National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism

Transcription

1 1 National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism Bachelor Program of International Tourism Program Internship Report Second Semester 06 Jan June 2013 Name:Yang Tso Fu Zoe Class:3 A Student number:4991d004 Internship Location:Front Office, Shangri La Hotel, Singapore 08 June

2 2 A) Internship organization marketing concept 1. Market Demographic a) Age It s almost likely years old business travelers, family, and couples related customers. The couple s age are more than 60 years old, but most of guest s age are during 30years 40 years. b) Gender Business guests are almost male, seldom female traveler. For family, they are usually father, mother, and children. c) Occupation These are popular corporate guests in our hotel, like Rolls Royce, Hewlett-Packard, British Petroleum, Deutsche Bank, Thales, Citi bank, Apple, Unilever, Shell, Emerson Standard Chartered Bank, and Coca Cola, etc. Most of positions are like manager of department, CEO, Diplomatic, Embassy etc. d) Nationality Most of nationalities are Australia, United Kingdom, United Sate of America, Canada, New Zealand, Philips, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Germany, Norway, etc. 2. Market Segmentation They big market for this hotel will be these followings: i. Corporate guest ii. Family and Couple, FFP Travelers 2

3 3 3. Market Positioning Brand image of Shangri-la hotel, which is To be the first choice for guests, business shareholders and business partners, to let guest feel to stay at home, for hotel staff like working with family members. Using humility, courtesy, respect, helpfulness, sincerity, selflessness to reach our mission, is delighting our guest every time by creating engaging experiences straight from our heart. We provide nice rooms, restaurants, however, not only providing products, but we also try to provide excellent service to every single guest. 4. Product Positioning We have four different products in our hotel. For example, for every single guest, we try to listen to their needs and wants first, deciding to provide which products for them. Our rooms have different levels and categories, if you are corporate guest, then we will try to offer our Horizon Club room for them, with lounge floor, breakfast, cocktail, personal business centre, meeting can use. If they are family coming for vacation, we will suggest them our Garden Wing, which having beautiful balcony, breakfast included, room is much bigger than our standard room, or also can try to suggest them our premier room, see guest s needs and wants try to providing right our product for them. 5. Customer characteristics 1) Geographic Eastern guests, especially from Hong Kong, Singapore, China, most of them are very rude, I provide one short example. When I still assist guest for checking in, they can just ignore my guest, interrupt my dialogue, and speak Chinese to ask whatever they want. If you see the Western Guests, they are totally different from them, they are very polite and gentle, willing to wait; and they are all very nice. 3

4 4 2) Occupation/Position No matter what kind of jobs, higher position s people are much polite and nice than normal staffs, like chairman, director manager, etc. 6. Service quality control and customer complaints process We try to have training process for orientation and every single working week to try to keep the service stable, and reduce service heterogeneity. Treat every single guest as our family member. While dealing with the customer complaints, at least, we will try to do service recovery. For example, we will try to offer free apologize amenities, free upgrade, free meal, or free limousine for guest. B) Product and service features For hotel product will be rooms. We totally have three Wings in our hotel. Tower Wing is basic room standard in hotel. Once you booked our Tower Wing, you can enjoy complimentary Internet, gym, swimming pool. If you booked under our Horizon Club, for the all stays, you can use Horizon Club Lounge, breakfast have two choice, can either choose 24th Blue restaurant, or can choose The Line buffet, which provides special cocktail & canapés served every evening, coffee, tea, and soft drinks and fruits served throughout the day in Lounge. The main target market is the business guest, and they also provide daily International newspaper, complimentary use of meeting room for two hours in Lounge floor, complimentary pressing of one business suit, also offer private business center facilities and private workstation. Last one is for our Valley Wing guests; they can enjoy complimentary breakfast two choice, complimentary champagne, cocktails, red and white wines, tea and coffee throughout the day, which is located at the Valley Wing Lobby. Butlers service for suites room guest, complimentary local calls and incoming fax services in the guestrooms. According to Shangri-La service features, our philosophyis showing hospitality from Caring People with warm, sincere and spontaneous services which comes from the heart. On short, it means our hotel are hosts providing warm and caring service derived from our time-honored Asian heritage. By treating our customers with respect, making the feeling recognized, anticipated and valued, we create a unique and 4

