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DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION PAPER A CASE STUDY OF THE REAL SITUATION AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF FRONT DESK AT LAVENDER HOTEL Major : English for Tourism SUPERVISOR : THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN, M.A STUDENT : TRAN THI NHU QUYNH CLASS : K23NAD3 STUDENT CODE : 2320315758 DA NANG, 2021 GRADUATION PAPER SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN ACKNOWLEDGMENT  First of all, I would like to thank the teachers at the Faculty of English who have wholeheartedly guided me during my years studying at Duy Tan University I am very grateful for the dedicated help and valuable experience of the teachers who have helped us gain more knowledge to confidently enter life In addition, to complete the research process and complete this thesis, I would like to thank Ms Thai Trinh Thao Nguyen - the instructor for providing me with much useful information and valuable advice during the study period Second, I would also like to thank Lavender Hotel, where I can meet and socialize with many friendly colleagues and kind seniors who have taught me experiences and experience precious formula, luggage for later work Finally, I would like to thank my friends for their interest in helping me complete years of university and well with this thesis Due to limited knowledge and lack of practical experience, the dissertation cannot avoid its shortcomings Hope that the teachers will teach me to my graduation better Yours sincerely, Tran Thi Nhu Quynh STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP  Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in the whole or in part from a thesis by which have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Danang, 2021 TRAN THI NHU QUYNH ABTRACT STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN  In this graduation topic, I would like to focus on case studies of the situation and solutions to improve reception quality at Lavender hotel Specifically, in my graduation report, I did some surveys to give some statistics on the number of guests staying at the hotel In addition, I also give the strengths and weaknesses of the hotel Finally, I would like to offer some quality solutions for the service of the Reception department at Lavender hotel LISTS OF TABLES AND DIAGRAMS, CHART STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN TABLE OF CONTENT STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SERVQUAL F&B HRM FO TOEIC IELTS VND Service Quality Food and Beverage Human Resource Front Office Management Test of English for International Communication International Language Testing System Vietnam Dong STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN CHAPTER I :INTRODUCTION Rationale Currently, tourism is an economic sector that has been formed and developed all over the world, including Vietnam However, in each period of development, the concept of tourism also has different features and is added more and more perfect Therefore, the growth of Vietnam's tourism industry in recent years has made a great contribution to the hotel industry Although the hotel industry was born later than other economic sectors, now this smokeless industry is increasingly dominant and thriving Vietnam is one of the countries with rich and diversified natural resources, attracting many domestic and international visitors as well as service industry investors In this reality, the demand for relaxation is increasing, and the number of hotels is increasing more and more, therefore, it is required for hotels to have measures to attract guests, thereby asserting their competitive position in the market The "hotel" industry is a specialized term used to meet the accommodation, relaxation, and reception of a guest There is no specific standard to measure the hospitality level of each hotel business, no service is absolute, it's all relative Thus, the quality of the product increased and the hotel ranking increased That quality is firstly shown through the technical facilities and the luxury of the equipment installed inside the hotel and then expressed through the hotel service itself The hotel product is mainly of a STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN service nature and this service is indispensable, it is the front desk receptionist, welcoming customers is also considered an "art" and the front desk receptionist are "artists" They are the "bridge" between customers and other departments From there, it is possible to find out the needs of each different customer and satisfy their needs Lavender Home Hotel is a 3-star standard property that attracts visitors by its elegant design, cozy space, and professional service is highly appreciated by the staff, especially the receptionist team However, in order to improve service quality, there are still many shortcomings that need to be overcome Recognizing that importance, along with the enthusiastic guidance of the teachers and knowledge equipped in years studying at Duy Tan University, I decided to choose the topic: “A case study of the real situation and solutions to improve the quality of front desk at the Lavender Hotel ”for final thesis writing Aims And Objectives 2.1 Aims This topic aims to learn the duties of the reception department at the Lavender hotel, I also focus on analyzing the situation as well as the quality of service to propose some solutions to improve the quality of the hotel 2.2 Objectives - Analysis of the rationale of service quality - Evaluate the business situation and point out the strengths and weaknesses in the service process of the reception department in Lavender hotel - Proposing some solutions and recommendations to improve the