1. Hotel Management Lecture Notes Joana Mills Quarshie M
Hotel Management Lecture Notes Joana Mills Quarshie M.Phil (Tourism Management)
14th Nov, 2017

2. Introduction

3. Introduction cont’d
Introduction of Topic – Co-ordination Between Departments of Hotels
Regardless of the type of hotel or the category of traveller, hotels are in the service industry and their goal is to meet the guest expectations.
To help achieve this goal, all hotel staff must work as a team to constantly provide high quality service that promotes customer loyalty. This process is referred to as co-ordination. It also refers to the process of integrating the various departments within an organisation to ensure the realisation of common objectives (Mensah &Mensah, 2013).
An example would be when the housekeeping and front office departments work closely as a team to ensure that the guestrooms are clean and ready for arriving guests.

4. Introduction cont’d Order of Presentation Coordination
Relationship between Front Office and other departments
The relationship between Housekeeping and other departments
Review
Conclusion

5. Coordination
According to Mensah (2009) coordination ensures that the various activities and resources within the organisation are effectively combined towards the realisation of organisational objectives.
Coordination is a very important principle in the hospitality and tourism industry because each department is a sub-system to meet the needs and expectations of customers.

6. Coordination
In a restaurant, for instance the activities of the back of house (food production staff) and front of house waiters and waitresses must be effectively coordinated to ensure that the right quality and quantity of food is made available to customers.

7. Relationship Between Front Office and Housekeeping
Front Office & Housekeeping
The front office is the centre of guest transactions in a hotel and more often acts as the centre for collection and distribution of guest information.
Front Office needs to provide information about check-in, occupied and checkout rooms to house keeping in order to organise room cleaning.
Such information will help housekeeping to provide the best service to guests throughout the different stages of the guest cycle.

8. Relationship Between Front Office and Housekeeping cont’d
Front Office & Housekeeping:
A hotel gets repeat customers, when a guest feels at home and is provided with all possible basic amenities and necessities like shampoo, soap, towel, electrical equipments, and in-house entertainment, most of which are given by the housekeeping.
Starting from the projection of sales during the planning phase of the management cycle to the executing of the plans, there has to be close link between the two departments. That is housekeeping and front office department.

9. Relationship Between Front Office and Housekeeping cont’d
Fig (1): Showing Chamber Maids Trolley

10. Activity (1)
What will be the implications if there is no coordination between Front Office and Housekeeping? Discuss

11. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments cont’d
Front Office & Maintenance /Engineering :
The engineering department is responsible for maintaining properly the hotel facilities under the care of the front office department such as the proper functioning of the guest room.
Any request regarding maintenance work through the guest and also the room status has to be coordinated well by front office for prompt dealing of the problem.
For example – to rectify any plumbing problem, the maintenance person needs to know whether the room is occupied or not.

12. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments cont’d
Front Office & Security
The front office needs to provide guest information to the security department in the event of emergency; such as fire alarm, power failure and so on.
When guest reports loss of property to the front office, the security department will be informed to handle the case together with front office’s assistant manager.

13. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments
Front Office & Human Resources:
The human resources department provides staff training and recruitment services to the front office.
It also sets up grooming and discipline standard for staff to follow.

14. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments cont’d
Front Office &Food & Beverage – Service Department:
The front desk will provide the food and beverage department with a guestroom special amenities request form.
The food & beverage department then arranges for item such as welcome fruit basket with fruits, chocolates and wine to be put in the guestroom.
For groups, the food & beverage department will need the front desk to provide information on meal arrangements so as to reserve seats in the outlets or conference rooms for guests’ meals.

15. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments cont’d
Front Office & Food & Beverage – Production Department :
This department works closely with the Food and Beverage Service Department for the preparation of the Food and Beverage and the set up as per the estimated number of guest arrival in- house.
Also to act on special requests like food diet for sick customers. For the purchases of raw materials for cooking, proper house count is very important.

16. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments cont’d
Fig (2): Production Kitchen

17. Activity (2)
Why is it important to have a sales and marketing department in a hotel? Discuss in groups.

18. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments cont’d
Front Office & Sales & Marketing:
The sales and marketing department needs to work closely with the front desk and reservations department for reservations of groups, tours and corporate bookings.
The front desk will provide the sales and marketing department an updated rooming list with guest room number upon the arrival of tours or groups.

19. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments cont’d
Front Office & Sales & Marketing:
Furthermore, the guest history which is maintained by the Front Office Department is also very valuable to the sales and marketing department.
In addition, during the planning stage, it is the forecasting of the room sales, which is very much needed for purchasing of supplies by housekeeping and other departments.
Staffing and other needs are done in close coordination between both front Office and Sales and Marketing department. ;

20. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments cont’d
Front Office & Accounts
Information concerning advance deposits received by the reservations department and payments received by the front desk must be recorded and passed to the accounts department.
This department is responsible for monitoring guest accounts, checking credit limits and seeking settlements of guest accounts.
Accounts department is responsible for compiling a list of credit-approved companies, which is needed by reservations and front desk when receiving bookings.

21. Relationship Between Front Office and other Departments cont’d
Front Office & Stores:
Responsible for:
Constant supply of relevant forms,
Formats and
Stationery for running the front office department

22. Relationship Between Housekeeping and other Departments
Fig (3): Liaisoning of Housekeeping & other Departments

23. Relationship Between Housekeeping and other Departments cont’d
Housekeeping & Front Office:
Co-ordination with the Front Office is one of the crucial features of housekeeping operations.
As soon as there are guest departures, the Front Office sends message to the Housekeeping desk and reports the room numbers of vacated rooms so that Housekeeping can clean them and prepare for sale.
Once a room is clean, the Housekeeping Floor Supervisor rings the Front Office directly or through the Housekeeping Desk and hands over the room to front office for sale.

24. Relationship Between Housekeeping and other Departments cont’d
Housekeeping & Human Resource:
Housekeeping co-ordinates with the Personnel Department for the recruitment of housekeeping staff, salary administration, indiscipline, grievance procedures, identity cards for staff, induction, transfers, promotions and exit formalities.
Housekeeping & Purchasing
The Purchase Department procures out-of-stock items for Housekeeping such as guest supplies kept in rooms, stationery, linen of various types, detergents, etc.

25. Relationship Between Housekeeping and other Departments cont’d
Housekeeping & Engineering
A close co-ordination between housekeeping and engineering department is necessary since this department actually carries out the task of fixing out-of-order equipment.
As Housekeeping personnel are constantly spread throughout the hotel, checking on various items, they require maintenance orders for the Engineering Department to attend to.

26. Relationship Between Housekeeping and other Departments cont’d
Housekeeping & Food & Beverage
The restaurants and banquets constantly require clean table clothes, napkins, etc.
Their staff, as well as those in the kitchen, require clean uniforms- the former because they are in guest contact and the latter due to strict standards of hygiene required in the kitchens by most governments (Mensah & Mensah, 2013).

27. Relationship Between Housekeeping and other Departments cont’d
Housekeeping & Security
The guest room is the most private place and a hotel goes to great lengths to ensure guest privacy and security.
However, a guest can take advantage of this privacy by gambling, smuggling, etc. Housekeeping has to be alert regarding guests who are engaged in such unlawful behaviour, and seek the security department’s intervention, if necessary.

28. Relationship Between Housekeeping and other Departments cont’d
Housekeeping & Stores:
Larger hotels have a Housekeeping Store that stocks housekeeping linen and supplies independently.
Smaller hotels may stock them in the general store except for linen which should be issued to the housekeeping department.
The co-ordination with the stores would ensure the availability of day-to-day requirements for housekeeping.

29. Relationship Between Housekeeping and other Departments cont’d
Housekeeping & Laundry
Housekeeping has to ensure that clean linen is issued to guest rooms, restaurants, health clubs, etc. as this directly reflects the quality and image of the establishment.
If these are not received on time from the laundry, rooms would not be ready or restaurants would not open, etc.
Co-ordination becomes crucial in view of the large volume of linen and uniforms that is involved.

30. Relationship Between Housekeeping and other Departments cont’d
Fig (4): Laundry Equipment

31. Review
Coordination
Relationship between Front Office and other departments
The relationship between Housekeeping and other departments

32. Conclusion
Proper and appropriate coordination within various departments and sections of a hotel is essential for smooth operation and for superior service to the guests.
Every department or a section staff is a team player and to produce best results they should work with mutual understanding and trust for smooth functioning between the departments.
Co-ordination between front office, housekeeping and other departments brings harmonious relationship between the departments and also get the job done at the right time.

33. Suggested Reading
Ismail, A. (2002) Front Office Operations and Management, Delmar Publications., New York, USA.
Jones, P., & Lockwood, A. (2004). The Management of Hotel Operations. United Kingdom: Tj International Press.
Mensah, I. (2009) Management of Tourism and Hospitality Services, University of Cape Coast, Woeli Publishing Services, Accra, Ghana.
Mensah, I., & Mensah, R. (2013) 2ndEd. Management of Tourism and Hospitality Services, University of Cape Coast, Woeli Publishing Services, Accra, Ghana.

34. THANK YOU