1

Internship Report

“A Study on functions of three key departments of Dhaka

Regency Hotel and Resort, performance measurement and

analysis of guest satisfaction survey”

Submitted to :

Rumana Parveen

Assistant Professor

Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Faculty of Business Studies

University of Dhaka

Submitted by :

Istiak Ahmed

Roll: 33

Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management (4th batch)

Faculty of Business Studies

University of Dhaka

2

30 April 2015

Rumana Parveen

Assistant Professor

Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Faculty of Business Studies

University of Dhaka

Subject: Submission of internship report on “A Study on functions of three key departments

of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort, performance measurement and analysis of guest

satisfaction survey”

Ma‘am,

I am pleased to submit this internship report titled “A Study on functions of three key

departments of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort, performance measurement and analysis

of guest satisfaction survey” for fulfilling requirement of the course internship program. It was

my endeavor to present all that I learned during my three months internship period and analyze

the gathered guest satisfaction data on Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort.

It will be my profound pleasure if this report can give a fair idea on the concerned issue. I hope

you will be pleased to accept my report and oblige thereby.

Sincerely yours

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Istiak Ahmed

Roll: 33

Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Faculty of Business Studies

University of Dhaka

Letter of transmittal

3

For three months from February 2015 to April 2015, I did my internship at Dhaka Regency Hotel

and Resort. My induction into three different divisions of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort; one

of the country‘s best five-star hotels allowed me to practically experience the world of tourism

and hospitality businesses in my country Bangladesh. As a ‗to be‘ graduate of ‗Tourism and

Hospitality Management‘ from the country‘s best business school, I earned good grace of the

directors of each division. I found that most of the managers working in the organization started

as amateurs without any degree in this field of study. They somehow migrated to Middle East or

other foreign countries and started from lowest ranks in hotels over there. They learned from

mistakes and experiences. After 15-20 years of stay, they came back and joined. They often tell

me if they had sophisticated excellent tourism education, they could direct and train the

employees more efficiently and could climb the ladder much faster. Proper degree in this field is

imperative for planning, problem solving, business expansion and to come up with original

innovative concepts (still tourism remains relatively unexplored industry of all). Only degree

without industry attachment or practical ‗know how‘ is like a tiger without claw. Therefore, I

needed to ensure that I get proper training during the internship period. And Dhaka Regency

fulfilled my wish.

In this report, I will describe my experience during the internship period. This report contains the

company profile, the functions of three different departments of the hotel, evaluation of the

performance, difference between the performance of pre and post political instability period and

analysis of guest satisfaction survey.

Preface

4

For this opportunity I thank:

Mr. Shahid Hamid FIH, executive director of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort who

accommodated me and arranged specialized learning materials to fortify my learning.

Mr. ATM Ahmed, director food and beverage department of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort

who prepared learning materials concerning knowledge on food and beverage departments dspite

being a busy person and inspired me to attend different functions as a part of his team.

Mr. Humayun Kabir, restaurant manager of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort who helped my

induction and gave hands on training on restaurant services. I also thank him for sharing real life

stories that are thought provoking.

Mr.Gazi; front office manager of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort who let me stand at the front

desk and thus gave the opportunity to learn by doing which is inaccessible for most trainees.

Mr. Bipu, housekeeping manager for his friendliness and flexibility to my conditions and

providing me with the resources on the housekeeping department of Dhaka Regency.

And of course…

Rumana Parveen Ma‘am for vital supervision during my internship period despite being

preoccupied with her professional and personal life.

Beside my internship, I really enjoyed spending time with the Dhaka Regency team. I thank

them for creating such beautiful experience for me.

5

If I sum up my internship experience in 150 words, I only have to mention the titles of the

contents briefly. It was 3 months of continuous learning from the experienced directors and

managers directly. In this report, I tried to illustrate the functions of each of three departments

including the deviation from the standard benchmarking. Sometimes it is justified acting by not

following rules. I presented the organization chart of those departments, which differs from

organization to organization. I presented the screenshot of the front office software HMS that

Dhaka Regency MIS department developed according to their needs. I showed ‗square feet

/minute‘ cleaned by each of Regency staff that presents the skill of housekeeping department.

Now it is possible to compare their skill against the international standard. After that, I thought it

is important to present the performance fluctuation of Dhaka Regency before and after the

political instability in Bangladesh. It will present the importance of stable political condition for

tourism businesses. I will include the guest satisfaction survey that will present guest attitude to

check in to checkout services provided by Dhaka Regency Hotel.

At the end, I will finish the report recommending probable solutions to the problems found and

suggestions to improve quality of service.

Abstract

6

Contents Page No.

Abbreviations and acronyms 1-2

Chapter One

1 Introduction 3

1.1 Background of the study 4

1.2 Objective of the study 5

1.3 Scope of the study 5

1.4 Methodology of the study

1.4.1 Source of data

1.4.2 Data collection method

6-7

1.5 Limitation 8

Chapter Two

2. Hotel industry in Bangladesh and induction of Dhaka Regency Hotel 9-11

2.1 Company profile and literature review:

Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort

12-13

2.2 Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort: Mission & Vision 13

2.3 Departments of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort 14

2.4 Different services at Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort 15-16

Table of contents

7

Chapter Three

3. Internship activities (Week 01-Week 12) 17-19

Chapter Four

4. Discussions analysis and findings 20

4.1 Food and beverage department 20

4.1.1 F&B organization chart of Dhaka Regency 21-24

4.1.2 F&B department segments 24-29

4.1.3 Standard operating procedures: Steps of F&B product control 30

4.1.4 Identified problems in Dhaka Regency F&B department 30

4.2 Housekeeping Department 31

4.2.1 Functions of housekeeping department of Dhaka Regency 31

4.2.2 Liaison of housekeeping department with other departments 32

4.2.3 Types of room at Dhaka Regency Hotel 32-34

4.2.4 Housekeeping organization chart: Dhaka Regency 35

4.2.5 Dhaka Regency housekeeping staff performance measurement 35-36

4.3 Front office department 37

4.3.1 Front office organization chart of Dhaka Regency 37

4.3.2 Dhaka regency Front office layout design 38

4.3.3 Front office functions and guest interaction 39

4.3.4 Dhaka Regency property management software: HMS 40-47

4.3.5 Planning and evaluating operation of Dhaka Regency 48-50

4.4 SWOT analysis on Dhaka Regency Hotel 51-56

4.5 Dhaka Regency‘s performance measurement with RevPAR 57-59

8

4.6 Dhaka regency‘s strength measurement criteria 60-65

4.7 Guest Satisfaction survey analysis 66-71

Chapter Five

5.1 Recommendations 72

5.2 Conclusion 73

Appendices 74

Reference/ Bibliography 75

9

Name of the figure Page No.

1. Dhaka Regency operation timeline 11

2. At a glance information on Dhaka Regency Hotel 12

3. Types of departments at Dhaka Regency Hotel 14

4. Meeting and even facilities at Dhaka Regency Hotel 16

5. F&B division organization chart 21

6. F&B division segments of Dhaka Regency Hotel 24

7. Kitchen layout of Dhaka Regency Hotel 26

8. Front office staff checklist form: afternoon shift 28

9. Steps of F&B product control 30

10. Liaison of Dhaka Regency housekeeping department 32

11. Room categories at Dhaka Regency 33-34

12. Housekeeping department organization chart 35

13. Dhaka Regency housekeeping staff‘s performance measurement 35

14. Room attendant checklist 36

15. Front office organization chart of Dhaka Regency 37

16. Front office layout of Dhaka Regency 38

17. Front office functions and guest interaction 39

18. HMS property management system screenshots 40-47

19. Daily business report sample 48

20. Business performance comparison (Dhaka Regency vs. Hotel

Sarina)

49

List of Figures

10

21. Pre and post political instability performance of Dhaka Regency 50

22. SWOT analysis 51

23. Average monthly RevPAR (Jan14-Jun14) Regency vs Sarina 58

24. Dhaka Regency‘s RevPAR (Jan14 vs Jan15) 58

25. Dhaka Regency‘s strength measurement criteria 60

26. Strength measurement likert 61

27. 6 different strength measurement segments 62-64

28. Average result of measurement segments 65

29. Guest satisfaction survey paper 66

30. What was the purpose of the trip? 67

31. How did you come to know about Dhaka Regency? 67

32. Guest rating on arrival and departure service 69

33. Guest rating on dining 70

34. Guest rating on recreation 71

35. Guest rating on executive club lounge 71

11

-Back to Back: A sequence of consecutive group departures and arrivals usually arranged by tour

operators so rooms are never vacant; a floor plan design that brings the piping of adjacent baths

into a common shaft.

-Bed Tax: A tax added to the price of a hotel room.

-Benchmarking: Comparing results with similar tourism businesses or assessing the business

against an industry average.

-Block: An agreed: upon number of rooms set aside for members of a group planning to stay at a

hotel

-Booking: Term used to refer to a completed sale by a destination, convention centre, facility,

hotel or supplier (ie convention, meeting, trade show or group business booking).

-Complimentary: No charge is made for the item or service offered.

-Galileo: Airline reservation system.

-Gateway or Gateway City: A major airport, rail or bus centre through which tourists and

travellers enter from outside the region.

-Global distribution system (GDS)

-Gross Rate: Same as rack rate. The accommodation rate quoted to the public. Group,

convention, trade show, meeting and incentive rates are negotiated by the hotel and program

organisers.

-Group Rate: Negotiated hotel rate for convention, trade show, meeting, tour or incentive groups.

