded but mostly the reservation staff reconfirms the request via e-mail or telephone before making official reservations. 9.1.12.2 Accepting or Denying Reservation The procedure of accepting a reservation request involves, checking the availability of the requested type of room for the stated period of time as is mentioned in the request. This can be confirmed or checked through the reservation charts, forecast boards or computerized systems. If the room is available the reservation request is accepted or else shall be denied immediately. The procedure of accepting reservation is not that simple as it appears. This is a crucial decision that the reservation staff needs to make regarding accepting or rejecting it. To make this decision, the staff on duty uses information like the credit standing of the person/agency/company, the type of guest whether IP/tourist/business traveler, the purpose of visit, length of stay, etc. In case of computerized system the staff would require few minutes to come to a decision, as the required information would-be within the reach of pressing the keys. But in case of manual system, the processing for information may take longer time. Of course, denying of reservation to guests means loss of business which means loss of revenue. At times the way a guest has been denied reservation may lead to a permanent loss of business from that particular client. Denying reservation is a decision taken in the following circumstances:



38

1) If the hotel is booked to its capacity: In case the hotel is fully booked you cannot help it but can only refuse the reservation politely or gently. In such cases, if possible, alternate hotels in the area can be suggested or a different property of the same group of hotel, if not available, any other hotel of the same level can be suggested. 2) If the requested category of accommodation is not available: In case the requested type of room is unavailable, you may suggest alternate category of room available and always try to sell upper class rooms which, however, shouldn’t seem to be unethical. 3) The guest or agent is blacklisted: At times some guests are blacklisted because of their previous record of non-payment or delayed payments of bills. The same holds true for the agents. In such a situation if any doubt or complication crops up it is always advised to ask for the reservation supervisor/manager’s help. Many a times the reception staff overbooks to cover contingencies like, guest not turning up even after having confirmed reservation or at times when tour operators make reservations for more than actual number of passengers to get greater discounts on volume. Whether it’s the season or not also plays important role in making over-bookings. During the main season reservation staff would not like to take chance with over-booking. However, decisions related to the issues of over-booking, etc. depends upon the reservation policy of the hotel, i.e., the way the management of the hotel wishes to position their hotel in the market will usually determine its reservation policy. The reservation policies of many hotels also speak about of the mode and time of payment. Bulk booking of rooms or the booking of some special rooms or a room for a long period of time during main season would require some advance payments. The advance payment can either be full or partial room rent, partially or fully refundable or non-refundable at the time of cancellation, all depending upon the reservation policy. The final job of the reservation section is to send the final list of reservation for a day to the reception desk of the front office along with the essential information like whether the guest is a repeat guest or guest has some particular liking related to the location of the room, décor of the living room, etc. The message is sent from there to the housekeeping so as to prepare rooms according to the guest needs for the day. 9.1.12.3 Generating Reservation Reports The reservation section has a lot of information with them which needs to be properly organized. Once the required data is gathered, guests’ folio is created which is updated from time to time. Once this is done they need to generate daily/weekly reports based on this information base. These reports may include: 1) Room Availability Report: A list showing the number of rooms sold/available. It can be prepared on the daily or weekly basis. 2) Expected Arrivals and Departure Lists: A list of guests who are due to arrive or to depart on a particular day. 3) Group Status Report: A list of groups to arrive/depart in the week or month, along with information like the group size, whether a guaranteed or non-guaranteed booking, etc. 4) Special Arrivals List: A list of special guests or VIPs arriving. This should contain their special request and additional information about the preferences of the guest. 5) Turn Away Report: A report on number of reservation requests denied and if possible, some information about the one asking for reservation.


