Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I would like to thank the shareholders, management and staff of Pandhari Hotels for
organisation.
Thanks goes to Vincent Tsvangira my friend for helping me find attachment placement and
Jacqueline and Patricia for the support we gave each other during attachment. Tatenda
Majoni, Munyaradzi, Simon and Ronny you were good friends thank you. Jimson you were a
Last but not least my family for the support you gave me during this period. I know it’s
Dedication.......................................................................................................................i
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................ii
Table of Contents......................................................................................................................iii
Executive Summary.................................................................................................................vii
1.2.3 Address.................................................................................................................2
2.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................7
2.3.1 Strength..............................................................................................................11
2.3.3 Opportunities......................................................................................................12
2.3.4 Threats................................................................................................................12
3.3 Bar.............................................................................................................................21
3.4 Kitchen......................................................................................................................21
3.5.3 Chefs..................................................................................................................25
3.5.4 Waiters...............................................................................................................25
3.5.5 Cashiers..............................................................................................................25
4.2.1 Stores..................................................................................................................29
4.2.2 Purchasing..........................................................................................................30
5.1 Introduction...............................................................................................................32
5.2 Operations..................................................................................................................32
..................................................................................................................................................37
7.1 Introduction...............................................................................................................37
7.7 Summation.................................................................................................................43
8.1 Summary....................................................................................................................44
8.2 Conclusion.................................................................................................................45
Appendices...............................................................................................................................46
Appendix A: Menu...............................................................................................................46
This chapter is introductory. It will lay the basis of what the report is all about. The objectives
of the report will be outlined in this chapter. It will further on give an introduction and a brief
To explore the various ways through which Pandhari Hotels can improve on service
delivery so as to be able to attract more clients and retain the existing ones.
To recommend to Pandhari Hotels the measures that can be taken to overcome some
industrial attachment programme for its students that it becomes a success as wanted
Pandhari hotel is owned by Mr Sunday Chifamba who holds 85% of the shares. Mr Swisidayi
Nyamufukudza is a non-executive director who holds 15% of the shares. This company was
formed in 1997 and started operating in two hundred with only three employees. Originally
built with five rooms and no conference room, it has grown through leaps and bounds and
now has two suites and fifty-nine spacious air conditioned bedrooms. Pandhari now boasts
hundred people, two cocktail bars and six conference rooms. The largest conference room
accommodates up to one hundred and fifty participants and the smaller one up to twenty
participants. Pandhari once was located on three different locations namely: the Whitehouse
complex and the Garden Court and the Main lodge. The Main Lodge was recently sold off to
the School of Hospitality and Tourism along with all its facilities. The Whitehouse Complex
boasts of one conference room which sits up to a hundred guests’ leaf style and two hundred
cinema styles. Garden Court has a Gazebo which has a capacity of seating one thousand
Pandhari hotel is a unique, vibrant and exciting hotel located in the serene and tranquil
neighbourhood of Glen Lorne in Harare. It is situated some 17km from the City Centre and
31km from Harare International Airport. It holds a 2 star grading from the Zimbabwe
Tourism Authority.
All the guest rooms have twin or double beds, private bath, shower and toilet, electric-shaver
point (110/220), satellite television, telephone and air-conditioning. The Garden Court
restaurant has a sitting capacity of fifty guests and an outdoor dining area with a capacity of
two hundred and fifty guests and is complemented by the Garden Court bar which also act as
Towards the end of 2014 the Main Lodge Complex was sold to the School of Hospitality and
Tourism in a deal that see Pandhari able to use facilities at the Man Lodge though they no
E-mail: pandhari@pandhari.co.zw
Website: www.pandharihotels.co.zw
Vision
To become the market leader in the provision of world class services in Zimbabwe.
Mission
To provide customer driven hospitality services in line with best practice, with a highly
Values
Excellence
Professionalism
Teamwork
GM
PA to GM
Food & Beverage Manager F & B Outcat Manager ? Front Office Manager Sales and Marketing Manager Maintenance Manager Security Manager HR Manager Housekeeper Executive Chef Banqueting ManagerGroup
Gardeners
Bedroom hand Junior section Chef
Handymen
Public area cleaner Kitchen Porter
Linen Supervisor Fo
Laundry hand
Figure 1.1
Accounting
It has overall control of all receipts and payments, maintains internal audits, and reports all
Banqueting
Coordinates staff and supplies to serve all hotel food and functions held in the meeting room.
Front Office
Responsible for guest check-in and check-out, invoices, porter services, general information,
telephones and shuttles. It is also responsible for reservations and guest services as well as
housekeeping functions.
Human Resources
It is responsible for employee hiring and orientation, wages and salaries administration,
Hotel security
Maintains order, safety and security throughout the hotel.
Purchasing
Buys all merchandise and food stuffs, making certain all products purchased conform to hotel
Stores
Receives, properly stores, accounts for and dispenses all food stuffs, office supplies, etc.
ordered by Purchasing.
