A case study of the real situation and some solutions for improving the quality of front office department at silkotel hoi an

The Reality of the service quality of the front office department ofSilkotel hotel...314.1.1 The Real Situation of Guest’s Arrival at Silkotel hotel from2020- 2022...314.2.. Overall eval

NGUYEN TRAN THY KHUE

A CASE STUDY OF THE REAL SITUATION AND SOME SOLUTIONS FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT AT

NGUYỄN TRẦN THY KHUÊ

A CASE STUDY OF THE REAL SITUATION AND SOME SOLUTONS FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY

OF FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT AT SILKOTEL

HOI AN

DA NANG, 2023

Second, I want to express my gratitude to the lecturers at Duy TanUniversity's Foreign Language Department for conveying information from

my studies to society during the past four years Four years is a good lengthfor me to learn and assimilate information What I have accomplished is theluggage that will allow me to confidently enter real life Such invaluableknowledge will serve as a strong foundation for my future work I amextremely fortunate to have professors who are completely committed toeducation

Particularly, I want to take this opportunity to thank my supervisor, Mrs.Phan Thi Thuy Tien Who provided me thoughtful and sincere advice on how

to improve my graduation project She is helpful advice and sharesunforgettable experiences

Last but not least, I would like to express with my beloved parents fortheir encouragement and moral support throughout the studies

I wish you all the best of health and success

Your Sincerely

student

Nguyen Tran Thy Khue

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I declare that, to the best of my knowledge, this paper contains nopreviously published content It does not use any material previouslysubmitted for a degree or certificate at my university, in whole or in part,unless a proper reference is included in the text

Without acknowledgment in the graduation paper, no other person'swork has been utilized

This graduation paper has not been submitted to any other tertiaryinstitution for the award of a degree or diploma

Danang, March 29 th 2023

Student Nguyen Tran Thy Khue

This research intends to investigate the theoretical and practical issuessurrounding an examination into the real scenario, in order to determine thebenefits and drawbacks of Silkotel’s front office department’s quality-basedservices The goal of this research is to offer and recommend some ways toimprove the quality of service at Silkotel’s front office department

Furthermore, the hotel's service quality has a direct impact on touristsatisfaction

I am confident that my suggestions will aid the hotel in exceeding clientexpectations and contribute to the growth of the Hoi An hospitality industry

as a result of the survey about the issues

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Types of room at Silkotel Hotel 19Table 3.5: The Structure of labor of front office department at Silkotel Hotel

31Table 4.1: Structure of guest coming to Silkotel hotel from 2020 to 2022 36Table 4.3: Guests’ evaluation of facilities of the Front office department at

Silkotel hotel 39Table 4.4 Evaluation of guests about staff 39

LIST OF CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS

Diagram 3.1: The organization structure of Silkotel 22

Diagram 3.1: The organization structure of Silkotel’s front office 26

Chart 1: Number of visitors to Silkotel hotel in recent years 38

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ii

ABSTRACT iii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims and objectives 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Method of the study 2

