Chapter 4 Questions Lodging Operations

What is a PBX or CBX?

A department that includes in-house communication, guest communication, and emergency communications. It is available 24/7 and responsible for all types of communication.

List 3 examples of catering events.

A wedding, a fashion show, and a charity ball.

A GM (general manager) in a large hotel may have limited exposure to guest; however, this can be mitigated by ___________.

Being visible in the lobby during check-in and in the food & beverage outlets during peak meal periods.

How are sustainable properties reducing waste?

By increasing building insulation, installing aerators on faucets, and providing recycling.

How are sustainable properties reducing energy needs?

By installing LED exit signs, installing motion sensors, using natural daylight when possible, and improving building insulation.

Percentage of potential rooms revenue

Calculated by determining potential rooms' revenue and dividing the actual revenue by the potential revenue.

In the food & beverage division, this employee reports to the director of food and beverage and is responsible for cleaning the back of the house, maintaining an inventory of clean china, glassware, and silver, and sanitizing the kitchen, and freezers.

Chief Steward

What does an executive committee for a hotel of 300-plus rooms look like?

Directors of Human Resources, Food & Beverage, Rooms Division, Marketing & Sales, Engineering, and Accounting.

RevPAR

Divide the room revenue by the number of rooms available. This is used to compare hotels of similar size & price.

Name the characteristics than an executive housekeeper should possess.

Exceptional leadership, organized, motivated, and committed to maintaining the standards of the hotel.

This department of the rooms division is referred to as the hub or nerve center of the hotel.

Front Office

The organization, established in 1989, provides science-based environmental certification standards.

Green Seal

Employees in this department are the unofficial greeters and are often dressed in impressive uniforms while greeting guest at the door.

Guest Services also known as door attendants

The Executive Committee of a 300 plus room hotel includes the Food and Beverage Director, Marketing and Sales Director, and Director of Engineering, as well as the _____.

Human Resources Director

Which of these things is something a hotel would NOT do to decrease water consumption? Landscape with native plants Implement a linen and towel reuse program Install Energy Star appliances Install low-flow shower heads

Install Energy Star appliances

What is revenue management? How is revenue management applied in the hotel industry?

It is a demand forecasting technique that is used in the hotel industry to increase profitability.

Explain the 3P approach.

It requires three-dimensional thinking and incorporating the impact of decisions on the environment, society, and financial performance.

Suppose a hotel has 250 rooms and a rack room rate of $200. The average number of rooms sold is 225 per night at an average rate of $175. What is the yield of the room rate?

Occupancy 225/250 = .90 then Rate factor 175/200 = .875. Yield .90 x .875 = .7875 78.75%

What topics are typically discussed in executive meetings?

Occupancy forecast, major items of expenditure, guest & employee relations, and energy conservation.

The triple bottom line or 3P approach focuses on ________________.

People, planet, and profits

What does PMS stand for? What function does this system perform?

Property Management System - it is designed to accept, store, and retrieve guest reservations, guest history, and billing arrangements.

The demand-forecasting technique is used to maximize room revenue in the hotel industry.

Revenue management

This service offered by the food & beverage division is most frequently found in larger hotels with higher room rates and is known as ____________.

Room Service / In-room dining

What are the sub departments that fall under the rooms division? What is each department's main function?

Rooms Division consist of the following departments: front office, security, and house keeping. 1. Front Office is the nerve center of the hotel & is responsible for making a first impression. 2. Security is responsible for maintaining security systems and implementing procedures aimed at protecting the personal property of guest, employees, and the hotel itself. 3. Housekeeping employs the greatest number of people and it is responsible for cleaning and servicing the guest rooms and public areas.

Total Rooms: 600 Rooms Available: 575 Rooms Sold: 550 Room Revenue: $55,000

Rooms Occupancy Percentage: number of rooms occupied divided by rooms available. 550/575 = 95% Average Daily Rate: dividing the dollar sales by the number of rooms rented. $55,000/550 = $100 RevPAR: Divide the room revenue by the number of rooms available. $55,000/575 = $95.65 Percentage of Potential Rooms Revenue: determining potential rooms' revenue and dividing the actual revenue by the potential revenue. Potential Rooms' Revenue = 600 Rooms x 100 which is Average daily rate = 60,000 now divided that by actual revenue $55,000. So 55,000/60,000 = 91.67%

A hotel has 525 rooms and a rack rate of $225. The average number of room sold is 400 per night at an average rate of $200. What is the yield for this property?

Take room occupancy 400/525 = .761 76% then achievement rate factor 200/225 = .888 89% then multiply .761 x .888 = .6757 so the property yield is 67.6%

Room Occupancy Percentage (ROP)

The number of rooms occupied divided by rooms available; a key operating ratio for hotels.

