MODULE 2

The Bare Essentials

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of this Lesson you are expected to do
the following:
L.O 1 – discuss the two major players in the industry;
L.O 2 – identify and explain the interrelationship of various
departments in the hotel;
L.O 3 – discuss the hotel operating cycle essential in prioritizing
tasks.
L.O 4 – describe the revenue and cost centers of hotels;
L.O 5 – enumerate various rooms in the hotels essential in performing
reservations for the hotel; and
L.O 6 – present an overview of the job positions in a hotel through an
organizational chart.

HPC 2 – Fundamentals of Lodging Operations 1

 What Do You Need To Know?

Lesson 1 – The Global Hotelier

Figure 2.1 Venetian Hotel and Casino, Macau

THE GLOBAL HOTELIER

A global hotelier knows how to meet the growing demands of tourists and
are increasingly aware of the skills and attitudes they need to develop to be
abreast with the market trends.

It is necessary that students know the global demands of tourists so they

can identify and bridge gaps in the hotel and resort industry. As students realize
these gaps, they will be able to formulate actions plans that include
interconnecting skills as well as addressing behavioral gaps. Bridging gaps, of
course, entails time. Thus students should start early in preparing themselves
for a rewarding career in the hotel and resort industry.

With the world market leaning towards competency-based management,

future hoteliers can only go up the corporate ladder if they constantly improve
on the skills needed in their job.

HPC 2 – Fundamentals of Lodging Operations 2

BASIC COMPETENCIES OF GLOBAL HOTELIERS:

The global hotelier is perceived as a person who has the following basic
competencies:
1. Self-management Competency
Global hotelier should have a sense of self-
awareness and development. They should be
responsible for their role in the hotel and should
take conscious effort in having their career and
personal advancement.

2. Communication Competency
Global hoteliers must be able to communicate
effectively with their teammates and most especially
with their guests. Since international hotels have
international guests, global hoteliers should be
adept in communicating with foreigners and must
be able to speak foreign languages,

3. Multi-cultural Competency
Global hoteliers must be able to work in a
multicultural environment. They should be able to
understand different cultural, political, and
economic situations for them to relate well with
colleagues and guests alike.

4. Teamwork Competency
Global hoteliers are team players. They
promote a healthy environment that encourage
cooperation and give and take relationships.
Teamwork competency requires collaboration and
information sharing among employees to avoid
confusion.

HPC 2 – Fundamentals of Lodging Operations 3

COMPETENCIES OF MANAGERS

Managers need to have more than basic competencies for them to be successful
in their daily tasks. They should possess the following:

1. Human Relations Competency- coach, counsel, and facilitate the learning

of their staff.

2. Strategic Competency- having underlying knowledge and understanding of

the organization and the industry and providing strategic action.

THE GLOBAL TRAVELER (TOURIST)

 The global traveler in the 21st century is changing. Competition in hotel and
resort industry is fierce and hotels are now proactive in knowing what their
guest want.
 The population of global travelers grows yearly due to the increasing global
relations among nations.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GLOBAL TRAVELER:

1) Technology Driven - can use gadgets and equipment that can efficiently fast
track daily transactions.

2) Budget Conscious - they now understand what they want. They choose
hotels through internet reviews and blogs.

3) Detail Oriented - Guest know what they want – pampering and a smooth
check in and check out.

4) Youthful Travelers - the power of the youth cannot be undermined as this

demographic will continue to grow. As the era of baby boomers is at its
decline, more generations Y and X can be seen traveling.

PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE:

Product Knowledge refers to the basic product and services offered by

the hotel. This may include the total number of rooms, inside and outside
facilities and services, amenities provided, rates, vision, mission, and sister
properties of the hotel.

HPC 2 – Fundamentals of Lodging Operations 4

 Basic product knowledge includes revenue and cost centers, the hotel
operating cycle and guest room type

Figure 2.2 Hotel Lobby, Diamond Hotel Philippines

HOTEL DEPARTMENT: REVENUE AND COST CENTERS

Revenue Centers are the income-generating departments of the hotel. They

usually have direct hotel guest contact and are called “Front of the House”

1. Rooms Department –
comprises the front
office and
housekeeping team.

2. Food and Beverage

Department –
comprises the outlets,
room service and
banquets teams.

HPC 2 – Fundamentals of Lodging Operations 5

3. Other Department –
includes fitness and
recreation facilities and
other income generating
units not associated with
rooms, sales and food
and beverage.

