HRTM 1140 Syllabus

Subject Code

HRTM

Course Number

1140

Course Title

Hotel Operations Management

Prerequisites

Provisional admission

Corequisites

Terms Offered

Credit Hours

Course Description

This course focuses on the organization and management of lodging operations. It covers day-to-day operations of each department in a hotel and helps students to understand what seasoned managers do. The course emphasizes the rooms division. Topics include corporate structures, departmental responsibilities, hotel services and staff, decision making, and industry trends.

A work ethic grade is assigned for this course. For more information see Work Ethics.

Course Outcomes

Structure

  • Describe the corporate structures of hotels (franchise, referral, management contract, joint venture, and management lease).
  • Give examples of corporate structure models for various hotels.
  • Discuss the interrelationship of organizational structure and the operational strategy of a hotel.
  • List the departments of a large, mid-sized, and small hotel.
  • Explain the interdependency of these departments.
  • Draw organization charts for a variety of hotels.
  • Discuss how hotels are rated (size, class, rates, stars, diamonds).

General Manager

  • Describe the hotel services for which a general manager is responsible.
  • Describe career paths for advancing to a hotel general manager's position.
  • Discuss the general manager's role as a leader and coach.
  • Give examples of interdepartmental conflicts for a hotel and discuss the factors that contributed to these conditions.

Rooms Division

  • Identify the departments within the rooms division.
  • Describe the organization of the front office in different sized hotels.
  • List positions in the front office and define their responsibilities and duties.
  • Describe the factors which contribute to successful front office operations.
  • Discuss the responsibilities of front office personnel to maintain effective hotel communications.
  • Describe the typical career ladder for the hotel front office manager.
  • Discuss the evolution of the guest services department and the function it serves in the operation of a modern hotel.
  • Identify who does forecasts and how this may vary depending on the size of the property.
  • Describe the role of occupancy forecasting on scheduling, budgeting, and purchasing for the entire property.
  • Discuss the effects of overbooking.
  • Trace the guest experience from reservations to registration and check-out.
  • Describe the process of registration and room assignment.
  • Discuss the role of the property management system in capturing guest history, maintaining guest records and yield management.
  • Explain duties of the first shift, second shift, and night audit.
  • Describe ways to establish and control rates.
  • Discuss various types of discounts and when they are used.
  • Compute occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, and yield.
  • Explain how these statistics are used to measure financial performance.
  • Discuss the organization of the housekeeping department for different sized hotels.
  • Describe the duties of the executive housekeeper.
  • List positions in the housekeeping department and define their responsibilities and duties.
  • Discuss the responsibilities of housekeeping in terms of guest satisfaction.
  • Discuss the role of housekeeping insecurity and loss prevention.
  • Give examples of ways inaccurate reporting of room status can affect the overall profitability of the hotel.
  • Discuss the reasons for hotel guests' complaints.
  • Describe the process for turning a hotel guest's complaints into a positive outcome.
  • Conclude the reasons why the rooms division is the top profit enter of most hotels.

Food and Beverage Division

  • Identify the departments within food and beverage.
  • Describe the organization of food and beverage I different sized hotels.
  • List positions in the restaurant, bar, banquet department, room service, and kitchen and define their responsibilities and duties.
  • Discuss how hotel restaurants and bars differ from non-hotel operations.
  • Describe the role of a manager of a typical hotel food and beverage department.
  • Describe the responsibilities of the purchasing department manager of a large hotel.
  • Describe the function of the banquet and conventions department of a large hotel.
  • Discuss the factors which determine profitability in operating a hotel food and beverage department.
  • Discuss live entertainment as a function of hotel food and beverage operations.
  • Discuss the trends in hotel food and beverage operations.
  • Discuss how room occupancy affects food and beverage sales.

Accounting

  • Describe the function of the accounting department in different sized hotels.
  • Discuss the role of the controller.
  • Classify accounting as a staff department and explain what this means.
  • Discuss the relationships between the accounting department and other hotel departments.
  • Distinguish between the transient ledger and the city ledger.
  • Trace guest accounts from the front office, through the night audit, and to the city ledger.
  • Review daily reports and other management reports generated by the night audit.
  • Explain how credit policies work in hotels.
  • Describe cash control policies.
  • Discuss the division of accounts receivable and accounts payable in hotels.
  • Explain way the hotel can avoid scams.
  • Explain the types of inventories conducted in each department.
  • Discuss the financial reports generated by accounting.
  • Analyze Profit and Loss statements, statements of cash flow, and balance sheets.
  • Discuss the need for managers to understand these financial reports in order to budget and control costs.
  • Trace the process of creating annual budgets.

Engineering

  • Describe the function of the engineering department in different sized hotels.
  • Discuss the role of the chief engineer.
  • List positions in the engineering department and define their responsibilities and duties.
  • Discuss the cooperation needed between engineering and all other departments to maximize guest satisfaction.

Sales and Marketing

  • Describe the function of the sales and marketing department in different sized hotels.
  • Discuss the role of the director of sales.
  • List positions in the sales and marketing office and define their responsibilities and duties.
  • Discuss the cooperation needed between sales and marketing and the rooms and food and beverage divisions.
  • Describe the marketing mix as it applies to hotel operations.
  • Discuss the role of the sales department I group reservations and event coordination.
  • Discuss the sales skills hotel managers need to market guest services effectively.
  • Describe the importance of customer service after the sale.
  • Human Resources
  • Describe the function of the human resources department in different sized hotels.
  • Discuss the role of the director of human resources.
  • List positions in the human resources department and define their responsibilities and duties.
  • Explain the importance of human resources in protecting the hotel through monitoring hiring, training, and disciplinary processes.
  • Classify human resources as a support department.
  • Discuss how decisions made by human resources impact guest satisfaction.

Security

  • Describe the function of the security department in different sized hotels.
  • Discuss the role of the director of security.
  • List positions in the security department and define their responsibilities and duties.
  • Explain the importance of educating all staff members on their role in security and loss prevention.
  • Discuss the trends in hotel security operations.

Technology

  • Discuss how technology has changed and continues to change the hotel industry.
  • Discuss ways that technology has affected guest satisfaction.
  • List issues management should address when evaluating new technology.
  • Discuss the basic technological skills that hotel managers need to survive and to compete.

Industry Trends

  • Give examples of changing operational procedures critical to successful management of a large hotel.
  • Discuss the trends in hotel procedures that indicate increased guest services.