Applying revenue management techniques can be beneficial to a hotelier if care is taken to avoid certain revenue management traps. Which revenue management traps cause the biggest challenges for hoteliers? Why?

The revenue management trap that causes the biggest challenges for hoteliers is trying to maximum revenue when trying to calculate rates. This becomes a problem when you're trying to take into consideration the rates for guest that are trying to book days ahead of arrival and are comparisons shopping. They are staying several high demand days and also staying through several low demand days; what should the hotelier charge for their quoted posted price. This poses a problem because if the rate is too high the guest may select another hotel and the guest may not even consider looking or staying at your hotel in future trips.

According to travel experts George Hobica, hotels overbook rooms because ______________.

They are greedy.

The situation of reservations being cancelled because of overbooking May be due to poor ___________.

Yield management

The most important part of the catering sales manager's job is to

achieve good quality at low cost while maintaining the highest standards of hygiene and customer satisfaction.

To be a successful General Manager requires multiple qualities, the most commonly quoted of which are leadership, people skills, patience, and _____.

attention to detail

The first important daily task that the executive housekeeper must complete is to

break the hotel into sections to allocate room attendants' schedules.

Average Daily Rate (ADR)

calculated by dividing the dollar sales by the number of rooms rented.

The Executive Housekeeper oversees the largest department in the hotel and also is responsible for all of these duties except _____.

check in of guests during peak hours

Revenue per available room (REVPar) is a formula used by hotels that allows them to ______________.

compare how they are doing versus a competitive set of hotels - it allows like sized hotels to compare performance.

The top revenue management mistakes hotels make include: believing that discounting increases revenue, artificial intelligence is better than human intelligence, and _____.

counting revenue dollars as equal, regardless of the distribution channel they came from

Director of Food and Beverage reports to the General Manager and is responsible for the effective operations of all of the following departments EXCEPT _____. a. bar and minibars b. kitchen, stewarding, and banquets c. restaurants and room service d. housekeeping

d

In order to provide an outstanding guest experience, the typical morning shift duties at the front desk include all of the following EXCEPT _____. a. responding to guest requests b. preallocating all VIP and special request rooms c. coordinating with housekeeping over VIP, special requests, and room status d. checking guests in

d

The Chief Steward is responsible for all of the following duties EXCEPT _____. a. forecasting labor and cleaning supplies b. cleaning the back of the house c. maintaining the cleanliness of all china, glass, and serviceware used by the hotel d. monitoring the premises including banquet rooms, guest rooms, and parking areas

d

The concept of creating more goods and services while using fewer resources and creating less waste and pollution is referred to as

eco-efficiency.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has developed comprehensive guidelines designed for businesses that

encourage the use of materials recovered through recycling with a goal of reducing the amount of disposed waste.

A hotel kitchen is managed by the _____________ who is responsible for the efficient operation of the kitchen, complying with company policy, and providing desired financial results.

executive chef

The Front Office Manager sets the example through their leadership for many different people including the concierge, reservations, PBX(communication), uniformed service and _____.

guest services

The security/loss prevention department is vital in any hotel and is responsible for maintaining security alarm systems and

implementing procedures to protect the personal property of hotel guest and employees.

The purpose of revenue management is to

increase profitability.

Hoteliers would prefer to sell rooms at the highest possible rate, this is known as the _____.

rack rate

Property management systems are designed to assist front office employees in performing functions related to which tasks?

reservations, rooms, and guest account management

The formula used to calculate RevPAR is _____.

rooms revenue divided by the number of rooms available

The average daily rate is one of the key operating ratios used to indicate a hotel's performance and is calculated using which formula?

rooms sold divided by rooms revenue

The Rooms Division Manager, at a mid-sized hotel, is usually responsible for the front office, housekeeping, and _____.

security/loss prevention

The daily report includes key operating ratios such as the room occupancy percentage and _____.

the average daily rate

The job of Catering Services Manager includes: maintaining high standards of hygiene and customer satisfaction, overseeing the budget, ordering supplies, and _____.

training and motivating staff

What are 3 task that a food & beverage director might undertake in a workday?

1. Checking restaurants and banquets 2. Meeting with the executive chef 3. Reviewing specials for the day

Name the functions performed by the general manager.

1. Keeping guest satisfied and returning 2. Providing owners with a reasonable return on their investments 3. Keeping employees happy (These May increase based on the size of the property but basically they range from employee & guest satisfaction to financial commitments).

What are the responsibilities of the chief steward?

1. Maintaining dishwashing machines. 2. Maintaining clean china, glass, and silver for all food & beverage outlets. 3. Taking inventory of chemical stock.

A 200-room hotel that adopts an approach to linen and towel reuse can save the hotel more than _________ a year.

$15,000