Custom «Rooms Division Report on Victoria Place» Essay Paper Sample

1. 1.      Terms of reference

The report is a response to Mrs. Helen..... requested on the 25^th August 2011 for the rooms division module.

1. 2.      Acknowledgments

My acknowledgments goes to the Victoria Place hotel manager, the head of departments and the hotel receptionist for having time and allowing me conduct an interview with them. I also thank my tutor for her encouraging words that kept me going. 

1. 3.      Introduction

This report will reflect the findings on investigations carried out at Victoria Place on the room’s division department. The report will describe the role of the room’s division staff and relation to the guests’ cycle. It will also discuss the front office and accommodation services that can be offered to meet and even exceed customer segments and requirements.

1. 4.      Methodology

Victoria Place UK’s leading specialist tour operator. I have done interviews with the hotel’s manager, the CEO of the Hotel, the hotel receptionist and my colleague who has been working at the hotel for a year now. To gather for more information I sourced information from the hotel’s website, http://www.bewleyshotels.com/manchester_airport/. Being the new manager at the hotel, I was able to interview staff and customers on different occasions. Using the above sources, I was able to draw conclusions and make my own judgment.

1. 5.      Results

5.1. About Victoria Place

Victoria Place is just a few minutes away from Manchester airport terminus. The hotel has spacious rooms and a holiday car parking is available. The hotel provides quality and value in a warm and friendly serene.

The company is located in the outskirts of Manchester city. The hotel has a 400 bed business capacity and a conference hotel. Located in Manchester airport terminus, Victoria Place is near such landmarks locations like Manchester museum, Piccadilly Gardens and the Museum of Science and Industry. Guests at the hotel look forward to use free Wi-Fi internet services, satellite TV, soundproof rooms and power showers. The hotel has an in house doctor in case of an emergency.

5.2. Role of staff in the guest cycle

The Victoria Place has four main divisions in the guest cycle. It starts from when the customer arrives till s/he leaves i.e. pre-arrival, arrival, occupancy and departure. Every one of these sections has its own descriptions on how staff prepare for each cycle stage (Baker and Huyton, 2001).

A). Pre-arrival 

The stage starts when the customer makes enquiries to book with the hotel either by a call, or the internet. Victoria Place’s strategic location of being out of town but near to the airport is an ideal place for conferences hence the large bed capacity. This is the stage where the guests choose to make hotel reservations. For new guests who have not been to the hotel before, they make and gather important information. Reservation agents are located at the hotel’s premises where they serve the guests. The work of these employees is to present a positive and strong image of the hotel. Reservations at Victoria Place are done on a daily basis and any time of the day.

When a reservation is accepted, the agent creates a reservation record and contacts the receptionist at Victoria Place. The creation of a reservation record initiates the hotel cycle. The record created is then sent by fax to Victoria Place and it enables the hotel to personalize each guest’s service and schedule any required staff and facilities. When the hotel confirms a reservation, it verifies that the guest’s requests will be addressed. The hotel will use the information collected during reservation process to complete pre-registration processes like assigning a specific room to the guest, prepare a guest portfolio that will include the guest’s charges and credits the guest has accumulated during his/her stay at the hotel and rate to guests who are yet to register.

The reservations Victoria Place can be said to be very effective. They have helped maximize room sales and accurately monitored availability of rooms and used to forecast revenue for the hotel. The hotel analyzes reservation information, the front office management at Victoria Place has developed an understanding of the hotel’s reservation patterns.  Information and data collected during the reservation processes will be used in subsequent front office functions.  

B). Arrival

After the pre-arrival stage, the next stage at Victoria Place is the arrival stage. This is the stage when the guests actually make a physical appearance and checks-in at the hotel. At Victoria Place, arrival of the guest will establish a business relationship with the hotel through the front office. The front office is mandated to clarify the nature of the guest hotel relationship. The office is also mandated to monitor the financial transactions between the hotel and the guest.

The registration of the guest is done by the following personal information; name and surname with the guests billing address, telephone number, passport number, birth certificate or a driving license, any special needs and the guests signature. Financial information includes the date of arrival, expected date of departure, assigned room number and the guest’s payment method. Victoria does registration for various reasons like satisfying the guest, help it forecast room occupancy, establish a guest history, determine reservation information against availability and be able to satisfy special categories of guests like the disabled through a barrier free design. This shows that the hotel complies with the Disabilities Act.