- V Vacant

- VC Vacant Clean

- VD Vacant Dirty

- VCI Vacant Clean Inspected

- OC Occupied clean

- OD Occupied Dirty

- ONL Occupied No Luggage

- C/O Check out

- S/O Sleep out

- OO Out of order

- VIP Very important person

- SA Special attention

-DND Do not disturb

Abbreviations and acronyms

12

- HMS: Hotel Management System

-PMS: Property Management System

-SWOT: Strength, weakness, opportunity and threat

-F&B: Food and beverage

-GDS : Global Distribution Service

-GIT (Group Independent Travel):

13

CHAPTER ONE

Hospitality industry today is expanding fast by the grace of globalization. Business arena has

been expanding globally with newest technological invention. As well as patterns of Lifestyle

and Leisure period spending style changed a lot. To keep up with the ever changing demand and

to get a hold of newest market segment keeping pace with dynamism and variety, innovative

ideas taking over old ones and evolving every day. Hotel industry of Bangladesh has been

expanding rapidly. In first decade of 21 century three 5 star hotel and about 50 three star hotels

to Luxury guest houses have been established all over the country. This indicates the demand of

standard accommodation facilities for both domestic and international business and leisure

tourists. The transformative education process like internship program consists of developing full

personal and professional potential and involves addressing six key areas of development. These

are internationality, guided hands-on learning, professionalism in the workplace, progressive

learning principles, soft skill development and ultimately, employability. Internships are

important, in terms of both employability and creating future industry leaders. If employees are

already operational when they start, this will fast track them in the right direction, achieving

middle management and executive levels at an increased rate. Internships as a route to entry have

a proven success rate. Internship at Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort was productive and helped

to achieve a professional edge.

During my internship period, I worked in three different departments: food and beverage, front

office and housekeeping and tried to gather knowledge from each of them. I will describe my

experience during the internship period. This report contains the company profile, the functions

of three different departments of the hotel, evaluation of the performance, difference between the

performance of pre and post-political instability period and analysis of guest satisfaction survey.

Introduction

14

The Dhaka Regency hotel is one of the most exquisite, exclusive and magnificent business-class

five star hotels in Bangladesh. It is located on Dhaka Airport road in the commercial area of

Nikunja. Dhaka Regency has consistently sought to bring together the finest in art and

architecture, comfort and cuisine leisure and fun to create each moment is for Guests to enjoy.

Experience the premier choice of hotel in Dhaka; where it offers the personalize comfort for

guest to enjoy. The Dhaka Regency hotel is the city‘s diplomatic zones and a host of attractions

with a brand new streamlined approach to service. The Regency Hotel is renowned for its

outstanding professional services. Spectacular fifteen-story‘s tower, the Dhaka Regency hotel

has 310 luxury and suite rooms plan. At present 110 luxury rooms and suites are having guest

accommodation and rest of 200 are under decoration, more than any other hotel in Bangladesh.

Its guests will enjoy extensive facilities and extra privileges, including highly acclaimed spa,

personal butler service, private VIP lounge and an endless variety of activities. Fresh perspective

at this new hotel in Dhaka where the spectacular hospitality, freedom and luxury is set only for

guest. For its guest it has assembled state-of-the-art conference and exhibition halls charged with

breathing vibrancy, warmth light, synergistic swimming pool, lobby area, new revolving

restaurants and health center on the rooftop offering unrivalled panoramic views of the Dhaka

city.

The Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort is set on becoming a high performance global player in the

field of hospitality industry. It is concerned about the satisfaction level of its guest for better

improvement, higher revenue as well as to stabilize its goodwill by providing different types of

hospitality. The hotel has obligations to all the guests through its staff like (Front desk

receptionist, Housekeeping staff, Telephone operator, Food & Beverage staff, Recreation staff),

Service like ( Telephone service, Front desk service, Housekeeping services, Food & Beverage

service), Condition like (Bed room, Bath room, public area) and so on. However, it is hard to

satisfy all guests but satisfaction is the crying need for any hotel.

With the introduction of new international hotel brands Dhaka Regency will face challenges.

These challenges they have to overcome with the competitive advantage and practice of

international standard to satisfy their guest. As I observed, number of repeated guest in Dhaka

regency is higher in comparison of other hotels despite being a national brand. Which means

they are performing better to build own strong brand image. This makes Dhaka Regency a place

worth studying.

1.1 Background of the study

15

Broad Objective:

The main objective of this report is to note down the adopted functions of three different

divisions of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort based on their extension of operation and evaluate

the practice against the ideal one. I will also present the fluctuation of performance during

political unrest. At last, this report will end analyzing conducted guest satisfaction survey.

Specific Objective:

The specific objectives of this report will be the following:

Observe the daily operations of food and beverage department, front office department and

housekeeping department

Evaluate the daily operations against the standard benchmark

Explaining the weakness of the hotel

To measure fluctuation of performance through the timeline

Measurement of guest satisfaction

This report is an attempt to present operation of Dhaka Regency and the mechanism they use to

compete against their competitors. As it is my first industrial attachment, I tried to match and

find the difference between the things I learned in the book and the practice in the real world.

Then I measured the guest satisfaction, which I think will explain if the practice of this

organization is paying off in their favor. The completion of this report will help the organization

recheck its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that will aid it in strategizing further

ahead.

1.2 Objective of the study

1.3 Scope of the study

16

Research is a procedure of logical and systematic application of the fundamentals of science to

the general and overall questions of a study and scientific technique, which provide precise tolls,

specific procedures and technical information, rather than philosophical means for getting and

ordering the data prior to their logical analysis and manipulation.

The sources of data include primary and secondary data sources.

Primary Sources:

Primary data is collected by internal report and data of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort.

Secondary Sources:

The secondary data is data, which is collected and compiled from different sources and are used

in research for this study.

The secondary data include material collected from

Newspaper

Magazine

Internet

1.4 Methodology of the study

1.4.1 Source of data

17

The various method of data gathering involves the use of appropriate recording forms. These are

called 'tools' or 'instruments of data collection.

Collection Instruments:

Dhaka regency hotel and resort Internal Report and data analysis.

Observation

Practical work in Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort

The survey questionnaire is pre prepared by the organization and supplied at guest

rooms to find out guest satisfaction

I used Microsoft Excel to analyze the data with graphical presentation.

The target population was the guests that visit Dhaka Regency Hotel. Mostly Air Arabia,

Saudi Airlines and Fly Dubai crew occupy most of it. But to bring dynamism and

fulfillment I used normal guests too.

The sample size was 36

1.4.2 Data collection method

18

The only limitation I faced is the time limitation and lack of access to the confidential data. I had

to roll into three different divisions of the hotel within this short period. Functions in each of

these departments are so broad that it is possible to finish the whole internship in one department

alone. Despite that, I tried to sum up my learning within these couple of days left after the

internship. With more time, I could collect more data to analyze from my connections and come

up with recommendations that are more accurate. During my internship period, I had to keep

myself busy for 8 hours a day learning new things and facing new situations. It was little tiring

yet immensely interesting.

Another factor is the lack of access to the confidential data. During my period, I came to observe

with their business reports, predictions and expected business expansion plans. This information

could be ripe fruit for the enrichment of my report and I could have more data to decide and

work on. Still I tried to gather available data from the website and the daily business reports.

1.5 Limitations of the study

19

Chapter Two

In first decade of 21 century three five star hotel and about 50 three star hotels to Luxury guest

houses have been established all over the country. This indicates the demand of standard

accommodation facilities for both domestic and international business and leisure tourists. We

can be happy to know that 12 universities of this country have opened Hospitality and Tourism

Department. The government is also going to establish 4 new Hospitality and Tourism Institutes

in the divisional towns very soon. Chittagong, the second largest city of the country, and Cox's

Bazaar, the tourist city, can now boast of a significant number of upscale hotel rooms. Divisional

and district towns of the country are also offering decent accommodation, which was totally

absent two decades ago.

Private sector deserves full credit for this significant change in the hospitality industry. Along

with the hotels, the role of private sector should also be lauded for building hitherto unknown

area like holiday resorts. Within comparatively short span of time, the sector has become

enriched by attractive properties like Jamuna Resorts, Royal Resorts, Nazimgarh & ZASTAT

Resort, Arunima Countryside & Golf Resort, Foy's Lake Resort, Nokkhotrobari Resort, Nishorgo

Nirob Eco cottage and Mermaid Eco Resort. These resorts are located near Dhaka,Chittagong,

Sylhet, Sri mangal, Jessore and Cox,s Bazar. Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet.

With more upscale hotels expected to start operation by 2016, the hotel room inventory in Dhaka

city is going to be significantly established in new tourist places. Not so long ago, the highly

capital intensive hospitality industry in Bangladesh was dependent on public sector investment as

the private sector was very shy. This resulted in building major properties like now defunct

Shahbagh Hotel - the first international standard hotel in Dhaka -- in 1950s, Intercontinental -

now Ruposhi Bangla -- in 1960s and Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in 1980s, by the public

sector. Only two notable hotels - Purbani in Dhaka and Agrabad in Chittagong -- represented

private sector for quite some time those days.

But now, the situation has been reversed. Now, the hospitality industry of the country is

dominated by a vibrant private sector. In the span of little over two decades, private sector has

greatly enriched hospitality industry of the country in general and the capital Dhaka in particular.

Apart from upscale hotels in different parts of the country, the private sector has made a great

contribution in enriching the country in another sector of hospitality industry -- the holiday

resorts. For upscale accommodation, for many years Dhaka was dependent on Pan Pacific

2. Hotel industry in Bangladesh and induction of Dhaka Regency

20

Sonargaon and Dhaka Sheraton (now Ruposhi Bangla). Now the Westin Dhaka, Radisson Blue

Water Garden Hotel, Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort and Hotel Serina have enriched Dhaka's

hospitality industry. And together they are offering about 1,400 five star quality rooms. There are

about seven other hotels including Hotel Orchard Plaza, Hotel Washington, Best Western La

Vinci, Lake Shore Hotel & Apartments, Platinum Suites, Royal Park Residence, Ascott the

Residence which are offering about 500 three to four star quality rooms. In addition to these

rooms, there are about 200 one to two-star quality rooms available in guesthouses. Right now we

have government certified 7 five-star hotels, 4 four-star hotels, and 12 three-star hotels in the

country. Besides, Ocean Paradise Hotel and Resort in Cox's Bazaar is keeping all facilities of a

five star hotel.

