Republic of the Philippines

SURIGAO del SUR STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Business and Management
Tagbina Campus

Bachelor of Science Hospitality Management

MODULE 1

HPC 2
Fundamentals in Lodging Operations

SULPICIO D. GARCES JR.

BSHM Instructor

2021
MODULE 1
 Understanding Lodging Operations

Learning Objectives:
1. To define what is lodging industry.
2. To understand lodging as part of the travel and tourism/hospitality industry.
3. To appreciate the three major segments of the travel and tourism Industry.
4. To identify the different types of accommodations & foodservice industries.
5. To differentiate the classification of hotel.
6. To differentiate the hotel types by star rating.
7. To perform the duties & responsibilities of the hotel organization.
8. To evaluate the lodging industry challenges.
9. To create a plan for quality service of front office to the guests.
10. To discuss the front office department and its property management system (PMS)

Lesson 1: Overview of the Lodging Industry

The hospitality industry encompasses a wide range of services and activities such as
lodging, restaurants, food services, and convention centers. The lodging industry consists of
hotels, motels, resorts, and bed and breakfasts.

The term lodging describes a wide range of accommodation types which provide shelter

or a place to stay overnight. It is used to describe locations away from home and the quality of
the place can vary from a small island hut or a tent to a five star all inclusive resort.

Lodging means accommodation for a period or a place to sleep for one or more nights.
Lodging businesses markets to other market segments such as business travellers, leisure
travellers, long-stay travellers, budget travellers, and special travellers like people working with
the government, airlines,
Lodging as part of the travel and tourism/hospitality industry
• Travel and Tourism Industry: All businesses that cater to the needs of the traveling public.
Here are the reasons why people want to travel.
1. Travel is a learning experience.
Whether it’s learning a new language or learning about an area’s history, travel
allows us to learn so many different things. We become educated in the diverse cultures
and ways of life. We learn about how our lives are intertwined and how we can impact one
another. Travel to absorb all that we can in the world.

2. Travel is way to escape from stress

Travel provides a momentary break from the humdrum of our daily lives. It provides
us with adventure and excitement. When we venture to a new space or environment, we’re
intrigued by all the novel things that surround us. We forget about our jobs, our classes,
and all our other responsibilities. We travel to  escape our mundane lives and to move to a
different beat.

3. Travel is to discover new things.

 This goes hand in hand with our previous points, but travel allow us to discover,
whether it’s an interesting locale or a newfound favorite dish. We travel to not only see
more of the world and the people in it, but to also discover more about ourselves in the
process. Through the challenges that we face and the experiences that we gain, we
discover our strengths, our limitations, and our potential.

4. Travel is to make new friends.

Of course, this one would be on our list. After all, we love group travel! When you
travel, you meet people of diverse backgrounds and experiences and every single one of
them has the potential to play an important role in your life, whether that is a new best
friend or your soul mate.

5. Travel is to experience new things.

We feel like this last reason is an all-encompassing one. We travel to experience all
that we can and all that the world has to offer. We can experience the local culture by
eating delicacies and dishes that are unique to a certain region.
We can experience what it’s like to communicate solely through gestures when we
don’t know how to speak a language. We can even realize how life in a foreign country is
not that much different from our own lives back home.
Experiences help bring meaning to our lives. They both shape and define us.

Three major segments of the Travel and Tourism Industry:

1. Hospitality (lodging) - Refers primarily to businesses that provide lodging / accommodations
and foodservices for people when they are away from their homes.

2. Transportation services - is a category of companies that provide services to move people or

goods, as well as transportation infrastructure. The transportation sector consists of several
industries including air freight and logistics, airlines, marine, road and rail, and transportation
infrastructure.

3. Destination management - is the coordinated management of all elements that make up a

destination, including the attractions, amenities, access, marketing and pricing. Solimar assists
destinations take a strategic approach to linking these sometimes very separate entities for the
better management of a destination.

Hospitality Industry includes:

1. Accommodations - refers to a room, building or lodging which provides shelter for a person
to stay, sleep and live. There are many different types of spaces that classify
as accommodation, though in the hospitality industry the term is used to refer to a room at
a hospitality company: such as a hotel, resort, hostel, motel etc.
• Hotel - An establishment that provides travelers with paid accommodation and other
guest services. Depending on size, location, and amenities, hotels are generally rated
from one-star to five stars, but letter grading (from “A” to “F”) and other rating schemes
are also used to categorize hotels across the world.
• Hostel - Ideal for budget travelers and backpackers, a hostel is an inexpensive type of
accommodation, usually with shared bedrooms and communal facilities.

