Star Rating System of Hotels - Literature review Example

Name: Professor: Subject: Hospitality Date: Table of Contents 1.0Introduction 2 2.0Star Rating System of Hotels 2 3.0Yield management 4 4.0Roles of occupations and recruitment processes 6 5.0Front Office Staff 7 6.0Property Management System 9 7.0Star rating system in Australia 10 8.0Public areas in a hotel 11 9.0Regular property maintenance 12 10.0Refurbishing a hotel 14 11.0Conclusion 14 12.0Works Cited 15 1.0 Introduction The intention of this paper is to sketch out various defining features of a 4 STAR rated Australian hotel. Three pertinent sections will be given necessary attention specifically front office, housekeeping and pubic areas, and property maintenance issues. The paper will however begin by discussing star rating system of hotels in Australia then proceed to highlight yield management as applied in accommodation industry. Importance of occupation and recruitment process in the sector will be given due consideration. 2.0 Star Rating System of Hotels In a research conducted by Whitelaw and Leo (1), AAA Tourism is a body that controls Star Rating System in Australia on behalf of Australia’s Auto Clubs. AAA Tourism assesses various accommodation properties in Australia in order to rate them on Star Rating System. The accommodation properties under consideration for rating include hotels and motels, hosted accommodation, caravan/ holiday parks, serviced apartments and self-catering properties (AAA Tourism website, n. p). According to AAA Tourism, STAR rating is intended to aid travellers in choosing accommodation that matches their needs. By using STAR rating, a traveller is able to successfully plan for a trip taking into account available resources and other individual requirements. STAR ratings give an independent appraisal of facilities and nature of accommodation that is offered by a property hence such official rating is unbiased. This means that without the official rating, travellers would rely on their own judgement or incorrect biased ratings from other organizations. STAR rating is therefore critical in making a decision regarding a place to stay. It is important to note that STAR rating is accepted internationally due to its independent assessment of accommodation consequently providing quality assurance. Rating system can be traced back to 1915, when members of Australian Auto Clubs were furnished with information about places to visit, things to do, and places to stay. AAA Tourism website notes that STAR rating scheme has been practised by Auto Clubs since 1963. Technically, cleanliness is a common factor in all STAR rating i.e. from 1 STAR to 5 STAR. To be allowed to display STAR rating, AAA Tourism affirms that a property must maintain a mark of 75% cleanliness. In relation to 4 STAR rating, the superior design is such that its facilities are able to provide unique accommodation experience to clients. AAA Tourism confirms that facilities and services, cleanliness, and quality and condition are critical factors taken into account when rating properties. Additionally, rating takes into account what customers feel is important. AAA Tourism further contends that rating from 1STAR to 5 STAR does not reflect superiority but type, quality, and quantity of service and products offered. In that case, therefore, a single or two star properties can still offer a customer with excellent services depending on client’s needs. 3.0 Yield management Caneen and Gu (109) found that yield management is a pricing technique deployed by industries whose marginal production was high compared with marginal sales cost. Hotel industry is recognized as one of the industries operating with high marginal production cost compared against marginal cost of sales. Caneen and Gu (110) asserts that yield management practices is directly related with customer segmentation in terms of willingness to pay, booking patterns for individual segment, demand for each segment, tracking movement of sales, forecasting occupancy, maintaining absolute price floor next to marginal sales cost, and optimal room allocation. To demonstrate the need for Yield Management, Ingold, et al (235) puts forward that hotel industry is characterized by fixed capacity, segmentation of demand, perishable inventory, advance sale of product, fluctuating demand, and marginal costs are low whilst marginal production costs are high. Traditionally, performance in accommodation and generally in hotel industry has been measured using approaches such as average room rate and occupancy rates, which makes use of volume of sales in accommodation. Ingold goes ahead to state that Yield management is a departure from the use of volume of sales and captures efficiency given by the ratio of revenue realized to revenue potential. Revenue realized is the actual sales while potential revenue is the earnings that could have been received if all rooms were sold at full rack rate. One disadvantage of rack rate is its applicability in a single segment. This inconsistency in rack rate also leads to inconsistency when comparing one hotel against another. Furthermore, hotels that depend on discounting certain services would record unrealistic and misleading yield. Orkin (53) outlined