Examination Paper: Hotel
Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management 8
IIBM
Institute of Business Management
Examination
Paper MM.100
Front
Office Operations
Section A:
Objective Type (30 Marks)
This section consists of Multiple
Choice Questions and Short notes type Questions.
Answer all the questions.
Part one carry 1 mark each and Part
two questions carry 5 marks each.
Part One:
Multiple
Choices:
1. To create a professional image and
to make guest comfortable about the staff members is a factor of:
e. Personal presentation
f. An attentive manner
g. Social skills
h. Use of guest’s names
2 A small booklet which has the
guest’s name, room number and room rate is:
e. Credit card
f. Key card
g. Bedroom book
h. Room status board
3. .clear
is a sign of:
e. Room left
f. Room occupied
g. Room vacant and ready
h. Room vacant but not ready
4. Which of the following is not a
part of ‘Property Management System’?
e. General ledger
f. Registration
g. Night audit
h. Computer terminal
Examination Paper: Hotel
Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management 9
5. Arrange the following as procedure
for payment by credit card:
v. Ask the client to sign the audit
roll (retain the card)
vi. Obtain the card from the client
vii. Check that the signatures on the
card and the voucher agree.
viii. Swipe the card through the
machine.
e. i, ii, iii, iv
f. ii, iv, i, iii
g. ii, iii ,i, iv
h. iv, ii, iii, i
6. When the interest and desire is
converted into booking or enquiry it is a result of:
e. Interest
f. Attention
g. Action
h. Desire
7. Providing an individual ‘PIN’
number to the customer by the hotel authority is a feature of:
e. Voice mail
f. Message waiting facility
g. Fax
h. Access to hotel services
8. Cheques help in controlling frauds
in the hotels.
e. Crossing cheques
f. Cheque authorization
g. Foreign cheques
h. Blank cheques
9. Which of the following is not
included in the task performed mainly at the reception?
e. Filing
f. Duplicating
g. Word processing
h. Reservation
10. Chart is very time consuming to
be up-dated and its errors results in lower occupancy.
e. Density chart
f. Density reservation chart
g. Stop-go chart
h. Conventional chart
Examination Paper: Hotel
Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management 10
Part Two:
1.
Differentiate between the organizational structure of ‘Small and Medium sized
hotels’.
2. State the main ways in which fire
can be prevented in a hotel.
3. List the main methods of
‘Non-verbal communication’.
4. Write a short note on ‘Inside
Availability’.
END OF SECTION A
END OF SECT
Section B:
Caselets (40 Marks)
This section consists of Caselets.
Answer all the questions.
Each Caselet carries 20 marks.
Detailed information should form
the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 Words)
Caselet 1
The Benson
Hotel, a mid-sized independent property required new leadership. Mike Schwartz,
Vice- president of operations, pondered his next move as he reviewed last
month’s financial statements. The Benson was an eighty-five-room three-star
property with a full-service restaurant, lounge, banquet and health club
facilities. The rapidly changing marketplace and new competition from
well-established franchises had made Mike’s job and the Benson’s position more
tenuous. Mike decided to commission a consultant’s report on the property. He
called up his longtime friend Jim Burke, who had worked for major chains across
the country and was now a hospitality consultant.
“Jim, how are
you old buddy?” Mike asked.
“I am doing
very well Mike. This consulting work has run me off my feet. What can I do for
you?” Jim Asked.
“Well Jim, I
need an independent review of the Benson. We’re holding our own but these
franchise guys with their management contracts are really getting aggressive,”
Mike said.
“Yes, I know
what you mean Mike. I have just completed a marketing study for a new building
across town. These guys have some great programs. You have to try and stay
ahead of them,” said Jim.
Mike asked,
“Do you think you could visit the property and have some lunch next week? I
would like to start with an employee survey and some site work. You’ll be
working alongside my general manager, Sean Waters. Sean’s been with us for
about two years. Jim, I have some concerns about this guy and I’d like to have
a fresh set of eyes look at what’s going on at the Benson. Okay?”
Jim hesitated,
“Okay Mike. How about next Thursday 10:00 a.m.? I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
“Wonderful,
Jim. We’ll see you then.”
Sean waters had
been recruited by Mike as a rising star. Sean’s background led Mike to believe
he possessed a true spirit for hospitality, especially in the food service
area. Sean had worked his way up in
Examination Paper: Hotel
Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management 11
reputable full
– service properties and restaurants while completing an undergraduate degree
in hospitability. So, what had gone so wrong at the Benson for Mike to feel he
needed to bring in a consultant to figure it out? Three months later Mike had
an interim report on his desk.