• Motel - Originally designed for motorists, motels are roadside hotels equipped with
minimal amenities and ample parking areas for motor vehicles.
• Cottage - In today’s tourism sector, the term cottage is used to describe a small vacation
house, typically in a rural area.

• Boutique Hotel - Often furnished in a themed, individual style, boutique hotels are

intimate in size and focus on providing guests with high-quality, personalized
experiences. (See also What is a Boutique Hotel)

• Lodge - Although the word ’lodge’ has many different meanings, one of them refers to a
small rural house used by people on holiday or occupied seasonally by sports enthusiasts
(ski lodge, hunting lodge).

• Resort - Although a resort is primarily known as a destination frequented by vacationers

in search of relaxation and entertainment, the term is also used to describe a full service
lodging establishment that offers extensive guest services and recreational facilities.

• Villa - Originated in Roman times, a villa is often described as a luxurious country

residence.

• Apartment - Also known as flat (British), an apartment is a self-contained

accommodation unit housed in a building containing a number of such units.

• Bed and Breakfast - A Bed and Breakfast (B&B) is an intimate, independently run

lodging establishment, where breakfast is included in the room rate.

• Inn - A small establishment offering overnight accommodation, food, and drink to

travelers.

• Penthouse - An apartment situated on the highest floor of a building, commonly

appointed with luxury amenities.

• Pension - A type of guesthouse or B&B, where in addition to lodging and breakfast,

guests are also offered lunch and dinner. Pensions are usually family-run and cost less
than other accommodation options.

• Guesthouse - A guest house or guesthouse is a private house offering inexpensive

accommodation to tourists.

• Business Hotel - Catered primarily to business travelers, business hotels are strategically
located (downtown, in business districts, or close to major business centers) and come
equipped with corporate facilities such as meeting and conference rooms, Internet access,
and catering options.
2. Foodservices - encompasses all of the activities, services, and business functions involved in
preparing and serving food to people eating away from home. This includes all types of
restaurants from fine dining to fast food. It also includes institutional food operations at
locations such as schools and hospitals, as well as other specialty vendors such as food truck
operators and catering businesses.
• Fine dining restaurants - offer diners an upscale meal experience often comprising
several courses (e.g., salad, appetizer, entree, dessert). These types of restaurants try to
create a stylish atmosphere that speaks of elegance, exclusivity, and class.
Fine dining establishments can operate as a franchise for broader appeal or as a single
location to increase their sophisticated image.

• Casual dining types of restaurants usually share the following characteristics:

 Customers are served at their table
 Food offerings are moderately priced
 Atmosphere is low-key
 Decor is often unique and based on the type of food served

As a general rule, casual dining restaurants fall between fine dining and fast casual
on the “fancy” spectrum.

• Fast casual restaurants cater to customers who are looking for fare that is relatively
quick yet, at the same time, healthier than fast food and more affordable than a casual
dining establishment. As such, fast casual types of restaurants offer quality food, counter
service (as opposed to table service), and a more casual, contemporary style and decor.

• Ghost Restaurant - is a food-service business that serves customers exclusively through

phone orders, online orders, or both.
In a virtual restaurant — as the name rightly suggests — the majority (if not all) of the
business is conducted via computer, tablet, or smartphone.
A ghost restaurant doesn’t have a traditional storefront with decor, signage, and a large
dining room. Instead, this new business model only requires a kitchen and delivery
drivers.

 Family Style Types of Restaurants - is similar to the casual dining model mentioned
above with one significant difference: servers deliver the food in large dishes and
customers then serve the food for themselves and pass it to other diners at the table.
These types of restaurants often have a more relaxed atmosphere than the fine dining and
casual dining models and cater to families with children or groups of friends.

• Fast food is the most widely recognized type of restaurant thanks to franchise chains like
Taco Bell, Burger King, and KFC.

Fast food restaurants attract diners because of their price, convenience, and speed.
Because of this focus, ingredients in fast food restaurants are usually preheated or
precooked (though not always).
 Food is then delivered over the counter — or through a drive-thru window — and
customers seat themselves.

