Important Facilities Planning Aspects Relating to Hotels - Essay Example

?Hotel Industry Executive Summary In the recent years, the factors like globalization drive by the world countries, economic growth in the developingcountries like China and India and convergence of technology added new dimensions to the industry. The hospitality, tourism and events (HTE) industries are necessitated to revisit their strategies under the environmental changes taking place rapidly, for a sustainable development. The report contains four important facilities planning aspects relating to hotels in hospitality industry to lend focus to observation, analysis and recommendations. Methodology: The report is based on the qualitative analysis of relevant secondary sources. This type of analysis is less time consuming and cost effective. Secondary sources available in academic journals and publications of the industry associations are reliable. 1. ‘Facilities Management’ reports on customer service, operational efficiency, service recovery in providing ‘Brand experience’ for the customers, asset management, risk management and development of human resources. 2. ‘Outsourcing’ covers key considerations such as quality of customer service, cost of outsourcing and type of customers involved in decision making. 3. ‘Environmental Management’ deals with environmental pollution, conservation of resources and corporate social responsibility with a view to enhance the company’s image with the public and customers and for a sustainable development. 4. ‘Technology’ discusses about the impact of technological developments in the industry with a view to enhance the level of customer service and guest experience. Recommendations: Important recommendations in respect of facilities management include providing training facilities to employees, refurbishment and renovation on continuous basis and encouraging diversity in work place. It should be ensured that outsourcing does not affect quality of customer service. The hotel should concentrate on conservation of energy, water usage, recycling and proper disposal of waste. CRM may be introduced and IT infrastructure continuously upgraded for enhanced customer service. Hotel Industry Contents Facilities Management in Hotel Industry Introduction Facilities Management Conclusions and Recommendations References Outsourcing in Hotel Industry Introduction Broad areas of Outsourcing Opportunities for Outsourcing in Hotel Industry Conclusions and Recommendations References Environmental Management in Hotel Industry Introduction Customer Education and Employee Involvement Environmental Management Conclusions and Recommendations References Technology in Hotel Industry Introduction Technology in Hotel Industry Conclusions and Recommendations References Facilities Management in Hotel Industry Introduction According to the International Facilities Management Association (2013a), “Facility management is a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.” Therefore, with reference to hotel industry it refers to the whole host of operations which includes front office management, house-keeping, property management and customer service. The metamorphosis of the industry over the period of time calls for internationalization at all level for survival. The main aim of this report is concerned with maintenance of quality standards, improving performance through training and development and refurbishment and renovation of the facilities for enhancing the level of customer service. Improved facilities management and HRD practices increase operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Training and development programs suitably designed will motivate the employees and ensures safety of the employees and guests. This will also make the service recovery process efficient in case of service failures. Facilities management According to Mass and Pleunis (2001, p. 28) FM is the responsibility of coordinating efforts in respect of buildings, technology, furniture and organizational trend. The facilities management needs to be more concerned about maintaining standards. “The development of standards in Facilities Management dates back to 2004 (BIFM, 2013) The basic hotel services like restaurant, bars, lodging and conference halls have been traditionally managed by the front office. Expansion of the industry into several areas such as leisure, health and sports by providing facilities to the guests primarily aims at comprehensive and enhanced customer service and customer satisfaction. Min et al. (2002, p. 302) stated “Total customer satisfaction is one of the most important strategic weapons of best-practice hotel organizations.” Availability of trained professionals in these areas, keeping the equipment and instruments in order for providing quality service to the guests and ensuring their safety are some of the important aspects in customer service. Hassanien and Losekoot (2002, p. 237) are of the view that continuous refurbishment and renovation of facilities is very important to meet customers’ expectations and competition. Advertisement, media relationship and market development need to be restructured to highlight the comprehensive facilities available and the superior quality of guest experience. Retention of talents and minimizing labour turnover is very important. According to Knox and Walsh (2005, p. 71) luxury hotels place greater emphasis on high level of HRM practices. HRD plays an important role in recruitment and training to the employees. Chand (2010, p. 551) stated “HRM practices have a positive influence on the improvement of service quality as well as