11 hotels with brand like Hilton, Hotel Sheraton, two Le Meridiens (one in Airport Road and the

other in Banani), two Westins (one more in Dhaka and one in Chittagong), six Seasons, Platinum

Suites 2, Heritage Hotel (Doreen Suites & Hotels and FARS Hotel), ASCOT, Marriot Court

Yard are in the pipeline which are expected to start operation by 2016 offering over 1,700 rooms.

If projects like Hotel Intercontinental and Holiday Inn at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport

are taken into account, as they are also in the pipeline, the situation will look even better.

It is encouraging to note that initial contracts have already been signed with Best Western, Move

& Pick, Marriot, Holiday Inn, Novotel, Radisson, Swiss Hotels in various parts of the country

including Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and Sylhet. These hotels are likely to be opened in 4 to 6

years period. Public sector or in other words the government is no more required to invest in

building hotels. But that does not mean that government now has nothing to do. In fact,

government now has great responsibility as facilitator and regulator in guiding the sector to a

planned growth.

In this connection, government has declared Cox's Bazar Development Authority and Kuakata

Development Authority to boost tourism sector in a planned way. The government is also going

to establish Exclusive Tourist Zone (ETZ) in Teknaf where foreign tourists will relax and feel

comfortable. Steps have been taken to improve road communication especially for these two

areas and air connection of this subcontinent is also being rescheduled for a much better service

for the tourists. Public hotels are being renovated and expanded. New rest houses are also getting

Popularity. There is a vibrant possibility in hotel and hospitality industry in Bangladesh. We

have the longest sea beach -- Cox's Bazar -- and the largest mangrove forest - the Sundarbans.

Religion tourism and eco tourism can take an important role here. If we can brand our tourism

sector, it will take a place after garment sector in earning foreign currency.

21

History Dhaka Regency Hotel And Resort Ltd.

May 2005 : Debut of Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort as a British-Bangladesh

investment Group

June 2005 : They started their own construction to develop as a five star hotel

November 2005: The director body recruit the management body of Dhaka

Regency Hotel & Resort

December 2006 : Initial staffing requirements was completed

January 2007 : Started the training program for the executives as well as for the

staffs

April 2007 : It has been soft open

Figure: Dhaka Regency operation timeline

22

As mentioned in their website; Dhaka Regency is a magnificent new-generation business class

hotel ideally located on Airport Road in the commercial area of Nikunja 2. it a 3-minute drive

from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport or around the bend from Baridhara Diplomatic Zone

or a 15-20 minutes ride away from the Banani and Gulshan Commercial Areas, Dhaka Regency

Hotel & Resort is conveniently situated to target and attract the market segment that requires

lodging services most frequently. Moreover, its proximity to the industrial belts of Tongi and

Export and Processing Zone (EPZ), where the ever-flourishing readymade garments (RMG)

sector of Bangladesh is situated and which contributes to the lion share of inbound travels to the

nation, makes the hotel's location even more prime.

YEAR OF ESTABLISHED : 2007

TYPE OF HOTEL : 5 Star Business Hotels

GROUP : British Bangladesh Group

ADDRESS : Airport road, Nikunja 2 Dhaka-1229.

TELEPHONE : +88 02 8913912

FAX : +88 02 8911479

E-MAIL : info@dhakaregency.com

WEB : www. dhakaregency.com

TRANSPORT : Airport – 1 km, (3 minutes by car)

ACCOMODATION : 214 Guest rooms

LOCATION :

City‘s nearest hotel From The International

Airport. As well as Closest from Gazipur,

Tongi & Ashulia Industrial zone and

Baridhara Diplomatic Zone.

Figure: Information at a glance

2.1 Company profile & literature review: Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort

23

15-stories high with over 250,000 sq. ft. of space (including 15,000 sq. ft. parking lot), this

edifice of classic stature structured for 214 luxuriously furnished guest rooms and suites ,

including the exclusive club floors with its private VIP lounge, began as a venture of the UK

based NRB's. Each room is equipped with central air-conditioning, satellite television,

International Direct Dialing, mini bar and an electronic safe.

Dhaka Regency boasts on running the largest 24-hour 5 Star restaurant in the country, Grandiose

Restaurant, offering international multi-cuisine delights and three buffet meals per day. There is

also a quaint cafe´, Comfee Lounge, which caters to a wide selection of light and mouthwatering

delicacies. Recently, the hotel launched an instantly raved rooftop garden restaurant, Grill on the

Skyline, which is a steak and seafood bistro and provides guests an unobstructed panoramic view

of the city's airport runway.

Apart from the restaurants, the hotel also caters many events in its elegant Celebration Hall and

six other luxurious banquet and event venues. Dhaka Regency also holds the distinction of

owning the trendiest hookah lounge in the city, Shisha World, as well as the largest live

entertainment bar lounge in the country, Club-13.

With stake towards the health of its guests, the hotel also has its very own state-of-the-art health

club, DR Fitness, which constitutes of steam & sauna services, rooftop swimming pool and some

of the latest equipments of the season, all including personal fitness concierge service. The

largest authentic Thai rejuvenation facility in the country, Bion Spa, is also part of Dhaka

Regency, complete with also steam, sauna, and salon services. And as business travelers

constitute most of its hotel occupants, Dhaka Regency ensures its guests the convenience of a

fully equipped Business Center and Limousine services.

Mission:

The Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resorts mission is to exceed the expectations of their guests.

Inspire their associates and provide superior financial results to those who entrust with managing

their assets

Vision:

Vision of Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort is to be a world class and renowned hotel by its service

excellence and product quality.

2.2 Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort: Mission and Vision

24

Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort is a five star business Class hotel. Within five years of its

operation, it gets much popularity from various types of guest for its excellent service and guest

friendly ambiance. This hotel has been operated consisting of its ten important departments.

These Department‘s brief descriptions are given below:

Front Office

Security department

Food and beverage service

MIS department

Food and beverage production

Finance and Accounting department

Maintenance department

Sales and marketing department

Housekeeping department

Human resources department

Figure: Departments in Dhaka Regency Hotel

2.3 Departments in Dhaka Regency Hotel

25

I. Accommodation facilities:

Each of our 214 guest rooms and suites has been immaculately decorated with complete attention

to the comfort of our guests. We offer numerous categories of rooms to ensure that we may cater

to the individual needs of our valued guests.

The following facilities are included in our rooms:

Central air-conditioning

Satellite television

Bathrobe & Hairdryer

International Direct Dialing

Mini bar

Electronic safe

24-hours room services

Laundry services

Room Type Published Rate*

Standard 7th

-10th

Floor USD 170 ++

Luxury Deluxe USD 250 ++

Deluxe Supreme USD 300 ++

Executive Suite USD 400 ++

Regency Premium 11th

-12th

Floor

(Executive

floors)

USD 350 ++

Regency Studio USD 325 ++

Luxury Studio USD 400 ++

Royal Suite USD 900 ++

Presidential Suite USD 1200++

2.4 Different services at Dhaka Regency Hotel

26

II. Dining Facilities:

Grandiose restaurant

Grill on the Skyline

Comfee lounge

Shisha world

Club 13

III. Featured service:

Limousine service

Business centre

Bion Spa

DR fitness

Swimming pool and Jacuzzi

IV. Meeting and event facilities:

Function Room Location Clas

sroo

m

Theate

r

U-

Shap

e

Banque

t

Reception

Celebration Hall (5,721 sq ft) Level-14 150 450 120 300 960

Grand Summit-1 (4,332 sq ft) Level-14 50 120 80 200 600

Grand Summit-2 (2,220 sq ft) Level-6 40 100 35 100 200

Rendezvous Lounge (1,930 sq

ft)

Level-13 35 80 30 80 120

Corporate Summit-1 (1,110 sq

ft)

Level-9 20 30 20 N/A 50

Corporate Summit-2 (1,110 sq

ft)

Level-9 20 30 20 N/A 50

Grill On The Skyline (8,780 sq

ft)

Level-15

(Rooftop)

N/A N/A N/A 120 200

My Lounge (980 sq ft) Level-14 20 30 20 N/A 40

Figure: Meeting and event facilities at Dhaka Regency

27

CHAPTER THREE

It was 12 weeks long internship program. Unlike other organizations, Dhaka Regency Hotel was

pre-prepared for our arrival. The internship-training modules from all departments were prepared

by the head of the organizations and with direct supervision of executive director Mr Shahid

Hamid. So we went through a process of learning bookish knowledge and see how that works in

the real life.

The first week of my internship period I attended classes under Food and beverage director ATM

Ahmed and restaurant manager Mr. Humayun Kabir who tried to illustrate their learning from

experiences toward me. I learned the organizational hierarchy of food and beverage department

and the roles they play.

The second week I learned different crucial challenges the food and beverage department has to

go through during daily operations and how to handle guest created problems. We watched

Sunrise training centre video documents and learned how to use the knowledge in real life

scenario.

The third week I was taken to the Grandiose restaurant to see the real food and beverage

operation. I did ‗mise en place‘, observed the how skillfully managers handle guests and lead

staffs. I had a tour to different outlets of food and beverage department. Manager provided me

hard copy of training module to learn at home.

I learned the telephone skills of the receptionist; how to take reservation and accommodate guest

properly. Clean the restaurant before every meal and clear up guest tables.

Internship Activities

Week 01

Week 02

Week 03

Week 04

28

I learned preparing the restaurant before, during and after service, mise-en-place and rules and

points to remember while table laying in banquet hall. I attended one wedding reception as a

staff of Dhaka Regency and worked till closing.

My supervisor took me to the food and beverage production area. He introduced me with

different equipments and instruments and I started helping them in the cold kitchen and

continental kitchen.

For this week, I worked in the Indian kitchen and pastry kitchen. It was not about mastering the

skills. Goal was to know operations and to find out what go wrong and take necessary steps as a

manager.

This week was induction into the hotel front office for the first time. At first, I felt like a fish out

of water but then I tried to cope up with the help of the attendants. They were supportive. I

learned how to deal with guest check-in and check out. Their software was custom made but still

the concept was same.

