The next is to improve constantly in time. Improve in manufacturing and service, and to do it one at a time rather than more at a time. When a problem comes along, the JIT believes that this is a challenge for improvement and does not try to cover it all up. This concept also aims to make sure that there is a good design control in order to avoid problems at a later stage. Simplicity of the manufacturing, installment and usage of the product is also an aim for the “just in time” concept.
Shortly mentioned but not least important are also visual control of package, focus on customer’s needs, production to customer demand and respect for the individual as a whole.
The main advantages of the JIT are that it eliminates warehouse costs and it is good for each cash-flow, as there has to be no investment in the supplier. It is used more in other industries rather than the Hotel Industry. Some restaurants such as Mc Donald’s use it for their smooth running of businesses.
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There are three types of maintenance, which is the most important one and why?
The purpose of maintenance is to preserve and extend the life of a building or equipment for as much as possible provided that it is possible to do so. It can also involve constant repairs and breakdowns, which we all know can be a nuisance and cost us a fortune.
There are several types of maintenance. Planned is the first one of them, which is organized and carried out with a forethought control, and records are kept as to when it should be done. The next one is preventive which is done in certain periods of time or due to the recommendations of the manufacturer in order to prevent an eventual breakdown. The corrective on does also occur and this may really complicate things for the Management and the guests. This is when a break down occurs and the item has to be repaired or changed with another. The running maintenance is certainly the better alternative and it is being carried out while the item is still in service.
The three main types of maintenance are planned, preventive and running. Since the planned maintenance is also preventive, this type is called the Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM). The PPM’s philosophy is to foresee any breakdowns, to apply proper procedures for prevention and corrections, plan the possible outcome of a breakdown and search for alternatives for solving the eventual problem and take the appropriate action even for further problems that may occur. These are only part of the reasons why I believe that the PPM is most important.
For the PPM to work and be effective, the following needs to be. The system should be cost effective, to be legal, to reduce the running maintenance to a minimum, to meet operational needs and for the workmen to be more maintenance jobs than just inspectional ones.
If the building, for example is new, there should not be straight away an elaboration of maintenance because the equipment or building will be in guarantee for at least three to four years. But if the property is ongoing, it will be a good idea to install a PPM for each piece of equipment, as at a later stage it will pay off. Therefore there needs to be a check when each piece of equipment was purchased, is it still in guarantee, when does it expire and if so make sure there is a contract signed with the manufacturer to ensure best maintenance.
In order for the PPM to go well, there also has to be a sufficient training of personnel. If that bit is being done properly, then there should not be a problem with the rest. Cleaning is also a category of the planned preventive maintenance and has to be done properly to ensure good presentation and disinfection for the prevention of contamination.
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The Hotel’s heating, cooling, ventilation system (HVAC) is a primary energy consumer. How can we measurably reduce the system’s needs?
The first thing about the heating that is obvious is that the temperature in a certain premise should be of a fair level to all of the users. Heat transfer happens in several ways. Those are conduction, convection and radiation. The conduction happens usually via a material and its strength depends on the type and density of the material. Convection is when the heat is being transferred in fluids or gases in the air. Radiation is when the heat is transferred from one equipment to the other in the air.
Heat loss can be a great problem if the building design has not been considered carefully. It may be lost through floors, the wind may also be a causer and loss occurs across cavities and from the outside surfaces. Therefore the proprietor has to make sure that the insulation of the building is up to a good level, as this may be very costly for the business. In order to help this, new materials have been created and thought of, which may help the good insulation and thermal properties of the vulnerable surfaces. There are certain types of insulation and such may be the glass fibre blankets, which trap the air between fibres to prevent heat loss. Expanded polystyrene and polyurethane are plastics, which trap the air, this time in the cells of the material. There are also other insulations such as vermiculite, double-glazing, polystyrene veneer and aluminium foil.
Ventilation is also very important for the comfort of the users of a certain building. The air has to be dry, fresh and pure. This may be only done if the correct temperature is maintained. Dampness is a great factor for a good air, so the temperature has to be good enough to avoid it. The ventilation has to be a good supplier of oxygen for the normal breathing levels, remove smells and combustions, refrain bacteria from entering the premises, remove excess heat and moisture and prevent condensations.
Air conditioning is also part of the HVAC system and it contributes to our comfort by regulating the temperature to an acceptable level and cleaning up the air we are breathing. The advantages of an air conditioner are, for example that it provides a human comfort and removes airborne dust. Another advantage is that everyone can do their job properly if the air is up to a standard and a good level of comfort and it is also a good idea, especially in places where the ventilation is limited.
There are certain ways in which energy from such an important HVAC system may be reduced. For instance, a good set out preventive maintenance of the equipment is a good place to start. Before that though, the Management has to make sure that there is a good installation of the air conditioning systems and heating, in order to prevent temperature loss and overtax of the engines. Also a good idea will be to purchase energy saving devises and install them if the gadgets are old. As far as the heating is concerned, there should be thermal static control on each radiator in the guest rooms, so that guests and housekeeping control the temperature without any extra heat being lost.