39


6) Revenue Forecast Report: A report on the projected revenue from the future room sales along with or regular up to date report. In most of the hotels, the front office manager supervises the final preparation of the report before it is sent to the management team. Additional guest information, related to walk -in-guests also incorporated in the report. 9.1.12.4 Managing Reservations The major decisions by the management team would be to forecast the requirement of rooms according to the reservation reports. The forecasting can be done for a period varying from over 10 days to several months, since tour groups plan their tour schedules 12-14 months in advance. The forecasting also depends upon the available capacity of the hotel at that point of time. The forecasting is done for short terms keeping in view important functions/festivals or sporting events in the area. Therefore, the reservation policy formulation is the most important function of management. It focuses upon the selection of the criteria for selection of sales channels, i.e., the hotel should bank upon the travel agents, corporate clients or walk-ins for their reservations. It is sometimes at the discretion of the reservation section to adopt its own policy to run the business successfully. These all factors help in managing the reservations. 9.1.13 Check-In Process Check-in process is a critical process, since a lot of vital information is exchanged between the guest and the hotel staff during this process, irrespective of the fact whether check-in process is manual or computerized. The manual process starts when a guest either walk-in (without reservation) or one with prior reservation walks into the hotel looking for desired or requested accommodation, i.e., depending upon the availability of room the walk-in guest is assigned room whereas the guest with prior reservation is usually assigned the room for which he has requested. The minimum information you usually require for manual registration is name of the guest, number of persons in the group, the expected length of stay and mode of payment. The room is assigned to the guests and usually a porter or bellboy carries their luggage and show the guests their assigned rooms. The front desk in the meantime processes the information received and generate the guest account for the mentioned period of stay. However, the process of assigning rooms commences even before the arrival of the guest. After the major check-outs of the day, the front office generates a list/printout regarding number of guests staying with the hotel. Then after comparing the reservation requests for the day with this report, assigns the remaining unoccupied rooms to the walk-in guest. In case of computerized check-in procedure, only the walk-in guests need to provide their personal information whereas guests with reservation need to confirm the information available in the computers of the reception/front desk. Once the guest is allotted assigned room, the computer automatically updates the information and for the desired length of stay, room(s) will be shown as occupied. The help of the front office manager is sought rarely, particularly in the case of over-bookings, i.e., when two or more guests arrive for the same room, the manager can either assign another room to the guest or can try to up scale the room type. However, if the hotel is unable to adjust the extra guest special arrangement for the guest at a different hotel of similar standing should be made. Lately, a guest registration system using Point of System



40

(PoS) to hasten check-in process is gaining popularity. This system enables the guest to register at self-service terminals in the lobby or at self-service terminals at the airport or en-route to the hotel. New innovations have also helped transfer the credit cards to room keys. According to Tom Van Dyke one popular system asks the guest to insert his or her magnetic stripe credit card into a check-in terminal which calls up the property’s computerized reservations list filed by arrival date and last name.

Figure: Hotel Front Office Operations (Source: Principles of Hotel Front Office Operations, Sue Baker, Jerenry Huyton and Pam Bradley) When the reservations match is found, the room selecting function of the hotel’s Property Management System generates a room assignment and prints a check-in form. The guest removes the completed form, signs it and then is directed to the key pick-up area at or near the front desk. He cites the example of the Sheraton Meadowlands in New Jersey which works with Avis Rent-A-Car so that guests picking up cars at any of the New York areas three major airports can simultaneously check-in to a room at the Sheraton. Whatever may be the method of check-in, the basic idea of check-in is to collect information about the guest and try to keep the operation as simple and convenient as possible while trying to project warmth and friendliness.


41


9.1.14 Check Out Process Check out point is the last contact a guest will have with the property and experience at this point will determine what kind of impression a guest will carry with him/her. In other words, if it is smooth guest will carry pleasant memories. Thus, to make this point more efficient and error proof, you shall divide it in to three parts: a) Guest vacating the room; b) Guest settling the bill; and c) Guest departing. Guest vacating the room usually depends upon the hotel’s check out time. Usually the checkout time is 12 noon. Sometimes depending on the availability of the room and the type of client the checkout time can be extended for the guest on special request. Following a routine check out time helps the hotel since the housekeeping can prepare the room for the next guest. Still there are small hotels which provide the guests with flexi-check-out time. In these cases next guest allotted this room has to wait in the lobby because the up keeping of the room takes time.