5 Organization of the Study 3

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 4

2.1 Theoretical overview of hotel business operation 4

2.1.1 Hotel 4

2.1.1.1 Concepts of hotel 4

2.1.1.2 Classifications of hotel 5

2.1.2 Concepts of hotel business 8

2.1.3 Hotel business functions and missions 9

2.1.3.1 Functions of hotel business 9

2.1.3.2 Missions of hotel business 9

2.2 Theoretical basis of front office fields 11

2.2.1 Concepts of front office fields in hotel 11

2.2.2 Characteristics of front office department 11

2.2.3 The roles of the front office department in the hotel 13

CHAPTER 3 : CASE DESCRIPTION 15

3.1 Silkotel overview 15

3.1.1 General information of Silkotel Hoi An 15

3.1.1.1 Silkotel’s establishment and development 15

3.1.1.2 Silkotel hotel’s function and tasks 16

3.1.2 System of hotel products and services 17

3.1.2.1 Accommodation service 17

3.1.2.2 Front office department 18

3.1.2.3 Additional service 18

3.1.3 Silkotel hotel’s operation system 19

3.1.3.1 Silkotel hotel’s organization diagram 19

3.1.3.2 Front office department’s Organization 22

3.1.3.3 The labor at Silkotel’s front office department 26

3.1.4 Front office’s facilities and service products 27

3.1.4.1 The process of serving products at Silkotel’s front office 27

3.1.4.2 The facilities of Silkotel’s front office department 29

3.2 Orientation and goals of Silkotel’s front office department 30

3.2.1 Orientation 30

3.2.2 Goals 30

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS & EVALUATION 31

4.1 The Reality of the service quality of the front office department of Silkotel hotel 31

4.1.1 The Real Situation of Guest’s Arrival at Silkotel hotel from 2020- 2022 31

4.2 Overall evaluation of front office department of Silkotel hotel 33

4.2.1 Evaluation of guests about facilities of Silkotel hotel 33

4.2.2 Evaluation of guests about staff of Silkotel hotel front office 34

4.3 Strengths and Weaknesses 35

4.3.1 Strengths 35

4.3.2 Weaknesses 36

5.1 Difficulties 37

5.2 Suggested solutions 37

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 38

6.1 Conclusion 38

6.2 Suggestions 38

6.2.1 Suggestions for the Silkotel hotel front office department 38

6.2.2 Suggestions for Faculty of English Department at Duy Tan University 40 APPENDIX

REFERENCES

SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

After being severely impacted by the covid pandemic, the tourism industry is

on the recovery The tourism industry's growth benefits not only tourismbusinesses, but it also generates favorable conditions for other industries togrow The restaurant industry is rising in tandem with the tourism industrybecause eating is an essential need for any tourist on a journey Front officedepartment revenue assists firms in making big profits and is a favorablecondition for establishing markets and boosting company value With thegrowth of the tourism industry in general, there will be numerous opportunitiesfor the hotel industry to grow, with customers demanding a variety of serviceswhile maintaining the front office's facilities and quality, for visitors' use.Because products in the food and beverage industry are usually accompanied

by services, demanding "must be right from the start." Furthermore, clientscome to ask the front office department for reasons such as hotel information,type rooms,… As a result, the front office's services must be of great quality inorder to make a positive impression on guests

Along with the recovery of domestic tourism, the tourist sector in Hoi An isworking hard to resurrect the industry's growth momentum During myinternship at the Silkotel front office department, I observed that the frontoffice still had several quality issues in terms of facilities and service In fact,many consumers believe that the front office department’s services are nottruly really rich, and that the staff's service quality is low, Unprofessional.based on the results of the poll Recognizing the urgency of the situation,enquiring the restaurant to constantly enhance product quality and server

in order to remain stable and grow in the future As a result, I chose the topic

“A CASE STUDY OF THE REAL SITUATION AND SOME SOLUTONSFOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT

AT SILKOTEL HOI AN”

2 Aims and objectives

- Confirm consumers' satisfaction and perceptions of the front office’sservices

- Appreciate the reality of the Silkotel hotel's service quality at Silkotel BeachHoi An

- Make recommendations for ways to improve the quality of service atSilkotel Beach Hoi An's Silkotel front office department

- Introduce the fundamentals of service quality, as well as the realities ofrestaurant service and how to draw customers to the restaurant

- As a result, in Silkotel front office department, Silkotel, give solutions toimprove the efficiency of attracting customers

3 Scope of the study

The Silkotel is the research subject

Firstly, I will examine at the facility's structure, hotel facilities, and guestarrivals, all of which were collected between 2020 and 2022

Secondly, will assess the front office department's customer service quality

Finally, essential steps will be performed to improve the front office team'squality

4 Method of the study

I used research methodologies to complete the thesis.