strategies to be used during a period of high and low demand. Orkin is convinced that during high demand, availability of low-rate packages should be closed, minimum period stay and block booking strategy implemented when client groups are willing to part with high rates. On the other hand, good practices in yield management requires that when demand is low, hotels should implement promotional rates, low cost packages, and encourage rate sensitive segments. The use of technology plays a critical role in fully exploiting aspects of Yield Management. Lieberman (35) states that technology in yield management facilitates accumulation, manipulation, and analysis of data accordingly simplifying calculation of demand patterns and displacement costs, which are evident in accommodation industry. By using technology in Yield Management, hotel managers are in a position to make fast decisions on how to rate a hotel in a particular night. A number of strategies are applicable in an attempt to increase profitability and occupancy as part of yield management strategy. Marketing strategies, improving facilities, customer reorientation, and financial strategies are widely deployed as part of yield management strategies. The success of yield management however relies on the ability to balance between customer needs and expectations while also offering value for money and being competitive against competitors. 4.0 Roles of occupations and recruitment processes Occupations and recruitment processes within accommodation industry plays important role in determining the kind of services rendered to clients. Performance in accommodation industries depends on quality of services thus the need to select the right people. One of the roles of occupation and recruitment processes in accommodation is to capture individuals who have enthusiasm and love for the job. Secondly, the process leads to employment of persons who learn fast consequently reducing training costs. Thirdly, the process generates individuals who will need minimum supervision hence allowing management to concentrate on other areas within the establishment. It is also important to note that the process have the effect of pointing out employee who is likely to get satisfied with the company thus reducing turnover rates. Job analysis is part of recruitment process and helps the company to find the right candidate for the job by comparing job profile against person’s competencies and future organizational needs (Baum 200). As an aspect of recruitment, job description shows the purpose of the job, tasks, duties and responsibilities, objectives, and reporting relationship. Working hours and remuneration are included in job description and serves to provide a clear picture of the job. Besides, job description acts as a marketing instrument to attract highly qualified candidates. Person specification falls under recruitment and gives profile of a candidate that is considered as ideal or rather possessing the right skills and qualities for the vacant position. Nickson (127) makes it clear that failure to adopt quality occupation and recruitment process in hospitality industry has huge cost such as retraining cost, wastage of management time, poor quality service provision, and low revenue. 5.0 Front Office Staff Bardi (62) discusses various roles of front office staff. This is summarized as follows: Front office manager Through front office staff, the manager communicates warmth, caring, safety, and efficiency to guests Train staff on aspects of property management system Ensure a balance between offering hospitality and service and sustaining profit centers. The manager further maintains details surrounding communication system Coordinate the elements of effective property management practices i.e. budget, inventory, sales, equipments Cultivate an atmosphere where employees feel the need for excellence, teamwork, and morale to work Manage property management system Ensure cooperation between marketing and sales department and front office staff such that opportunity lost in terms of vacant rooms are minimized completely Supervisors Supervise and coordinate activities of staff Assign duties and instruct staff in relation to furnishings, decorations, displays, microphones within conference rooms in a hotel Inspect facilities to detect any error and give directions for rectifying the error Make a daily roster May participate in hiring housecleaners Receptionists Handling enquiries and reservation requests from guests who walk into the hotel Make arrangement for arrival of guests Greet arriving guests and checking them Sell hotel facilities and services Handle issues raised by guests and directing such issues to relevant departments for redress Supply other departments with information about guests, maintain guests records Telephonists receive calls and direct them to appropriate sections through extension numbers Take control of automated system Manage communication during an emergency Place wake up calls Ensure guest privacy is maintained Concierge They deal with general visitor enquiries and directions, giving and receiving guest keys, monitoring incoming and outgoing mails for guests, organizing taxis and parking for guest It is a booking desk handling