on customer satisfaction and hotel performance.” Training in this industry must be structured and related to the cultural, social and religious background of the customers for enhanced level of service. Service failures in any industry are common due to several factors and some of them are beyond the control of the management. “It is argued that in a service recovery context, emotions mediate the relation between justice and loyalty” (Chebat and Slusarczyk, 2005, p. 665) These failures should be converted into opportunities by prompt resolution with limited inconvenience to the guests keeping in mind the lifestyle and social identity of the guests. For example, repairs in room air-conditioner, the guest may be provided with another room immediately to avoid inconvenience, rather than doing repair work, because this will affect his privacy. “Issues of training and skills development and of service quality are as important in the future as in the past.” (Davidson et al., 2011, p. 498) There are several continuing education courses offered by the institutions for developing managerial skills of the employees such as online course conducted by International Facility Management Association (2013b). The employees may be encouraged to join these courses. Conclusion and recommendations Diversity in workplace should be encouraged as it will create cosmopolitan atmosphere that is essential for sustainable development. The management should provide facilities for continuing education and training to the employees. The company has to revisit the need for improvements in technology adopted on continuous basis. The company’s planning should envisage refurbishment and renovation on a regular basis in tune with the trends in the industry. References BIFM, 2013. Standards, [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 April 2013]. Chebat, J. C. and Slusarczyk, W., 2005. How emotions mediate the effects of perceived justice on loyalty in service recovery situations: an empirical study, Journal of Business Research, 58 (2005), pp. 664 – 673. Chand, M., 2010. The impact of HRM practices on service quality, customer satisfaction and performance in the Indian hotel industry, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Volume 21, Issue 4, 2010, pp. 551-566. Davidson, M. C. G., McPhail, R. and Barry, S., 2011. Hospitality HRM: past, present and future, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 23 Iss: 4, pp.498 – 516. Hassanien, A. and Losekoot, E., 2002. The application of facilities management expertise, Facilities, Volume 20, Number 7/8, pp. 230-238. International Facility Management Association (2013a). What is Facility Management? [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 April 2013]. International Facility Management Association (2013b) Continuing Education, [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 April 2013]. Knox, A. and Walsh, J., 2005. Organizational flexibility and HRM in the hotel industry: evidence from Australia, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol 15, no 1, 2005, pp. 57-75 Maas, G. W. A. and Pleunis, J. R., 2001. Facility Management, Alphen aan den Rijn, Kluwer, Dordrecht. Min, H., Min, H. and Chung, K., 2002. Dynamic Benchmarking in Hotel Industry, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 16 Iss: 4, pp.302 – 321. Outsourcing in Hotel Industry Introduction Technological innovations, specializations in management and production processes and wage differentials in employment due to cost considerations has made outsourcing an important factor in decision making in hotel industry. Outsourcing is not restricted to services relating to the customers. If the in-house training facilities are found to be inadequate, training courses for the employees could be outsourced. For example, according to the International Facility Management Association (2013) experienced instructors bring the best in FM education directly to your company or FM organization. Outsourcing of training by external agencies could bring in new ideas and introduce new approach to the customer service in an organization. Broad areas of outsourcing Contracts involving labour: Cleaning, laundry, landscaping are some of the areas where contract labour will be cheap. However, cleaning of guest rooms should be handled by in-house workers for maintaining the standards. Food and beverage outlets: Contracting in this area is depending upon availability of quality suppliers at competitive rates. However, stricter quality control procedures and supervision is essential. Virtual concierge: BPO’s can provide round the clock service in different languages for catering to the needs of the customers with different social, cultural and religious backgrounds. However, previous experience of the BPO in outsourcing for hotels is essential. Their services should be constantly monitored with particular reference to communication issues and customers’ complaints. IT infrastructure: IT infrastructure needs maintenance on continuous basis for solving the technical issues involved. This could be subcontracted to reputed firms in view of expertise and facilities available with them. This will improve efficiency and cost effective compared to appointing highly qualified and experienced professionals by the hotel. Opportunities for outsourcing in hotel industry Opportunities for outsourcing depend upon skilled man power or expertise locally available. According to Knox and Walsh (2005, p. 58) while enabling approach calls for internal training and career opportunities, restrictive approach involves contingent work and outsourcing due to cost