THE ABC OF HOSPITALITY

Index
Lesson Topic Page
No.
001 Hospitality & the Hotel industry 1
002 Classification of Hotels 16
003 The Departments of a Hotel and their Objectives 24
003A The Hotel Organisation Chart 27
004 The Hotel Front Office Organisation 28
004A The Organisation Chart of Front Office 32
005 The Front Office and its Intra & Interdepartmental Relationship 33
006 The Types of Rooms 38
007 Some Important Abbreviations & Definitions I & II 41
007A Front Office -Reservation Section 44
008 Front Office – Registration 52
009 Front Office – Information 60
009A Front Office- Shift-wise Duties of a Receptionist 63
010 Front Office - Room Report & Room Statistics 64
011 Front Office – The Bell Desk & Concierge 66
012 Front Office- The Cashier & The Night Audit 70
013 F&B Service – Outlets 77
014 F&B Service – Organisation & its Hierarchy 89
015 F&B Service – Interdepartmental Relationship 93
016 F&B Service – Ancillary Sections +7 96
017 F&B Service – A Typical Restaurant Floor Plan 99
018 F&B Service – Service Equipment 100
019 F&B Service - The Menu & its Courses 112
020 F&B Service – The Setting of a Dinning Hall 120
021 F&B Service – Breakfast & Afternoon Tea 126
022 F&B Service – The Service of Food – The Rules- The Styles & The 131
Sequence
023 F&B Service – The Restaurant Control System 138
024 F&B Service – Beverages & Its Classification 142
024A F&B Service – Various Types of Coffee Preparation 154
025 F&B Service – Service of Beverages 160
026 Housekeeping - Organisation & Operation 165
026A Housekeeping – The Organisation Chart 177
027 Food Production – Organisation 178
027A Food Production – The Organisation Chart 184
028A Food Production – The Methods of Food Preparation & Cooking 185
028B Food Production – The Basic Cookery- Stocks, Soups, Sauces & Gravies 188
029 Food Production – A Brief Knowledge on Food Materials 195
029A Food Production – A Brief Knowledge on Production Equipments 206
030 The French Menu Terms 211

001 -HOSPITALITY & THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

Hospitality- The word “hospitality” has a varied application. It can be applied
Introduction with the persons whom we visit day to day, their utmost concern to
&Definition
please you upon your visit or just taking care of your needs when you
are away from home. So hospitality becomes applicable only when
one is out of his home, in an unknown scenario, where he is taken
care of and made to feel comfortable. It also means actions by which
one can achieve satisfaction of others or by performance of various
acts by which a visitor would remember the performer and cherish his
company upon his returning back home. It also means ways by which
one goes an extra mile to do something to make the visitor feel a
home away from home, a feel good factor that works on him, totaling
to the warmth, affection and total concern of the host. In other words
it is the attitude of the people serving, i.e., the host how he makes his
guest’s/guests’ visit memorable and a pleasant experience.

Therefore, hospitality is ways or actions adopted by the host by
which a visitor is being made to feel comfortable and at home.

The Importance of One may often ask why we should practice hospitality. Now in this
Hospitality. world where we continually render our services, one is the giver
whom we can term as the “seller” and the other is the receiver or in
other words the “customer”. It is also true that you may offer services
as a seller and it is up to the choice of the customer to accept it or not.

Now, hospitality can be extended at one’s home with equal
importance is in business. The services a business sector would
provide are more or the less same, but the way a customer is looked
after can be different. And this makes hospitality so important. Here,
it is also important to remember that a customers needs are ever
changing and keeping in pace with their needs a well motivated
hospitality industry would always modify according to the needs of
its customers. Since, the customers keep one business going and the
customers are always comparing the services they receive with what
they pay for it and the add-on what they get from the establishment –
the feel good factor, therefore it is important.

Application of Hospitality is an industry by itself being and its principal can be
Hospitality applied in many industries. The principal participators being the
Hotel and Tourism and the other areas where hospitality can be
applied are listed below.

a) Hotel Sector.
b) Travel Sector- Tourism, Transportation, Travel gents & Tour
Operators.
c) BPO Sector.
d) Retail Outlet Sector.
e) Banking Sector.

The ABC Of Hospitality 1


f) Nursing & Hospital Sector.
g) Customer Care Services.
h) Event Management Industry.
i) Recreation, Entertainment & Festivals.
j) Corporate Houses.
k) Manufacturing Industries.
l) F& B Service & Food Production.
m) Small business Entrepreneurs.

The Rules for Hospitality refers to pleasing of guests. To please a guest there are
Customer/ Guest two rules.
Satisfaction
● Rule 1:- The guest is always right.

● Rule 2:- Even, according to you, if he is wrong, apply Rule No: –
1.

The Hotel Industry- The hotel is defined as a place where one can be offered with food,
Definition & drinks and shelter in exchange of money, provided he is in the
History
position to pay and is in a fit condition to be received.

The need for a hotel arose, perhaps, with the urge to travel and with
the latter getting the impetus from the invention of wheels the
necessity of a home away from home increased.

The early travelers were the warriors, the traders or the people in
search of knowledge. In those times there were no hotels and people
traveled on palanquins, horses, elephants and donkeys. The warriors
pitched their tents for accommodation and had their own garrison to
feed them. The traders often traded their merchandise for lodging or
were sometimes respected by the nobilities and the scholars often
gained patronization from the kings and nobilities.

People formed groups, acquired lands, formed villages and cities and
kingdoms. Rulers came up to rule upon them. Wheels were invented
and roads started getting constructed initially for the movement of
the army. Chariots, animal driven carts came into being and along
with it travel started among the civilians as well namely among the
traders, pilgrims and the scholars.

Necessity arose to give shelter to these travelers and inns were
constructed. The early hotels, the inns, as they were called dates
back to the 6th century BC. It was a family enterprise and was very
much different to the hotels as we see today. There was no privacy.
People had to carry their own beddings and make their own bed. The
food was just wholesome and healthy. Entertainment was provided
by the inn keeper’s wife and daughter. There were stables to keep



their carts and feed the animals.

In Europe, during 7th and the 8th Century BC, the monasteries
provided shelter and food to the travelers. But incidentally, these
monasteries had a very little capacity to give shelter to a huge fleet
of travelers which later started coming up in groups in order to
protect themselves from highwaymen and eventually a need for
larger accommodation arose.

In 13th Century the Manor houses of the nobilities provided food and
shelter free of cost. But in time, the free services offered by these
manor houses were crippled by taxes and many had to reform their
establishments as inns.

In this way the need of hotel keeping came up and the lead was taken
up Switzerland. It was in this part of Europe the birth or organized
hotels came up in form of Chalets (small wooden house) and small
hotels that provided a lot of services. In England there were public
houses that came to be called as Inns – for the nobilities and the
taverns for the commoners. In France too there came up a
classification of superior hotels – the Hosteller for the rich people
and the Cabarets for the commons. In Americas the lodging houses
were called Inns and Coffee Houses.

The industrial revolution gave way to the discovery of steam engine,
which in turn gave way to a wide network connection by rail.
Industrial revolution over threw feudalism and the economy started
getting shared among the middle class section of the society.
Traveling and boarding became easier and at the same time
affordable to a wider cross section of the community.

Consequently, the hotel industry boomed in the 18th Century with the
opening of the City Hotel in 1794 in New York. This hotel was built
by an American E M Statler and this was the first where the entire
building was constructed for the hotel purpose. Throughout the 1800
the American innkeepers improved their services and continued to
build larger and amply equipped properties and such properties were
mostly located near sea towns.