• Food trucks, carts, or stands are unique modern businesses that normally specialize in
a single type of food (e.g., tacos, sandwiches, hot dogs, ice cream, smoothies, etc.) and
serve a limited menu that revolves around those items.
They are generally categorized together with fast food restaurants because the focus is on
speed. Additionally, seating options may be sparse or even non-existent.

• Cafes are characterized by outdoor seating, an unhurried atmosphere, and the loyalty of
their repeat customers. Offerings include coffee, tea, pastries, small items for breakfast or
lunch, and a small sampling of desserts.

• Buffets are an extension of the family style restaurant where customers are provided a
selection of food at a fixed price. Guests serve themselves and can return to the buffet as
many times as they want.

• Cafeteria - If you attended grade school or high school in the United States, you’re
probably familiar with cafeteria-style dining.
By definition, a cafeteria serves ready-cooked food items arranged behind a long
counter. Patrons line up, take a tray, and file in front of the various food choices, picking
out what they would like to eat along the way.
Some cafeterias offer:
 Fresh-cooked fare ordered from an attendant (omelets, waffles, cut-from-the-bone
roast beef)
 Ready-made, pre-plated portions
 Self-serve portions (salads, soups, etc.)
Cafeterias are similar to buffets, but cafeterias typically have servers behind the
counter ready to dish out the food you choose.
Some large corporations, factories, and hospitals have in-house cafeterias to feed
employees and patrons alike.
That concept, though, extends to stand-alone restaurants all across the country.

• Coffee House - with the spread of Starbucks around the world, most people are familiar
with the concept of the coffee house.
As a type of restaurant, the coffee house offers some unique features that you won’t find
anywhere else, including:
 Casual atmosphere
 No table service
 Limited selection of cold foods such as pastries, donuts, and sandwiches
 Allowing guests to relax and socialize without the pressure to leave after eating
Coffee shops are similar to cafes, but the focus at the coffee house — and the item that
most people show up for — is the hot beverage.
Coffee houses offer a wide variety of coffee drinks as well as hot tea and other drinks.
The food in a coffee house often takes second place as a draw for customers.
 • The bistro concept got its start in France as a place to serve hearty meals at a moderate
price in a not-so-formal setting.
When restaurateurs began opening bistros in the United States, the format evolved to
include more refined decor, fewer tables, finer foods, and higher prices.
Most bistro owners don’t consider their restaurant a fine dining establishment, per se —
multiple courses in an opulent atmosphere — but, rather, as classy (and classic) fare in an
upscale atmosphere.
• The teppanyaki grill - is a type of restaurant specializing in Japanese cuisine prepared
with dramatic flair in front of patrons.

• The Mongolian barbecue - is a variation on the teppanyaki grill.

In this type of restaurant, diners assemble a bowl of raw ingredients from a buffet line,
hand the bowl to the cook, and watch as they stir-fry the food on a large griddle. The
cook then plates the food and hands it to the diner, who returns to their seat to eat.

Classification of Hotel
Hotels are generally classified by their style and location. Each classification is geared to
a specific clientele. Several companies classify hotels according to amenities and services by
using a star system. The more stars, the more luxurious the hotel. For the most part,
classifications can vary within each type of hotel style. However, it is rare for budget hotels to
attain extremely high ratings, because they do not have the amenities necessary for higher
classifications.

• Resort hotels are frequented by the customer on vacation. They may feature amenities that
will permit their clientele to relax and have fun. Popular amenities may include: spas, pools,
beach or mountain locations, on-site kids’ activities, restaurants, pool bars and babysitting
services. Concierges are often available to help patrons find restaurants or book sightseeing
tours. Patrons often stay a week or more. Resort hotels, because of their many amenities, often
attain high star ratings.

• Airport hotels are designed to have clean rooms and are booked because of their close
proximity to the airport. Often, they offer shuttles to and from the airport. Many airport hotels
offer business amenities and restaurants for guests. Airport hotels may have a high turnover of
guests staying for short durations of time, and are often located in cities.
• Casino hotels are unique because they provide preferential service to gamblers. Guests who
spend enough time or money at the casinos can receive complimentary rooms and dining.
Casino hotels are often luxurious and offer full service restaurants, indoor shopping, pools and
fitness facilities. These hotels offer plenty of night life including shows, dance clubs and
comedians. Sometimes they are located in resort areas. Star ratings vary based amenities,
location and room quality.

