The Difficulty in Handling The Guests At G.H. Universal Hotel.

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ABSTRACT

Tugas akhir ini membahas kesulitan yang dihadapi Guest Relation Officer dalam menangani tamu di G.H. Universal Hotel. Topik ini saya pilih berdasarkan pengalaman saya ketika magang selama kurang lebih tiga bulan di G.H. Universal Hotel, Bandung.

Sebagai salah satu hotel yang menjadi tempat pariwisata di Bandung, G.H. Universal Hotel diharapkan mempunyai pekerja yang berkualitas, akan tetapi yang menjadi masalah bagi G.H. Universal Hotel adalah kurangnya kemampuan GRO di bagian front office dalam melayani tamu dan menguasai informasi yang menyangkut fasilitas dan akomodasi hotel. Hal ini menyebabkan ketidakpuasan para tamu terhadap pelayanan yang diberikan. Masalah ini tentunya memberikan dampak yang negatif, baik terhadap tamu ataupun terhadap hotel itu sendiri.

Dalam tugas akhir ini, akan diuraikan penyebab kurangnya

kemampuan GRO dalam melayani tamu. Penyebab pertama dikarenakan GRO tidak memiliki pengetahuan mengenai hotel, dan penyebab kedua ialah tidak adanya program pelatihan rutin yang diadakan oleh hotel untuk mempersiapkan GRO menghadapi dan melayani tamu. Adapun akibat yang dapat terjadi karena masalah ini adalah GRO menjadi frustasi dan munculnya kesalahpahaman antara GRO dengan tamu yang akhirnya dapat membuat hotel mengalami kerugian dalam hal waktu dan

keuntungan.

Di bagian penutup dari tugas akhir ini saya mengajukan solusi yang terbaik yang dapat dipergunakan untuk menyelesaikan masalah di G.H. Universal Hotel. Solusi tersebut adalah pengadaan pelatihan bagi para pemagang yang dilaksanakan satu minggu sekali. Solusi ini dipilih sebagai solusi terbaik karena dapat meningkatkan kemampuan pemagang dan diharapkan dapat bermanfaat untuk meningkatkan kualitas pelayanan di G.H. Universal Hotel.

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FLOWCHART

Cause1: The trainees did not

have a background of hotel or tourism education

Cause2: The hotel did not

give any training to the trainees

Potential Positive Effects:

1,The trainees get knowledge of both facilities and

accommodation in the hotel from the supervisor

2. Having facilities and

accomodation understanding about the hotel will prepare the trainees to interact with guests

Potential Solution I:

trainees in the front office department in G.H.Universal Hotel lack knowledge of how

to handle the guests well

Effect1: Misunderstanding

between GRO trainees and the guests

Effect2: The trainees would

feel bored and frustrated

Potential Negative Effects:

1, Trainees will depend on the front office supervisor 2. Individual guidance decreases staff’s time, especially supervisor’s time, to do their responsibilities

1, Training will make the trainees know their performance standards 2. The trainees will be competent in doing their responsibility

Potential Solution II:

Front office department manager plans a training schedule for the trainees, which must be

done at least once a week

1, It wastes the trainers’ time 2. The training will be

useless if it is poorly organized

1, It will not waste the time and money of the trainer to hold training

2, Front office Manager and Supervisor can concentrate more on evaluating the staff

Potential Solution III:

The hotel should not accept trainees who do

not have any knowledge of hotels

1, Some people might blame the hotel if it does not want to give an opportunity to people who have no knowledge of hotels 2. The hotel has to spend more money to hire professional employees

Chosen Solution:

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

The tourism industry is believed to be a gold mine for many countries and plays an important role in increasing the income of some countries in the world. Indonesia is one of the countries that has a lot of beautiful tourism places that can be used to attract domestic and foreign tourists to visit. In other words, Indonesia can get income from the tourists who are interested in tourism places in Indonesia.

Besides the tourism places, hotels also play an important role in the tourism industry. Hotels are temporary places for the guests or tourists to stay during their vacation. Thus, hotels have to be able to satisfy the tourists who become their guests. In hotel service, the first impression of the hotels is shown by the front office officers, such as when they serve the guests, check if there is an available room for the guests, and help the guests that come to get information about the hotel facilities and

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G.H.Universal Hotel, are unable to give a good impression to the guests. I lack knowledge of how to handle the guests well. For example, I cannot give details information to some guests who ask about the swimming pool size and the capacity of a meeting room. Therefore, it gives the hotel a bad image and there is a possibility the hotel will lose some profit because of my lack of knowledge.

This study aims at discussing the problem and providing the best solution that can be used to improve the competence of GRO trainee so that they can serve the guests well.