considerations. Also, outsourcing “allows in-house workers to concentrate on standards of clean in impressionable areas, such as hotel rooms” (CleanLink, 2013). Contracts involving labour in respect of construction, landscaping, fencing, cleaning and laundry are some of the areas where outsourcing could be cost effective. According to Davidson et al. (2011, p. 498) casualisation and outsourcing will become more dominant methods of employment. Gupta (2008, p. 2, 6) stated “within the hotel industry in particular, it is very common to see food and beverage outlets that have been outsourced...Outsourcing and off shoring are not new ideas to the hotel and tourism industry...the outsourcing of payroll and financial data processing is not new to the hospitality industry.” Outsourcing will be useful for the managements to concentrate on core activities. O’Rourke (2013) states “Your virtual concierge presents guests with the unique opportunity to choose vacation activities.” This operation may be outsourced or off-shored effectively. Since the contracts are given to intermediary contractors, only limited supervision is required on outsourced jobs. Developments in information technology call for upgrading of the IT infrastructure on a continuous basis. Human resources available in hotels in the area of IT may not be adequate for this purpose. This leads to outsourcing of IT and IT enabled operations. Or?la-Sintes et al. (2005, p. 4) stated that “Hotels can develop new technology internally or use elements developed by others.” Outsourcing to established software companies ensures flexibility in availability of support services. “During 2012, the Group entered into a five-year technology outsourcing agreement with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).” (InterContinental Hotels Group, 2012, p. 80) Centralized online booking involving multiple channels like emails and phones or third party reservations are outsourced since these operations could be effectively by BPO. Simon (2013) points out certain disadvantages in outsourcing which include loss of control, perception of security by luxury customers, the level of service and the ramp up period involved in knowledge transfer. Conclusion and recommendations Cost effectiveness is one of the major advantages in outsourcing. Outsourcing enables the company to use the capital resources for core operations of the business for maintaining competitive advantage. However, since status and social identity of the customers are the important factors in this industry, it is important to ensure that outsourcing does not affect customer service or satisfaction negatively. References CleanLink, 2013. Hospitality Industry Shifts Towards Outsourcing? [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 April 2013]. Davidson, M. C. G., McPhail, R. and Barry, S., 2011. Hospitality HRM: past, present and future, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 23 Iss: 4, pp.498 – 516 Gupta, 2008. Outsourcing in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry, Bianca Heersink, [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 April 2013]. InterContinental Hotels Group, 2012. Annual Report and Financial Statements 2012, [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 April 2013]. Knox, A. and Walsh, J., 2005. Organizational flexibility and HRM in the hotel industry: evidence from Australia, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol 15, no 1, 2005, pp. 57-75 O’Rourke, T., 2013. What is a Virtual Concierge and How Can the Hotel Industry Benefit from it? Hotel Executive.com, [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 April 2013]. Or?la-Sintes, F., Cresp??-Cladera, R. And Mart??nez-Ros, E., 2005. Innovation activity in the hotel industry: Evidence from Balearic Islands, [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 April 2013]. Simon, E. Y., 2013. Pros and cons of hospitality outsourcing, Hotel News Now.com, [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 April 2013]. Environmental Management in Hotel Industry Introduction The main focus of the hotel should be in the following broad aspects. Energy management: Innovations such as energy efficient lighting, automation line and using thermostats for keeping the energy consumption on “energy saving” mode can save power and bring down the energy cost substantially. Water conservation: Water consumption can be controlled in the areas such as laundry, guest rooms, swimming pools, restaurants and landscaping. Wastewater recovery in laundry for recycling will be very cost effective as well as environment friendly. Use of low volume showers, dual flush toilets and scheduled leakage repair system in guest rooms will improve water usage. To avoid loss of water in summer due to evaporation, swimming pools could be covered when not in use. Maintenance of faucet, dishwashers and other water using equipments are very important. Installing hand-free controls and automatic shutoff will considerably reduce water usage. Drip irrigation, use of soil moisture sensors or electronic controls for irrigation keep water usage at minimum level. Rainwater harvesting should be implemented and monitored improving ground water level. Waste management: Dry and wet waste should be collected separately. Organic and other waste should be segregated to prevent spread of bacteria and stink. This is very important from environmental protection angle. Composting of waste in cases like vegetable and fruit scraps can be used as manure. Arrangements for collecting packaging materials like cardboard boxes by the suppliers for reuse will reduce cost considerably. Customer