• Economy hotels provide limited amenities at reasonable rates. Sometimes, economy hotels
provide guests with a complimentary continental breakfast. Economy hotels in resort areas
may be off the beaten path, or in a slightly less desirable location. Economy hotels offer basic
room accommodations, and many do not have full service on-site restaurants. More recently,
 some economy hotels have adjacent chain restaurants within walking distance, often sharing
the same parking lot.

• Conference centers and commercial hotels are designed for business clientele. Conference
centers feature multipurpose rooms that can accommodate seminars and business programs.
They have banquet facilities that can serve and accommodate large parties, and also offer
equipment and acoustics suitable for speakers and visual presentations. Some conference
centers and commercial hotels are located in resort areas, but they still focus on the business
needs of clients and companies.

• Suite hotels appeal to business people that prefer a separate work space or families that want
one room, yet also want some room separation from children. They often feature multiple
rooms, and may have a pull-out bed in addition to the main sleeping area. Suite hotels have a
broad range of amenities, and can be classified as high as a luxury hotel, or as a basic
economy hotel, depending on the location and the services offered.

Hotel Types by Star Rating

The star rating system is a guideline for a customer that denotes what to expect from the
hotel service at the time of booking. However, there is no clear distinguishing method to divide
hotels into various star rating categories till today; but a guest can assume that more the number
of stars, more is the luxury provided by the hotel.
 One Star − A guest can expect a small hotel operated and managed by the owner and
family. The ambience as more personal and the guest rooms with basic amenities. The
restaurant would be at a walking distance. There would be a small commercial area and
a nearby public transportation hub.
 Two-Star − These hotels are mostly part of a chain of hotels that offer consistent quality
but limited amenities. They are either small or medium size hotels with a phone and TV.
They lack the convenience of room service, but provide a small on-site restaurant at a
walking distance within the hotel premises.
 Three-Star − These hotels are usually located near a major business center, express
way, and/or shopping area. The rooms are clean and spacious rooms, and decorative
lobbies. An on-site restaurant offers all meals such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The
facilities such as valet and room service, fitness center, and a swimming pool are also
available.
 Four-Star − This hotel would be large, often standing as a part of a cluster of similar
hotels with a formal appearance and very good services. The hotel would be located in
the prime area of the city around shopping, dining, and entertainment joints. The guest
can expect furnished and clean rooms, restaurants, room service, valet parking, and a
fitness center within the hotel premises.
 Five-Star − This hotel would be large and luxurious, which offers the highest degree of
room and personal service. It is built with beautiful architecture, and is managed keeping
elegance and style in mind. The guest rooms are equipped with high quality linens, TV,
bathtubs, and special outside view from the room. The hotel provides multiple eating
joints in its premises such as coffee shops, restaurants, poolside snack joint, and bar.
They also provide 24X7 room service, valet service, and personal protection service.
Organization of Hotels
An organization can be defined as a system of coordination actives of group of people
working cooperatively towards a common goal under authority and leadership. A hotel can be
regarded as an organization because it.

 Is goal oriented, which may include providing accommodation and providing food
and beverage services for its customers (guests) or payment.
 Plans and coordinates of its staff in order to achieve its goal.
 Divides personnel into functional departments, each with their own areas of
authority and responsibility.
 Organizes and executes plan and procedures for future growth of the property.  

An organization chart is a clear picture about the division of responsibilities, lines of

authorities and channel of communication within the departments. It is a schematic
representation between position within an organization, showing where each position fits in
overall organization.
        The organization chart of a hotel depends upon the size of establishment and the resources
within the hotel. The resources might be the number of employees that are required to operate
the hotel efficiently, the technology and the work methods. Hotel organization chart deals with
the major operational departments and the other supporting departments. The three major
departments that works all the time in a hotel business:

1. Front Office
2. Housekeeping
3. Food and Beverage Service
 The other supporting departments in the hotel are Accounts, Purchase, Sales and
Marketing, Engineering, Security and Human Resources. These entire departments have their
respective heads and staff working under them.   
A typical hotel organization chart

Rooms Division
• The Rooms Division is the heart of the hotel
• It is the main business of the hotel and the main source of revenue
• Rooms can contribute 70 percent or more to overall revenue and even more to profit