Physical
Plant Priorities
The following
is a review of specific areas of the Benson Hotel that require attention.
Sales
Office- Located just
off the lobby, this space is open to the public and is well below standards for
this level of property. The property has worked hard to attract the corporate
market. A well-renovated business center shared with a working sales area would
enhance this area gently.
Banquet
Servery- Located on
the lower level from the main kitchen, this area seems more of a storage area;
in fact this could serve as a limited holding area for banquet service. There
is no counter space and no secure shelving to store dishes, glassware, or
cutlery. Floors and walls are in need of refinishing. Guests have gained access
to this area on occasion.
Exterior
Garbage Area- The
main compactor located in the rear parking lot of the hotel should be enclosed.
It is unsightly to guests and can be viewed from the road by surrounding
residences. A possible solution would be to pour a concrete slab allowing for
drainage and build an enclosure on three sides to ensure access for pick-up.
Access for
persons with disabilities –Presently,
the Benson has no access or rooms for guests with disabilities. At least two
units should be converted for this purpose. The main reconfigurations are the
bathrooms and doorways. On a few occasions guests with disabilities were
observed leaving the hotel for other properties in the area that had such
facilities. It is a good marketing initiative and may become necessary to
maintain the rating of the property.
Lobby- The lobby chairs and broadloom should
be upgraded to reflect the marketplace and reputation of the property.
Back Office
Computer– There is
presently no stand- alone back office computer. The computers on the property
are dated and solely devoted to a property management system that is not
Windows based. The following functions could be served with a back
office computer.
Inventory analysis
Database marketing
Effective and professional word
processing
Parking Lot
–The rear parking
lot is of particular concern; it does not reflect a three-star property.
Human
Resources
The Benson
Hotel, like many others before it, had over the years placed people in positions
of authority with little or no training to support their efforts. This was true
in the following revenue centers.
Dining Room
– During high season
the dining room enjoys record covers on many nights. However, there was one
very stressful situation observed. The staffing was mixed with senior staff
followed by poorly trained “warm bodies”. The situation was made worse by the
supervisor, Rachel, who was perceived by the staff as unfair, unapproachable,
and often playing favorites with her friends and family. Rachel, in all
fairness, has had no training and was clearly not the person for the job. She
repeatedly showed disrespect for her fellow workers and kitchen staff.
Unfairness was clearly displayed in the allotment of high-gratuity-paying work
such as banquets and bus tours. Rachel played favorites. She would schedule
herself and friends to serve high-gratuity events. If you were not her
favorite, you were relegated to breakfast shifts or similar low-gratuity work.
An example is the new girl, Donna, who Rachel hired this summer. Rachel is
already giving preferential shifts to Donna over Isabel, who has been at the
Benson for more than five years. Rachel based her decision on Isabel’s poor
performance, which Rachel said other employees would agree with. This was not
the case when fellow workers were asked. Rachel had also threatened to lay off
Isabel in the slow months instead of Donna or Rachel’s daughter Lucy. This was
clearly an old management style and unacceptable in any operation. Rachel is
also resentful that the kitchen receives 25 percent of group meal gratuities.
In her opinion they do not deserve it. This feeling has permeated among her
allies, instilling an “us against them” animosity between the kitchen and
service staff.
Examination Paper: Hotel
Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management 12
Kitchen
Operation – The
kitchen staff is competent, but leadership is seriously lacking in this area.
James, the interim kitchen supervisor, has difficulty coping with the
restricted responsibilities placed on him and often projects these feelings
onto fellow staff. This attitude also has a further negative effect on Rachel
and her staff in the dining area. Chief Wilhelm left three months ago and left
little incentive for James to perform his duties as sous-chef. James is
somewhat adrift, constantly complaining that he is doing a chef’s job and
receiving cook’s pay.
Management
controls and reporting such as inventory are inaccurate at best, with related
reports poorly presented. Production and food handling require improvement from
a quality and sanitation point of view. It seems that many foods taken out for
preparation or serving then are left out in a hot kitchen to deteriorate or go
to waste. Scheduling of kitchen employees does not seem to relate to business
peaks and valleys. This has resulted in calling in casual kitchen staff on
short notice, resulting in paid-outs over the counter. One such employee is
Gerald, the dishwasher who is Lucy’s boyfriend. Rachel on occasion has taken it
upon herself to call Gerald in for dishwashing duty when clearly it is James’s
responsibility to make the call. This situation provides an opportunity for
Rachel to extend her influence beyond the realm of her authority and has led to
increased friction between Rachel and James.
