1. The underlying problem with the front desk staff is overbooking groups and non-groups during Monday through Thursday of each week. There should definitely be a policy implemented to solve this issue. This hotel should block out a certain amount of rooms for groups and non-group members. With this schedule, the hotel staff will definitely be able to provide great service to each of its guests.
Another issue is that the hotel staff needs to more knowledgeable about the hotel and their surroundings. There should be a hotel history and training session for each new employee during their orientation. This training will help the staff become more familiar with special groups, so they should feel comfortable and confidence in answering questions from the quests.
Another issue is the lack of communication throughout each department within the hotel. The guest’s requests are not being honored by anyone at the hotel. It seems like no one is ever taking action to make sure each guest is provided with good quality service. It seems as if the sales or reservation department is not communicating effectively with the front office. The management of this hotel is not following up with his supervisors or employees to see if they are effectively achieving their goals. The housekeeping staff is not cleaning the rooms properly, which is causing uproar in bad reviews on the hotel.
Frank needs to call a meeting with each manager of each department within his hotel. He need to set clear and concise goals and objectives for the following areas and subjects: customer service, housekeeping, guest satisfaction, sales and marketing, reservations, and employees. Frank should be checking the computer system that inputs all the reservations to make sure that overbooking is not an issue. He also should be checking to see if there is an alternative route that guests should use to get to his hotel. He should be finding different routes that will help guests enter his hotel with ease.
2. The IT department may be affecting the front office due to malfunctioning computer reservation software. It could be glitches in the system, in which causes the hotel to book 2 groups during the week. Another department that may be affecting the guests is the back of the house, which deals with more complicated and long term contract with certain groups. The problem may be that both departments are not communicating appropriately in regards to booking guests rooms for specific days throughout the week. The housekeeping issues of rooms not being cleaned on time could affect the front office, because the housekeeping department could be lacking numerous employees, which will make it difficult for them to complete their daily tasks.
3. The room division manager should perform the following steps to keep his employees focus on the hotel goals:
1. The manager should inform and educate his staff on each group that will be staying within the hotel weekly.
2. The manager should set a goal each hour for his housekeeping staff to clean each room within the hotel.
3. The manager should have each front desk staff participate in a customer service class on a weekly basis to improve their overall skills.
4. The manager should always have an alternative group of employees on –call to handle issues that arises at the hotel
5. The manager should have an employee make a list of all the customer demands, and the staff should honor all of those demands within 15 minutes of its request.