Front Office Department

 It is the nerve center of the hotel.
 Front office plays a vital role in a hotel
 It is the face of a hotel or hospitality establishment.
 It is the first and the last department where a guest interacts.
 The Front Office Department is responsible for creating first hand impressions regarding
the level of services and facilities provided.
 The Front desk is responsible for answering enquiries, directing queries to correct
personnel/department.
Housekeeping
• The essential requirement that guests have is to be able to check into a clean room
• The Housekeeping Department is responsible for cleaning of guest rooms, stocking
essential supplies and amenities, laundry (sometimes) and maintenance of public areas
• Housekeeping is one of the largest departments in the hotel (up to 50 % of all employees)

Hotel Ownership and Management Alternatives

• Hotel Chain: A group of hotels with the same brand name.
• Franchise: An arrangement whereby one party (the brand) allows another party (the
hotel’s owners) to use its logo, name, systems, and resources in exchange for a fee.
• Independent Operator: An entrepreneur who owns or operates one or a very few
hospitality properties; sometimes referred to as a “mom and pop” property.
• Franchisor: One who manages the brand and sells the right to use the brand name.
• Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT): A public corporation that sells stock to raise money
(capital) that is then used to purchase real estate, including hotels.
• Joint Venture: Partnership comprised of organizations such as corporations, governments,
and/or other entities that is formed to develop a lodging brand or property.
• Management Company: An organization that operates one or more hotels for a fee; also
called a “contract company” or a “contract management company.”

Lodging Industry Challenges: Types of challenges:

 Operating
 Labor shortages
 Cost containment
 Increased competition

 Marketing
 Market segmentation and overlapping brands
 Market Segmentation: Efforts to focus on a highly defined (smaller) group of travelers.
 Increased guest sophistication

 Technological
 Third-party wholesalers
 Interactive reservation systems
 Guest innovations
 Data Mining: Using technology to analyze guest-related (and other) data to make better
marketing decisions.
 Yield Management: Demand forecasting systems designed to maximize revenue by
holding rates high during times of high guest room demand and by decreasing room rates
during times of lower guest room demand.

 Economic
 Dependence upon the nation’s economy
 Hotel Occupancy Rates: The ratio of guest rooms sold (including comps) to guest rooms
available for sale in a given time period. Always expressed as a percentage.
# Guest rooms Sold
 # Guest rooms Available
 Economic issues:
 Globalization: The condition by which countries and communities within them
throughout the world are becoming increasingly interrelated.
 Safety and terrorism
 Full-service hotel challenges
 Increased competition from limited-service hotels
 CAT 5 Cable: Category five cable; the preferred cable quality to use when
providing certain forms of high-speed Internet access to a standard computer.
 Increased costs required to operate foodservices
 Rising construction costs
 Full-service hotel challenges:
Average Daily Rate (ADR): The average selling price of all guest rooms for a given time
period.
Total Room Revenue
Total Number of Rooms Sold
Difficulties in developing a unified Internet marketing strategy
 Limited-service hotel challenges
 Increased consumer expectations
 Fewer profitable locations
 Brand Proliferation: Over-saturation of the market with different brands.
 Franchisor-franchisee conflicts

 Extended-stay hotel challenges

 Too many hotels within segment
RevPar: The average revenue generated by each guest room during a given time
period.
Occupancy % (x) ADR = RevPar
 Over-reliance on corporate travel
 Competing in a multi-competitor environment
 Convention hotels/conference center challenges:
 High construction costs
 Competition from nontraditional sources
 Use of meeting technology
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity): An Internet access technology that does not utilize a building’s
wiring system when providing users Internet access.
 Resort/timeshare challenges:
 Lagging productivity gains
 Increased expectations about social/economic responsibilities
 Transnational competition
 Developing creative marketing/exchange programs

Lesson 2: Front Office and the Guests: Planning for Quality Service
Lodging Is a Guest Service Business
 Service (Hotel): The process of helping guests by addressing their wants and needs with
respect and dignity in a timely manner.

Developing a Quality Culture

 Quality: The consistent delivery of products/services according to expected standards.
 Empowerment: The act of granting authority to employees to make key decisions within
the employees’ areas of responsibility.
 Role of hotel senior managers in quality:
• They must consistently “walk and talk” the philosophy of guest service
• They must empower staff members
• They must establish systems that allow defects to be measured
 Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI): Ongoing efforts within the hotel to better meet
(or exceed) guests’ expectations and to find ways to perform work with better, less costly,
and/or faster methods.
 Planning tools:
• Vision
• Mission statement
• Long-range plan
• Business plan
• Marketing plan
• Operating budget
 Repeat Business: Revenues generated from guests returning to the hotel as a result of
positive experiences on previous visits.
 Word-of-Mouth Advertising: Informal conversations between persons as they discuss
their positive or negative experiences at a hotel.

