Hotel Management & Operations

Unit 4 Learning Journal

Sscenario:

On a warm summer evening, the checkins were brisk at the 225 room Hilltop Hotel and Resort...There had been steady movement all day, and the hotel was unusually full this weekend because of several small meetings, a tour group of 100 elderly guests, a wedding party, and an executive retreat.

 

At 7:00 p.m., a phone call came in from room 106, which was registered to Mr. and Mrs. Walton, an elderly couple from Vermont. Mr. Walton indicated that the air conditioner did not

work in their room

and his wife was having trouble breathing. The front office agent checked the registration card to see

what type of room was reserved. She remembered that the couple checked in with the tour group who had the older, less expensive rooms—all first and second floor rooms. These rooms did not have air conditioning, and only the rooms in the new tower had air conditioning. Unfortunately, they had all been reserved and the rate was nearly double for the new

tower rooms.

 

Sandi, the front office agent relayed the information to the guest: In order to have an air-conditioned room, they would have to move to the new tower, the rooms are on a higher floor, and the rate would increase by $67.00 per night. Mr. Walton became very upset. In fact, he started yelling at the agent

about the poor service, his wife’s health issue, and the fact that he had already paid $89.00 for his room. He asked to speak with a manager.

Sandi called Jim Dunbar, Director of Food & Beverage, and the manager on duty (MOD) for the weekend. After listening to the guest’s complaints, he assured the guest that he would resolve the issue and that their room rate would not change. He was at the front desk looking for available roomsto switch the elderly couple when Marsha Jones approached the desk. She was the tour guide and wanted to register a complaint about the overall service and condition of the rooms. She felt the lower

level rooms were ―stale and outdated, with no air and the humidity was very high.‖ She wanted to know ―What could be done about it?‖ At a minimum, she requested 20 rooms be changed to the new tower to accommodate the elderly guests who needed air conditioning. She wanted these rooms at

the ―same rate because she was not told there would be no air conditioning and she would not ever use this hotel again!‖

As the MOD and front office agent reviewed the rooms available, the wedding party arrived,requesting 2 additional rooms. Sandi knew that rooms were already sold to capacity, but had 6 rooms

left whose gues

Checklist:

 Describe the guests’ overall first impressions of the Hilltop Hotel & Resort and what the MOD can do to improve on it.

Distinguish which guest should be moved, and discuss why.

Record the room-move requests, any rate changes, and list steps to take to ensure all folios are updated with accurate information