Anatomy of the Hotel
If you asked a hotel employee what the most important department of the hotel is, you would probably get an array of different answers. And that’s not surprising. Anyone can make the argument on why a certain department is the most important department in the hotel, because each department is very important. You need every department in order to be successful. Having said that, if I had to choose one single department, I believe the most important department in the hotel is the Front Office.
And to better illustrate my point, I am going to liken a hotel and all its departments to the human body
Sales = Heart
Sales is the heart of the hotel, not in the sense that “they are kind or compassionate”, I am speaking about the organ responsible for pumping blood and oxygen supply to all other vital organs and throughout the body. The heart is important because without a heart the body cannot survive long. There are exceptions, but most likely you won’t make it past 5 minutes.
The same goes with the sales department. Their job is to get people in the door and it is everyone else’s job to make them happy and want to return. Even with excellent staff in all other departments, if business is not coming in, your hotel will die, figuratively. The rest of the hotel is employed because there are people to serve. If that goes away, you are unemployed.
GM/Finance = Brain
The GM and Finance department are the brain. The brain is also vital to human survival.It controls and coordinates actions and reactions, allows us to think and feel, and enables us to have memories and feelings – all the things that make us human.
This department is just like the brain; if the rest of the body has the ability, but the brain doesn’t give it direction, then the body goes nowhere and does nothing. In most cases, the GM has the most experience out of everyone in the hotel, and with that experience, comes the ins and outs of the industry. They know what works and doesn’t work. They can give all departments direction on where the hotel needs to go and do to be successful. If business is coming in but departments don’t have any direction on what to do or how to do it, then business will stop coming in. and just like before, if that goes away, you are unemployed.
Engineering/Maintenance = Hands
Hands are something that we take for granted. There is nothing is the world that can duplicate what our hands do for us. They truly are unique, but when was the last time you were grateful that you have hands? Think about where musicians, athletes, doctors, writers, artists and just about all active people would be without their hands? Simply put, if you didn’t have hands, life would get a lot harder, and eventually without help, you would die.
The good news is that a hotel can operate without Engineering, the bad news is, not for very long. Things break, things stop working, parts need to be replaced, things need to be ordered. Bottom line, if you don’t have someone to service your building(s) and make things new again, your beautiful hotel will fall apart and business will stop coming in. And if that goes away, you are unemployed
Housekeeping = Spine
The spine is essential to the human body because it protects the central nervous system and allows it to function optimally via the spinal cord, housed within the spine, which controls the function of every single cell, tissue and organ in the body. A healthy spine, coupled with a healthy nervous system, is crucial in terms of maintaining whole body health. Even if a human has a healthy heart, brain and limbs, without a spine, you are not able to successfully function in everyday life.
Just like the spine in the human body, even if you have a great Sales team and an awesome GM, without the housekeeping department, you are dead in the water. The amount of physical work that is required to flip a room is unmatched by any other department. Often shorthanded, there are times where they have 10 hour days just to make sure all the rooms have been serviced. Hotels are in the business of sleep. Making sure the room is clean is of the upmost importance. If the room is not cleaned properly, and the bed isn’t made or comfortable, guests are not willing to come back, and if business goes away, you are unemployed.
F&B = Stomach
The F&B department is the stomach for obvious reasons. Humans enjoy eating. Many people, myself included, suffer from what is called “hangry”. This is when people get angry or agitated quickly because they are hungry. With all the activities we do throughout our day, the human body needs energy to keep it going, and it obtains its energy by eating food. No food, we die.
Parties, weddings, social and networking events, work seminars and trainings. What do all of these have in common? Most, if not all, will have food/drink at them. Food is so important to us that even if everything in the hotel is outstanding, but the food or dining experience was bad, they are going to leave with a bad taste in their mouth, (pun intended). And on the flip side, how many times have you heard any of these? “the event was ok, but the food was amazing!” or “the wedding was beautiful and the food was to die for” or “the rooms were good, but breakfast was the best I have had in a long time!”. Dining experiences can make or break your overall success.
Front Office = Face
Being overly simplistic, comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges, the average traveler thinks that all hotels are the same, and to a large extent they are right. All hotels have nice rooms, beds, showers, pools, parking, fitness center, breakfast etc. So, if that is the case, what can we do? Customer service is the only way to truly set yourself apart from other hotels.
If you line up 20 people in a row and ask people to distinguish them by just seeing their physical heart, would they be able to do? What about their Spine? Or their Brain?Or Hands? Or Stomach? Chances are slim that they would be able to distinguish one person from another. Now, you get that same 20 people and you get to see their face. It would be a lot easier to distinguish one from another.The same thing goes for hotels and customer service.
Sure, all employees in all departments need to have customer service skills, but the Front Office does the bulk of it. They are the first and last thing guests usually see. This is why they are the face of the hotel. They drive your service scores up and your TripAdvisor score down more than any other department, hands down. When guests have an issue regardless of the department, where do they go or call? The Front Desk. Sometimes they deal with things that aren’t even their fault or in the realm of the Front Office, but it is their job to make it right. It is their job to save face (no pun intended), so that others don’t have to.
Your hotel will be more successful if you have a strong Front Office. That is why I believe the Front Office is the most important department in every hotel.
Stephen Milham