Planning Guest Service Processes

 Service is not the same as servility.
 Helping guests requires addressing their wants and needs:
– What do guests want?
– What do they need?
 Benchmarking: The search for best practices and an understanding about how they are
achieved in efforts to determine how well a hospitality organization is doing.
 Zero Defects: A goal of no guest-related complaints that is established when guest
service processes are implemented.
 Moments of Truth: Any (and every) time a guest has an opportunity to form an
impression about the hospitality organization. Moments of truth can be positive or
negative and may (but do not have to) involve the property’s staff members.

Guest Service Is Delivered by Employees

 Accountability: An obligation created when a staff member is delegated duties/
responsibilities from higher levels of management.
 Front office employees can be empowered to help guests after they:
 • Learn about their service mission
• Receive the training and obtain the resources required to meet the needs of guests
• Show ongoing interest in providing exceptional guest service

Strategies for empowerment:

• Accepting the philosophy that supports empowerment
• Pointing staff in the right direction
• Recognizing the role of the guest
• Removing the barriers that inhibit pride in work
• Monitoring work to assure that standards are consistently attained
 For empowering to be effective, FOMs must:
• Treat employees like adults
• Respect employees as individuals
• Recognize that employees can make significant contributions to the department
and the hotel
• Ask for and utilize their employees’ suggestions
• Trust their staff members
• Allow employees to find pride and joy in the workplace
 Today’s FOMs do not wait until problems become significant before they are addressed!

Lesson 3: Overview of the Front Office Department

Front Office Functions and Responsibilities

 Coordinating guest services
 Specific activities help deliver guest services:
– Revenue management
– Reservation management
– Guest services
– Night audit
 Night Audit: The process of reviewing for accuracy and completeness the accounting
transactions from one day to conclude or “close” that day’s sales information in
preparation for posting the transactions of the next day.
 Front office responsibilities:
– Managing the Property Management System (PMS): The PMS consists of the
computer hardware and programs utilized to record guest reservations and
requests and to manage the prices charged for rooms and other services. The
system also records and stores hotel sales data and other historical information
useful in decision making for effective hotel management.
 Front office responsibilities:
– Revenue and reservations management
– Management of guest services
– Guest accounting
– General data management
Front Office Organization
 Organizational structure depends upon the size of the property:
 – Small hotels
– Large hotels
– Mega hotels
 Career Ladder: A plan that projects successively more responsible professional positions
within an organization or industry; career ladders also allow one to plan and schedule
developmental activities judged necessary to assume these higher-level positions.

Front Office Positions

 Management positions
 Entry-level positions
 Management positions:
– Responsibilities
– Activities
– Skills
 Universal Process of Management: The concept that, at their most basic level, the
principles of planning, organizing, coordinating, staffing, controlling, and evaluating are
the same (or similar) in any type of business or organization.
 Common front office management positions:
– Resident manager
– Front office manager
– PBX manager
– Reservations manager
– Assistant front office manager
– Front desk manager
– Uniformed services manager
– Supervisor, bell services
 Flat (Organization Chart): The collapse/combination of positions within an organization
to reduce the number of management layers in efforts to improve communication,
increase operating efficiencies, and reduce costs.
 Non-management positions:
– Responsibilities
– Skills
 Common non-management positions:
– Night auditor
– PBX operator
– Reservations agent
– Front desk cashier
– Front desk agent
– Bell services attendant
– Concierge
– Door attendant
– Parking lot attendant
– Van driver

