AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE AT DANANG GOLDEN BAY HOTEL AND SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVING ITS SERVICE QUALITY

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION THESIS HUYNH THI THAO LINH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE AT DANANG GOLDEN BAY HOTEL AND SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVING ITS SERVICE QUALITY GRADUATION THESIS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES Danang, May 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION THESIS HUYNH THI THAO LINH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE AT DANANG GOLDEN BAY HOTEL AND SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVING ITS SERVICE QUALITY Major : English for Tourism Code : 702 SUPERVISOR: DOAN THI THANH TRANG, MA Danang, May 2021 Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A Supervisor: Doan Thi ADKNOWLEDGEMENT  This graduation paper could not be finished with the invaluable help, advice and encouragement of my beloved teachers, family and friends I would like to Express my gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility to complete this thesis Firstly, I would like to send my deepest thanks to my supervisor Ms Doan Thi Thanh Trang, who supported and helped me in the process of making this project She is also the person giving the most objective reviews to help me complete this project Secondly, I would like to thank the teachers of the Faculty of English, who have taught and imparted valuable knowledge to me during the years of study Besides, the teachers also imparted experiences and orientations for me to find a suitable job for me Thirdly, I would like to thank Mr Diep - the head of the restaurant department and Mrs.Y - the restaurant manager for creating all conditions for me to study and practice in this place Next, I would also like to send my sincere thanks to the staff of Danang Golden Bay Hotel for accompanying, guiding and helping me during my internship Finally, I want to thank my family and my friends who have support and share with me a lot during this difficult time Danang, May 2021 Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Supervisor: Doan Thi Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A Supervisor: Doan Thi STATEMENTS OF AUTHORSHIP  I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis and that I have not used any sources other than those listed in the bibliography and identified as references Besides, this thesis does not quote or copy all or part of the qualified thesis I guarantee that no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the thesis And this thesis has not been submitted for award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Danang, May 2021 HUYNH THI THAO LINH Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A Supervisor: Doan Thi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS  DGB : Danang Golden Bay Hotel F&B : Food and Beverage service FO : Front Office GDP : Gross Domestic Product GM : General Manager HACCP : Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point - Hazard analysis & control of key points in the food production and processing process HK : Housekeeping HR : Human Resources IT : Information Technology SEC : Securities and Exchange Commission S&M : Sale and Marketing Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A Supervisor: Doan Thi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES FIGURES Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A VII Supervisor: Doan Thi TABLE OF CONTENTS Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A Supervisor: Doan Thi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, with the development of society, people have better living conditions, they know how to enjoy life better Therefore the need for entertainment, experience, and relaxation is indispensable in life To keep up with that trend, many countries around the world choose tourism as a spearhead industry and Vietnam is no exception Loved by the mother of nature, we are blessed with beautiful landscapes In addition, the diversity and age of the cuisine have made Vietnam an attractive destination in the eyes of international friends Da Nang has gradually become a highlight of Vietnamese tourism because it has a youthful, civilized, and modern beauty with many extremely attractive destinations Famous destinations like My Khe - the beach was voted the most beautiful beach on the planet, Son Tra peninsula - The only natural forest ecosystem in Vietnam, Ba Na Hill Along with the rapid development of tourism, accommodation services or Food and Beverage services also strongly developed, a series of high-end resorts and hotels appeared more and more One of the famous hotels in Da Nang is Danang Golden Bay Hotel The DGB is a 5-star hotel, the first and only hotel to be fully gilded with 24 gold This place offers a classy and modern resort space of international stature In order to understand and deepen reality, DGB is the place I chose to enrich knowledge and learn During the internship, I found that Food and Beverage department held a very important part in the hotel and accounted for a small amount of revenue in the total hotel revenue F&B is responsible for Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 10 Supervisor: Doan Thi increasing the number of tourists and resorts