An Investigatoin into the Provision of Accommodation, Food and Beverage

An Investigatoin into the Provision of Accommodation, Food and Beverage Free Online Research Papers Purpose To introduce the operational factors involved in the provision off food and beverage and accommodation. Objectives Compare and contrast different methods of food and beverage accommodation services. Scenario Visit two hospitality outlets. Submit a report based on observations and any further independent research. Outlets Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest and ARAMARK ?bbreviations: CM for Careys Manor; SS for SenSpa; AM for ARAMARK; 1.Description of the outlets. 1.1 Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest: Careys Manor Hotel SenSpa is owned by parent company called Greenclose Limited, based in Lymington, New Forest. It has two sister hotels the Montagu Arms in Beaulieu, New Forest and The Imperial Hotel in Wales. CM is situated in New Forest, Hampshire and accupies the amazing six acres. â€Å"With three restaurants, there is plenty to choose from whether you prefer fine dining in our two AA Rosette Manor Restaurant, a relaxed atmosphere in Blaireaus French Bistro or want to enjoy authentic Thai cuisine in the Zen Garden Restaurant.† (Careys Manor, n. d.). A huge bedroom refurbishment has been made, for about  £ 1.5 million, which enables CM to offer 79 luxury bedrooms and large versatile conference facilities. Essential element of the hotel is it`s Spa centre- SenSpa. â€Å"SenSpa, our  £6m award winning Thai spa, offers state-of-the-art facilities including a large Hydrotherapy Pool, Herbal Sauna, Crystal Steam Room, Ice Room, Experience Showers and much more.† ( Careys Manor, n. d.). It sounds nice to spend a relaxing weekend at Careys Manor SenSpa and if we can trust on one of their guests` comment it is a realy great experience!: When I stay at Careys Manor I am wonderfully looked after. They give me every conceivable comfort and at the same time I feel totally relaxed and at ease as if I was in my own home but without a care in the world. The Careys Manor combination of homeliness and luxury means that I can be myself in their care, whether kicking off my shoes or dressing up for dinner. (Careys Manor, n. d.). Tariff: Appendix1 1.2 ARAMARK: Aramark is an American company that has spread worldwide and became the world leader in Contract Catering Industry. â€Å"Over the course of its history, ARAMARK has endeavored to build relationships of trust with thousands of clients around the world. The company offers its clients the most complete, most innovative array of managed services in the marketplace, and thus provides solutions that are customized to each client’s unique needs. In the process, ARAMARK strives to create more value for its clients and to strengthen and expand its client partnerships.† (Aramark, n. d.). AM entered the United Kingdom in 1970`s under the name ARA. Thirty years later it moves from service to partnership and its name is changed to ARAMARK. Last year it won the Cost Sector Catering Corporate Responsibility and Contract Caterer Awards 2008. However, here in Portsmouth AM caters 2 500 000 employees from 20 companies. It offers its clients rich diversity of dishes – from fres hly prepared food and traditional English breakfast to everything you can find in the nearby shop or even Starbucks! 2. Food production and food service system. 2.1 Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest: As a four star hotel Careys Manor sticks to high quality service on each guest cycle tendance and the result for sure is high prices. Of course there are always some tempting promotions such as â€Å"Book One Night Bed Breakfast and Receive the Second Night Half Price plus FREE Dinner on One Evening.† or â€Å"Bring a Friend For FREE!!† (Careys Manor, n. d.). Here is an example of some of the incoming Christmas and New Year`s Eve menu prices: â€Å"New Year`s Eve Dinner Menu – Champagne and Canapà ©s; Smoked Free-range Chicken Consommà © with Roast Onion and Date Tortellini; Chocolate Mousse with Spiced Pear Sablà © and Lavender Sabayon; Selection of New Forest Cheese with Home-made Chutney and Biscuits; Fairtrade Coffee and Petits Fours  £ 155 per person† â€Å"Christmas Day Lunch – Champagne and Canapà ©s; Jerusalem Artichoke Veloutà © finished with Rocket Pesto and Seared Scallop; Roasted New Forest Turkey with Bacon and Chipolata Roll, Chestnut Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce; Traditional Christmas Pudding with Brandy Cream Sauce; Platter of English Cheese with Home-made Chutney and Biscuits; Fairtrade Coffee and Petits Fours  £115 per person† â€Å"Boxing Day Lunch Terrine of Wild Boar with Apple and Wild Mushroom Chardonnay Vinaigrette; Honey-glazed Belly of Local Pork with Lavender Fondant and Red Wine Sauce; Chocolate and Cherry Clafoutis with Vanilla Seed