National Annual Tourism Awards: Best City Lodge 2010 and 2011
2.1 Introduction
This chapter will take us through the evaluation and analysis of Pandhari hotels’ activities.
By activities reference is made to the product of Pandhari hotels and non-core business
The product of Pandhari hotels can be classified into two categories, accommodation and
banqueting. Most of the revenue at Pandhari hotels is generated through banqueting. In this
chapter banqueting will refer to activities that fall under conference and meeting hosting,
wedding and party hosting and dinning. Accommodation will refer to the selling of bedrooms
and laundry services. Other activities which do not fall into the above categories are
For a 2 star hotel, Pandhari hotels boast of market class standard bedrooms. As mentions in
chapter one all of the bedrooms are air conditioned and have a private bath, shower and toilet.
The rooms have either twin beds or double beds and satellite television. The lighting and
choice of colour in the rooms creates an ambience that is so relaxing and can make every
The honeymoon suite and executive suite are the best rooms at Pandhari hotels. These rooms
are spacious and are very comfortable. They bring out real value for money to the guests.
Accommodation is charged on bed and breakfast basis. A guest can pay less and be provided
accommodation only, but usually it is negotiated first. The guest is supplied with towels,
shampoos and lotions in the room. Every room has a tea/coffee making kit.
display poor quality picture as compare to some rooms which have Liquid Crystal Display
which produce good quality pictures. The satellite television has a very limited number of
channels and does not include some of the popular channels on satellite like Telemundo, E-
Africa, for example, which are very popular with the ladies. The rooms area is not all covered
by Wi-Fi internet and some rooms are prone to waterlogging during the rainy season. The
waterlogging is due to poor roofing which lets water trickles into passages and this can be
The conference rooms are of standard and serve their purpose fully. The rooms are well air
conditioned and the lighting is perfect. The environment at Pandhari hotels is quiet hence
providing an ideal setting for meetings and conferences. The well-manicured gardens and
lawns add to the ambience of the place. Conference guests can sit in the gardens refreshing
The wedding venues are just as exquisite and the beautiful gardens are ideal for wedding
photos. There are two wedding venues, the Whitehouse deck and the Main Gazebo multi-
purpose hall. The two venues can be transformed through decorations, from mere deck and
room into beautiful world class wedding venues. The Whitehouse conference room can also
Banqueting at Pandhari hotels is not banqueting without the food and drink. As part of all the
packages under banqueting food and drink play the most important role in satisfying the
guest. With senior chefs of a combined experience of over ten year, the meals prepared at
Pandhari hotels are delicious and leave the dinners begging for more.
The Whitehouse deck is also sometimes used for dinning purposes and is also a good outdoor
dining area.
The bar at Pandhari hotels is up to standard. Stocked with top of the range whisks, rum,
brandy, liqueurs, gin, champagne, wine, ciders, beers and lagers, the bar also has non-
alcoholic beverages in stock. The bar also has a wide variety of cocktails for guests to choose
from.
Although the food is good, there are a number of things that affect the product and need
attention from the management of Pandhari hotels. The menu is very limited; if one is a
regular at Pandhari hotel he/she will notice the dishes do not change very much. The a la
carte menu is not up to standard as it does not have a large variety of dishes rather it is more
like a table d’hôte menu which has very few dishes. See appendices for Pandhari a la carte
menu. Apart from its limitedness the menu is also not well presented. The menus are just
printed from regular bond paper and in black and white. Notice the wrong spellings on the
menu. They are not designed to appeal to the guests or promote the standard of the food being
prepared.
The restaurant is squashed; the arrangement of tables makes it difficult for guest and waiters
to move around when the restaurant is full to capacity. This impacts on the guests as they
may fail to enjoy the whole dining experience as they would have experienced difficulties
getting to their table. At times essential materials like tooth picks and paper serviettes run out
The management and staff of Pandhari hotels are an essential part of the product of Pandhari.
Generally the staff at Pandhari hotels is very welcoming but their presentation is not the best
different personnel. The front office personnel have certain dress codes they have to follow
but none is being followed and the same can be said about the security personnel who are
supposed to wear blue and white but now some wear black and white and the uniforms are
not very appealing neither do they fit some of the guards. The porters must also have a
The housekeeping personnel put on black and white as well as waiters but this is not ideal
because housekeeping personnel clean toilets and then a guest sees a waiter serving food in
black and white, nothing can stop him/her to think it’s the same people who serve food as
well as clean toilets. There must be a distinction and the hotel must come up with appealing
On employee welfare, Pandhari hotel is not fully committed to this cause. However, the
reasons for its failure to meet this obligation are beyond its control as this is a national crisis
being faced by most organisations in Zimbabwe. Pandhari is failing to pay its salaries and
wages on agreed dates and this has strongly affected the moral of its staff and has also
resulted in high staff turnover. It has grown to relay on trainees to deliver services in order to
reduce the wage bill and this is not a very good situation as trainees will always require
guidance from experienced staff in order for the service to remain up to standard.
However, Pandhari hotel has tried to come up with ways to try and support its staff through
the difficult times. It sells food stuffs like meat and vegetables to its staff at subsidised prices.