The next stage of the cycle of the evolution of the hotel industry was
coming up of the motorcars which in turn necessitated in
constructing a wide network of roadways. It enabled to visit those
parts of the country which could not be traveled by railways. This
gave birth to inland resorts. Along with this new concept there arose
another necessity to stopover en-route arose. Especially to re-fresh
oneself and service and refuel their cars. This gave way, especially
among the Americans to construct such transit hotels which came to



be called as motor hotels.

International air travel came into existence. This helped to create
modern stop over hotels, business hotels, need based hotels, airport
hotels, designed to suit every need of the customers and more
specifically international chain operations throughout the country
and the world ensuring easy access to the homes away from homes.

Development & In the early periods in India, hospitality was not organized but was
Growth of Hotels in provided either by an individual or village bases. But nevertheless,
India
the guests were held in high esteem and they were regarded as
“Athiti deva Bhava” a guest is like God.

People who generally traveled, were on government missions who
had their own set ups. The other groups comprised of the pilgrims,
businessmen and the scholars and students. The students usually
became disciples of educational instructors who were called
“Gurus,” and it was in their homes the students stayed and learned
the necessary texts during the years of their tutelage. The
accommodation and the food were taken care of by the guru and
many times the students were taught to cook their own meals. The
businessmen and traders often traveled together and lodged at
mansions and havelis of the noblemen. The pilgrims had to board the
dharmsalas and were looked after their own religious people called
the pandas at the place of the pilgrimage. It was later discovered that
in the Buddhist universities and monasteries in Taxila and Nalanda
provided accommodation to students and scholars.

In India too the development of the hotel industry was closely linked
with travel. Inns, which were called “serais”, were set up at strategic
places which served as a stopover. Such evidence is still being borne
by the name of a place a “Mughalserai” which was about just half
the distance from Delhi the capital and Murshidabad, the seat of the
Bengal’s nawabs. Even the Grand Trunk Road had innumerable inns
to meet the demands of the passersby.

It was with the coming of the British the hospitality industry took on
a large scale shape. Many of the serais changed its décor and type of
food according to the liking of the British. In 1840 a Parsi gentleman
– Pallanjee Pestonjee opened a hotel in Bombay which was as good
as that maintained by any British and it was famous for its food and
beer. Later more hotels like Auckland Hotel, Great Eastern hotel
came into being. The Taj Group was founded in 1903 by JRD Tata
with its maiden Hotel constructed at the Gateway of India –
Mumbai. Mr. M S Oberoi started his career as an hotelier by buying
the Ceceil Hotel, Shimla in 1934. A brief history of the hotel
industry both internationally and in India are discussed



chronologically in the following pages.

YEAR EVENT
1846 Central Heating
1859 Elevator
1881 Electric Lights (2 years after patent)
1907 In-room Telephones (31 years after invention)
1910 Formation of American Hotel Association (later *AHMA) was formed, now**AHLA
1927 Radio in rooms (21 years after invention)
1940 Air cooling mostly in public area
1950 Electric elevator
1958 Free television
1964 Holiday Inn reservation system with centralized computer
1965 Message light on telephone
1965 Initial Front office systems followed by room status
1970 Color T.V. (invented in 1954)
1970 (Early) E.C.R. (Electronic Cash Register)
1970 (Mid) POS (Point of Sales) system and key less locks
1973 Free In-room movies (Sheraton)
1983 In room personal computers

*AHMA: - American Hotel & Motel Association
** AHLA: - American Hotel & Lodging Association
________________________________________________________________________

YEAR EVENT
1650 Pascal opened a café in Paris and Coffee House in London
1794 City Hotel (73 rooms) at 115 Broadway, New York. First building specially
made for a hotel by E.M. Statler.
1829 Tremont House. Adam & Eve of modern hotel industry was opened at Boston
(170 rooms)
1889 Cesar Ritz introduced luxury hotels such as Savoy, Carlton and Hyde Park
hotels in London
1890-1899 Frederick Gordon and Sir Blundell Maple launched Gordon Hotels and
Fredrick Hotels Ltd.
Late 19th Century Famous Waldorf Astoria, New York
18. 01.1908 Buffalo Sattler by Ellsworth Statler in U.S. considered being the forerunner of
the commercial hotels.
1927 Stevens Hotel in Chicago, later renamed as Hilton Hotel (3000 rooms)



1950 2 new concepts emerged: (a) Motels (b) International Chain operations.
Hotel Rossia or Rossiya Moscow (Remained largest hotel of the world for quite sometime)
West Inn Stanford Singapore (Remained tallest hotel building of the world for quite sometime)

1930- Depression in World Decline in Hotel Industry
Economy
World War period Many trained staff joined the army, lowering the standards of service, but the
business thrived, increasing the room occupancy percentage due to mass
movement to approximately 90%.
1950s Upsurge in hotels. New concepts developed such as motels, boatels,
floatels, rotels, and loatels.
Kemmons Wilson formed ‘Holiday Inn’ and the first Holiday Inn was
made in 1952.
1960s Development of Atrium Hotels by Hyatt.
Individual hotels merged themselves with hotels chains like Sheraton,
Hyatt, Holiday Inns, Ramada Inns, etc.
Later part of the 60s offered Budget Hotels & Motels.
1970s The hotel industry took once again the frenzy of hotel construction. Hilton,
Sheraton, and Western Corp, opened convention oriented hotels. Airport
Hotel locations also appeared and the Marriotts started locating their
properties outside the central city area. Aided by financers money became
available and so also the franchisees. But on the other these franchisees
were often undercapitalized and lacked in experience whish resulted in
poorly located properties. Certain other problems also cropped up-
Energy crisis causing in curtailment of travel,
Inflation causing construction cost and interest rates going high,
Recession controlled business trips, conferences and conventions,
Due to above situations, the properties running in marginal profits could not
pat their mortgage amount and the leaders became the owners who hired
experienced hoteliers and outsourced their management to professional
companies to manage the operational responsibilities.
Current Scenario Since then a lot of changes in the technological and management approach
have taken place and today’s hotel industry is progressing day by day.
International business is rapidly developing and with the development of air
travel, a lot of business executives are traveling out. Modern hotels are
rendering facilities according to the needs and wants of the tourists and the
business class.
Some international hotel chains of repute that rendering a world class service
are -
Accor. American International Hotel & Travel Lodge, CEDOK, Club
Meridian, Friendship Inn, Golden Tulip, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Howard
Johnson, Hyatt, Imperial, Inter Continental, Marriott, Meridian, Motel 6,
Park Royal, Quality Inns, Ramada Inn, Red Carpet Inn, Red Roof Inns,
Sheraton, Sofitel, SRS Hotels, Super 8 Motels, Topeka Inns, Trust House
Fort, United Inn, Utell International, Western International Hotel, Wolfe
International, etc.

