Call directly: The advantages are plentiful. You can easily get directions for driving or for shuttles, immediate confirmation numbers, ability to ask the front desk agent or reservation taker some details about the property, etc. Different rates can be discussed. When times are competitive (summer, seasonal, sold out conditions in the area) there are less options on rates. Which is why it is good to TALK to somebody – you might find a week later the rate is 1/3rd versus your desired date. Always ask to get the lowest best available rate; be it Internet rate, on line rate, triple A, etc. One disadvantage is the cost of the phone call – unless the hotel has an 800 number. My travel advice is this is the best option, especially if you have questions about the hotel or area.

Book on line: Advantages: Generally the rate will be the lowest (at least as far as corporate and franchise direct sites go) than you will find anywhere. Most reservations are completely secure and credit card info protected. No need to wait on the phone for a human. Disadvantages: Usually more expensive than just showing up at the hotel or motel. May have to pre-pay for advance dates (doesn’t make long term financial sense) AND reservation may be non cancelable, even if months away. No communication with the hotel whatsoever so you can’t ask where the nearest 24 coffee shop is. Can’t even find hotel’s phone number on Third Party sites. Confirmation number given by Third Party sites is NOT the same number the hotels use, so checking on a reservation can be more difficult. Special Requests” are not always passed along.

There are valid reasons for using ALL of these strategies. The one that fits a majority of your needs (be it time, money or both) is the one to use even if it takes more of one than the other.

Interviews for the post of hotel front desk can be awkward and nerve-racking. In this article I would like to provide you some finest questions that are frequently asked in the interview for this post.

1. What are the roles and responsibilities of front desk staff in a hotel?The front desk staff in a hotel is responsible for taking reservations by phone, canceling reservations, checking in guests, checking guests out, and keeping the front desk area and lobby clean and presentable.

2. How would you compare your verbal skills to your writing skills?Well, both oral as well as written skills are equally important in this field. I pay equal importance to both of them and I constantly take advantage of opportunities to develop my oral and written communication skills.

3. Can you please tell us about occupation specific tasks that you have performed in your previous organization?In my previous hotel I performed variety of tasks which include checking out the in and out time of all the customers timely and creating database which include customer’s names, address, telephone numbers etc. I also supervised all the staff by assigning them work, maintained the desk area neat and clean, and managed the customer related tasks such as giving room, taking cash, providing customer requirement etc.

4. What skills and abilities will you bring to our hotel?I have more than 5 years experience in this field. I am efficient in creating database by using MS Access and SQL, supervising all the duties of staff and performing activities such as faxing, coping documents, answering phone calls and mailing. I also have excellent communicational, interpersonal, organizational and problem solving skills.

5. What do you do in your free time?This question is basically asked to know your interest and hobbies. You can impress an interviewer by your answer. You should highlight activities you enjoy that demonstrate risk taking, recharging and an outgoing personality.

Well, these are some of the frequently asked interview questions. I am very sure my article would surely help you to answer the questions with great confidence.

Find the Right Franchise

The first step in figuring out how to start a hotel franchise is deciding which franchise to pick. There are many different hotel franchises that are available to you. Finding which franchise is the best fit for you situation will take some work; you definitely will not want to just sign up for the first hotel franchise you run across. There are many factors to consider. Some of these factors are franchise fee, popularity of hotel, national versus regional appeal, how many other franchises are in the area you want to be in, and benefits offered by the franchisor.

There are many different places you can find information about hotel franchises. You can start by requesting information from each individual franchisor. You can also seek information from a magazine or Internet site that focuses on hotel franchises. Also, if you know any other hotel franchise owners, you should ask them for advice on which hotel would be good for you.

Location

After you decide which hotel franchise to open, the next step will be to find the right location. There are many factors that you will need to consider. One thing to consider is your own mobility. If you cannot move from your current location, then you will have to find a franchise that will allow you to open the hotel in the area in which you currently live.

If you do have the ability to open a hotel franchise anywhere, you may want to consider opening it in an area where tourism is big. This will give you a good base of potential customers to attract. Also, you will want to find an area where there is still demand for a hotel. In some areas, there are so many hotels that your startup may not be able to survive in that area.

The franchisor will likely have some advice and will be able to help you decide where to open up your hotel.

Advertise

Once you open up your hotel franchise, you must attract customers, otherwise your business will fail. At the beginning of your franchise, you will likely work closely with the franchisor in deciding how to advertise your hotel. You might also want to contact travel magazines and see if you can advertise in those.

