Copthorne Hotel - Department Analysis

Copthorne Hotel – Department Analysis

Finance

The finance department at the Copthorne Hotel is extremely important to the running of the hotel. Some of the finance operations are carried out within the hotel and some are centrally carried out. For example: Overall accounts, balance sheets for the whole company, Annual reports and break even analysis area all carried out centrally. These are all done centrally to reduce the amount of pressure on the individual hotels and to make sure that they have al the information sorted instead of waiting or the individual hotels to send all of the information to the central office. Here are a few more jobs that are carried out centrally.

Compilation of the Financial section of the annual report
Obtaining capital and resources for bulk purchases for all of the hotels regionally
Identifying start up costs
Identifying running costs
Preparing business plans if hotels need to borrow money
Paying salaries of the management team

The finance department within the hotel carries out the simple jobs like paying invoices, preparing guest accounts and paying wages for staff (casual staff etc). Here are a few more jobs that the finance department within the hotel has to handle:

Purchasing orders
Monitoring expenditure (gas, electricity etc) to make sure the hotel stays within its budget

Each finance department (centrally and locally) has 5 main jobs. They are as follows: Finance Manager, Cost Controller, Accounts Clerk, Salaries Clerk and several Accounts staff who monitor all of the other departments to make sure they do not go over their budget. The finance department would not be able to operate properly without the required staff and each person is equally important.

How Finance helps the Copthorne to meet it’s aims and objectives

The finance department is one of the most important departments in the hotel. The finance department manages all of the money that comes in and goes out of the hotel, so without the money that the finance department gives them, many departments would not be able to operate properly.

At the beginning of the business year, the finance department set a budget for each department in the hotel. For example, the Human Resources department would be given a £2,000 budget for all of the business year. The Human Resources accountant would make sure that H-R stay within their budget and do not go over. This way each department can be cost efficient.

The finance department would need to work out a break-even analysis to make sure they are charging the right amount of money for a room. They would need to do this so they do not lose money.
A way of doing this is to complete a survey of all the other hotels in the country. They could see how much money the other hotels are charging for a room and if they are making enough profit. This way they could work out the right price for their rooms.

The finance department would also have to work out a way to make some money to pay back some interest on their borrowed money. They would have to create a Business Plan outlining how the borrowed money will make a profit for the hotel.

They would also have to work out a fail-safe way to pay the employee’s wages. If their wages are paid on time then the employees will hopefully stay happy and make sure they keep the up the good customer service.

Also, if the finance department pay all of the invoices on time, it will keep the suppliers happy which in turn will help the departments receive their resources. This will then allow the staff to maintain the high service expected.

Links with other departments

Finance – Human Resources

If the finance department pay the wages on time with the correct deductions into the staff’s bank accounts it will leave them happy and motivated.
If the HR accountant discusses the HR manager about training to see if it can be done cost effectively.
The HR accountant can advise HR on the cost of advertising for staff to make sure that adverts are written to bring in the best possible applicants for the business.
The finance department and HR can discuss pay rises and outlining whether the company can ...

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Links with other departments

Finance – Human Resources

If the finance department pay the wages on time with the correct deductions into the staff’s bank accounts it will leave them happy and motivated.
If the HR accountant discusses the HR manager about training to see if it can be done cost effectively.
The HR accountant can advise HR on the cost of advertising for staff to make sure that adverts are written to bring in the best possible applicants for the business.
The finance department and HR can discuss pay rises and outlining whether the company can afford them.

Finance – Administration

The Admin accountant can set budgets for certain things like e.g. housekeeping, maintenance and the restaurant etc.
Discuss with the maintenance manager about fixing jobs cost effectively.
Advising the Admin Department to buy stationary in bulk to make sure that the most money is saved.

Finance – Marketing & Sales

The M & S accountant will set budgets for the marketing department.
Discussing the costs of promotional material & advertising.
Discuss the impact of advertising on the company’s profits to see how much more money the advertising brings to the company.
Arranging the payment for the manager’s bills and/or company cars – petrol, service etc.
Discussing with local garages a deal so that the company can get a cheaper car purchase or lease to save the company some money.