service quality of the Reception department at Lavender hotel STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN Scope Of The Study - Audience research, I focus on the situation and solutions to improve the service quality of the front desk receptionist at the hotel Lavender - Research scope of front desk department at Lavender hotel - Time study scope is information and data collected during the period from 2017 to 2019 Methodology Of The Study In this study, the research method is a combination of the knowledge learned in the classroom, the reference curriculum, and the knowledge gained while working in the hotel The following methods are used in the study: First, collect documents related to the service process of the reception department in the hotel from the information of the staff and management at the Lavender hotel, etc to serve as a rationale for the division Analyze the current situation and the service process of the hotel reception department Second, based on the method of investigation, research, practical analysis with theory to evaluate analysis, compare and then draw conclusions as the basis for proposed solutions Organization Of The Study The main content of the thesis is divided into specific chapters as follows:  Chapter I: Introduction of the graduation thesis includes: Theoretical Foundations, Purpose and Objectives, Scope of   Research, Research Methods, and Research Organization Chapter II: Theoretical basis Chapter III: General information about the Lavender Hotel STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER  10 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN Chapter IV: Analysis and assessment of service quality of Reception department at Lavender Hotel, Lavender Hotel's  strong point of love Chapter V: Difficulties and Solutions to improve the quality of  the Lavender hotel reception department Chapter VI: Give a conclusion and suggestion for Lavender Hotel CHAPTER II:THEORETICAL BACKGROUND STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 46 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN front desk department at the hotel has made a positive contribution serve guests when guests come to the hotel And that is shown through the following criteria: 4.3.1 Strong points In general, the front desk department at the lavender hotel has made positive contributions in welcoming guests To achieve that, the Front Office department has demonstrated the following strengths: Firstly, Lavender Hotel has a prime location, located in the city center, near the sea and right at the commercial, shopping and dining centers Second, the hotel's front desk and management team are very focused Front Desk staff are young, dynamic, enthusiastic, have professional knowledge, solid skills, good foreign language skills (mainly English, including Chinese) Staff are very friendly and always smiling The reception desk is elegantly decorated with a full range of equipment such as computers, faxes, printers, smile software, keys, card machines Third, Lavender Hotel has many preferential policies for customers Combining the Reception department with other departments is very good to promote the hotel's products, offer policies to attract guests Finally, the management team at the hotel is very considerate and instructs subordinates, working professionally and civilly Dedicated to helping colleagues develop their abilities, helping the hotel develop day by day 4.3.2 Weak points Besides the strengths of the Lavender Hotel Front Desk department, there are also some limitations as follows: STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 47 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN Firstly, the facilities of Lavender hotel are relatively complete, but there are also some limitations such as the luggage area of the reception hall is narrow, so when guests check in, it is especially uncomfortable Bulky will cause cramped affecting the aisle Secondly, the service attitude of the Front Desk staff is also a decisive factor It is knowledge, attitude, skill Front Desk staff are full of knowledge but without skills and service, bad attitude does not seem to mean anything to customers However, it is undeniable that the reception staff of the Lavender Hotel is warmly welcoming, but the reception is not always perfect for each continent, location and receptionist There are still some exist such as employees using phones during working hours causing bad sound to customers influence Third, the hotel's front desk staff can speak English well, but the second language is limited, only some staff can speak Chinese and Japanese, and guests from Korea are a good source of visitors often at the hotel, no one speaks Japanese and Korean Catering to such a large number of guests requires linguistic priority, as language revenue is a significant obstacle for hotels to decline Finally, most young employees are trained, but have not much working experience, leading to many situations where they are not handled well Some employees work a bit slow, which affects customer satisfaction STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 48 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN CHAPTER V: DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS 5.1 Difficulties In the past years, this may have been a difficult year for most students at universities as well as Duy Tan University, but thanks to the dedicated guidance of Faculty, I have completed my studies into the task Successful completion of this graduation project However, there are still some difficulties when implementing the project: Firstly, the biggest difficulty not only for me but also for most of the trainees who are facing difficulties during this time is the Covid-19 Corona epidemic, which