Enjoy the Work

Do not get too caught up in the ins and outs of how to start a hotel franchise. It is hard work; however, you should have fun doing it as it can be a very enjoyable and profitable business.

Finding a clean hotel room

But there are easy ways to avoid filthy hotel rooms. First and most important, you can check online reviews. Any reputable hotel should have at least a few reviews online. If not, this should raise warning flags. Of course, there are some countries where the internet doesn’t have such a large role in people’s lives, so there will probably be fewer reviews, but if you’re going somewhere that you know is well-traveled and plugged in, try to find those places with abundant reviews.

Of course, any time you look at the reviews for something, there are going to be a certain number of people who give positive reviews based on nothing. In many cases, people just write online reviews of things, for whatever reason, even though they’ve never even been there. So look for the reviews that go into real detail about the place.

Meanwhile, it can be quite illuminating to skip straight to the negative reviews. You may come across a few people talking about something that really bothers you (for example, mold in the bathroom), but which doesn’t necessarily bother everyone. On the other hand, every business has a misstep here or there, so if a hotel only has one or two bad reviews, you need not take them as gospel.

What if you end up in a dirty hotel room?

In spite of your best efforts, there’s always a chance that you’re going to end up in a dirty hotel room no matter what you do. If this is the case, and if you don’t have time or money to go to a nearby hotel that is actually clean, there are certain things you can do.

First, get rid of the comforter on your bed. As soon as you get in the room, throw the comforter in the corner and leave it there. This is because many corner-cutting hotels feel that they don’t have to wash the comforter between every customer. Yes, they will give you clean sheets (and if they don’t, you’re really in trouble), but they may have no qualms about giving you the same blanket that the last guest used, which is just icky.

Second, there are certain hotspots that tend to collect germs. The big ones are the doorknobs, the telephone, the remote control, the light switches, and the drawer handles. If you sense that your room is dirty, wash these things immediately. If you don’t have any cleaning supplies, some hot water and a towel will do. And if you want to be bold, track down a housekeeping staff member, tell them your room is dirty, and ask for some spray cleaner.

Raising FundsEvery business needs money to be invested in it to function properly and when you are starting a new hotel, money is the critical element of your planning. Whether you are planning to buy an established hotel or constructing your own from the scratch, you need strong financial planning for it. The best source to raise funds is taking a business loan from a bank. You can approach to any bank of your choice but before that keep your business plan ready. Nearly all banks need a business plan as an integral part of your loan application

Location of HotelA right location matters a lot for your hotel to get success. For example if your hotel is located in an area where competitors are unable to fulfill the requirements of travelers your hotel can touch the heights of success and if your hotel is located on a walking distance from the main tourist attraction but there is lot of competition your hotel might not get enough guests. If you hotel is located near to airport or railway station or bus stand, you will get many guest without doing any thing. You also have to think that shopping places and entertainment places are easily accessible from hotel.

StrategyBusiness strategy is the foundation of successful hotel business. Your strategy should be very clear in concept without any confusion. It is better to plan your business strategies in advance. Just ask few questions to yourself like “How you will fulfill the requirements of families, kids, honeymoon couples, business travelers and international tourists.” And “What kind of services you will offer to your guest.” A good strategy is always a key to success in any business.

Hospitality ExperienceIf you are new to this industry you might face lots challenges to gain success. You must know “How you want your guests to be treated in your hotel”. Every guest in your hotel needs highest level of attention and service whether it’s a family or business traveler. It is better to first get a job in a hotel, learn some basics of hospitality industry and then start your own hotel.

MarketingOnce your hotel is up and running, you need customers. If you will not get enough guests in your hotel your business will fail. To attract guest you must run effective marketing campaign and you must advertise your hotel. You must contact travel agents and franchise to get bookings in your hotel. There are many online hotel booking websites, you must register with them. Your hotel must have an effective website of its own with online hotel booking facility so that your customers can make direct booking with you and you don’t have to pay commission to travel agent. You can pass this saving to your guest by lowering down your tariff or by providing then additional services.

The Hotel Financial Control function generally analyses the Hotel activity through a standard P&L reclassification that identifies four main departments that represent the main business area of the Hotel: Rooms Revenues, Food & Beverages, Telephone and Other Income. Rooms and F&B are the main drivers of value, while the other revenues may help the total contribution. For each of the four department the Hotel Financial Control calculates the department profit and then the cumulative Department Profit of the Hotel.

