Hotel organization
All organizations require a formal structure to carry out their mission and objectives. A common method of representing the structure about different people working in an organization in various departments within the hotel is referred as hotel organization chart. Organization structures refer to the hierarchical arrangements of various positions in an enterprise.
An organization chart is a clear picture about the division of responsibilities, lines of authorities and channel of communication within the departments. It is a schematic representation between positions within an organization; showing where each position fits in overall organization.
The organization chart of a hotel depends upon the size of establishment and the resource within the hotel. The resources might be the number of employees that are required to operate the hotel efficiently, the technology and the work methods. Hotel organization chart deals with the major operational departments and the other supporting departments.
The four major departments are:
Front office
Housekeeping
Food and beverage service
Food and beverage production
The other supporting departments in the hotel are accounts, purchase, sales and marketing, engineering, security and human resources. These entire departments have their respective heads and staff working under them.
Operational and functional departments and their functions
Function of various departments
There are various departments in a hotel, which helps in the smooth and efficient operation. First four departments are the core/major or the operational departments in the hotel, which are directly responsible for the day-to-day operation. Each department in a hotel has its specific function to be performed. Functions of various departments within the hotel are given below:
Operational Department
Operational department of the hotel are the major or key departments of the hotel. Hotel does not exist without operational departments.
Front office: The front office department is the most visible department in a hotel. The focal point of activity within the front office the reception/front desk. The reception desk is usually the place at which guests make first impressions of the hotel. It is also the communication centre for the hotel's operation.
The reception desk includes front office cashier, information and registration section. The other sections under front office are telephone exchange, reservations and business center.
Front office staffs are responsible for reservations of room, registration of guest, providing information, cash and credit handling and other sundry services to the guests.
Housekeeping: The housekeeping department is responsible for the management of guest-rooms and the cleanliness of all public areas of a hotel.
A close liaison between housekeeping and front office is essential so that the information about guest-rooms is kept up to date. For example, which rooms are available for letting, which are occupied, which are out of order and which are vacant and dirty.
The housekeeping and front office usually have a department head or supervisor who reports to the room division manager. Each of the two departments is responsible for its own specific operation. Since these two departments have to work very closely together to insure teamwork.
Food and Beverage: The food and beverage (F & B) department put forward a world class service of food and drink. The services may be provided by coffee shops, bars, lounges, specialty restaurants banqueting and room service, etc. This department is responsible for providing or serving the food and beverage items according to the guest order or request.
Food Production/Kitchen: Food production department is responsible for timely preparation of food and beverages as per the guest request. The food and beverage items should be hygienic and to the standard of the hotel and also should be of right portion. The food production department should have good co-ordination with the food and beverage department so as to ensure the efficient task.
Functional Departments: Functional departments of the hotel are important departments which helps side by side to the hotels day to day operation.
Engineering: Engineering department is responsible for the repair, maintenance and the operation of all machinery and equipment (including heating, air-conditioning and lighting). It is also responsible for caring out all carpentry, upholstery and small building, plumbing and other works of a hotel.
Purchase & Stores: Hotel is a commercial endeavor, where we purchase raw materials, give finishing & sell in high prices. As a service industry, hotel purchases materials to support service procedures. Purchase department plays an important role while purchasing all requirements of a hotel. Even from swing kit to the large plant & machinery it is a job of a purchase department to facilitate the procedures. Purchase manager is the in-charge of this department. In recent developments, this position is substituted by another position known to be material manager who looks after all purchasing and storing activities.
Accounting: Accounting is responsible for monitoring of all the financial activities of a hotel. Such accounting activities may include cash receipts and banking, the processing of payrolls, accumulating operating data, and the preparation of internal reports, audits and financial statements because of the importance of financial data and statistics.
Human Resources: Human resources department is responsible for the hiring, firing, procurement, training and development of hotel staff. In recent years, this division has gained in importance because of the need to contend with legislation, labor shortages, and the growing pressures of competition. Hotels nowadays end to put more effort into training and development programs to enhance the technical and conceptual knowledge in the staff.
Sales and Marketing: Who markets the hotel products is sales and marketing department. The sales and marketing department is responsible for generating new business for the hotel. This could be the sales of rooms, functions, conventions, or even restaurants and bars. It also handles the advertising of the hotel as well as sales promotions and publicity and often takes on the role of public relations.
Security: Security is mainly responsible for the safety and security of hotel guests, visitors and hotel employees. This may include patrolling the hotel premises, monitoring equipments, and, in general; ensuring the security of guests, visitors and employees and their belongings.
Job responsibility of section heads/ managers
FRONT OFFICE MANAGER
· Organize the front office area elegantly and economically
· Assign duties to the F/O Staffs
· Make the duty roster of the front office staffs.
· Supervise and train the staffs.
· Advise on purchase of required equipment and other material.
· See for the welfare of the staffs.
· Co-ordination with other department of hotel.
· Inform the staffs about the management’s policies.
· Responsible for take correct action for complains and solve problems in time.
