All departments of a hotel may be classified into two-revenue departments and non-revenue departments.
Revenue Earning Departments Revenue earning departments are operational departments that sell services or products to guests. A hotel has two major revenue earning departments. They are: (i) Accommodations, and (ii) food and beverage.
Accommodations
Accommodation department is responsible for the sale of rooms.. These departments are responsible for maintaining and selling the rooms in a hotel. In most hotels, these are the departments that directly or indirectly generate more revenue than any other department. This is because the sale of rooms constitutes a minimum of 50 per cent of the total revenue of a hotel. The various departments that support the room divisions department are:
Front office department: It is an operational department. It is the office when the guest is received, provided information, his luggage is handled, his accounts are settled on departure, and his complaints, problems and suggestions are looked after. It is responsible for welcoming and registering guests, allotting those rooms, and helping guests checking out.
Housekeeping department: This department is responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and the aesthetic standard of the hotel. Housekeeping includes the servicing of guest rooms. This includes cleaning bedrooms, staircases, public areas and floral arrangements, first aid to guests etc.
Maintenance department:This department is responsible for all kinds of maintenance, repair and engineering work on equipment, machines, fixtures and fittings. It undertakes the supply of airconditioning, lighting, mechanical, electrical, carpentry and civil works of the hotel. Maintenance department is also known as engineering department.
Laundry: This is a critical department that launders the large volume of bed lines, restaurant lines, staff uniforms and guest garments. Large hotels may have an in-house laundry to control the movement of linen and uniform which are considered to be the precious assets of the hotel. Smaller hotels may outsource this activity to local laundries. The laundry is headed by laundry manager.
Food and Beverage (F & B) Department: The food and beverage department is another major revenue producing department. It is the key to the success of a hotel. The F & B department includes the restaurants, bars, coffee shops, banquets, room service, kitchen and bakery.. The various departments that come under the F & B may be discussed below in brief. :
Restaurant
A restaurant is a commercial establishment committed to the sale of food and beverage. A restaurant may be a licensed part of a hotel operation, whereby the sales of the restaurant contributes to the sales performance of the hotel, or a franchised operation, when the hotel leases space. In this case the hotel has no share in the profits of the restaurant operations. Restaurants are equipped with tables, chairs, crockery, cutlery, linen and decor. In addition to the basic purpose, restaurants may provide other facilities such as bar, entertainment, children party facilities, home delivery services, take-away services, outdoor catering etc.
Room Service: Room service is a food service operation. It provides food and beverage to guests staying in the hotel rooms. The room service is located in the kitchen and has an order-taker’s desk. Guests may order their food and beverage directly from their rooms to the room service order-taker who will pass on the order to the service team. The service team co-ordinates with the kitchen or bar for the preparation of the item.
Bars : The bar dispenses wines, liquor, spirits, juices, cigars and cigarettes. Restaurant food service professionals will co-ordinate with the bar for a guest’s beverage orders.
Banquets : The banquets department is a major revenue area within food and beverage department. It is headed by a banquet manager. He organizes and looks after large parties like dinners for hundreds of guests, conventions, marriage receptions and other functions.
Kitchens :A kitchen is the place where food is prepared. Large hotels have independent sections to deal with various aspects of food preparation due to the large volume of activity. Kitchen personnel co-ordinate closely with restaurants, room service, bars and banquets for the supply of food orders. Chef-de-cuisine is the head of the kitchen. He is responsible for planning, organizing and controlling the kitchen operations.
Kitchen stewarding :This department is primarily concerned with the storage, maintenance, cleanliness, and issue of cutlery, crockery, hollowware, chinaware and glassware to the restaurants and kitchens. It is responsible for the cleanliness of kitchens and the washing of pots and pans.
Minor Revenue Earning Departments
There are certain departments which earn smaller revenue. Such departments are as follows:
Health club and recreation : People are getting increasingly health and physical fitness conscious. Hence some hotels maintain gymnasiums for men and women and swimming pool. Similarly, some hotels provide tennis courts, squash courts, and many other recreation facilities.
Delicatessen : This department sells in-house butchery products.
Patisseries. : It sells bakery products.
Beauty Salon : This provides hair dressing service and beauty care.
Flower Shop : This is the retail outlet of the flowers and ferns from the gardens of the hotel.
Health food counter : This is usually found at the health club. The counter provides health foods and diet foods that support a health regimen created by a dietician.
