INRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY (Repaired)

RESEARCH PROJECT:

USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND

COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN FRONT OFFICE

DEVELOPMENT

BY :- SIDDHARTH JOSHI

IHMCT&AN BANGALORE

BATCH – C

SEM – VI

ROLL NO. - 120080

08-Mar-15

2

INDEX

SR. NO

TOPIC/ PARTICULARS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

CERTIFICATE

INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY

INTRODUCTION TO ICT

INTRODUCTION TO IT

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION

SKILLS.

DATA ANALYSIS

QUESTIONNAIRE

SUMMARY

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

3

Use of Information Technology and

Communication Skills in Front Office

Development.

A Project Report

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

(Hospitality & Hotel Administration)

SUBMITTED TO

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR HOTEL MANAGEMENT &

CATERING TECHNOLOGY NOIDA

SUBMITTED BY

Siddharth Joshi NCHM Roll No. – 120080

SUPERVISED BY

INSTITUTE OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT, BANGALORE

4


Use of Information Technology and Communication Skills in

Front Office Development.

A PROJECT REPORT

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

(Hospitality & Hotel Administration)

SUBMITTED TO

National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology

NOIDA

SUBMITTED BY

Siddharth Joshi NCHM Roll No. – 120080

SUPERVISED BY

March 2015

5


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to place on record my deep sense of gratitude to Mrs.

Anjali Gopal of IHM Bangalore for her guidance, help and useful

suggestions.

I express my sincere gratitude to for his stimulating guidance,

continuous encouragement and supervision throughout the course of

present work.

I also wish to extend my thanks to and other colleagues for their

insightful comments and constructive suggestions to improve the

quality of this project work.

I am extremely thankful to for providing me infrastructural facilities

to work in, without which this work would not have been possible.

Signature:

6

CERTIFICATE

I hereby certify that the work which is being presented in the B.Sc

Research Project Report entitled “Use of Information Technology

and Communication Skills in Front Office Development”, in partial

fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Bachelor of

Science in Hospitality & Hotel Administration and submitted to

Institute of Hotel Management, Bangalore is an authentic record of

my own work carried out during a period from to (6th semester)

under the supervision of

The matter presented in this Project Report has not been submitted

by me for the award of any other degree elsewhere.

Signature:

This is To Certify that the above candidate has been examined by us

during the viva-voice and project presentation.

Signature of Internal Examiner Signature of External Examiner

Date: Date:

Name & Designation Name & Designation

7

INRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY

Industry has witnessed tremendous boom in recent years. Hotel

Industry is inextricably linked to the Tourism Industry and the growth in the

Indian Tourism Industry has fuelled the growth of Indian hotel industry. The

thriving economy and increased business opportunities in India have acted as

a boon for Indian hotel industry. The arrival of low cost airlines and the

associated price war have given domestic tourists a host of options.

The incredible India destination campaign and the recently launched

‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’ campaign have also helped in the growth of domestic

and international tourism and consequently the hotel industry. It was

initiated in 2005 by the ministry of tourism. It was targeted at various

stakeholders such as taxi drivers, tourist guides and the general public. It

aimed to change their attitude and behavior towards foreign tourists

FRONT OFFICE

The front office is the part of a company that comes in contact with

clients, such as the marketing, sales, and service departments. In the hotel

industry, the front office (also known as front desk) welcomes guests to the

accommodation section: meeting and greeting them, taking and organizing

reservations, allocating check in and out of rooms, organizing porter service,

issuing keys and other security arrangements, passing on messages to

customers and settling the accounts. In professional sports, the term refers to

upper management of a club, such as the General Manager and other player

personnel decision-makers.

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Function:

The function of front office is to directly get in touch with customers,

and is usually the first place that customers get to when they arrive to the

company. The front office can discover more information about the customer

by asking them questions, also helping the customers out.

The front office receives information about the customers then will

pass onto the other department of the company. The front office can also

contact with marketing and sales department when the customers have

questions on it. The company needs to give training to the front office

manager because this position will contact with customers the most. Staffs

working in the front office can also deal with simple tasks, such as sorting

out emails, helping out on printing and typing works.

Front office staff needs to use different skills on technologies too,

such as using the printers, fax machines and phone. This is the reason why

training is needed before the staffs started to work, although some might

only be simple tasks. The most common work for the front office worker

will be a mix of getting in touch with customers and also helping out

internally in the office. Other simple tasks, like taking customers’ jackets or

serving drinks to customers might also be one of the front office staff’s jobs.

Every company should have a front office, and which the reception in

a hotel is the front office. Here is the place where customers first arrive in

the hotel, which they can check in the front office. Employees working in the

front office will also help customers about problems and complaints. The

front office in the hotel industry, also called the reception area, which the

receptionist is the one who get in touch with the customers, most

importantly, confirm their reservation and answering their questions.

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The receptionist in the front office will pick up phone calls from

customers too, welcome customers and also help customers checking out at

last. The employees who work in the lobby of the hotel are also part of the

front office as they get in touch with customers directly. They will show

customers the way and carry the luggage for them. There are different parts

in the front office of a hotel, which included reception, providing services

when customers asked, mailing information, concierge and employees who

manage with money.

Banking: The front office of investment banking, mainly deal with sales and

trading, which help to boost up profit as much as possible. As this is the

most important role in the front office, employees received the highest salary

compared to staff in the same position in other industry. Investment Banking

Sports: In some sports activity, the front office usually gets in touch with the

players and organizes activities for them. The front office staff is usually the

one has the highest position in the sports team, who can control the whole

team.

Challenges faced by front office:

Front Office Staff

The motivation of the front office staff might be low as they are doing

repeated work and usually their pay are the lowest compared to other staff in

other department. This is a very important issue as these staffs will get in

touch with customers the most and this might affect the profitability and

efficiency of the company. The staff’s might have high level of stress as they

might always meet bad-tempered customers. They might get a lot of

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complaints as well so it is hard for front office staff to maintain their good

services.

Hotel

One of the biggest challenges that front office staff might face in the hotel

industry would be over booking. This might lead to low reputation to the

company as bad communication and organization skills are discovered. This

might also lead to unsatisfactory of customers.

Phone call might not be picked up by front office staff due to large

amount of work needs to be done, and customer might not be happy about

this. This will affect the reputation of the company again, as customers can’t

call the front desk as soon as they want to. Front office staff might also get

annoyed by customers, as they might not book a room beforehand, and the

front office staff can’t get angry at them

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INTRODUCTION INFORMATION AND

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN FRONT OFFICE

OPERATIONS

The full automation of the processes like front office operations in

hotels are the future of hotel industry, as it will eliminate the high cost of

operation, use of manpower and inefficiencies. The technology used for full

automation in front office can also be integrated with banking, insurance and

travel section so that through only one interface a customer can access all the

services, this will not only improve the quality of service required in tourism

industry, it will also lower the cost and enhance the satisfaction of the

customer. The use of such technologies is a boon to budget hotels as this will

help them maintain lower costs of operation along with high level of

services. With the increase in size of operation the larger hotels will also

require to adopt such initiatives of automation so that they can give reliable

and efficient services to their customers at minimal cost.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SOFTWARES USED FOR THE

RESEARCH PAPER

Two software used as property management system in hospitality

industries have been taken for the purpose of the study. They are as follows:

OPERA PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (FIDELIO)

IDS SOFTWARE EVOLVED INTO IDS NEXT

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•OPERA PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

(FIDELIO):

The OPERA Enterprise Solution is a fully integrated suite of products that

can be easily combined for deployment at any size organization — from the

single-property hotel to global, multi-branded hotel chain environments.

