Accommodation Management Course Schedule

Time table

Monday11.00-13.00hrs
Tuesday11.00-12.00hrs

Preamble

This course is designed to introduce students to the principles of accommodation management in hospitality industry. Emphasis will be placed on Rooms Divisions’ traditional role as the best generator of the hotel’s revenue as well as its principal operational functions.

Objectives

By the end of the semester the students should have an understanding of: The housekeeping division and its operations.
The guest cycle and the operational and managerial activities for each stage.

They should also be able to come up with reports on evaluating operations in the rooms division. Communication between houseking and other Hotel departments. Human resources in the rooms division department and its importance.

Course Outline

1. The Rooms Division

Introduction
Organization of the Rooms Division
Organization of rooms division department
Interrelationship and communication within rooms Division department with other departments

2. Housekeeping

The role of the housekeeping department
Management theory and the housekeeper
Housekeeping operations
Liaison of Housekeeping and Front Office
Automated rooms management in hotels
Budgeting and control
Planning and forecasting
Health and safety in hotels

3. Front Office Operations

Organization of the Front Office
The role of the Front Office
The guest cycle
Registration
Responsibility during guest stay
Checkout and settlement
Evaluating Front Office
Customer care skills

4. Reservations

Roles of Reservation
Link with marketing
Operations
Concept of yield management
Reservations management

5. Night Audit

The process
Daily Revenue report
Relevance

6. Management Functions of Rooms Division

Planning, Organizing, Leading and controlling
Establishing room rates
Forecasting room availability
Budgeting for operations
Managing human resources
Qualities of Front Office Staff
Evaluating of Front Office Operations

7. Human resource management in rooms’ division department

Recruitment and selection
Induction and training
Motivation and empowerment
Staff disciplining

Methodology
The course will be taught through lectures, discussions, class presentations and research and industrial visits.

Assessment

The students will be assessed through:
1. Practical industrial visits and research
2. Two written assignments
3. One in-class test
4. Final examination
The course work will contribute 30% to the final mark and the examination will contribute 70%.

Recommended Texts

1. Martin R. J (1998) Professional Management of Housekeeping Operations, John Wiley and Sons Canada. 2. Kasavana M. L. and Brook R. M. (1995) Managing Front Office Operations, Educational Institute, Michigan 3. Jones and Newton S. (1995) Hotel Management and Operations 2 Edition, Thompson publishing company, New York. 4. Chakravarti B, K. (1999) Front Office Management in Hotel CBS publishers and distributors, New Delhi. 5. Vergins and Wood R. C (1999) Accommodation Management. Perspectives for International Hotel Industry: Thompson Business Press, London.

Rooms Division; THM 208 Assignments

Individual assignment 1 (Project)

As a newly appointed Rooms Division manager of a 5 star hotel you are required to discuss the simulation of Rooms Division operations giving practical examples. (100) 06March2012

Group Assignment 1. (Hotel Familiarization visit)

In your groups of 11 make arrangements with the housekeeping department of a hotel of your choice.

i. Practical

(a) Seek consent to do daily cleaning of a room following the required procedure, (b) Make a list of all cleaning chemicals used.
(c)Make a bed ensuring you grasp the procedure (50)

ii. Report on the important concepts learnt in the housekeeping department during the familiarization visit and hand it for marking, (50)

10April 2012

Group Assignment 2

In groups of 11, Using 3 different hotels in Zimbabwe compare and contrast their operations in the following sections:

Group A Reservations
Group B Methods of establishing room rates
Group CFront office operations
Group DSecurity in the hotel.
Group EFront office Accounting
Group FResponsibilities of different personnel in Housekeeping Group GRefuse disposal and bacterial control in hotel rooms Group HNight auditing