_______________________________________________________________________



YEAR/PERIOD EVENT
Early Period Was not organized- provided either by individual or village bases
Later Buddhist Monasteries provided board & lodging to travelers.
Chandra Gupta Maurya Establishment of Inns and guest houses
Muslim Period Establishment of Musafir Khanas & Serais *
With the coming of the Serais started developing into inns & western style hotels in cities like
Britishers Calcutta & Bombay.
Early Period of the British Raj Establishment of:-
Excellent & famous inns- Portuguese Georges, Parsee Georges, Paddy
Georges,
Famous hotels – Albion Hotel, Victory Hotel, Hope Hal(tariff @ Rs6/- per
day for room & meals)
From the records it is being noted that
In 1778 a traveler named Philip Stanhope stayed in a luxurious &
excellent tavern in Bombay
Prince David who visited India stayed at a luxurious hotel- Mac Farlanes
Hotel
In 1800 a dinner was held to commemorate the capture of
Shrirangapatnam was served at MacLean’s Hotel. This same hotel
remained a resort for many years for Sans Souci Club which entertained
Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson and Sir Arthur Wellesley.
1810 – Din Muhammad set sail to London to open the first Indian
Restaurant-Hindustani Coffee House
1840 Pallanjee Pestonjee started the first luxurious hotel in Bombay.
1843 Establishment of Auckland Hotel in Calcutta later came to be known as Great
Eastern Hotel in 1858. It was later renovated for a sum of 10 lacs.
1871 Building of Esplanade hotel in Calcutta by a British named John Wakson.
End of 19th century Coming up of guest houses- Dak-Bungalows for official touring purposes
which later replaced by modified Circuit House.
1903 Construction of Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay by J. R. D. Tata, under the
flagship of Indian Hotel Company. A first hotel operation that took up as a
chain built by an Indian for the Indians.
1912 Spencers’ started hotel business in Calcutta. They were better known with
railway catering as well.
1922 Raj Bahadur M.S. Oberoi started his career as a clerk in Faletti’s Cecil Hotel
in Shimla, under Clarke’s’s Group who later became the owner of the hotel
and bought another hotel under Clarke’s at Delhi.In 1946 he established
Oberoi Hotels private Limited and later on 26th May, 1949, established East
India hotels Limited (EIHL). Many hotels were added during the period
among which Oberoi Intercontinental in 1965 in New Delhi & Oberoi
Sheraton in 1973 are the most important ones.
1962 Drop of tourist influx, from 1, 39, 804 to 1, 34, 360, Government realized the
importance of tourism and establishment of Hotel Corporation &Ttourism
Corporations.



1956 1) Ashoka Hotel was made, and
2) Dewan Lal committee was formed to-
standardize hotel services,

YEAR/PERIOD EVENT

1956 (Cont’d)
lay criteria for classification of hotels
suggest guidelines for tourism promotion in India and within India
Suggest improvements of the existing arrangements and availability of
sources for the promotion of national and international tourism,
Suggest rate structure keeping in view the existing price structure in
hotel industry.
1964 Formation of Corporations
Indian Tourism & Hotel Corporation
India Tourism Corporation Ltd.
India tourism & Transport Corporation
1966, 24th September The Government of India decided to merge these three Corporations &
formed India Tourism Development Corporation.
The Early Seventies Coming up of Indian chain operations. Welcome Group, The Oberois with
their corporate office as East India Hotel Limited, the Spencer Group, the
Ritz Chain, with other chain operators like Sinclairs to follow.
The Early Eighties With India hosting the Asiad, many International Hotel Chains saw the
potential of hotel industry in the Indian market
The Present Status Coming up of international chain operations. Some chain operations
operating on franchise basis-Sheraton, Hilton, Ramada, Sofitel, Meridien,
Hyatt, and Marriott.
This period also saw some Indian Chains going international; mainly the
Indian Hotel Company the corporate of the Taj Group, the East India Hotels
Ltd., spread its operation abroad as well.
________________________________________________________________________

NAMES DESCRIPTIION & LOCATION

Qutub Serai At the entrance of the tomb of Kamali Jamali. It had 50 feet deep baoli in its
courtyard.
Ladha Serai Also known as Bagh Nazir, it is 300 yards south of the tomb of Jamali. It was built in
1748.
Lado Serai Also in the same vicinity, it was originally a caravan serai.
Sarban Serai It is in Kamlapati garden, very close to Delhi—Qutub Road.
Daud Serai It is situated 500 yards south of the tomb of Maulana Kuli Khan in Qutub Area
Kallu serai Built during the Tughlaq Period, it is in the vicinity of Sarvpriya Vihar area, its main
feature, a rubble masonry building, is called Bijay Mandal.
Arab ki Serai It was built in 1560-61 by Hamida Banu Begum, wife of Humayun, as a settlement of



300 Arabs, whom she had brought with her while returning from pilgrimage to Mecca.
Sheikh Serai It was named after the popular saint Sheikh Allauddin who lived there and had his
tomb during his lifetime.

NAMES ACTIVITIES
ITDC India Tourism Development Corporation, a public sector enterprise, was formed
upon merger or three corporations on 24th September, 1966, previously set up by the
Government of India in 1954 –
India Tourism & Hotel Corporation,
India Tourism Corporation Limited,
India Tourism & Transport Corporation, with an authorized capital of Rs. 5
crores.
Taj Group of Hotels In 1903, JRD Tata constructed the first hotel the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay under
the flagship of hotel of Indian Hotels Company and since then it has been the
landmark by Gateway of India. This was the first hotel of international standard built
by an Indian for the Indians. The Tajmahal hotel was the only hotel of the Tatas’ for a
long time and the revenue earned was spent for the research & development of
medicines for cancer in the Tata Memorial Research Institute in Bombay. But
nevertheless the hotel is rated among the ten best hotels in the world. Later the
company took over Ram Bagh Palace in Jaipur and Lake Palace in Udaipur. The Ram
Bagh Palace remained one of the ten best hotels of the world for quite a long time.
Later the group came up with many more hotels in Delhi, Madras. Kolkata, Goa,
Varanasi, Bangalore, and many other places in India. The group also operates abroad
with hotels in UK, USA, Oman, Maldives, Dubai, Sri Lanka. It also operates Flight
Catering Service with Flight Kitchens at Mumbai and Delhi.
Oberoi Hotels Rai Bahadur M S Oberoi, is the founder of this organisation. They had their first hotel
in Shimla and Delhi. Later they took over Grand Hotel in Calcutta on lease and by the
end of World War II, the hotel became well known for its excellent service and
facilities. In 1946 the company was formed in the name of Oberoi Hotels Private Ltd.,
and later in 1949 East India Hotel Limited (EIHL) was formed. Many hotels were
added to EIHL, among which Oberoi Intercontinental, New Delhi and Oberoi
Sheraton, Bombay are the most popular and acclaimed for its excellence in service.
The EIHL is now one of the largest hotel chains operating in India and also abroad
with properties in Australia, Indonesia, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Nepal, etc. Oberoi also has its
own training institute, (OCLD) in Delhi.
Welcome Group It is the hotel division of the (ITC) Indian Tobacco Co. Ltd. ITC entered into hotel
business in 1975 with the opening of Hotel Chola In Madras. The Welcom Group has
hotel in various cities in India such as Agra, Delhi, Aurangabad, Jaipur, Goa,
Gwalior, etc.
U.P. Hotels & The chain is more famous as Clarke’s Group of Hotels, established on 13 th February,
Restaurants Ltd. 1961. Clarke’s Shiraz, Agra was its first enterprise, which had some more add on in
later years - Clarke’s Awadh, Clarke’s Ajmer, Clarke’s at Lucknow, Jaipur and
Varanasi respectively.
Ritz Chain The chain is owned by R N Kapur family with hotels in Mumbai, Hyderabad, &
Conoor. The chain has dinning outlets that specializes in Italian cuisine.
Spencers Started hotel business in Calcutta in 1912. It has operations mainly in South India. It
has several hotels in Madras-Hotel Connamera, West End Hotel in Bangalore, Hotel
Malabar at Cochin & Trivandrum, Hotel Blue Mountains in Kotagiri, Hotel Savoy in
Ooty, Hotel Arakua in Bangalore, and three vegetarian hotels in Madras – Geetha,
Ashoka And Ajanta.
Sinclairs A chain of hotels operating in eastern part of India, with hotels at Darjeeling, Takdah,
Siliguri, Ooty, Dooars and Port Blair.