Hotels and chains can choose just the products and features they need;

OPERA modules include property management, sales and catering, quality

management, gaming and comp accounting, and mixed use condo/hotel

room management. In addition, the OPERA Enterprise Solution offers

central management products including the OPERA Reservation System for

both guestroom and function space sales; the OPERA Customer Information

System, a customer relationship management package specifically designed

for the hospitality industry; and Sales Force Administration, which provides

centralized lead management and sales support for regional and national

Sales teams.

• Multi-property rate display:

The ORS central reservation system availability display can show

rates, room types, and packages for one property or for multiple properties.

Agents can easily re-query for alternate dates when the requested dates are

not available. 3 Color-coding throughout the sales screen lets the agent see at

a glance why a property, room, or rate might be unavailable.

• Efficient searching:

Use the ORS hotel reservation system to conveniently search for room

availability across properties and chains. By entering just a few criteria,

agents can narrow a property search. Searching can be controlled by one or

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more criteria, including property name, city, region, property features,

property type (e.g., 3-star, 4-star) package elements, attractions, rate range,

and so on. The ORS central reservation system’s property information

displays are comprehensive, with details on transportation services,

restaurants, and amenities, etc. Area maps and images of the property can

also be provided. ORS automatically logs the original search criteria and

whether the call resulted in a booked reservation or a turn away.

• Reports and logs:

The ORS hotel reservations computer systems offer dozens of

standard reports that provide extensive data for analysis and management

and property performance. Activity logs maintain an audit trail of reservation

and profile related activity for each agent.

• Channel management:

Hotels and chains can also use the central reservation system to

review business volume by channel and open or close channels based on

channel, property, rate, or room type. Much of the channel management

setup information is pre-configured to make it easy to get started.

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•IDS SOFTWARE EVOLVED INTO IDS NEXT:

Established in 1987, IDS Software’s Pvt. Ltd. is Asia’s largest

dedicated provider of integrated, full-service enterprise property

management software for the hospitality and leisure industry. Powered by 24

years of experience and enabled by a vibrant mix of domain experts from the

hospitality and technology spheres, IDS designs, develops, markets and

maintains a comprehensive range of information management systems for

various hospitality businesses including hotels, restaurants, clubs and resorts.

It help hospitality professionals focus on providing efficient service by

developing strategically sound, user-friendly software, packed with

thoughtful details to enable higher productivity and greater profitability.

IDS’s state-of-the-art products are marketed under the umbrella brand of

‘Fortune Suite of Solutions’ and have been adopted by over 3000 clients in

40 countries across the globe. The company’s headquarters in Bangalore,

India, houses its Global R&D Center and Support Centre, offering 24×7

support to its customers, while regional sales and support offices are spread

across the globe. Your PMS’s guest history allows you to gather guest

preferences and dislikes. It also helps you capture a picture of your guest,

along with address, company, ‘arriving from’ and ‘proceeding to’

information, and passport details to serve as future reference.

•Vehicle tracking: A vehicle management system can keep tabs on all

vehicles entering and exiting your hotel. Combine this with the Guest

History data, so that you can tag vehicles to in-house guests, and also add

driver and vehicle number details.

•Restricted entry: Ensure that all your employees are allowed access to only

their specific work areas. Biometric access control can be interfaced with

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your PMS to limit employee movement. Only authorized supplier staff and

vehicles are allowed into the property.

The Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Front

Office Operations of Chain Hotels in Countries:

The proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Coupled with sophisticated network protocols has unveiled new avenues for

enterprises and organizations and the hospitality industries cannot be left out.

Technology-based systems stand in a pivotal position to offer better service

to the populace. Hospitality industries such as hotels can take advantage of

the pervasiveness of ICT vis-à-vis technology-based systems to advance

some of their operations. This Paper seeks to assess the use of Information

and Communication Technologies (ICT) in a front office operation of chain

hotels in Countries. The paper determines the extent of the use of

information Technology in a front office operation of chain hotels in

Countries. The paper continues to assess the effect of the use of information

technology in the front office operation of chain hotels in Countries, thus if

the use of ICT has any effect on chain hotels’ front office operations.

The paper further makes recommendations to chain hotel operators and the

Countries Tourist Authority (GTA) and policy makers on the use of

information and communications technology in front office operation in

chain hotels. Three chain hotels in Countries were assessed.

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INTRODUCTION TO ICT

Information technology is everywhere in this day and age and adding

to communication technology, the possibility of how it can be used is

endless. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) involves the

use of computer hardware, software and telecommunication devices to store,

manipulate, convert, protect, send and receive data (Oliver and Olifer, 2006).

Computer and technological devices have made it easier for professionals to

collect, store, manipulate and share data and information both individually

and within organizations, small and large, public and private. ICT has

become an integral part of human daily activities that sometimes we barely

notice its effect, and has had a major impact on the way we live, work and

play.

The way hotel companies sell to consumers is changing dramatically

over the past few years. The use of networking in front office helps very

much in sharing information across the hotels in chain. The growth in the

use of networked computers is one of the most significant trends in modern

computing. Though interconnection of computers in itself is not new,

application of networking is seeing a dramatic increase such that it is now

one of the major issues in computer and information technology(Ritchie

2003).Computers are presently widely used in sectors such as banking,

education, health, commerce, agriculture, transport, communication.

Computers in business operations could be used for typing

documents, keeping and retrieving information, data analyses, sending and

receiving information over short and long distances. Computers are

becoming popular in businesses because work done by them could be very

fast, thus results in increasing productivity, accurate in performing repetitive

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task, store information safely in relatively small space (Oliver and

Olifer2006). Despite the increasing popularity of computers, they are still

limited to those with the skill to use them. In hotels, Computers are used in

Accounting for guest, data management, forecasting guest demand for

reservations, management of guest services, revenue and reservation

management and yield management. These functions could be performed

with the aid of management software (Abbott and Lawry, 1999).

The delivery of businesses today is exposed to information and

communication technologies either directly or indirectly. Hotels being a

subset of the hospitality industry traditionally practice manual system of

operation in their front offices as from occupancy of the guest rooms,

recording of guest expenditure through to the eventual departure of the

guest. Today, these operations are done using the electronic system. The use

of information technology in a front office operation of the hospitality

industry is fast growing, thus making work easy. Computerization is

becoming very important for the efficient and effective operations of the

front office.

ICT in Front Office Operations Technology is used to push slower

moving businesses by providing better service, improved decision making

and increasing revenue. Hotel operators are now realizing that brand in itself

is not enough (Knowles, 1998). Networks are used to link together

computers, storage devices, printers, telephony and other electronic devices

(Odom, 2007).The hotel’s systems could be networked to share resources

either Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN). The LAN

helps to share information within a hotel, such as from restaurant to front

office and the WAN helps to (IJACSA) International Journal of Advanced

18

Computer Science and Applications, share information from one hotel

branch to another within the same chain across different geographical areas.

Computers can connect to these networks to use facilities from

another hotel or location. Through ICT, Centralized Reservation Systems

(CRS) could be used to exploit data and information resources. The link to a

centralized reservation systemic considered one of the most important

benefits of joining any hotel franchise (Knowles, 1998). Networking the

centralized reservation system enhances cost effectiveness, faster

communications, and effective exchange of information and efficient

management of ate(Lucey2005).With a sophisticated central reservation

system, a hotel chain provides individual hotels and managers in the chain

with a tool to increase reservations, maximize sales, implement yield

management, enhance market capabilities and improve quest services.

The systems are also linked to airline CRSs to form a Global

Reservation System in order to allow travel agents to make direct

reservations for their clients.CRS in no doubt faces unprecedented

operational and guest services challenges such as system downtime, but may

still be essential to survival (Knowles, 1998).With the numerous positive

impact of ICT in businesses, it is hard to imagine a contemporary business

functioning without adoption of ICT. ICT permeates every aspect of twenty

first century businesses.

