Facilities and Maintenance Systems for Hospitality - Research Paper Example

Facilities and Maintenance Systems for Hospitality Introduction The condition of any hospitality facility has a main effect on the experience of the guest. This involves from air-conditioning and plumbing to television as well as slot machines. All mechanical appliances and other systems must be at all moments working in a good order. The maintenance staff must be equipped with data and integrated voice, mobile devices in order for them to be always within reach and easily available. It also enables the hotel managers have visibility into and monitor the progress of duties and work orders. Push-to-talk can be used when instant attention is needed or text messaging. Mobile computers are also effective during processing of work orders and generating automatic audit trails. However, most of hotel owners and managers have some weaknesses when it comes hotel designing. They don’t put into consideration the importance of attractive hotel design. Failure to ensure attractive hotel design results in small customer population thus less revenue. There is also need to carry out some maintenance test to ensure quality services. The present paper highlights some of the hotel design issues and recommends some solutions to such issues. The success of all leading resorts and hotels depends on the quality of services that is offered to the customers. By storing all the buildings, rooms, equipments, and floors in a management solution asset, it is possible to track the management and maintenance of everything. The report of cost will provide the managers with the costs of maintenance at any organizational level. The hotel managers can also set up preventive maintenance approaches for generators and HVAC units to avert failures (Gee, 2004). Eventually, the management maintenance system can be used to reduce costs, track maintenance, and ensure a quality service to the customers. In addition, using maintenance system can help a hotel or resort management to track management cost, extend life of assets, provide high quality services to customers, maintain efficient and a clean environment (Hassanien & Dale, 2013). Additionally, facility maintenance system helps in improving labor productivity, reducing costly downtimes, minimizing investment and maintenance costs. Just like a person meets another person for a first day, it takes customers and travelers approximately 60 seconds to learn and gain attraction of a resort or hotel. Travelers and customers start by examining the parking area, décor, signage, the carpet, or the smell of the environment. Although different customers get impressed and attracted by different things, it is the hotel’s maintenance management that influences the first impression (Hinkin, 2005). The initial test of maintenance is arrival. How can a hotel or resort management ensure that customers enjoy its facilities with a positive stance? For instance, a Five Star hotel may look like a campsite if the parking site is full of potholes, the lights from neon signs are missing, or the smell once the door is opened is like that of a bait shop. Some hotel or resort managers walk through the facilities during night and morning time to determine whether there is any problem that needs to be addressed. The only drawback with this approach is that the hotel’s staff is used the smell of the hotel and may not identify any problem. The other test of hospitality facilities is lobby maintenance test. Once customers and travelers enter a resort or a hotel, the second type of maintenance test starts. Some of the common items that travelers consider include the carpet, lobby furniture condition, décor, washrooms, and hotel shine. Leaking washrooms’ fixtures, stained carpets, rusty or smelly furniture may negate the customers’ first impression or convince them that services offered are of low quality. Other facilities that a hotel or resort management must ensure they are conducive are the rooms. Maintenance of rooms is one main aspect that can make a resort or hotel lose customers permanently. The cleanliness of the rooms is a very crucial thing that ensures that customers have an enjoyable stay. The main factors of the rooms include carpet, bedspreads, shower areas, smell, and security. The cleaning staff of a hotel or resort should be always responsible for washrooms’ soap scum and neatness, but maintenance of the rooms involves everyone (Ferreira, Erasmus & Groenewald, 2009). For instance, the A/C vents should always be clean and should not show any sign of rust or dust. Those who responsible should always inspect whether the A/C vents are in working order. A similar principle should also be applied in the game units, kitchen equipments, IPod docking stations, and windows. If the hotel or resort rooms are in a disorganized order, they will leave a negative impression to the customers. The last maintenance test is the maintenance of hotel facilities. This includes facilities such as boilers, elevators, chillers, common areas, business centers, fitness centers, safety equipment, spas, and pool. Worn out fixtures, loose railings, and damaged water taps are more than negative impression factor, and cause major liability issues. The main question that arises is how can a hotel or resort management department carry out maintenance in all the mentioned areas and still ensure they do not incur higher costs. One of the solutions used in most leading hotels and resort is CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software) that is designed to do scheduling, recording, and tracking all maintenance activities in the hotels and resorts (Schwarz & Dorf, 2007). When a management implements CMMS, it becomes easier for them to schedule regular inspections for all assets in the areas mentioned above. For instance, a CMMS that is web-based can be used to schedule inspections in areas such as parking once a month and A/C units weekly. The results of the