Introduction
The administrative operation of the hotel is defined as management and coordination of all the tasks such as staff scheduling, guest record keeping, budgeting, compliance with regulations, etc. Reception/ front office is considered as one of the crucial departments of the hotel that manages all the activities like allocating rooms and handing over keys, checking in guests, answering questions about facilities, etc. Apart from this, the current reflective log will be based on my personal experience for the work placement in the front office department as supervisor through the Gibbs reflective model. My learning objectives by placing as a supervisor in the front office will be
- Developing strong guest service skills
- Building problem-solving capabilities
- Developing effective team leadership
- Maintaining a positive and welcoming guest experience
Section 1: Reflection On Experience And Personal Development
I reflect my overall placement experience and personal development through Gibb’s reflective model. It is considered as one of the critical framework that are used by the people to learn from the experience (Structural learning, 2024) Being a supervisor in the Front office department, my overall experience was good because I learned about various aspects in relation to hotel administration. After placing as a supervisor in front office department of Holiday Inn, I improved my various skills and gained technical knowledge from which I will be able to provide better services to the guests. Before placing in Holiday inn, I worked as a supervisor in Premier Inn and doing the check-ins and check outs. My previous experience has significant contribution in performing my roles and responsibilities as supervisor in effective and efficient manner. Additionally, during placement I developed various skills such as teamwork, communication, task management etc., from which I will be competent to manage all the roles properly. These skills will be important for the supervisors of hotel in order to meet the guest service standards.
Additionally, communication is considered as one of the critical skill that is important for the supervisor of front office department for the administration of hotel in successful manner (Patafta and Milohnić, 2022). During placement I also developed communication skill from which I will be able to handle concerns of guests, managing teams and develop positive relationships with customers. Through this skill, I will be able to convey the information about the facilities of Holiday Inn in clear and concise way which enhance positive experience of guests and improve their loyalty. On the other hand, before placing in Holiday Inn I feel bit nervous and tired because of high volume of guests. But after a month, I felt confident because I develop teamwork and task management skills. Development of these skills will be beneficial for me because it helps me in enhancing my professional and personal life successfully. Teamwork is considered as one of the significant skill for the supervisor of front office within hotel because it helps in managing all the administrative tasks in effective manner (Talawanich and Wattanacharoensil, 2021). With the help of teamwork skill, I will be easily collaborate with the members and encourage them to provide better experience and services to the guests. Apart from this, my personal and vocational development as well as academic journey also has an immersive contribution in developing the work-based skills and technical knowledge for the administration of hotel.
Section 2: Critical Analysis Of Work-Based Skills And Technical Knowledge
As per the view of Han (2022), communication, teamwork, task management, personal etc., are significant skills that are important for the supervisor of front office for the overall administration of tasks. For example, being a supervisor in front office of Holiday Inn, with the help of communication skill, I was able to enhanced customer service, better staff coordination, increase guest satisfaction and reduce errors which eventually generate higher revenue and better reputation. As critically contended by Capua (2021), effective communication skill helps in developing rapport with guests, resolving challenges effectively and promoting strong teamwork among the staff which positively influence on the overall hotel management. In addition to this, teamwork is another crucial work-based skill that is important in managing administration of hotel. Without effective communication skill, I was not able to convey information to the guests and strengthening strong relationships with them which eventually negatively impact on their experience.
Apart from this, my overall placement experience was good because I learned to maintain a professional attitude while communicating with guests and also developed teamwork skill. According to Donate et al, (2022), teamwork skill is crucial for hotel administration because it helps in handling room services, checking guests in and out as well as managing reservations which leads to increase customer satisfaction and improve productivity. For example, developing teamwork skill was beneficial for me because it helped me in enhancing the experience of guests by providing better services or facilities, better problem-solving, increase operational efficiency and streamline the overall process. On the other hand, task management is another important work-based skill that is important for supervisor of front office for hotel administration.
As per the thought of Bhardwaj and Kalia (2021), task management skill facilitates efficient operations by permitting managers to allocate time effectively, prioritizing tasks and ensuring the smooth functioning of front office department. My overall placement experience in Holiday Inn was good because I developed my task management skill. With the help of task management skill, I was competent to improve overall efficiency of Holiday Inn by prioritizing tasks and managing time effectively. Through this skill, I was also able to improve experience of guests by completion all the tasks such as room preparation, check-in and checkout processes etc.
Section 3: Reflection On Organisational Issues
Placing as supervisor in front office department within Holiday Inn was not an easy task for me because I encountered issue related to people management. This issue directly impacted my overall experience and operation of front office or reception department. I face this challenge due to lack of collaboration and interrelationship skills. For the effective administration of hotel , people management is significant because it directly affects the experience and satisfaction of the guests. Due to ineffective people management, I faced the challenges of low employee morale, high staff turnover, operational inefficiencies, poor guest services etc.
For the effective administration of hotel, it will be crucial for manager to mitigate the issue of people management by facilitating clear communication, comprehensive training and fostering team environment (Armstrong and Taylor, 2023). On the other hand, for the people management the manager of chosen hotel will also need to adopt human relation theory. Adoption of this theory will be useful because it helps in managing the people effectively by strengthening strong relationships with them. This theory is emphasizing on developing interpersonal relationships with the people and sense of belonging within the hotel which leads to increase attraction and retention rates (Van der Bijl-Brouwer, 2022).
|
Issue |
Actions |
Time frame |
|
People management |
Facilitate effective communication and fostering positive environment |
Within 2 months |
|
Provide comprehensive training |
Within 3 months |
|
|
Implement human relation theory |
Within 4 months |
Conclusion
From the reflective log it has been concluded that my overall experience as a supervisor in front office within Holiday Inn was good because I developed various work-based skill and technical knowledge. During my placement experience, I build various skills such as teamwork, communication, task management etc., from which I was able to meet guest service standards and provide better services to them. On the other hand, during my placement experience I also faced issue of people management due to lack of collaboration and interpersonal skills. To mitigate this issue, Holiday Inn will need to facilitate effective communication, provide comprehensive training and implement human relation theory.
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Refreneces
Books and Journals
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2023. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice: A guide to the theory and practice of people management. Kogan Page Publishers.
Bhardwaj, B. and Kalia, N., 2021. Contextual and task performance: role of employee engagement and organizational culture in hospitality industry. Vilakshan-XIMB Journal of Management, 18(2), pp.187-201.
Capua, L.T., 2021. Employability Skills and competencies of hospitality management students: Basis for enhanced curriculum. Review of International Geographical Education Online, 11(10), pp.471-486.
Donate, M.J., González-Mohíno, M., Appio, F.P. and Bernhard, F., 2022. Dealing with knowledge hiding to improve innovation capabilities in the hotel industry: the unconventional role of knowledge-oriented leadership. Journal of Business Research, 144, pp.572-586.
Han, J.W., 2022. A review of antecedents of employee turnover in the hospitality industry on individual, team and organizational levels. International Hospitality Review, 36(1), pp.156-173.
Patafta, D. and Milohnić, I., 2022. Challenges of managerial communication in hotel business operations. In 26th Biennial International Congress Tourism & Hospitality Industry-Trends and Challenges (pp. 209-225). University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management.
Talawanich, S. and Wattanacharoensil, W., 2021. Transforming graduates into successful hotel management trainees: Exploring important management trainee competencies. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 21(1), pp.43-71.
van der Bijl-Brouwer, M., 2022. Service designing for human relationships to positively enable social systemic change.
Online
Structural learning, 2024. Gibbs reflective model. Online. Available through: < https://www.structural-learning.com/post/gibbs-reflective-cycle>