In hotel front office, computers aroused to create bills and invoices, to

monitor bookings and reservations, to check-in and check-out guests, to

record guest expenditure and share information within and across the hotel

Using IT, guests could stay at the comfort of their homes and private places,

Communicate with the front office staff telephony or the Internet to make

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and confirm reservations. Credit and debit card payments have become an

integral part of front office operation today with appropriate software and

hardware.

Guests can make payment for their booking online to facilitate their

reservation, which saves time and reduces queuing at the front offices.

Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) helps quick updates of both hotel and guests

accounts after reservation. Tools such as Computer Managed Learning

(CML) and Computer Managed Instruction (CMI) are used as administrative

resources to organize guest data, occupancies and vacant rooms. The way

hotel companies sell to customers has changed dramatically over the past

few years.

In hotel front office operations, the Central Reservation Systems

(CRS) is used to share information such as available rooms, room rates etc

across hotels within a chain. Global Distribution System (GDS) is also used

to link directly the reservation system of hotels, airlines and so on, on a

worldwide basis; this can be accessed through seamless connectivity the

internet (Baker et al, 2000).

Technological development certainly would have a great impact on

the front office activities. Software packages cover virtually every front

office function from reservations, room allocation, and guest history, billing

and accounting to the production of Management information (Knowles,

1998). It is for this reason that using information and communication

technologies in front office operations in chain hotels in Countries is getting

a face-lift with both positive and negative impact. The positive impact may

include networking to share information and resources within and across the

hotels to enhance check-in of guests and, and easy billing of guests account

20

during check out. With all the good impact of ICT on chain hotel, there

should be a budgetary allocation to accommodate the procurement of

software, hardware and networking devices and installation, security

headaches, training of staff on the use of systems, routine maintenance,

redesign of cabling run, on-site systems administrator disposal of unwanted

hardware devices etc. and could bring negative consequence to the hotel

owners and managers.

The effect of IT hardware on the staff health cannot be over

emphasized Working with video display terminal (VDT) and the Keyboard

can be productive in rewarding and a lot of fun Unfortunately, prolong

postures, coupled with high level of concentration and occasional frustration

of things going less than perfect can lead to physical problems like carpal

tunnel syndrome (CTS), and computer vision syndrome. Continual clicking

and small precise motions involved in mouse use are a repetitive action that

could be a health hazard. Improper disposal of unwanted hardware device

may also be hazardous to the staff therefore extra money may be spent for

apt disposal (Olifer and Olifer, 2006).The growing importance of computers

in the daily lives has raised concerns about possible treat to computers and

data.

Data collected about clients should be protected from misuse and

therefore adequate security measures must be employed, thus data integrity

and confidentiality must be ensured .These chain hotels may spend huge

amount of money to take care of both hardware and software security

measures such as purchasing firewall sand third party backup software to

protect data held about their clients or hire backup operators to take charge

of data backup backups. Other negative consequence may be losing of huge

amount of money during system downtime, that is, when the systems are off-

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line, clients cannot make reservations both on-line and on the telephone.

Chain hotels may also have to spend so much money in training personnel to

gain expertise on the use office (Olifer and Olifer2006).These could affect

their budget significantly.

The front office department is the most noticeable department in the

hotel. It is traditionally known as reception and it is the focal point of most

activities within a hospitality business, whether it Isa large or small hotel, a

cruise liner, a holiday centre, a time-share resort or a youth hostel. The front

office is the first and last place where a guest has direct contact with the

business, landsite most visible of all departments within the hospitality

industry. The front office is a term accepted as including back of house

responsibilities, such as switchboard, accounts, cashier and night audit, front

desk, concierge and guest services(Educe Limited,2010). The department

may have the front desk, reservations, telephony and the concierge, which

provides guests with services and facilities.

The main function of the front office department is to support and

smooth the progress of guest transaction and services through all the four

stages in the guest cycle; that is pre-arrival, arrival, occupancy and departure.

The front office (IJACSA) International Journal of Advanced Computer

Science and Applications, Vol. 3 No.3, 201274 Page www.ijacsa.thesai.org

department does all the guest transactions such as reservations, check-in and

registration, mail and information, uniformed service and baggage handling,

telephone calls and messages, guest accounts, check-out and bill settlement

(Baker et al, 2000).

Until the 1990's, nearly all hotels were operating under the manual

system. With the introduction of computers, hotels are shifting to automated

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systems. Most five-star hotels operate under the fully automated system. The

fully automated systems are computer-based. This is the best system ever

used in the hotel industry and it is characterized by the excessive use of

departmental software package programs integrated and connected to a main

frame or terminal server situated at the front office department.

There are a wide range of point of sale (POS) applications that are

compatible with UNIX and Windows. The availability of processing power,

data storage, networking, and graphical user interface made it possible to

develop flexible and highly functional POS systems. Some of the key

requirements that need to be met by modern POS may include high and

consistent operating speed, reliability, and ease of use, remote supportability

and rich functionality.

Vendors and retailers are working to standardize development of

computerized POS systems and simplify interconnecting POS devices. There

is web based POS software that can be run on any computer with an Internet

connection and supported browser, without additional software. The POS

software is hosted on secure servers with real-time backups. The reservation

network system is when guests are referred by another hotel in the same

chain or marketing group through affiliate or non-affiliate reservation

network systems (Baker et al, 2000). An affiliate reservation system is

reservation system in which all hotels within the same chain participate.

Guests can make reservation for accommodation at any hotel within the

same group.

A non-affiliate reservation network is a subscription, which is

designed to connect independently operated hotels; guest can make

reservation at any hotel within the same network. When customers contact

23

the front office with specific details of their proposed reservation, the

Central Reservation Officer (CRO) checks room availability and makes

reservation directly into the system. (Baker et al 2000.) Making reservation

now is easier for guests with the help of computers and Internet because

guests do not have to be on site before booking for a room. Computers are

widely used in front office today because of its efficiency and effectiveness

in clerical, repetitive, data manipulation, number calculating, speed and

accuracy.

The involvement of IT does not work only in the front office but links

all the departments like housekeeping, food and beverage, conference and

health or leisure clubs together. The CRS connects hotels in a chain by

sharing information such as available rooms, room rates and so on. Using

CRS utilizes yield management to allow better and smoother control of room

inventory, provide hotels with a wealth of information that could increase

occupancy and revenue (Knowles, 1998).

Central Reservation Officers can know the availability of rooms at a

particular time of another hotel within the same chain (Baker ET all,

2000).Customers could check on marketing information, room availability

and room rates with the use of the internet. The reservation clerk constantly

updates information on the internet to reflect the current activities of the

hotels. Through IT, automatic check-in is available to guests at the front

office. Guests need credit cards to be issued with a computer-coded room

key (Abbott and Lawry, 1999). The credit cards are needed to activate these

machines to issue the computer-coded room key. The machine displays

menu showing the available rooms and their rate for guests to make their

reservations and booking

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TECHNOLOGY USED BY HOTEL FRONT DESK AGENTS

Front desk technology helps reduce staff workload and increase your

productivity. Hotel front desk agents are the first line of customer support in

the hospitality industry. They greet customers, assign rooms, schedule

meeting halls, accept payment, dole out room keys and ensure the guest has

everything necessary for a comfortable stay. Over the years, hotel record

keeping has evolved from paper-based systems to complex computerized

technology -- and it is continuing forward to help hotels maximize profits

while delivering a seamless guest experience. Located in the Heart of

Downtown. Near Benedum Center & Heinz Hall.