in the hotel This is the department that acts as a bridge between the hotel and tourists by maximizing their potential Realizing the importance of Food and Beverage department in the hotel , I think it is necessary to improve the service quality of this department In addition, it is necessary to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the department to help the part become more complete and attract more guestcs For the above reasons, I decided to choose the topic: “AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE AT DANANG GOLDEN BAY HOTEL AND SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVING ITS SERVICE QUALITY” is the subject of my thesis 1.2 Aims and Objectives a Aims This study will focus on the F&B services of Danang Golden Bay Hotel and will provide solutions to improve F&B services This research of mine will give the most comprehensive overview of F&B services as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the F&B service Then I will give the best solutions to improve the service and attract tourists To give tourists the most sympathetic view of the hotel in general and quickly travel Da Nang in particular, keep visitors coming back for the next time Since then I hope that these small solutions will help Da Nang tourism become better b Objectives This study is intended to: • Investigate in details into the whole procedure of the quality of the F&B service at Danang Golden Bay Hotel Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 61 Supervisor: Doan Thi CHAPTER DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS 5.1 Difficulties The difficulties in the restaurant are based on the weaknesses in service as well as the weaknesses of the staff in the restaurant mentioned in section 4.4.2 5.1.1 Language skills Most of the staff in the restaurant have good English, but the number of visitors to the restaurant is mostly Chinese and Korean Therefore, the staff in the restaurant, especially the service staff, often have problems in communication This makes the waitress and guests not understand each other, and the waitress will not be able to guide guests about the menu or other matters This causes the service quality to decrease significantly and leaves a bad impression on the guest 5.1.2 Professional knowledge Most of the staff in the restaurant have college degrees or higher However, not all employees have the same qualifications, there are university graduates who will often go deeper into theory than college and intermediate students In addition, some employees will study other specialties such as restaurant management, tourism English or hotel management That is why there is a difference in qualifications and the difference in majors of the restaurant staff This disparity will make employee training more difficult and time-consuming The second difficulty, In the peak season, the number of guests coming to the restaurant is very large, but the number of employees in the restaurant is not much The lack of staff makes the quality of work of employees decrease Therefore, the Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 62 Supervisor: Doan Thi restaurant often hires casual to ensure staff serves guests Casual recruits to restaurants are usually students, who not have restaurant skills, so there are often cases of poor and unprofessional guest service The restaurant has difficulty, this has a great impact on the quality of service and affects the guest's assessment of the restaurant's service 5.2 Solutions Solutions for hotel staff as well as for restaurants are based on the difficulties (in 5.1) and the restaurant's weaknesses (in 4.4.2) to overcome the weaknesses and remove the difficulties while working in the restaurant 5.2.1 Perfecting the skill As mentioned in the weak point, the restaurant's staff can speak English well, but most of the guests coming to the restaurant are Chinese and Korean It is because employees should learn one of these two languages to be able to better serve guests The management of the hotel, as well as the restaurant, should encourage employees to learn more Chinese or Korean by creating favorable conditions for employees or rewarding employees who can speak Chinese or Korean In addition, restaurant managers need to regularly check their English proficiency and organize English courses for employees to improve and improve their English communication skills In addition to language ability, communication skills are also very important in the process of serving guests An employee with good communication skills will help the restaurant introduce many products, convince guests to buy many products of the restaurant Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 63 Supervisor: Doan Thi and also leave a good impression on guests Therefore, the restaurant should be more careful in recruiting staff, should hire employees who have a pleasant voice, talkative, and confident in themselves Besides, restaurant managers should have training sessions and hone their communication skills Finally, Attitude is the best factor in evaluating a server's way of doing things A waitress must always have a cheerful, sociable attitude When it comes to any guest situation, the service staff must not behave uncomfortable with the guest but instead have to deal with the problem gently To have a good working attitude, service staff must