Hotel Management

     Management  guides   the operation of   th e hotel and  regularly reports   the property's    overall operating results and other pertinent information to the owner.     The management team     achieves specific objectives and goals by planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling, and evaluating functional areas within the hotel,  Top management executive coordinate the activities of the various division and department managers.

     The use of the terms  division and   department is not standard  throughout    the lodging industry. Large properties    may call their main    functional  areas divisions   and smaller   functional    areas departments. And refer to smaller areas as sub departments.  Neither method is better than  the other.  

For consistency, this text will refer to the main functional areas as divisions and to the areas    within divisions as departments.

     The highest ranking  executive of   a property is usually   called the general manager,    managing director, or director of operations.  The general manager of a hotel reports directly to the owner or to an assigned person in the owner's company.  Within hotel chain organizations,   the general manager of a property may report to a district, area   , or regional    executive supervising    the properties in a particular group. 

     While the general manager is responsible for supervising all the divisions of a hotel,   he/she may assign specific   divisions or department to   the resident manager to oversee.     Typically,    resident managers are assigned to supervise departments    in the rooms  division of large hotels.     When the general manager is absent from the property,    the resident manager   becomes   the acting     general manager.  A manager-on-duty is often appointed   to take responsibility when     the general manager

and the resident manger are both absent from the property.

     All organizations require a formal structure to carry out their mission and objectives.   A common method of representing that structure is the organization chart.   An organization    chart diagrams the divisions of responsibility and lines of authority.   Some organizations list   each employee's name on the chart along with his/her position title.    Since no    two hotels are   exactly alike,    organizational structures must be tailored to fit the needs of each individual property.      Exhibit 1,2 shows a sample organization chart for a midsize rooms-only hotel.      Within this structure,   all department managers report directly to the assistant manager.

     Exhibit 1.3 shows a sample organization chart diagramming the management positions in a large hotel.  Note that within this organizational structure, the executive housekeeper and  the front office manager report directly to the rooms division manager.  The rooms division manager ensure that the housekeeping and front office department work as a team so that guestrooms are cleaned and   made ready for arriving guests.     The importance of effective communication between housekeeping and the front office is examined later in this chapter.    The housekeeping department also works closely with the engineering and maintenance division.     Since these functional areas do not usually report to the same manager,  it is important that the executive housekeeper and the chief engineer establish

 a close working relationship.     Communication   between     housekeeping and     engineering  and maintenance is also addressed later in this chapter.