Royal Plaza Montreux & Spa is the only five-star hotel on the shore of Lake Geneva in Montreux. This ideal location should have made the Rooms Division department undeniably profitable with its unique features: the direct view of the lake from the rooms. Nevertheless, there is one issue that is affecting profitability. It does not indeed come from the department itself but the decision of the management board.
“Profitability, as well as customer service, is of paramount importance in the hospitality industry.” It is clearly agreed that a business focusing on maximizing its profits is very understandable. However, without providing the true meaning of hospitality services, there will always be a limit limiting the growth of this financial gain. At this specific establishment, the MICE department – consisting of meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions – brings a lot of profit, especially on a large scale. Nonetheless, that does not mean the whole department of Rooms Division can be totally erased since Royal Plaza Montreux & Spa***** is, after all, a hotel by all means. Unfortunately, the management board turns into micro-management on the Rooms Division department to minimize in any case possible the costs and charge as much as possible the guests, particularly the individual ones, regardless of their satisfaction. Even though the team has been adapting impressively to all these restrictions, such as our professionalism, gestures, and friendly welcoming, there are still many situations where there are no options for the working team. We always do our best to reduce disappointments, but that does not guarantee the improvement in guests’ satisfaction. Moreover, there are too many short-term interns coming in and leaving, resulting in confusion of working manners of new staff. Considering Switzerland as the birthplace of hospitality, I would not consider the services provided as genuinely worthy.
With a complete understanding of the actual situation, different actions can be taken. First of all, better motivating the staff might be put into consideration. There is no recognition programme within the company except the commission shared in case of upselling. This program can be a double-edged sword, that it motivates workers to bring more profits to the company while leading them towards focusing on money only. In addition, having more flexible adaptation with interns would also get positive results. The managers should put efforts into making a proper procedure document including an explanation to new people so that they will be less confused about their responsibilities and how to do their works. I have seen its efficiency within the Night Audit department with a skilled manager who has graduated from a Swiss certified hospitality school. I hope that the entire Rooms Division department can soon have one. Last but absolutely not least, with a lot of competition in the world of technologies, there is no longer one particular establishment with immense privilege over others. The management needs to provide more hospitality, which is precisely the business’s industry, towards individual guests, because one person obviously may not affect the company. Still, every single one of them adds up surprisingly fast.
Marketing, Accounting, Cost Control, Events, B2B, B2C, and so on are essential, but hospitality is among human beings themselves. “100% of customers are people, 100% of employees are people. If you do not understand people, you do not understand business.”
14.10.2018
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