We then subtract the Undistributed Expenses (including Adm. & General, Marketing, Repairs and Maintenance, Energy Costs, etc.) to obtain the Gross Operating Profit of the Hotel and we subtract Fixed Charges (including Equipment and other Rent/lease, Real Estate and other Taxes, Building and other Insurance, etc.) to obtain the Net Operating Income. The main size and performance measure in the Hotel industry are identified as the Occupancy Rate, multiple occupancy factor, annual sleepers, GUR (number of sleepers per available bed) ARR (Average Room Rate), Revenues PAR (per available room), Revenues POR (Per Occupied Room). The main profitability measures of an Hotel are based on Gross Operating Income (GOI-Par and GOI-Por) and to Net Operating Income (NOI-Par and NOI-Por). Hotel valuation multiples are often linked to RevPar, GopPar and NoiPar.

Nice, but it is time to make few changes. Although the Hotel industry is less subject to rough changes, there are two drivers that would suggest to the Hotel Financial Control to make some development to the above reclassification: Internet based booking and the new Real Estate financial structures. Let’s see how these drivers may lead to some upgrades in our way to look at the accounts of an Hotel.

Hotel bookings include direct bookings at the Hotel (via telephone or Internet based), “chain” label driven bookings and Internet media bookings (via major Internet bookings media). Each of these channel requires a different organisation structure, different contracts and different costs. It is not a simple sales and marketing choice with associated Sales and Marketing costs: the decision to stress the Internet channel changes rather than the traditional channels dramatically change the Hotel operations and the Hotel P&L. We worked as Advisor together with an Hotel manager in a famous location in Italy. We decided that the “chain” label driven booking was too expensive and could be replaced by Internet media bookings. The result was an increase in the overall Hotel occupancy rate with no decrease in the Avg Room Rate. The installation of the new system required an overall three months investment, peanuts in comparison with what the Hotel was paying to have a famous label on the door. But in order to really monitor each cent of cost we needed to chance the Hotel Financial Control system.

The issue is: Is it correct that the Hotel Financial Control considers Sales costs as Undistributed Expenses, as these costs are not evenly insisting on the different revenue stream? In other words: what we noticed is that the Sales channel brings different Sales costs on Room Dept and on F&B Dept. If these is the case, we might therefore decide to include the different impact of Sales channel expenses on the department. P&L with more accuracy.

A different issue on the Hotel Financial Control structure rely upon the new Real Estate ownership. Hotel Real Estate are increasingly owned by financial investors that very little care about the characteristics of the Hotel business and are very demanding: they require a stable financial flow, possibly a higher reward based on the performance of the Hotel and they look at long-term capital appreciation. The structure of the lease / rent contract and its cost is therefore not simply one of the fixed costs of the Hotel but is “the” cost. The Hotel Financial Control cannot simply include this in a row down in the P&L, but a much in depth analysis is needed. We might want to include the contingency share of the lease /rent in operating expenses so that our Dept. profit really reflects the profit to the firm. In addition we might want to define into a proper P&L figure the relevant lease / rent expenses.

Finally a few words on other issues: telephone revenues and SPA revenues.

Everybody attending an hotel owns at least one mobile telephone and pretends full Internet coverage: Hotel telephone revenues are therefore limited. The wellness area, including SPA and fitness revenues instead are increasing: the Hotel Financial Control often replaces the telephone Dept line with the SPA Dept. line.

As Advisor in this industry, we are therefore challenged with the clients’ need for further improvements in Hotel Financial Control so that it really supports the management in its decisions.

They are classified as City Hotels (which mainly cater for Business Guest), Resorts (which cater for Guests on Holiday or on Vacation in Holiday and Beach Side Destinations), Airport Hotels (which are close to Airports and mostly cater to transit Airline Passengers and Airline Crew), Casino Hotels (Hotels which have licensed Gambling facilities), Convention Hotels (which have Convention and Meeting facilities for large number of Guests), Motels (Mainly in the US, which cater to Guests Traveling by road and who wish to stop over for overnight) , Bed and Breakfast (Mainly in Europe, which are small Hotels catering for Guest at reasonable pricing).

Letting out Guest Rooms, Letting out Conference Rooms for Meetings and Conferences, Letting out Ballrooms for Weddings and Functions and Sale and Service of Food and Drink in Restaurants and Bars are the primary source of Revenue on which Hotels rely.

As time passed by Hotels started generating Revenues from Spa (Providing Massage and Treatment Services) ,Health Club (Gym), Boutiques in the Hotel Lobby, Golf, Outside Catering, Serving Airlines through Flight Catering etc.

