CASE STUDY 1: HOTEL GRAND VIEW

Hotel Grand View is a renowned hotel located in the heart of the city. With 17 floors and 320 rooms providing admirable boarding and lodging facilities, it offers deluxe suites, superior single and double rooms along with services like coffee shop, restaurants, saloon, health club, shopping arcades and convention halls. It is one of the most sought-after hotels in the city as reflected by the fact that 1, 20,000 guests stayed at the hotel in the financial year 2009-10.
The functional responsibilities of the hotel are divided into various departments, which are shown in Exhibit 1.
The front office of the hotel occupies a very important position in ensuring loyal clients for the hotel. The job of the front office is to interact with every outsider who steps in the hotel. The front desk takes care of all the needs of the guests. The most important job of the front office includes making all reservations, handling check-ins and check-outs. In short, the front office or the front desk is the interface between the hotel and the outside world. Behind the scene a large number of people who perform a wide variety of functions to keep the front office running efficiently.
From the very moment a guest begins his stay in the hotel, the front office comes into the picture and interacts with the guest on a daily basis till he/she leaves the hotel. The guests can be individuals or corporate guests. In case of corporate guest, the bill is sent to the organisation sponsoring the stay. The front office comes into contact with the traveller in the following ways-

□ Answering queries about reservations/cancellations modifications regarding the stay. □ Making reservations for the traveller. The traveller can also book the room by paying in advance. □ Receiving the traveller on his/her arrival. The guest fills in the detailed personal information form, which includes his identity, estimated duration of stay, room preferences, etc. □ Making room allotments. Actual room as per the guest choice is allotted, provided it is notified as ready, by the housekeeping department. □ Handling guest demands or grievances during the stay. □ Making arrangements for departure of the traveller. Return tickets, taxi, payment clearance, etc., are arranged by the front office.

At Grand View, the basic operations of the front desk are performed by a team of three Front Office Assistants (FOAs), two cashiers per shift (of 8 hours) and a hierarchy that goes up to the FOM. The front office also interacts with: □ Accounts: Daily-reporting of transaction details. □ Housekeeping: Informing about the requirements of the room, e.g. additional beds, cleaning, etc. □ Management: Statistical data about the guest, e.g. socio-economic profile, nationality, etc.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1] Identify the data involved and possible information generated by these data in the organisational activities mentioned in the case. 2] Identify the information shared by various levels of management in the organisation. 3] Discuss the possible benefits that the hotel may add if it decides to implement a suitable IS?

Exhibit 1
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