Hotel Corporation of A subsidiary of Air India, which looks after its flight catering. The chain has hotels in
India Bombay (opened in 1974) followed by hotels in Delhi, Srinagar, Rajgir, etc. The brand
name of the hotel chain in Centaur.

Leela Chain Hotels The chain is owned by Captt. C P Krishna Nair of Kerala. The specialty of this chain
is Butler Service, where the butlers are trained by former members of Royal house of
Windsor. They have named the coffee shops of all the hotels of their chain as ‘Citrus’
and the Indian Restaurants as ‘Jamewar.’
The chains have hotels in Mumbai, and Goa and Leela Palace at Bangalore
Asian Hotels The group has tied up with Hyatt chain and has hotels in Delhi, Goa, Mumbai and
Bangalore with further property in Jaipur and Agra
Apeejay Surrendra It started its first hotel as Park Hotel in Calcutta in 1967. Later it added large hotels
Group (Park Hotel) in Delhi & Chennai, and a resort hotel at Viskhapatnam to its group.
J.P. Hotels The group has hotels in Delhi, Agra and Mussoorie.
Sarovar Park Plaza This chain was started by ex-management team of Oberoi Group, namely with Mr.
Ajay Bakaya and Mr. Anil Madhok and has rapidly expanded its business through
franchisee management mode to hotels in Jaipur, Agra, Bangalore, Mumbai,
Ahmedabad, Gurgaon, and also abroad in countries like Belgium, Tanzania, Kenya,
etc.
Fortune group - ITC This was started in 2000 with the aim to primarily address the demand of Smaller
Business Hotels in satellite suburbs and have hotels in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida,
Vadodhara, Surat, and Ahmedabad.
Radisson Have hotel chains in Delhi, Goa, Mumbai, Shimla, Orissa, West Bengal, Jaipur. It is a
venture of Carlson Hospitality.
J. W. Marriott The chain has hotels in New Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Jaipur & Agra.
Star Hotels They have hotels in Nainital, New Delhi, & Allahabad
Roop Kumaon The hotels operating under this chain are – Hotel Roop Kumaon, near Ramgarh,
Uttaranchal, and Corbett Roop, & Resort Mohan near Ram Nagar, Uttaranchal.
Chevron Hotels & Have hotel properties Rosemount at Ranikhet, and Fairheavens at Nainital and at
Resorts Kumaon.
________________________________________________________________________

THE PALACE ACTIVITIES

Maharaja Hari Singh Palace The first palace to be converted to Oberoi Hotel, Srinagar.
Maharaja of Jaipur His palace was converted to Ram Bagh Hotel
Maharaja of Udiapur The third to convert his palace to Lake Palace in Pichola Lake in
collaboration with Taj
Jodhpur Palace Taken over by the Oberois

Jaisalmer Palace These palaces were later converted to hotels
Bikaner Palace

Lakshmi Vilas Palace of Udaipur The palace initially belonged to Maharaja Bhupal Singh

Lalitha Mahal Plalace,Mysore Being converted to hotel properties
Halycon Palace of Travancore
Maharaja,

Ushakiran Palace, Gwalior Another Palace hotel of repute.



Jai Mahal Palace They are also converted or being converted into hotel properties.
Jalmahal & Rajmahal palace

THE PALACE ACTIVITIES
Chamundi Hill Palace Also being converted to a hotel
Bolgathy Palace A palace near Cochin Fort, the Residence of former British residents
of Southern States, is also being converted to a hotel.

NAMES ACTIVITIES
Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata The founder of the Taj Group of Hotels. He formed the Indian Hotels
Company (IHC), in 1897 and built exquisitely beautiful Taj Mahal Hotel
in Mumbai. The hotel started its operation in 1803and has been a
landmark by the Gateway of India ever since. The Taj Mahal Hotel,
Mumbai is rated among the 10 best hotels in the world.
Mohan Singh Oberoi The Chairman and the founder of the Oberoi Hotels was born in August
1900, in Bhaun- a small village now in Pakistan. After his marriage in
1922, he arrived penniless in Shimla and found himself a job as a front
office clerk in Hotel Cecil at a salary of Rs.40/- per month. Some years
later he took up a job with Clarke’s Hotel in Shimla and gained
experience all aspects in hotel operations. In 1934 he bought Clarke’s
Hotel mortgaging all his assets, including his wife’s jewellery. In early
1930s cholera broke out in Calcutta, the city was deserted and in the
event grand hotel had to close. In 1938 Mr. M S Oberoi acquired the
hotel and converted into a profitable business venture. Till today Grand
Hotel remains the city’s most luxurious hotel. In 1943 he took over
Associated Hotels in India (AHI) with 8 hotels including hotel Cecil in
Shimla, Maiden’s and Imperial’s in Delhi, and 4 hotels which are now in
Pakistan. The Oberoi Intercontinental in Delhi which was opened in
1965, was the first modern luxury hotel in the capital. The Oberoi
Towers in Mumbai was opened in 1973. Mr. Oberoi’s dedication to hotel
industry was evident through launching Oberoi’s own training institute-
Oberoi Center for Learning & Development (OCLD). Mr. Oberoi was
named as the “Man of the World” for 1983 at the Annual Hotel
Convention of the International Hotel Association, New York and was
selected as the “Outstanding Hotelier of the Year” by the Hotels and
Restaurants International.
Lala Ram Parshad Mr. Lala Ram Parshad is considered as one of the pioneers of the Hotel
Industry in India. In 1946 he purchased two hotels in Mussoorie in UP
and operated one hotel in Bokaro. He was appointed as the Technical
Director of Hotel Ashok, during its construction period and was the first
Asian to be elected as the executive member of the International Hotel
Association (IHA) in 1969. He was amongst the first few hoteliers to
realize the importance of trained manpower in the industry and was
associated with various Hotel Management Institutes & and Food Craft
Institutes in India.



GROUPS NAME OF THE HOTEL LOCATION



Importance of Hotel The hospitality industry, like any other industries, has its
as an Industry commitment, to the society and help in the growth of the country’s
economy, and hence importance cannot be ignored.

Some of its services that it renders are enumerated below:

1. Provider of Facilities:
It provides venue for holding meetings and conferences,
transaction of business and center for recreation and
entertainment.

2. Source of Attraction for Visitors:
For many people the hotels area source of attraction where they
come and visit. While doing so they also bring with them the
spending power which becomes and earning to the hotel which in
turn becomes earning for the society.

3. Foreign Currency Earner:
The foreigners who stays in the hotel they en-cash their countries
currency to the local currency. This, specially for a developing
country, is turn increases the reserve of the foreign currency of
that other country which is financially stronger than this country.

4. Employer of Labour:
Like any other industry it engages manpower in exchange of
salary and wages thus increasing the employment status of that
and giving and impetus to the economic condition of that region.

5. Impetus for Manpower Development:
The Hospitality Industry requires engagement of professionals.
Throughout the world there are various manpower development
institutes training in Hospitality- like Cornell University, USA,
Lusanne Hotel School, France, Institute of Hotel Management
Catering technology & Applied Nutrition, India, etc. the
educational centers are acting like infrastructure to manpower
development.