CHECK-IN

Computerized front desk technology enables the agent to perform

check-in duties ranging from room availability and reservations, to

inventory, pricing and guest data capture. On checkout, the guest's billing is

integrated with phone accounting, in-room entertainment costs and point of

sale purchases. Front desk technology provides the agents with real-time

information to facilitate efficiency and minimize wait time.

IN-ROOM TECHNOLOGY

Today's traveler carries numerous electronic devices, and reliable,

wireless Internet connectivity ranks at the top of the list for customer needs.

Some luxury hotels provide iPads or Smartphone’s to the customers for use

during their stay. Guests can use the hotel’s Web application to access room

service options an e-dining Internet site, or use an interactive service that

finds nearby restaurants, transportation or shopping.

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BENEFITS

Hotel front desk technology gives hotel owners the tools to most

effectively serve guests and increase revenue. Benefits include improved

customer service, efficient internal operations and control over financial

data. There are hundreds of systems tailored to fit the size of the

establishment. Smaller hotels, motels or bed and breakfasts may opt for basic

check-in and checkout technology. Larger chains may use this technology

for complete guest, room and rate management; reports; integrated online

reservation booking; and personnel and inventory management.

FUTURE

Technology is rapidly evolving, and for many establishments, the

future will be a faceless front desk. Automatic check-in technology is

already being implemented in several hotel chains. Features like Smartphone

room entry can eliminate the formality of arriving at the front desk. Guests

that use this technology reserve their room online. On the day of check-in,

they receive a text message with their room number linked to the guest's

preferred member card. They may go straight to their hotel room and enter

their room by placing their Smartphone near the door lock or by punching in

a code. Some hotels will implement facial recognition technology: the guest

checks in at the front desk, his image is captured, and then assigned to a

room number. The guest needs no key to enter his room.

26

INTRODUCTION TO IT:

The adoption of the information technology (IT) in the hospitality

industry started in early 1970s and has been rapidly developing ever since

(Collins and Cobanoglu, 2008; Kasavana and Cahill, 2007; Sammons, 2000).

Different systems implemented in the industry provided a basis for

competitive advantage, productivity improvement, enhanced financial

performance, and guest service expansion (Collins and Cobanoglu, 2008;

Kim, Lee, and Law, 2008; Kasavana and Cahill, 2007; Siguaw, Enz, and

Namasivayam, 2000). Given this, IT in tourism education might give the

necessary skills to potential managers in the industry. Graduates of

hospitality schools have to use computer applications in their working

environment, some of those applications are critical for marketing strategies

whereas, some of them are used for daily routines such as checking in a

customer to the hotel or entering the food that customers ordered to the point

of sale system (Collins & Cobanoglu, 2008). This structured inquiry study

highlights on the types of common information technology (IT)

competencies that are essential in the hospitality industry. The study tries to

answer questions such as: Should hospitality schools offer IT courses? What

skills are important for hospitality schools students to obtain during the

education as perceived byte industry professionals? What is the level of

hospitality school recent graduates IT performance as perceived by industry

professionals?

Information Technology in Hotels Researchers stress the importance

of technology for the hospitality industry and highlight that it has became an

indispensable part of hotels’ everyday operations (Collins & Cobanoglu,

2008; Ham, Kim, & Jeong, 2005; Kasavana & Cahill, 2003; Squires, 2008).

Interestingly, the bigger a hotel and the wider the number of services

27

provided (restaurants, sport facilities, spa centers, golf courses, etc.) the

higher reliance on technology (Piccoli & Torchio, 2006; Siguaw, Enz, &

Namasivayam, 2000). This happens because technology has entered all the

spheres of hotels’ life influencing both back of the house and front of the

house operations (Kasavana & Cahill, 2003). One application that addresses

different back and front office functions and has had a significant impact on

overall hotels’ operation is a property management system (PMS) (Collins &

Cobanoglu, 2008). Back of the house technologies include essential

processes and operations that cover hotels internal communication that do

not involve guests (Kasavana & Brooks, 1995).

Back office packages may include numerous applications and differ

depending on the operations performed (Kasavana & Cahill, 2003). Such

packages can consist of several modules such as accounts

payable/receivable, payroll, inventory and purchasing accounting, reports

module. In other words, these technologies help to manage all financial

activities of the property that occur between a hotel and its employees,

partners, vendors, different financial institutions and customers. Technology

adoption enables Human Resources managers to handle employees’ queries,

organize databases, communication, training, and develop reward programs

(Rutherford & O’Fallon, 2007). One of considerable problems of the

hospitality industry is employee turnover. Hinkin and Tracey (2006)

described the web-based tool that can help to estimate the overall cost of

employee turnover and develop “industry norms for turnover-related factors,

such as wages, training duration, recruiting practices, drug testing,

orientation programs and many other human-resources practices” (p. 9).

Technology has plays an important role in hotels’ revenue management

activities (Squires, 2008). Automation helps managers to get accurate reports

28

about pricing recommendations to reach higher profitability and to leave

more room for analytical work. All the decisions taken within revenue

management programs are usually implemented by means of reservation

systems. Proper handling of reservations is an essential and critical issue for

hotels’ successful operations (Kasavana & Cahill, 2003). In other words, a

reservation module is one of the crucial

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON USE OF ICT IN FRONT OFFICE

OPERATION AS A TOOL TO IMPROVE SERVICE QUALITY AND

INCREASED REVENUE GENERATION ABSTRACT

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in front

office operation is widely used today, as it helps in better management of the

front office operations, from star hotels to budget hotels establishments are

using one or the other form of ICT, the main objective of the study is to find

out the degree of effectiveness of the various ICTs used in the front office

management in terms of enhancing the service quality and increment in the

revenue generation. The study is based on the primary data collection with

the help of observations and interviews, using unstructured questionnaires,

and data is analyzed using the SPSS software.

The study also involves analysis of secondary data collected from the

hotel under study. The research paper will be based on active

implementation of information and communication technology in front

office operation with effective use of property management system like

Fidelio and IDS. A comparative study at various hospitality areas carried out

to see the effectiveness of the tool to improve quality and increased revenue

generation. The research is limited to the front office area and does not

effectively cover the other core hospitality areas. It has been found that with

29

the use of suitable ICT in front office operation the establishment is able to

achieve following points

•Integration of different departments in to one network

•To connect remotely located point of revenue generation at one place

•There is a significant reduction in total time of operations like reservation,

registration and settling the accounts.

•Better revenue management

•The study also shown a significant effectiveness in better occupancy rate

and higher revenue generation through use of ICT.

•It also improved the data base management of the guest which can be used

for improvement of hotel products.

•Indian Hotel Industry is very sensitive towards use of ICT Hence special

care should be taken while implementing systems.

•Various operational functions like reservation, registration and settling of

accounts are now being done at a much reduced time and with less

manpower.

•Use of PMS is increasingly becoming popular keeping in mind the immense

benefits.

•Last but not least, data base management of the guest which is important for

all hotels is being managed by the installation of the software

30

USE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN HOTEL:-

What do you think should be the most important quality of a hotel

manager? If someone were to ask me, I’d say it would be the capability to

communicate effectively with the staff, colleagues and guests. In this new

age of electronic communication, one should not forget that effective verbal

and non-verbal communication skills should be emphasized and well-

executed in the hospitality industry. Compelling communication skills are

important in a hotel regardless of some staff members not being guest-

facing. A few hotels spend considerable amount of money on training their

staff to interact with the guests. Good communication skills are a learned art

and not a natural skill so one should consider training to enhance staff skills.