The primary Operational Departments of a Hotel are Front Office Department, House Keeping Department, Food and Beverage Service Department, Food Production Department (Kitchen).

Front Office and House Keeping Departments together are also known as Rooms Division Department.

Front Office Department deals with Guests Reservations: for Guests who want to stay in the Hotel , it also deals with Guest Registration when Guest check in to the Hotel, through dealing with Guest requests and Complaints during a Guest stay in the Hotel to finally collecting and processing Guest Payments, when Guest Finally check out of the Hotel.

In smaller Hotels Front Office Department is simply known as Reception.

Receptionists, Guest Service Agents, Cashiers and Front Office Manager form part of this Department.

Second Operational Department which is closely related to Front Office Department is House Keeping Department, which deals with the cleaning of Guest Rooms and Public Areas (Restaurants, Bars, Conference Halls, Ball Rooms and Offices etc).

In medium sized to big Hotels House Keeping Department also has an on premises Laundry for the washing of Guest Room Linen (Bed Sheets, Towels, Pillow Cases etc), Guest Clothes (for an extra Fee) and Staff Uniforms. In smaller Hotels this function is normally outsourced.

In smaller Hotels it’s simply known as Maid Service.

Room Maids, Housemen, Laundry Supervisor and Executive House Keeper form part of this Department.

Third Operational Department is Food and Beverage Service Department, which is a collection of all Restaurants, Bars, Conference halls and Ball rooms in the Hotel. It also includes Room Service.

Waiters, Bartenders, Restaurant Manager, Bar Manager, Room Service Manager, Banquet Manager and Food and Beverage Manager form part of this Department.

This Department deals with the Service of Food and Drink to the Guest and later for the collection of Payment from Guest.

Fourth Operational Department in a Hotel is Food Production Department or Kitchen. They cook Food for the Guests in the Restaurant, Bar, Room Service, Conferences, Functions and Weddings.

Cooks, Kitchen Stewards, Commis, Chef de Parties and Executive Chef form part of this Department.

Other than the four main operational departments mentioned above there are small ancillary departments which help in the proper functioning of a Hotel.

They are:

Accounts Department: Deals with the Money of the Hotel: all the Receipts and Payments of Money .Check if everything is accounted for and there is no pilferage (Stealing). Pays Salaries to Staff, Payments to Suppliers and deals with Books of Accounts for Taxation purpose. They also make regular reports for Owners and Managers, to give them the correct financial picture (if the Hotel is making Profit or Loss).

Human Resources or Personnel Department: This Department Recruits or Hires new staff deals with Employee Disciplinary Procedures, Employee Reward and Recognition Systems, Staff Attendance, Staff Holidays and Leave, Hiring, Firing, Promotions, Demotions and Transfers of Staff. They also deal with Employee Benefits like Social Security, Employee Insurance, Health and Safety of Staff and matters related to Staff Pay.

Training Department: This Department is part of Human Resources Department, deals mainly with Staff Training.

Sales and Marketing Department: deals with promoting the Hotel and its Restaurants and Bars to increase the Room Occupancy and Sales and to also increase sales of Restaurants, Bars, Functions and Conferences. They also take care of Advertising, Promotions and Public Relations of the Hotel.

Engineering and Maintenance Department: deals with the proper maintenance of Hotel Building and Equipment, lighting, Air Conditioning, Hot and Cold Water in Rooms and Restaurants, Plumbing, Painting, Carpentry Repairs etc.

Purchase Department: deals with the Purchase of Goods and Items (Food, Drink, Stationery and Equipment etc), required for the proper functioning of a Hotel.

Store Department: deals with the Receiving, Storage and Issuing of Goods and Items (Food, Drink, Stationary and Equipment etc) to various Departments in the Hotel.

Security Department: deals with the Security of Staff, Guests and the Hotel Property.They are also responsible for the Fire Safety.

Finally, there is the IT (Information Technology) Guy, who takes care of the Computers and the Networking Systems in the Hotel, Hotel Website, Emails and Printers etc

Every Department can function on its own with a Department Head/Supervisor. But, to give proper Guest Service, Maintain Standards and to Increase Hotel Revenue you need a coordinator who can coordinate, guide and control all the Departments in the Hotel. That is when the Hotel Manager/ General Manager come in, to coordinate the Functions of all the Departments and take the Hotel in the right direction.

So in a nutshell, Managing Hotel is all about keeping the Guest happy by providing him good product (Room, Food and Drink) and service and thus ensuring his/her return which will ultimately lead to the profitability of the Hotel and its Owners. This is just a brief introduction to Manage Hotel or a Resort.