education and employee involvement Customer education and employee involvement are the important prerequisites for efficient environmental management. There are internal as well as external environmental factors that affect the performance of hotel industry. In Hilton’s HR policy of initiative ‘Esprit’, it is recognized that employees more and more expect training, a good working environment etc., and not just a job. (Maxwell et al., 2003, p. 170) Recycling, reuse and conservation of energy and other resources are appreciated by guests due to environmental awareness created in the public by media, NGOs and government agencies. Proper training to the employees ensures involvement of employees in this mission. Chan and Wong (2004, p. 481) stated “some hotels have gone one step further and adopted the internationally recognized ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard.” Environmental Management Stipanuk (1996, p. 39) stated that “the U.S. lodging industry has posted many positive environmental accomplishments in the areas of waste reduction, energy conservation, water consumption, and materials reuse and recycling, and by dedicating land to conservation and preservation purposes.” Good environmental behaviour with responsibility is considered important for sustainable development by the industry. “Whilst tourism plays a large role in the world economy and is an important source of wealth for many countries, our industry faces increasing pressure to balance its economic performance with its social and environmental impacts...We focus our CR activities in two areas that make sense to our business and where we believe we can make the most difference – the environment and the local community” (InterContinental Hotels Group, 2012, p. 34). With the increasing awareness about environment, the customer preference has undergone changes during the recent years which include now vegetarianism, use of green food and products. “More and more travellers are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint when travelling. Investing in technologies aimed at decreasing carbon footprint, then, is a smart move for the hospitality industry” (The International Hotel School, 2013). The hotels are adopting eco-friendly practices such as reuse of guest linens, recycling and changing high energy consuming lamps. The strategies also include community involvement with local purchasing, supporting charities and employees volunteering in community services. A study by Millar and Baloglu (2011) reveals information about preferences of a substantial number of guests who would consider staying in a “green” hotel room. According to Chan (2009, p. 542) “An environment management system is a way for management to deal with aspects that impact on the environment.” Environmental planning and management should include environmental auditing, labelling and performance evaluation with reference to various factors such as energy saving, pollution prevention, conservation of natural resources like fuel and water, solid waste management and recycling. Faulk (2000, p. 16) observed that “sustainable development has environmental, economic, and social facets, none of which can be ignored.” Conclusion and recommendations Due to environmental awareness, the companies in various industries are under ethical, social as well as regulatory pressures with regard to environmental protection by way of corporate social responsibility. The findings in a study by Kassinis and Soteriou (2009, p. 386) suggest “that environmental practices are positively related to performance through the mediating effect of enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty.” The hotel has to plan for taking specific actions in areas relating to conservation of resources, energy consumption, recycling and disposal of waste and community welfare programs. These measures have to be properly incorporated into planning and subjected to environmental audit for effective control over the programs. References Chan, W. W., Environmental measures for hotels’ environmental management systems, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 21 No. 5, 2009 pp. 542-560 Chan.E. S. W., and Wong, S. C. K., 2004. Motivations for ISO 14001 in the hotel industry, Tourism Management, Vol. 27, Issue 3, June 2006, pp. 481-492. Faulk, E. S., 2000. A survey of environmental management by hotels and related tourism businesses, Academia.edu, [online] Available at: [Accessed 16 April 2013]. InterContinental Hotels Group, 2012. Annual Report and Financial Statements 2012, [online] Available at: [Accessed 16 April 2013]. International Facility Management Association (2013). Group Training, [online] Available at: [Accessed 16 April 2013].  Kassinis, G. I. and Soteriou, S. C., 2009. Greening the Service Profit Chain: The Impact of Environmental Management Practices, Production and Operations Management, Volume 12, Issue 3, pp.386-403, Sep. 2003. Maxwell, G., Watson, S. and Quail, S., 2003. Quality service in the international hotel sector: A catalyst for strategic human resource development? Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 28 No. 2/3/4, 2004 pp. 159-182. Millar, M. and Baloglu, S., 2011. Hotel Guests’ Preferences for Green Guest Room Attributes, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Vol. 52, No. 4, The Center for Hospitality Research, [online] Available at: [Accessed 16 April 2013]. Stipanuk, D. M., 1996. The U. S. Lodging Industry and the Environment: An Historical View, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, October 1996 vol. 37 no. 5, pp. 39-45. The International Hotel School, 2013. Technology trends in the hospitality industry, [online] Available at: [Accessed 16 April 2013]. Technology in Hotel Industry Introduction The trends in globalization, increased interdependence of world economies, phenomenal economic growth of the developing countries in recent years, awareness among the people about benefits of tourism, consolidation taking place in the hotel industry and the need for tie-up with international groups are the important factors which have forced the hotel groups to embrace new technology in their operations and management. Convergence of technology, development of media and social networks changed the dimensions of the business in terms of bookings and preferences and expectations of the customers. Technology in hotel industry There have been several software packages developed by different companies. For instance, CLS Software Property Management System Solutions is suitable for hotels with 50 to 1000 rooms (E-Hospitality, 2013). According to Or?la-Sintes et al. (2005, p. 4), the innovation pattern in relation to competitive advantage, efficiency and differentiation depends on the technology used and the company’s collaboration with the suppliers in its development. One of the top trends identified in the industry is mobile bookings, which have increased four-fold between 2008 and 2010 according to Forrester research. Google is also projecting that mobile will overtake PCs as the most common web-access device by 2013 (Gollarza, 2012). The hotels have to invest on IT infrastructure to meet the consequences of these developments in terms of dissemination of information, operational efficiency and competitive advantage. Brand affiliations, tie-ups with other companies in the hospitality sector like airlines, trains, cruises and resorts require interaction at various levels in customer service. IT Infrastructure and automation: Automation is essential for activities based on triggers provided by the system for efficiently reacting to the developments in the business. Online bookings and cancellations should be seamlessly integrated to assess the current position at all times for reporting. “IHG is dependent on the stability of its IT infrastructure and must stay abreast of industry shifts towards mobile applications and cloud-computing. Failure to maintain IT performance, resilience and technology change could impact guest experience and revenue channels. (InterContinental Hotels Group, 2012, p. 40) HRD: The industry should also reorient their recruitment, training and promotional policies in line with the developments. Davidson et al. (2011, p. 498) stated “Technology is now set to revolutionise the way HRM is conducted.” Technology used in Customer relationship management (CRM) synchronises data relating to the customers such as customer profile, customer service, technical services and marketing by linking persons and processes through multiple channels like email and social media. Knox and Walsh (2005, p. 52-53) observed that HRM plays a role in responding quickly to developments in technology. For example, The International Hotel School (2013) observes “With 86% of European travellers expecting Wi-Fi access, hospitality establishments ignore this technology at their peril!” The CRM applications have become very sophisticated. According to Louvieris et al. (2008, p. 168) “Personalisation is at the heart of CRM.” Conclusion and Recommendations IT infrastructure of the company should be continuously upgraded. The employees should be trained on a continuous basis in relation to CRM and other applications. Mohammed and Rashid (2012, p. 221) stated “CRM brings benefits to the organizations that generate a lot of information about customers.” HRD should constantly reassess its business strategies in the light of technological developments adopted and the best practices followed in the industry internationally. References Davidson, M. C. G., McPhail, R. and Barry, S., 2011. Hospitality HRM: past, present and future, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 23 Iss: 4, pp.498 – 516. E-Hospitality.com, 2013. CLS Software Property Management System, [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 April 2013]. Gollarza, M., (2012) Top 10 trends for Hotels in 2013, SAP Community Network, [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 April 2013]. InterContinental Hotels Group, 2012. Annual Report and Financial Statements 2012, [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 April 2013]. Knox, A. and Walsh, J., 2005. Organizational flexibility and HRM in the hotel industry: evidence from Australia, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol 15, no 1, 2005, pp. 57-75 Louvieris, P., Driver, J. and Powell-Perry, J., 2003. Managing customer behaviour dynamics in the multi-channel e-business environment: Enhancing customer relationship capital in the global hotel industry, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 9 No. 2, 2003, pp. 164–173. Mohammed, A. A. and Rashid, B., 2012. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Hotel Industry: A framework Proposal on the Relationship among CRM Dimensions, Marketing Capabilities and Hotel Performance, International Review of Management and Marketing Vol. 2, No. 4, 2012, pp.220-230. Or?la-Sintes, F., Cresp??-Cladera, R. And Mart??nez-Ros, E., 2005. Innovation activity in the hotel industry: Evidence from Balearic Islands, [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 April 2013]. The International Hotel School, 2013. Technology trends in the hospitality industry, [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 April 2013]. Read More