A bus is supplied to carry staff to and from the city centre to ease on the transport cost of its
employees.
residents around the hotel. Generally the city of Harare has no capacity to pump water to
Glen Lorne as such most residence relay on borehole water but not everyone has a borehole.
The residents are always welcome to fetch water at Pandhari hotels for as long they do not
disturb guests.
2.3.1 Strength
Exquisite location
Experienced workforce
2.3.2 Weaknesses
Limited menu
Centrality of decision making- almost all decisions wait for the Managing Director
Reliability on trainees for labour. These are usually very inexperienced hence
2.3.3 Opportunities
Branding its restaurant and bar thereby appealing to a new group of customers rather
Providing laundry services to non-guests, mainly residents of Glen Lorne who have to
drive either to Chisipite shopping centre or Sam Levi Village to access laundry
Increasing the number of conference rooms at its newly acquires land or create a wing
Economic recovery results in more spending money amongst the general public
2.3.4 Threats
Intense competition from surrounding lodges and hotels for example Imbamatombo
New bar opened at School of Hospitality and Tourism at Pandhari hotels’ former
complex.
Guests losing confidence due to the news that Pandhari is under the hammer (Daily
news aired an advert that Pandhari hotels was going to be auctioned due to
evidence by the awards and accolades it has received from different institutes in recognition
of its Excellency towards service delivery. Apart from the hiccups it faces to provide the
service, generally the guests are satisfied by the service they receive. It is only those from
inside the organisation who can actually see how the hotel is struggling to meet its mandate.
If this is not addressed, the situation may result in graver consequences which can even lead
There is need for the management of Pandhari hotels to take a look at the SWOT analysis of
Pandhari and map a way forward. The major strength of Pandhari is its strong well
established brand and this should be taken advantage of while it still last, once the
Pandhari hotels does not have a Food and Beverages department headed by one manager but
rather as two different sections which are Restaurant and Banqueting and Kitchen. The
Banqueting supervisor is the head of the Restaurant and Banqueting department and also the
bar manager. The kitchen is headed by two Head chefs. Both the Head chefs and banqueting
supervisor report to the General Manager. These two sections are the largest departments in
The kitchen produce the food and banqueting will provide waiters who will serve the guest.
The restaurant is responsible for serving all the meals in the hotel from room service to
buffet. It is run by the banqueting supervisor. Day to day operations is supervised by the head
waiter and head cashier. The shift at the restaurant begins at 06:00hrs and ends at 15:30hrs.
All floor workers including students will commence the day with the evening shift, that is,
from 15:30hrs to 22:00hrs. The evening shift commences by doing a mise-en-place for
dinner. Depending on the numbers expected for dinner, the menu may be a la carte or buffet
(also known as table d’hôte). If there are less than twenty people the menu will be an a la
dinner, and if none we would prepare for ten and it would be an a la carte. We would divide
the table linen, refilled salt and pepper cruets and fold the serviettes.
Dinner plates and side plates are washed by kitchen porters and thus waiters only wiped them
dry and removed chipped plates. Depending on the menu being served we would include
additional cutlery like steak knives, soup spoons and joint forks. Dinner plates once clean
they were put in plate warmers so that they could maintain the warmth of the food.
We would all lay the cutlery, cruets and serviettes on the tables, see photo below.
Before welcoming the first guests, we would get the beverages list from the bar and then a
Serving dinner
them to their tables if a la carte and if buffet we would escort them to the serving point(s).
Once the guest sits we would present to him/her the drinks we had in this manner; “good
evening sir/madam may I take your drinks order, I have coke, sprite, orange and mango
juice.” If a la carte we would present the menu and take the drinks order. The guest would
read the menu whilst the waiter would be collecting the drink from the bar. When serving a
guest, a drink is served from the right hand side of the guest.
The buffet at Pandhari hotels has a minimum of seven dishes. The first three dishes would be
of starches and Sadza is a must to be served. Then there will be three or four of protein and
one of mixed vegetables/or vegetables and the last one will have gravy. The a la carte menu
for dinner and lunch usually has a selection of three starters; three main courses and three
When serving an a la carte one has to be a good listener and should repeat the order to the
customer before going to the kitchen to place an order. When the customer orders the waiter
will go to the kitchen and place the order to the chefs. The waiter shouts the order at the
hotplate starting with the starter then the main course and lastly the dessert. The hotplate is
the contact point between kitchen and service staff. When placing the order the waiter would
bring a warm dinner plate and a side plate for the starter to the kitchen. The waiter should
retain to the restaurant and see if the guest has any other requests and take drink orders if
necessary.
The waiter will bring the food to the guest and a guest is served a plate from the left. If there
are four guests for example, the waiter should thrive to serve the entire guests at once starting
with the ladies. One should not serve a guest the main course when another guest on the same
table has not been served with a starter. Before bringing the main course the waiter must clear
finished the waiter must clear the tables and prepare for the next guest.