6. Outlet for Product of Other Industries.
Various materials staring from constructional, electrical,
plumbing, draperies, agro products, and many more are required
by the industry. These items when being purchased improves the
economy of that particular industry. Like if everyday the total
consumption of fish by all the hotels sums up to Rs.200, 00, 000,



then the economy of the fisheries industry is earning that sum of
money.

7. Amenities for Local Residents:
The Local residents can also hold various meetings, conferences,
get together, birthday parties, marriage function, etc. or even
come in the restaurants to dine and drink. Thus this gives
business to the hotel industry which indirectly pays the economy
of the nation.

8. Tax Earner:
The hotels levy taxes to the customers on the services they
provide which are in turn paid to the Government. Thus it helps
the Government to earn tax for the development of the country.

9. Facilitate in Regional and Infrastructural Development:
With the construction of a hotel it becomes necessary to connect
it with improved roads, well constructed bridges, well developed
surroundings, new bus services, etc which were not there
previous to the coming of the hotel. Thus with coming up of the
hotel there is a development of the basic systems and services.

10. Instrument for projecting Cultural Heritage and Image of the
Nation:
It helps a foreigner in understanding the cultural heritage of that
country with its décor, cuisine, the art of welcoming, dressing of
uniformed staff etc.

11. Aiding the Growth of Waste Recycling Industry:
A great volume of waste from disposables bottles to peels of
vegetables and burnt oil is generated which if disposed carefully
to the waste recycling industry it would aid in their flourish.

Ill Effects of Some of the bad effects are:-
Hospitality:
1. Depletion of Cultural Heritage :
The local tradition and belief may be discarded by the visit of the
people from other backgrounds and thus there can be a cultural
loss to that community.

2. Environmental Pollution:
The tourist leave behind a huge volume of waste which if not
cared for can cause an environmental pollution.

3. Loss of Ecological Balance:
With increase of visitors there can be a loss of ecological
balance, like a bird sanctuary may get devoid of birds by visit of



tourists in large numbers or in hills the local temperature of that
place may rise causing in avalanche.

4. Rise in Cost of Living:
The tourists tend to buy even a trifle item at an exorbitant price
thereby increasing the selling price of the commodities and
making a rise in the cost of living of the local people.


002 -THE CLASSIFICATION OF HOTELS

The Basis of A hotel may be classified under the following criteria
Classification
1. Size
2. Plan
3. Location
4. Length of Stay
5. Ownership
6. Type of Accommodation
7. Facilities

The explanation of the above classification are as below:

Classification of The classification of hotels by size
Hotels by Size ● does not refer to the dimension of the property or the height of
the building.
● It refers to the number of rooms held by the hotel.
● Such rooms do not include the offices and other area that are
related to the operation of the hotel.
● It simply refers to those rooms that are assigned to guests
for accommodation purposes.

Therefore accordingly, when the hotels are

Referred as It means they have

Small Maximum 25 room

Medium Minimum 26 rooms and maximum 100 rooms

Large Minimum 101rooms and maximum 300 rooms

Very Large More than 300 rooms

Classification of Plans mean a tariff rate for the services given by the hotel. They are
Hotels by Plan commonly known a meal plans. Generally there are 5 types of plans
and the services they include are as below:

Plan Services

European Plan : This includes only the room
Continental Plan : Room + Continental Breakfast
Bermuda Plan : Room + American Breakfast
American Plan : Room + 2*minor meals and 2**principal
meals
Modified American : Room +Anyone of the *minor meals +
Plan Anyone of the **principal meals



There is one more plan, which is not a meal plan. Contrarily, it is a
package rendered to the guest, which is known as

Go Plan : This means when a guest is staying in a chain hotel
operation, under this plan he need not pay at every
hotel while he checks out. He can settle his final
bill at the last hotel where he stays at the end of his
itinerary.

*minor meals : Breakfast & Afternoon tea
**principal meals : Lunch and dinner

Classification On This way of classifying a hotel is as per where these hotels are
the Basis of situated. The classification under this group may be as follows:
Location

1. Downtown Hotels.

Parameters Criteria

Location: Heart of the city, i.e., busy business/commercial areas

Clientele Mostly businessmen and sometimes tourists.

Facility Modern facilities, e.g., 24 hours Coffee Shop,
Specialty Restaurants, 24 hours Room Service,
Business Centre, Centrally located AC rooms,
Discotheque, Swimming Pool, Shopping Arcade,
and Travel Desk.

Duration of 3-7 days
stay

2. Transit Hotels.

Parameters Criteria

Location: Near the port of entry, e.g., Sea Port, Air Port, Bus
Terminal, Railway Station.

Clientele ***Layover passengers, ****Misconnected
passengers, Businessmen & tourists in transit

Facility Modern Facilities.

Duration of Few hours to few days
stay



***Layover passengers: Passengers whose flight is delayed for various reasons
****Misconnected passengers: Passengers who missed their connecting flights.
3. Resort Hotels.

Parameters Criteria

Location: Resort places like Hill Stations, Sea Beaches,
Forests, etc.

Clientele Holiday makers, Tourists, and sometimes
Businessmen.
Facility Moderate to modern facilities.

Duration of Few weeks to months.
stay

4. Motels or Motor Hotels.

Parameters Criteria
Location: On Highways

Clientele Motorists, Tourists and sometimes Businessmen.

Facility Moderate to modern facilities.

Features They include:
a Parking space against each room.
b Refueling station.
c Garage facility.
d Swimming pool.

Duration of Mostly overnight.
stay
Length of Stay A. On Long term Basis
1. Residential Hotels.

Parameters Criteria
Location: Anywhere in the city or in suburbs.

Clientele Students or small businessmen who have stay away
from home for a longer period. .

Facility Basic ones – like accommodation and food.

Features Rent is paid monthly of quarterly.

Duration of Few months to years.
stay



Length of Stay B. On Short Term Basis

1. Transit Hotels- Airport Hotels, Motor Hotels/Motels.

These have already been described earlier
Classification On 1. Independent Hotels:
the Basis of
Ownership These hotels are owned by independent ownership and they do not
have affiliation with any other property, or any tie-up with any
other hotels with regards to policy, procedures and financial
obligations.

The advantages of this type of hotels are:
a) They need not maintain a particular image.
b) They are not bound to maintain any set targets.
c) They can quickly adopt the changing trends.

2. Management Contractual Agreement :

Under this type of ownership, a contract is entered by the proprietor and
a second party who is termed as the operator. Usually, as per the contract

● The owner retains the legal and financial responsibilities.
● The operator pays the operating expenses and recovers from the
owner.
● Owner is responsible for paying the taxes, insurance and debts.

3. Chain Hotels :

When the hotels and motels owned by proprietor get affiliated with
one another they form chain hotel organisations. The affiliation,
which is usually controlled by a large centralised organisation,
gives manifold advantages over single ownership holdings. Some
of them are:

● Easy reservation for the guests.
● Improved managerial aids and skills.
● Easy knowledge exchange & transfer.
● Improved HR- development – more chances of promotions &
better staff training systems and curriculums.
● Improved financial strength.
● More operational expertise.
● Greater manpower.
● Contribution of specialties especially in fields of facilities.
● Easy merchandising of the products.



The affiliation can come up in three ways:

A) Variable terms of Affiliation:

Under this type of affiliation the two or more operations may
get affiliated with a Organisation having variable terms of
affiliation like – terms on operation and management in
compensation to an yearly fee, or terms on using the name of
the chain used by the franchisee subject to maintaining the
policy of the Organisation , in compensation to an yearly fee.
In the second case the Chain Organisation will have no power
on the employees of the hotel.