Cost centers provide technical support to the income-generating departments.

Most of these departments have little exposure in terms of guest contacts and
are usually located at the “Back of the House” or “Heart of the House.”

1. Marketing Department – in charge of creating promotional activities for the

hotel.

2. Engineering and Maintenance Department – in charge of preventive

maintenance management of the rooms and facilities of the hotel.

3. Accounting Department – in charge of the billings of guests and revenue

and cost monitoring of the hotel.

4. Human Resource Department – recruits, select, orients, trains and

disciplines all hotel employees.

5. Security – takes care of the safety of all the people in the hotel and responds
to all cases of threats and emergencies.

6. Sales Department - comprises room and food and beverage sales teams,
responsible for saturating markets for clients, for room occupancy and for
functions and events to be held in the hotel.

7. Administration or Executive Office – the office of the hotel’s general

manager.

THE HOTEL OPERATIONAL CYCLE:

The operations of the hotel can be easily understood by knowing the hotel
operating cycle. The cycle is presented in operations briefing; thus every hotelier
is expected to know it by heart.

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Hotel operations can be divided into five (5) phases as follows:

PRE-
ARRIVAL

POST ARRIVAL
DEPARTURE

DEPARTURE IN-STAY

Figure 2.3 Five Phases of Hotel Operations

1. PRE-ARRIVAL PHASE:
Guest contact occurs prior to the guest’s arrival in the hotel. Under this
phase, the guest inquires and books a room or a banquet hall in the hotel.

The hotel personnel tries to impress the potential guest’s through product
knowledge of the facilities and services of the hotel, and outstanding human
relation and communication competencies.

Sample tasks in this phase include:

a. Room reservation
b. Banquet reservation
c. Answering the telephone
d. Answering potential guest and inquiries

2. ARRIVAL PHASE
The first direct guest contacts occurs in this phase. Here, guests are
welcomed to the hotel. Most of the tasks in this phase are performed by the
front office team.

This phase is crucial as the hotel’s first impression is imprinted on the

mind of the hotel guest. A disastrous first impression is hard to recover as guest
will have a notion that all services will be bad from the start.

HPC 2 – Fundamentals of Lodging Operations 7

 Sample task in this phase include:
a. Guest pick-up at the airport
b. Welcoming the guest
c. Carrying the guest’s luggage
d. Guest’s registration
e. Escorting the guest in the room

3. IN-STAY (DURATION)
This phase focuses on tasks performed in the entire duration of the guest’s
stay. All services are performed to make the guest’s stay in the hotel highly
satisfying.
The hotel’s facilities are maintained and the guest’s room is well kept to
ensure guest comfort and satisfaction during their stay in the hotel.
Majority of the work are done by the housekeeping team.

Sample task in this phase include:

a. Room Cleaning
b. Turndown service
c. Accepting guest inquiries and request
d. Room service

4. DEPARTURE PHASE:
The hotels prepares all necessary requirements to a guest’s check-out from
the property.
In this phase, all the guest’s requirements are settled prior to his/her
departure. The billing is double-checked for accuracy to avoid any guest
complaints. Future bookings are also asked.

5. POST DEPARTURE PHASE:

Upon guest departure, the hotel’s check any lost items by the guest. Then
all the necessary guest preference during his/her stay is inputted in the Property
Management System.
This is also the phase where administrative work is done.

GUEST ROOM TYPES:

Guest room in the hotel vary in size, classification and amenities. The
following are the common guest room types in the hotel (Educational Institute of
the American Hotel and Motel Association [EI-AH&MA], 1995):

1. Single Room – a room designed for a single traveler.

2. Double Room- a room with two double beds with each bed usually measuring
54x75inches or 137x191cm.

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3. Twin Room- a room with 2 single beds with each bed usually measuring
39x75in or 97x191cm.

4. Suite Room – a complete room, usually with a foyer that connects to one or
more bedrooms. Usually, these are the most expensive rooms in a hotel.

Single Double Twin Suite

Some hotels have developed business-class rooms, which are usually

described as de luxe (French word for luxury) and executive rooms.

Most guest rooms today are well equipped in terms of business

amenities that cater to business travelers. In addition, they are highly flexible
in terms of guest needs by providing them with their reasonable requests

HPC 2 – Fundamentals of Lodging Operations 9