Thursday, October 29, 2009

Kitchen safety rules

Kitchen safety rules

As the kitchen has to deal with the continuous running food order of food, this area is always risky. The jobs become more difficult when the limited manpower have to complete large functions. There may be accident in this condition so safety precaution are important for the kitchen crew. They have to follow following safety rules to avoide accdients.
  1. Sleeves of coat should be rolled down while working.
  2. A thick cloth is important for handling hot utensils.
  3. The steam should be turned off before opening steamers.
  4. Careful attention to be paid when cooking deep frying items.
  5. The machines used should be in correct running orders before use.
  6. Gas cylinders should be away from the cooking range.
  7. Make sure that the kitchen floor are clean, dry and should not have any grease accumulated.
  8. Knife handles should be grease free and the blade should be sharp.
  9. Before cleaning, plugs a machines should be extracted out.
  10. Machines should be correctly fitted before use.

readmore »»

Types of kitchen

The career of the kitchen personals is interdependent with the type of the kitchen they are working with. The central interest for the costumers are the type of kitchen and type of menu. Types of kitchen depend on :-
  • Customers
  • location of the establishment
  • size of the establishment
  • choice of the men
  • type of the volume of the business
  • type of service

Following are the some types of kitchen in the catering industry.

  1. Conventional kitchens
  2. satelite
  3. central kitchen
  4. fast food kitchen
  5. show kitchen
  6. experimental kitchen

readmore »»


Complaints refers to the dissatisfaction expressed by a customer over the product and services offered to them. There may be complaint in any business but it must be taken seriously for the further improvemrnt in the business.
Every hotel needs a policy for dealing with complaints. From the customer complaints, it is very easy to find the needs of the customers. Positive attitude is essential in dealing with customer complaints. Problems should be viewed as oppertunities for improvement. If the complaints are handled in a better manner, there will be oppertunity of repeated business as we would earn the clients.
Ways of handling complaints are:
1. Listen carefully to the customer complaint with great interest and patience.
2. Do not interrupt.
3. Never be defensive.
4. Define the problem and state your understanding.
5. Promise to take action quickly to solve the problem.
6. Thank to the customer for bringing the matter to attention.
Salesmanship and handling complaints

readmore »»

Customers expectations

The eating habits of people have been changing as a result of economical growth, life style and social changes in the world. These factors have affected the hospitality industry which has grown rapidly over the last dacades.
Why do people go to five star hotel to have their meal? There is not only one answer to this question. There are many factors why customers choose world class hotels for their meal. Following are some of the factors that customers might have in their mind before experiencing a meal in a outlet.
1. World class service and personalized treatment.
2. value for money.
3. Hygiene and sanitation.
4. Hospitable surroundings.
5. Good taste that may not experience at home.
6. Quality of food and service as a whole.
The very interesting thing is that all guests in the world have their different patterns of meal habits, taste and expectations. The role of the service crew is important in identifying the customer's needs and expectations.

readmore »»

Food and Beverage

Food and beverage service department is one of the main service oriented division of the hotel. It providses the service of ready food items, beverages in a hospitable way to the customers as per their demands.
It is also the image building department after front office department because the work of design of menus, pricing, portion control, wastage control and staff training lies within it.
Food and beverage service department comprises of two mwin operational areas:
1. Service of beverage
2. dining services
The personnel working in this department must be professionally qualified for service and hospitality. The role of this department is service oriented so the staf need to be very close to the customers and need to be well groomed, smart and hygienic. Service staff plays a significant role in promoting positive influence to the guests by professional and world class service in hospitable manner. Service industry is focusing on the concept of guest delight which is the improved expression of guest satisfaction. We need to make them more satisfied to promote our business. Today's customers visit many corners of the world so they can be a medium of publicity for the hotel business.

readmore »»

Modes of payment

The mode of payment refers to the various methods of payment by which the guest can pay his/her bills in the hotel. Whenever guests check into a hotel, he/she has to make clear about the mode of payment at the time of resistration.
When the guest check-out of the hotel, they pay the bills by cash or credit card. The different methods of payment of bills are:
1. Cash
2. Credit card
3. Travelers cheque
4. Travel agent/Airlines voucher
5. Company account
1. Cash: Cash is simple and instant mode of payment of the services used by the guests. Cash may be in local or foreign currency. The bill is presented by the cashier and the payment is done on hand.
2. Credit card: It is a small card issued by the banks to its valueable customers that authorizes the person named on it to charge services to his/her account. There are many kinds of credit cards such as master card, visa card, euro card, american express card etc.
3. Travelers cheque: It is a cheque issued by any bank to the travelers in exchange of the cash. It is another form of cash.
4. Company account: The related company of a guest may pay the bills in this method.

