An Investigation into the Real Situation and Some Solutions for Improving the Quality of Service at the Reception Department of Elephants Hotel Buon Ma Thuot

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION PAPER LE THI HAI An Investigation into the Real Situation and Some Solutions for Improving the Quality of Service at the Reception Department of Elephants Hotel Buon Ma Thuot GRADUATION PAPER IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES DA NANG – March 2022 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION PAPER LE THI HAI An Investigation into the Real Situation and Some Solutions for Improving the Quality of Service at the Reception Department of Elephants Hotel Buon Ma Thuot Major : English for Tourism Code : 702 SUPERVISOR: DO THI KIM CUC, M.A DA NANG – March 2022 Graduation Paper i Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This graduation paper has not been completed without the invaluable help, advice, and encouragement of my beloved teachers, friends, and family First of all, I would love to express my deepest gratitude to my helpful supervisor, M.s Do Thi Kim Cuc for her insight, guidance, and helpful suggestions during the preparation of this paper She helped me to improve my abilities and skills which support me in the real world Secondly, I am indebted to my teachers in the English Department for their endless enthusiasm, valuable teaching, and tremendous assistance that have enlightened my graduation paper Thirdly, I should also express many thanks to my dear friends who have shared with me a lot during my studies and my research work as well Finally, I am very grateful to my reception manager as well as my coworkers who always got ready to provide me with useful material and information I am very grateful to my manager as well as my coworkers who always got ready to provide me with useful material and information I wish to thank my family, especially my parents, for their love, understanding, and support while I was writing this paper Thank you so much! Sincerely, Hai Le Thi Hai Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper ii Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Except where reference is made in the text of the paper, this paper contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in the whole or in part from a paper by which has qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the paper This paper has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Danang, March 2022 Hai Le Thi Hai Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper iii Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1: The Service Process of the Reception Department 10 Figure 2: Organization Diagram at Elephants Hotel 14 Figure 3: Reception Department Organization Diagram at Elephants Hotel 18 Figure 4: Receptionist Serving Procedures at Elephants Hotel .25 Table 1: Room Catalog and Room Rates at the hotel .13 Table 2: Reception Department Facilities 20 Table 3: Elephants Hotel Revenue Status ( 2020 – 2021) 26 Table 4: Number of Tourists at Elephants Hotel (2020-2021) 27 Table 5: Reception Staff at Elephants Hotel .Error! Bookmark not defined Table 6: Guests’ Information at Elephants Hotel 30 Table 7: Customer Evaluation of the Reception Department's Facilities and Equipment at Elephants Hotel 31 Table 8: Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Communication Skills .32 Table 9: Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Serving Attitude .33 Table 10: Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Uniform 34 Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper iv Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale: 1.2 Aims and Objectives: 1.2.1 Aims: 1.2.2 Objectives: 1.3 The Scope of the Study: 1.4 Methods of the Study: .2 1.5 Organization of the Study: CHAPTER THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Hotel Business: .4 2.1.1 Concept of the Hotel: .4 2.1.2 Classification of the Hotel: .4 2.1.2.1 Size of the Hotel: 2.1.2.2 The Star System: 2.2 Concept of the Hotel Business: .6 2.2.1 Product of Hotel Business: .6 2.2.1.1 Accommodation Business: .6 2.2.1.2 Catering Business: 2.2.1.3 Additional Services Business: 2.3 The Reception Department in Hotel Business: 2.3.1 Concept of Reception: 2.3.2 Functions of Reception Department: Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper v Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A 2.3.3 The Needs for Reception: .7 2.3.4 Factors Affecting Reception Activities: 2.3.5 Service Process of Reception Department: 10 CHAPTER CASE DESCRIPTION 12 3.1 Elephants Hotel: 12 3.1.1 History and Development of Elephants Hotel: .12 3.1.2 Accommodation: 13 3.1.3 Functions and Responsibilities of Elephants Hotel: .13 3.1.3.1 Functions: 13 3.1.3.2 Responsibilities: .14 3.1.3.3 Organization Structure of Management at Elephants Hotel: 14 3.2 Reception Department at Elephants Hotel: 17 3.2.1 Introduction of Reception Department at Elephants Hotel: 17 3.2.2 Responsibilities of Reception Department at Elephants Hotel: 17 3.2.3 Activities of the Reception Department at Elephants Hotel: 17 3.2.4 Facilities of the Reception Department: .20 3.3 Room Classification of Elephants Hotel: 21 3.4 The Guest Service Procedures of the Receptionist at Elephants Hotel: .25 CHAPTER 26 ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION 26 4.1 Analysis of Revenue and Guests number of Elephants Hotel: 26 4.1.1 Revenue: .26 4.1.2 Number of Tourist to Elephants Hotel: 27 4.2 Analysis of Reception Service Quality at Elephants Hotel: 28 4.2.1 Reception Staff at Elephants Hotel: 28 4.2.2 Disadvantages of Staff at Elephants Hotel: 29 4.3 Evaluation: 29 4.3.1 Customer Evaluation of Reception Department's Facilities and Equipment at Elephants Hotel: .31 Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper vi Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A 4.3.2 Customer Evaluation of Reception Staff at Elephants Hotel: .32 4.3.2.1 Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Foreign Language Communication Skill: 32 4.3.2.2 Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Serving Attitude: 33 4.3.2.3 Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Uniform: 34 4.3.3 General Evaluation about the Service Quality of the Reception Department at Elephants Hotel: 34 4.4 Strengths: 35 4.5 Weaknesses: 35 4.6 Tourist Feedback: 35 CHAPTER 37 DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS .37 5.1 Difficulties: 37 5.2 Solutions: 38 5.2.1 Solution for Reception Department: .38 5.2.2 Solutions for other Departments: 38 CHAPTER 40 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 40 6.1 Conclusions: .40 6.2 Suggestions: 40 6.2.1 Suggestions for the Faculty of English Language of Duy Tan University : 40 6.2.2 Suggestions for Reception Department at Elephants Hotel: 41 6.2.2.1 Improve Foreign Language skill: 41 REFERENCES 43 APPENDIX 44 SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS 47 Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale: Nowadays, the need for accommodation is not only for traveling purposes but also for business Unlike other big cities in Vietnam, hotel service is mainly for traveling Buon Ma Thuot city is a small city and does not have many beautiful landscapes, attraction spots, or amusement places, so the primary income for hotels business here comes from business guests and local clients Recognizing the importance of serving business customers, Elephants Hotel has been improving the service and enhancing equipment support for the work of business However, the number of clients who choose Elephants Hotel for their trip is not as much as other hotels in the area During the time I interned there, I found the main reasons are from the Marketing Department and the service of the Reception Department The reception Department is the most important department of a hotel property The receptionists are the representative of the hotel, they are responsible for receiving guests and serving guests, the receptionists are like the face of the hotel They are having the most contact with customers staying in the hotel, they have the opportunity to learn and understand the preferences, habits, needs of guests Furthermore, receptionists are also a bridge between clients and other departments of the hotel Throughout the time I worked there as a receptionist and learned years at Duy Tan University, I realized that I still lack many skills in the customer service process, and I have some solutions to improve it and many more weaknesses remain at the hotel reception department From the importance of receptionists above and the effect it can cause on the hotel revenue, I decide to choose the topic: “An Investigation into the Real Situation and Some Solutions for Improving the Quality of Service at Reception Department at Elephants Hotel Buon Ma Thuot” 1.2 Aims and Objectives: 1.2.1 Aims: Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 32 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A 4.3.2 Customer Evaluation of Reception Staff at Elephants Hotel: 4.3.2.1 Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Foreign Language Communication Skill: Criteria Rates Very Satisfied (%) Normal satisfied Quite Dissatisfied dissatisfied Foreign 7,2% 68,56% 18,8% 5,44% 0% language skill Understand 27,9% 53,78% 9,87% 8,45% 0% guest Quickly 70,13% 14,31% 10,56% 5% 0% communicate Table 8: Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Communication Skills The data in Table show that guests feel satisfied with the communication skills of the Elephants Hotel receptionist More than 65% of survey guests satisfied with receptionists’ foreign language skill is an impressive number, but there are still 5,44% of them quite dissatisfied, which means the foreign language skill of receptionists needs to be improved Understanding guests’ needs is the key to the success of the hotel, 85,68% of 150 guests satisfied with that 8,45% of them are still not comfortable, it’s a small number but to compare with the 4-star hotel, there are many guests who have bad experiences during their stay When the guests come to the hotel, they want to be welcomed and served immediately That’s why the receptionists must have the skill to quickly communicate with guests The data in table above show that up to 95% of guests are served immediately when they get to the hotel Besides, there are still 5% of customers who are not satisfied with this 4.3.2.2 Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Serving Attitude: Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 33 Criteria Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A Rates Very Satisfied (%) Normal satisfied Quite Dissatisfied dissatisfied Professional 57,91% 34,67% 7,42% 0% 0% Polite 76,88% 19,56% 3,56% 0% 0% Solving 36,12% 44,78% 11,7% 7,4% 0% Request Table 9: Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Serving Attitude From the information in table 9, we can see that most of the guests feel the attitude and service of Elephants Hotel are good But in solving the request still has a small number of guests feel not satisfied 7,4% of 150 guests feel quite dissatisfied is a big problem, and the hotel should note this to improve the service in the future Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 34 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A 4.3.2.3 Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Uniform: Criteria Rates Very Satisfied (%) Normal satisfied Quite Dissatisfied dissatisfied Good-looking 38,67% 45,65% 15,68% 0% 0% Suitable 32,08% 51,91% 16,01% 0% 0% Table 10: Guests’ Evaluation of Receptionist’s Uniform The uniform at Elephant Hotel has a basic design Female's uniform is a red ao dai and male's uniform is a suit It makes guests feel professional and polite When they are compared with other hotels, the uniform here is as modern and goodlooking Picture 6: Elephants Hotel Staff’s Uniform Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 35 