Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V

Course Code: HoMa-1051
Program Name: BA in Hotel Management
Chapter -5

Syllabus

Hotel Guests and Products

Hotel Guests
Hotel Products

Communication
The process of sharing views, ideas, and knowledge between two or more
individuals or between groups is known as communication.
The word communication is derived from the Latin communicare, meaning
to impart, share, or make common.
According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, communication means
the activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people
information.
Newstrom and Davis (1997) define communication as the transfer of
information from one person to another person. It is a way of reaching
others by transmitting ideas, facts, thoughts, feelings, and values.
The Communication Process
Communication is as a process by which people convey information through
the transmission of written, verbal, or symbolic messages.
The entire communication process may be broken into various stages of
communication:
Sender/source
1

Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
in
Message
Program Name: BA
Hotel Management
Chapter -5

Encoding
-- Channel
Receiver/target
Decoding
Feedback

The Seven Cs of Communication

The various aspects of effective communication are given below:
Completeness
Conciseness
Consideration
Concreteness
Clarity
Courtesy.
Correctness
The Importance of Communication
Good communication is important for establishing a long-lasting relationship
between a hotel and its guests. A guests opinion of a hotel is formed on the basis
of her overall experience at the hotel, which includes satisfaction with the hotel
facilities and services like accommodation, food and beverage, recreation, etc., as

Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
as treatment
extended
by the hotel staff. The importance of communication is
Programwell
Name:
BA in Hotel
Management
Chapteras
-5 under:

For Planning: Managers need information from all departments for planning
and distributing work.
For Decision-making: On many occasions, managers are required to make
important decisions on the basis of the information available to them.
For Effective Coordination Effective inter- and intra-departmental
coordination is important in providing flawless services to hotel guests.
For Delegation Managers are responsible for planning work and delegating
various tasks and duties. It is important that they communicate the
delegation of authority to all the concerned persons.
For Employee Morale and Job Satisfaction Feedback and open
communication between the FOM and his team members raises the morale
of the team and leads to greater job satisfaction.
For Effective Leadership and Better Understanding Good leaders
communicate effectively with their teams, leading to good understanding,
cooperation, and coordination among team members
Types of Communication
Communication can be classified as under:
Oral Communication
Written Communication
Non-verbal Communication

Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
Program Name: BA in Hotel Management
Chapter -5

Oral Communication
Words are the most common symbols of communication. Oral
communication describes any type of interaction that makes use of spoken
words. It is a vital, integral part of the modern business world. In oral
communication, both the sender and the receiver exchange their ideas
through words either in face-to-face communication or through electronic
devices like telephone, computers, etc.

Written Communication
Written communication is communication by means of written symbols
(either printed or handwritten). It may be in the form of letters, e-mails, reservation
confirmations, hotel circulars, memos, reports, notes, manuals, in-house hotel
magazines, etc. Messages that are not written properly create confusion and
misunderstanding among readers. Thus it is important to understand the purpose,
the audience, and the channel before composing a message. Written
communication has several merits like authenticity, transparency, mass access,
proof for future reference, legal defense, and permanent record.
Non-verbal Communication
Non-verbal communication refers to the messages we give and receive
through body language and facial expressions. Non-verbal messages often
convey more meaning than the spoken word.
Usually non-verbal communication occurs unconsciously. Our body language
determines the meaning of communication to a large extent. Therefore, it would be
4

Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
if we
learnManagement
to use our body language for a purpose and also learn to
Programgood
Name:
BAcould
in Hotel
and interpret the body language of others
Chapterunderstand
-5

Flow of Communication
Information flows in an organization both formally and informally. Formal
communication refers to communication that follows the official hierarchy
and is required to do ones job. Such information flows through formal
channelsthe main lines of organizational communication. Most of the
communication that a hotel needs for its operations flows through these
channels.
It can be of following types:
Downward Communication: Downward communication flows
from a manager, down the chain of command
Upward Communication: Communication flows upward when
subordinates send reports, or present their findings and
recommendations to their superiors.
Lateral or Horizontal Communication: Lateral or horizontal
communication takes place among peer groups or employees
at similar hierarchy levels.
Diagonal or Cross-wise Communication: Diagonal or crosswise communication flows in all directions and cuts across
functions and levels in an organization.
Barriers of Communication

There are many obstacles that obstruct the free flow of communication.
These obstacles, which may filter a part of a message, or convey incorrect
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Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
meaning,
or prevent
a message from being communicated entirely, are
Program Name:
BA in Hotel
Management
Chapter -5 known as barriers of communication.

The barriers of communication may be classified as:

Semantic
Psychological
Personal.

Semantic
All communication symbols like words, pictures, actions, etc. suggest
certain meanings. In verbal communication, a particular word may have
several meanings; moreover, a particular word may have contradictory
meanings in different parts of the world. There are several words which
have similar pronunciations but differ in meaning, like assess and access,
which may create confusion. These are known as semantic barrier.

