PROBLEMS OF HOTEL BUSINESS IN ADAMAWA STATE A CASE STUDY OF LAGON VILLA, MADUGU ROCK VIEW & DANTSHO HOTEL ADAMAWA STATE

CHAPTER ONE 1.0         INTRODUCTION

In hospitality industries promotion is a key ingredients in marketing campaign.

            Promotion has contributed a lot to boost a better image of both major and minor hotels in every part of the world. It does communicate to its publics; the type of services it renders, and also believes in fair deals and considers the interest of its customers and various publics. Hospitality industries services, pricing, as well as promotional policies and strategies constitute elements of its promotion – mix.

Hotels provide meals, drinks, attractions, accommodation etc., to the general public or persons in transit especially people traveling to places where they have neither their own homes nor any relation to cater for their needs. Such persons will like to know few things about the hotels in their transitory area. In other words, they may like to know about available hotels, the categories of such hotels, the room and suit fares, and the type of food served, the necessary comfort customers are accorded – with, the game that is both indoor and outdoor games available and perhaps and other special feature that make such hotels appealing to the sojourners in transit.

These characteristics of hotels are boosted by promotions of various types in so many countries of the world. In Nigeria, major hotels live like lagon villa, madugu rock view & dantsho hotel adamawa state, Sheraton, Eko Hotels, Federal Palace Hotels, to mention just a few of them, have made impressionable image both nationally and internationally and the praises go to promotions that have heralded their various characteristics, class placement status to the public generally. Without promotion, the image of their hotels and their excellent services would not be so diffused to the public. For instance recently in Adamawa, some hotels have come up with incentive – type promotions to attract new terriers, to reward loyal customers and to increase the patronage rates of occasional users. One of such hotels is Madugu rock view situated at number 16 Chime Avenue, Lagon villa in Adamawa, promoted its hotel as (10%) Ten percent discount awaits customers that patronizes its hotel superbly built, and lavishly furnished with ultra-modern guest houses, with about sixteen (16) air conditioned rooms each with its exclusive toilets, cold/hot shower, stand-by water storage tanks to ensure uninterrupted water supply; a lounge with well stocked bar and assorted types of edibles including Chinese foods available; a well cemented car park adorned with beautiful flowers, and powerful stand-by generators to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

  1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

            An hotel can be defined as any establishment where food, drinks, accommodation and other related services are rendered to anybody that is willing to pay and is in a fit state to be received as in the proprietor's Act of 1956.

            The role of small scale hotel industry is to provide guests with maximum level of services at affordable prices. Hotels are components of the larger hospitality industry, as they provide foods, drinks, accommodation, recreation and offer other related services to the public.

            All the various works performed in the functional units of the small hotels are performed manually by the hotel personnel and they easily get bored or tired. Hotel personnel get tired especially during high sales hours for instance the work load is unfavourable to the front office staff during peak periods. This is also applicable to all other operational or functional sections of the hotel such as restaurant, bar and housekeeping. Hence more staff are usually needed to cope with the pressure during peak season.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

            The hotel industry is suffering a room capacity crisis. The economic downturn has depleted tourism demand significantly from its key markets and due to the development of several large new hotels; there is a potential oversupply problem, at least in the short-term. It has thus been predicted that the demand-supply imbalance in the hotel industry will lower occupancies, lower room rates and lower yields in the near future, (Pattern 1998;

Pownall, 1996). In periods of low demand and strong competitive pressures, hotel managers are faced with the constant challenge of balancing customer demand against available room capacity to cover the relatively high fixed costs in hotel properties, at the same time as achieving operational efficiency. Hotels are characterized by high fixed costs, with no scope for product inventory and, as a result, experience problems with capacity (Donaghy, McMahon & McDowell, 1995). A critical element for the success of any hotel manager is thus to make the most efficient use of the operation's capacity to satisfy the needs of owners without disrupting product and customer service quality. By using various means to establish capacity, managers are more easily able to control their work and ensure utilization of facilities, thus ensuring both resource productivity and customer satisfaction (Harris, 1989).

            There are a lot of complaints about the work load of small scale hotel. Some of these complaints among others are:

-           Poorly made beds

-           Poor restaurants and reception services

-           Use of obsolete and inadequate equipment and the unsatisfactory attitude of personnel dealing directly with the customers.

-           Poor seating arrangement in the food and beverages section. Personnel in these functional units, that is, the restaurant, bar, rooms and reception always express their mind about lack of job satisfaction culminating in their poor attitude to the guests.

1.3       OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

            This project is designed to achieve the underlisted aims and objectives:

-           To determine the problems associated with small scale hotel industry.

-           To identify major problems involved and its effects on operations

-           To determine the causes of the identified problems and prefer possible solutions.

1.4       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

            The importance of this study is to bring to limelight the importance of

Small scale hotel industry

-           The suggested solutions to identified problems will help to improve service and ensure customer satisfaction, high turnover and increased revenue.

-           Staff will gain by increasing their salary on the basis of increased productivity.

1.5       LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

            This project is designed to target waiters, reception staff, and room maids in small scale Hotel in Adamawa State.

            However, Lagon villa, Madugu rock view & dantsho hotel Adamawa will be our focus as case study. Also the study will be limited to the personnel in the food and beverage service, reception and house keeping departments.

1.6       DEFINITION OF TERMS

HOTEL: This can be defined as any establishment where food, drinks, accommodation and any other related services are rendered to anybody that is willing to anybody that is willing to pay and is in a fit state to be received.

TABLE D'HOTE: This is used for a fixed price menu of three or more courses with limited choice on each menu.

A LA CARTE: This is used for a menu with a selection of individually priced dishes.

COVER: A cover is usually referred to as a lay-up on a table and is to sometimes refer to the number of guests.

WAITING: This is a professional skill that portrays the establishment from the food service area to the general public, which constitutes the potential customer that consumes the service. Lilicrap (1971).

SMALL HOTEL: This is an hotel that has not more than 20 bedrooms and usually the bar and the restaurant are in the same place.