· Responsible for training and formulation of training schedules for his / her staffs.
· In addition, he/she has to assist his/her staffs during peak operating hour
Executive Housekeeper
Executive Housekeeper is the commander-in-chief of the housekeeping department. She is most related mostly to accommodation operation. Housekeepers reports to the general manager, or the residential manager, or the room division manager. She is responsible and accountable for total cleanliness and aesthetic upkeep of the entire hotel. She supervises all housekeeping employees, has authority to hire or discharge subordinates, plans and assigns work assignment, inspect completed assignments, requisition supplies etc.
§ Administrative in charge of a housekeeping department.
§ Responsible and accountable for the total cleanliness, maintenance and aesthetic upkeep of the hotel.
§ Should possess high degree of tact as well as good organizing ability.
§ Prepares duty roster and supervise the discipline and conduct of her staff.
§ Motivate her staff and keep their morale high.
§ Maintain an inventory of the furniture, linen, and movable equipment in the room and related premises and to ensure they are regularly checked.
§ Advice all the interior design of the room.
§ To deal with lost and found property.
§ Recruits new staffs in coordination with personnel department, warn employees when hotel policies are violated, and discharge employee when necessary.
§ Evaluate employees in order to upgrade them when opening arise.
§ Trains and supervises his/her lowers.
§ Maintains close relation with other departments.
§ Provide a budget to the management, and undertaken budget control and forecasting.
Food and Beverages Manager: He is the head of the food and beverages department. He should have the following responsibilities.
He has to ensure the profitability of his departments outlets.
He has to achieve set targets of productivity and sales.
Preparation, updating and revising of menu cards and wine cards.
He has to ensure the availability of all the stocks required for the operation of F & B services and production.
He has to liaise with other departments.
He has to undertake the customers’ relations and business development.
He has to create training programs for the employees.
He is responsible for hiring and firing, appraisal, training and development of staffs.
Setting of purchase specification along with chef.
Ensuring the quality of foods and services in outlets.
Maintenance of highest professional standards.
Chef de Cuisine (Executive Chef)
The executive chef carries the full responsibilities of the kitchen and he must be both cook and administrator. He needs to be capable of quick service and mainly knows all the training skills. He must have a straight sense of economy and efficiency.
His main Jobs and Responsibilities include
· Takes charges of whole the kitchen administration.
· Plan the kitchen elegantly and economically
· Recruits the kitchen staff in coordination with the management
· Sees to the welfare of the kitchen staff
· Supervise and trains his staffs
· Plan the new menus, standardizes recipes and coordinates in fixing their prices.
· Controls the quality, quantity and the cost of the food.
· Checks spoilage and wastages (wastage control)
· Lays down the standard and specifications of ingredients
· Indemnifies ( protects) his staffs against any unfair evils
· Coordinates with other department of the hotel
· Informs the staff of the management policies
Attends F & B meetings for new settings and policies
Relationship between various departments:
Front office department:
1. Coordinates with housekeeping for the exchange of information like
· Out of Order room, Under Repair room, under renovation room
· VIP Arrival
· Vacant clean/ dirty room
· Occupied room, etc.
This kind of information is shared by housekeeping and front office with each other for the smooth functioning of Room Division or for the purpose of room sale.
2. Coordinates with food and beverage department:
· by charging food and beverage bill in the guest folio or account.
· by providing room occupancy to prepare the food and beverage items for tomorrow and today.
Housekeeping:
· Coordinates with room service for the clearance of food and beverage items inside the guest room.
· Coordinates with front office for the purpose of room sale. It gets the room ready and front office sales it.
Food and beverage department: Refer front office and housekeeping dept.
Engineering department: mostly coordinates with front office and housekeeping department for the maintenance of the hotel facilities.
Account department:
· Coordinates mostly with front office and food and beverage dept for the auditing purpose and keeping the record of financial transaction.
· Coordinates with housekeeping for collection of mini-bar, laundry and valet sales, etc.
Sales and marketing: coordinates mostly with front office department for the sales and marketing of hotel.
Personnel/ Human resource Department: coordinates with all the department for acquisition, recruitment, selection, socialization/ induction, orientation, maintenance, motivation of hotel staff.
Security department: coordinates mostly with operational department for the safety and security of hotel staff as well guests.
Purchase and store:
Coordinates with all the department for the purchase and storage of required items to run that particular dept.
For example with food production for the purchase of food and beverge items and storage of it for future use.
Relationship between hotels, travel agencies and tourism industry
“Guests” means those who are away from their homes and it therefore, has generated a perception that the hospitality industry should include or overlap with the tourism industry to a certain extent. Without a clear definition about the scope of the hospitality industry, some suggested that it should not only cover all lodging and food service operations but other tourism related operations, such as airlines and theme parks. Besides, there were also some who considered putting hospitality and tourism into one industry
Unlike tourism, hospitality, however, serves both tourist and non-tourist needs. To enhance your understanding of the relationship between the hospitality and tourism industry
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