be in good health and good spirits Therefore, DGB should have more health check-ups for employees and create recreational playgrounds for employees after tiring hours 5.2.2 Perfecting the staffs The lack of staff during the peak season mentioned in the weakness section will make the service process in the restaurant difficult To overcome this, Horizon restaurant has recruited more casuals, but the restaurant should hire casuals who have a lot of knowledge about the service process in the restaurant or students who specialize in restaurant management… casuals who have restaurant knowledge The hotel will also well in guest service In addition, the restaurant should hire casual English speakers so that when serving foreign guests, they will meet the requirements of guests To become a perfect employee, they must have a good working style, good teamwork ability The staff must have a professional, agile, and smart working style to be able to handle any situation that occurs Therefore, each employee must build for Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 64 Supervisor: Doan Thi himself a working style such as: working with a plan, focusing on work, having a sense of responsibility, and a high sense of discipline Next, as we all know, women make up a large and very important part of the service department But women are less likely to stick with this profession for a long time due to family problems and low life expectancy in the profession For female employees to work hard for a long time and promote their strengths well, the DGB leadership in general and restaurant managers, in particular, should have separate rights for women For example, women are given hour or 30 minutes less per working day or are given the privilege not to heavy work such as carrying heavy objects The benefits for women are small, but it will contribute to making women stick to this profession more and love their work more 5.2.3 Others solution As mentioned in the weak point, ala carte dishes take a long time to cook, making guests wait for a long time Many guests will feel dissatisfied when ala carte dishes are expensive but guests have to wait a long time Besides the agility of the serving staff, a chef is also an important person in the service process Therefore, the Kitchen should handle this problem by preparing enough ingredients to serve the dishes required by the menu Besides, the service staff must be the one to estimate the time and convince the guests when the kitchen has not finished the dish This requires good coordination between the wait staff and the kitchen The next thing is that in the low season The number of ala carte guests coming to the restaurant is not much Employees are Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 65 Supervisor: Doan Thi often free to sit and chat with each other or use the phone When the guests arrived, they were not ready to welcome the guests, feeling lazy and not serving enthusiastically To overcome this situation, managers must be strict and have sanctions to deter and limit this situation Besides, the manager must always be the one to divide the work schedule so that the employees can work alternately with each other This will avoid the situation that some employees are constantly in afternoon shifts leading to laziness at work The last thing I would like to offer is some solutions about the restaurant's facilities Facilities are important for diners to feel satisfied and appreciated about the restaurant Therefore, it is very necessary to improve the technical base, the restaurant should regularly update and improve modern equipment to make the restaurant more and more perfect In addition, the restaurant must regularly wipe down and clean equipment to ensure food hygiene and safety Finally, the restaurant should invest in equipment for employees, creating the best conditions for employees to promote their strengths The above solutions are ways to improve the service quality of the restaurant in terms of staff, facilities, and several other aspects I hope that the above solutions will help the development of Danang Golden Bay Hotel and the Horizon restaurant Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 66 Supervisor: Doan Thi CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 6.1 Conclusions The development of tourism is one of the advantages promoting Vietnam's economy Tourism not only contributes greatly to the development of the country but also creates favorable conditions for other industries to develop The process of international integration is deepening and comprehensively in bilateral and multilateral relations in the fields of economy, culture, and society Consequently, the number of tourists coming to Vietnam is increasing, this is a good condition for business and development of accommodation services As a 5-star hotel, DGB is trying to develop and assert its position in the hotel business market in Da Nang The main goal of DGB is to provide guests with luxurious and classy accommodation services and create an exquisite culinary space for diners Therefore, in addition to investing in accommodation, DGB also focuses on the restaurant sector Service quality is always concerned and controlled to serve guests in the best way, making a good impression on guests The study of Horizon restaurant's strengths and weaknesses is based on hotel