Preface xi

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter 1 Introduction to Hotel Management 1

Founders of the Hotel Industry 2

Historical Developments 5

Overview of the Hotel Industry 12

Types of Lodging Facilities 14

Market Orientation 17

Sales Indicators 17

Levels of Service 20

Business Affiliations 21

Trends That Foster Growth 27

Career Development 31

Solution to Opening Dilemma 35

Chapter Recap 35

End-of-Chapter Questions 36

Notes 38

Key Words 40

Chapter 2 Hotel Organization and the Front Office Manager 41

Organization of Lodging Properties 42

Organization Charts 43

Typical Job Responsibilities of Department Managers 50

Organization of the Front Office Department 59

Function of the Front Office Manager 62

Staffing the Front Office 69

Solution to Opening Dilemma 72

Chapter Recap 73

End-of-Chapter Questions 73

Key Words 76

Chapter 3 Effective Interdepartmental Communications 78

Role of the Front Office in Interdepartmental Communications 79

Front Office Interaction with Other Departments in the Hotel 79

Analyzing the Lines of Communications 88

Solution to Opening Dilemma 94

Chapter Recap 94

End-of-Chapter Questions 94

Key Words 99

Chapter 4 Property Management Systems 100

Physical Structure and Positioning of the Front Desk 102

Selecting a Property Management System 104

Procedure for Performing a Needs Analysis 105

Other PMS Selection Considerations 113

Financial Considerations 115

PMS Applications 116

Solution to Opening Dilemma 130

Chapter Recap 130

End-of-Chapter Questions 131

Notes 133

Key Words 133

Chapter 5 Systemwide Reservations 135

Importance of a Reservation System 136

Overview of the Reservation System 137

Types of Reservation Systems 142

Sources of Reservations 143

Forecasting Reservations 148

Overbooking (Occupancy Management) 150

Revenue Management 153

Processing Guest Reservations 154

Process of Completing Reservations through a PMS 158

Solution to Opening Dilemma 167

Chapter Recap 168

End-of-Chapter Questions 168

Notes 171

Key Words 172

Chapter 6 Revenue Management 173

Occupancy Percentage 174

History of Yield Management 177

Use of Yield Management 177

Components of Revenue Management 181

Applications of Revenue Management 188

Solution to Opening Dilemma 189

Chapter Recap 189

End-of-Chapter Questions 189

Notes 192

Key Words 193

Chapter 7 Guest Registration 194

Importance of the First Guest Contact 195

Components of the Registration Process 196

Registration with a PMS 216

Solution to Opening Dilemma 228

Chapter Recap 228

End-of-Chapter Questions 228

Notes 230

Key Words 230

Chapter 8 Managing the Financials 232

Common Bookkeeping Practices 233

Forms Used to Process Guest Charges and Payments 234

Account Ledgers 235

Posting Guest Charges and Payments 237

Transferring Guest and City Ledgers to Accounts Receivable 241

Importance of Standard Operating Procedures for Posting and the Night Audit 243

Solution to Opening Dilemma 243

Chapter Recap 243

End-of-Chapter Questions 244

Key Words 246

Chapter 9 Guest Checkout 247

Organizing Late Charges to Ensure Accuracy 248

Guest Checkout Procedure 249

Determining Method of Payment and Collection 252

Assisting the Guest with Method of Payment 256

Obtaining Future Reservations 258

Filing Documents 259

Relaying Guest Departures to Other Departments 259

Removing Guest Information from the System 260

Transfer of Guest Accounts to the Back Office 260

Checkout Reports Available with a Property Management System 260

Guest Histories 262

Last Impressions of the Hotel 265

Solution to Opening Dilemma 266

Chapter Recap 266

End-of-Chapter Questions 267

Notes 269

Key Words 269

Chapter 10 Preparation and Review of the Night Audit 270

Importance of the Night Audit 270

The Night Auditor 271

The Night Audit Process 272

Goal of Preparing the Night Audit Report 278

Preparing the Night Audit Report 278

Reading the Flash Report 293

Reading the Night Audit 293

Solution to Opening Dilemma 296

Chapter Recap 296

End-of-Chapter Questions 297

Key Words 316

Chapter 11 Managing Hospitality 317

Importance of Hospitality 318

Managing the Delivery of Hospitality 320

Total Quality Management Applications 327

Developing a Service Management Program 328

Customer Relationship Management 338

Solution to Opening Dilemma 339

Chapter Recap 339

End-of-Chapter Questions 340

Notes 342

Key Words 343

Chapter 12 Training for Hospitality 344

Determining Employee Hospitality Qualities 345

Screening for Hospitality Qualities 346

Developing an Orientation Program 347

Policy and Procedure Manual 351

Administering the Orientation Program 352

Developing a Training Program 354

Steps in the Training Process 356

Administering a Training Program 361

Cross-training 362

Developing a Trainer 362

Training for Empowerment 364

Americans with Disabilities Act 365

Solution to Opening Dilemma 367

Chapter Recap 367

End-of-Chapter Questions 368

Notes 370

Key Words 371

Chapter 13 Promoting In-House Sales 372

The Role of the Front Office in Marketing and Sales 373

Planning a Point-of-sale Front Office 375

Theories of Motivation 380

Applying Motivation Theories 381

Training Programs for a Point-of-sale Front Office 382

Budgeting for a Point-of-sale Front Office 384

Feedback 384

Planning a Point-of-sale Front Office-An Example 386

Solution to Opening Dilemma 388

Chapter Recap 388

End-of-Chapter Questions 389

Notes 391

Key Words 391

Chapter 14 Security 392

Importance of a Security Department 393

Organization of a Security Department 395

Job Analysis of the Director of Security 395

In-House Security Departments versus Contracted Security 398

Room Key Security 401

Fire Safety 404

Emergency Communication 411

Employee Safety Programs 415

Safety Training Programs 418

Solution to Opening Dilemma 418

Chapter Recap 418

End-of-Chapter Questions 419

Notes 421

Key Words 422

Chapter 15 Executive Housekeeping 423

Importance of the Housekeeping Department 423

Role of Chief Engineer in a Lodging Property 446

The Greening of the Lodging Industry 450

Solution to Opening Dilemma 453

Chapter Recap 454

End-of-Chapter Questions 455

Notes 457

Key Words 459

Glossary 460

Index 475