readmore »»
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Hotel tariff and basis of charging rooms

Hotel tariff and basis of charging rooms

Tariff is the rate or charges offered to the guest by the hotel for the use of different facilities and services during their stay. Commonly, tariff is a charge of rooms and other facilities. Room charge may include meal or breakfast depending upon the plan as per the guest choices. Prices of hotel services are mentioned in a card known as a 'tariff card'. It is the card containing the rates charged by the hotel for accomodation. Rates of meals and other services are also printed in the hotel tariff card.
Below listed factors are the basis of charging room rates:
The 24 hours: In this basis, the room is charged for the stay of 24 hours If a guest arrives at 9:00 am today, the room charge will cover until 9:00 am tomorrow. If the guest leaves few hour earlier, no concession is given.
The 12:00 noon: Mostly, 12:00 noon is a particular time of check-in and check-out for all the guests. Hotel day begins at this time.
The nightly basis: Here, the charge is fixed, according to the nights spent in the hotel. If a guest stays from 10am the next day, the guest is charged for one night or a day.

readmore »»

Reception and resistration

It can be defined as the process of assigning rooms to the guests at the time of their arrival by filling necessary details about the guests and the rooms contained in a resistration form.
It is done on the arrival of the guest in a hotel. After determining the reservation data, guest may fill up resistration formalities or the receptionist may fill the form for the guest. Guest resistration form is used for resistration of the guests in the hotel, which acts as a source of information about guests and acts as a legal proof for the hotel and guests.
In case of foreigners in the hotel, after filling the resistration form as a record of them in the hotel, a copy of form is sent to the local police and another one copy is sent to foreigner regional resistration office.
Following are the process of guest resistration:
1. Pre-resistration activity
2. Creating the resistration records
3. Assigning the room and rates
4. Establishing the method of payment
5. Issuing the room key
6. Escort guests to the room.

readmore »»

Factors affecting reservation

1. Confirmation: The reservation confirmation means that the hotel verifies a guests room request and personal information by telephoning, faxing, mailing, etc. A written confirmation means that both the parties are interested and confirms agreement. Confirmed reservation may be either guaranted or non-guaranted.
2. Cancellation: It means the process of cancelling the confirmed reservation made by the guest to any hotel because of his/her personal reason or different reason such as bad weather, strikes etc which affects the normal reservation procedures of the hotel. It also brings loss of hotel business.
Hotels usually charge for cancellation within a particular period. This may differ from hotel to hotel.
3. Over booking: Over booking refers to accepting more reservations or booking of rooms than it is available. It is practiced by most of the hotels for making high occupancy in general.
4. Walk-in: It refers to a guest who arrives at a hotel without a pre-reservation of rooms. These guests are also called chance guests.
5. Over and under stay guest: The guest who stays in the hotel beyond the scheduled departure date is called over stay guest and the guest who leaves the hotel before the scheduled departure date is called under stay guest.

readmore »»

Modes of reservation

The reservation may come directly from the guests or through different other organisations. The medium through which they reach the hotel are different. Some of the modes of reservation are listed below:
1. Letters
2. Telephone
3. Fax
4. Computer
5. Central reservation system

1. Letters: The most common method of booking a hotel is letters, which can be sent through post, courier or hand. But this mode of reservation is time consuming.
2. Telephone: Reservation through telephone is more faster way of getting confirmation and are handled directly by the reseevation staff.
3. Fax: Making a written request for reservation and sending it through fax is also the common mode of hotel reservation.
4. Computer: With the advancement in information technology, internet is the common way for the hotel reservations online through their web sites. Even reservations sent on e-mail are accepted.
5. Central reservation system: All hotels have their own CRS system for the hotel reservation.

readmore »»

Sources of reservation

Request for room reservation may come from number of sources by a prospective guest. Commonly, the sources of reservation are as follows:
1. Personal approach: If the guests are free individual traveler or chance guests, they may directly give their reservation to the hotel.
2. Travel agent: Travel agent may make reservation for groups at a hotel.
3. Companies: The companies may book rooms or other services for their visitors or clients in a hotel.
4. Airlines: Various Airlines may book a hotel for their regular crews or clients in case of cancellation of onward flights.
5. Embassies: The embassies also provide a large business to a hotel booking for the delegations.
6. NGO/INGO: These organisations also book a hotel directly.
7. Government offices: They can be a good source of income to a hotel as they conduct conference and seminars hosted by the government.

