MNG01222 Risk Management for Hospitality Operations Sample Assignment

MNG01222

Facility and Risk Management for Hospitality Operations

Executive Summary

Purpose The purpose of this report or study is to provide a critical evaluation on the venue design in a high-end hospitality establishment, Hyatt Regency Sydney in Darling Harbour. The evaluation was made in order to find out about the overall condition of the venue and to find out the amount of risk caused by the current condition of the equipment and how well it performs.

Findings This report has been made through observation of the actual physical features of the building and its design can affect on customer’s overall experiences and Banquet department ability to thrive in the industry. The research shows and explains parameters in the venue design through many literature reviews, which are essential for the writer to make proper analysis and to make the Venue Condition Assessment Form.

Recommendation There are some recommendations made in this report at the end such as encouraging the managers and higher executives to actively involved in daily Banquet operation to be able to provide support and monitoring the venue condition. The regular maintenance procedures must be done in timely manner and such.  

1. Introduction

This report is analysing the venue design of a high-end hospitality property in the heart of Sydney Central Business District, Hyatt Regency Sydney. This property is located at Darling Harbour, a harbour which was used as dockside area in the old times. The location of Hyatt Regency is very strategic, as the property’s surrounding area is packed with numerous tourist attractions and with a pleasing and majestic sight of the harbour, dozen of restaurants with different cuisines for the tourists and local to choose from. The hotel regarded itself as a shelter to relax for corporate or leisure travelers (Sydney.regency.hyatt.com, 2017). Hyatt Regency is the biggest premium hotel in Sydney, with over than 800 guestrooms, and massive event space to accommodate business travelers’ needs. The main lobby is located in 161 Sussex St where the guests may drop their luggages or belongings, and driveway space to allow the taxis and guests’ cars to pass comfortably. The venue utilises heaps of heavy and light equipments during its daily operation and amongst all different department that it has, the Banquet or Event Services department will become the focus of this report.

2. Venue Design Analysis

The main lobby has a modern feel incorporated into the design and looks charming. The contemporary design has been chosen because it constitutes a form of special and recogniseable structure, defined by the usage of industrial material such as concrete, marble, carbon and strong metal. The materials then assembled together as embellishment to create simple geometrical volumes to be displayed in the premises (Hachette Livre et ou Hachette Multimédia, 2007).

The closeness of Hyatt Regency to numerous types of public transportation is one of the advantages for all the patrons including the hotel staffs, allowing them to comfortably reaching the premises. There is an array of options including multiple bus stops just a few blocks away from the hotel as well as the Town Hall and Wynyard train stations. Another option is walking by foot if the patrons live nearby.

A flexible and adjustable access is substantial for the venue’s guests especially when attending which is being held in the hotel (Fenich, 2012, p. 74). The entrance of Hyatt Regency is clearly visible from the street and clear signage will prevent the guests from going to wrong directions. Hyatt Regency Sydney provides large function and event spaces, thus their location and its visibility are extremely useful from the business’ perspective (Developing customercentric employees at RitzCarlton Hotels, 2003). A great and strategic location will be able to enhance a business’ reputation and then making it able to captivate the attention from event organisers to organise events in the hotel (Bull, 1995).

The physical features of the ballrooms has been designed very well with a contemporary design and modern looks. Hyatt Regency is located in such a premium area. This will become a major attractive point for the clients to consider about. Flexibleness and willingness to accommodate client’s demands also will help to promote the venue. With such design, safety and emergency measure are not forgotten with Hyatt Regency providing heaps of emergency stairs and exits all over the hotel.

There were expectations from higher executives and investors that Hyatt Regency could become the first choice for event organisers to hold any sort of event. With increasing competition from other function venues in Sydney, mistakes or disappointments must be prevented at all cost. Repeated disappointments resulted from inadequate control or care may affect the amount of revenues for Banquet department. Not only the service, the design of the venue plays big role in attracting more customers (Hassanien & Dale, 2011, p.112; Flowcrete, n.d.). Thus, from the perspective of the various stakeholders, Banquet department has been able to perform according to the set standard and is likely to achieve the company’s goals and objectives.

3. Venue Condition Assessment

Venue Condition Assessment in this report mirrors the physical state or current condition of the function rooms and every equipment used for daily banquet operation, which may or may not influence the overall asset efficiency and departmental performance (Cho and Olsen, 1998). Any damage to the structure of the hotel and especially the function equipment will hinder the Banquet department’s ability in general to cater and providing the patrons with the best service in accordance with the Hyatt’s visions and missions. To measure the quality of the performance, there are some parameters such as the reliable-ness, capability of meeting the demands, handling special requests and requirements, properly managing sudden changes (Ernst, 1998). The task has been made difficult because of few reasons, firstly the writer as a regular staff at the hotel was not able to extract financial information regarding the venue equipment and structures, secondly was the inability to reach the higher executives at the hotel which would have been great to hear some insights for future plans for the department.