After serving dinner the waiters will begin mise-en-place for breakfast.
teaspoons, cups and saucers. We would prepare tea flasks; two for Rooibos tea, two for
Tanganda tea and two for Coffee; and juice jugs for three different fruit juices.
The morning shift starts at 06:00hrs and the first thing would be to boil water for teas and
coffee and milk for cereals, teas and coffee. Breakfast will be served from 07:00hrs and so
cereals and fruit juices will be in place before that. Teas and coffee will be brewed when the
Serving breakfast
The first thing is to greet the guest(s) and escort them to the cereals table or to the table if an
a la carte. At the cereal table there would be three varieties of cereals, three varieties of fruit
juices and milk, both hot and cold. The buffet has a minimum of seven dishes. The a la carte
menu for breakfast is similar to the buffet only that the food would be served from the
hotplate.
When serving breakfast the waiters’ task will be to pour tea for the guests, clear tables, taking
orders from the guests and making tea and coffee. It is the duty of the waiters to replenish
After serving the entire guest, two waiters are tasked to set the table for management and
serve them. When setting the table for management instead of using linen serviettes, paper
serviettes are used and they can only have eggs and all the food that might have remain
more guests during lunch time than breakfast and dinner. This is because conferences have a
lunch package and the hotel thrives on conferences. The serve is the same as that for dinner.
Other operations
The restaurant personnel are also responsible for providing room service. When providing a
room service a waiter must listen carefully to the order and the room number. Then set a tray
for room service. The tray should have cutlery, salt and pepper, paper serviettes and of course
the food. The waiter should knock three times shouting “room service” and wait for the door
to be opened. The waiter should place the tray on the table in the room and then present the
invoice to the guest. The guest may pay cash or charge it to the guest account.
Apart from selling the menu the restaurant also sells platters. There are three types of platter;
small, medium and large platters. These are ideal for guest drinking alcoholic beverages and
usually the orders for platters come through from the bar.
It is responsible for service at the conferences and functions held within the hotel. Their
functions would be to set up the conference rooms, serving welcome teas and punches for
The shifts are the same as that of restaurant. In fact there is no actual division of personnel
between banqueting and restaurant. They are all waiters. There are no waiters who are said to
belong to banqueting or restaurant. The same waiters can either work in the restaurant or
replenishing conferences and requesting commodities from the stores department. This
supervisor is also responsible for hiring casual waiters when more man-power is required
There are many styles for setting up conference rooms and examples include board room
laying the table linen. There must be four sheets of writing pads, a pen, a whisk glass and a
500ml bottle of mineral water. For every four people there must be a juice jug for mazoe
orange crush or blackberry or any juice the guest may have requested and crystal mints/
endear mints.
Other utilities which will be put in place for a conference include flip charts, projector stand
and markers. A Public Address (PA) system is provided upon request at an extra fee. A table
for teas, coffee and sandwiches is place near the conference room.
the guests arrive. He/she will make tea and coffee and boil milk for welcoming guests. When
the first guest arrives the waiter should already be waiting by the teas table. Before the
conference start the waiter should identify the meeting co-ordinator and get the conference
programme, that is, when will they break for mid-morning teas and lunch and if there are any
guests with special menu requirements. The waiter will also show them where the restrooms
are and how to operate the air conditioning system. If guests were in-house and had breakfast
When waiting at a conference the waiter should never leave the conference area and must be
a quick decision maker especially when there does a problem need solving.
will rearrange the chairs to position, remove all the water bottles and clear the tables of any
dirt without disturbing any of the guests’ equipment or materials. All the whisk glasses will
be cleaned and replaced, new writing pads will be issued and mints and juices will be refilled.
retaining the following day. This replenish is more thorough as some overlays will be
changed. Material left by the guest will be removed, that is if the guest would not have left a
directive for their material to be left untouched. This exercise will be similar to setting up
only that the guests will not be provided with new pens.
3.3 Bar
The bar is directly managed by the banqueting supervisor. It has three barmen and two of
them work on rotating shifts of a week each. The bar opens at 10:00hrs and close at 22:00hrs.
The bar serve a wide range of beverages and it also serve as the functions bar. It complements
the restaurant.
For functions and duties of barman see Barman Competency Profile in the appendices.
3.4 Kitchen
The kitchen is responsible for preparation of all the hotel food. It is run by the head chefs.