B) Referral Chain:

A referral chain is made up of independently owned and
operated hotel and motels and provides shared advertisements,
joint reservation system and standardized quality. Virtually
there is no shared management and financial functions.

C) Multi- Unit Company:

They operate under a corporate head office and own several
operations across the country and abroad.

Some Other Some hotels can also be classified as under
Classifications
i) International Hotels:
These hotels are situated in cities and provide modern, western
style luxury to the guests. They can also be termed as full
service hotels. Many such hotels are owned by international
chains. Such hotels find good market in commercial towns.

ii) Casino Hotels:
These hotels focus on gambling and have provision for casino.
They are very popular in America, particularly Las Vegas-
Nevada. Renowned artists are invited to perform and entertain
the guests.

iii) Condominiums:
They consist of large complex having furnished guest rooms,
suites, apartments or villas which are purchased by the
individuals who in turn enjoy all the facilities like parks,
swimming pools, playgrounds, tennis courts, function halls etc.
The maintenance of the complex is maintained by a
management. The public areas may be let out to outsiders
which in turn may be a source of earning of such complexes.



iv) Apartotel:
Fully furnishes apartment building also used as residential
hotels. Upon purchasing the owner is entitled to enjoy full
services of the hotel and during the period it is not occupied it
can earn for the hotel.

v) Auberge, Gasthof, Herberge:
It is the counterpart of inns in various countries. It represents a
smaller unit which may have complimentary bar, restaurant,
bedrooms for travelers. Here emphasis is given to eating and
drinking facilities.

vi) Boarding Houses:
They provide accommodation with meals for a definite period
of time generally for a week or longer.

vii) Holiday Villages:
Provides recreation and sporting facilities which is included with the
guests’ boarding, which are independent units with self-catering
(individual kitchen) facility.

viii) Time share Concept:
Here for a set period of time which may be one week or more
each year, for a number of years a person upon initial payment
of a sum of money and further yearly payment each year is
entitled to enjoy stay along with facilities and services in one
of the apartments of that property.

The initial payment is like a membership fee and the annual
subscription is to cover the maintenance charges of the various
equipments, facilities, public areas etc.

ix) Need Based Hotels:
These hotels are being made keeping in view of a particular
need of the customer. They are often referred as Ski hotel-
which encourages winter sports, or as Conference Hotels
consisting of large halls and rendering elaborate conference
facilities.

x) Boutique Hotels:
Here each room has distinct features characteristics. They are
small but expensive, professional service but at the same time
very personal and intimate. The restaurants are small and the
décor and food are all at par with the theme.

xi) Grani Hotels:
These hotels provide only accommodation.



Classification On Hotels can also be classified on the basis of type of accommodation.
the Basis of Type of They have the following features:
Accommodation
a) The standard of comfort is moderate to that of a hotel.
b) They self accommodate at much lower price.
c) They have an informal atmosphere.

They include :
Guest Houses, Youth hostel, Dormitories, Paying Guests, Dak
Bungalows, Holiday Homes, Circuit Houses, Sanitarium, Lodges
Boatels (hotels on house boats), Floatels (Hotels on luxury Liners),
Rotels (Hotels on Wheels), Lotels (Hotels with helipad facilities),
etc.

Classification On Hotels can also be classified according to the standard of facilities
the Basis of they render. This classification is conferred upon by a body which
Facilities
known as Hotel and Restaurant Approval Classification Committee
(HRACC). The hotels are classified with stars. A hotel which has
been thus rated has to appear before this committee once in every
third year for their standard being rechecked. The committee
comprises of the Secretary Tourism, Regional Director of Tourism,
Director or the Additional Director General of Tourism (state level),
members from the hotel industry (FHRAI), Travel Agents
Association of India (TAAI), and the Principal of the Regional
Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied
Nutrition.

The hotels who desire to get their hotels to be rated with stars they
have to procure a prescribed form, which is in a form of
questionnaire, where they have three categories of the required
facilities, viz.,
Essential (must have)
Necessary (should have)
Desired (may or may not have).

Each of the requirements after being filled the form is sent to the
Committee. The requirements have certain marks set. The committee
visits the hotel and after due evaluation awards marks against those
requirements.

The grades of stars are 5 star deluxe, 5 star, 4 star, 3 star, 2 star. And
1 star.

For a 5 star classification a hotels must have:
i) 25 lettable bedrooms
ii) the approach and environs suitable for the hotel industry.
iii) All the public rooms should be fully air conditioned ( in case of



hill areas should have heating arrangements)
iv) All rooms must have well appointed attached bathrooms with
long baths or should be equipped with most modern shower
chambers.
v) The Kitchen, Pantry and the Cold Storage should be
professionally designed to ensure efficiency and should be well
equipped.
vi) There should be ladies’ and gentlemen’s cloakrooms, and the
cloakrooms should be spotlessly clean and equipped with
available highest standard of furniture and fittings.
vii) The construction and the architectural features should have
distinctive qualities of a luxury hotel.
viii) The maintenance of the hotel should be of highest standard.
ix) There should be adequate parking space for the cars.
x) There should be well designed and properly equipped
swimming pool.
xi) All bathrooms should be of modern design and should be fitted
with highest quality of fittings.
xii) There should be reception, cash and information counter
attended by highly qualified, trained and experienced
personnel.
xiii) There should be well appointed lobby, conference facility,
shopping facility, 24 hours elevators of adequate numbers.
xiv) The rooms should be well furnished with modern lighting,
telephones, radios, vacuum flasks or thermos flasks with iced
cold boiled drinking water.
xv) There should be restaurant, room and beverage service. The
waiters must have knowledge on menus whether in French or
in English, the knowledge of correct table laying. The room
service should be speedy and should be of 24 hours. There
should be provision of service of alcoholic and non alcoholic
beverages with bar facility.
xvi) Assessment is also made on the number of restaurants and
other outlets, the carpeting and the total carpeted area, the
quality of linen, blanket, towels, crockery, entertainments,
cuisine, hygiene, etc.
xvii) Other service like laundry services, the quality of staff
deployed – trained and untrained staff. The nature of
supervision carried out whether by managers, executive staff,
other staff etc.
xviii)The standard of Housekeeping
xix) The system of control of fire and other hazards.


003 -THE DEPARTMENTS OF A HOTEL AND THEIR OBJECTIVES

The Organisation of The organisation of a hotel is made up of various departments which
a Hotel work in close coordination for the efficient and effective working.
Some departments are revenue generating departments that accounts
for the profit of the organisation; some departments do not generate
revenue but are important on the basis that they help in the operation.

Thus, in a hotel the various departments are grouped into

1. Operating & Revenue Producing:
This means they take active part in operation and they generate
revenue for the organisation.

They can be further divided into
a) Minor Revenue Generating:
They generate a smaller amount of revenue compared to
others and includes:

I) Laundry: This section which is under the housekeeping
department can be either in-house or out-sourced. In both
the cases the laundry of guests’ articles is a facility which
is charged for.

II) Telephone: Guests are charged for the long distance and
local telephone calls. In small hotels the telephones are
operated through a switchboard manned by the
Receptionist whereas in large hotels the telephones are
operated either through telephone operator or have direct
dialing facilities. In the latter case they are metered. In
any case the telephone calls made the guests are charged
accordingly.