Figure: The Types of Accounts and the Settlement Methods As the above illustration suggests, bill settlement is the next important component of check out process. Usually the bills are updated during the night so as to provide the bills for guests checking out early in the day. It is advisable to ask the guest before time when he or she would be checking out to ensure that the staff has some idea when the guest would be checking out and have a bill ready at check-out. The bill would include the room service charges as well as any other unpaid bills for services rendered by different departments of



42

the hotel. Yet the settlement of the bill can take some time, as the guest would like to recheck the bill before making the payment or may the payment be credited to the account of the company whom the guest is representing. The actual guest departure, however, takes place only when the guest returns the keys and leaves the premises. The guest is provided with transportation if required and paid for. The guest folio created is updated for future use. 9.1.15 Tibet International Property Management System There are different property management systems available out there. Hotels can purchase the software from the companies or they can use their own custom-made PMS considering the nature of work in the front office. Tibet International uses an Indian custom-made PMS, which they call IDS (Intellectual Data System). There are different versions of IDS available in the market and not IDS is used by almost 62 hotels of Kathmandu and Pokhara including some Five Star Hotels and Resorts like Fulbari Resort Pokhara, Hotel Yak & Yeti Kathmandu, Hotel Everest Kathmandu, Hotel Shangri-La Kathmandu and Four Star property like Hotel Shankar Kathmandu, Hotel Himalaya Lalitpur etc. It is available for all the department of the Hotel and has mentioned online and back office operation. 9.1.15.1 Overview Fortune Enterprise ® is a complete Property Management System, designed to empower & improve productivity & performance for full-service Hotels & Hospitality Enterprise Operations. It is built around the most contemporary technologies, for properties looking at integrating their entire operations. It is a comprehensive system with the capability to address all the computing needs of a modern Hotel or Resort. The software assists you to access information in a quick, efficient and thorough manner. It is built with the busy hotel environment in mind and is designed to work efficiently through a broad range of hotels that include luxury, medium and small hotels. Fortune caters to the changing trends and technology in the hospitality industry by virtue of its scalable design.


43


Figure: Diagrammatic Representation of the Enterprise system 9.1.15.2 Some Screenshots from the Tibet International Property Management system IDS

Figure: Main Screen 1 Front office 2 Point of Sales 3 Accounts Receivable 4 Sales and Marketing



44

5 Banquets and Conferencing 6 Telephones 7 Financial Management 8 Materials Management 9 Food and Beverage Costing 10 Maintenance 11 HR & Payroll 12 System Setup

Figure: Guest Check in Module


45


Figure: Detailed Position



46

Figure: Room Rack


47


Figure: Room Status



48

9.1.16 Tibet International’s performance measurement with RevPAR Of all the figures that hotel owners, managers and financial analysts use to evaluate performance, the most important one is RevPAR. Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR), which we calculate by multiplying average room rate and occupancy, is a meaningful indicator of our performance because it measures the period over period change in room revenues for comparable properties. Occupancy and average daily rate (ADR), which are components of calculating RevPAR, are meaningful indicators of our performance. Occupancy, which we calculate by dividing occupied rooms by total rooms available, measures the utilization of a property‘s available capacity. ADR, which we calculate by dividing property room revenue by total rooms sold, measures average room price and is useful in assessing pricing levels. 9.1.16.1 How to Maximize RevPAR: Demand for the hotel rooms are mostly inelastic since people looking for a place to stay will book this hotel or that. So, significant decrease in rate is not always a good decision. Organizing special events, promotional activities and increase property features will work better than that. If you own an exclusive hotel and offer a special rate during the off-season to attract guests when you have lots of empty rooms. Lower rates can be made up by charging for additional services like spa treatments or fancy dinners when your guests arrive. As we all are so much dependent in technologies we need to use technologies for the benefit. Scenario and booking trend have been changed. There was a time when guest used to book through travel and tour organizer but nowadays they love to make their tour customizable by their own so online booking is growing day by day. Hotels need to play much with the online inventory and need to concern more on promotional deals. Hotels need to work on channel distribution, rate parity, promotions like same day deal, early bird, last minute, secrete deal for the special clients etc. Marketing concepts have been changed gradually but in Nepal much of us are not aware on internet technologies. We need to practice on internet marketing, social media marketing. This could be more useful than traditional marketing tools. Increase your property‘s curb appeal. You can increase your curb appeal by making sure your grounds are well kept, your building is in good repair and you have a big sign that can be seen from a distance. Visual appeal is a good way to attract more paying guests and boost your room sales. Pay attention to all of the online reviews that are written about your property. It is quite normal to get a few bad reviews, but addressing them promptly can restore your hotel‘s good name. Retaining customers and encouraging new ones to visit will put cash in the register. First impressions do matter. When a guest passes through the entrance into the lobby, he or she does not want to see some old furniture and a pile of disheveled newspapers on a coffee table. Your lobby should be carefully designed and pleasing to the entering guest. When they get up to the front desk to check-in, the front desk clerk must fill the role of enthusiastic representative with a friendly smile and pleasant personality. This is the hospitality business and a grumpy clerk is bad for business.