Excellent communication skills enhance guest experience as it conveys that

you are listening to your guests, valuing their feedback and conveying clear

messages. Apart from communicating with the guests, your staff ought to

know how to write emails. Good communication skills will impress your

guests which will further prove beneficial to your hotel business. Not only

does the staff need to communicate successfully with the guests but also

with other department employees. Few of the staff members might be able to

speak in manageable English but those who don’t have English as their first

language suffer due to their inability and fail to understand simple

instructions and information. Department heads often face problems such as:

- Failing to communicate well with guests which may result in lack of

confidence among the staff members.

- Failing to process written documents such as emails, reports and other

collaterals.

- Failing to understand the hotel management software hotels use these days.

31

Being the department head, if you are often facing such challenges then there

is a problem and you need to look into it sooner. Here are some suggestions:

Conduct Staff Training

Arrange for a communication skills program that will be helpful for

your employees to communicate effectively with the guests in crucial

circumstances like dealing with complaints, coordinating between

departments, attending to guests at the front desk and helping in

documentation like menus, bills, reports and other hotel procedures. The

training should be conducted once a month so that they get a chance to

improve their communication skills. Also, encourage your hotel staff to

communicate with each other in English.

Listen to your Employees

Successful communication is a two-way process which requires the

management to periodically listen to their staff member’s views and ideas. If

the management head does all the talking, employees tend to become

lethargic. You need to listen to your employees as they are the ones dealing

with the guests on a direct, day-to-day basis. For all you know, they might

have ideas to better customer service or improvising of hotel functions if

they encounter problems. The best way to listen to your employees is to hold

feedback sessions on a weekly basis, take their inputs seriously and reward

them. Motivate your hotel staff to help you in taking the hotel business

forward.

32

Train your Staff on Attending to Guests

Your employees should know how to communicate well with your

guests. There may be instances where your hotel might receive a complaint

from guests in verbal or written form through reviews. The person in-charge

to solve these matters must be well-trained in order to handle the issue

wisely and subtly rather than ignoring it or dismissing it. Urgent matters can

be handled with ease if your staff has good communication and behavioral

skills.

The Mirror Technique

The best way to successful communication is to observe your guest’s

own communication style and to respond accordingly. For instance, when

you are dealing with a guest, you may notice that some guests make small

conversations and others may be interested in the issue to be dealt with

quickly and spontaneously. So observe your guests and act accordingly as it

is important to think how you address your guest or deal with complaints

(use humor for light-hearted guests).

Results of Great Communication Skills

- Improved customer service.

- Better understanding of the instructions from supervisors among the staff

members.

- Great understanding of the latest technology used by hotels.

- Boosted confidence to approach guests.

33

- Positive attitude towards the workplace and higher level of understanding

between the department heads.

As stated above, effective communication skills is a learned art and

not a natural skill so it doesn’t mean that the relevant skills cannot be

developed. Hotels should emphasize on providing communication skills

training courses which cover everything from basic communication

techniques to advanced empathy skills program.

Staffs are key to our guest experience. The relationship between guests and

staff is what makes the difference and you can’t have that without good

communication skills.

The client

Accor Hotels is an international hotel chain with 29 hotels across New

Zealand. Novotel & Ibis Auckland Eller lie, Mercure Auckland and Mercure

Windsor Auckland are four of its Auckland hotels with 200 employees. A

number of the hotels' staff have immigrated to New Zealand and speak

English as a second language. Accor prides itself in providing professional,

high quality and friendly service.

The challenge:-

The hospitality industry is highly competitive and the interaction

between staff and guests is critical to positive guest experiences. Staff needs

to communicate successfully not only with customers but also with other

departments. Accor aims to develop literacy within the workplace and assist

employees in improving their ability to communicate and understand the

expectations of their role and guests' needs. A number of the hotels' staff

34

speaks English as a second language which limits their ability to

communicate and understand instructions.

Department managers saw instances of employees:

Failing to fully complete induction documents

Having difficulty with written communication

Having difficulty with verbal communication with guests

Lacking in confidence to approach guests

Practical solutions

Work base developed a business skills communication programmed based

on what was most beneficial for Accor Hotels. Priorities included:

Communicating effectively with customers including dealing with

complaints

Communicating effectively with colleagues and supervisors

Accurate documentation (particularly emergency procedures, menus

and the hotel's induction book)

Twenty-nine staff attended an hour of training a week over a 14-month

period. The training was tailored to each employee and took place during

work hours, which supported attendance and demonstrated the company's

commitment to employee development.

Following the training hotel managers noticed a range of developments

among participants, including:

Improved customer service, including staff handling

customer complaints

Improved understanding of instructions from supervisors

35

Greater confidence to approach guests and initiate conversations

Better understanding of other departments

Improved email and report writing

More accurate completion of duty logs and order placement.

Improved moral and a more positive attitude towards their work in the

hotel

- Good Communications and Their Importance

- Obstacles to Good Communication

- Listening

- Directing People at Work

- Business Writing

- Meetings

We human beings communicate all day every day. We spend over 70

percent of our waking hours sending or receiving messages: speaking,

listening, writing, reading, pushing keys on computers, watching the

television screen. Since we communicate so much, we ought to be pretty

good at it. But we’re not. There are probably as many opportunities to be

misunderstood as there are people with whom we communicate. Different

people interpret what you say in different ways, and not necessarily in the

way that you meant, and you do the same with what they say to you.

Many of the problems we have on the job—and in our personal lives,

too—involve some type of communication failure. No one has yet found a

theory or method or set of communications principles guaranteed to be 100-

percent effective. Experts know a lot about why people fail in

communicating, and they can explain the ingredients for success, but there is

no formula that will work everywhere, every time, for everybody.

Nevertheless, understanding how communication takes place, why it fails,

36

and what can be done to improve it will increase enormously the chances for

success.

As a supervisor in a hospitality enterprise, you will be communicating

constantly. You will be both a sender and a receiver of messages, and both

roles will be very important. You must understand what comes down to you

from the top so that you can carry out your supervisor’s instructions and the

policies of the company. You must communicate clearly with other

supervisors to coordinate your work with theirs. You must communicate

effectively with customers. Most important of all, you must communicate

successfully with the people you supervise so you will have the power to get

things done. You cannot manage effectively if you cannot communicate

effectively. In this article we examine the communication process and its

central role in managing people at work. It will help you to:

List and describe various types of communication.

Diagram the communication process and analyze common breakdowns at

each step in the process.

Explain how effective communication skills are important to success as a

hospitality supervisor.

Describe personal characteristics that affect communication skills.

List examples of nonverbal communication.

Discuss common obstacles to good communication and recommend tactics

to avoid them.

Compare and contrast effective and ineffective listening practices.

Illustrate the use of effective communication skills in directing employees.

Outline common pitfalls of business writing and list guidelines for avoiding

them.

List guidelines for effective business meetings.

37

GOOD COMMUNICATIONS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE:

Communications is the general term that sums up the sending and

receiving of messages. The way employees communicate can make or break

a company. Think of the difference between courteous and surly employees

and the messages they convey to guests. We want to do business with people

who can communicate the company philosophy to guests and give

outstanding service. This all takes communication, which is the lifeblood of

companies. It is critical that the front-line associates know the company

mission and goals and how they are going to meet them. This information is

a formal communication and is given in meetings, personal correspondence-

mail, notice boards, and so on. Supervisors are vitally important as they are

the ones who explain the mission, goals, and company policy to their

associates.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

A communication may be a word-of-mouth message such as a verbal

instruction given on the job or an announcement at a meeting. Or it may be a

written communication:

A letter, a memo, a production sheet, a housekeeper’s report, or a

recipe. A message may go from one person to another, as when the sous chef

tells the soup cook what soups to prepare for lunch; when the housekeeper

tells a maid what rooms she is to make up; or when one person says to

another, "It’s nice to have you back, we missed you." This is known as

interpersonal communication.