Okay, okay, so you cannot technically join the mile-high club in the first Arlanda Airport hostel to be built inside a plane. Yes, the Jumbo Hostel, opening in December 2008, is built inside an old Boeing 747-200 with 25 rooms and 85 beds. And, they are calling it a hostel so most of the rooms will have three bunk beds meaning you may have to share with other travelers. But you can have the mile-high experience in general by sleeping in this hotel. Let your dreams take you to the skies. And, nudge nudge, wink wink, if there is an empty room and/or the manager is in a good mood, you may be able to get a room to yourself with your partner such as in the former cockpit area and now a deluxe suite.

Once this hostel opens, it will officially become the coolest Stockholm Airport hotel. Where else can you say you slept in an airplane hotel? Also, if you do not want to sleep there but just want to see what all the excitement is about, you can just drop in as they will have a cafe and windows for people to watch the traffic in to and out of Stockholm-Arlanda airport. They have even opened up one wing for walking on so you can experience what it feels like to stand on the wing of a jumbo jet. Reportedly, in the future they will hold wedding ceremonies on the wing as well.

Now travelers looking for a Stockholm Airport hotel need not pay hotel prices if you are just looking for a few hours of shuteye or a bed to sleep for the night before your early morning flight. It will be much more comfortable then sleeping uncomfortable airport terminal chairs I am sure. You can just stay at the new Arlanda Airport hostel, the Jumbo Hostel. It is in the perfect place as it is just 10 minutes walk from the check-in counter. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be sure to check it out next time I am there. It has to be one of the coolest hostels in Stockholm or the world.

Hotel Mallika, Chennai is close to the business areas in Chennai and the other sight seeing attractions such as Marina Beach. You can avail of car rental service from the hotel reception. The room rates are quite competitive in comparison to other Chennai hotels of similar class. The rooms are categorized into single, double and suite rooms. All rooms have air conditioned and even the hotel is centrally air conditioned. The staff is polite and you can avail of 24 hour room service. The guests can also order food to their rooms.

Hotel Mallika prides itself in providing the best hospitality to all its guests. In this hotel the guests is made to feel at home. Additional facilities include doctor on call, laundry and safe deposit vault. Foreign exchange service is made available at the reception desk. The hotel also boasts of world class business facilities and is an ideal choice for business meetings and seminars.

All rooms have elegant furniture to provide a comfortable ambience. All rooms are tastefully decorated catering to the various requirements of the guests. The deluxe suites and rooms have a mini fridge as well. The restaurants serve excellent South Indian cuisine and this cuisine is popular throughout India. The restaurant has a concept of open kitchen where you can see your food getting prepared. The restaurant serves excellent starters, main dishes and desserts. It constantly innovates with its dishes to churn out tastier and better cuisines. This is definitely a true value for money destination for anyone coming to the city. And one can reach anywhere in the city within a short period of time because of the central location of your hotel. Your stay Chennai is surely going to be very comfortable.

When people travel for business or pleasure, their basic requirement is a place to stay. Thus the world saw a surge of hotel industry development all over the world. Hotels these days provide rooms to stay along with attach toilets and baths, and most of the time some or all meals to the customers.

Hotels are categorized into numerous types. Common types of hotels are the airport, convention, economy, commercial, luxury and grand hotels. These classifications are done on the basis of room rate per night, level of service, the type of customers they attract, facilities they provide and the area where they are located. For instance commercial hotels attract the business class traveling for work thus they are located in the midst of the city. The room rates are a bit higher as the working class is willing to pay more for a comfortable stay.

Within these categories, the type of service and number of facilities can be judge by the rating system developed by different countries for the convenience of customers. These ratings are developed and given by government or private agencies, differing from country to country.

All of us have seen the stars associated with different hotels and consider 5 or 7 star property as having the highest standard hotels. These hotels provide personalized service with elegance and beautiful ambience, finest amenities, luxury gyms, swimming pools, gourmet restaurants, and 24 hours room service. A 4 star hotel offers above average staying, dining and shopping experience to all. A 3 star hotel offers good and clean rooms, spacious lobbies and dining areas. Small fitness centers, swimming pool and valet parking maybe provided. A 2 star hotel give consistent service. They have clean rooms with TVs but no room service. A small restaurant may be present. A 1 star hotel is a small property with the most basic facilities. Restaurant and transport facilities are usually located nearby the property.

Knowing beforehand what type of hotels provide the facilities according to your requirements and budget helps a great deal in opting for the right hotel during travel.