These factors are important and essential to quantify the amount of remaining useful life of the function equipment and function rooms and thus providing the management with adequate time to decide and make plans for urgent matters like repairing damaged walls and further training to keep the service standard at the highest possible (Grigg, 1992)

The venue condition assessment is advantageous as it helps to enhance the quality of service to the patrons and respective clients during the events (Fenich, 2012). To prevent the early loss of assets because of the continuous usage, an acceptable and sufficient planning being put in place are required to ensure cost-effective repair, minimising the available risk in the function rooms and public areas for all patrons, to be able to make a precise plan for future investment or any expenses regarding the assets such as equipment, or efficient maintenance strategies (Cho, 2003).

The purposes of managing assets are to observe the condition of the assets and how well it performs over a period of time so that it is able to provide adequate information for the management (Greger and Withiam, 1991). The information will become the basis to signify whether any asset is performing inadequately, allowing the management to predict of premature asset failure, uncover the causes of the dips in the performance, deciding the actions that have to be taken to remedy the negative situations and neutralise the issues and when the issues must be solved within a frame of time (Bourgeois and Brodwin, 1984).

The function rooms in the hotel were built just recently and the equipment were also recently bought thus the quality and the condition is still perfectly functional. The ballrooms and other function rooms are always being examined and cleared meticulously as a maintenance strategy and to extend its useful life. The floor is covered by carpet which is being cleaned with industrial vacuum to remove stains and any dust after each event finishes. During the first year into operation, the venue is considered to be very safe for all patrons. Safety procedures are clear and explained to the staffs to minimise the risk and thus there was no big or dangerous accident ever occurred till now. If the dangerous situations such as emergencies arose, the hotel is well-equipped by having heaps of evacuation stairs spread all over the hotel and clearly visible signages for the emergency exits.

4. Venue Condition Assessment Form

(For All of the Function Rooms)

Item

Functionality

Cleanliness

Accessibility

Overall Condition

Refurbishment

Year

Cost

Structures

Funcrion Rooms

Excellent

Excellent

Good

Excellent

2016

Undisclosed

Walls

Excellent

Excellent

Good

Excellent

2016

Undisclosed

Chairs

Excellent

Excellent

Good

Excellent

2016

Undisclosed

Elevator

Good

Good

Excellent

Good

2016

Undisclosed

Tables

Excellent

Good

Excellent

Excellent

2016

Undisclosed

Stages

Excellent

Excellent

Excellent

Excellent

2016

Undisclosed

Service Equipment

Benches

Excellent

Good

Excellent

Excellent

-

Fridges

Good

Good

Good

Good

-

Oven

Good

Good

Good

Good

-

Servery

Excellent

Good

Excellent

Excellent

-

Air Conditioning

Air Conditioning

Excellent

Excellent

Excellent

Excellent

2016

Undisclosed

Audio Visual

Audio equipment

Excellent

Excellent

Excellent

Excellent

-

Electric Cables

Good

Good

Excellent

Good

-

5. Recommendation

The managers and higher hierarchy executives of Hyatt Regency must be present most of the time and know how the Banquet department works. By having a well-grasp of the condition of the function rooms and the equipment, the Hyatt Banquet department will be able to thrive amongst the competitors. It is essential for the management to have extensive knowledge of their assets and their performances. The assessment must be done regularly and according to the schedule (Greger and Withiam, 1991). At the time, the function rooms and equipment are in very good condition so it must be maintained. The result of the venue condition assessment must be communicated well to the staffs and the managers, to provide transparency and for better monitoring purposes to decrease the risk during the operation for all patrons and minimising the probability asset failure. Hyatt Regency Sydney may be able to showcase its massive function rooms but the function rooms have inadequate number of toilets which might turn into disappointment and lower satisfaction whenever there is a big function being held in the venue. With a new venues being opened and built in close proximity of the hotel especially in Darling Harbour, if the problems are not solved properly, it will make the Hyatt Banquet department to lose its attractiveness (Hassanien & Dale, 2012, p. 266; Witfield & Webber, 2010, p. 440).

6. Conclusion

Hyatt Regency Sydney is a 5-star and high-end hospitality venue which is located in Darling Harbour. It had just gone through a massive redevelopment which made them to publicly announcing itself as one of the largest provider of function space in Sydney. With array of function rooms, new equipment, ability to cater all sorts of function, Hyatt Regency strives to be the best in the function services field. Here is where the Venue Condition Assessment becomes important part to keep an eye of the condition of the venue structures and Banquet equipment to lower the risk factor for all patrons in the venue, providing adequate time to rectify any issues thus maintaining the high standard that has been set by management. All the structure are new and perfectly functional, furthermore there was no serious accident ever recorded during the first year of Banquet operation. Those implies that the control of the asset has been done well and the Venue Condition Assessment has been also helpful to achieve the departmental goals and objectives. 

References

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Fenich, G. G. (2012). Meetings, expositions, events and conventions: An introduction to the industry (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey : Prentice Hall.

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Sydney.regency.hyatt.com. (2017). Australia’s Largest Hotel Located In Darling Harbour | Hyatt Regency Sydney. [online] Available at: https://sydney.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel.html [Accessed 10 Jul. 2017].

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