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Describe the methods used in booking, checking-in and servicing groups of guests?
When checking in a group, we have to know that it means that bookings are done as a unit, all members of it pay the same room rate and have some common purpose for their trip, e.g. excursion. What is also the obvious is that they check in and out together. Of course there may be an exception, like businessmen coming to a conference, but their arrival will still be at a similar time of day. The group range is great, it varies from a dozen people to hundreds. Therefore it is very important how the booking and negotiations are being done.
Negotiating the room price with the groups is a very careful process and it should be handled with care, especially if it is with regulars. This is because there is a “clear conflict of interest between the two sides”. The hotel wants the rooms to be sold at a bigger rate and the tour operators want a good deal for their tourists.
Since the group certainly guarantees more rooms sold than an individual, Hotels check them in with a great deal of consideration. What happens though, is that sometimes group organizers reserve too many rooms because they are not sure of the number of people attending. Therefore there are cancellation deadlines that are usually set out a month in advance and even the whole number is not fulfilled, the organizer stays liable for the rest of the people who didn’t turn up and hence pay for the extra rooms.
Guest bookings are more complicated then an individual ones, because there are some factors that need to be considered and those are the payment methods, additional admin arrangements, courier arrangements etc.
But let us now concentrate on the procedures for group accommodation. It is preferable to have a pre-reservation and if so it should have a guarantee, details, cancellation and payment clauses. Then it may be necessary to get a rooming list from the tour operator or whoever responsible with the people requested to share a room.
The next stage is pre-registration. As the group comes in, the checking facilities have to be separated in the lobby where the guests pick up their key and documents, who are previously tidied up in an alphabetical order.
The luggage may be tagged with room numbers and names and be sent up to the guest within thirty minutes.
As far as the meals are concerned, this may get more complex then expected. And this is the stage where the Catering Department has to be most active. All meals should be pre-arranged with groups or individuals. Details such as hours, types of meals and coffee breaks, if necessary, potential entertainment after dining, sightseeing etc. should also be contracted.
Payment is also a delicate manner, as the method has to be arranged – whether the group will pay as a whole or individually.
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Please describe the various room rates for the same rooms and why?
Defining tariffs affects the marketing policy of a Hotel and plays important role in the negotiating process. Tariffs concern mainly the Front Office and the Manager should be aware of the two principles that deal with pricing and those are the cost-based and the market-based pricing. Prices are always put in consideration with customer’s wants and service expectations.
Prices always vary according to the type of room (single, twin etc.) and its facilities. The decision of the room rate is helped by the determination of the so-called “weightings” those are usually a matter of judgment. For instance if a single person is occupying a double room, he should be paying more than just for a single because he is using up more space but on the other hand it wouldn’t be fair for him to pay a double rate.
One type of room rates in hotel, especially resort ones, would be the seasonal rates. The philosophy here is that in off-peak times, the rate is always lower in order to attract clients and in the peak times the prices are considerably higher to maximize profit. It may happen that according to the type of room, the differences in rates may be greater.
The next type on our agenda is the weekday and weekends rates. Especially in the business hotels, the weekday occupancy is greater than in weekends. On the principle of seasonal rates, Hotels may differ the prices. The weighting has to be determined again and the technique is fairly similar.
It is impossible to attract customers at the weekend with prices that you give out during the weekdays, therefore the rack rate has to be reduced. Marginal cost is always about covering at least variable cost and contribute at least a little to the fixed costs. Marginal pricing is being used more for weekend breaks, off-season holidays, conferences and special events.
Many hotels comply with the prices of their greater competitors and reduce them with 10-20%. This is what is called the competitor based pricing. This is also a form of marked-based pricing. Top-down pricing is when a new Hotel is trying to enter a new market. Rate cutting can be risky because the occupancy level to reach revenue is surprisingly high. Prestige product pricing is when there is a clear mind that the Hotel does not always win, if it lowers its prices. It may happen even the other way around, if the prices go up, the nature of the product changes and the hotel may get more exclusive.
The next type for consideration is the inclusive and non-inclusive rates. There are four main types of tariffs. Those are fully inclusive (room plus all main meals), semi-inclusive (room, breakfast and one main meal), bed and breakfast and non-inclusive rate. But what needs to be noted here is that the inclusive term can never be determined because some guests use more services than others.
But in order to approach the determination of the inclusive term we have to look upon two things – the characteristics of the hotel and the guest. The type of tariff has to depend on the guest requirements such as length of stay, spending power, homogeneity and predictability. The hotel characteristics depend on its grade, size, type of business, location and marketing considerations.
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Bibliography:
Accommodation Operations by:
Christine Jones & Val Paul
1985
British Library
ISBN: 0 7134 4807 5
Front Office by:
Peter Abbot & Sue Lewry
2001
Butterworth Heinemann
ISBN: 0 7506 4230 0
Commercial Housekeeping & Maintenance
Iris Jones & Cynthia Phillips
1984
Stanley Thornes Ltd
ISBN: 0 85950 377 1
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