Since the front office connects all the departments letting them know guest requirements, the

woks of the front desk employees are not that easy as it seems. I gathered the knowledge on

property management system, reservation and wake up calls.

Week 05

Week 06

Week 07

Week 08

Week 09

29

I learned about processing guest check out system, change payment and night auditing activities.

How to arrange the guest bills in their folders and handling communication with the concierge

and security department.

This week was my induction into the housekeeping department. This week I learned the

hierarchy of this department. I learned how to make beds and how fast we need to prepare check

in rooms and layouts. I leaned about the cleaning components and their use.

I learned about relationship between housekeeping department and other departments. Delivering

guest room supplies and how to prepare room attendants checklist. As I worked, I found that the

work of this department is more tiring than other departments being mostly physical. Work of

this department is more sensitive than other since the guest interaction is greater than other

departments.

The total three months period was surprisingly interesting and enjoyable. The attitude of the

Regency team toward me was unforgettable and I learned a lot from them.

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

30

CHAPTER FOUR

My internship at Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort included induction into three core

departments: Food and beverage department, Front office department and Housekeeping

department. I gathered knowledge and collected data from each of these department. I want to

present the discussions, analysis and findings differently.

Hospitality industry is the most diverse and widely spread lucrative industry in the world. It is

certainly the largest employing millions of people in a bewildering array of jobs around the

globe. Sectors range from the glamorous five-star resort to the less fashionable, but arguably

more specialized, institutional areas such as hospitals, industrial outfits, schools and colleges.

Yet of these many different sectors, catering has to be the most challenging. Whatever the size of

the catering operation, the variety of opportunities available is endless. ―The sky is the limit with

catering‖. This is true in case of the Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort or any five star hotels in

discussion. The food and beverage operation starts from purchasing and receiving the product

that will be used to prepare food and finished beverages and ends at serving and service process.

Discussions, Analysis and Findings

4.1 Food and beverage department

31

Figure: F&B division hierarchy of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort

Like other five star hotels, the food and beverage director controls the food and beverage

department of Dhaka Regency. Food and beverage manager then finds restaurant manager,

banquet manager and the executive chef working for him to manage the department. Then the

other people in the hierarchy have their role in this department including other chefs, cooks and

waiters. As I noticed, despite the small extant of the people on job are fit for getting works done.

Organization chart is modified as per their requirement and activities. We need to find out what

roles different personnel of this department are required to perform:

a) Food and beverage director:

The food and beverage director is in charge of a hotel's food service operations, including any

stand-alone restaurants within the hotel property. This position often demands an experienced

restaurant leader, who may be the sole manager at a smaller hotel, or who might oversee a

number of managers at a larger one.

i. Quality Control

The most important job of the food and beverage director making sure that all guests have good

experiences with the hotel's food service, whether eating at the restaurant, ordering room service

4.1.1 Food and beverage department of Dhaka Regency (Hierarchy)

32

or having a special event catered by the establishment. The director is responsible for restaurant

personnel following recipes precisely, ensuring quality meals and proper portions, for instance.

He is also responsible for personnel following health and safety rules and regulations, ensuring

both the well-being of guests and that the hotel is in compliance with the law.

ii. Inventory

The food and beverage director is also in charge of maintaining proper inventory to ensure the

restaurant can fulfill all of its orders. This includes estimating the need for ingredients and

ordering the appropriate amounts. This also ties in with the need to ensure quality standards, as

too much or too little of a particular ingredient can create inventory issues. The director may also

have overall budgetary responsibilities for the food and beverage program, which include non-

food items such as dishes and chairs.

iii. Scheduling

The food and beverage director is also in charge of maintaining the restaurant staff, both in terms

of scheduling and in terms of training. This includes hiring the best applicants, teaching them

what they need to know to keep turnover to a minimum, placing the right number of people on

each shift in the right positions and even firing them, when necessary. As with food inventory,

the director must keep the overall budget in mind, as well as day-to-day operations, when dealing

with personnel.

iv. Intangibles

Finally, the food and beverage director must serve as the face of the hotel's food service. Thus,

she may be called upon to represent the hotel to customers, whether dealing with an unhappy

guest's complaint or "making the rounds" of the dining room in formal dress to survey customer

satisfaction. The director may even play a role in such front-of-house elements as the menu

design and choice of flatware, or even appear in marketing brochures or advertisements. All of

this demands both poise and strong communication skills from the director.

b) Food and Beverage Manager

The food and beverage manager is the head of the food and beverage service department, and is

responsible for its administrative and operational work. Food and Beverage Managers direct,

plan and control all aspects of food and beverage services. Food and Beverage Managers require

excellent sales and customer service skills, proven human resource management skills, and good

communication and leadership skills. Desired knowledge for this position includes knowledge of

the products, services, sector, industry and local area, and knowledge of relevant legislation and

33

regulations, as well. Hence it is said that food and beverage manager is a Jack-of-all-trades, as

the job covers a wide variety of duties.

In general, food and beverage manager is responsible for:

i) Budgeting

The food and beverage manager is responsible for preparing the budget for the department. He

should ensure that each outlet in the department achieves the estimated profit margins.

ii) Compiling New Menus and Wine Lists

In consultation with the chef, and based on the availability of ingredients and prevailing trends,

the food and beverage manager should update and if necessary, compile new menus. New and

updated wine lists should also be introduced regularly.

iii) Quality Control

The food and beverage manager should ensure quality control in terms of efficiency in all service

areas, by ascertaining that the staffs are adequately trained in keeping with the standards of the

unit.

iv) Manpower Development

The food and beverage manager is responsible for recruitment, promotions, transfers and

dismissals in the department. He should hold regular meetings with section heads, to ensure that

both routine as well as projected activities of the department go on as planned. He must also give

training, motivate and effectively control staff.

c) Restaurant Manager

Restaurant Manager is responsible for directing and supervising all activities pertaining to

employee relation, food production, sanitation, guest service and operating profits. The

restaurant manager is either the coffee shop manager, bar manager or the specialist restaurant

manager. The restaurant manager reports directly to the food and beverage manager and has

overall responsibility for the organization and administration of a particular outlet or a section of

the food and beverage service department. The restaurant manager's job includes:

i) Setting and monitoring the standards of service in the outlets.

ii) Administrative duties such as setting duty charts, granting leave, monitoring staff positions,

recommending staff promotions and handling issues relating to discipline.

iii) Training the staff by conducting a daily briefing in the outlet.

34

iv) Playing a vital role in public relations, meeting guests in the outlets and attending to guest

complaints, if any.

v) Formulating the sales and expenditure budget for the outlet.

vi) Planning food festivals to increase the revenue and organizing advertisement campaign of the

outlet along with the chef and the food and beverage manager.

d) Banquet Manager

The banquet manager supervises the banquet operations, sets up break-down service according to

the standards established by the hotel. He co-ordinates the banquet service in conjunction with

other departments involved and prepares weekly schedules for the banquet personnel. From the

time the bookings are done till the guest settles the bill, the banquet manager is in charge of all

aspects of banquet and conference operations. He supervises the work of the banquet sales

assistants, who do the banquet bookings and the captains and waiters who perform the food and

beverage service activities under his guidance. He is responsible for organizing everything right

down to the finest detail. The banquet manager projects the budget of the banquets, and works in

close coordination with the chef in preparing menus. He is responsible for making an inventory

of all the banquet equipment and maintaining a balance between revenue and expenditure.

Banquet managers may also be designated as assistant managers in the food and beverage service

department

Figure: Food and beverage department segments of DR

4.1.2 Segments of food and beverage department of Dhaka Regency

35

As you can see here there are 6 different segments that the food and beverage department has to

look after in Dhaka Regency.

1. Kitchen (Level 6)

2. Grandiose Restaurant (Level 6)

3. Comfee lounge (Level 5)

4. Grill on the skyline (Rooftop)

5. Banquet service (Level 14)

6. Room service

In addition to that, food and beverage services in Shisha World (Level 6) and Club 13 (Level 13)

also. The people in the higher chain of authority handle the unexpected troubles and people

working in different segments try to hold up the quality of the service as a team. This department

seemed different from other departments I worked in and I had great pleasure working in this

department. Director Mr. Ahmed was friendly and proved himself a great leader with his skills as

director and behavior as a leader. Now, let us have a tour around their 6 different outlets.

1. Kitchen:

Kitchen facilities of any five star hotels are very important to be efficient. The large bulk of food

preparation and delivery requires the kitchen to be proper for many chefs and assistants working

together and getting job done in time. So the kitchen designing is important first to make the

kitchen functional and make it easier for the people to work fast and work efficient. The

designing is scientific keeping in mind the daily operation and flow of work. Here I‘m presenting

the kitchen of Dhaka Regency.

36

Figure: Kitchen of Dhaka Regency Hotel

The three kitchen doors are designed to get food to the storage area, deliver food quickly to the

Grandiose restaurant just left of hand and letting the workers get to washroom without having

sight of the guests. The offices of executive chef, saus chef and order taking office is designed to

accommodate flow of decision and handle problems at hand. The three different kitchen

segments staff kitchen, continental kitchen and the Indian kitchen are kept aside considering the

similarity of the job. The cold kitchen and the pastry kitchen are kept aside in different places as

per the convenience. Since the restaurant works require constant communication with the cold

kitchen; the cold kitchen is placed as per the convenience. The dishwashing and cutlery storage

area is near to the restaurant too. It supplies clean plates and cutleries quickly. So it‘s all

scientific. Cleanliness and hygiene is of highest importance here too.

37

2. Grandiose Restaurant

With a contemporary yet elegant setting sprawled over a space of 8,500 sq. ft., the Grandiose

Restaurant is the nation's largest 24-hours multi-cuisine 5-star restaurant, allowing plenty of

privacy to all our patrons. It comprises an a la carte menu boasting sumptuous dishes from all

four hemispheres of Earth, thereby, truly offering food for your every mood - and at any hour to

boot! The restaurant's buffet table too is a gastronomic affair, always allowing you to eclectically

satiate your palates.