 Method of Collection

 Method of Description

 Method of Observation

 Method of Analysis

5 Organization of the Study

This study is presented 6 chapter

 Chapter 1: Introduction which includes rationale, aims and objectives,scope of the study, method of the study and organization of the study

 Chapter 2: Theoretical background

 Chapter 3: Case description

 Chapter 4: Analysis and Evaluation

 Chapter 5: Difficulties and Suggested solutions

 Chapter 6: Conclusion and Suggestion

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Theoretical overview of hotel business operation

2.1.1 Hotel

2.1.1.1 Concepts of hotel

Before we can go any further, we need to know what a "hotel" is There

are many different interpretations and definitions of hotels But in general,

"hotel" means a place to temporarily stay, rest, and spend the night in a placewhere you don't stay too long to settle down

The term "hotel" is derived from the French "hôtel," which has the same root

as "hospital" and means "a building that sees frequent visitors and providescare," as opposed to "a place that offers lodging." The term "hôtel" now has thesame meaning in modern French as it does in English, and "hôtel" is still used

in certain place names, such as "Hôtel-Dieu" in Paris, which has been ahospital since the Middle Ages, as well as "hôtel particulier" for the previousmeaning

Each room in the hotel must have basic amenities (bed, TV, telephone) Eachcountry has its own definition of a hotel, which is based on the state anddevelopment of the hotel industry The hotel does not have too many standardsexcept for the basic conditions; it can be decorated and built depending on thelocal culture

The hotel is a well-known accommodation facility worldwide, guaranteeingthe comfort and quality demanded by the lodging sector

Additionally, it satisfies a range of dietary, recreational, and hotel servicerequirements that are appropriate for the trip's goal

According to the National standard TCVN 4391:2015, "Based on location,architecture, equipment and facilities, services, managers and service staff,security, safety, environmental protection, hygiene, and safety food, hotels areranked in 5 categories: 1 star, 2 star, 3 star, 4 star, and 5 star."

2.1.1.2 Classifications of hotel

In Law on tourism, tourist accommodation establishments are facilitiesfor renting rooms, beds and providing services In particular, the hotel is themain accommodation establishment Those exist in many different forms and

it is classified into many categories based on standards such as geographicallocation, service level, price of accommodation products, scale hotel,ownership and management forms

 According to geographical location:

• City Hotel (Pubic Hotel): it is built in big city centers or denselypopulated urban centers in order to serve visitors for publicpurposes, family visits, shopping or cultural tours In Vietnam, high-ranking city hotels are concentrated in the large city (Danang,Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, etc.)

• Resort Hotel: this type is built in resort based on natural resourcessuch as beach or mountain hotels Guests come here mainly forrelaxation There are few visitors studying the ecologicalenvironment Resort hotels are often subject to climate conditions,thus those work seasonally In Vietnam, resort hotels are constructed

on the big beaches in Danang, Ha Long, etc

• Suburban Hotel: it is built on the outskirts of the city or urbancenters The main guest market of this hotel is a medium or lowpaying customer

• Highway Hotel: it is built along the national highways to servepassengers who travel on national highways and use vehicles ormotor

• Airport Hotel: it is built near major international airports Guests ofthis type hotel are passengers of airlines stopping at internationalairports due to compulsory schedules or an unexpected reason

 According to the service levels:

• Luxury Hotel: this is the highest ranking hotel, corresponding to star hotel in Vietnam A large-scale hotel is equipped withexpensive luxury facilities This type of hotel offers the top level ofadditional services, especially the additional services in room,outdoor entertainment services, beauty services, etc The productsalso are sold at the highest price in the marketplace

5-• Full Service Hotel: these are hotels selling products with the secondhighest price in the market, corresponding to 4-star hotels inVietnam The hotel market of these hotels has high solvency Inaddition, the hotel offers full service, parking, restaurants, roomservices and a limited number of outdoor added services

• Limited service Hotel: this type is medium-sized and corresponds tothree-star hotel in Vietnam The hotel products sell at the averageprice (the third highest) in the market These hotels offer only alimited number of services

• Economy Hotel: this is a small hotel with a low rank (from one totwo stars) Selling prices of products also are low (below mediumprice) in the market These hotels do not necessarily need to havecatering services, but there must be some simple additional servicessuch as laundry service, information service, free Wi-Fi, etc