There was reshuffling of the kitchen structure which saw the exit of executive chef and being
replaced by two head chefs. The shifts are similar to those of the restaurant and banqueting
department. The head chefs are seconded by the sous chefs and the sous chef will be in-
There are two kitchens at Pandhari hotels; the main kitchen and the pastry kitchen. The
pastry kitchen is situated at the Main Lodge although the property is no longer owned by
Pandhari hotels. The pastry kitchen is headed by the Pastry chef who reports directly to the
Head chefs and the pastry chefs is quasi-independent from the main kitchen as it has its own
smooth flow of operations. The sections are Larder, vegetable, breakfast, saucier and pastry
a. Breakfast section
The breakfast chef is the first one to get in the kitchen. He may even start as early as 04:00hrs
in order to finish preparing all the dishes before seven o’clock. The breakfast menu at
Pandhari hotels consists of seven dishes and these are; star tomatoes, baked beans, potato
During the ZANU PF National Congress held in December, we had to start work at 03:00hrs
so that by 05:30hrs breakfast would be ready as the guests were leaving early for the
congress.
b. Larder section
This section mainly prepares cold foods; salads and sandwiches for conference teas. This
section is also responsible for garnishing the buffet serving area. The section taught me to be
The larder chef starts work at six o'clock and the first thing would be to cut bread and make
sandwiches for conference guests. The sandwiches should be ready by ten o'clock. Then after
making the sandwiches she will turn attention to making cold salads for lunch. She must
c. Vegetable section
This section is responsible for making vegetables and starch foods. To successfully complete
lunch preparation mise-en-place is done the previous night. The mise-en-place involves
would be working on the section alone being supported by the sous chef.
d. Saucier sections
Prepares all the protein dishes especially meat and the sous chef is the head of this section. Its
e. Pastry section
All the baking is done here. They make all the desserts for the meals offered at Pandhari
hotels. For breakfast and conference teas they make muffins, scones and cakes.
f. Porters
This section is responsible for all the cleaning done in the kitchen. They are also responsible
for cooking Sadza for the guests and preparation of staff meals.
The student was able to perform duties in all of the above kitchen sections.
Cost control
month and that it is followed without fail. All kitchen staff need to ensure that they talk to the
head chef in advance should their wish to change their duties for any reason whatsoever.
Allocation of duties
The supervisor is also responsible for the allocation of duties and responsibilities every
morning as soon as the kitchen opens. Since the kitchen normally opens before the head chef
gets to work, the following day’s duties are allocated a day before.
Menu planning
The head chef in conjunction with the sous chef, who happens to be the second in command
after the head chef, needs to make sure that there is a menu for the day by nine ‘o’ clock
every day to ensure that food is prepared in good time and avoid inconveniencing guests
requested from the stores and supplied to the kitchen so as to ensure that breakfast is catered
for without delays as it may start around six ‘o’ clock in the morning as guests may require
from time to time. Where some items are not in stock the kitchen supervisor will have to
Controlling costs
The supervisor should control food and beverage costs so that the organisation, through the
food and beverage department, does not operate at a loss as it is popularly known that the
department has huge overhead costs. This cost control involves ensuring that chefs adhere to
portion control measures as may from time to time be communicated to them so as to cut
costs without prejudicing the client of their value for money at the same time.
cups and any other kitchen equipment must be recorded capturing the date and how the
breakage occurred.
3.5.3 Chefs
Responsible for meal preparation adhering to the menu as set by the Head chef.
Ensuring that high standards of hygiene and sanitation are followed in preparing and
serving food.
3.5.4 Waiters
Preparation of teas
Table waiting.
Serving teas
3.5.5 Cashiers
The personnel in the department are lowly motivated. –the management must always
find ways to motivate the employees and show appreciation when a good service has
Shortage of essential commodities. –tooth picks would run out during service and
guests would complain. Some of the commodities would be bought late thereby
affecting final output, for example some steak would be delivered at 12:00hrs and
expected to be served during lunch which would be starting at 13:00hrs. Yes the steak
would be cooked by 13:00hrs but it would be of poor quality. Proper planning should
be done in stores and purchasing to ensure the availability of all commodities when
needed.
Little appreciation of effort put up by trainees and lack of confidence in the abilities
of trainees. –had to put extra effort to convince and change the mind set of supervisors
Poor customer care. –specifically kitchen staff. The staff has a belief that only waiters
should practise good customer care. When a customer complains about the portion of
food received or may need an extra portion they may respond with coldness that a
waiter might be left with no clue of what to tell a guest. There is a need to train
due to lack of permanent staff. On one incident I over-cooked rice since I was
working alone with no supervision and the guests had to eat the poorly cooked rice as
there was no time to correct the mistake due to the high workload.
Before commencing work in the department I had no any prior knowledge of how
things are done in the department as compared to student from other departments who
had gone through some of the task through practicals in at college. So I suggest the
This will take a look at the accounting and finance department specifically the Store and
Purchasing and Food and Beverages departments which at Pandhari are sections of the
The food and beverages controller is responsible for the guidance and regulation of the costs
broader scope than as defined by the Davis et al. the controller is responsible for all the costs;
that is from food and beverages and all the other hotel departments.
The Controls department is a department under accounting at Pandhari hotels and the
controller is directly above the Stores-man. No goods will be issued from the store without
The day starts at eight o'clock in the morning. The first task done is to complete the Daily
Revenue and Projections Report using invoices from the restaurant and housekeeping and this
will be reconciled with the reports generated by the Hostit Hotel Management System. This
process will identify any errors, uncompleted transactions and will unearth any pilferages.
