Lessons learnt from small hotel management and their application to school administration

Abstract

The past Summer 1988 I passed three weeks off ice and other observation at a small hotel in Gozo. As already said the hotel is a small one, and although this has to be kept in mind, finds there are still all the divisions and sections one in a big hotel. Thus, there is the front office or reception with its corresponding section in the office as will be explained. There is of course the bar, the restaurant, there is the housekeeping section, the repairs and maintenance section, purchases section, marketing section, registry section in the office, the accounts section and there is the manager which coordinates all. In this study importance is going to be given to the human relations aspect. And this besides the correlation that will be made as far as possible with a school. The first section that is going to be dealt with is the front office. It is here that the guest has his first glimpse of the hotel. The receptionist gives the guest the first welcome. He is very courteous with the visitors. Their personal details are taken down. They are welcomed as nicely as possible. They are given the rooms and a sheet with information on the hotel, such as time of breakfast, lunch and dinner and other information. The guests are assured that if they need anything every effort will be made to give them what they want. But the most important part the front office plays is that honesty is to prevail in describing the rooms and services when a booking is made. Today many bookings are made by phone and these are all tackled at the front office. Honesty may sometimes lose a client if what he wants is not available, but it is still the best policy. It is not honest to describe a room with a sea view if it only has a very small partial view. In fact, there were occasions when in trying to sell the least good rooms, other rooms were booked. would - be clients were told all other rooms were booked. But still, the rooms are well described. And even this is done with a certain discretion. Thus, it may be done with clients whom it is known spend a little time in the room and are practically all the time outside in the sun. Some complaints do arise and these are usually made at the front office. And the way complaints are treated is very important. All complaints are verified immediately and attended to. There are some occasions when the client is not right. And this has to be met very tactfully. There are occasions when a client, although told when booking that the room has to use a common bathroom, the client complains about this. But the client is told that he was advised about it and he is told that the name of the person who booked him is recorded. […] What relation is there between a headmaster's office and a hotel front office? There is a lot. Just as the hotel's front office is the first welcome of guests to the hotel, in the same way a headmaster's office is the place where people who for any reason or other come to the school get their welcome. It is a procedure that all people coming to the school should first speak to the headmaster. The headmaster should be polite towards the people. He is representing the school including the staff. The way he treats the people will go a lot towards the making of the impression on the people's minds. […]