38

Communication in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry

Communication is the most important and the most used of all skills

in the hospitality and tourism industry. Managers spend the largest portion of

their time in verbal or written communications with their employees or

outside parties. Other staff member communicates among themselves, as

well as their managers, frontline employees suppliers, and so on; to give and

receive the information they need to perform their jobs.

Communication has been recognized as the means by which both and

people and the organization survive. When human beings lack the ability to

cope with life, the source of the problem is often a lack of appropriate

information. Incomplete and unorganized information place a heavy strain

on the ability of people to make sense out of their existence. Their

performance of a job depends on having necessary information, having the

skills to do a job depends on the quality of communication during the skills

acquisition period.

Applying the definition of communication to this process, the role of

the transmitter is to impart information, ideas, or feeling to another person.

Encoding is the process by which information is organized into symbols,

such as word, picture or gestures that can be conveyed to receiver. The

transmitter subsequently uses a selected form of communication such as

writing, speaking, faxing, gesturing, painting or advertising to impart the

encoded message too receiver. The receiver is the person or group of person

to whom the message is being sent by the transmitter.

In the communication process, it is the responsibility of the receiver

receives and decodes the message. Decoding is the reverse of encoding. It is

the process by which the symbols that the transmitter has conveyed to the

39

receiver are interpreted and translated into meaningful information. It is only

after decoding that the receiver can respond to the perceived message. It is

important to note that there are certain times during the communication

process at which communication failures can readily occur. First, if the

transmitter is not careful during the encoding process, he may incorrectly

encode the information, ideas, or feelings he intends to transmit. This would

result in his transmitting an inaccurate message.

The thing which usually happens is such as the message received by

the last person in line differs markedly from the original phase. The primary

reason for this discrepancy is that the massage has gone through many

transmutations as it has been encoded and by each person in the line.

Communication failure can also occur if a message does not reach the

receive. It may reach no one or the actual receiver of the message may not be

the person for whom the message was intended. However with this form of

communication, there is no way to ensure this is the case. As stated earlier,

how best to reach the intended receiver is an important consideration in

selecting a form of communication for a particular message.

Another potential source of trouble in the communication process is

noise. Noise refers to any sort of distraction or interference that prevents the

accurate transmitter and reception and reception of message. Three distinct

types of noise have been identified such as external noise, physiological

noise and psychological noise. External noise is any distraction or

interference whose source is outside of the receiver. Physiological noise is

interference caused by a biological factor such as loss of sight or hearing.

Psychological noise refers to forces that either causes a transmitter to

improperly encode a message or receiver to incorrectly decode a message.

40

The frontline employees as the most important link between a

company and its customer are a crucial first step in developing and

implementing effective communication systems. The frontline employees

have to ensure that they are fully aware of company policies and priorities

insofar as they affect the job the employees are doing, they also have to

know where and how to obtain information if required. The employees also

have to react positively to the unexpected. They also have be confidence that

management will support their reasonable action. They should know that

reasonable suggestions will be acted upon. The staff also should be fully

trained to carry out their entire job responsibilities.

While communication with customers can be winning business

strategy in the service sector. Repeating business can only ensure his

customer keep coming back. Example of the communication process is

(Transmitter - Message – Receiver).

41

DATA ANALYSIS

Table 1

Table 1: It is Seen That About 60% of Hotel Does

Not Wants to Upgrade Any of Their Module whilst

rest 40% Crave for Upgrading of the Modules.

Mostly have recommended upgrading of reservation,

posting and Guest history management modules.

YES 40%

NO 60%

REQUIRE UPGRADATION OF SOFTWARE MODULES

42

Table 2

Table 2: It Is Observed that about 40% of hotel train

their staff every week to improve their working skills

whist rest 60% take period of 2 weeks – 1 month .

0

2/10

4/10

1 Week 2 Week

1 Month 1 Month<

No

of

Ho

tels

1 Week 2 Week 1 Month 1 Month<

Time Period in which Hotel train their staff to make

them skilled on software. 4/10 2/10 3/10 1/10

Time Period in which Hotel train their staff to make them skilled on software.

43

Table 3

Table 3: As Seen From research Result 70% of hotels

recommend a technology upgrading in their hotels.

0

2/10

4/10

6/10

8/10

1

Hotels Need For technology upgradation.

Yes, 7/10

No, 3/10 N

o O

f H

ote

ls

Ratio Of No to yes

Chart Title

44

Table 4

Table 4: on observing the Results it is seen that 50%

of hotel train their staff to upgrade and upkeep their

dept and themselves.

Time Interval In Which Hotels Train staff on Upgrading & Upkeep of dept.

0 1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10

1 Month

2 Months

6 Months

1 Year

Ho

tels

1 Month 2 Months 6 Months 1 Year

Time Interval In Which Hotels Train staff on Upgrading &

Upkeep of dept. 4/10 5/10 1/10 0

45

Table 5

Table 5: It is seen that general knowledge is part of

F.O Development henceforth hotels also pay a keen

attention to their staff’s general knowledge

development. Round about 60% hotels train their

staff and improvise their GK in every 1 month.

1 Month 2 Months 6 Months 1 year

Hotels 6/10 4/10 0 0

0

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

Ho

tels

Time Interval In Which Hotels Train Staff on their GK

46

Table 6

Table 6: It shows that approx 6 out of 10 hotels try

and gets connected to their guest on social

networking sites.

Yes 60%

No 40%

Hotels Connecting with your guest on social networking websites

47

Table 7

Table 7: All hotels agree that social networking sites

play a pivotal role in increasing attraction of guest

towards hotel. However from table 6 it is also derived

that 4 out of 10 hotels are not available on social

networking websites due to various reasons such as

tough time to maintain, unavailability of such option,

poor knowledge of such technological advances etc.

100%

Yes

Hotes Agreeing That Social Media plays a pivotal role in increase of guest attraction towards hotel

48

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel: Best Western Hotel

Name and Designation: Anshuman Roy (Asst.

Manager F.O)

What Is the Software used In Your Hotel for the Front Office

Operation?

Answer: IDS Next’s FortuneNEXT

How often do you upgrade the software?

Answer: 1 – 2 yr

How efficient is the Software Working?

Answer: Perfectly Fine.

What are the advantages of the PMS you use?

Answer: efficient working, multitasking, speed in work.

Do you feel the requirement of upgrading any module?

o Yes______ No____

49

If yes which one?

Answer: Night Auditing

How often do you train your staff to make them skilled on software?

o 1 Week __________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________

How many modules are available in software?

Answer: 12

Which one is the most important and mainly used?

Answer: Registrations

Do you recommend any technology upgrading in your hotel?

o Yes _________ No__________

How do you improvise on communication skills in your dept?

Answer: By Training

What are the training procedures you give to your staff?

Answer: OTJ, Buddy & Classrooms.

50

How do you evaluate the communication skills of front office staff?

Answer: By Performance.

In which ways the training on communication skills would help in the

Front Office development?

Answer: High customer Satisfaction and Boost in Self Confidence.

What are the various techniques to keep your team motivated?

Answer: Promotion, Appraisals, Rewards.

What is your opinion on the first impression a guest gets after

communication with the F.O Staff?

Answer: A well communication will give an impression on guest that

the hotel with such staff is definitely a sophisticated hotel.

What are the measures you take to avoid mistakes in reports generated

from system?

Answer: Manual Cross checking.

What are the steps you take to avoid unwanted reservations during

peak seasons?

Answer: Informing Every Staff About dates when hotel is full and

avoiding any further reservations

51

How often do you train your staff on upgrading & upkeep of dept?