car hire, tour bookings, ticketing and entertainment The desk handles and stores baggage They also deals with lobby security where such role is not handle by security personnel. Doorman/Porter Doorman opens doors, assist guest with their luggage to and from transport area to the hotel Porter assists guests by carrying luggage to and from rooms. They also ensure that the lobby section is clean. The person runs errands and covey messages. Bellhop Escort incoming guests to their rooms Informs guests on available services and facilities Assist with hand luggage Inspect rooms for adequacy of suppliers and orderliness Delivers messages Explains operation of certain equipment or facilities Picks articles for laundry Transport guest about the hotel (in car or motorized cart) 6.0 Property Management System Ismail (187) mentions that property management system is a computer application technology comprising of hardware and software that controls operation in front office including check-in and checkout, cash transactions, reservation, housekeeping, and other tasks. PMS also facilitates interfacing, where data is shared between various departments such as housekeeping, food and beverage, gift shop, and other functional areas. Bardi (101) notes that PMS facilitates monitoring of energy, cooling systems, guest keys and other applications. Front office is the most vital center of operation handling recordkeeping and various tasks hence computerized system comes in handy to ensure quality and fast services offered to the clients. Penner, Lawrence, Walter (394) outlines types of reports generated by Property Management System namely: Operating reports (daily and monthly) Payroll, revenue and other financial report Reservation reports Reports on guest history and marketing reports Police reports Inventory report 7.0 Star rating system in Australia AAA Tourism is a body mandated to manage star rating in Australia. A hotel will receive a star rating after complying with some requirements put forward by AAA Tourism Australia. First, the hotel must ensure that guests are able to reach easily property representative during an emergency hence contact details must be visible onsite or within the guest room. Secondly, the hotel must have a dedicated reception desk to handle clients. Besides making sure that blankets are available for all rated beds, the accommodation property should avail towels and bath mat per guest, which has been factored into rates. In addition, the property ought to provide soap, daily housekeeping services, shower, and toilet facilities. Across all stars, from 1 to 5 STAR, cleanliness is the top priority and must be maintained at a very high standard. It must be understood that rankings vary according to property’s status of facilities and services, cleanliness, and quality and condition. These standards have a direct relationship with customer experience i.e. room service and reception, opening hours etc. AAA Tourism has tabulated guiding factors that help classify a hotel into its corresponding STAR rating. Table 1: Principles of Classifying Accommodation 5 STAR Luxury services marked by extraordinary facilities, furnishings, and guest services; high level of personalization; design is of high quality; excellence is registered across all areas 4 STAR Accommodation reflects fashionable décor in the entire facility. Facilities, Furnishings, and guest offerings are of high standard to meet individualized needs and wants of clients. 3 STAR Comfortable accommodation whose facilities and furnishings are good and above average 2 STAR The nature of accommodation is basic, clean and has a moderate number of facilities. Often meets needs of price sensitive guests or travelers 1 STAR Extremely simple and clean, not stylish and often registered limited services with bathroom shared HALF STAR Provide extensive range of facilities Source: AAA Tourism (n. p) 8.0 Public areas in a hotel Sudhir (185) gives a succinct analysis of public areas in a hotel and people allocated with the task of cleaning the areas. According to this researcher, public areas in a hotel comprise of sections that encounter heavy traffic from people who access hotel area. The examples of these areas and person responsible for cleaning the corresponding public areas can be enumerated in a table shown below Table 2: Public Areas and cleaning Public Area Person Responsible Floor Terraces and Balconies Floor terraces are cleaned by gardener or floor houseman. While gardener takes care of plant and clears leaves, a houseman is responsible for cleaning terrace floors, under planters, garden umbrellas Elevators House man cleans the inside of elevator including walls, ceilings, floors, ventilations, grooves, foyer carpets Guest floor corridors A floor houseman cleans guest floor corridors i.e. ceilings, walls, stains corridor carpets Floor pantries Maid or houseman work on rotational basis to clean floor pantry Service lobbies and stairways Depending on nature of traffic, a houseman sweeps, mops, and dry service lobbies and stairways Service elevator Kitchen stewarding department is responsible for making this area clean Function rooms Special appointed team is assigned the task of cleaning this area Lobby Character and volume