HRTM 101 – Introduction to Resort Tourism Management

Walker (5th Edition) – Introduction to Hospitality Managemente

Chapter 3 – Rooms Division Operations

Learning Outline the duties and responsibilities of key executives and department
Objective 1 heads

We MANAGE THINGS, we LEAD PEOPLE.

General Manager Lead the people who serve in all roles within the property.

Rooms Division Lead people in the Rooms Division to ensure consistency of room
Director preparation within prescribed time and cost constraints.

 Financial Goals for Rooms

 Employee Satisfaction
 Guest Satisfaction
 Guest Services
 Guest Security
 Gift Shop

Food and Beverage Lead people in the Food and Beverage Division to maximize the
Division Director performance of the group (growing revenue, controlling costs, ensuring
quality of product and service).

Marketing and Sales Lead people in the Sales Division to gain commitments of future guests
Director and events.

Human Resources Lead people in the HR Division to provide employee recruiting, hiring,
Director training, assessment, development, and recognition.

Accounting and Lead people who account for the transactions affecting the property.
Controller This includes revenue (from guests) and our expenses (to our suppliers
and vendors).
Chief Engineer or Lead people who ensure the safe, efficient, and proper operation the
Facilities Manager facility, property, and all affiliated systems.

Then, within the Rooms Division, we would expect to see a further division of responsibility.

Front Reservations Housekeeping Concierge Guest Guest Communications

Desk Services Security

Notice the work of these folks is inter-related. They support each other. Yet, we divide the work
for efficiency. We must then make sure no conflicts occur as we seek to achieve the same goal:
GUEST SATISFACTION.
The Guest Cycle

 Guest Makes a RESERVATION.

 Guest ARRIVES AT PROPERTY, GETS ROOM ASSIGNMENT, provides for PAYMENT.
 Guest INCURS CHARGES FOR SERVICES (Dining, Bar, Spa, etc.)
 Guest IS ROOMED (which we post charges)
 Night Auditor posts and verifies charges
 Guest CHECKS OUT and provides FINAL PAYMENT.
 We hope to ensure repeat visits by the Guest.

Learning Draw an organizational chart of the rooms division of a hotel and identify
Objective 2 executive committee members

Learning Describe the main functions of the rooms division departments

Objective 3

Position Responsibilities
Front Desk  Handle check-ins and check-outs
 Address quest inquiries
 Sell Rooms (including upsells or upgrades)
 Maintaining Balanced Guest Accounts (properly accounting for all
relevant charges from a variety of revenue centers (Restaurant, Bar,
Spa, etc.)
 Providing and Directing the delivery of Guest Services

Reservations  Securing targeted % of advanced sales and bookings of rooms and

meeting space.
 Practice Yield Management to seek to grow the revenue and
profitability of the property.
Housekeeping  Lead team (common to find half of all employees in this division)
 Ensure we meet quality and cleanliness standards
 Manage employee productivity (typically, a housekeeper will clean 15-
20 rooms per shift)
o Person-hours per occupied room (how quickly we can turn a
room for next guest or that day’s repeat guest)
o We try to turn a room in 200 minutes.
o The cost of room supplies is about $2 per room (shampoo,
soap, lotion, etc.)
o About 50 cents of cleaning supplies is used per room
o About $1 of linen services is used per room
 Document efforts (including room inventories and condition reports)
 Interface with laundry provider (in-house or outsourced)
 Loss prevention (towels, glasses, etc.)
Concierge  Provide specialized attention to specific guest requests.
 Anticipate guest requests and attempt to ‘pre-answer’ their questions or
inquiries.
 Develop relationships with area attractions, restaurants, and other
 service providers.
Guest Services  Provide, immediate, and hands-on services
 Door attendance, baggage assistance (bell persons).
 First impression importance
 Interface with transportation system (taxi, bus, shuttles, etc.)
Security  Provide guest protection during stay.
 Reduce incidents of employee theft (loss or shrinkage)
 Ensure continued proper operation of security systems (fire, video
surveillance, etc.)
Communications  CBX/PBX = Hotel’s Telecommunications systems
 Guest communication (voice mail, phone, fax)
 Employee communications (2-say radios, emergency center)
 Potential profit center (but we must recognize the impact of personal
mobile communication devices (YOUR MOBILE PHONES)

Learning Describe property management systems and discuss yield management

Objective 4

Learning Calculate occupancy rates (percentages), average daily rates, and actual
Objective 5 percentage of potential rooms revenue

 We must recognize that forecasts are more likely when the item we’re forecasting will happen
SOONER rather than LATER.

 Group hotel bookings tend to be done more in advance than individual bookings. This is so
the groups can communicate this commitment to group members who can then make
commitments.

 Revenue Management – We seek to maximize the revenue generated by the property by

determining the correct MARKET CLEARING PRICE for each guest’s circumstances and
needs. Ultimately, SUPPLY and DEMAND determine this price.

Room Occupancy Percentage Average Daily Rate Revenue Per Available Room
(ROP) (ADR) (REV PAR)

# of Rooms Occupied Total Room Revenue $ Total Room Revenue

# Rooms Available to be # of Rooms Sold # Rooms Available to be
Occupied Occupied
Learning Out the importance of the reservations and guest services function
Objective 6

 Reservations allow us to best plan the use of our resources as we best-know the number of
guests for a period of time.

 Reservations is often the first-source contact and can set the tone of expectations for our
guests.

 We practice YIELD MANAGEMENT to help maximize revenue and profitability to using

differential pricing for different groups of guest (legally).

 Reservation Types

o Confirmed Reservations – reservation made well enough in advance that we can

send a physical confirmation to our guest.
o Guaranteed Reservations – credit card holds the reservation
o Advanced Deposit/Purchase – lower prices for non-refundable rates (very
important during high volume periods such as holiday or local events).

Learning List the complexities and challenges of the CONCIERGE,

Objective 7 HOUSEKEEPING, and SECURITY/LOSS PREVENTION departments

Current Trends

 Growing diversity in workforce (especially in lower-skill, lower-wage fields)

 Increasing use of technology for services and guest expectations of in-room
technology access.
 Continued desire for productivity improvements among employees
 Revenue management (manipulating room rates) remains vitally important
 Greening of hotels and hotel rooms
 Increased desire for security and loss prevention
 Growing diversity among client groups.
 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance
 Desire for one-on-one relationship with guest and brand/hotel and not driving them to
outside parties (hotels.com, expedia, Travelocity, etc.)
o +/- of such methods of selling inventory (securing reservations)