Employee
Audit
This part of
Jim’s report was a detailed employee audit interviewing employees on issues
from the parking lot all the way up to the general manager. It provided Mike
with some food for thought. Jim’s opening comments was: “if I had to make only
one general statement about the relationship between the employer and employees
at this time, I would have to say that it is limping along at a slow, steady
pace. Most of the employees appear satisfied with the type of work they are doing
and they speak well for the company.” Under the section “Lack of Credibility on
the part of the General Manager,” Mike’s worst fears were confirmed. Jim’s
report continued, “As far as the remainder of the employees are concerned, they
do what they have to and then ignore the general manager. His level of
credibility with these employees is zero. One employee was very philosophical
about it when she said “At least we know what we have to deal with, and we are
learning how to deal with him. If they get rid of him we could get someone
worse.” Supporting comments from employees included:
The general manager is always
right.
The morale of the employees varies
with the moods of the general manager
The general manager intimidates
some employees.
The general manager tries to
impress the upper management by pitching in to help when they are here, but
when they are not here he doesn’t lift a finger.
Jim summed up
this section of his report to Mike like this: “This is a case of employees
working well in spite of the general manager rather than because of him. The
main problem with this situation is that a reputable company such as the Benson
Hotel cannot support the actions of a general manager with this type of
comportment and still maintain a workable relationship with its employees. My
opinion at this point is that something has to change.”
Questions:
1. Do you feel
it was necessary for mike to commission a consultant’s report on the Benson?
Why or why not? How would you have approached the situation?
2. Identify
and propose solutions for the supervisory challenges in the kitchen and dining
areas of the ‘Benson Hotel’.
Examination Paper: Hotel
Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management 13
Caselet 2
The Rainbow
Golf resort had something to celebrate. The 120- unit golf resort consisting of
villas and condominiums had recently been “re-branded” from a franchise to an
independent property. The new owner, Ken Okura, was reviewing the present
organizational structure of the Rainbow along with the files of key personnel
presently running the operation. During the transition period Ken had recruited
his own team including a Vice-President of operations, Director of sales and
marketing and Director of Food and Beverage to restructure the organization;
however, he still had a few key areas to fill in. In the past, each member of
the resort’s management team had staked out his or her own turf with little
internal communication. As a case in point, ken often noticed Shirley, the
accountant, regularly directing the front desk on policies and procedures. All
this happened under the watch of Jeremy, the resort’s Rooms Division Manager,
who didn’t seem to take notice of such actions. Ken thought that this overlap
of authority surely must confuse the front desk staff.
The transition
period had provided Ken with a window of opportunity to evaluate the line and
supervisory staff. Ken had retained Ted Barrow, a human resources consultant;
his report’s findings were quite a surprise to Ken. Ted’s report began with the
following staff concerns:
The management does not work
together. There is no teamwork, only “flexing” for power. Managers are out to
protect their turf. This attitude pervades the resort.
There is no apparent overall
direction for the resort. If there is, it is not being communicated throughout
the organization.
There is no general manager or
controller on site. The feeling is that if these people were around, conflict
among the department heads could be avoided.
There is insufficient training.
Employees are thrown into their jobs without being ready to perform them
properly. They should have proper preparation before they have to deal with
guests.
Some departments (front desk in
particular) are terribly understaffed. This causes service problems as well as
high staff turnover.
The staff morale is low. Employees
work in separate departments and get caught in a rut. There is no overall team
spirit. It’s more like “every man for himself.”
There is little or no awareness of
how other departments operate. This knowledge is necessary to help us
understand how we impact each other.
Many people are currently unhappy.
The labor pool is small, and if they leave it will be tough to replace them.
Management should work to keep the staff happy.
There seems to be a consensus that
staff members want to be able to provide good service, but too many constraints
are placed on them to be able to do so.
It is difficult to know who to go
if someone has a problem with his or her manager. There should be someone
designated as the resort manager so that employees have someone to communicate
with should the need to do so arise.
Ken assembled
his new team to map out strategies to address the operational challenges and
employee concerns.
Questions:
1. Identify and describe four short-term
operational strategies Ken should implement immediately at the Rainbow Golf
Resort.
2. Which form of top-down
communication would be most suitable for the Rainbow Golf Resort to achieve its
objectives?
Examination Paper: Hotel
Management
IIBM Institute
of Business Management 14
B
END OF SECTION B
Section C:
Applied Theory (30 Marks)
This section consists of Applied
Theory Questions.
Answer all the questions.
Each question carries 10 marks.
Detailed information should form the
part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 Words)
1. Explain how the hotel receptionist
can contribute to customer satisfaction?
2. Discuss the methods of payments in
a hotel.
3. Discuss about the main principles
of “Hotel Billing”.
END OF SECTION C
S-2-091012
No comments:
Post a Comment