The Bartlett House is a well-known hotel in Central City. For years, it has served as the center of social occasions and most of the business functions in the city. Knowing that the hotel was starting to show some age, the owners o( the Bartlett House decided to sell the hotel to a group of local investors, who appointed John Richards as the new General Manager. One of John's first challenges is to improve hotel revenues and guest perception of the property.
Caroline Kramer is the front desk manager at the Bartlett House. She has been at the hotel for several years and knows the guests and procedures very well. John and Caroline meet to determine what can be done to meet the new owners' objectives. John asks Caroline how long it takes to check a guest into the hotel. Caroline answers about five minutes per guest. John recognizes that this is a long time for a guest, especially if there is a long line at the front desk. He also asks Caroline if the front desk upsells. Caroline tells John they did before she got there, and she was told it wasn't very successful.
John asks Caroline to develop a plan to improve the speed of check-in and also to upsell guestrooms.
Discussion Questions
1. What are the front desk procedures Caroline·should look at to speed the check-in process? What other departments should Caroline be working with on this plan?