1. Managing Front Office Operations Tenth Edition
Chapter 1
The Lodging Industry
Managing Front Office Operations Tenth Edition

2. Learning Objectives
Explain how the travel and tourism industry can be categorized, and classify hotels in terms of their size and target markets.
Classify hotels in terms of their levels of service, and ownership and affiliation.
Describe characteristics of business, pleasure/leisure, group, and international travelers.
Identify factors that influence travelers’ buying decisions.
Describe how hotels can become more ecologically responsible and the incentives they have to do so.

3. The Travel and Tourism Industry
The travel and tourism industry consists of five parts:
Lodging operations
Transportation services
Food and beverage operations
Retail stores
Activities

4. The Hospitality Industry
The hospitality industry is part of the travel and tourism industry.
The hospitality industry consists of lodging; food and beverage operations; and institutional food and beverage services.

5. Classifying Hotels Hotels can be classified by: Size Target markets
Levels of service
Ownership and affiliation

6. Hotel Size Categories Under 150 rooms 150 to 299 rooms
More than 600 rooms

7. Target Markets
Two of the most important marketing challenges for a lodging property are: “Who stays at our property?” and “Who else can we attract?”
Lodging properties seek to identify target markets.
Target markets are distinctly defined groups of travelers that the hotel seeks to retain or attract as guests.

8. Types of Hotels, Classified by Market Segment
Commercial hotels
Airport hotels
Suite hotels
Extended-stay hotels
Residential hotels
Resort hotels
Bed-and-breakfast hotels
Vacation ownership and condominium hotels
Casino hotels
Conference centers
Convention hotels
Alternative lodging properties (recreational vehicle parks, campgrounds, mobile home parks, corporate lodging, cruise ships)

9. Commercial Hotels Located in the towns and cities they primarily serve
Often located near train stations in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
Located in downtown or business districts today
Largest group of hotels

10. Commercial Hotel Guest Amenities I
Complimentary newspapers
In-room coffee makers
Free local calls
Cable television, DVD players/DVDs, video games
Personal computers, high-speed Internet access
Ergonomic desks and chairs
Fax machines
Car rental arrangements, airport pick-up services

11. Commercial Hotel Guest Amenities II
Twenty-four-hour food service
Semi-formal dining rooms; cocktail lounges
Conference rooms, guestroom suites, room service, banquet meal service
Laundry/valet service
Concierge service
In-room refreshment centers
Retail stores
Pools, health clubs, tennis courts, saunas

12. Airport Hotels
First airport hotels built in 1950s as air travel became popular
Airport hotels are built in major travel centers
Wide variety of sizes and levels of service
Target markets: business travelers, airline passengers with travel layovers/canceled flights, and airline personnel
Many feature conference rooms
Offer convenience, cost savings

13. Suite Hotels Fast-growing segment of the lodging industry
Feature guestrooms with a living room or parlor area and a separate bedroom
Some guestrooms include a kitchenette
Generally have fewer/more limited public areas than other hotels
Target markets: people relocating to area, travelers who enjoy homelike accommodations; vacationing families, business professionals

14. Extended-Stay Hotels Similar to suite hotels
Designed for travelers who stay five nights or longer
Usually do not provide food, beverage, or uniformed/valet services
Housekeeping services may not be provided on a daily basis
Homelike atmosphere
Room rates often determined by the length of a guest’s stay

15. Residential Hotels
Provide long-term or permanent accommodations in urban or suburban areas
Located primarily in the United States
Declining in popularity; replaced in part by suite and condominium hotels
Guest quarters generally include a sitting room, bedroom, and kitchenette
In some states, guests who contract to live in a residential hotel are considered tenants
May provide some or all of the services provided to guests in commercial hotels
A restaurant/lounge may be located on the premises

16. Resort Hotels Often chosen as the destination or vacation spot
Usually located in an exotic location away from crowded residential areas
Usually feature recreational facilities/activities and breathtaking scenery not typical of other hotels
Usually provide extensive food and beverage, valet, and room services
Typically feature a leisurely, relaxed atmosphere
Strive to provide enjoyable guest experiences to encourage repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals
Often employ social directors

17. Lifestyle Hotels
Appeal to specific travelers who enjoy certain architecture, art, culture, special interests, and amenities
Most major lodging companies have entered this market segment
Reflect the interests of their guests
Usually have 100 to 250 guestrooms, with limited or no meeting space
Food service varies from world-class to mid-range
Building exterior, interior décor, and guestroom design are all important to the success of these hotels