profitability, Horizon restaurant's profitability, restaurant's staff, and guest reviews Surveying guest reviews to improve service quality is essential in finding out the strengths and weaknesses of the restaurant Most of the points issues have been improved by managements, but not all have been successful Success in the hotel business in general and the restaurant business in particular, the human factor determines most of the success Therefore, managers are considered the most valuable asset and need to be facilitated to further develop their strengths Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 67 Supervisor: Doan Thi while researching the target market, effective marketing methods, and collecting feedback Guests to make the right decisions to improve service quality at the hotel as well as create Horizon restaurant During my internship at the F&B department of Danang Golden Bay Hotel and through the process of finding out and researching this department, I realized that F&B service has many strengths to develop, besides that, many problems need to be resolved and corrected For that reason, I chose the subject: ”AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE AT DANANG GOLDEN BAY HOTEL AND SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVING ITS SERVICE QUALITY" Through this research, I have given some ideas as well as solutions to help the F&B service at DGB grow 6.2 Suggestions 6.2.1 Suggestions for improving the Food and Beverage service quality at Danang Golden Bay Hotel For me, Danang Golden Bay Hotel is one of the best hotels in Danang with modern facilities and highly educated professional staff The success of DGB's business cannot be ignored without mentioning the F&B department, which brings a significant profit to the hotel However, the F&B department still has some weaknesses and difficulties in its operation Therefore, this research thesis of mine has given some solutions to improve the service quality of Horizon restaurant above Besides those solutions, I will give some suggestions for Horizon restaurant in general and the F&B department, in particular, to develop more and more Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 68 Supervisor: Doan Thi Firstly, DGB's management should have many surveys and quality checks on products and services of the F&B department to control the quality of products and services In addition, DGB needs to have many health checks for employees and create many playgrounds for employees such as sports tournaments or cultural activities on holidays This will help employees feel more concerned about their health and more comfortable after tiring working hours, from which they will have better energy to work Secondly, DGB should have more incentive and reward programs for excellent employees or multilingual employees The treatment and reward will help employees have more motivation to strive for more work, work better Thirdly, in addition to suggestions to develop service quality, suggestions to improve the restaurant's facilities are also very important because facilities directly affect guest satisfaction Therefore, the F&B department should be invested more, equipped with more modern equipment to provide the best service to guests In addition, the F&B department should regularly inspect the facilities for restaurants in the F&B department Finally, with the current epidemic situation, the number of guests staying at the hotel is very small In my opinion, hotels should have vouchers or shock discounts to attract guests Besides, the hotel can also create events and festivals such as love nights or cooking stoves to attract local guests In addition, it is necessary to invest and perfect new business forms such as casinos, karaoke to bring a new source of profit for the hotel 6.2.2 Suggestions for improving the Faculty for English Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 69 Supervisor: Doan Thi During my years studying at Duy Tan University, I have learned a lot from the teachers of the Faculty for English My time studying here, I feel that the teaching method and teaching program of the teachers are very good But besides that, I still want to have a few suggestions for the Faculty for English in general and the teachers in the faculty in particular for better learning and teaching For the Facility for English to develop and students to have a better study environment, the Facility for English should have many sessions to test the quality of teaching and learning of teachers and students Besides, the Facility for English should organize many foreign language competitions, helping students have a playground after tiring hours In addition to competitions, the Facility for English needs more scholarships for students to work harder In addition, the Facility for English-related disciplines needs more travel and professional lessons so that students can grasp and know more about fast travel the Facility for English needs many field trips so that students can get to know their career more, practice with their career in the future Lastly, I want the Facility for English to invest more in machinery and equipment for students to have a better study environment 6.2.3 Suggestions for the next research thesis Through the process of researching and writing the thesis, I feel that I have known and understood more knowledge The thesis