C). Occupancy

This is the third stage of the cycle. The stage deals with security of the guest and also ensures that the guest is satisfied and even the services exceeds his/her expectations. This is mainly to lure the guest to repeat and come back again. The front desk at the Victoria Place plays an important role in guest occupancy because this is the area where guests are expected to make their request, complaints and where they expect a quick and accurate response.

The front office at Victoria Place coordinates guest service and encourages repeat guests by having to paying great attention to their complaints. The hotel has a complaint/suggestion box in every place around the hotel. The hotel collects the cards on a daily basis, analyze them and try by all means to provide a positive feedback to the guests as soon as possible.

The company also has employed and designed effective procedures to help protect the guests valuables at all times during their occupancy. This is done through proper CCTV surveillance, safe deposit boxes, guest key control and well designed exits and emergency doors. The occupancy is also a place where posting of guests’ charges is done. Victoria Place includes all post room rates, food & breakfast charges, any other expenses and taxes are posted. The front office clerks at Victoria Place are always alter to make any deviations from house limits and make any corrective measures to change the status of the guest as appropriate. The clerks at the hotel are also instructed to review once in a while the Account Balances.

E). Departure

This is the last stage of the cycle. At Victoria Place, a proper checkout involves the following in a sequential order; the guest vacates the room, s/he receives an accurate settlement of his/her account, returns room keys, s/he leaves the hotel and escorted by staff while assisted his/her baggage. The hotel has a system such that when guests are departing, checkout personnel encourage the guest to consider returning on a future date. Once the guest departs, a whole cycle will be started with another pre-arrival.

5.3.Front office and accommodation services

The front office and the guest accommodation services are in many ways responsible for the customer’s first impression. At Victoria Place, there are a number of personnel engaged in front office services. The telephone operator, booking manager, the porters and the administrators are all involved. Victoria Place has a relationship manager who deals with VIP guests. Other services done by the front office include booking, luggage delivery, commutation services and cashing of money.  Special occasions like weddings and anniversaries are also catered for by Victoria Place.

5.4. Sales, customer care and complaint handling

The marketing department department creates different ways of selling holidays for its subsidiaries. Victoria Place has several of its own advertisements on such international television channels like the BBC and CNN. There are also billboard advertisements in Manchester to help promote the place as a conference hall in a serene environment outside the noisy city.

Victoria Place has one of the best customer care and the hotel prides itself on providing the best service to its customers. They ensure that every customer is heard and attended to. Customer care executives are picked from a university pool that is again retrained on the company requirements. The sequence of customer care services at Victoria Place is listen, acknowledge, respond, take action, report and follow up if the complaint cannot be resolved.

Although Victoria Place prides itself with the highest level of customer care to its customers, they however appreciate the fact that sometimes things can go wrong and when they do, the hotel management would like to hear about it. It considers this kind of information valuable feedback for the customers that they can use it to further improve its services. The company has given out its telephone number, email, fax and its post office number for customers to get in touch if they experience problems while on the hotels premises. With advancement in technology, customers can post their grievances directly on facebook and tweeter and expect a response within a day.

5.5. Legislation    

Boella and Pannett argue that hotels need to follow rules and legislations as they are the principal source of information.

Because the hotels are situated in the UK, they are under the jurisdiction of the English legal system. The hotels are under statutory law to abide by these rules and regulations. Some of these regulations that Victoria is bound by include;

The Business Names Act 1985 requires hotel owners display a notice showing the owners name or business name as appropriate. Stationary for the hotel must have the owner’s name, address and other relevant information. All invoices, business letters, purchase orders and accounting information also must show owners name. 

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 that requires hoteliers to take notice of substances that may cause injury or illness to staff. Employees need to be provided with protective clothing and avoid the need for hazardous handling. The Working Time Regulations 1998 protects staff against working throughout; it dictates rest breaks for staff, shift patterns and annual leave for all employees.  

1. 6.      Conclusion

From my own judgment is that Victoria Place is a poplar hotel with tourists and prides itself with having one of the highest standards. The hotel dictates and sets the pace for conferencing just out of town. The 400 bed capacity hotel during my study had a bed capacity of 349. The sales and marketing team have done great and should be commended.  The hotel has one of the best staff, right away from the front office. Customer care services come second to none. The hotel fully complies with the laws and regulations that govern establishment and running of hotels in the UK. 

On powers bestowed onto me, I fully recommend Victoria Place service and hope they will continue and even better their services to the public and attract more guests. Through this way, Victoria Place can expand and increase its bed capacity.