Use of I.C.T in Finance Department

Accounts need to be done using spreadsheets – Cash Flows forecasts, Balance Sheets, Profit & Loss accounts because figures can be quickly changed if they need to be.
A program called ‘Sage’ can do the wages and book keeping.
To prepare business plans on the computer using Publisher or Word.
The restaurant and Reception would use I.C.T to operate their main functions e.g. Tills. This would also be useful when stock taking raw material.
Hotel room keys and security systems

Administration

Administration is a very important job within a business, especially in a hotel. There are four main sectors of Administration, they are:

Housekeeping
Restaurant & Bar
Maintenance
Administration Staff

Housekeeping
Housekeeping is very important. It is the image of the hotel. Without housekeeping, the hotel would be dirty and would look disgusting.
Here are just a few of the jobs that housekeeping must do:

Linen Room – resources (sheets, pillows, clothes) are sorted, counted out, laundered, counted on return, rejects returned or dealt with, employee’s clothes cleaned. There is a chute on each floor for al of he dirty linen. The chute leads right down to the linen room.
Cleaning – Housekeeping must keep on top of the cleaning throughout the hotel. They must clear any spillages & messes made by guests. They must clean the rooms and other facilities and make sure the hotel looks it’s best when new customers arrive.

Restaurant & Bar

The restaurant & bar is the place for the guests to relax and have something to eat and drink. It needs to be organised and well run. This is run by administration. There are two types of restaurant:

A formal restaurant with a La Carte menu &
A bar that serves bar food and snacks at a lower price

Other duties that must be carried out are:

Printing of menus

Laying of tables etc

Maintenance

Maintenance is another important department within the hotel. They fix all of the problems in the hotel. Without them the hotel would fall into disrepair.

There is four maintenance staff, one must have an engineering background and a qualification.

When there is a fault or problem, it is reported to a member of staff and that member of staff will report it to the Maintenance manager. All problems/faults are fixed daily. There is always ongoing maintenance to prevent major faults.

Administration Staff

The reception staff supports the hotel and does one of the most important jobs within the hotel. They take bookings from customers, send letters out to clients, room bookings, function room bookings. They send invoices to customers to settle their accounts & they telephone businesses to encourage room bookings.

Jobs in Administration

There are four main job sectors within Administration, they are:

Housekeeping Manager – Overlooks the housekeeping management. They must make sure that all of the housekeeping rules are kept to and that the standards are met 100% of the time.
Restaurant & Bar staff – This sector consist of Manager, Deputy Managers, Wine Waiters and casual waiters for functions.
Maintenance – Four engineers, one must have a background in engineering and must have an engineering qualification.
Reception Staff – Manager overseeing shift work of 8/10 staff working on a rota system. Th reception must be manned 24 hours of the day in case room service is requested, if there is an emergency or if guest arrive during the night.

How Administration can help the Copthorne to meet its aims and objectives

They have to make sure that the invoices issued to customers are correct and all items are included on the final bill. This will help the to be consistent with receiving customer payments on time with the correct amount of money.

They must make sure that the staffing quality is excellent in the restaurant & bar. This will keep the customers happy, which in turn will persuade them to come back again. This will boost the Copthorne’s profit.

They have to make sure that a wide range of food is available at all times. This will give the customer more choice, which will keep the happy, encouraging them to spend more.

They have to make sure that the staff within the budget, because if they go over their budget it will lose the Copthorne money.

They have to make sure that the housekeeping manager and their staff keep an eye on the linen. If they do this they can make sure that no linen is going missing. This will save the Admin department money if they don’t have to keep paying for new linen.

They should make sure that the maintenance team keep a check on the hotel at all times so that they avoid big repair bills.

Links with other departments

Administration – Finance

The Admin accountant can set budgets for certain things like e.g. housekeeping, maintenance and the restaurant etc.
Discuss with the maintenance manager about fixing jobs cost effectively.

Discuss ways in which to save money to help them stay within the budget.

Administration – Marketing

If the Administration do the right job by keeping the customer happy by having hard working and friendly staff, it will make the marketing job a lot easier. The marketing department will have to do less to sell the hotel if the administration keep the customers coming back.

Use of I.C.T in the Administration Department

They would use I.C.T in communication such as:

Faxes, Letters, Memos & Reports

They must make sure that they print enough copies for the whole hotel and that they are used appropriately.

Oral Communication – Presentations, Meetings – Making sure that function rooms has all the necessary equipment available for these to take place.
Visual Communication – Web Design, Brochures, Video Conferencing etc
Security – Call logging, Security Camera Recordings and Key Cards that need to be destroyed after use.

Marketing & Sales

Marketing

The marketing department is very important, not just to its particular but to all of the other hotels. The marketing department has to sell the hotel to the public.

Many things are carried out tin the marketing department here is some that are carried out in the main headquarters.