18. Bed-and-Breakfast Hotels
Sometimes called “B&Bs”
Range from converted small houses to small commercial buildings with 20–30 guestrooms
Owner usually lives on the premises and serves as the property manager
Breakfast ranges from a simple continental breakfast to a full-course meal
Most only offer lodging and limited food service
Room prices tend to be lower than in a full- service hotel

19. Vacation Ownership Hotels
Sometimes referred to as timeshare or vacation- interval hotels
People purchase ownership of accommodations for a specific period of time (usually one or two weeks a year)
If owners do not stay during their time period, they can have the hotel’s management company rent their units for them, receiving the rental money after paying fees to the management company for this service
Owners can trade their ownership time with other owners in other locations
Each unit has multiple owners

20. Condominium Hotels Similar to vacation ownership hotels
Units in condominium hotels have only one owner, instead of the multiple owners typical in vacation ownership hotels
Owners tell the management company when they want to occupy their units; the company is free to rent the unit for the remainder of the year
A portion of the rent from the unit goes to the unit’s owner

21. Casino Hotels Feature gambling facilities
Guestrooms and food and beverage operations are often luxurious, but they are secondary to the gambling operations
Cater to leisure and vacation travelers
Attract guests by promoting gaming and headliner entertainment
Provide a broad range of entertainment and recreation opportunities
May offer charter flights for guests who plan to gamble
Gambling activities may operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
Some are very large, with several thousand guestrooms

22. Conference Centers Specifically designed to handle group meetings
Provide all of the services and equipment necessary for a meeting’s success
Often located outside metropolitan areas
May provide extensive leisure activities

23. Convention Hotels This segment has grown significantly in recent years
Often have thousands of guestrooms
Can have 50,000 square feet or more of exhibit hall space, plus ballrooms and meeting rooms
Offer a variety of dining facilities
Primarily directed toward business travelers with a common interest
A full line of business services are generally available for guests
Host state, regional, national, and international meetings
May book business up to ten years in advance

24. Basic Issues Pertaining to Service
Intangibility of service
Quality assurance
Rating services
Economy/limited service

25. Types of Hotels, Classified by Levels of Service
World-class service
Upscale
Mid-range service
Economy/limited service

26. Types of Hotels, Classified by Ownership and Affiliation
Independent hotels
Chain hotels
Management contract
Franchise
Referral group

27. Categories of Guests
Business
Pleasure/leisure
Group
International

28. Business Travelers
Historically, the first and primary market for hotels
More than 35 million people take business trips each year
Business travelers average about five trips per year
Business travelers account for a significant portion of lodging demand
Hotels design specific products and services for business travelers—meeting space, offices, secretarial/computer services, in-room safes, 24-hour room service, Internet access

29. Pleasure/Leisure Travelers
Specialized resort travel
Family pleasure travel
Travel by the elderly
Travel by singles or couples
Price-sensitive

30. Group Travelers Pleasure travel Institutional meetings/conventions
Corporate/government meetings/ conventions
Trade associations
Management meetings, sales meetings, new product introductions, training seminars, professional/technical meetings, stockholder meetings

31. International Travelers
Different needs and expectations
Language barriers
Foreign-born employees can be helpful in serving these guests

32. Buying Influences on Travelers
Satisfactory experiences with a hotel
Ads by a hotel or chain
Recommendations by family members and friends
Hotel’s location
Preconceptions of a hotel based on its name or affiliation
Travel management companies
Ease of making reservations
Hotel’s quality of service, cleanliness, and appearance
Loyalty to a particular property or brand
Frequent traveler programs
Website design (for travelers booking online)

33. Blogging and Social Networking
Blogs: publicly accessible chronicles or personal diaries
“B-blog” is a blog dedicated to a business or business segment
Alternative blogs include discussion forums and exchanges
Social networking sites facilitate interaction within an online or virtual community
Social networking sites allow individuals or groups to create personal profiles to share with others

34. Types of Social Media Platforms
Major platforms
Review platforms
Messaging platforms
Check-in platforms
Auxiliary platforms

35. The Green Hotel
People increasingly interested in patronizing “green” hotels
Government agencies, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives seeking “green” hotels
Green hotel initiatives include: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, recycling, organic gardening, capturing waste heat from power generators, using renewable energy sources, and educating guests about environmental issues
Green initiatives are in place worldwide
LEED certification, Energy Star program
Hotels engaged in energy management, water management, biodiversity management, and waste management programs
Green meetings