UNIT IV

WORKING IN HOSPITALITY

INDUSTRY

TEXT 1

A hotel is a complex operation. It includes places for people to sleep, to eat, to shop; there are often recreational facilities and areas for public gatherings. Because of its complexity, it is not possible to speak of a single career in the hotel industry, there is instead a wide variety of different careers.

The top people in the hotel industry are managers. The majority of them hold management positions in individual hotels, but some work in the executive offices of the hotel chains.

The principal function of management is to coordinate all the different activities that take place in a hotel. The managerial personnel must therefore have a broad range of experience in the various departments of a hotel.

One of the most important divisions of the hotel's administrative staff is the accounting department. Hotel accounting has many distinctive features because guests' bills must be kept up-to-date. All charges that a guest incurs must be entered, or posted,in hi or her account as soon as possible. In addition to the charge for the guest's room, there may also be charges resulting from the use о telephone, the laundry service, the restaurant and room service.

The size of the accounting staff varies with the size of the hotel. A large operation employs a chief accountant, who's in charge of all the hotel's financial records. The statements that he prepares forthe management are important in locating trouble spots in the hotel's operation and thus in determining overall policies. A good accountant can analyze an unprofitable operation quickly. Management then can either try to correct the problem or eliminate theoperation. A small hotel usually employs an outside accountant to check its books periodically.

Some hotel management people have worked their way to the top without formal education in the field. They combined in-the-job experience with the special talents and personal qualities that are necessary for a successful hotel career.

It should be noted that one necessary personal characteristics in hotel management, and indeed throughout the hotel world, is the desire to serve and please the guests. The hotel business is often called the hospitality industry because of the importance of genuine warmth in dealing with the guests.

The executive staff of a hotel includes many people with special skills, experience or professional training. The promotion staff, for example, must know not only the hotel field, but also advertising and public-relations techniques. The head housekeeper runs a complex organisation with many employees, she needs to know the intricacies of purchasing on a large scale, as well as how to make beds and clean carpets properly.

The members of the engineering and maintenance staffs need education, expertise, and experience which in a large hotel may be very diverse.

The chefs and cooks, even though they are out of sight of the public, are important to the success of a hotel. Sometimes food and beverage department in some hotels brings in more income than room rentals. Good cooking is a skill that requires natural aptitude;indeed, many people consider cooking an art. In France and Switzerland, people who wish to become chefs often begin to work as apprentices at an early age. They are trained by an experienced chef in all aspects of kitchen work, cooking and restaurant management. A head chef must be an expert not only in cooking itself, but also in planning, purchasing and supervising other kitchen personnel.

Most of the remaining workers in the hotel world can be classified skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled. The carpenters and upholsterers in maintenance, the plumbers and electricians in engineering, and the gardeners in the ground department are among the workers usually classified as skilled. They all require special aptitudes combined with special training. Semi-skilled workers include waiters and chambermaids, who must have training for their particular duties.

Examples of unskilled workers are the helpers and dishwashers in the kitchen or the laborers who perform such chores as loading or unloading shipments of supplies and equipment.

The largest number of hotel employees fall into the semi-skilled and unskilled categories. Every hotel must fill many of these jobs, and this fact is one of the attractions in creating a diverse tourist industry.

Another phenomenon of the hotel industry is that it creates employment for a number of people who cannot be considered typical hotel personnel. This is especially true for resort hotels with recreational facilities. Cocktail lounges and nightclubs employ entertainers and musicians. Outdoor recreational facilities make use of the skills of people with a background in sports such as golf, tennis, skiing and swimming.

A majority of employees in a hotel have some degree of contact with the guests, ranging from "frequent" on the front desk/reception to "occasional" for chambermaids and housemen.

Contact with the public means that hotel employees should have a genuine desire to please and serve the public.

Many resort areas suffered a sharp loss of business because of stories carried back home by visitors about a negative attitude on the part of employees in hotels where they stayed.

In the age of international travel, language ability is also a definite aid in hotel work. Most hotels now serve guests from many countries. Any employee who meets and talks to the customers has an advantage if he or she can communicate in the guests' language or in the international languages like English or French.

The economic benefits in hotel work can be very substantial. The top people in management, the staff in the chain headquarters, executive housekeepers, and food and beverage managers receive good salaries. Owner-managers of small hotels can make a comfortable living, combined with economic independence. Top chefs are also very well paid. There is often sharp competition in hiring them.

Many hotel employees receive additional income from tips. Bellmen, waiters and waitresses, bartenders, captains, doormen and chambermaids customarily supplement their wages through tips.

Besides pay from salaries, wages and tips, some hotel employees also receive other benefits. The manager of a hotel, for instance, usually has a room or even a suite at his disposal; many managers live permanently in their hotels. Except for the executive staff, most hotel employees wear uniforms while they are working, thus saving a considerable amount of money on clothing. For employees in the hotel-chain headquarters or on the promotional staff there are often frequent opportunities for travel.

Hotels also offer opportunities for part-time work. There are a number of consulting firms that specialize in various areas of hotel-related work. A consultant is called in on a temporary basis for a fee to give advice or to perform a special job. Consultants are available in such fields as hotel design and planning, the development of recreational facilities, accounting.and overall management and operational problems.

The financial condition of a hotel is often discussed in terms of its occupancy rate,i.e. the percentage of rooms or beds occupied during a given period. The higher the percentage over a longer Period, the more successful the hotel is. The staff of the hotel can do a great deal to assure a high occupancy rate, not only through fteir efficiency in their jobs but also through their manner of serving the guests.

The hotel business is a service industry, and one of the services that it sells is a pleasant atmosphere. The employees of a hotel create that atmosphere.