49


9.2 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION I am thankful to all the staff of Tibet International, Kathmandu, Nepal for co-operating with me and providing the training to learn something about the hotel. We learn many things in our college as a theory but this type of industrial training helps to apply these things in to practice. It’s the training where I got a chance to develop my self-confidence and patience. It also helped me to learn and know about each department in hotel and the importance of each department to run the hotel smoothly. We also learned about the inter-relationship between the departments in the hotel and how one department gets depended on the other of the hotel, I really got the chance to learn many things just because of the staffs of Tibet International and once again I am heartily thankful to the whole Tibet International family. It was pleasure to be the part of Tibet International for 9 months .During my industrial training I learned many things. It was golden opportunity to do practically those things, which I only learned theoretically in my college. The training gave me a lot of knowledge about the hotel which is very important for BHM student. It helped me to be self-confident and also gave me ideas to tackle different unusual situations .At last again I would like to give thanks to Tibet International for giving me opportunity to do training in hotel. I have already presented my discussion on SWOT analysis and Tibet International‘s strength measurement criteria in Industrial Exposure Report. In this recommendation part, I will try to show my suggestions to overcome the weaknesses I observed and to fortify the strength with eternal force. I will present the suggestions that can be enforceable by the effort of managers below. The recommendations are: Positioning: Tibet International‘s positioning is already enviable to many hotels. Therefore, there‘s no action recommended. Infrastructure: Compare hotel‘s infrastructure and technology with other hotels, actualize the infrastructure and technology needed for essential service of the hotel Marketing and sales: Verification of market segments for hotel and identification of potential market segment to attract. Management: Communicate hotel goals and objectives with the employees, design continuous improvement plan and develop system to avoid ownership conflicts. Training: Develop useful training program, hire trainers with experience and provide initial training to the new employees. Information system: Verify if the information system and its reports are useful to the managers, develop data mining and develop guest follow up system. Since Tibet International is always a talk of the town they need to be more concerned on managing the position. They really need to watch on staff training. In future, they need to shift to compete with the world standard since they will face extreme competition in near future with the introduction of half a dozen international brands. And they need to continue their legacy of entertaining customer with events and cordial services.



50

9.3 REFERENCES http://www.hoteltibetintl.com.np https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki http://rshotelmanagement.blogspot.com http://hospitalityindustryinnepal.blogspot.com www.https://slideshare.com www.https://academia.com www.https:// welingarschool.com Front office role expectations as defined by hotel management and by front office personnel: A Comparative study by Mark Scott Principles of Hotel Front Office Operations, Sue Baker, Jerenry Huyton and Pam Bradley D. Dann and Timothy Hornsey, “Towards a Theory of Interdepartmental Conflict in Hotels,” International Journal of Hospitality Management, 5 (1986): 23. John Wiley & Son, Inc. (2007), Hotel Management & operation Pankaj Diyas Sharma (2012), Hospitality Management Lynne E. Baltzer (2002), Food Preparation Study Course, Blackwell David J, Textbook of Hotel Management, Anmol Publish Andrews Sudhir (1985), Housekeeping Training Manual Vijaya Dhawan (2000) Food & Beverage Service, Frank Bros. & co Martin Robert J (1998), Professional Management of Housekeeping James A. Bardi (2002), Hotel Front Office Management, Wiley Michael L. Kasavana and Richard M. Brooks (2005) Managing Front Office Operation, Educational Institute of America Hotel & Motel.

a specialization report(ksou)

Documents