is raging, the tourism industry is suffering many disadvantages due to this disease Tourist areas, resorts, hotels have to close and the number of foreign tourists coming here is quite small compared to previous years Visitor numbers have decreased significantly over the years In addition, due to the epidemic, the hotel has not been able to promote the set STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 49 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN criteria and my graduation data from 2017-2019 for easy comparison and analysis Therefore, it affects a small part to carry out this graduation project, Secondly, with the topic " A Case Study Of The Real Situation And Solutions To Improving The Quality Of Front Desk At The Lavender Hotel " I had a lot of difficulties when collecting data from the front desk and human resources department, as a student about to graduate and not much experience I can't process the exact figures and analysis Third, practice and learning theory at school are not the same In fact, most at school when communicating in English just to communicate with people who speak that language or read existing texts As a result, I used inappropriate words and expressions, and could not understand the foreign accent Lack of vocabulary when reading and lack of grammar knowledge when writing Finally, the training period here is quite short so I don't have enough opportunities to learn more and improve myself Although I encountered many obstacles during practice, I tried my best to adapt and overcome all difficulties, completing my exercises in the best way 5.2 Solutions The first impression of customers is the reception and attentive service in the first meeting of customers when coming to the hotel The department that directly handles that is the receptionist Therefore, the quality of service at the reception is very important, it directly affects the perception of customers Customers will judge whether that quality is worth what they spend or not STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 50 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN Improving service quality The Reception Department is a strategic direction, bringing profit and sustainable development for the hotel With what I learned at the school and the internship at Lavender Hotel, I myself offer a number of solutions to improve the service quality of the reception department as follows 5.2.1 Complete facilities of the Front Desk department In general, the technical facilities in Lavender hotel are relatively good due to the newly established hotel rooms and quality assurance But in addition, a number of degraded equipment such as fax machines, printers, phones, computers are not crowded in the hotel In order to better serve the Lavender hotel, you need to upgrade a number of equipment as follows: First, upgrade a number of equipment in the Front Desk department to contribute to improving the service quality Fax machines in this section often have problems, paper jams, so sending or receiving Faxes are slow There are some cases when customers not receive faxes because the machine is damaged but cannot be repaired in time The keypad is slightly hidden from the viewing angle and is a bit small, old The computer screen blurs to slow check-in and check-out Those are the things that the hotel management should pay attention to have timely replacement and repair measures because these are equipment that customers can see right after entering the front desk to check-in as well as help the staff a lot in the process of working On the other hand, the management software in the Front Desk department mainly manages phone services that guests call during their stay, while other services such as laundry services, food services most paid by bills, not managed by computer, this causes a mistake and difficulty for the the Front Desk STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 51 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN department when paying for guests Besides, the hotel also needs to have more complete and detailed management software Second, In order to meet the increasing demand and better serve customers, in the next few years Lavender Hotel is planning to further expand the scale of the hotel by building a new hotel exist in parallel with today's hotels and have a larger and more modern scale (about more than 150 rooms, 17 floors high and * standard) In the end, If the hotel can and fix the above things, it will be a very favorable condition for the Front Desk department staff to complete their tasks well, higher working efficiency will contribute to improving the general service quality of the hotel and bringing satisfaction to customers 5.2.2 Complete Front Desk department at Lavender hotel With the current scale, the Front Desk department of the Lavender hotel has only staff These staffs have to many different jobs (both as the receiver of the reservation calls, as well as being the person directly paying the guests, calling the Check-in the department when guests leave the hotel) .Therefore, it is essential to improve the skills and qualifications of the staff to avoid possible mistakes Encourage staff to learn, absorb new ideas, improve themselves to participate in the management of the hotel In particular, foreign language proficiency (Chinese is the most used foreign language in the hotel), creating more opportunities for staff to learn more Korean and Japanese The hotel needs to recruit more staff for the Front Desk department because the current number of staff is not enough to meet the number of jobs STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 52 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN in the coming time Qualifications, experience, and