hotel operations-1 (chapter-4).docx

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Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V

Course Code: HoMa-1051

Program Name: BA in Hotel Management

Chapter -5

Syllabus

Hotel Guests and Products

Hotel Guests

Hotel Products

Communication

The process of sharing views, ideas, and knowledge between two or more

individuals or between groups is known as communication.

The word communication is derived from the Latin communicare, meaning

to impart, share, or make common.

According to OxfordAdvanced Learners Dictionary, communication means

the activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people

information.

Newstrom and Davis (1997) define communication as the transfer of

information from one person to another person. It is a way of reaching

others by transmitting ideas, facts, thoughts, feelings, and values.

The Communication Process

Communication is as a process by which people convey information through

the transmission of written, verbal, or symbolic messages.

The entire communication process may be broken into various stages of

communication:

Sender/source


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Message

Encoding

-- Channel

Receiver/target

Decoding Feedback

The Seven Cs of Communication

The various aspects of effective communication are given below:

Completeness Conciseness

Consideration

Concreteness

Clarity

Courtesy. Correctness

The Importance of Communication

Good communication is important for establishing a long-lasting relationship

between a hotel and its guests. A guests opinion of a hotel is formed on the basis

of her overall experience at the hotel, which includes satisfaction with the hotel

facilities and services like accommodation, food and beverage, recreation, etc., as


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well as treatment extended by the hotel staff. The importance of communication is

as under:

For Planning: Managers need information from all departments for planning

and distributing work.

For Decision-making: On many occasions, managers are required to makeimportant decisions on the basis of the information available to them.

For Effective Coordination Effective inter- and intra-departmental

coordination is important in providing flawless services to hotel guests.

For DelegationManagers are responsible for planning work and delegating

various tasks and duties. It is important that they communicate the

delegation of authority to all the concerned persons. For Employee Morale and Job Satisfaction Feedback and open

communication between the FOM and his team members raises the morale

of the team and leads to greater job satisfaction.

For Effective Leadership and Better Understanding Good leaders

communicate effectively with their teams, leading to good understanding,

cooperation, and coordination among team members

Types of Communication

Communication can be classified as under:

Oral Communication

Written Communication

Non-verbal Communication


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Oral Communication

Words are the most common symbols of communication. Oral

communication describes any type of interaction that makes use of spokenwords. It is a vital, integral part of the modern business world. In oral

communication, both the sender and the receiver exchange their ideas

through words either in face-to-face communication or through electronic

devices like telephone, computers, etc.

Written Communication

Written communication is communication by means of written symbols

(either printed or handwritten). It may be in the form of letters, e-mails, reservation

confirmations, hotel circulars, memos, reports, notes, manuals, in-house hotel

magazines, etc. Messages that are not written properly create confusion and

misunderstanding among readers. Thus it is important to understand the purpose,

the audience, and the channel before composing a message. Written

communication has several merits like authenticity, transparency, mass access,

proof for future reference, legal defense, and permanent record.

Non-verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication refers to the messages we give and receive

through body language and facial expressions. Non-verbal messages often

convey more meaning than the spoken word.

Usually non-verbal communication occurs unconsciously. Our body language

determines the meaning of communication to a large extent. Therefore, it would be


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good if we could learn to use our body language for a purpose and also learn to

understand and interpret the body language of others

Flow of Communication

Information flows in an organization both formally and informally. Formal

communication refers to communication that follows the official hierarchyand is required to do ones job. Such information flows through formal

channelsthe main lines of organizational communication. Most of the

communication that a hotel needs for its operations flows through these

channels.

It can be of following types:

Downward Communication: Downward communication flowsfrom a manager, down the chain of command

Upward Communication: Communication flows upward when

subordinates send reports, or present their findings and

recommendations to their superiors.

Lateral or Horizontal Communication: Lateral or horizontal

communication takes place among peer groups or employees

at similar hierarchy levels.

Diagonal or Cross-wise Communication: Diagonal or cross-

wise communication flows in all directions and cuts across

functions and levels in an organization.

Barriers of Communication

There are many obstacles that obstruct the free flow of communication.