of traffic determines person to clean Shopping Arcade Person to clean depends on agreement between hotel and lessees. In some cases, the shopkeeper cleans this areas and housekeeper makes sure that this area is cleaned Bars, soda fountains, and snack bars Cleaned by food and beverage staff Restaurants Housekeeping department is vested with the responsibility of cleaning the region before it is opened Offices Housekeeping department deals with office cleaning: receptions, meeting rooms Source: Sudhir (185) 9.0 Regular property maintenance The main rationale for conducting regular property maintenance is to protect assets from threats. By protecting the assets, hotel management is able to guarantee guest safety against risks such as civil disturbance, natural disasters, or preventable accidents. Concisely, regular property maintenance is aimed at providing assurance. One of the benefits from regular inspection is minimizing accidents and therefore costs related to lawsuit or medical expenses. Secondly, the management is able to eliminate huge costs of purchasing new asset to replace an asset that could have offered more service if it had been maintained well. Regular maintenance has direct relationship with quality of services offered hence a hotel can improve its service by regularly inspecting and maintaining its facilities. Retaining corporate image and standards, improving competitiveness and star rating is achievable through regular maintenance. Conversely, regular property maintenance is disadvantageous when it is conducted by inexperienced internal personnel because such individual might not have the required expertise to identify a problematic area. Cumulatively, regular maintenance is expensive hence disadvantageous. Internal maintenance departments are units within the hotel that are dedicated to conducting regular maintenance of facilities. On the other hand, external maintenance is a form of outsourced specialized contractors who are better equipped and flexible enough to tackle maintenance tasks in a hotel. External maintenance further enables management to concentrate on their core duties. Internal maintenance often requires management attention consequently denying the management opportunity to address key areas. 10.0 Refurbishing a hotel Refurbishment of a hotel is restoring its original outlook i.e. making it look neat and fresh again. Some designers and developers interchangeably use the term refurbishment and renovation. Hassanien, et al (1) notes however, that renovation entails complete or partial repair of accommodation. The scholar holds a view that renovation may necessitate structural changes that will give a total new outcome. Refurbishment is financially more viable than renovation because the latter is capital-intensive venture since it goes to the core of original architectural design. The former simply requires less budgetary allocations because it is concerned with restoration of original condition without necessarily tempering with its initial design. 11.0 Conclusion It is apparent from the research that accommodation industry mainly relies on standards of facilities and services, cleanliness, and quality and condition of services and products for its ratings. In all the STAR ratings, cleanliness is considered as a principle factor and any hotel must achieve a minimum score of 75% in order to be rated. Aside from the ratings, the paper reported on diverse areas of accommodation facility including front office, public areas, and property maintenance. The importance of property management system and yield management for improved performance was also ventilated. 12.0 Works Cited AAA Tourism. STAR Rating Scheme: Hotel Standards & Guidelines. AAA Tourism, 2012. Web. 7 August 2013. Bardi, James A. Hotel Front Office Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2011. Baum, Tom. Human Resource Management for Tourism, Hospitality, and Leisure: An International Perspective, London: Thomson Learning, 2006. Caneen, Jeff, and Gu, Zheng. "Yield Management and Its Practical Application in Hotels.” Journal of Hospitality Financial Management: 6.1 (1998): 109-110. Hassanien Ahmed, et al. Hospitality Business Development. Oxford: Routledge, 2012. Ingold Anthony, Ian Yeoman, Una McMahon-Beattie. Yield Management. London: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2000. Ismail, Ahmed. Front Office Operations and Management. Albany, NY: Thomson Delmar, 2002. Lieberman, Warren H. "Debunking the myths of yield management.” Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 36.1 (1993): 34-41. Nickson, Dennis. Human Resource Management for Hospitality and Tourism Industries. Burlington, MA: Elsevier ltd, 2007. Orkin, Eric B. “Boosting Your Bottom Line with Yield Management”. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 28.4 (1988): 52-56. Penner Richard H, Lawrence Adams, Walter Rutes. Hotel Design, Planning and Development. London: Routledge, 2013. Sudhir, Andrews. Hotel Housekeeping: Training Manual. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2001. Whitelaw, Paul A, and Jago, Leo Kenneth. Understanding the Key Elements of Star Ratings in Accommodation. Queensland: Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, 2009.   Read More