will accurately reflect the study and research results of the thesis maker Since this is my first time writing a thesis, I have encountered many difficulties in researching as well as analyzing Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Thesis Thanh Trang, M.A 70 Supervisor: Doan Thi the topic as well as being confused during the writing process Therefore, after completing this thesis, I have drawn a lot of experience for myself as well as for further research First, when making a certain thesis, you have to research carefully and build yourself an outline and research plan This is the first and very important thing while writing an essay because the outline is the foundation and direction for you to make the thesis most easily Second, you should discuss with your instructor your outline or direction on the subject This is very important because the instructors are experienced and have the right orientations and comments for you The last thing is to consult and select the information from the correct and clear origin to avoid the status of incorrect or misleading information You should look for information or sources of government documents or reliable organizations such as WTO, IMF Although this thesis of mine is not perfect and may still have some shortcomings, I hope that when future classmates refer to my article, they will also learn a lot for themselves Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Paper Thanh Trang, M.A Supervisor: Doan Thi REFERENCES VIETNAMESEBOOK [5] PGS.TS NGUYỄN VĂN MẠNH, TS HỒNG THỊ LAN HƯƠNG_“Giáo trình Quản trị kinh doanh khách sạn”_Nhà xuất đại học kinh tế quốc dân Tr 22-25 [6] GVGD TRẦN THỊ MỸ LINH, “Tổng quan ngành lưu trú”, Trường đại học Duy Tân, Khoa du lịch [14] TS.Trần Đoan Chính, Lê Thanh Xuân , “Nghiệp vụ khách sạn du lịch” - Đại Học Thương Mại Hà Nội ENGLISH BOOK [7] J Singaravelavan_ “ Food and Beverage Service”_ Oxford [8] DENIS ULUCRAP, JOIN COUSINS_ “Food and Beverage Sevice”_ Hodder education P 12-15 WEBPAGES [1] https://www.revfine.com/hotel-industry/ [2] https://www.expedia.com/Hotel-Star-Rating-Information [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel [4] https://opentextbc.ca/introtourism/chapter/chapter-3- accommodation/ [9] https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/ [10] https://nghialagi.org/fb-la-gi/ [11] https://psu.pb.unizin.org/hmd329/chapter/managing_guest_service s/ [12]https://dananggoldenbay.com/vi/danang-golden-bay-khachsan-sang-trong-bac-nhat-da-nang/ [13] https://dananggoldenbay.com/vi/restaurant-bar/ Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Paper Thanh Trang, M.A Student : Code : 2320322453 Supervisor: Doan Thi Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Paper Thanh Trang, M.A Supervisor: Doan Thi SURVEY ON QUALITY OF SERVICE AT HORIZON RESTAUTANT We thank you very much for your trust and choosing Danang Golden Bay Hotel as your place to stay Thank you for choosing Horizon restaurant for your meal and we are happy to serve you You have contributed immensely to our development In order to improve service quality, we are collecting guest reviews and suggestions So, you can take some time to evaluate the service quality of the restaurant, your review can help us change and serve you in the best way 02 2.1  4.1  6.1  8.1  10 Very poor Poor Average Fairly Good Good The table above is a table of scores corresponding to each rating level The score will be from to 10 and the level will be from very poor to excelent You can rate the items you like and the items you don't rate you can leave them blank Scores Service 1/ Quality of service ………………… 2/ Efficiency of service ………………… 3/ Friendliness of service ………………… Food and Beverage 4/ Variety of Food and Beverage ………………… 5/ Quality of Food and Beverage ………………… 6/ Presentation of Food and Beverage ………………… 7/ Value for money of Food and Beverage ………………… Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Paper Thanh Trang, M.A Supervisor: Doan Thi Ambience 8/ Music collection ………………… 9/ Atmosphere ………………… 10/ Decoration ………………… 11/ Furnishings ………………… Yes No I/ Will you visit us again? II/ Will you recommend us with orthers? III/ The purpose of travel Business To research Travelling Other…… IV/ Has the hotel satisfied your expectations? Exceeded expectations Meet expectations Below expectations Comment: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… Your name: ………………………………………………………………………… Email/ Phone: ……………………………………………………………………… Thank you for taking a moment of your precious time to rate and comment on Horizon restaurant Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh Graduation Paper Thanh Trang, M.A Supervisor: Doan Thi SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS Student : Code : 2320322453 Huynh Thi Thao Linh ... For the above reasons, I decided to choose the topic: ? ?AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE AT DANANG GOLDEN BAY HOTEL AND SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVING. .. events, and human resources in Danang Golden Bay Hotel Besides the thesis focus on the strengths and weakness point of the Food and Beverage service of Horizon restaurant in Danang Golden Bay Hotel. .. Danang Golden Bay Hotel and Food and Beverage service at this resort, especially at Horizon Restaurant - Chapter is an analysis of the general of the situation of Danang Golden Bay Hotel and the