1 Month _________ 2 Months_______

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________

How frequently do you train your staff on their general knowledge?

1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________

What are the barriers that avoid development of F.O dept?

Answer: Staff training problems, underdeveloped skills of staff in

dept.

How do you network with guest for further feedback?

Answer: Feedback form, Ratings on websites like trip advisor etc.

Do you try connecting with your guest on social networking websites?

Yes ___________ No __________

How does your staff handle the situation of shut downs?

Answer: Pre Preparations for such things by cash payment during

such time mailing the bill to guest instead of printing.

What technology do you use for management of guest database?

Answer: Module in Software Also A&D of Guest Manually

52

How do you market your hotels special offers to guest?

Answer: Hotel Website, Distributing Channels.

How do you ensure rate parity on CRS and GDS?

Answer: Agreements

What is contribution to your hotel in terms of services through ICT?

Answer: Formation of a sophisticated Hotel and Meeting Hotels

Expected Standards

Do you think Social Media plays a pivotal role in increase of guest

attraction towards hotel?

Yes ____________ No_____________

53

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel name: Lemon Tree Indore

Name and Designation: Mr. Satish Ware (EAM)


Operation?

Answer: Protel


Answer: 6mnths-1yr


Answer: Fine


Answer: Self Night Audit Report Generation, Auto Guest History

Locator Etc.


o Yes______ No_____

54

If yes which one?

Answer:


o 1 Week __________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________


Answer: 12


Answer: Rooms


o Yes _________ No__________


Answer: By Efficient Training


Answer: Buddy training or According to training Schedule.

55


Answer: By Their Way of Conversation.



Answer: It would help In Making Customer More Efficient to Tell

about Their Problems in Hotel and Their Suggestion would be taken

Into Consideration.


Answer: Mostly it is Performance Appraisal.



Answer: In Our Dept. it plays A Pivotal Role since Your First

impression is your last impression A Good communication will lead

to happy And Satisfied Customers


from system?

Answer: Cross checking and Manual Auditing

56


peak seasons?

Answer: A Confirmation with CRS And a notice to our sales And

Marketing team along with the hotel staff about 100% occupancy


1 Month _________ 2 Months_______

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


Answer: Communication Gap, a Misguided and wrongly prepared

Training Schedule


Answer: GSS form, Mail.


Yes ___________ No __________

57


Answer: Pre Printing of Reg. Cards, Bills etc.


Answer: Protel MPE


Answer: On Sites or Mails or our distributing agents


Answer: On Basis of certain Terms and Conditions


Answer: Increase in revenue generation and Increase in hotels

customer satisfaction value



Yes ____________ No_____________

58

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel: Shreemaya Residency Indore

Name and Designation: Amol Bakore (Asst. F.O.M)


Operation?

Answer: Amadeus


Answer: 4 months – 2 yrs


Answer: Fine


Answer: Better Guest History and Database management


o Yes______ No____

59

If yes which one?

Answer:


o 1 Week __________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________


Answer: 10


Answer: Rooms Division


o Yes _________ No__________


Answer: Training and Practice


Answer: Classroom training, on the job, buddy.

60


Answer: Performance and upselling



Answer: A strong bond formation with and between people in

organization resulting in 100% customer satisfaction.


Answer: Month end parties, appraisal etc



Answer: a Single Statement 1st will be your last.


from system?

Answer: Manual Cross Checking


peak seasons?

Answer: A Note to CRS and Other Concerned people regarding no

further reservations.

61


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


Answer: incapability to do work by staff.


Answer: Guest service satisfaction forms


Yes ___________ No __________


Answer: Pre Arrangements are made .


Answer: It’s included in guest history data module

62


Answer: On Websites, Social networking.


Answer: On certain service agreements and contracts.


Answer: A great Profit.



Yes ____________ No_____________

63

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel: Fortune Landmark Hotel Indore

Name and Designation: A.V. Mandlik (Trainee

Manager)


Operation?

Answer: Amadeus PMS


Answer: 1yr - 3yr


Answer: Totally Efficient


Answer: Faster in all core aspects of guest experience management.

64


o Yes______ No____

If yes which one?

Answer: Postings


o 1 Week __________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________


Answer: 10


Answer: Front Office Module


o Yes _________ No__________


Answer: Perfect training And Practice Skills.

65


Answer: On the Job training, Classroom trainings.


Answer: Assessments, Performance, Guest Recognization



Answer: Smart Personality of Staff resulting In Guest happiness And

Attraction


Answer: Promotion, Awards, Incentives etc.



Answer: The First Impression Would Be His Last Impression the

more good it is the better hotels impression would be on him.


from system?

Answer: Self Evaluation Twice At least Before Confirmation

66


peak seasons?

Answer: Confirmation With guest for confirmed Bookings, No Hold

Up reservation, blocking The Post Bookings.


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


Answer: Inadequate Staff training, Staffs Uninterested in

Development Schemes


Answers:


Yes ___________ No __________

67


Answer: Manual Editing Of Reg. Cards, Pre Bill Postings.




Answer: Mails, Sales team, Distribution channels.


Answer: On Contractual Agreements


Answer: A major role is played by ICT in building hotels repo.



Yes ____________ No_____________

68

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel: Sayaji Indore

Name and Designation: Pramod Chaturvedi (T.M)


Operation?

Answer: Amadeus


Answer: 8 months – 1.5 yr


Answer: Perfectly Fine


Answer: Multi Tasking


o Yes______ No____

69

If yes which one?

Answer: Postings


o 1 Week __________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________


Answer: 10


Answer: Rooms Division


o Yes _________ No__________


Answer: Training and Practice


Answer: OTJT, Buddy, Classroom.

70


Answer: Based on Performance Test.



Answer: Smartness in Work, Developed personality resulting In More

profit oriented Business


Answer: entertainment functions, rewards etc



Answer: A very important role is played by communication skills

since it is the main skill required by F.O Dept.


from system?



peak seasons?

Answer: Not taking any future reservations with this note to be

circulated in every dept. heads.

71


1 Month _________ 2 Months_______

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


1 Month _________ 2 Months_______

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


Answer: Miscommunication, uncompleted training, unadjusted staff.


Answer: Mails or Guest service satisfaction forms, comments on

rating websites.


Yes ___________ No __________


Answer: We Mail the bills to guest , A manual Reg. Card entry is

done .

72




Answer: Websites, Sales team, Social Networks.


Answer: On trust and mutual agreement basis , and plus we have our

own CRS So it’s of not an issue.


Answer: It has helped in proper profits in terms of both business and

ratings.



Yes ____________ No_____________

73

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel: Sarovar Portico

Name and Designation: Viplav Dixit (Shift Manager

F.O)


Operation?



Answer: 1 -2 years


Answer: Fantastically good


Answer: Efficient Working, Better Reports with less mistakes.


o Yes______ No____

74

If yes which one?

Answer:


o 1 Week __________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________


Answer: 12




o Yes _________ No__________


Answer: A full time Training and high Practice


Answer: OTJ, Classroom.

75


Answer:



Answer: Great Interaction Skills, great 1st impression of hotel on guest


Answer: Family Benefits like vacations to staff in a year with their

family.



Answer: Poor Communication Skills would be leading to a less

impressed customer hence a first impression should be always best.


from system?

Answer: Self or Personal evaluation


peak seasons?

Answer: Not issuing any room booking rights to CRS and sending a

100% occ. report to the same.

76


1 Month _________ 2 Months_______

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


Answer: Undeveloped communication skills, unwillingness to learn.


Answer: Guest service satisfaction forms


Yes ___________ No __________


Answer:

77




Answer: Websites, Mails, Sales team


Answer:


Answer:



Yes ____________ No_____________

78

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel: Radisson Blu

Name and Designation: Neena Parihar (GSE F.O)


Operation?



