Guest Service Management I

Guest Service management I
Chapter 1

Hotels history:
Hotels go back as far as history can record. In fact, the word hospitality according to Texas Tech university comes from the Latin root meaning host or hospice. At first they weren´t known by this name nor had the service system we see today, the installations of the firsts inns and hotel were directed to travelers during the romanempire making them easier to rest during long travels. This activity continued until the formation of modern Europe.

As years passed necessities of travelers became more evident to the owners of the inns so services such as bath, food and supplies became part of the process shaping the modern industry. During IXX Europe and the east coast of the United States had already developed structures ableto allow more than 200 guests at the same time offering a pleasant vacational experience, thought this was restricted to mid classes and wealthy families.

In XX century the hotels became a more popular industry offering even more options and locations in exotic destinations. The great hotel chains were born and with them new systems of administration. Modern hotels divide according to the guestsneeds there are hotels directed to business men and others to families even hotels created for adult pleasure.

How hotels count and measure:

The general rule is that hotels are classified and administrated according to his occupation capacities or services. There are several ways to classify according his capacities such as number of rooms, size of the installations among others.According to the number of rooms there are:
Small hotels: Fewer than 100 or 150 rooms
Medium hotel: Around 150 to 300 rooms
Large hotel: Around 300 to 600 rooms
Major hotel: more than 600 rooms
This scale may vary depending on the hotel location, there are also another scales used such as rates and class. This last one is usually defined by the number of stars given by a commission that inspects theinstallations and certifies it. There’s also the purpose classification. For example, the vacational or the business classification.

Why is the hospitality business is a cyclical industry?

Considering that a cyclical industry is defined as a division of the business world that is considered to be particularly sensitive to shifting business cycles, such as, seasonal changes in demands for thegoods or services, or changes in the prevailing interest rates, the hotel industry fits perfectly in such description because of his changing nature according to the seasons, or the occupancy levels.

What is hotel occupancy:

Hotel occupancy is the daily percentage of occupied rooms. It is calculated using the reports given by the reception department and helps the managers take decisions.What does sales per occupied room means?

Means the total income per room sold. Is a tool used to appraise the performance of the business and set new rates and strategies if necessary.

Explain the meaning of Rev par
Revenues per available rooms is tool used to calculate the estimate incomes per number of rooms availables is the most common managing tool in hotels ant the one of the bestshealth gauges in the hotel industry. It´s calculated using the total of revenue obtained in a certain period divided by the total number of available rooms in a certain period. This last information is obtained multiplying the number of nights established for the evaluation by the number of rooms that will be available during this time, not counting blocked rooms or house use rooms.

Considerthe following results from Hotel XYZ's latest quarter:

Number of Rooms: 1000
Average Room Rate: $90
Average Occupancy Rate: 75%
Calculate that Hotel XYZ's RevPAR.

Considering the next formula:

total rooms x occupation % x average room rate x number of days considered
number of available rooms in the period

according to this:

1000 rooms x 75% x $90 x 90 days (quarter year) =...