III) Swimming Pool: Though the resident guests are not
charged for the use of this facility, but their guests may
be charged for or the swimming pool can be opened for
out of house guests through membership who avail it by
paying a seasonal or annual subscription.

b) Major Revenue Generating
These departments are the sole earners for the hotel
operation.

They comprise of:
I) Room Division: The Room Division Department is made
up of
i. Front Office: One of the major earners being connected
with the sale of rooms.
ii. Housekeeping: This department is responsible for



making the rooms ready for sale and maintaining a
clean environment suitable for the guests’ stay. Apart
from Food & Beverage they provide various amenities
like stationery, beddings and their accessories, etc. in
the guest rooms.

II) Food & Beverage: This department is responsible for
providing food and beverages to the guests. They have
two sub departments viz.
i Food & Beverage Service: The service is mainly
responsible for reaching various food and beverages to
the guests through various outlets.
ii Food Production: By production it means preparation of
various food stuffs in various kitchens which are sold to
the guests through the service outlets.

2. Operating & Non-Revenue Producing:
These departments play an important role in operation but do not
produce any revenue.

The departments are:-

I) Sales & Marketing: This department is responsible for
evolving various packages to attract targeted customers to
the establishment. They also uphold the goodwill of the
establishment through various activities and
advertisements.

II) Accounts: The Accounts department is concerned with
keeping various records of financial transactions- figures
on sales, amount of purchases made during the year, the
debtors and the creditors and the financial viability of the
Organisation. They are also responsible for collection of
revenue from the debtors and making payments to the
creditors and the employees (salary & wages).

III) Stores & Purchase: The department is concerned in
purchasing various materials and commodities required
for the operation of the hotel against prescribed purchase
requisitions and thereafter issuing them to concerned
departments against prescribed stores requisitions.

IV) Security & Vigilance: This department is responsible in
keeping all the guests and hotel properties well guarded.
They ward of any unwanted guests and situations from
occurring inside the premises. They are also trained for



fire fighting and play an important role on breakout of
fire.
V) Engineering and Maintenance: This department is
responsible for the maintenance of all the electrical,
mechanical, equipments of the hotel in working
condition. They also look after any civil construction
work, attend to any electrical, mechanical and civil
breakdowns and maintenance of safety, hygiene end
environment (SHE) of the hotel.

VI) Personnel & HR: The Personnel & HR is responsible for
maintaining a cordial and peaceful relationship and
harmony between the Organisation and the Employees.
They plan the manpower requirement and evaluate
employees’ job. They compute employees’ salary and
wages, enumerate performance appraisals and
recommendations made to staff by the departmental
heads. They organize training needs and also play the
major role in issues like employees’ transfer, issue of
suspension and charge sheets to and appointments and
dismissals of staff.

3. Non-Operating & Revenue Producing:
They include the departments that provide additional facilities to
the guests. Their absence does not hamper the operation of the
organisation but on the other hand the inclusion of such
departments increases customer satisfaction.

They include: Travel Agency and Airline Offices, Book Shops,
Chemists Shops, Florists, Banks, Beauty Parlour, etc. They are
generally rented on commission basis or on rents. They are also
called Concessionaries. Selection of such concessionaries is very
important because the standard of services they provide and the
way they care for the guest has direct impact on the reputation of
the hotel


003A -THE HOTEL ORGANISATION CHART

HOTEL

Operating & Revenue Operating & Non-Revenue
Producing Departments Producing Departments

Non-Operating & Revenue
Producing Departments
Minor Major

Laundry
Travel
Agency
Telephone Florist
Beauty
Parlour
Swimming Pool
Chemist
Shop
Book Stall

Room Division Food & Beverage

Stores &
Purchase HRD
Front Security
Office
Accounts
Housekeeping
Sales &
Marketing
Production
Engineering
Service

Kitchen
Bakery
Pantry Coffee
Shop

Bar

Restaurant Room Pastry
Service Shop
Banquet

004 - THE FRONT OFFICE ORGANISATION

The Objective of A department that reserves registers and assigns rooms and act as a
Front Office continuous source of information.

The Departments Of The Front Office department is divided into eight distinct sections
Front Office according to their nature and functions:

They are mentioned hereunder along with the job they handle:

I) Reservation:
a) This department receives reservation request from
various sources and through modes and processes them to
ensure availability of thus reserved rooms upon arrival of
the guests.
b) It also looks after cancellation and amendments made
after the reservation.
c) On the day of the arrival they sent the Expected Arrival
List along with the correspondence file of the expected
guests to arrive to the reception.

II) Reception/Registration:
a) The most important task of the Reception is to welcome
& check-in guest arrival.
b) They take bookings of the same day. Cancellation/
amendments of the same day are handled by the
Reception.
c) They also take calls regarding guests, restaurants and
expected arrivals, etc.

III) Information:
a) This section of the Front Office maintains the guests
staying in the hotel in Alphabetical Order known as
Alphabetical Guest Index ( as per their names) and
Numerical Order known as Numerical Guest Index (as
per the guests’ room numbers).
b) They handle
i guests’ room keys,
ii guest mails,
iii guests’ messages,
iv guests’ complaints.
c) They also initially organize paging by taking the
information of the guest and passing the information to
the Bell Desk for expediting the same. They also provide
information regarding the city and the hotel.

IV) Cash:
a) Responsible for preparing guests’ bill.
b) Assist guests in settling their bills.



c) Maintain the Safety Locker key.
d) Maintain the Floor Master Key.

V) Concierge & Bell Desk :
This department is responsible for
a) Handling guest baggage.
b) Delivering newspapers in guests’ rooms
c) Delivering mails, messages telex, fax and any other item
to and from the guest.
d) Conducts paging (locating guest in public area).
e) Give physical wake-up calls to those guests who do not
answer wake-up call by telephone.
f) Sell postage stamps.
g) Keep baggage on hold for in house guests as well as
awaited guests.
h) Perform other functions that gives guest satisfaction like
i Getting airline/railway tickets.
ii Calling a taxi for the guests.
iii Assist guest in packing his/her luggage.
i) Perform other official functions like going to FRRO for
delivery of the C-Forms.

VI) Telephones:
a) Handles all incoming calls and outgoing calls for both the
guests and management. The telephone operator diverts
the incoming call received to the concerned rooms or to
the various departments where there is no EPABX.
b) Responsible for giving wake-up calls.
c) Set DND on the phones, is the guests ask for it which
prevents the incoming call form going through.
d) Set paging of hotel executives through telephones.

VII) Travel Desk:
Many big hotels have fleet of cars by which they organize:
a) Travel logistics for guests- such as airport/ station pick-
ups and drops.
b) City and business tour for guests.

VIII) Business Center:
This section is a must for any commercial/business hotel.
This facility helps the businessmen to perform their office job
when they are away from their offices. The section is
equipped with the following:
a) A small reference Library.
b) A small conference/board room which can accommodate
6/8 guests.
c) A room with computer and internet facilities.
d) Photo copying machine.



e) Typing and printing facility.
f) FAX facility.
g) Machine for binding of documents.
h) Secretarial service.

The Hierarchy Of The Front Office is a uniformed department which the guest meets
Front Office first and it creates the impression about the hotel, Since the first
impression is the last impression, therefore, the department demands
highly professional staff.

The Staff of Front Office are as under:

I) The Front Office Manager: He reports to the Front of House
Manager. He responsible to direct and coordinate the
activities of Front Office Operation ( Front Desk,
Reservation, Bell Desk, Telephones), to provide efficient and
courteous service to each guest, to maximize occupancy and
room revenue and to plan and oversee the targets set by his
authorities are met in due time.

