Departments in large hotels

Large hotels thrive on activity—conventions, banquets, tennis games, busy restaurants, and the daily comings and goings of guests.

Making sure all these activities run smoothly and dealing effectively with any problems that come up requires strong managers, and large hotels are full of them. At the top of the chains that most of today's hotels belong to are the managers of the managers, the executives who oversee all the hotels in the chain. They usually have MBAs or advanced degrees in hotel management, work in corporate headquarters, and earn very high salaries. Just below them are regional directors or managers who oversee a small number of hotels in one area. Below the regional directors are the managers of individual hotels, and below the managers of individual hotels are the department managers.

Large hotels and large hotel chains divide managerial responsibilities into many separate departments, and each department may have sub-departments and sub-managers. For example, the food and beverage department of a large hotel may have a head director who oversees all the sub-directors, including a catering director who manages the entire food and beverage staff and the flow of materials required to keep the restaurants, room service, and banqueting services running. The sales and marketing department usually has a senior manager who oversees other sales mangers, such as managers of group sales, corporate sales, and business travel sales.

A wide variety of people work in these departments. Some are high-paid and educated professionals, like engineers or executive chefs, and others are first-time jobholders who wash dishes or clean rooms, and many others are in between.

Front desk and guest services help set the image for a hotel. Although most front desk and guest services positions are entry-level, they are key to giving guests their first impression of the hotel. This department includes front desk agents, reservation agents, concierges, bellhops, valet parking attendants, and all the managers of these people. If these workers are kind and accommodating, a guest will feel instantly comfortable, but if they're rude, guests may take an instant dislike to the hotel and not only never come back but tell their friends about their bad experience as well.

Human resources is the department that helps hire, fire, and train employees, mediates employee-employer disputes, and manages employee benefits. In large hotels or chains, human resources employs many people, while in some small hotels the manager does the job of human resources.

Accounting and finance employs all levels of financial professionals, from entry-level financial assistants to certified accountants to chief financial officers. Two typical positions in this department are night auditor and controller. Night auditors work the graveyard shift, tending the front desk overnight while doing bookkeeping and basic accounting. Controllers direct the financial business for the hotel and usually need a bachelor's degree in accounting or business.

Marketing and sales is in charge of promoting the hotels' services. Managerial positions in this department require bachelors' degrees in business or marketing. In large resorts, separate managers oversee the sales of spa services, convention services, and wedding services. This department also includes all the entry-level jobs of retail salespeople who work in the hotel stores.

Housekeeping is in charge of cleaning the rooms and inside public spaces of hotels. In luxury hotels, housekeepers must clean to perfection, since a housekeeping supervisor may actually dust the room with a white cloth to check for any missed spots. In general, housekeeping is physically demanding and low-paying work.

Food and beverage inkitchens and restaurant is a huge department with employees from all types of backgrounds. The entry-level positions include busboy, banquet server, waiter, waitress, dishwasher, and room service attendant, but this department also hires trained workers like bartenders, chefs, and wine stewards. Kitchens and restaurants also need managers and directors to oversee staff and keep track of the food and beverages for restaurant meals, room service, conventions, and events catered by the restaurant but held outside the hotel.

Maintenance, engineering, and grounds keep the hotel and the land around it attractive and in good repair. Gardeners, groundskeepers, and pool cleaners work on landscaping and outside facilities. Repairmen and engineers of every type and educational level maintain the buildings. Some of these maintenance workers are entry-level assistants who grout tile in bathrooms, paint walls, or trim hedges. Others are certified electricians, plumbers, and HVAC workers. At the top are the chief engineers, who often have a bachelor's degree in engineering. They inspect the hotel structure for stability and safety and make suggestions for repairs.

Recreation and entertainment is the main attraction of many large resorts. Spas, golf courses, pools, tennis courts, gyms, and horse stables are just some of the recreation-related facilities at luxury hotels. Resorts in Las Vegas may even house a theme park or an entire circus that employs trapeze artists, clowns, and lion trainers. More typically, however, employees in the departments of recreation and entertainment include golf and tennis pros, ski instructors, dance instructors, lifeguards, and musicians, and many spas hire staff to perform particular skin treatments, like mud packs or facials. Some specialize in health and fitness, hiring physical trainers, yoga instructors, nutritionists, and hiking guides. Where gambling is legal, workers in hotel casino also fall under the category of recreation.

Technology maintains all the computer equipment in a hotel. In large hotels almost everyone uses a computer—the financial department for keeping records and making calculations, the kitchen and housekeeping staff for inventory, the front desk workers for reservations, and the recreation people for scheduling games or spa appointments. The technology staff supports all these departments.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16