Market research to see what the customer needs and would like
Design the hotel web page. This is very important. As more and more people get the Internet, it will be one of their main ways of booking rooms.
Promotional Events – Special deals, cheap weekend breaks, links with other hotels.
Arrange mail to be sent to regular customers and to businesses.
Study the competition – They will need to see what other hotels are in the area. They can see what the other hotels are offering, then they can see I they can beat what they are offering.
Arrange sponsorship deals – They may sponsor big events like the International Motor show or small events like Redhill School’s Young Masterchef competition or their language bid.
Promote leisure facilities throughout their hotels by advertising. (posters, TV & radio adverts, Newspapers etc)

The following jobs will be completed locally in the hotel itself.

Reception Staff – Make sure that all staff are wearing name badges. This will allow the customer to communicate with the staff more easily.
Make sure all bookings are in the computer.
Preparing guest questionnaires – Make sure the questionnaires are where customers can see them so that they can get a response.
Offer local deals – e.g. Pay for two nights and get one free or free champagne with a meal over £50 etc.

Jobs in the Marketing Department

Market Manager
Designers – Web Design, Literature Design
Promotional Managers & their staff
Advertising Managers & their staff

How Marketing helps the Copthorne to meet its Aims & Objectives

The marketing department has to advertise & promote the hotel to give it a good image. This will boost their reputation.

They must make sure they always have up-to-date information on al of the competition and their deals. This will allow them to offer the same or better services, which will draw more customers. Also, this will allow them to offer the best possible service for their customers.

They must ensure that the website and their booklets are updated regularly to make sure that all of the right information is displayed and read by the customers.

Links with other departments

Marketing & Sales – Finance

The M & S accountant will set budgets for the marketing department.
Discussing the costs of promotional material & advertising.
Discuss the impact of advertising on the company’s profits to see how much more money the advertising brings to the company.
Arranging the payment for the manager’s bills and/or company cars – petrol, service etc.
Discussing with local garages a deal so that the company can get a cheaper car purchase or lease to save the company some money.

Marketing & Sales – Administration

Use of I.C.T within the Marketing Department

I.C.T is used a lot in the marketing department. It is used to create the hotel website. This is very important because it is one of the hotels best and efficient ways of booking a room.

It is used in Desktop Publishing to create information leaflets on the hotel and its facilities.

It may also be used to create many other documents and promotional materials. For example: Vouchers, memos, posters, internal notices etc.

How the departments co-operate with each other to meet the hotels Aims & Objectives

All of the departments have to co-operate with each other to make sure that the hotel runs as smoothly as possible. Also, if they co-operate with each other they will see that they can gain things and make life easier for their department.

I have shown how the departments co-operate with each other in previous pages.

If Finance, Administration. Human Resources and Marketing & Sales work together as they are they will help achieve the hotel’s Aims & Objectives in the following ways.

As they work together they are helping to keep most of the employees happy, which in turn will keep the customers happy.
The departments can have budget meetings to discuss departmental budgets and cash flow. This will help the hotel to keep within its allocated budget.
They will be able to share ideas and information on the competition. They will then be able to improve every department so that it runs perfectly, which in turn will bring them more custom in the long run.

Evaluation

The Copthorne Hotel has a very reputation for outstanding service, impeccable staff and good cleanliness. To maintain these, the departments within the hotel need to work together to make sure the hotel runs smoothly.

After looking through the information I collected from my visit to the Copthorne, I have noticed that many of the departments are very well organised.

I have also noticed that the departments work effectively with each other to make sure that the Aims & Objectives are met. As the Copthorne Hotel has high standards that always have to be met, it puts extra pressure on the departments.

If the following work together efficiently then Aims & Objectives will be met:

Finance & Administration – All of the other departments know notices and information about budgets, ASAP.
Finance & Marketing – All of the other departments know when their budgets will be received as Marketing may print notices or posters. The finance department will also know how much custom is being made from the advertising posters etc.
Finance & Sales – The finance department will know what is being spent, hat money is being brought in from sales of merchandise etc.
Marketing & Administration – If the Administration team work hard and keep the staff happy, the marketing department wont have to sell hotel as much.

Changes I think could be made

The first thing I would add is a multi-department meeting at the end of every week. This would allow the departments to analyse the week’s performance to see if they could improve anything within the hotel.
I would try and allocate certain days/weeks for certain people. For Example: a week special for families. This would bring in extra money, or a week for couples. This would make a boost to profits as it would be a ‘one off’ special.

Applied Business