The Requisition Costing Report is compiled after eleven o'clock when most departments
would have finished requesting commodities for the day. This report is used to generate the
cost of sales and the figures are compared to those of the Daily Revenue and Projections
departments. Stock-taking is done on the last day of each month except for the bar where it is
This department is responsible for the proper storage and purchasing of all hotel
commodities.
4.2.1 Stores
Manned by one stores-man, is responsible for the storage, ordering, receiving and issuing out
stores are stored in categorised sections and the categories are housekeeping, maintenance,
stationery and food and beverages. Absolute care is taken not to mix the commodities as it
Operations
To be issued out with commodities every department has a requisition book and it has to be
signed by the Food and Beverages Controller or other top personnel from the accounting
department. The stores-man will issue out the goods and has a right to reduce the quantities
issued if necessary. He/she will record the quantities issued on the requisition book and
When stocks dwindle the stores-man will raise a requisition order to the accounting
department. The purchasing will be done by the chief buyer and the stores-man will be
When receiving the goods, the security personnel will record all the goods received and
stamp the receipts. The stores-man will update all the bin cards and complete a Cash
The cash reconciliation statement is a summary of the commodities bought and the initial
money given to the buyer to purchase the commodities. The rule at Pandhari hotels states that
the buyer should not have more than $10 in change, so the statement will show if there was
more than $10 change and if any stealing has happened it will be detected.
The stores-man is responsible for checking if all the cold room and refrigerators are
functional and that all the goods are properly stored. The stores-man is also tasked with
4.2.2 Purchasing
There is one buyer at Pandhari hotels. Purchasing at Pandhari is not usually large scale as
such suppliers rarely deliver goods at Pandhari but rather the buyer visits wholesales and
purchase commodities on cash and carry basis. Guest amenities are supplied through special
suppliers who supply branded soaps, shampoos and lotions bearing the name Pandhari
Hotels.
When going for buying usually a list of commodities wanted is compiled by the store-man
and the buyer would go around purchasing the commodities. There are specific suppliers
which are visited; for most commodities Ok Mart is the preferred supplier, Spices are bought
The spread sheets used in controls contain information which is no longer useful
and this posed a challenge because some of the spread sheets have the same names
as those which are relevant. –for example Daily Revenue and Projections Report
for 2012 would be found but would have the same heading as that of 2014 thereby
The stocktaking process was very tiresome to do as the stock sheets did not
include some of the equipment and some of the equipment is given wrong names
prolonging the whole process. –to correct this problem we made new stock sheets
Updating bin cards was a challenge as some of the commodities were never
stored in the stores as they would be issued out from the delivery van to the
department requesting. –need for an electronic inventory system that would work
with receipts and does all the updating of stock sheets and issued out
commodities.
5.1 Introduction
This chapter will provide an insight into the operations and organisation of the housekeeping
department. Responsible for all the cleaning of the hotel area the house keeping department
in the second largest department in-terms of manpower at Pandhari hotels. The department is
divide into three sections; laundry, bedroom hands and public area hands.
The department is run by the executive housekeeper and is seconded by the assistant
housekeeper. A floor supervisor supervises all the bedroom hands and public area cleaners
and he reports directly to the executive housekeeper. A linen supervisor supervises the linen
hands and is also responsible for the proper storage of and dispatch of linen from the linen
room.
5.2 Operations
The department has an eight hour shift from 08:00hrs to 17:00hrs. The night shift will have
only two people; one in the laundry and the other responsible for public areas. At 08:00hrs a
briefing is conducted by the assistant housekeeper and the bedroom hands are allocated the
rooms they will be working in and the public area cleaners are assigned to the respective
Bedroom hands are responsible for thorough cleaning the guest rooms and making sure all
the necessary amenities are available in rooms and all the equipment is functional.
Strip the bed, change the bed sheets and the pillow cases and remake the bed to
standard. See picture in appendices of a standard made bed.
Place all dirty linen in the trolley and emptying the litter bin in the guest room. All
dirty linen should be submitted to the laundry before ten o'clock.
Wipe all the fixtures and fittings in the room; televisions, mirrors, headboard, table,
telephone and the tea set. Furniture polish is applied once a week.
Flush the toilet and sprinkle detergents into the toilet sit and follow instructions on the
use of the detergent.
Scrub the bath tub dry or the shower. If shower, scrub the glass enclosure clean.
Polish all the silver and sinks and wipe the mirror.
Properly arrange the soap, shampoo, bath gel and the lotion in the bath amenities
basket.
They are responsible for cleaning restrooms, conferences rooms, administration offices and
dining areas. Restrooms and conference room area cleaned by the person on night shift. After
every thirty minutes they are obliged to check all the guest toilets is they are in good
condition.
Laundry section its main objective is to provide guests with clean and comfortable linen. The
section is responsible for cleaning dirty linen from guests rooms such towels, sheets and
duvets. Other linen such as serviettes used by the restaurant and also table cloths used in
banqueting is washed by the laundry section. The laundry duties are elaborated below;
Laundry personnel should always make sure the floors are clean.