Human Resources Management

  Turnover Rate: A measure of the proportion of a work force that is replaced during a
designated time period.
# Employees Separated = Employee Turnover Rate
# Employees in the Workforce
 Internal Recruiting: Tactics to identify and attract currently employed staff members for
job vacancies that represent promotions or lateral transfers to similar positions in the
same organization.
 External Recruiting: Tactics designed to attract persons who are not current hotel
employees for vacant positions within the organization.
 Warm Body Syndrome: An often-used but ineffective selection technique that involves
hiring (almost) anyone who applies without regard to qualifications for the vacant
position.
 Tools for screening applicants:
• Review application form
• Employment interviews
• Employment tests
• Reference checks
• Review of other requirements
• Drug screening
 Bond(ing): Purchasing an insurance policy against the possibility that an employee will
steal.
 Employer-of-Choice: The concept that the hospitality operation is a preferred place of
employment within the community by those who have alternative employment
opportunities.
 Orientation: The process of providing basic information about the hotel that should be
known by all of its employees.
• Employee Handbook: Written policies and procedures related to employment at a
hotel.
 Induction: The process of informing new employees about matters related to the
department in which they will work.
 Steps for effective training:
• Plan the training:
• Define tasks for which training is needed.
• Determine how each task should be done.
 Steps for effective training:
• Prepare for training:
• Learn how to train.
“Off-the-Shelf”: A term relating to a generic product (such as a training resource) that is
developed for general industry use rather than specifically developed for a unique property.

Prepare for training.

• Steps for effective training:
– Deliver the training:
1. Conduct the training.
2. Allow trainee to practice (learn).
• Steps for effective training:
 – Follow-up after training:
1. Coach the trainee to reinforce correct methods.
2. Evaluate the trainer and the training.
• Motivate: The process of appealing to a person’s inner drive to attain a goal.
• Tactics to motivate front office employees:
– Follow sound management advice
– Provide effective orientation
– Train correctly
– Manage a professional hotel
– Supervise like you want to be supervised
– Encourage effective communication
– Manage a friendly hotel
– Help your employees succeed
• Leadership Styles: The mix of attitudes and/or behaviors that a supervisor can use to
direct the work of employees.
– Autocratic manager
– Bureaucratic manager
– Democratic manager
– Laissez-faire manager

• Factors influencing leadership style used:

– Manager’s personal background
– Characteristics of employees
– Relationship between manager and employees
– The job situation itself
• Staffing and scheduling
– Variable Labor Position: A position that must be staffed according to the volume
of business.
– Fixed Labor Position: A position that involves work tasks not directly tied to the
level of business volume
• Factors to be considered in staffing:
– Number of guest arrivals/departures
– Occupancy rate
– Each employee’s interest and history of work shifts
– Employees’ expenses and training
– Employee requests
– Legal factors
– Other factors

Lesson 4: Front Office Property Management System (PMS)

The Four “Rs” of Front Office Information Management

 R1 – Reservations Management
 MLOS (Minimum Length of Stay): A designation that instructs reservationists to decline
a reservation request from any guest who will not reserve a room for the minimum number of
days allowed as predetermined by the hotel.

 R2 – Rooms Management
The PMS must interface with many other data- and information-generating systems
– Example: The front desk requires up-to-date information from the housekeeping
department regarding clean/inspected guestrooms.

 R3 – Revenue Management
The PMS helps forecast demand for the hotel’s rooms, allows FOMs to rapidly adjust
room rates, and performs sophisticated mathematical calculations resulting in suggested RevPar
maximization strategies.

 R4 – Records and Accounts Management

The PMS can easily and quickly allow the front desk agent to establish, receive, and
record the proper payment from each guest.

PMS Report Development, Distribution, and Analysis

• PMS Report: A specific set of data or information taken from a hotel’s property
management system.
– Understanding past performance
– Forecasting future performance

• Advantages of precise guestroom sales forecasts:

– Accurate revenue estimates
– Better guest service because of improved staffing decisions
– Lowered labor costs because employees can be more accurately scheduled
according to productivity standards
– Improved budgeting abilities
– Increased operational efficiencies
– Improved profit margins (revenues minus costs)
– Maximized owner (shareholder) profits
Reservations Management Data
• Guest information
• Guest request information

Rooms Management Data

• Room Status: The up-to-date (actual) condition (for example, occupied, vacant, dirty, and
clean) of all the hotel’s individual guest rooms.
• Room type

Revenue Management Data

• Forecasting demand:
 Booking Pace: Often shortened simply to “Pace,” this term refers to the amount of future
demand for rooms.
• Pricing inventory

Records and Accounts Management

• Records management
• Accounts management:
– Creates guest folios (bills)
– Updates the hotel’s accounting records
Selecting a PMS
• Important characteristics to consider:
– Reliability
– Cost of operation
– Ease of installation
– Ease of use
– Ease of interface integration
– Maintenance requirements
– Ease and frequency of upgrading & updating
– Quality and availability of support services