Another important part of the restaurant is the reception desk where most of the reservation

orders are taken in and the bill is paid. The profitability and efficiency of the Grandiose

restaurant also depend on telephone skills of the receptionist. The restaurant manager of Dhaka

Regency taught us the procedure that we need to follow to prove ourselves as efficient

receptionist. During any telephone conversation, hotel staff should follow the below key points:

Smile even though you are on the telephone: When you smile, you automatically

improve your vocal quality, and you will sound pleasant and interested.

Sit or stand up straight: By sitting or standing up straight, you will be more alert and pay

better attention to what is being said.

Use a low voice pitch: A lower voice pitch will make you sound more mature and

authoritative.

Match your speaking rate to the callers: Let the caller set the tempo of the conversation.

For Example, he or she may be in a hurry; In that case, you should provide information

more quickly.

Avoid extremes in volume: If you speak too loudly, you may sound rude or pushy. If you

speak too softly, you may sound timid or uncertain.

Avoid expressions such as "uh-huh" and "yeah": Such expressions make the speaker

sound dull, indifferent and uninterested.

Front office staffs often take phone messages for other employees or guests. most front offices

have a standard telephone message form. If you answer the phone, its important that you listen

carefully and take accurate written notes while speaking with the caller. When you take a

telephone message, be sure to get the following information:

Date

Time of the call

Name of the person being called

Callers' full name

38

Callers' department ( if the call is internal)

Caller's company

Caller's time zone ( only if overseas call)

Caller's Telephone number ( and area code, if needed)

Message ( do not abbreviate- provide a full message)

Here‘s the task list used in Dhaka Regency for the front office assistant of afternoon shift.

Daily Task List for Front Office Assistant - Afternoon Shift Date:___________

Emp Code / Name:________________

Time Task Done

13:00 –

14:00

Attend FO Afternoon Briefing and Handover from Morning

Team

Count Cash Float

14:00 –

16:00

Check stationary and oversee the lobby area and Lounge area

Check Pick-up / Drop off report of the day with concierge

Ensure cleanliness of the Lobby and Lounge

Check Room change (Liaise with concierge and DM)

Check all Room Status and discrepancy

Post any manual incidental charges or deposits as per

Morning Shift instructions

Check and Clear Trace / Flag and Messages on (Timely

Manner)

Print / Save "Emergency Report‖ / Contingency report set at

exactly 16:00hrs

Revise room allocation and assign rooms for any on day pick

39

3. Comfee Lounge

Futuristic furnishing and flavored fragrances make up the feel for the Comfee Lounge. Whether

you drop by for a quick cuppa or stay for the confection, this is the perfect place to treat your

palates.

4. Grill on the Skyline

Grill on the Skyline - it is a secret garden in the nook of Dhaka City where the first thing that hits

you when you step out to it is the smoky aroma of grilled goodies, before the open sky and the

majestic view feels up your senses with a little slice of heaven.

5. Banquet service:

Despite the structural problem Dhaka Regency banquet service at level 14 is envious for other

hotels. It holds numerous parties and programs at different times of the year. There are two

different parts of the Banquet hall. So it‘s possible to hold two different programs at a time. The

banquet hall is decorated as required. During the political unrest holding different programs at a

cheaper rate helped the hotel to energize it‘s weak economic force.

6. Room service:

Room service is another important part for the food and beverage department. As I showed in

the kitchen design, the room service order-taking department must always be aware of the orders

placed by the guests. It is found that many guests select hotels depending on the efficiency and

effort from the room service. Although most of the room services are at the hand of the

housekeeping department, mini bar and food delivery at room are at the hand of the food and

beverage department.

40

Figure: Steps of F&B Product Control

The identified problems that I found in the Dhaka Regency food and beverage department are:

Having problem in finding educated and proper kitchen staff

Inability to employ kitchen personnel for long time, high employee turnover

Lack of certification of the kitchen personnel

Lack of modern equipment

I think that can present proper scenario of Dhaka Regency Food and Beverage department.

Step 1: Purchasing

Step 2: Receiving

Step 3: Storing

Step 4: Issuing

Step 5: Pre-preparation

Step 6: Preparation

Step 7: Serving

Step 8: Service

4.1.3 Standard Operating Procedures: Steps of F&B Product Control

4.1.4 Identified problems in Food and Beverage Department

41

The housekeeping is the department of a hotel charged with cleaning and maintaining rooms and

public spaces. From the time a guest checks-in in a hotel till he checks out, it is the housekeeping

department which takes care of the guest by making his / her stay pleasant and comfortable. In

general, the housekeeping crew is responsible for the daily cleaning of public rooms (lobbies,

corridors, meeting rooms), private bedrooms and public washrooms. In addition, it handles the

laundering of linens and in some instances, guest laundry. Housekeeping also performs a minor

security function by providing a ―first alert‖ to potential guest problems while staff undertake

daily guest bedroom cleaning. The importances of housekeeping department are:

Comfort

Cleanliness and hygiene

Safety and Security

Privacy

Décor

The functions of housekeeping department in Dhaka Regency are:

Cleaning rooms and public areas

Bed making

Linen management

Laundry service

Pest control

Key control

Safety and security

Interior decoration

Room maintenance

4.2 Housekeeping Department

4.2.1 Functions of housekeeping in Dhaka Regency

42

Room Type Published Rate*

Standard 7th

-10th

Floor USD 170 ++

Luxury Deluxe USD 250 ++

Deluxe Supreme USD 300 ++

Executive Suite USD 400 ++

Regency Premium 11th

-12th

Floor

USD 350 ++

Regency Studio USD 325 ++

4.2.2 Liaison of housekeeping with other departments

4.2.3 Types of rooms at Dhaka Regency Hotel

43

Luxury Studio (Executive

floors)

USD 400 ++

Royal Suite USD 900 ++

Presidential Suite USD 1200++

44

45

2 room attendants clean 4 rooms in total of 2015 sqft. In 90 minutes.

1 room attendant would take 180 minutes to clean this range.

2015 sqft/180 min = 11.19 sqft/min

One room attendant can clean 11.19 sqft in 1 minute

Standard 275 sqft

Luxury deluxe 440

sqft

Deluxe supreme

Executive suite

Time taken 15 20 25 30

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Tim

e (m

inu

tes)

tak

en b

y 2

roo

m

atte

nd

ants

Cleaning time by room attendants

4.2.5 Housekeeping staff performance measurement

4.2.4 Housekeeping department organization chart: Dhaka Regency

46

Room attendants use a sheet to keep track of their finished rooms and then send it to executive

housekeeper to analyze.

Time is money. For the lodging industry, this is especially applicable when it comes to cleaning

costs. Many facility managers assume they can multiply the number of guestrooms by some

theoretical productivity rate to determine the time and resources needed to clean their hotels, but

the results are generally inaccurate. Workloading, which involves calculating time standards for

each task and area within the facility, is a reliable way to determine cleaning times. Before

benchmarking your performance or developing staffing plans, consider the following steps to

effectively workload your hotel.

1. Divide the building into areas that are cleaned in a similar way. While your area list will be

unique to your facility, some groupings that make sense are all guestrooms; the lobby; the dining

rooms, bars, and restaurants; and the pool and workout facilities.

2. Add up cleanable space. This is the area that is actually cleaned, not gross square feet. Take

physical measurements—current CAD or scale drawings are the most efficient. The objective is

to accurately gauge what needs to be cleaned and what type of surface is in each area (example

15,000 square feet of lobby tiles).

3. Factor in the task. Labor hours are dictated by the scope of work, which will have two parts:

the actual task that needs to be performed (i.e. detailed vacuuming) and the number of times it is

performed on an annual basis. This will give you the annual labor hours per task. For example,

you may collect trash in a particular area 260 times a year. At 0.5 hours each time, this results in

130 labor hours.

4. Get a dollar figure. The final step is to determine your labor cost. To do this, multiply the total

number of hours by the wage rate (adding a percentage to cover taxes, insurances, and benefits)

to reach your burdened labor cost. To get a final cost estimate, add supply costs; equipment

depreciation; miscellaneous job costs such as background checks, drug testing, uniforms, etc.;

overhead; and administration and profit.

Theoretically, twenty minutes, but I've never seen anyone get it down to less than a half hour.

We shoot for 15 minutes for a stayover, 30 minutes for a checkout.

47

Front office department is the heart of the hotel. It connects all the departments informing them

the guest needs. Front office is the place that has to face complains and queries from the guest.

This department takes the heat. From pre-arrival to departure front has to serve guests

accommodating them with all the services they need. Front office department of Dhaka Regency

is situated at 5th floor of the building.

4.3 Front office Department

4.3.1 Front office hierarchy of Dhaka Regency Hotel

48

Layout of any front office department must be scientific and be designed keeping in mind

flexibility and smooth operation. Front office of Dhaka Regency Hotel is also designed

scientifically. There are three workstations to process check-in and checkout process. At the back

office there is computer wit internet connection and fax machine to check out information and

receive important documents. Front office manager sits at a separate office at the corner of the

back office. There are reservation office and the business centre aside. There is sitting area in

front of it Trinkets @ Regency. Guests can wait if process takes time or in rush. So it is enough

to ensure smooth flow for guests.

4.3.2 Front office Department layout

49

Front office of any hotel has to perform different functions. These functions are divided into 4

different categories. Those are:

Pre-arrival

Arrival

Occupancy

Departure

The specific activities are as shown in the figure above. Pre-arrival function starts with

reservation process. At arrival front office processes registration, key issuing and baggage

handling. At occupancy period they connects guests with other departments according to their

needs, exchange money, handles mails and telephone calls. At departure they arrange checkout,

bill settlement and transportation facilities for guests.