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A 4.3.3 General Evaluation about the Service Quality of the Reception Department at Elephants Hotel: Having a chance to work at Elephants Hotel as a receptionist, I can evaluate the service there and know its strengths and weaknesses In general, the receptionist has an important role in the hotel business It’s the face of Elephants Hotel, so the staff here has been trained well in service providing and making sure guests coming to the hotel always feel better than their home Even so, there are still some flaws when serving customers In addition, because the hotel is new, its staff should to be more professional and be suitable to modern life 4.4 Strengths: Elephants Hotel has years in the hotel business at Buon Ma Thuot city, the hotel reception department has some strengths:  The hotel has new and modern facilities  The attitude of the staff is good and is highly appreciated by the guests  Uniforms are eye-catching, suitable for work  The process of serving guests here is quite fast and specific, minimizing unnecessary steps but still ensuring enough information for guests  The hotel has the young staff so they are dynamic and flexible  The hotel provides useful devices for receptionists to serve customers 4.5 Weaknesses:  The staff’s foreign language skills are not very good, so they are not confident in communication with guests from overseas  The receptionists are quite young, so they don't have much working experience That’s a reason why sometimes the requests of guests are not solved in the best way 4.6 Tourist Feedback: Based on the information I collected from 150 clients at Elephants Hotel, I will show their feedbacks about the reception department:  The hotel room price is suitable Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 36 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A  The receptionist is sometimes slow in solving requests  The lobby is large and clean, making them feel comfortable while doing the check-in and check-out procedures  The receptionist’s uniform is professional and polite Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 37 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A CHAPTER DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS 5.1 Difficulties: Elephants Hotel has been operating for years in the hotel business, but the number of guests and profit of the hotel is not high because of some following difficulties:  The staff are quite young, so they don’t have much experience  Not having many foreign guests does not give the staff the chance of communication overseas  COVID-19 is the biggest difficulty for all accommodation industries 5.2 Solutions: 5.2.1 Solution for Reception Department:  Recruit more experienced staff  Train reception staff on foreign language skills  Follow the regulations on COVID-19 prevention to reduce the spreading of the disease  Improve staff’s personality and behavior  Enhance the service quality of reception department by exchange the staff with other hotel to receive other hotel service experience  The reception manager needs to follow these steps: - Determine the targets that the reception department needs to reach during the time serving guests The targets are based on the research on customer needs and wishes and match with the condition of the hotel - Have specific tasks for receptionists working - Monitor and encourage staff to ensure they follow the right tasks - Compare the recent revenue and the target monthly - Have a policy in reward and salary increase for reception staff and policy in the discipline Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 38 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A 5.2.2 Solutions for other Departments: Housekeeping Department:  Quickly clean up the room for guests to avoid guest complaints  Update the room condition on time for receptionists Sale & Marketing Department:  Update the hotel information on the hotel social media regularly  Create more sales programs and provide the information to the reception department  Promote guests to booking rooms online Accounting Department:  Update bill daily for the reception department to the finance report and for the check-out procedure  Have a specific selling room plan for next year The rate of the guests using the room increased 10-20% Ensure the revenue increases by 10-15% Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 39 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 6.1 Conclusions: Elephants Hotel has been years working in the hotel industry at Buon Ma Thuot City The room price at the hotel is cheap for everyone when coming to Buon Ma Thuot City With the development of the tourism industry in Vietnam, Elephants Hotel always tries its best to create a friendly working environment, comfortable service for guests The hotel keeps maintaining and improving facilities and staff service to compete with other hotels in the area Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor – Ms Do Thi Kim Cuc who wholeheartedly guides and helps me accomplish this graduation paper I am also very grateful to all the lecturers of the Faculty of English Language for creating the best conditions for me to finish this paper perfectly I honestly thank my reception manager and coworkers who always get ready to support me to complete tasks during my work there 6.2 Suggestions: 6.2.1 Suggestions for the Faculty of English Language of Duy Tan University : Duy Tan University has the best facilities and lecture support for the student in learning and practicing, but it still has some weaknesses need improving:  The University needs to improve the website with more details and usually update the notifications on the website for students to easily find it and receive the information on time  The University needs to post all the necessary information in their posts on social media It’s very hard for students when they need to contact the related department because the