Front Office Operations and Management For Emma and Ellie [Page iv is Blank] FRONT OFFICE OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT Ahmed Ismail Australia Canada Mexico Singapore Spain United Kingdom United States Front Office Operations and Management Ahmed Ismail Business Unit Director: Executive Production Manager: Executive Marketing Manager: Susan L. Simpfenderfer Wendy A. Troeger Donna J. Lewis Executive Editor: Production Manager: Channel Manager: Marlene McHugh Pratt Carolyn Miller Wendy E. Mapstone Acquisitions Editor: Production Editor: Cover Image: Joan M. Gill Joy Kocsis © (Pete Turner Inc.) Getty Images/ The Image Bank Developmental Editor: Technology Project Manager: Andrea Edwards James Considine Cover Design: Joy Kocsis Editorial Assistant: Lisa Flatley Composition: Lawrence J. O’Brien COPYRIGHT © 2002 by Delmar, a division of Thomson Learning, For permission to use material from this text or product, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license contact us by Tel (800) 730-2214 Printed in the United States of America Fax (800) 730-2215 1 2 3 4 5 XXX 05 04 03 02 01 www.thomsonrights.com For more information contact Delmar, 3 Columbia Circle, POBox 15015, Albany, NY 12212-5015. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ismail, Ahmed. Or find us on the World Wide Web at www.thomsonlearning.com, Front office operations and management / Ahmed Ismail. www.delmar.com, or www.hospitality-tourism.delmar.com p.cm. ISBN 0-7668-2343-1 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.No part of this work covered by the 1. Hotel front desk personnel. 2. Hotel management. copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by I. Title. any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photo- copying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information TX911.3.F75.I86 2001 storage and retrieval systems—without written permission of 647.94’068—dc21 2001047674 the publisher. 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Contents Preface / xv Acknowledgments / xvii About the Author / xix CHAPTER 1 Hotels—Past and Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Historical Perspective / 2 Marketplace Consistency / 6 Lodging Management Association / 7 Revenue Sources / 11 Sleeping Rooms / 12 Meeting/Function Space / 12 Outlets/Ancillary Revenue Sources / 13 Profit Margin / 15 Room Cost / 15 Food Cost / 16 Opportunity Cost / 18 Captive Audience Quotient / 19 Industry Perspective: Usage of Function Space / 21 Chapter Review / 23 Case Study: Food Cost / 24 Case Study: Chain Histories / 25 Internet Resources: Hotel Web Site Home Pages / 26 CHAPTER 2 Hotel Classifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Hotel Sizes / 31 Hotel Location Classifications / 31 Downtown / 32 Resort / 32 Airport / 34 Suburban / 35 Hotel Product Types / 36 Service Level / 36 Target Market / 39 Independent Hotel Ratings / 42 Chapter Review / 44 Case Study: Hotel Types / 45 vii viii (cid:1) Contents CHAPTER 3 The Hotel Guest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Room Sales Differentiation / 48 Group Rooms / 48 Transient Rooms / 48 Transient Reservation Avenues / 50 Market Segmentation / 52 Group Market Segments / 52 Corporate Segment / 52 Association Segment / 52 Other Segment / 52 Transient Market Segments / 53 Business Segment / 53 Pleasure Segment/ 54 Chapter Review / 55 Case Study: Market Segmentation / 57 Case Study: Theoretical Buying Decision / 59 Internet Resources: World Wide Web Travel Sites / 61 CHAPTER 4 The Guest Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Categorizing the Guest Room / 63 Room Types / 63 Room Configurations / 64 Room Designations / 73 Room Numbering / 74 Room Status Reconciliation / 77 Guest Room Makeup / 79 Key Control Systems / 82 Industry Perspective: The Role of Architecture in Hospitality / 84 Chapter Review / 89 Special Feature: New Hotel Construction / 90 Internet Resources: Hotel Design Web Sites / 94 CHAPTER 5 Hotel Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Hotel Organization / 96 Functional Departments / 96 Rooms Division / 97 Front Office / 98 Housekeeping / 99 Reservations / 99 The Unique Role of Reservations / 99 Contents (cid:1) ix Night Audit / 100 Loss Prevention/Security / 100 Food and Beverage / 101 Accounting / 101 Human Resources / 102 Engineering / 103 Sales/Marketing and Catering / 104 Group Résumés / 104 Practical Areas / 105 Organizational Deployment Example / 106 Top Level Management / 106 About My Job: General Manager / 107 The Executive/Leadership Team / 109 Rooms Division Manager/Resident Manager / 109 Director of Food and Beverage / 110 Director of Marketing / 110 Industry Perspective: Engineering / 111 Director of Human Resources / 112 Director of Engineering / 112 Controller / 112 Director of Grounds / 112 Director of Recreation / 113 Department Heads / 113 Rooms Division Department Heads / 114 Food and Beverage Department Heads / 115 Sales Department Heads / 118 Engineering and Human Resources Department Heads / 119 Accounting Department Heads / 120 Resort Deployment Example / 121 Traditional versus Revenue-based Deployment / 122 Functional Department Management Teams / 123 Special Feature: Hotel Career Management / 126 Chapter Review / 130 Internet Resources: Hotel Career Web Sites / 133 CHAPTER 6 Front Office Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 The Arrival Chronology / 135 Stage One—Greeting / 135 Stage Two—Transition / 136 About My Job: Doorman / 137 The Hotel Shuttle / 139