readmore »»

Front office agent handles room reservation inquired by the guest to the hotel. While handling reservation, he/she should be aware of the information necessary for the reservation formalities. It may be accepted in any mode or source but the procedures will be same for all.
1. Receiving the room request: This section receives a request for reservation of rooms from various sources. He/she must be capable of quickly determining the clients needs and should be ready with reservation form and pen or pencil.
2. Determining room availability: Before reservation of room, he/she should determine availability of rooms for the specified stay requested by the guests. He/she can use forecast board, reservation charts or computer system to determine the availability of rooms.
3. Accept or deny the reservation: If the room is already booked, he/she should suggest the guest for any other alternative hotels.
4. Confirming the reservation: If the guest agreed for the terms and conditions applied to stay at the hotel, then the reservation is confirmed.

readmore »»

Reservation is termed as a request for room or accomodation in a hotel by a guest for a different period of time by various modes of payment. Reservation is one of the main sections within front office department which is responsible for room reservations made by the guest from different sources through different procedures. This is why it is known as nerve center of the front office department. It is responsible for receiving and processing of all the room reservations. Front office agent must understand and have knowledge of different services and tariff structures of the hotel to know the reservation system in details, so that they can solve customer queries.
It is important in the following ways:
1. It helps in the sale of accomodation or rooms.
2. It provides information about hotel to the guests.
3. It acts as a permanent record of all guests in the hotel.
4. It ensures the occupancy level in the hotel.
5. It helps in earning better room revenue and forecasting of rooms.
6. It gives better information system.

readmore »»

Whenever the guests enter into the hotel, they can see the front office department, which is responsible for booking the hotel rooms through systematic method of reservation. The hotel can get a high peracentage of profit from sales of room. This department plays an important role in image building and business promotion of the hotel because this is the only department, where the guests have first and last point of contact in a hotel.
During the stay of guests in the hotel, front office plays a vital role acting as a continuous source of information to them reserving, receiving resister and assign rooms.
Front office staff must be polite and gentle. He/she should respect all seniors and customers. He/she must maintain personal hygiene and well-groomed personality. He/she should avoid talking loudly in reception and public areas. He/she should have full knowledge of the services being offered in the hotel. He/she must smile and take interest in providing better service. He/she must follow the rules and regulations of the organisation. He/she must try to interact with the customers.

readmore »»

It is a public place which provides lodging and boarding to the travelers on certain payment. It provides the facilities like food and beverages alongwith accomodation and entertainment facilities.
Classification of hotels: Hotels can not be exactly classified. However, hotels are classified on the basis of services they offer, types of rooms they hold, location and many other factors.
1. Services they offer: Depending on the services they offer, the hotels are classified under different star grading ranges from one to five star hotels. Nowadays, another one category of hotel called seven star hotels are also coming up with more facilities and advance technology. Five star hotels provide the different facilities such as air conditioning, standard rooms, proper decoration, 24 hours hot and cold water, round the clock room service, shopping facilities, restaurants, coffee shop, bars, sport clubs,swimming pool, health club, transportation, postal service, business center etc.
2. Size and number of rooms: There are small hotels, medium hotels, big hotels and large hotels on the basis of size and number of rooms.
3. Location: There are resorts, downtown, motels, transit and suburban hotels on the basis of location.
4. The length of guest stay: There are residential hotels, family hotels and inns on the basis of the length of guest stay.

readmore »»

Hotel Management is related to tourism, hospitality and service industries. Tourism includes lodging operation, transport services, food and beverage operation, retail stores and activities. It is the industry or a vast group of businesses with a goal in common which provides desired services to travelers.
The word 'Hospitality' is to look after guests and making them maximum satisfied. It includes organising, providing services and taking proper care of guests. This industry includes all the companies which provide mental satisfaction to the guests. It consists of lodging and fooding and beverage operations to the travelers. Many hotels provide food and beverage service, recreational services and more.Hospitality industry is directly related to service. All big hotels have swimming pools and they serve roast chicken. The quality of service makes the difference between hotels.
The concept of hospitality industry is not limited within the periphery of hotels and restaurants. It also includes small cottages to star category hotels, restaurants and different other tourism industry. So, all the activities in this industry are controlled by the concept of hotel management.

readmore »»

unique visitors