Ice-cream and Hot Chocolate Sauce; Fairtrade Coffee and Petits Fours  £ 27.50† (Careys Manor Christmas Brochure,n. d., p.3,4). Normally prices depend on the very service, for example a plain breakfast is round  £15 or lunch varies between  £25 and  £45. At the Thai Restaurant there are dishes such as â€Å"Moonlight Spa† , a three course dinner, just for  £39 or the â€Å"Twilight Spa†  £99. And the most popular of all is the is still the Afternoon Tea- only for  £ 14.95. Sample menus: Appendix2 The key of cooking four star dishes is not only the high qualified chefs but the work environment! Careys Manor`s kitchens are divided into different sections – hot meal section, cold dishes (starters, sandwiches), vegetarian dishes and pastry (where the desserts are prepared). This is one successful organised system where everyone knows what he/she has to do and if there is a problem the manager will know who is to blame, as well. 2.2 ARAMARK: To be the world leader in Contract Catering Industry is a great challenge and responsibility – you should be perfect in every way- food must be qualitative, service- outstanding and last but not at least- prices should be attractive. Being stressed out for most of the time at work consumers are hard to please, they have high expectations and really do not like spending money. One of the ways AM uses to entice more clients is by entertaining them. What the company does is organising theme weeks. For instance the company have made â€Å"British Chef Meal Week†- each day the clients were served different chef`s meal and yes both parties were satisfied- the customers got their diversity and the company- its profit. Here are some examples of â€Å"Health and Wellness’ menu programs: â€Å"Our award-winning Just4Uâ„ ¢ healthier menu program allows diners to easily identify the foods right for them, including low fat, low calorie, vegetarian, etc. Available at businesses, hospitals and universities, Just4Uâ„ ¢ recipes are developed for superior taste and analyzed by dietitians for nutritional content based on several criteria. Just4Uâ„ ¢ educational materials have been favorably reviewed by the American Dietetic Association. Just4U for Vendingâ„ ¢ provides more than 150 healthier beverage and snack options in vending machines. ARAMARK’s â€Å"Fresh Healthy† nutrition education and healthy lifestyle communications highlight ways to eat more healthfully with colorful point-of-sale materials and customer newsletters. Available at more than 2,000 business, university and healthcare locations, â€Å"Fresh Healthy† is updated quarterly.† (ARAMARK, n. d.) All these healthy, low fat, fresh food seems expensive but actually they are not, at all. While picking up information about this report I found out that most of the prices for food and beverage vary between  £1 and  £5. Great value for great taste. 3. Investigate and compare the design of the menu. 3.1 Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest: Careys Manor SenSpa restaurants have different designed menus but they all have something in common- fresh, organic food. Probably 90% of the products they use are from local suppliers and the other 10% from high quality European suppliers. Chefs use as much organic food as they can. If being a regular visitor to even one of the restaurants you will realize that dishes are being changed through the year and it is so because of the seasonal products being used. For instance: The Manor Restaurant- â€Å"All main courses are served with vegetables that are appropriate to each dish. We source only quality products which are predominantly English and, as far as possible, local, free-range and organic.†; Le Blaireau Restaurant- â€Å"This jewel in the forest offers a wide range of dishes from French classics to nouvelle cuisine; all based on organic and free-range products. Specials are designed each day by our chefs depending on the fresh goods of the market.†; Zen Garden Thai Restaurant- â€Å"Our Thai chefs serve freshly prepared Thai dishes using organic and locally sourced products where possible. Whether you visit the Zen Garden Restaurant for a 3 course dinner or just a freshly made smoothie, you will find the atmosphere relaxing and friendly.† (Careys Manor, n. d.) 3.2 ARAMARK: AM`s menu depends on what people need to be successful at work- energetic, hearty, healthy food. The company tends to offer its consumers fresh and organic food as Careys Manor SenSpa restaurants do. But there is a major difference how they are supplied- by centralised purchasing. There is one more difference with the food being offered- it is not 100% freshly cooked, AM has provided more than 150 healthier beverage and snack options in vending machines (as I mentioned earlier). All the dishes offered had been chosen by their healthy values. 