inspection are then transmitted back to the managers using handheld devices to ensure scheduling of minor repairs before they become too complicated and expensive. Identifying the problems earlier also enables the management of a hotel to schedule orders at regular hours or at low traffic. This enables the management team to avoid overtimes and reduce inconvenience of travelers. Preventive maintenance for resorts and hotels has turned out to be more crucial because of reducing profit margins, consumer pressure for the need of green concerns, and aging assets. In order for a hotel to be successful, the property managers should implement sound management procedures that will enable them overcome these issues in a cost effective manner (In O'Fallon & Rutherford, 2011). Hotels and resorts that implement maintenance programs always stay ahead of their competitors because the managers are able to reduce the unnecessary expenditures. The hotels and resorts that have not yet started using the modern maintenance tools have no other choice than changing their maintenance procedures to enable them survive in the current competitive environment. It is always recommended that the aging assets require extra maintenance attention. Facilities those are not included in the maintenance program shows high chances of wear and tear therefore resulting in early repair or higher repair cost. Hotels and resorts that have kitchens, multiple spas, and in-house laundry their equipments should be run at an optimal performance in order to save energy and reduce its expense (Boomer, 2008). The interior design of a hospitality facility is a very crucial factor for the guest. It is the interior design of a hotel or resort that increases the satisfaction of the customers. Interior design also serves as a standard for measuring the comfort, services, and quality expected by the guests, therefore, any hospitality facilities manager should ensure that the interior design is of high quality. An effective design requires a balance between the elements of physical environment and operational functionality in order to build an attractive ambience for the customers. In order to achieve this goal, the management should use a comprehensive planning that is based on the operations’ knowledge and accurate costs. Hospitality facilities management and design is the first integration process in any hospitality organization that enables maintenance and development of the required services that supports and improves an organization’s effectiveness. Hospitality facilities management and design encompasses many activities within a hotel or resort environment as well as the management of people’s and workplace impact (Management Development Centre of Hong Kong, 2006). An effective facilities management and design that combines activities and resource is very crucial towards a success and development of any hospitality organization. At its corporate level, facilities management contributes to delivering operational and strategic objectives. On a daily level, a good facilities management and design ensures an efficient and safe workplace, which in turn results in an essential performance in any hospitality business regardless of its scope and size (Osmond, 2011). Within this professional discipline that is growing at a fast rate, the managers who are responsible for facilities and design have wide workload of providing, developing, and maintaining myriad services. Their responsibilities range from space management, communication infrastructure, property strategy to administration, contract management, and construction maintenance. The managers of hospitality industry should ensure that their organizations have effective facilities maintenance and design in order to meet the needs of the customers at a broad range. Their dedicated facilities maintenance teams should always be focused on several customer segments such as renovation, ownership groups, purchasing, contractors, and many others. The hospitality branches should be located at places where customers will feel at home. The services build on the needs of the customers, should always be focused on reducing maintenance costs, meeting all deadlines, and providing high quality products and services. Resort and hotel management should be committed to offering comprehensive and tailored facilities management services in order to ensure sustainable growth of profits and sales. This will also help in ensuring long term protection and care of customers. The primary mission of any hospitality organization should be ensuring quality accommodation that will make the customers feel at home (Wilson, 2001). The success of any hospitality business is based on results that are delivered through attraction, development, and maintenance of qualified personnel who are able to provide team work and enable the organization out-perform current competition through effective sales and marketing strategies. Conclusion In conclusion, the success of any hospitality all leading resorts and hotels depend on the quality of services that is offered to the customers. This involves from air-conditioning and plumbing to television as well as slot machines. By storing all the buildings, rooms, equipments, and floors in a management solution asset, it is possible to track the management and maintenance of everything. Hospitality facilities management and design encompasses many activities within a hotel or resort environment as well as the management of people’s and workplace impact. Therefore, resort and hotel management should be committed to offering comprehensive and tailored facilities management services in order to ensure sustainable growth of profits and sales. The managers and facility owners should implement effective maintenance strategies that will aid in providing quality services to their customers. References Boomer, L. M. (2008). Hotel management, principles and practice. 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