Handling A Difficulty In Having Communicative Interaction With The Guests At Executive Lounge, Hilton Hotel Bandung.

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Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Hotel adalah salah satu industri yang sangat maju pada zaman sekarang ini. Persaingan antar hotel juga semakin ketat karena setiap hotel berlomba untuk memberikan pelayanan yang terbaik bagi tamu-tamu mereka. Oleh karena itu kemampuan staf hotel dalam berkomunikasi dengan tamu adalah suatu peran yang sangat penting untuk mencapai kenyamanan dan kepuasan tamu.

Di dalam tugas akhir ini saya akan menganalisis kesulitan saya sebagai trainee pada saat berkomunikasi dengan tamu di Executive Lounge, Hotel Hilton Bandung. Kesulitan yang saya hadapi ini disebabkan oleh saya kurang percaya diri karena saya tidak memiliki pengetahuan maupun kemampuan untuk berkomunikasi dengan orang-orang baru, saya tidak memiliki pengalaman bekerja di hotel, dan saya juga tidak tahu tentang informasi di Executive Lounge, terutama mengenai menu secara terperinci. Hal ini mengakibatkan tamu merasa tidak nyaman dan tamu tidak bisa mendapatkan informasi secara akurat. Hal ini bisa

mempengaruhi nama baik hotel karena dianggap tidak berkompeten dalam melayani tamu.

Untuk mengatasi masalah itu, ada tiga solusi yang bisa diusulkan. Solusi pertama adalah saya membaca buku tentang social skills. Solusi yang kedua adalah saya meminta seorang mentor untuk berbagi

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APPENDIX A

FLOWCHART

Cause 1: I had lack of confidence because I had no knowledge nor the skills to communicate with new people.

Cause 2: I did not have previous working experience at a hotel, which made me hesitant to interact with the guests.

Cause 3: I did not know the information at Executive Lounge, particularly the menu details.

Problem:

Handling a difficulty in having communicative interaction with the guests at Executive Lounge, Hilton Hotel Bandung.

Effect 1: the guests did not feel comfortable

Effect 2: the guests did not get the information

accurately.

Effect 3: the hotel would be underated by the guests

Potential Negative Effects:

- I have to spend time to read the books.

- I will have a difficulty in finding time to read the books.

Potential Solution I:

I read books about social skills.

Potential Positive Effects:

- I can get more knowledge about interacting with the guests.

-I can practice what I have read about how to interact with the guests.

-There is a chance that I meet a mentor who is not cooperative.

- I might not be all truthful to my mentor.

- It will be difficult for trainers to see each mentee’s

improvement.

- It can be time-consuming for the trainer.

Potential Solution III:

Hilton Hotel provides on-the-job training for the trainees. knowledge from the training.

- I can expand my social relations.

Potential Positive Effects:

-I will expand my way of thinking of interacting with the guests.

- both my mentor and I will expand our perspectives at work.

Chosen Solution:

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APPENDIX B

TRANSCRIPTION OF THE INTERVIEW

Elisabeth : Good afternoon kak Rommy, thank you for your time. Is it okay for you to do this interview now?

Rommy : Definately, never mind.

Elisabeth : Okay, so let’s start for the first question. Who is the owner of Hilton Hotel Bandung?

Rommy : The owner of Hilton Hotel Bandung is Mr. Tatang

Hermawan. He is also the owner of the Conrad Hotel Bali. Elisabeth : Alright. Could you tell me briefly about Hilton Hotel

Bandung initially?

Rommy : Initially, Hilton Hotel Bandung was a tennis court which be rented for the local people. It was bulit by the architect from Singapore. The architect of Hilton Bandung is WOW

Architects.

Elisabeth : And then, when was it built?

Rommy : Actually, the soft opening of Hilton Hotel Bandung was held on 29 February 2009. The grand opening of Hilton Hotel Bandung was held on 21 March 2009.

Elisabeth : Alright then. This is the end of my interview. Thanks once again for your contribution, kak Rommy.

Rommy : Sure! No problem.

Elisabeth : Have a good day! See you! Rommy : You also! Bye.

Name of interviewer : Elisabeth Sari Dewi Kesuma Name of respondent : Rommy

Day&date of interview : 25th October 2012

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APPENDIX C

LIST OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Name of interviewer : Elisabeth Sari Dewi Kesuma Name of respondent : Rommy

Day&date of interview : 25th October 2012

Place of interview : Lobby, Hilton Hotel Bandung

1. Who is the owner of Hilton Hotel Bandung?

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Hotel is one important part of the hospitality industry. Baker, Huyton,

and Bradley believe, “To most people, the hospitality industry consists only of hotels and restaurants. However, the Oxford English Dictionary defines hospitality as the „reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or

strangers with liberality and goodwill‟ (2). Jaszay and Dunk describe, “The hospitality industry is a service industry. We may prepare the food and

clean rooms, but service is a real product” (2). Therefore, the hospitality industry, particularly hotels, covers all areas related to giving services and everything that guests need to make them feel satisfied.