 According to the price of accommodation products:

• Luxury Hotel: the hotel has the highest selling price The marketprice of products is 85 or higher on the measure

• Up- scale Hotel: the hotel sells products to the market at relativelyhigh price, in the range of 70-85 on the measure

• Mid- price Hotel: the hotel sells products to the market at themedium price, in the range of 40-70 on the measure

• Economy Hotel: the hotel sells products to the market at reasonablylow price, in the range of 20-40 on the measure

• Budget Hotel: the hotel has the lowest selling price Price rangefrom 20 or less on the measure

 According to the scale hotel: based on the number of the chamberaccording to the design of the hotel that the hotel is divided into thefollowing types:

• Large-scale Hotel: the hotel has five star rank (as a rule must havelarge scale), corresponding to the number of the room is 200 orover

• Medium-scale Hotel: there are hotels which have a number of roomsfrom 50 to 200

• Small-scale Hotel: the hotel has a number of rooms that is located inthe lower limit of the ranking according to the criteria

 According to the ownership and management forms:

• Private Hotel: the hotel has an investor who is an individual orlimited liability company The owner manages and operates thehotel business They are also responsible for the final businessresults of the hotel

• State Hotel: the initial capital hotel is owned by the state, run by anorganization or a state-owned company that manages and operatesthe hotel business That organization is also responsible for the finalbusiness results of the hotel

• Joint Venture Hotel: the hotel is invested by two or more investors

to build and purchase equipment In terms of management, theremay be two or more partners involved in operating and managingthe hotel

2.1.2 Concepts of hotel business

The hotel industry not only offers self-service options, but also sells items

from other sectors and fields of the economy, such as agriculture, processing,light industry, banking, postal and telecommunications services, transportation,power, and water As a result, the hotel industry delivers services to itscustomers while also acting as a true intermediary provide services for theconsumption (distribution) of products from other sectors of the economy Twoprocesses in the hotel industry generally go hand in hand: service creation andconsumption Although most hotel services must be paid immediately, someservices are not paid directly in order to boost client happiness, satisfy them,and so increase revenue Customers will be attracted, and their marketcompetitiveness will increase For instance, information services, customerservice services, and so on The term "hotel business" originally referred to theactivity of providing lodging for visitors in hotels and inns When guests'preferences for lodging and meals become increasingly diverse, the hotelindustry has extended to include campgrounds, tourist villages, hotels -apartments, and motels, among other things However, hotels continue toaccount for a significant percentage of the market and are the primary facilities

offering amenities The most basic of business activities is meeting the needs

of guests for lodging, which is why this form of business is known as " hotelbusiness " In short, the hotel industry's content is becoming increasinglydiverse and broadened People still recognize both the wide and limiteddefinitions of the term "hotel business" as a result of this development

However, today's definition of hotel industry, whether broad or restricted,encompasses the provision of extra services Additional services are becomingincreasingly numerous, diverse in nature, and often suited for eachaccommodation business's location, rank, style, size, and target client market.The group of services should be excluded in the limited sense of the hotelbusiness idea, but it is impossible to find accommodation facilities that do notcover the dining demands of visitors nowadays It doesn't matter if it's just forbreakfast In the broadest sense, the hotel industry can be described as follows:

“A hotel business is a profit-making enterprise that provides lodging, catering,

and other services to visitors in order to meet their demands for food, lodging, and entertainment in tourist destinations”.