selection criteria when recruiting: + Having cultural, professional qualifications, understanding about culture, economy, politics, and law + Having a certificate of receptionist skills, ability to communicate, technicians to serve + Having good health, good quality, a clear resume, and a love of the job + Fluent in foreign languages (preferably those who are good at Korean and Japanese), balanced appearance, agile behavior, polite style, solidarity to help coordinate with other staff at work 5.2.3 The association between the Front Desk department and the other departments No part of the hotel can operate effectively without support or association with other departments The hotel management board needs to closely coordinate the activities of various departments in the hotel so that these departments can support each other in the most effective operation This more and more shows the organizational work, solidarity among departments, members of the hotel, helping to improve the quality of customer service • Coordination between the Front Desk department and the Chamber department: a guest is booking a room (or a guest has special requests for a room), the Receptionist will immediately notify the Chamber department to prepare ready to welcome guests , and vice versa, when the guest leaves the room, the Chamber staff will check if there is a problem in the room that the STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 53 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN guest pays, equipment is damaged, loss Transfer all bills that need to be • paid to the staff receptionist for prompt and prompt processing Coordination between the Front Desk department and the Desk and Bar department: Ban, Bar department provides catering services for guests during their stay Immediately transfer the bills that need to be paid to the Reception department to enter the general bill, if not accumulated at the time of check-out, the receptionist is very easy to confuse, affecting the satisfaction • of customers and like the hotel's business performance Coordinate with Security: Not only ensure security in the hotel and guests' safety, but the Security also helps guests with the tasks that guests require (bring luggage to the room upon arrival, bring luggage to the car when the customer checks out or follow the request of the customer when unusual situations occur ) The combination of these two departments is also very important, sometimes the security guards not consider the reminder, the announcement from the Receptionist also voluntarily fulfills their professional responsibilities Completing a good job with the linkage of other departments contributes to the reception department in particular, but the entire hotel department in general brings better results than expected Thus, the quality of new service is improved more and more developed 5.2.4 Ensuring hygiene requirements throughout the hotel as well as the Front Desk department The Front Desk department is the face of the hotel, so it must always be clean, tidy and tidy Currently, the Lavender hotel has housekeeping staff (making sure to clean the lobby, in front of the hotel, clean the glass doors, ) However, there STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 54 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN are times when there are many people (when the restaurant has a wedding party, customers come in and out of the crowd…), large workload, these employees, despite their efforts, still cannot clean up in time, so the quality of hygiene in the Front Desk department area is not guaranteed The hotel needs to add more staff to the junk department, remind the staff working in the Front Desk department area to promote self-awareness, always keep the hygiene, and arrange the utensils neatly and clean 5.2.5 Strengthen the management of the Front Desk department Setting targets and creating favorable conditions for the Front Desk department to work without supervision, letting go of management will be very dangerous for the development of the hotel, it will have negative effects to all departments, the staff in the hotel That is why the management has a very important role in the operation of the Front Desk department How does the manager make his employees work more actively, complete the set goals That will lead to improving the service quality at the Front Desk department 5.2.6 Remuneration policies for employees The forms of commendation are always the driving forces with a significant positive impact on the job The hotel management board needs to give bonuses when the employees complete their jobs, achieve the set goals: salary increase, bonuses, leave appropriate form of reminder, review and discipline when employees make mistakes, affecting the general results When employees make mistakes, they should not exceed the rules of punishment, adversely affect the employee's psychology, but need to gently show them their shortcomings and fix them, pay more attention at work This will help employees feel more comfortable, confident in their work and service quality at the Reception department will be improved STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 55 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN CHAPTER VI :CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 6.1 Conclusion Domestic tourism in particular and international tourism in general is a spearhead industry supporting economic development Da Nang is one of the cities that are developing strongly in terms of tourism in Vietnam During the internship at Lavender Hotel, we also partly understood the nature of work such as characteristics, duties and functions of the hotel reception department Overview of the process of formation and development