B. Identification of the Problem

The problems that are discussed in this paper are as follows: 1. Why are the GRO trainees unable to handle the guests well? 2. What is the best solution to help the GRO trainees be able to

handle the guests well?

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

By the end of this term paper, I expect the best solution to solve the problem at G.H.Universal Hotel can be given and the competence of G.H.Universal Hotel’s trainees in handling guests will improve. It will give a good impact on the guests, GRO, other staff of the hotel and also the hotel in the midst of the tight competition among hotels. It is expected this study will also have a great contribution for D3 English Programme students’ tourism knowledge. Moreover, for other students who will do their

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internship program, I hope this term paper will motivate them when they do their internship, especially if they take it at a hotel.

For myself, it is expected that this term paper can give me good

experience about how to analyze the problem systematically and find how to solve the problem by thinking logically. This term paper will also enable me to practice my English skills that I have gained during my study in the D-III English Programme . Moreover, I hope this term paper can give me knowledge that I can use when I work in a real working place.

D. Description of the Institution

G.H.Universal Hotel was built in 2004, and was established in May 2008. It is located at Jl. Setiabudhi 376 Bandung. In the past it was known as a Guest House, and was built by Agoes Yoesman, who is the current owner of G.H.Universal Hotel. This hotel has a building with a renaissance style. G.H.Universal has 104 rooms, and the rooms are grouped into six types. The types are Standard, Deluxe King, Deluxe Queen, Honeymoon Suite, Governor Suite, and Presidential Suite. G.H.Universal Hotel as a new hotel in Bandung, trying to give the best services to all of the guests, either for long staying or short staying guests.

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top, a children’s playground, a VIP room, a business centre, high speed internet access, car rental, city tour, and valet parking.

E. Method of the Study

The methods of the study used in this paper are an internship journal and library research. My internship journal contains data which were taken during the three months of internship, while the library research was done to collect theories from textbooks to support my data and analysis.

F. Limitations of the Study

The study only discusses a problem faced by Guest Relation Officer (GRO) as a staff in the front office department. The data were taken from May 2nd until August 9th 2009 in G.H.Universal hotel, in Bandung.

G. Organization of the Term Paper

The research of this study is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, and consists of the Background of the Study, Identification of the Problem, Objectives and Benefits of the Study,

Description of the Institution, Method of the Study, Limitations of the Study, and the Organization of the Term Paper. The second chapter deals with

problem analysis, discussing some factors that cause the problem and the effects as a result of the problem. It also provides some relevant theories and examples that support the process of analyzing. The third chapter discusses potential solutions of the problem. Here, the writer provides

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

After doing some observations at G.H. Universal during my

internship, I found that it was not easy to serve the guests.There are two causes that make the GRO trainees have a hard time to perform their best in doing their responsibilities. First, some trainees did not have a

knowledge about hotels. Second, the hotel did not give any training to the trainees. Consequently, the effects are the trainees who did not know how to handle guests’ complaints would feel bored and frustrated and there will be some time and money wasted because of unfinished and unsatisfactory jobs done by the trainees. There are three potential solutions to avoid this problem from becoming worse. First, the front office supervisor should give individual guidance and instruction to the trainees every day. Second, the front office department manager should plan training, which must be done at least once a week. Third, the hotel should not accept any trainees who do not have any knowledge about hotels.

In this chapter, I would like also to present the best solution to help the GRO trainees be able to handle the guests well. Based on the analysis of the potential solutions that have already been discussed in the previous

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chapter, I decide to choose the second solution. Holding a training for trainees, which must be done at least once a week, will surely help the trainees know what and how to do their job well.

Training can help the trainees know their responsibilities and be able to improve their ability in their work. This is supported by Stephen J. Shriver’s theory, a hotel management should give training to an employee to make sure their employee knows the performance standards to be achieve effective in their job (237). An effective result in doing the job will surely make the guests get satisfaction, and it gives advantages to the hotel.

To conclude, holding proper training is very important to improve GRO trainees’ competence, especially for those who do not have

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Printed Sources

DeVeau, Linsley T., et al. Front Office Management and Operations. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Shriver, Stephen J. Managing Quality Services. New York: The Educational Institute, 1988.

Taylor, Shirley. Communication for Business. England: Longman, 1999.

Electronic Sources

Bragg, Terry. “Prevent Misunderstandings.” Terrybragg.com. 7 September 2009. < http://www.terrybragg.com/Article_Misunderstandings.htm> Conner, Jay. “Know Your Product Before You Sell it.” Jconners.com.

2005. 7 September 2009.

< http://www.jconners.com/articles/knowyourproduct.html> Reschny, Susan. “Toolbox Sessions.” 14 December 2009.

<http://www.itd2.com/newsletter/Dec03/toolbox.htm>