2.1.3 Hotel business functions and missions

2.1.3.1 Functions of hotel business

• The hotel is built up with the functions of creating, marketing, and

consuming products to suit the demands of leisure and entertainmentfor all domestic and international tourists visiting the location

• The hotel offers seminars and conferences for companies and tourist

sectors in need

2.1.3.2 Missions of hotel business

 For the society

• Hotels abide by all applicable laws, as well as their obligations to

the state and the tourism industry Hotel business contributes toincreasing the satisfaction and recovery of working capacity andproduction employees by addressing the demands of rest duringhuman journey time The role of the accommodation terminology

is to assist in meeting the demand for people to travel and rest Inaddition, the hotel industry helps people improve their spirituallives by providing leisure times after long periods of work

• The hotel industry must promote social security, protect the

environment, and preserve national cultural heritage The hotelindustry also provides several opportunities for cross-culturalengagement between countries and people from variousgeographical regions throughout the world

• This has a lot of ramifications for cross-cultural interactions, and

it helps to achieve the goal of harmonious friendship Not onlythat, but the hotel has hosted many important events such as thesigning of international political and commercial agreements As

a result, hotel industry activities contribute significantly to thegrowth and trade of countries and peoples around the world in avariety of ways Furthermore, the hotel industry employs a bignumber of people, resulting in career opportunities for localresidents

 For the economy:

• The hotel sector is one of the most important operations in thetourism industry, and it fulfills a critical function Furthermore, thisactivity has an impact on the development of the tourism industry aswell as the country's overall social and economic life

• The hotel industry helps to move consumer funds from oneregion to another, and from one country to another In this sense, thehotel industry can be said to contribute to the growth of each,region's and nation's GDP Many diverse industries in the economyrely heavily on the hotel industry.

2.2 Theoretical basis of front office fields

2.2.1 Concepts of front office fields in hotel

Front Desk is a very important department in the hotel, making directcontact with guests The main function of this department is Reservation,Guest service, Check-in, Check-out, Telephone, Finance & Cashiering,Foreign Exchange, Room Assignment, Inquiry etc

The Front Office is also called the nerve centre of a hotel It can be defined

as a front of the housing department located around the foyer and the lobbyarea of a hospitality property As this department is located around thefoyer area of the hotel and is visible to the guests, patrons and visitors, theyare collectively called “Front Office”

Should guests have any problems or require to appreciate or comment, theywould normally go directly to the Front Office, because it is convenient tocontact and converse with other departments Therefore, this department isthe direct delegate to link the work and report the consequence to otherdepartments

This department is one of the major operational and revenue-producingdepartments of the hotel which generates two-thirds of the revenue earned

by a hotel from the sale of the guest rooms It involves in providingvaluable services to the guests during the entire guest cycle consisting of

2.2.2 Characteristics of front office department

The following are some of the basic aspects of the hotel catering industry:

 At the front desk, it is important to have a person who is genuinelygood-natured—not someone with a fake smile Patients can spot thatfrom a mile away Rather, you want someone who is authentic andgreets patients who come to your clinic with a pleasant attitude Frontoffice staff cannot allow personal troubles to plague them They have

to be able to keep their private life private and not let any personaldrama affect the way they treat patients

 The front desk takes a certain amount of care Contrary to what somepeople may think, this is not the place where you hire “cheap” labor Alack of attention to detail can cause a wealth of problems when itcomes to submitting claims (wrong insurance information) or takingcare of injured employees (workers’ compensation protocols)

 The optimal front desk person must also be an excellent multitasker.There will be days where phones are ringing, multiple patients needattention, and a nurse from the back needs an important piece ofinformation Prioritizing and managing the demands of all these people

is often frustrating and overwhelming However, they all need to betaken care of in an efficient manner Someone who can juggle ahandful of tasks, while remaining calm (and happy), is the ideal personfor your clinic

 Being on the front line of the front office means being the first and lastface the patient sees—and the face patients see the entire time they are

in the waiting room Always under watchful eyes, front desk staff seemore of the clinic and staff than you realize and hear more than youthink They must be mindful of their demeanor, tone of voice, and the

conversations they have with other staff members It is not just aboutmaintaining HIPAA compliance, it is about presenting your clinicpositively and conveying the right message to your patients.