of Lavender Hotel From the report on the business situation in the years 2017-2019, initially, encouraging results have been achieved in terms of revenue, profit as well as positive customer reviews when using the service In addition, actively invest in facilities, techniques, labor force as well as the operation and role of the reception department Through the data obtained during the internship period, there are still many shortcomings that need to be STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 56 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN overcome and have a direct impact on the quality of service at the front desk department of Lavender Hotel: operation structure and equipment need to be improved more thereby seeing the necessity of improving the service quality of the front desk department is a goal, a right direction of the business With what has been achieved and what is still limited, the hotel should immediately take reasonable adjustment measures, taking the criterion of "service quality" as the top goal in the operation of the Reception department in particular and throughout the hotel in general 6.2 Some Suggestions From the weakness that I analyzed and assessed in chapter 4, I think the hotel should propose solutions to solve all the problems they face Here are some suggestions I'd like to give the hotel board reference 6.2.1 Suggestions for Lavender Hotel Through objective assessment, analysis of factors affecting service quality at the front desk department We can learn from experience and synthesize some solutions as follows: Lavender Hotel needs to improve the quality of its technical facilities and staff, strengthen the connection between the reception and other departments Ensure hygiene requirements throughout the hotel as well as the Reception department, Strengthen the management of the Reception department For the staff in the department, the hotel needs to have a remuneration policy and direction to improve the professionalism of the staff such as adding more training courses, improving the spirit of serious work, many labor policies move, improve the management department as well as customer care… STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 57 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN Hopefully the solutions that I have analyzed can contribute to improving the quality of the reception but also for other parts of the Lavender hotel 6.2.2 Suggestions for English Faculty In my opinion, the English Faculty of Duy Tan University has done a lot to guide the students in a whole way to their school But besides that, focus on teaching soft skills in future career-related communication activities In the midst of future orientation, if you don't focus on expertise, it will lead to many consequences such as boredom in the learning process, dropping out, truancy Thus, when clashing with reality, students will be surprised before the actual work during the internship Currently, the school's curriculum in year consists of stages, which is quite a long time and has a significant impact on the ability of students to accept Should arrange and teach according to expertise, focus on key issues, improve the skills required of a certain profession In addition, it is advisable to open more English surveys (Toeic, Toefl, Ielts) so that students with 3rd and 4th years have the opportunity to graduate on time because according to the program, students will have to complete full conditions such as completion of office informatics certificate, English certificate, physical training, In the current Covid-19, the school has launched an online learning application that is ZOOM and Saki browser to serve teaching and learning The application of this modern technology is a fresh, attractive environment But besides that, there are limitations in terms of students finding it difficult to focus on studying, online tests become easier for students STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 58 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN REFERENCES Vietnamese Books Nguyễn Văn Mạnh Hoàng Thị Lan Hương, Giáo trình quản trị kinh doanh khách sạn, trường ĐH Kinh Tế Quốc Dân- Khoa du lịch Khách sạn Tài liệu nội “ Cẩm Nang dành cho Nhân viên Khách sạn Lavender Tài liệu nội “ Tổng hợp số liệu hoạt động kinh doanh Khách sạn Lavender” English Books Johnston, J and Zawawi, C (eds.) (2000), Public Relations: Theory and Practice, NSW, Allen & Unwin, p 11-12 Websites https://www.slideshare.net/trongthuy2/chuyen-de-nang-cao-chat- luong-phuc-vu-tai-bo-phan-le-tan-diem-cao-rat-hay https://ezcloud.vn/yeu-cau-doi-voi-nhan-vien-le-tan-khach-san/ https://hotelcareers.vn/moi-quan-he-giua-cac-bo-phan-trong-khachsan.html STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 59 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN https://asiky.com/Tin-tuc/1494/mot-so-kho-khan-cua-nhan-vien-letan-trong-khach-san THANK YOU VERY MUCH SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 GRADUATION PAPER 60 SUPER: THAI TRINH THAO NGUYEN ……… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… STUDENT :TRAN THI NHU QUYNH - 2320315758 CLASS : K23NAD3 ... analysis Therefore, it affects a small part to carry out this graduation project, Secondly, with the topic " A Case Study Of The Real Situation And Solutions To Improving The Quality Of Front Desk At. .. of the reception department in the hotel from the information of the staff and management at the Lavender hotel, etc to serve as a rationale for the division Analyze the current situation and the. .. guidance of the teachers and knowledge equipped in years studying at Duy Tan University, I decided to choose the topic: ? ?A case study of the real situation and solutions to improve the quality of front