4.3.3 Front office functions and guest interaction

50

There are different property management systems available out there. Hotels can purchase the

software from the companies or they can use their own custom-made PMS considering the nature

of work in the front office. Regency uses custom-made PMS, which they call HMS (Hotel

Management System). It helps the front office employees perform the following functions:

Reservations management

Room management

Guest account management

General management

Here I am presenting screenshots from the Regency‘s property management system HMS

1. Housekeeping room status view (at a glance)

4.3.4 Dhaka Regency property management system HMS

51

2. Grid report view:

3. Reservation list:

52

4. Block room (reserved rooms):

5. Registration

53

6. Guest profile:

54

7. Room and rate transfer:

8. Guest information:

55

9. Provided service entry:

10. Information modification:

56

11. Manual bill entry (ex: mini bar bill)

12. Bill transfer:

57

13. Bill payment:

These 13 screenshots are taken from the Regency‘s customized property management system

HMS. These are placed in a sequence of use starting from at a glance view of the housekeeping

rooms. It includes the block rooms that means the reserved rooms. When guests arrive, front

office attendant checks the block room list and then head to new entry and then registration.

Certain amount of money kept blocked from guest (bank/liquid). Then after registration, we get

the complete guest profile including the image of his passport identification, method of his

payment and other necessary information. During his stay front office can check and thus can

keep track of updated information of guest‘s service consumption through integrated automated

systems in every outlets. If any alteration traced, it can be modified. Room, rate, bill can be

changed or transferred to another guest‘s account if asked after confirmation. At last comes the

bill payment. Checkout activities are then handed over to the concierge.

58

Front office employees keep the record of all the data related to guest and the hotel business.

Then when evening shift is over, they prepare business report for everyday and forecast arrival,

occupancy and other information. Dhaka Regency signed a MOU with Hotel Sarina. So they

both get each other‘s daily data that they compare against everyday to measure business

acceleration.

Daily business report sample:

Daily business report presents the daily condition of the hotel. It includes daily occupancy,

salable rooms, rooms out of order, average room rate and forecasting of room occupancy for the

next day. Dhaka Regency business report compares the daily business performance against Hotel

Sarina. Business report is very important for future forecasting and measuring business

performance over the timeline. I used Regency business report to illustrate performance against

Sarina and to present fluctuation of performance due to political instability.

4.3.5 Planning and evaluating operation

59

Business performance comparison:

Dhaka Regency Hotel shares daily operation information with Hotel Sarina. They even signed a

MOU to co operate each other in hotel operation. So every night after 12am front office collects

information from hotel Sarina and then put those into a prepared excel file to compare. Here I‘m

showing the occupancy percentage of 15 days of January 2015. They also keep tract of ARR and

other information as I provided the screenshot of the daily business report. It helps the company

to realize the market and give effort to cope up.

0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Hotel Sarina

Dhaka Regency

Occupancy percentage Jan15 (15 days) (Dhaka Regency vs. Hotel Sarina)

60

Dhaka Regency business performance before and after political instability:

The political instability and strikes that started from mid December affected tourism business in

Bangladesh. It also influenced performance of Dhaka Regency. Due to political instability,

different countries suggested their citizens not to visit Bangladesh to ensure their safety.

Business meetings cancelled and occupancy in hotels falls drastically. When I was comparing

occupancy rate of January 2015 against the occupancy of October 2014 I noticed haunting

downfall of occupancy. Occupancy rate fall at a rate more than 23% on average. To tackle this

loss Dhaka Regency started banquet parties at lower rates, arranging beverage parties and other

down selling strategies, which is not good for hotel in long run.

Occupancy % Jan15

0.0010.0020.0030.0040.0050.0060.0070.0080.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Occupancy % Jan15 41.5 59.5 39.9 38.0 44.6 47.6 44.4 41.6 43.2 45.7 43.8 45.3 46.9 53.5 58.7

Occupancy % Oct14 65.7 71.5 70.5 69.9 68.5 74.5 71.4 73.8 59.6 67.6 68.9 73.8 77.2 67.8 67.4

Dhaka Regency Occupancy (%) (Oct14 vs Jan15) 15 days

61

The acronym for SWOT stands for

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

The acronym for SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat. The SWOT

analysis comprises of the Organization‘s internal strength, weakness, external opportunities, and

threats. SWOT analysis gives an organization an insight of what they can do in future and how

they can compete with their existing competitors. This tool is very important to identify the

current position of the organization relative to others, who are playing in the same field and used

in the strategic analysis of the organization.

4.4 SWOT analysis on Dhaka Regency Hotel

62

Strengths of Dahka Regency Hotel and Resort:

Location:

The Dhaka Regency hotel is the closest business-class five star hotels in Bangladesh. Located at

airport road & in the commercial area of Nikunja.It is also very closest from Gazipur Tongi

industrial zone and baridhara Diplomatic zone.

1. Latest property:

Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort is the Latest Five Star hotel In Bangladesh .it is Only 6 years

old property.

2. Excellent service:

Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort provides world class service to its guest. Service people of this

hotel are very friendly to the guest.

3. Excellent F&B outlets:

Food and Beverage outlets of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort are exclusive than no other

Outlets of Dhaka city. Grandiose restaurant open 24 hours and provide multi cuisine to guest.

Club 13 is the largest bar of Dhaka city.

4. Excellent MICE service:

Eight excellent banquet venues provide wide range of event and meeting facilities from Wedding

ceremony to small board meeting.

5. Executive Lounge at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport:

Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort has an executive lounge facility to receive its foreign guest in

International airport.

6. Advanced Technology:

Dhaka regency always use modern advanced technology to operate the hotels From smart phone

to modern security devices.

7. New Independent Brand image:

After the six years of operation Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort establish strong independent

hotels brand image to its targeted customers.

63

Weaknesses of Dahka Regency Hotel and Resort:

The fault of an organization is the most important internal problems that might hamper the

growth rate to take place in a company. Though Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort is a company

that has many strengths but it also as well has some weaknesses of its own. The following are a

few of the most common weaknesses that Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort has at the present

time.

1. Structural Problem

The Hotel Buildings Are not properly designed and Hotel lobby starts from 5th floor

2. Expensive to use internet

In the Hotel Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort, Internet is too expensive charged on hourly basis.

3. Behave of reception staff is not cordial

The reception staff certainly isn‘t courteous. They have very limited choice and most of which

are with very poor reception quality. They weren‘t coming from the proper educational

background. Except receptionist all staff is very much cordial with the guests

4. Slow service

The room service is extremely slow. The AC does not seem to have individual controls. They do

not have a 24/7 housekeeping. Bed sheets and towels stinks. Do not have proper world class

toiletries.

5. Lack of natural scenery

You can not get the original natural scenario from the Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort. It is

surrounded by the buildings. Although you can find the Runway of International Airport beside

one side of the hotel, but this is not sufficient.

6. Hotel taxis not always available

Although you can get the taxi facilities in the Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort, but hotel taxi is

not available when you want.

7. It is not comparable to the existing world standards

There is no doubt that Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort is world standards, but to compete the

world they has to restructure the rooms or include some new items.

64

8. They do not have casino

As it is a 5 star hotel and world level, so they can include the casino in their new service.

Opportinities of Dahka Regency Hotel and Resort:

An organization‘s opportunities are positive external environmental factors. An organization

should explore all possible opportunities available to it. These opportunities are intended to

improve the organization. By making improvements, the organization should be able to become

more competitive in the market. The following are opportunities available to Dhaka Regency

Hotel and Resort order for it to become more aggressive.

Can standardize global rates with its presence over 73 countries

Tie up with big corporate business houses for providing travel and accommodation

facilities in any of their hotels around the world.

Social media marketing can be used to reach out more prospective customers and not

only the corporate business house.

Government rules and regulations are not strong enough, in our country

Consistent, accurate fulfillment of the clients wishes

Competitive pricing for the quality of services offered

Significant profit on each planned

65

Threats of Dahka Regency Hotel and Resort:

With the economic development of Dhaka, the rapid rise of the surrounding hotels, all other

hotels have settled down in Bangladesh, while there are many domestic and international hotel

giants eyeing the fast growing market in Bangladesh. Like other growing business organization

Dhaka Regency hotel and Resort, Dhaka has to face a lot of threats. Specifically, they are the

following:

1. Competition:

There are about six five star hotels and many domestic hotels in Bangladesh. The five star hotels

are highly competitive with each other. To sustain in the market all hotels want to give wide

service facilities to its clients. So, this is one of the main threats for the hotel to sustain in the

market.

The other five star hotels in Bangladesh are:

1. Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel Dhaka, Bangladesh

2. Radisson-blu Water Garden Hotel Dhaka, Bangladesh

3. Westin Hotel Dhaka, Bangladesh

4. Hotel Ruposhi Bangla, Dhaka, Bangladesh

5. Sarina Hotel Dhaka, Bangladesh

6. Seagull Hotel Cox‘s Bazaar, Bangladesh

All these hotels are the competitor of Dhaka Regency hotel and Resort. All hotels have their

distinguishing features own self to attract foreign and domestic customers. And these hotels are

really a big threat for the Dhaka Regency hotel and Resort.

2. Expansion of economic hotels:

The gradual penetration of other economic hotel is also the risk for the existing hotels. Those

economic hotels are expanding and penetrating frequently. The price of those economic hotels is

reasonable and their services are considerate, which are favorably received by the customer

resources of middle and low class. Although it‘s main replacement target is the hotel that fewer

than three star levels, the distribution influence towards ordinary businessmen and the customer

resources of scattering customers who choose self-assisted traveling cannot be neglected.

66

3. Political Turbulence:

Political turbulence reduces tourist traffic and thus the business of the hotels. Hotel industry in

Bangladesh really faces many obstacles for the political instability. For political disorder, strike,

lack of stable business investment tourists may not interested to come in Bangladesh and for this

the hotel authorities have to count losses. So this is a big threat for Dhaka Regency hotel and

Resort.

5. Traffic Jam in Dhaka city:

The overall traffic system of Dhaka city is become poor day by day. It is really a bad experience

for foreign tourists to face traffic jam for unlimited time after long plane journey. So sometimes

they may lose interest to come in Bangladesh and as a result reduces the hotel business problem.