 In many ways, the front desk officer is the silent conductor of the train.While many people probably think the physician is running the show,the person in this role can contribute to the success or failure of yourclinic By coordinating and contributing to patient care, the front officestaff can alert staff to significantly ill and injured patients that requireimmediate attention They can promote good health practices byencouraging the use of masks and hand sanitizer They can improvemarketing efforts by alerting patients to new services being offered atthe clinic They can prevent client dissatisfaction by confirmingprotocols, orders, and good information as it is provided Even thoughmuch of this goes back to being detail-oriented, it’s more than justsomeone doing the job It is about looking for the ways a person’s jobintersects with the rest of the clinical team and making the patient’sexperience better

2.2.3 The roles of the front office department in the hotel

 The main function of the front office department is to manage thereservations of guests This includes taking phone and online bookings,entering them into the hotel’s reservation system, and assigning rooms

to guests The front office team also handles the check-in and check-outprocess, including verifying guest identification, collecting payment,and issuing keys

 In addition to these core responsibilities, the front office department isoften the first point of contact for guests seeking assistance or

amenities and services, providing directions to local attractions, orassisting with any issues that may arise during a guest’s stay As such,excellent customer service skills are essential for front office staff.

 In addition to the traditional roles of the front office department, manyhotels are now implementing technology to streamline processes andimprove the guest experience This may include the use of automatedcheck-in kiosks or online booking systems The front office team mayalso be responsible for managing and maintaining these technologicalsystems

 Effective communication is also crucial within the other department ofhotel The team must be able to effectively communicate with guests,

as well as with other departments within the hotel

 In larger hotels, the front office department may be divided into teams, each with their own specific responsibilities For example, theremay be a team responsible for handling group reservations and events,

sub-or a team focused on guest relations and guest satisfaction

CHAPTER 3 : CASE DESCRIPTION

3.1 Silkotel overview

3.1.1 General information of Silkotel Hoi An

3.1.1.1 Silkotel’s establishment and development

Picture 1: Silkotel hotel

NAME: SILKOTEL HOTEL

📬 Address: 14 Hung Vuong Street, Hoi An

📬 Email: info.hoian@silkotel.com

☎️ Phone: (+84) 235 3963 399

📬 hoian.silkotel.com

The Silkotel hotel was established in 2010 and starting working in 2013

Silkotel hotel is located in the center of Hoi An, 22km from the Da Nang

is also a gateway for tourists to easily visit Hoi An Night Market, PhuocLam church 4-star international standard hotel with 5 floors including 80modern bedrooms, 4 offices for rent, cool restaurant, elegant design withrich and high quality services In order to promptly respond to betterbusiness services, in the past time, the hotel has constantly invested, repairedand upgraded existing facilities, increasing the position of the hotel in thetourist market calendar The hotel is located at 14 Hung Vuong Street,Thanh Ha Ward, Hoi An.

After more than 9 years of operation, the hotel has created a reputation andreputation among the hotel team in Central Vietnam The hotel is rated bythe National Administration of Tourism as one of the good hotels witheffective business The hotel was awarded certificates of merit bydepartments in the city, certificates of merit in recognition of achievementssuch as: Certificate of quality, hygiene and food safety from the Department

of Health, the General Department of Tourism awarded the certificate ofmerit for the application, excellent worker

3.1.1.2 Silkotel hotel’s function and tasks

The hotel's primary function is to provide lodging services In addition, inorder to properly serve its main role, it also provides other services such ascatering and extra services (Spa, Internet, Bar, party organization,conference ) Accommodation services are provided All of these servicesare designed to meet the needs of both domestic and foreign visitors to Hoi

An who stay at the Silkotel hotel

- The hotel's major goal is to provide lodging, food, and other servicesthat adequately suit the demands of visitors while they are stayingthere In addition, the hotel must do additional responsibilities such as:

- Complying with all regulations established by the General Department

of Tourism and the local Department of Tourism

- Complying with all tax laws and regulations set forth by thegovernment

- Improving service quality and company efficiency by effectivelyutilizing and managing existing physical and technological facilities,investment capital, and human resources

- Effectively implement fire prevention and suppression measures toprotect the safety of both property and tourists while they are stayinghere

- It is necessary to ensure the staff's safety

3.1.2 System of hotel products and services