Answer: 1 – 2 yrs


Answer: Totally Fine


Answer: Multitasking and Fast Paced.


o Yes______ No____

79

If yes which one?

Answer: Guest history management


o 1 Week ________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________


Answer: 12


Answer: Rooms division


o Yes _________ No__________


Answer: Training


Answer: OTJ(On Job Training).

80


Answer:



Answer: A well communication will lead to strong bonding with guest

leading to higher chances of upselling i.e. high business.


Answer: Awards and Recognization every month.



Answer: A Smart Communicating guy would be swiping the field

away henceforth a well developed communication skill is required by

F.O Staff to swipe away the customer.


from system?

Answer: Manual Evaluation of reports

81


peak seasons?

Answer: Pre Information to be sent to all people associated with room

booking and reservation dept. with an order to avoid any more

booking on the day of peak seasons


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


1 Month _________ 2 Months_______

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


Answer: unwanted chaos, miscommunication.


Answer: Mails


Yes ___________ No __________


Answer:

82




Answer: Social network and Sales dept.


Answer:


Answer:



Yes ____________ No_____________

83

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel: Rishivan Hotel, Lonavala

Name and Designation: Surendra Jha (F.O.M)


Operation?



Answer: 1 - 2 years


Answer: Good


Answer: Lower Chances Of Shut Downs And lags .


o Yes______ No____

84

If yes which one?

Answer:


o 1 Week __________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________


Answer: 12


Answer: Reservations


o Yes _________ No__________


Answer: Training


Answer: Buddy.

85


Answer:



Answer: Trained in communication Skills will lead to more efficient

guest service.


Answer: Functions Such As Food Feast, Celebration of every festival

in Hotel.



Answer: Yes After hotels decorum it’s the F.O. staff that creates

impression on guest.


from system?

Answer: Self Cross Checking.


peak seasons?

Answer: Pre info to all dept. about peak season time.

86


1 Month _________ 2 Months_______

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


Answer: Staff problem (personal), staff not taking work seriously.


Answer: Mails or Guest reviews on websites.


Yes ___________ No __________


Answer:

87




Answer: Mails, Calls, Reservation dept, SMS.


Answer:


Answer:



Yes ____________ No_____________

88

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel: The Lagoona Resort

Name and Designation: Mr. C.K. Sabnis (Trainee

Manager)


Operation?



Answer: In approx 2 years


Answer: Fine


Answer: Smart Working, Less Complicated.


o Yes______ No____

89

If yes which one?

Answer:


o 1 Week __________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________


Answer: 12




o Yes _________ No__________


Answer: Strict Training and perfect Practice


Answer: OTJT

90


Answer:



Answer: Smart and great Guest and client service.


Answer: Praises and awards, incentives etc.



Answer: 1st impression is last impression that is all I would say


from system?

Answer: Manual Cross Checking and personal checking of each and

every details


peak seasons?

Answer: We avoid taking any more reservations on that day.

91


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


1 Month _________ 2 Months_______

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


Answer: staffs unwillingness to do work and untrained new staff.


Answer: Guest service satisfaction forms and their ratings for hotels


Yes ___________ No __________


Answer:

92




Answer: Sales Dept, Social Media.


Answer:


Answer:



Yes ____________ No_____________

93

QUESTIONNAIRE

Hotel: Fariyas Hotels and Resorts Lonavala

Name and Designation: Ms. Naina Sharma (Asst.

H.R.M)


Operation?



Answer: On avg. of 1 – 3 yrs


Answer: Fully Efficient


Answer: Easy Access and Ease to use


o Yes______ No____

94

If yes which one?

Answer:


o 1 Week __________ 2 Week _________

o 1Month _________ 1Month<________


Answer: 12


Answer: Rooms division.


o Yes _________ No__________


Answer: Training


Answer: Classroom, Scheduled Training.

95


Answer:



Answer: Proper connection with co workers, clients resulting is best

delivery of work from the staff.


Answer: Family Benefits, Appraisals, Entertainment Functions.



Answer: A great Impression will help in building more business.


from system?



peak seasons?

Answer: Blocking further reservations, informing to concerned

reservation authorities

96


1 Month _________ 2 Months_________

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


1 Month _________ 2 Months_______

6 Months __________ 1 Year __________


Answer: too much workload leading to laziness and discomfort in

work.


Answer: Mails or Guest service satisfaction forms


Yes ___________ No __________


Answer:



97


Answer: Reservation Channels, Distribution Channels.


Answer:


Answer:



Yes ____________ No_____________

98

Summary:-

According To Research, Surveys and Data Analysis it is

found that Information Technology and Communication

Skills play an important role in hotel industry. The hotel

simultaneously provides training to its entire staff for their

development in both IT And Communication Skills. The

Hotels are craving For Technology upgrading in their dept.

Basically IT&CS play a pivotal role in development of Front

Office, or on a hotel as a whole. The Results show that all

the hotel have to say just one line about communication

skills in front office that is ‘First Impression Is the last

Impression ‘. And let this be said that since guest has his

first to communication with the staff of front office Dept.

henceforth a well developed communication skills in a front

desk staff.

And speaking about the information technology, in this fast

paced world the hotel now needs to be in touch with the

guests. The more the developed technology the more it will

be efficient for the hotels to connect with guest and vice

versa. Also the better developed software and systems

would be used by hotels the more efficient it would be for

the front office dept. to carry out operations and provide that

efficient and fast service to guests.

99

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Front office - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paper13-

The_Use_of_Information_and_Communication_Technologies(ICT)i

n_Front_Office_Operations_of_Chain_Hotels_in_Ghana.pdf

use of information technology and communication skills in front

office developemen - Google Search

Progress and Development of Information and Communication

Technologies in Hospitality | Rosanna Leung - Academia.edu

The Information Technology (IT) Skills of Hospitality School

Graduates as Perceived by Hospitality Professionals -

viewcontent.cgi

front office research project on ict - Google Search

Best Hotel Property Management Software - TheTopTens.com

Best Hotel Management System in 2015 for India

Research - Faculty of ICT, Mahidol University

IT and Internet's Impact on Tourism and Hospitality

Industry: Implementations of technologies for Hilton Hotels Group.

Front Office – Training Manual Edition 3rd – SUDHIR ANDREWS

Front Office Development – JAYSHANKAR TIWARI

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_office

http://thesai.org/Downloads/Volume3No3/Paper13-The_Use_of_Information_and_Communication_Technologies(ICT)in_Front_Office_Operations_of_Chain_Hotels_in_Ghana.pdf



https://www.google.co.in/search?q=use+of+information+technology+and+communication+skills+in+front+office+developemen&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=8l67VO2_NJSg8wWf3IGAAw

https://www.google.co.in/search?q=use+of+information+technology+and+communication+skills+in+front+office+developemen&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=8l67VO2_NJSg8wWf3IGAAw

http://www.academia.edu/637891/Progress_and_Development_of_Information_and_Communication_Technologies_in_Hospitality

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http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1303&context=gradconf_hospitality



https://www.google.co.in/search?q=use+of+information+technology+and+communication+skills+in+front+office+developemen&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=8l67VO2_NJSg8wWf3IGAAw#safe=off&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&q=front+office+research+project+on+ict

http://www.thetoptens.com/hotel-property-management-software/

http://www.softwaresuggest.com/hms-hotel-management-software

http://www.ict.mahidol.ac.th/research/senior2009/2009_35HOTEL.html

http://www.ivoryresearch.com/samples/tourism-essay-example-it-and-internet-impact-on-tourism-and-hospitality-industry-implementation-of-technologies-for-hilton-hotels-group/

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