9. Govt. rules and regulation

Hotel Business may be affected by govt. rules and regulation also. Sometimes hotel authorities

may fail to offer distinguishing services according to customer‘s requirement to follow rules and

regulation provided by Government. And Ruposhi Bangla hotel have to face this types of

problem very frequently.

10. Lack of brand image:

Dhaka Regency hotel and Resort is non brand five star business class hotel. Many international

visitors have brand preference. So that Dhaka Regency hotel and Resort cannot catch these

visitors.

11. Others

There are some other external factors such as poor economic condition of Bangladesh, lack of

tourism development in Bangladesh, lack of skilled manpower, culture of Bangladesh, sudden

bad experience of a foreign client, lack of development of industrial sector of Bangladesh etc.

have a direct and indirect negative impact on the hotel business. All these are also treated as

threat for Dhaka Regency hotel and Resort.

That was the SWOT analysis of Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort.

67

Of all the figures that hotel owners, managers and financial analysts use to evaluate performance,

the most important one is RevPAR. Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR), which we calculate

by multiplying average room rate and occupancy, is a meaningful indicator of our performance

because it measures the period over period change in room revenues for comparable properties.

Occupancy and average daily rate (ADR), which are components of calculating RevPAR are

meaningful indicators of our performance. Occupancy, which we calculate by dividing occupied

rooms by total rooms available, measures the utilization of a property‘s available capacity. ADR,

which we calculate by dividing property room revenue by total rooms sold, measures average

room price and is useful in assessing pricing levels.

Now I‘m going to show how to calculate RevPAR from data collected from Regency and

Sarina‘s business report. Here is the example:

January 01, 2015 (RevPAR calculation)

Dhaka Regency:

Total room revenue = 5632, Number of room sold= 88, occupancy= 41.51%

ADR (Average Daily Rate) = total room revenue/ number of rooms sold = $64

RevPAR= Occupancy*ADR= $26.57

Hotel Sarina:

Total room revenue= 2100, Number of room sold= 38, occupancy= 18%

ADR= 2100/38= $55

RevPAR= 0.18*55= $9.9

4.5 Dhaka Regency’s performance measurement with RevPAR

68

In the picture above, I showed the monthly average RevPAR of two country‘s hotels Dhaka

Regency Hotel and Hotel Sarina. The information collected from the annual financial report and

monthly business report. The calculation of RevPAR shows the comparative performance of

these two hotels. RevPAR is reliable performance indicator because it incorporates average daily

rate and occupancy percentage. Illustration shows that performance significantly declines during

the political unrest. In the following diagram, I want to show how political unrest affected

performance of Dhaka Regency Hotel. I am comparing Jan 2014 against Jan 2015 (first 10 days)

1 2 3 4 5 6

Dhaka Regency (RevPAR) 54.16 61.22 63.76 58.45 57.87 62.67

Hotel Sarina (RevPAR) 29.56 30.54 27.97 25.98 30.64 35.97

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70D

olla

rs

Average monthly RevPAR (Jan14-Jun14)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Dhaka Regency RevPAR (Jan 15) 26.57 31.56 34.78 33.87 35.89 35.77 35.88 32.77 33.12 37.98

Dhaka Regency RevPAR (Jan 14) 56.76 57.87 53.44 49.98 55.98 52.87 49.88 50.55 49.21 53.87

0

20

40

60

80

100

Dhaka Regency's RevPAR (Jan14 vs Jan 15)

69

It can be misleading to say that you are doing better this year, compared to last year because you

are getting an average of $10 more per room that you rent. What you really want to know is if

you would generate more revenue with higher occupancy rates if you lowered your room rates

by $10. If you have 200 guest rooms and can fill 180 of them if you charge $100 per night or you

can fill 150 of them if you charge $150 per night, what is better? If you do the math, you will see

that you will bring in more money by charging a higher rate and having fewer guests.

This information, which can be gathered by studying RevPAR is very helpful in trying to price

your guest rooms properly. There is a certain point where the price and occupancy rate meet that

will maximize the revenue for your hotel.

How to maximize RevPAR:

Do not rely largely on the online travel agencies that sell your property rooms at highly

discounted rate. All cost included you might find that it was better off unsold than selling at a

price where expense exceeds revenue from it.

Demand for the hotel rooms are mostly inelastic since people looking for a place to stay will

book this hotel or that. So, significant decrease in rate is not always a good decision.

Organizing special events, promotional activities and increase property features will work

better than that.

If you own an exclusive resort and offer a special rate during the off-season to attract guests

when you have lots of empty rooms. Lower rates can be made up by charging for additional

services like spa treatments or fancy dinners when your guests arrive.

Increase your property‘s curb appeal. You can increase your curb appeal by making sure

your grounds are well kept, your building is in good repair and you have a big sign that can

be seen from a distance. Visual appeal is a good way to attract more paying guests and boost

your room sales.

There are other ways to attract business besides using the Internet and social media. It is true

that we are living in a digital world, but studies have shown that old-fashioned highway

billboards are a very attractive way of steering people onto the exit ramp and into your

hotel‘s parking lot.

Pay attention to all of the online reviews that are written about your property. It is quite

normal to get a few bad reviews, but addressing them promptly can restore your hotel‘s good

name. Retaining customers and encouraging new ones to visit will put cash in the register.

First impressions do matter. When a guest passes through the entrance into the lobby, he or

she does not want to see some old furniture and a pile of disheveled newspapers on a coffee

table. Your lobby should be carefully designed and pleasing to the entering guest. When they

get up to the front desk to check-in, the front desk clerk must fill the role of enthusiastic

representative with a friendly smile and pleasant personality. This is the hospitality business

and a grumpy clerk is bad for business.

70

V

Figure: Dhaka Regency‘s strength measurement criteria

Positioning

Infrastructure

Marketing and Sales

Management

Training

Information Systems

Proximity to market

Proximity to raw source of

product

Ability to ensure convenience

Capacity

Building structure

Technology

Customer service

Market research

Price and occupation rate

Publicity

Special events

Goals

Owner‘s roles

Strategy communication

Organization structure

Selection process and initial

training

Training design

Performance measurement

Performance evaluation tools

Input information and

actualization

Guest follow up

S

T

R

E

N

G

T

H

M

E

A

S

U

R

E

M

E

N

T

4.6 Dhaka Regency’s strength measurement criteria

71

This is my modified elaboration from a research of Gabriel Héctor on Hospitality

Competitiveness Measurement. I added another segment ‗positioning‘ and different other

components in other segments based on the scenario of Dhaka Regency Hotel.

In this process, I used Rensis Likert scaling system to measure the competitiveness of the 6

different segments of Dhaka Regency Hotel. During my internship period I observed the

operation of this hotel and collected information about activities and image of this hotel. This

analysis is based mostly on observation, assumption and the collected information from stuff,

newspaper, business report and publications. Here I will also explain the reason of putting certain

value to each of these components. I believe that the actual scenario hold minimum fluctuation

from my conclusion.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Efficient Less efficient

Neither efficient

nor inefficient

Less Inefficient

Inefficient

Efficient

Less efficient

Neither efficient nor inefficient

Less Inefficient

Inefficient

72

Dhaka Regency Hotel stands very near to the only gateway to the capital. For this reason, the

products it needs to import to provide customers managed within short time and procurement of

other products within country takes limited time. Most of the guests are airline crews so they

have ability to ensure convenience.

Dhaka Regency Hotel is not established within a dedicated establishment. It modified a

commercial building planned for office space or shopping malls. So this posed infrastructural

challenges. The technology used in security to maintain the hotel shall be improved with modern

equipments. Recently introduction of new equipments seen in security department. Despite the

hindrance customer service is impressive and customers are satisfied about the performance of

the Regency team.

Proximity to market

Proximity to product source

Ability to ensure

convenience

Positioning components

5 4 4

0123456

Val

ue

ou

t o

f 5

Positioning

CapacityBuilding structure

TechnologyCustomer

service

Infrastructure components

3 3 2 4

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

Val

ue

ou

t o

f 5

Infrastructure

73

The main market of the Dhaka Regency Hotel is the airline crew, people looking for amusement

in the country‘s largest bar and beautiful rooftop garden. The price and occupation rate is

competitive so they find interested people seeking their service. Regency is doing better in

publicity operation with billboards and newspaper advertisements. Special events at Valentine ‘s

Day, Pahela Baishakh and promotional events giving it a push up to earn more profit.

Ownership problem of Dhaka Regency is not new. The grudge among the investors hampering

the roles owners supposed to play. Despite that executive director is seen capable of handling

hotel standard operation. So the organization goals and organization structure still holding up

although it needs improvement in strategy communication among the decision makers.

Market research

Price and occupation

ratePublicity

Special events

Marketing and sales components

3 4 4 4

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

Val

ue

ou

t o

f 5

Marketing and Sales

Goals Owner’s rolesStrategy

communicationOrganization

structure

Management components 4 2 3 4

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Val

ue

ou

t o

f 5

Management

74

Hospitality sector in Bangladesh is not that improved. It is hard to find trained employee for the

hotel. Naturally, it is important to train the employees to set them equal to international standard.

Most of the employees learn from experience directly through the flaws. Dhaka Regency is

planning to set up a training facility near their hotel to make trained employee through model

hotel facility. There is lack in performance measurement tools and knowledge. I hope training

facility will improve the condition.

As I mentioned in the previous segment that Dhaka Regency has shortcoming in the selection

and performance evaluation tools. Proper evaluation and recruitment can improve hotel standard.

But there is a trend of high turnover due to dissatisfaction of salary and attraction to international

hotel chain. This is a threat to the hotel. Guest follow up system through MIS department is

better and Dhaka Regency receives greater amount of repeated guest visit.

