Description
David Bart, the Plaza Inn’s present general manager, received a letter from Jean Durnas. Durnas is the president of Relais and Chateaux, a prestigious French hotel association in which the Plaza Inn is a member. The letter stated that the present services by the Inn are no longer within the standards set by Relais and Chateaux. Due to the Plaza Inn’s decreasing standards, Relais and Chateaux gave a six-month ultimatum to the Inn. If Plaza Inn’s performance does not meet the standards of the hotel association within six months, Relais and Chateaux will be forced to withhold the Plaza Inn’s membership. The problem that Bart faces now is what actions should he do in order to improve the Plaza Inn’s performance and how will they be implemented.
The Plaza Inn flourished when Antoine Fluri was its general manager from its establishment up to 1989. Fluri was one of the owners of the Plaza Inn. The Inn was even voted as one of the “Ten Best New Inns” by Travel Magazine. Despite the success of the Inn, Fluri sold his shares. Plaza Inn then hired Marc and Nicole Duval as replacement for Fluri’s position. During the Duval’s management, Plaza Inn’s sales and standards deteriorated due to their lack of knowledge and abuse of power. The Duvals were soon replaced by David Bart in December 1989 who was known for his solid hotel management background.
Due to decreasing sales and poor performance of the hotel, David Bart urgently decided to cut costs which resulted to firing some of the employees. Thus, the remaining workers must do more jobs than they usually do. The front desk only has one personnel all the time, and since the position of the PBX operator was eliminated, the front desk receptionist must accommodate guests and answer incoming calls at the same time.
One of the receptionist even said, “It’s extremely difficult to make a room sale when I constantly have to ask the customer on hold because I have to pick up the other five lines that are ringing. What is more important: making a $130 room reservation for two nights or taking a message from one of the managers?” David Bart then realized that the front office manager must be reinstated, therefore hiring Ms. Claire Ruiz who has worked in the hotel as a receptionist. Claire performed well in her position and the Inn regained its success.
But then Claire left and Laura Dunbar became the new front office manager. Hiring and retaining the front desk staff were among Laura’s biggest challenges. Since the front desk is understaffed, Laura had to work more than three shifts on the front desk. Laura insisted that the PBX operator position should be restored because the front desk staff is having a hard time to accommodate guests and answer several phone calls at the same time. One of the customers even said that “The front desk receptionists were responsible for doing everything with the exception of bartending and bussing tables in the restaurant.” In addition to this, the Manager on Duty (MOD) program, in which all department managers take turns in being at the Inn on call and in charge Friday and Saturday nights, had been cancelled by Bart.
By mid fall, Bart recognized that the MOD program and the PBX position should be reinstated. Nevertheless, Bart thought that Laura had lessened her role from an office manager to that of a front desk receptionist. Bart questioned if the Front Desk problems were a result of Laura’s introverted personality or whether from her deficiency in management know-how. Bart thought that Laura was incapable of expressing her needs to him and to the other managers. The front desk problem grew concern to David Bart. Evidently, it was an important position in the operation of the Plaza Inn.
Diagnosis
The main problem on the Plaza Inn management rooted from the front desk being shorthanded or short-staffed. Not having enough personnel to handle a critical job such as accommodating guests and answering reservation calls was the primary reason of having low sales and poor guests accommodation. As a general manager, I think the first thing one should do is to notice this thing. A good hotel manager should know that the first thing that a customer will notice in a hotel is its front desk. If the front desk staff does not carry out well on their job, the customer may feel that the rest of the hotel personnel also do their job terribly. Just like the old saying goes, “First impression lasts.”
Another reason on the poor performance of the front desk is, just like David Bart thought, Laura Dunbar’s interpersonal communication problem. She cannot properly express her needs to the general manager and to the other managers. Just like in one of the monthly management meeting, I assume Laura did not suitably told the F&B director her suggestion that the restaurant should assume the responsibility of supervising their own reservations and inquiries to make the front desk more available and improve their services. As a result to poor deliberation of ideas, the F&B director ignored what Laura suggested.
As stated earlier, the Plaza Inn is understaffed. Due to this, the employees of the hotel must do jobs that they should not be doing, like a manager parking a customer’s car because all of the valets are not available. There is also not a proper reward system, or there is not reward system at all. Instead, some of the members of the staff must work on their “day-off”.
Another one is that David Bart, the general manager, does not motivate his staff enough. A good employee will do his job good just to maintain his job, what else if you offer him a reward if he could perform better.
Prescription
If possible, the hotel should hire again enough employees to perform well. That is the first solution. But since money seems to be a problem in this case, the best action the general manager can do is to motivate his staff. He must encourage his personnel to work together harmoniously and do their best. One way is to hold team building activities. Such action could result to telling grievances to each other. Thus, all of the staff can work harmoniously and maybe result to better guest accommodation.
There should also be a series of leadership seminars to the hotel’s managers. If a leader works well, his subordinates will also do their job better. A good leader will serve as a role model to his followers. Also, a seminar may help Laura address her interpersonal communication problems. As a result, she can easily express her ideas, suggestions, and maybe her grievances to anyone in the staff.
Action
A leadership seminar should be held in every third month, or quarterly. The seminar will involve all of the managers of each department. Since every manager is present on that seminar, a designated employee on a particular department will take the manager position temporarily.
To motivate his staff, David Bart should install a reward system on the operation of Plaza Inn. If an employee performed well or received a positive feedback from a customer, give him an incentive. Another one is that each employee should have proper day-offs. Every one in this world deserves a rest once in a while.
The hotel should also hire enough personnel. Since the current staff is not enough, no proper day-offs will be given. The top priority should be the front desk staff and the PBX position. If a good first impression is made, a satisfied customer will come back and stay again to the hotel.
