You are the Director of the Rooms Division department for a new hotel, due to open in 2022. The hotel is a five-star luxury hotel, with 250 bedrooms. As a Rooms Division Director, you are charged with preparing a Rooms Division Operational Strategy for three stages of the guest journey (check-in process, during stay, post stay).

Step 1. You must choose a city where their hotel is locatedand advise this in the report. This will  help  with  the  operational  planning ie guest  typology,  cultural  differences,  location  specificity (Maldives versus London) and so on. It is recommended that you start the report with a clear and in-depth overview of the hotel and the destination it will operate in.
Destination, eg London, Hong Kong, Maldives, Sofia, Varna, Santorini etc
Describe the characteristics of this destination what type of demand is expected
Provide details on the hotel. Will it be a brand (specify which brand) or an independent hotel (not branded)
Five-star luxury hotel what is expected from this eg quality, product & service. What is the aim & goal with the quality and service delivery
Type of guests expected eg Market segments, Origin of guests (where are they from), demographic, expectations (consumer experience slide in FO week)
You can provide detail on facilities of the hotel eg meeting rooms, pools, restaurants etc

Step 2. Plan the operational strategy for:

1. The Check-in Process

A strategy is required that encompasses a Rooms Division operational plan taking in to consideration the following:
Prior to arrival – Guest contact, required information, challenges, various guest types & needs.
Arrival / Check-in process considering the type of hotel and location you have chosen, explaining the arrival process and the operational plan (who does what & why).
Service Standards & Consistency showing understanding of five-star service
Guest interaction & Touch points potential challenges and risks. Consider various guest types (market segments, groups, walk-ins etc).
Any potential for revenue generation

Make sure you use MPO CPO IPO
MPO – What materials are needed? Luggage? Technology?
CPO Methods of communication and what information is needed & when. Service style
IPO What information is needed & from whom, methods of communication, pre-arrival, arrival & stay. Internal & external stakeholders

2. During stay

Guest interaction Consider which sub-departments have guest exposure and why, also consider the communication tools in the rooms
Guest relations role dealing with complaints, VIPs, group organisers etc
Housekeeping role level of service, the standards, timing, evening turndown
Potential risks & challenges eg: maintenance issues, complaints, post-pandemic potential issues eg if it is a family orientated resort hotel perhaps consider the children

3. Post stay

Quality  of  Service,  consistency  of  service  and  service  auditing the  importance  of  quality, consistency of service and service auditing (How will quality be measured? How will service be audited?)
Handling  guest  feedback the  strategy  behind  guest  feedback.  Which  forms  does  guest feedback come in? What is the plan for this? (How do guests share feedback? How & who will process this feedback? What is the importance of this?)

Step 3. The Rooms Division Operational Strategy must discuss the potential impacts from the guest, team and business perspective.
The Guest
How does each process & recommendation
made affect the guest. Consider different types
of guests and the effects.
The Team
What does the team need to deliver the service
or process required
The Business
The effects on the business eg lack of efficiency
can affect resources, lack of planning can affect
the team & guest and eventual revenue
generated
This can either be incorporated within the report or discussed in the conclusion.

The  operational  strategy  will  require  research  in  to  current  hotel  practices,  examples  from  existing operational hotels and/or the use industryresearch.  Imagery, graphics, and examples from existing hotels can be utilised, however must be referenced accordingly. To ensure that the narrative is supported by evidence, the use of academic sources is expected. This could be in the form of journal articles, books or published reports.

Format:
– Table of contetnt page
– Main body
– References
– Appendices