II) The Lobby Manager: He performs managerial duties by being
the overall in-charge of the Lobby which comprises of
Reception, Information, Bell Desk, Guest Relations and the
Cashier. He is a decision maker with regards to the day to
day operation of the Front Desk and authorizes documents
such as room change notice, visitor paid out voucher,
discounts on bill, etc. He reports to the Front Office Manager.

III) The Reservation Manager: He performs managerial duties by
being the overall in-charge of the Reservation Section. He
sees that the occupancy is maximized through reservation of
rooms, takes decision in matters like overbooking, and
oversees the group and corporate bookings and other sources
of reservations, cancellation and amendments made by the
guests. He reports to the Front Office Manager.

IV) Guest Relation Executive: The person entrusted with the job,
acts as a link between the guest and the hotel by noting their
grievances and suggestions. This person also plays a vital
role during the arrival of VIPs & CIPs and maintains the
record of the frequent and valued guests who had stayed in
the hotel in form of a document called Guest History Card.
He reports to the Lobby Manager.

V) The Bell Captain: To plan, organize direct, coordinate and
control the bell desk. He reports to the Lobby Manager/ Asst.
Front Office Manager.



VI) The Front Office Cashier: Responsible for posting various
charges against the services rendered by the hotel to the guest
in their respective bills and to receive payments. Settle the
bills of the guests upon their departure.

VII) Front Office Receptionist: The person is responsible for
overall smooth operation of the Reception during his/her shift
as per laid down standards. Reports to Lobby Manager?
Assistant Front Office Manager.

VIII) Reservation Assistants: To ensure smooth operation of
reservation section. The person engaged in this section takes
advance bookings made by the guests in prescribed formats
and gives valid information as and when required regarding
the available facilities and rules of the organisation. He/ she
reports to the Reservation Manager of the hotel.

IX) Bell Boys: Their primary duty is to take care of the guest
luggage. They are also required to do certain job like paging,
delivery of newspapers & mails and messages to the guests
rooms, help in shifting guests to other rooms, running on
errands for guests and the hotel executives, delivery of C-
forms to the FRRO, etc. Apart from this they are also
required to do certain jobs as specified by the management
from time to time. They report to the Bell Captain.

X) Trainees: These people have just joined with the intention to
take up a job in Front Office as per their qualifications and
interests.


004A- THE ORGANISATION CHART & DEPARTMENTS OF FRONT OFFICE
FRONT OF HOUSE
SERVICE MANAGER

FRONT OFFICE MANAGER EXECUTIVE HOUSEKEEPER

LOBBY MANAGER RESERVATION MANAGER

SR BELL CAPTAIN RESERVATION ASSISTANTS
(FOA)

BELL DOOR PAGE VALET CHAUFFER
BOYS MAN BOYS

SR. RECEPTIONIST SR. INFORMATION ASSISTANT GUEST CASHIER SR. TELEPHONE OPERATOR
RELATIONS
FRONT OFFICE ASSISTANTS FRONT OFFICE ASSISTANTS EXECUTIVE TELEPHONE OPERATOR S

TRAINEES TRAINEES TRAINEES

DEPARTMENTS OF FRONT OFFICE
FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT

RESERVATION BUSINESS CONCIERGE COMMUNICATION
SECTION CENTRE
LOBBY
TELEX FAX TELEPHONES

CHECK-IN INFORMATION GUEST CASH SECTION PORTER’S LODGE
SECTION SECTION RELATIONS
(REGISTRATION)
DOOR LOBBY PARKING LUGGAGE
AREA ELEVATOR AREA CENTER

005 - THE FRONT OFFICE - ITS INTRA & INTERDEPARTMENTAL RELATIONSHIP

Introduction For an effective operation of any organisation the departments have
to coordinate and communicate amongst themselves. The Front
Office Department has to communicate and coordinate with other
departments with respective various requirements of and information
about guests.

On various occasion the Font office has to communicate which are
enumerated below.

Intra- As seen in our previous lesson the Front Office department itself
communication comprises of numerous sections-
● Reservation
● Reception/ Registration
● Information
● Bell Desk & Concierge
● Communication - Telephones
● Cash Office
● Travel Desk
● Business Centre

To render best of their services each department has to communicate
amongst themselves. There can be printed formats on which such
communications are usually made. These formats actually serve as a
ready reckoner so that all the information can be incorporated and
nothing is left out. In the lessons to follow we would be discussing
about such communication modes and formats.

Among them, one such area where the front office has to
communicate with the telephone exchange within the hotel. In certain
occasion there can be the arrival of a guest from a different time
zone and he requires a rest. He may advise the reception to put up
DND in his room phone so that the incoming calls do not come
through. Or in certain cases

Again within each section there is a need for communication. This is
made through log book. A log book is a register where any incidents
that has taken place or would take place are recorded and staff on
duty is supposed to refer to it before the commencement of the
service so that the attending staff of that particular shift is well
briefed about it and he/she is equipped according to specified
standard to meet the requirement.

The Staffing: The Front Office department operates for 24 hours and
hence there is a necessity that it be adequately equipped with staff.
Usually there are three shifts:

Morning Shift: 6am to 2 pm


005 - THE FRONT OFFICE - ITS INTRA & INTERDEPARTMENTAL RELATIONSHIP

Evening Shift : 2pm to 10 pm
Night Shift : 10 pm to 6 am.

Naturally there are more activities during the day and the evening
than at night. In other words it means, the number of staff required to
perform would depends upon the guest activity with the hotel and
therefore the requirement is at peak during that part of the day when
there is a huge level of check ins and check outs. Or there can be
requirements of additional staff during a season. In the previous case
when the requirement is more at the particular time of the day, it is
met up by arranging a “swing shift.” A swing shift is a shift which
brings in extra staff for a particular hour to meet such requirements.
Like in most city hotels the swing shift is arranged between 8 am and
4 pm. The additional requirement of staff during the season can be
arranged by temporary recruitment of staff for that particular season.

There can be an additional requirement of staff at the counter
suddenly if there are too many guests found crowded at the reception
counter. On such occasions, the reception counter is having a switch
which is connected to a buzzer at the office which is usually situated
at the back of the reception counter. By pressing the switch the
attending receptionist can communicate with the additional staff
stationed inside that would appear at the counter as per the necessity.

Communication with Other Departments

Housekeeping The Front Office communicates with Housekeeping on the following
occasions:
1.Discrepancy Report: The Front Office prepares a consolidated
Room Report which accounts for the total room occupied on the
particular shift. The Housekeeping Department also makes floor
wise room report and send it to their central Housekeeping Control
Desk (the head of the Housekeeping Department that guides the
activity of the Housekeeping). The Control Desk in turn compiles
all the floor reports into one and sends a copy to the Front Office.
If the two figures do not tally then the Front Office prepares a
Discrepancy Report and in that occasion sends a bell boy to see
where the mistake has occurred and take the corrective action
accordingly.

2.Group & VIP Arrival: On the event of arrival of Groups and VIPs
the housekeeping department is being informed.

With Groups, since they board the hotel at a certain fixed rate on
AP or MAP, certain facilities like provision of toiletries may be
with drawn from the rooms. Again certain extra facilities are given
to VIP guest like specially embroidered bath robe or special


THE ABC OF HOSPITALITY

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

La actualidad más candente

La actualidad más candente (20)

Destacado

Destacado (20)

Similar a THE ABC OF HOSPITALITY

Similar a THE ABC OF HOSPITALITY (20)

Último

Último (20)

THE ABC OF HOSPITALITY