Thereby, it is crucial for staff working in a hotel to give their best

services to their guests, including proper communication with hotel guests. Dwyer states, “Firms, business or agencies that provide a product or

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This interaction with clients, customers, staff and members of other organizations requires communication and will succeed if the

communication is effective” (4). It is advisable for the staff to have good

social skills to be able to socialize well in order to serve the guests well and make them feel welcomed. Anderson, Charles, and Blakemore state, “Social skills, or the manner in which we speak to and deal with people will

make all the difference even in difficult situation” (54). Therefore, it is

important for the hotel staff to meet the guest satisfaction through one of the hospitality services, particularly communicating properly with the guests. Dwyer states, “Establish and maintain a good relationship with

your customer, to persuade them to keep using your product or service” (195). As each guest has different characteristics and backgrounds,

treating the guests is not the same. The service should be centered on the guests. This is supported by Dwyer who states, ”Putting customer‟s needs and expectations first is the best way to establish a relationship with them”

(200).

I had a lot of experiences during my apprenticeship at Executive

Lounge, Hilton Hotel Bandung. I realized that I had a difficulty in having communicative interaction with the guests because I did not have any experience working at a hotel. It was difficult to start a conversation with

them and I was also hesitant to engage them in a conversation. My lack of social skills influenced my working performance. I should have had a good

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understanding between two or more people. It enhances individuals, work

performance and relationship with other” (17). Because of my

weaknesses, I could not give my best services to the guests, particularly in order to meet guests satisfaction. Thereby, I chose this problem as my topic for my term paper. I would like to discuss this topic further to find out

the causes and effects of my problem and the best solutions for the problem.

B. Identification of the Problem

During my apprenticeship at Hilton Hotel Bandung, I had a difficulty in

having communicative interaction with the guests at Executive Lounge. Therefore, I am interested in discussing this topic. I would like to analyze these research questions in my research:

1. Why did I have difficulty in having communicative interaction with the guests at Executive Lounge, Hilton Hotel Bandung?

2. How did the problem influence the service to the guests? 3. How should I overcome the problem effectively?

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

The aim of the study is to define the problem of having communicative

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I expect that the study can be beneficial for Hilton Hotel Bandung so that they will realize that every staff and trainee must have communicative

interaction with the guests. Besides, this study can motivate me and the readers to improve social skills, especially spoken interaction with others.

D. Description of the Institution

Hilton Hotel Bandung is one of the best hotels in Bandung. The owner

of Hilton Hotel Bandung is Mr. Tatang Hermawan, who is also the owner

of the Conrad Hotel Bali. The soft opening of Hilton Hotel Bandung was held on 29 February 2009. The grand opening of Hilton Hotel Bandung

was held on 21 March 2009. Initially, Hilton Hotel Bandung was a tennis court which be rented for the local people. The architect of Hilton Bandung

is WOW Architects from Singapore. (Source: Rommy)

Based on “About Hilton Worldwide”, it is stated that Hilton Hotel‟s vision is to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality (par. 2). The

Mission of Hilton is to be the preeminent global hospitality company - the first choice of guest, team members and owners alike (par. 3).

E. Method of the Study

The data used to support the analysis of the topic are attained from

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F. Limitation of the Study

In this study, I mainly focus on the my difficulty in having

communicative interaction, which is verbal communication with the guests

while I was working in the front office department of Hilton Hotel Bandung from 18 June 2012 to 18 September 2012.

G. Organization of the Term Paper

My term paper starts with the abstract. Declaration of originality,

acknowledgements, and table of contents are following after the abstract. Chapter I describes about background of the study, identification of the

problem, objectives and benefits of the study, description of the study, method of the study, limitation of the study, and organization of the term paper. Chapter II describes the problem analysis. It will discuss the causes

and the effects of the problem. Chapter III describes the potential

solutions. It will discuss some potential solutions to solve my problem and

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

During my apprenticeship at Hotel Hilton Bandung, I faced a problem that is the difficulty in having communicative interaction with the guests at

the Executive Lounge. The difficulty is caused by my lack of confidence, lack of experiences working at a hotel, and my limited knowledge about

the menu there. As a result, the guests did not feel comfortable, I could not give the complete information to the guests, and the hotel would be

underated by the guests. I propose three potential solutions to solve the problem. The first is I read books, the second is to I ask a mentor to share his/her experiences and knowledge, and the third is the hotel provides

special trainings for the trainees before they start working.

Among the three solutions, the first and the second solution are chosen

to be the best solutions. The reason I choose the first potential solution is because I want to learn and find theories about communicative interaction with the guests by reading books. I also choose the second potential

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knowledge, I will expand my way of thinking of interacting with the guests. Moreover, I will improve my performance in having communicative

interaction with the guests at work. Furthermore, to be professional at work, every staff needs a lot of insights and has to be able to do his/her work skillfully. The reason I do not choose the third potential solution is

because giving on-the-job training for the trainees is time-consuming for the trainer.

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INTERVIEW