university doesn’t leave the phone number or email in the post  Duy Tan University should add more tourism subjects to the learning program for the Tourism English major Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 40 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A  The colleges of Duy Tan University need more travel programs to have chances to practice in the real situation  The University should contact more resorts, homestays, or hotels to help colleges working in the internship 6.2.2 Suggestions for Reception Department at Elephants Hotel: 6.2.2.1 Improve Foreign Language skill: The main guests of the hotel not come from foreign countries, so the hotel doesn’t focus on language skills However, in the future when the city develops tourism and attracts more foreign guests, the hotel will have a lot of difficulties to compete with other hotels The hotel should:  Recruit staff that have language certificates  Register language class for staff and have the policy to pay half of the fee for the staff who have good results  Have contact with other hotels to trade the staff  Open foreign language training class for staff  Hire a foreign language professor to train for the staff  Create the best time condition for staff can join the class  Have a policy in reward and increase salary for staff to push them to try their best to improve their foreign language skill When the receptionists can fluently communicate and avoid mistakes, the quality of service will be improved 6.2.2.2 Improve Staff Mental and Physical Life: The reception department is the head of the hotel, receives and resolves all the complaints from clients, so the reception staff usually feel under pressure The hotel should pay attention to their physical and mental life:  The hotel should have a specific policy in increasing salary and bonus rewards for staff  During a holiday like Tet, the staff usually work overtime, the hotel should have a policy for staff to have their rest day and bonus salary for them Especially with the staff who live far away, the hotel should let them get a longer rest day  The hotel should pay more attention to staff mental life like visiting their family, having presents on holiday or when they got sick, … Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 41 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A  The hotel should care and satisfy the needs of promotion of the staff Create a fair and friendly working environment Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 42 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A REFERENCES Books TS Nguyễn Văn Mạnh TH.S Hồng Thị Lan Hương (2008) Giáo trình Quản trị kinh doanh khách sạn, NXB Đại học Kinh tế quốc dân Jagmohan Negi (2012) Hospitality Reception and Front Office (Procedures And System), India Webpages B.Miller (n.d) Retrieved from: https://www.practicaladultinsights.com/what-is-a-hotel-receptionist.htm Hotel star rating systems meaning – star ratings explained (2020) Retrieved from: https://www.warehousehotel.com/manheim/blog/hotel-star-ratings-system Hotel Industry: Everything You Need to Know About Hotels! (n.d) Retrieved from: https://www.revfine.com/hotel-industry/ Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 43 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Madam, Sir! I wish you all the best experiences during your stay in Elephants Hotel We should be deeply grateful when you answer the questions on this page Your opinion will help us with useful information to our research and to put forward some measures in upgrading the hotel and providing you with better service Thank you very much for your help! How many times have you been to Buon Ma Thuot city? time times times More than times: ………… How many times have you used the hotel services at Elephants Hotel? time times times More than times: ………… How can you know Elephants Hotel? Newspaper, magazine Acquaintance, friend Guide book Traveling agencies Internet Other………… The purpose of travel Business Research Traveling Other…… Your first impression when you use the service at Elephants Hotel The facilities of the lobby Serving manners, skills, knowledge of Receptionists Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 44 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A Other ideas……………………………… Please tick in the box that you satisfied according to the satisfaction level of the reception department 1: Dissatisfied 2: Quite satisfied 3: Normal 4: Satisfied 5: Very satisfied Satisfaction level of clients Lobby Facilities & Equipment Reception Services Foreign Languages Skill Understanding Guests Quick communication Being Professional Being Polite Solving requests Good – looking Suitable What made you most satisfied during the time you used our service? To enhance the quality of the reception service, following your opinion, what should we do? If you have a chance to come back to Buon Ma Thuot city, will you use again the service of Elephants Hotel Company? Sure Maybe No Please give me your individual information: Nationality Le Thi Hai : Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 45 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A Sex : Age : Occupation : Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 Graduation Paper 46 Supervisor: Do Thi Kim Cuc, M.A SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS Le Thi Hai Code: 24203109731 ... status of the hotel business in recent years  Chapter is the analysis and evaluation of Elephants Hotel in the real situation  Chapter is the difficulties that remain at the hotel and some solutions. .. The Scope of the Study: - This study focuses on the real situation of Elephants Hotel - This study uses the data and information from 2020-2021 - This study makes an analysis and evaluation of. .. the hotel is necessary 3.1.3.3 Organization Structure of Management at Elephants Hotel: General Manager Department of Management HR Manager Accountin g Manager Department of Operating Front Office