They are responsible for cleaning laundry machines, removing lint from the driers,
test run the washing machines, recoding noted faults of the machine, and informing
They wash guest laundry for a stipulated fee and this must be done with due care to
avoid damaging the guest’s laundry and any damages to the guest’s laundry must be
Laundry personnel are also responsible for washing dirty linen, but firstly they have to
sort out the linen according to texture and colour. Care must be taken not to overload
the machines.
Issuing out linen to the restaurant department, banqueting department and also the
rooms section.
Challenges
Missing door keys
There is no strict monitoring of guest room keys as such access to rooms especially
during the evening shift is very easy and some employees actually use guest rooms for
personal use like bathing.
Unhygienic ways of completing tasks, e.g. using bed sheets to wipe tea cups and
water glasses.
Stock-outs of essential guest room amenities like soaps and lotions thereby
compromising the quality of service.
Shortage of bed linen resulting in improper use of linen for example, king size bed
sheets being used on a queen size or even a single bed.
Recommendation
There is need to find ways to motivate personnel
Clearly labelling the guestroom keys and a proper key register on which anyone with
keys is logged on to trace who had the keys when it went missing.
There is a serious need to train on hygiene issues and on the consequences of being
unhygienic.
Priority should be placed on making sure all guest amenities are always available in
stock to avoid stock-outs.
Hotels
7.1 Introduction
The Industrial Attachment and Professional Experience was an eagerly awaited course. To
me it was a chance to leave college and experience the work environment and it did not
disappoint. It provided an opportunity for personal growth and an evaluation of the chosen
carrier path.
Through this chapter I will examine the pros and cons I faced during the industrial attachment
period. I will also lay out some of the solutions to the problems I faced and also recommend
and suggest to the University of Zimbabwe’s Department of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality
studies in the Faculty of Commerce how best it can assist and carry out Industrial
Attachment.
To test theoretical tools and construct learnt during the first two years in college
During the industrial attachment I gained a lot of experience both positive and negative and
the same can be said for knowledge. The experiences afforded me the opportunity to truly
understand some of the theoretical concepts leant in class, for example theories on
Due to the nature of the hospitality industry good communication skills are vital for one’s
enhanced and I learnt how to effectively communicate practically as I could see the
I am now a good team player due to industrial attachment. Work especially in Restaurant and
banqueting require a great deal of teamwork to succeed in completing the task and this made
I gained a lot of knowledge on the serving of food and beverages as well as preparation of
neither do we do food service practical (waiting) and attachment afforded me the opportunity
to learn how it is done. I gained knowledge on the importance of costing when dealing with
food production. I improved my knowledge on beers, whiskeys and wines and how each
Attachment afforded me with the opportunity to perform the lower level tasks like cleaning
plates, toilets and so forth. It also gave me the opportunity to work under a manager and
observe how he/she performs his/her duties. This will be important when I become a manger
myself, as I would be having the experience of how those I manage perform their tasks and
will give me confidence to lead and manage my subordinates. In hotels, low level employees
perform tasks which are not highly satisfying as such require a manager who can motivate
them to work and I know have the knowledge on how best I can motivate them if I become a
manager.
management and the success of the business. Most of the problems experienced at Pandhari
are due to poor management, for example when I was at the restaurant and banqueting
department they had no inventory list for equipment they had in that department and access to
their storeroom was unlimited as such employees feasted on sweets, juices and milk meant
for guests. But this was rectified by employing a storeman responsible for the store room.
The employees of Pandhari are no longer motivated and most of them are holding on to their
jobs since there are no alternatives. This has taught me to stick to my goals in life as some of
the employees have tried to influence trainees into boycotting their duties so as to get back at
the owners of Pandhari hotels as they now relay on trainee labour in most departments.
Sticking to my own goals prevented me from doing activities that could harm me and the
university.
Before attachment, most of the students thought they would be employed as managers and
management than a degree on paper and fours in university. Now I have a clear knowledge
on how and what I should do to be a good manager and also that the road to be a manager is
not as easy.
the hotel industry as such some of the task performed during attachment were
being done for the first time and this was a challenge and resulted in low self-
example, were perceived to be doing better degrees and were even treated
differently from us studying tourism and hospitality. At one time the trainee at the
Human Resource office would dine with the managers and actually had authority
to relieve you from your duties and send you home. Because of this I developed a
Low self-esteem. Cleaning toilets, making beds and waiting tables had a negative
effect on me especially with the perception I had and the perception people have
on degrees and university students. I was doing a job most people believe should
Zimbabwe.
Little appreciation from the host company. Pandhari hotels did not show full
appreciation of the students and the big part they played on the operations of the
the company but when it has been done we are labelled trainees and made feel we
Financial problems which led me to quit industrial attachment after only eight
months.
through all the departments especially Front Office and Marketing departments
where there was a waiting list and I could only get a chance to get to these
Due to the financial crisis facing Pandhari hotels most of their operations are
Did not get real opportunities to exercise management skills as the company
degree aimed at people interested in the management of hospitality establishments and other
tourism related industries. Theory learnt in college is on becoming better managers and how
Theory learnt in college is very relevant when it comes to actual performance of the tasks at
hand. Contingency management theorists who state there is no one best solution for all
problems, but that all solutions are contingent upon the situation. This knowledge was vital
when faced with different situations during attachment. I knew to every problem I was facing
there was no one best solution to the all as such I would find the perfect solution to the
problem.