These obstacles, which may filter a part of a message, or convey incorrect


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meaning, or prevent a message from being communicated entirely, are

known as barriers of communication.

The barriers of communication may be classified as:

Semantic

Psychological

Personal.

Semantic

All communication symbols like words, pictures, actions, etc. suggest

certain meanings. In verbal communication, a particular word may have

several meanings; moreover, a particular word may have contradictory

meanings in different parts of the world. There are several words which

have similar pronunciations but differ in meaning, like assess and access,

which may create confusion. These are known as semantic barrier.

Psychological

In a communication process, the problems that arise due to cognitive

reasons (related to thought, experience, or senses) are called psychological

barriers. These may be:


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Difference of Perception: Perception is the way you see things, especially

with the senses. It is difficult to see every situation exactly as another

person sees it. Perception depends upon various factors like:

education

Experience

Culture

environment in which a person is brought up

Every person has a unique combination of these factors, leading to

difference in perception.

Noise: Noise in the environment of communication is one of the majorbarriers in communication. At the front desk, the noise level is higher at the

time of arrival of groups or during peak check-in and check-out times, which

makes it difficult for the front desk agent to have a proper verbal

communication with the guest.

Psychological

Personal factors that disrupt the flow of communication, like the attitude of

the communicator, fear, lack of confidence, lack of awareness, inattentiveness,

and poor retention, are known as personal barriers. Some of the personal barriers

of communication are:

Lack of Knowledge: Lack of specialized knowledge about the basic and

advanced principles of operations, technical terms, and house customs

may pose a barrier while communicating with the different sections of a


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hotel. Such a situation arises when a new person, who has very little

knowledge about the hospitality industry or the hotel, joins a hotel.

Lack of Interest:The lack of interest in the job may be one of the barriers

of communication. The employee may lose interest in her job due to

monotonous and long working hours, personal problems, work pressure,

fatigue, physical illness, etc.

Poor Retention: The ability of retaining information differs from person to

person. Some people have good retention power than others. Poor

retention of facts may be a barrier in communication, especially in the

case of verbal communication.

Poor Listening: The front desk employees should be good listeners and

should pay attention to the speaker. While processing a guests

reservation request, the reservation agent should listen carefully to the

requirements of the guest.

Emotions: The encoding and decoding of a message is influenced by our

emotions to a great deal. If we are not in a positive state of mind, we will

communicate negative messages and interpret others messages critically

Cooperation among Hotel Departments

All departments within the hotel are required to work as a team. Corporation

between departments is not only in the interest of the guests, but also ensures that

no department functions in isolation, leading to more effective functions of the

hotel. All the department are interdepartmental, but the front office department has

a very close relationship with the housekeeping and food and beverage service

department.

House keeping


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The computer canter has to give front office all support in the efficient running of

the computer systems as the entire hotel is attached to one network. If the front

office faces problems in any of the following terminals computer department

rectifies it.

Engineering and maintenance

All the guest complains are given to the concierge who at once informs the

engineering department & it is looked after property.in case of maintenance of

anything in the reception department. A maintenance order is filled.it is prepared in

duplicate.

Accounts

Accounts department coordinate following functions with front office departmentFront office cashier

On arrival

On consumption of item from any outlet inside the hotel

On departure

Night auditorCity ledger

This is the credit section which receives bills from the front office that has

extended credit as per the previous arrangement between guest and the hotel.

The department follows up for the payments

Sales

Sales give roomsinfo about corporate deals and discounts offered


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A sale also tells the F.O any special attention to be taken care at the

point arrival. During stay of the guests and while departure

F.O informs if any VIP is coming to the hotel

F.O also gives Guests History to sales when required by the sales

SecurityFor any unturned incidents happens in the premises of the hotel.Ex-

theft, Fires etc.

For any VIP arrival special escorts

With door man

Travel Desk

If guests has a requirement for a ticket/Taxi etc.

If the Guest wants to go for sight seeing

Stories

For requisition any stationary items and formats required

---------------The End--------------

hotel operations-1 (chapter-4).docx

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