Food Services Management UG degree

Back office in Hotels – How Hotels are doing Maintenance, What is Front office and Back office in Hotel management

In the hotel industry, the level of
guest movement defines the practical
areas and the guests have maximum
contact with the front office. The front
office depends on the support of the
back office to function effectively. Those who serve more of a supportive role,with the minimal guests contact are considered as back of the house or back office. The maintenance department,accounts and stores department are dealt below.

a. Maintenance:

The maintenance programme of a food service department must be planned to bring about ‘sanitation’ as ‘a way of life”. Proper sanitation can be obtained through establishing high standards, on-going training, proper use of cleaning supplies, proper equipments and frequent inspections and performance reviews. The organization for maintenance begins with a list of duties to be performed
daily, weekly and monthly. Sanitation is a part of every person’s job and daily cleaning is essential.

General cleaning of floors, windows, walls, lighting fixtures and equipment is assigned to personnel. The tasks should be scheduled in rotation so a few of them are performed each day;
at the end of the week or month.
The Engineering department is
responsible for the supply of air-conditioning,lighting, mechanical, electrical, carpentry,electronic and civil works of the food service.The climate control, mechanical equipment and maintenance of furniture are taken care ofby them.

b. Security:

Both customers and employees need to feel secure while on the premises. The guest coming to the hotel should be provided with safety and security and hence it important to have a proper security system. It should protect the human beings (guests and staff) and physical resources and assets such as equipment, appliances, buildings,gardens. The security manager or the chief of security is the key person responsible for safety and security.

The objectives of the security department are to protect:

☆ Customers and their assets on the premises
☆ Employees and their assets while on the
premises
☆The hotel’s assets
☆ Data of the hotel, employees and
customers.

Patrols:

Security guards in hotels must
move around to patrol the various parts of a property. They check the doors and stairwells to make sure the locks are secure. Guards must patrol outdoors as Patrols Security guards in hotels must move around to patrol the various parts of a property. They check the doors and stairwells to make sure the locks are secure. Guards must patrol outdoors as well as activity areas such as pool and spa.
Large properties may employ a number of guards to keep up patrols and maintain communication through radios.

The director of security is a trained professional who must ensure that a busy hotel filled with guests,employees and equipment stays safe. One of the department’s goals is to prevent emergencies through planning. Thus the security department must react with speed and efficiency to serve the guest. It is a very active department,setting policies, organising programmes and delivering training programs to
promote guest and employee safety.

c. Accounts:

The organization of the accounting
department varies with the size and scope of the food service. The finance and accounts department is responsible for two major activities – the finance section and the accounts section.

The finance section is responsible for raising funds and multiplying profits.The account section monitors the revenues and expenditure of the hotel. They ensure that cash flows are available for daily operations. This is done by controlling the bank accounts and making cash available through the cashier. The account section will prepare the balance sheets and profit and loss statements of the hotel.The account section has important professionals like income accountant,ledger clerk, accounts payable clerk,salary and wage clerk, food and beverage
controller and financial controller.

d. Stores:

Proper storing of materials is very important to prevent losses from damage,pilferage and deterioration in quality of materials. The stores must therefore,be properly organised and equipped for the handling of raw materials. Ideal stock levels must be
maintained for every item of raw material so that the production department gets the required quantity of materials in time.The working capital should not be locked up in overstocking. The store department should be under the control of a technically qualified store officer.

Functions of a store-keeper:

The store keeper is a responsible
person. He has to receive the materials purchased, maintain proper records,arrange the materials properly in store, prepare purchase requisition to purchase department, report on waste and scrap,prevent unauthorised persons from entering
stores and keep stores tidy and clean.
The above functions of the store-
keeper demonstrate that store-keeping is an important factor and can make a substantial contribution to the efficient operations of a food service business.
Thus, organization is the foundation for building hotel management
structure and the evolution of all form of life of human society show the need for organization. It is important to understand the different departments in a hotel and how these departments work together. A guest coming to the hotel is interested in professional and efficient delivery of
service and good quality product and
hence a well-planned organizational
structure and culture will be able to orient, motivate and train the human resources to the maximum benefit for both the hotel as well as the employees.

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