In theory I learnt the pros and cons of poor communication during communication skills
lectures. This knowledge became handy during attachment as I would use it to communicate
effectively thereby reducing any barriers to communication and the tasks at hand would be
completed perfectly.
My knowledge on the importance of cost cutting and profits learnt during first two years in
college made it easy for me to adjust to the cost cutting measures which were implemented
by the company. I knew why it was important to portion food when serving guests and why
changes and the theory is designed to work in certain environments. The theory would give
blinkers if all is followed according to what is taught in school and could worst a lot of time.
There are some things which theory cannot teach for example how to fold a bed or to be
friendly to the guests. In these areas theory was found to be irrelevant. So it is important to
Generally theory is relevant to practice because in theory I knew business survive to make
profits and all the work I did during attachment was targeted at the company making a profit.
Only a few hands on activities like cooking I did not know in theory but I knew the food must
The University should find ways for students to learn practically in hotels, that is
Workshops with industry personnel should be conducted before students are sent
to industrial attachment.
stay in touch with the industry and be better equipped to assess and advice
students on industrial attachments. Some of the lecturers left the industry over ten
years ago and a lot has changed since then and not all has been documented in
There should be a standard contract that is signed by the student, university and
the organisation providing attachment. The contract must prevent the organisation
from exploiting the attachee and also as a security for the student against unfair
dismissal. As of now the student has no claim against the organisation if dismissed
from attachment unfairly as there is nothing binding between student and attachee.
The Human Resources department of the host company should strive to treat the
The host company should show appreciation for job well done and not remind
every time you are a student and we are doing you a favour here by giving a job.
7.7 Summation
A lot was learnt during industrial attachment. Self-confidence among other things is one of
the greatest things I learnt during attachment. Challenges were met along the way but ways to
overcome them were also established. I managed to have a feel of how organisations behave
both internally and externally. Some of the things I had learnt theory during the first two
I managed to meet most of the objectives of the industrial attachment. Unfortunately due to
the economic hardships currently being faced by our nation the industry is not fully
functioning accordingly. As such some of the things we learn in school are hard to apply as
there are a lot of shortcuts being made just for survival, for example staggering payment of
employees to retain revenue for other important business operations. This is not ideal
In my personal evaluation, industrial attachment is very important. It prepares the student for
the industry when he/she graduates from university. Now because the attachment experience
I have a much clearer vision of what I would want to do after I graduate and I know it will
8.1 Summary
The first two chapters were mainly aimed at Pandhari hotels on how it is run and other
internal information as seen by the student. In chapter one background information was
shown. Chapter two was about the analysis of the product of Pandhari hotels. The product of
Pandhari hotels was classified into two broad categories and these are accommodation and
banqueting. Accommodation is offered through the front office and the housekeeping is
responsible for thorough cleaning of the rooms. Banqueting is about all the food and drink as
The organisation has a host of problems which if not addressed urgently can result in
business failure. Problems like shortage of essential resources for example rooms can go for
days without tissues or soap and in the restaurant some essentials like tea toothpicks can run
out during service. Demotivated staff is another issue and it is now difficult for the
organisation to achieve its mission of a customer driven hospitality service in line with best
Nevertheless the hotel also has some very good opportunities to be the best in the industry.
Through its well established brand and popularity it can harness a competitive edge against
its competitors. This with a good management can propel it to the best hospitality provider in
the industry.
Chapters which summed up the duties performed by the student followed up. These were
detailing all the tasks performed by the student through either job descriptions of personnel in
the departments or by listing the entire task performed. Most of the task I performed in the
major departments of the hotel, which are housekeeping and food and beverages, I had no
learning and this resulted in labelling of University of Zimbabwe students as empty vessels
who knew nothing about hotels. So suggestions were the Department of Tourism, Leisure and
Hospitality Studies should expand the curriculum and encompass learning of practicals
The report also looked at the organisation of Pandhari hotels which I observed as having no
Resources department. This has caused a number of problems on the operation of the
A personal evaluation of the industrial attachment was done in chapter seven. Challenges
faced by the student were listed and some solutions were provided. Industrial attachment was
8.2 Conclusion
The industrial attachment was a success and I learnt a lot of new things. It afforded me an
opportunity to learn and apply theory to practice. I leant new skills, cooking for example. I
was given a chance to improve my team working skills and how to cope with others at a work
place.
I met most of my objectives. I also learnt to see the world in a new way and that success only
comes through hard-work. Industrial attachment is important for the development of the
student and the theory learnt in college is relevant when put to practice.
Appendix A: Menu
STARTER
GARDEN SALAD
CHICKEN SAUTE
MAIN COURSE
JELLY
TRIFFLE
VANILLA CAKE
one!!!