5 5 memorable experience every time. That s why we have five core values of Shangri-La Hospitality; which are Respect, Humility, Courtesy, Helpfulness, and Sincerity. These Core Values must be consistently demonstrated in all of Shangri-La hotels; however, they should be shown differently according to the culture of the city or country. We treat every single guest like family members, as for colleagues, we work as a team, treat and respect each other like family, too. C) Profit analysis Our room rate, everyday is different, depending on occupancy for the date. High seasons and low seasons will see which dates have public holiday or festival to celebrate. Statuses of revenues also depend when we have group arrive or have a big meeting, wedding in our hotel, so it depends which event we have, then our manager will have different planning. Basically, our main revenues are coming from F&B and Rooms. D) On-job-training introductions For front office training lessons will be three months, in the first month, company will ask you go to all of departments in hotel, to be familiar with hotel products and working environment. Schedule will be like these: i. Hotel Orientation Orientation Day 1 2, Shangri-La Care , Fire Safety. On the orientation day, we have to know all of hotel departments, what included the meaning for our Shangri-La brand and history. Shangri-La Care like our guiding principles, core values. Actually, they have four main lessons: first module is Shangri-La Hospitality form Caring People, talking about making customers were well taken care of, and special and important treating belief is the beginning in the creation of a strong bond between the hotel and its guests to make the customer experience our Shangri-La hotel s hospitality. Second module is Delighting 5

6 6 Customers. Delighting customers at the first glace is just not enough in today s competitive hotel business environment. We must delight our customers every single time. That is how we built customer loyalty and it is very important strategy for continued survival and success. We have to go the extra mile to delight our customers. Third module is taking ownership (?), hotel aim to create in employees the mind-set to live in an environment that is filled with Care for guests, compassion for colleagues and pride in hotel. Last one module is recovered to gain loyalty, this lesson is focus on when a mistake is made, and it must be corrected. And if recovery is done well, it may be an opportunity to gain further commitment and loyalty. ii. ii) Room induction (? Introduction??) Room organization Chart, Configuration, Familiarization, Meeting and Function Rooms, F&B Restaurants and Bars, Service Apartments and Residences, Business Centre, SPA, Gift shop, Concierge, Belldesk, Grooming Standards, Member Ship introduction, Security. iii. Opera, Minibar, Infrasys, Downtown, TESA Skills, Basic Telephone Skills, Department Core Skills Opera System is the room reservation system that all hotel departments applied right now for the convenience of reservation, and housekeeping, etc. Infrasys is F&B outlets to post or charge systems. Downtown is hotel transportation. TESA is for all hotel key card systems. For Department Core Skills like cashiering issue, cash handling, credit card, which are related with money. After three months, managers test you, to make sure all of skills are passed or not. Once confirmed by manager, you can stand alone at counter to server guest. E) Staff benefits and rewards introduction For room division in hotel, hotel will offer practitioner selected and paid for medicine fare for medical examinations. As for shift duties, you can be required to follow the shift duties; and shift duty roster will be scheduled according to the operational hours of the department you attended. As for the meal, it will be 6

7 7 provided by hotel according to the Company s rules and conditions of employment. Duty meals shall be taken at company s staff cafeteria only. Uniforms will be provided by hotel. As for medical leave and benefits, for hotel staff will be allowed for 14 days paid medical leave per year; however, medical leave taken within the first 3 months period will be considered as unpaid leave. Rest day will be applied at least one rest day per week, for annual leave will be 8 days. Night shift allowance per shift will be $9.30. Overtime allowance $6.50 per duty hour or time off. If you are hotel staff, you can enjoy hotel staff rate, including food and beverage with 50% off discount.anytime, I make the room reservation in this hotel, I can enjoy staff rate. For example, our hotel best available rate is $370++, but the staff rate is $ ; moreover, I also can enjoy tickets rounding Singapore attractions, just go to Human Resources Department to apply. F) Learning results and recommendations What kinds of job duties/responsibilities do you have? My position is Guest Service Agent, my job provides guest services, handles check in and check out of guests at the front desk, and also ensure work process and performance are in compliance with company practices, policies Shangri-La Experience and Service Standards. These are the important duties in my job. i. Conducts guest check in and check out. Our counter will handle all check-in and check-out guests in our hotel. For check-in process, we have to check with our computer to ensure reservations, assist guest to complete registration form, and issue correct keycards. For check-out process, I have to verify billing instructions upon check out and assist guest to settle all billing charges. ii. Handle reservations, cancellations, amendments and new bookings. We consistently promote benefits of higher priced rooms of the hotel, so fully aware of discounts and special rate policies and ensured that the established policies and procedures are followed; moreover, we try to sell rooms according to the room availability, rate strategy and guest preferences. iii. Provides guest with accurate information. 7