Psychological
In a communication process, the problems that arise due to cognitive
reasons (related to thought, experience, or senses) are called psychological
barriers. These may be:

Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
Difference
of Perception:
Perception is the way you see things, especially
Program Name:
BA in Hotel
Management
Chapter -5 with the senses. It is difficult to see every situation exactly as another

person sees it. Perception depends upon various factors like:

education

Experience
Culture
environment in which a person is brought up
Every person has a unique combination of these factors, leading to
difference in perception.

Noise: Noise in the environment of communication is one of the major

barriers in communication. At the front desk, the noise level is higher at the
time of arrival of groups or during peak check-in and check-out times, which
makes it difficult for the front desk agent to have a proper verbal
communication with the guest.

Psychological

Personal factors that disrupt the flow of communication, like the attitude of
the communicator, fear, lack of confidence, lack of awareness, inattentiveness,
and poor retention, are known as personal barriers. Some of the personal barriers
of communication are:
Lack of Knowledge : Lack of specialized knowledge about the basic and
advanced principles of operations, technical terms, and house customs
may pose a barrier while communicating with the different sections of a

Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
hotel. Such a situation arises when a new person, who has very little
Program Name: BA in Hotel Management
knowledge about the hospitality industry or the hotel, joins a hotel.
Chapter -5
Lack of Interest: The lack of interest in the job may be one of the barriers
of communication. The employee may lose interest in her job due to

monotonous and long working hours, personal problems, work pressure,

fatigue, physical illness, etc.
Poor Retention: The ability of retaining information differs from person to
person. Some people have good retention power than others. Poor
retention of facts may be a barrier in communication, especially in the
case of verbal communication.
Poor Listening: The front desk employees should be good listeners and
should pay attention to the speaker. While processing a guests
reservation request, the reservation agent should listen carefully to the
requirements of the guest.
Emotions: The encoding and decoding of a message is influenced by our
emotions to a great deal. If we are not in a positive state of mind, we will
communicate negative messages and interpret others messages critically

Cooperation among Hotel Departments

All departments within the hotel are required to work as a team. Corporation
between departments is not only in the interest of the guests, but also ensures that
no department functions in isolation, leading to more effective functions of the
hotel. All the department are interdepartmental, but the front office department has
a very close relationship with the housekeeping and food and beverage service
department.
House keeping
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Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
co-ordination
between
these departments is of very importance for the running
ProgramThe
Name:
BA in Hotel
Management
Chapterof-5the hotel, the reason is the housekeeping does the up keeping & the cleaning

up of the rooms & the front office does the selling up of the rooms or we can say
that one prepares & the other sells it. Housekeeping sends the occupancy report

twice daily. Which give status of rooms whether it is occupied, occupied ready,
vacant, vacant ready, out of order etc. with that list only the selling done.
Meanwhile the details of the rooms are fed into the computer by the house keeping
department.
Front office immediately get the report on the screen arrival of any VIP Guest is
informed to the house keeping well in advance to keep all the VIP amenities in the
room, one hour before the guest checks in the room. The room verification report
helps in preparing the room discrepancy report also.

Food and Beverage service

The co-ordination among F&B service and front office is necessary to give the
maximum comfort to the guest. Front office has to inform the room service well in
advance if there is any special food item to be kept for any. VIP checks INS for
example Chocolates, complementary fruit basket, wines extra. The service and the
clearance for the welcome drink for any VIP group check is done by the room
service staff only. The cash department of the front office deals with the payment
made by the guests for mini bar, in house restaurant etc.
Food and beverage production
Front office informs the kitchen for the preparation of the welcome drinks well in
advance & the kitchen is also informed by the front office through the room service
for any special cake that the guest has asked for.
Computer centre

Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
computer
has to give front office all support in the efficient running of
ProgramThe
Name:
BA in canter
Hotel Management
Chapterthe
-5 computer systems as the entire hotel is attached to one network. If the front

office faces problems in any of the following terminals computer department

rectifies it.

Engineering and maintenance

All the guest complains are given to the concierge who at once informs the
engineering department & it is looked after property.in case of maintenance of
anything in the reception department. A maintenance order is filled.it is prepared in
duplicate.
Accounts
Accounts department coordinate following functions with front office department
Front office cashier
On arrival
On consumption of item from any outlet inside the hotel
On departure
Night auditor
City ledger
This is the credit section which receives bills from the front office that has
extended credit as per the previous arrangement between guest and the hotel.
The department follows up for the payments

Sales
Sales give rooms info about corporate deals and discounts offered
10

Introduction to Hotel operations -1

Prepared by: Vishnu Narayanan.V
Course Code: HoMa-1051
in
A Hotel
sale also
tells the F.O any special attention to be taken care at the
Program Name: BA
Management
point arrival. During stay of the guests and while departure
Chapter -5

F.O informs if any VIP is coming to the hotel

F.O also gives Guests History to sales when required by the sales

Security
For any unturned incidents happens in the premises of the hotel.Extheft, Fires etc.
For any VIP arrival special escorts
With door man
Travel Desk
If guests has a requirement for a ticket/Taxi etc.
If the Guest wants to go for sight seeing
Stories
For requisition any stationary items and formats required

---------------The End--------------

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