Selection process and

initial training

Training design

Performance measurement

Training components 2 2 3

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5V

alu

e o

ut

of

5

Training

Performance evaluation

tools

Input information

and actualization

Guest follow up

Info system components 2 3 4

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

Val

ue

ou

t o

f 5

Information System

75

Let‘s take a look at the average result of each segment. As we can see Dhaka Regency Hotel‘s

positioning is enviable to many hotels. So there‘s no action recommended. Compare hotel‘s

infrastructure and technology with other hotels, actualize the infrastructure and technology

needed for essential service of the hotel. Verification of market segments for hotel and

identification of potential market segment to attract. Communicate hotel goals and objectives

with the employees, design continuous improvement plan and develop system to avoid

ownership conflicts. Develop useful training program, hire trainers with experience and provide

initial training to the new employees. Verify if the information system and its reports are useful

to the managers, develop data mining and develop guest follow up system.

I hope the illustration present the strength of Dhaka Regency hotel and the actions to overcome

weaknesses.

PositioningInfrastruct

ureMarketing and sales

Management

TrainingInformation system

Measurement segments 4.33 3 3.75 3.25 2.33 3

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

5V

alu

e o

ut

of

5

Average result of measurement segments

76

We collected survey data from 36 different respondents with various background and purposes

of stay. Although Dhaka Regency mainly receives guests from three different airlines hosting the

crew of the organizations, the number of other guests is not few. The survey was conducted to

find out what guests think about the provided services of this hotel from check-in to checkout.

Since the questionnaire was pre-prepared by the company itself, I did not have to make another

one.

After gathering the collected information, I tried to analyze with Microsoft excel and present in

an illustrated form. First, I tried to find out the purpose of the trip. Turns out, 61% of guests

staying here, visit for business purpose, 11% for pleasure, 8% for transit and 20% for other

reasons.

4.5 Guest Satisfaction Survey

77

What was the purpose of the trip? Out of 36 respondents 22 said they were here for business, 4

for pleasure, 3 for transit and 7 for other reasons. The airline crew who are staying at Regency

because of the minimum distance they need to travel from the airport to the accommodation

selected the main purpose as business. So it seems a competitive advantage for this hotel.

Recently Dhaka Regency is host for Saudi airline, Fly Dubai and Air Arabia crews.

Since airline crews grab most of the hotel rooms it is easy to guess where they heard about the

name of this national brand from. Out of 36 respondents, 18 heard about Dhaka Regency from

their organization/ colleagues, 5 from friends, 4 from internet and 6 from advertisement.

61%11%

8%

20%

What was the purpose of the trip?

Business

Pleasure

Transit

Other

14%

50%

11%

17%8%

How did you come to know about Dhaka Regency?

Friends/Associates

Organization/colleagues

Internet

Advertisements

Others

78

Here I am presenting illustrated version of guest rating on services:

Dhaka Regency has airport pick up system for the guests. This hotel is really close to the only

gateway to Dhaka city from outer world. It takes only 12 minutes to reach the hotel from airport.

The concierges are in the role to pick up guests and bring them to the front office. As the survey

shows most of the guests marked the arrival and departure service ‗good‘. Since the reception

and front entrance of Dhaka Regency is not that well decorated or large because of being

established in a modified commercial building; those received few ‗poor‘ remarks.

Airport greeting

Hotel transport

ation

Door stuff greeting

Front entrance

Reception desk

Check in efficiency

Check out efficiency

Concierge service

Friendliness of staff

Poor 0 0 4 16 14 8 6 0 0

Satisfactory 8 0 8 4 2 6 8 4 4

Good 20 30 16 14 20 20 18 28 28

Excellent 16 6 8 2 0 2 4 4 4

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Nu

mb

er o

f re

spo

nd

ents

Guest rating on arrival/departure services

79

As the illustration shows guests are very satisfied with the telephone service and the promptness

of the employees of the hotel. Television and the mini bar service did not meet up their

expectation. Since among 214 rooms 100 rooms do not have any window, guests seem to have

rated less comfort remark although it does not go into that category. Recently executive

housekeeper been terminated from his job since guest complained about finding cockroach on

bed. I think we can blame building structure and surrounding for it. This building was not build

for hotel. It was /still is commercial complex where Dhaka Regency is a part.

Bedroom

Bathroom

Cleanliness

Comfort

Amenities

Mini bar

Lightning

Air conditioning

WaterTelevision

Housekeepin

g

Laundry

Room servic

e

Telephone servic

e

Promptness

Poor 10 8 4 10 16 26 10 4 0 20 0 0 0 0 0

Satisfactory 8 10 12 4 8 10 10 16 18 12 16 22 24 4 4

Good 14 16 12 16 12 0 10 16 4 4 16 10 16 30 28

Excellent 4 2 8 6 0 0 6 0 14 0 4 4 0 2 4

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Nu

mb

er

of

resp

on

de

nts

Guest rating on room

80

The rooftop restaurant Grill on the Skyline is famous for providing quality-dining service. It

received excellent remarks from most of the guests. Other dining services in the Grandiose

restaurant and Comfee Lounge fairly rated too. Overall, guests are satisfied with the service.

However, management should concentrate on the décor more.

Breakfast Lunch Dinner Décor HygieneFriendline

ss

Grandiose

restaurant (level 6)

Comfee lounge (level 5)

Grill on the

skyline (Rooftop)

Poor 4 2 4 12 2 6 0 8 0

Satisfactory 20 16 14 0 24 6 6 8 0

Good 8 6 8 18 10 20 20 12 8

Excellent 4 12 10 6 0 4 10 8 28

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Nu

mb

er

of

resp

on

de

nts

Guest rating on Dining

81

Dhaka Regency is famous for the recreational services it provides. Shisha Lounge, Spa, DR gym,

bar and live entertainment nights amused the guests. Regency has the largest bar in town. Many

guests remarked beverage selection, bar environment and control as good and excellent. The

average rating of other services offered is ‗good‘ too.

Most guests of executive club lounge rated check-in, checkout efficiency, friendliness and

ambience better than satisfactory.

Hookah flavors

Hookah services

Beverage

selection

Live entertainment

Bar services

Spa environ

ment

Spa quality

Spa variety

Post service experie

nce

Gym equipm

ent selectio

n

Trainer technical know

how

Steam and

sauna

Shower and

amenities

Poor 0 4 0 0 8 0 0 2 0 4 0 6 10

Satisfactory 20 14 0 6 10 0 6 8 0 10 6 6 0

Good 10 12 32 20 18 26 10 16 0 18 24 24 20

Excellent 6 6 4 10 0 10 20 10 0 4 6 0 6

05

101520253035

Nu

mb

er

of

resp

on

de

nts

Guest rating on recreation

Check in/ check out efficiency

AmbienceSelection of

reading materials

Quality of food

Selection of house

aperitifs

Friendliness of

attendants

Poor 0 0 8 0 10 0

Satisfactory 0 4 8 10 10 4

Good 26 30 18 18 8 32

Excellent 10 2 2 8 8 0

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Nu

mb

er o

f re

spo

nd

ents

Guest rating on Executive Club Lounge

82

I have already presented my discussion on SWOT analysis and Dhaka Regency Hotel‘s strength

measurement criteria. In this recommendation part, I will try to show my suggestions to

overcome the weaknesses I observed and to fortify the strength with eternal force. I will present

the suggestions that can be enforceable by the effort of managers below. The recommendations

are:

Positioning: Dhaka Regency Hotel‘s positioning is already enviable to many hotels.

Therefore, there‘s no action recommended.

Infrastructure: Compare hotel‘s infrastructure and technology with other hotels, actualize the

infrastructure and technology needed for essential service of the hotel

Marketing and sales: Verification of market segments for hotel and identification of potential

market segment to attract.

Management: Communicate hotel goals and objectives with the employees, design

continuous improvement plan and develop system to avoid ownership conflicts.

Training: Develop useful training program, hire trainers with experience and provide initial

training to the new employees.

Information system: Verify if the information system and its reports are useful to the

managers, develop data mining and develop guest follow up system.

Since out of 214 rooms 100 rooms have no window and guests cannot look outside. This

decreases the room rates and affects guest satisfaction. Regency should take care of that problem

if possible. The whole building is not fit for a five star hotel facility. In future, they need to shift

to compete with the world standard since they will face extreme competition in near future with

the introduction of half a dozen international brands. The conflict about ownership must be

handled for good to save own image. And they need to continue their legacy of entertaining

customer with events and cordial services.

5.1 Recommendations

83

Before starting my internship program at Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort, I was excited and bit

worried. I was excited because I was waiting for my induction into the real life hotel experience

under the organization that Shahid Hamid FIH runs. I grew fond of him listening to his stories

about how he chose to be an hotelier and became a legend. But bit worried about if we can prove

ourselves worthy of the honor they gave us. We found out that they planned a whole internship

module dedicated to our learning in the core departments.

As we started, we attended classes and then entered into the practice. We learned a lot. We made

mistakes and they taught us through. In this report, I tried to put all that I learned and observed. I

tried to illustrate the situation and suggest solution based on my brief learning. I may not be the

master of any department now but I am jack of three of those. I really enjoyed my days with

Dhaka Regency team. They are friendly and always willing to deliver knowledge from their

experience. We are amazed by their endeavor and we are fortunate to have them as friends.

5.2 Conclusion

84

Appendices

85

1. Bharathiar School (2009), The Food and Beverage Services, Duties and roles of food and

beverage employees

2. James A Bardi (2008) Hotel Front Office Management, How front office connects all

departments?

3. Michael.L.Kasavana, Richard.M.Brooks (2005) Managing Front Office Operation,

Property Management System, Front office accounting

4. Bharathiar School, Accommodation Operation (2009), Functions and segments of

housekeeping operation

5. www.dhakaregency.com , Introductory information, room categories and pricing

6. Malhotra Dash (2010) Marketing Research Survey data analysis tools

7. Kappa NitschkeSchappert (1997) Managing housekeeping operations, Planning and

organizing housekeeping operations

8. Gabriel HectorHospitality Competitiveness Measurement (2012) Hospitality

competitiveness measurement criteria.

Reference