8 8 We always provides guest with updated information and attend to all enquiries courteously. iv. Ensure cash floats are balanced for reporting and auditing Preparing and balancing cash report with cash flow, list of cheques received and remittance envelope in safe box for verification. Counting money received to verify amounts received and issues appropriate receipts. To receive, validate and post to respective folios, if receive any traveler s cheques against guest passport. Verifying guest signatures for all transactions, like cash or credit card. v. Ensures that guests are properly checked out and correctly billed Print the correct folio and charge correctly, make sure guest is leaving right now, or just settle bill. vi. Ensure safety of guests Look out for any person behaving in suspicious manner and informs supervisor accordingly. vii. Other duties as assigned Conducts day to day business and internal or external relations with the code of conduct in mind and on the basis of the guiding principles and in the spirit of a Heart Warming Family.(???) Sometimes supervisors will carry out other special projects or tasks assigned. Wherever and whenever necessary, to help and assist colleagues on aspects of the job which will be helpful to all concerned. Do you feel like you have a chance to learn a variety of skills in this internship position? How about opportunities for practicing English? For my position, main job is check-in and check-out process. I also assist guests if they require some foreign curry exchange. During check-in process, I learn how to talk, how to serve, and a lot of knowledge about cash transaction or credit card transaction. Sometimes, I will try to handle with guest complain, and do service recovery. As for opportunities of practicing English, I keep practicing English, no 8

9 9 matter on speaking, listening, and English typing, because my job everyday required to use English to understand what is guest needs and wants, as well as typing for doing report for every shift. However, I still have some grammar mistakes, and I try to learn by myself, or learn from the mistakes. Do you feel like you get sufficient help/support from your supervisors/managers? Yes, I do. Since I am only trainee, and my position is level 5(?). Once I faced any difficulties, my supervisors and managers try to do their best to help meto make me think we are the work team, to treat and respect each other like family. Have you encountered problems major or minor in the course of your work? Yes, I have. Sometimes Russian guests can t speak English as well caused the, communication gap, sometimes it is a biggest challenge. Actually, some of issues are very trivial and simple to handle with them; however, due to communication gap, these issues become a very big trouble for guests or our staffs. Take the upon check-in process for example, we always ask credit card for deposit, some of guests think that they have already prepaid room fee and breakfast, how come the check-in still requested for credit deposit. This deposit is just in case, guest might use minbar or go to any outlets to order some food; however, some of guests are still declined to pay for deposit; moreover, some guests even don t understand English, then will make a lot of trouble on spending more time to explain about deposit issue. Another time, Russian guest lost her credit card, she tried to give me one credit card company number, but it is wrong number. She tried to call her friend to help her block her credit card. First, I try to use Google translation and explained to her wrong number. Then I bring her to business centre to search for correct number. Actually, it is very simple thing, but we don t know each other languages, that made me spend forty minutes to call Credit Card Company. Are you satisfied with your job performance so far? Why or why not? Yes, I am. Once I am on duty, doing check-in or check-out for guests, every time I saw their smiles that made me feel very happy and satisfied. Sometimes, I still 9

10 10 make guest angry, or guest is shouting at me; however, I see their smile at last as well as my colleagues and manager s smiles. I am very happy at all. Sometimes, it is very interesting to hear guest s story, for example, they came to our hotel for how many years, or how their business is. Every day is a fresh and new day for me, I won t hate my job because I love it. How well has your education at NKUHT prepared you for your internship? Explain. For example, are there any particular classes you've taken that you think were helpful? Or, any areas that you think NKUHT can improve on to help students be better prepared? I think more helpful class is the English Class. Our English teacher David Goodman teaches not only knowledge from text book, but also some culture from different countries, like how to say hello, thank you, their culture habits or something you can t do in their country. For my job, I have a lot of chances to meet different people, sometimes I use some simple words from their country, and they will be very happy to touch my heart. The best way to learn English is that you have to talk by yourself, don t be afraid to make mistakes at school. At least, you can learn and get better from mistakes. School can try to plan a lot of study groups (exchanged foreigner students?), can let more students to share experiences or chat with friends in English. Are you able to make time for English study there? No, because of starting to work, you will focus on work. It is really hard to have extra time to study English. During off day, most of time is all for relax, seldom for study. 7. Photos Colleagues 10

11 11 Colleagues Colleagues and Guests Cashier Drawer Money 5,000 Singapore Dollars 11

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