Property Management
Nowadays the hospitality industry is much more different than it was a few decades ago. Customers` expectations towards level of comfort and convenience are increasing every day. These expectations often present challenges to organisations make them look for new pathways of reaching the customers` satisfaction. This essay discusses the role of property management in satisfying customers and controlling operational costs in hotels. Provided examples will justify that properly maintained and well-designed facilities are the core element in guests` satisfaction and, also, will show how facilities maintenance affects the profitability of the organisation.
Facilities play varied and imperative roles in the hospitality industry. Stipanuk (2006, p. 3) claims that “…the hospitality industry of today relies on well-designed and well-maintained facilities as a key element of its business”. He also says that “Hospitality facilities … can provide an appealing visual environment that contributes to the overall ambiance, experience, and comfort of the guest”. That makes facilities management one of the most important parts of the business. So what is facilities management and how big is scope of its activities? Facilities management is “an integrated approach to operating, maintaining, improving and adapting the buildings and infrastructure of an organisation, in order to create an environment that strongly supports the primary objectives of that organisation.” (FEFC 2000) Basically, facilities management brings together different activities to keep things working. Scope of operations is sufficiently wide, it includes planning and designing new facilities and refurbishments, complying with health & safety laws, maintaining the building, its systems, rooms and equipment, controlling maintenance costs and utility consumption, etc.
Maintenance is “a combination of any actions carried out to retain an item in, or restore it to, an acceptable condition” (Hughes, Ferrett,
Facilities play varied and imperative roles in the hospitality industry. Stipanuk (2006, p. 3) claims that “…the hospitality industry of today relies on well-designed and well-maintained facilities as a key element of its business”. He also says that “Hospitality facilities … can provide an appealing visual environment that contributes to the overall ambiance, experience, and comfort of the guest”. That makes facilities management one of the most important parts of the business. So what is facilities management and how big is scope of its activities? Facilities management is “an integrated approach to operating, maintaining, improving and adapting the buildings and infrastructure of an organisation, in order to create an environment that strongly supports the primary objectives of that organisation.” (FEFC 2000) Basically, facilities management brings together different activities to keep things working. Scope of operations is sufficiently wide, it includes planning and designing new facilities and refurbishments, complying with health & safety laws, maintaining the building, its systems, rooms and equipment, controlling maintenance costs and utility consumption, etc.
Maintenance is “a combination of any actions carried out to retain an item in, or restore it to, an acceptable condition” (Hughes, Ferrett,
References: BA 2 lecture notes (2009) Property Management Semester 1 Stipanuk D.M., (2006) Hospitality Facilities Management and Design, Lansing, Michigan : Educational Institute, American Hotel & Lodging Association, pp. 3, 38, 71, 85-86 Ransley, J; Ingram H (2000) Developing Hospitality Properties and Facilities, Oxford : Butterworth-Heinemann, pp.253-267 Johnson, C., (2003) High-Level Maintenance, Maintenance Solutions http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?scope=all&edition=d&tab=av&recipe=all&q=corfu+death+boiler accessed 1 Dec 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/7605896.stm accessed 1 Dec 2009 www.cogz.com accessed 1 Dec 2009