4. Describe the activities undertaken by front of house and housekeeping at each stage of the guest cycle at the hotel and explain how they contribute to the overall guest experience. 4.1 Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest: As describing the guest cycle at a hotel I am going to focus only on Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest: The first stage of the guest cycle is the booking stage. There are several options available to make a reservation- through websites, phone, in person, by booking agent At this stage all the information about the guest is gathered and ready to be used. CM hotel uses one of the newest programs related to the booking stage called â€Å"Opera†. It is used to create a profile of the guest including all his/hers requirements and preferences. Once done all the staff will know how to treat its guests. The second stage is the arrival. CM has three day porters and two night porters. They introduce the hotel, show the way to the rooms, introduce the exact room, explain the guests how they can reach the rest of the staff. The third is the housekeeping stage. The role of the housekeeper is to enhance and nourish the environment- from cleaning the room and making the bed to refurbishment and maintenance of the equipment. The fourth stage is the departure stage. On the check-out all guests have the opportunity to fill in a Guest Comment Card and give their valuable feedback. Through all the stages the whole staff of the hotel takes care of its guests from the housekeeper through the waiters and chefs to the managers and their job is to make clients feel good. If a hotel wants to keep a particular clientele the managers should think of an attractive way to do that. The way Careys Manor`s manager does it, is by giving them a VIP status. They might be the most recent visitors or business ones and what they get as VIPs are luxury chocolate bars on the pillow, free champagne, fruits Still the best you can have in this business is fully satisfied clients and then their money. 5. Explain and comment on the processes in place within each outlet to ensure effective communication takes place between departments. 5.1 Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest: At CM the communication between departments is taken very seriosly. What I mean is that at any moment everyone of the staff knows if there are any changes in the daily schedule. There are two daily meetings- morning meeting and another one where changes in the menu are being discussed. There is a weekly revenue meeting, as well. Its main point is to consider how the market is performing. And there is a monthly meeting related to â€Å"How to fill the gaps†. Decisions about how to advertise the hotel are taken there- through websites, magazines or even facebook. 5.2 ARAMARK: AM`s work is based on quality- food, service, personel. As a number one company in Contract Catering Industry there are no excuses if something go wrong with their service. This is why there is a strong link between each department. There are weekly meetings where the menu is being done and any issues with the departments are being discussed. There is a once a month meeting, as well. It is at this point in time, that the members are able to raise issues they feel are important, profit is calculated, future activity of the company is discussed. Being part of the high competative market AM is making its best to keep its leadership position. 6. Review the staffing implications within each operational area to include consideration of: ratio of full time/part time/casual; shift patterns; the skills of the staff required for the type of business; current employment issues. 6.1 Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest: At CM and SS there are working only six people as a casual staffat the moment- the rest are on a part time or temporary contracts. Most of them are multi skilled and can replace someone if necessary. This staff strategy has been developed because of the recession this year. Generally the hotel has a manager of the hotel, manager for each restaurant, head waiters, chefs () and for the spa procedures- five fitness instructors and twenty therapists. It is common practice for the hotel to employ students from different EU countries such as Italia, France, Poland, as a part time workers. All of the employees mentioned above have one shift except the receptionist. She/He works on three shifts- early, middle or late. The rule under which all the staff works is â€Å"As flexible as possible†. 6.2 ARAMARK: The most important person here is the general manager. He drives everything and has to be sure that the client + the company + the customers are all satisfied! Then comes the assistant manager followed by two supervisors (their job is to count the money, filling the gaps) and two team leaders- shop leader and Starbucks leader. The kitchen staff and the team leaders are extremely steady unlike the supervisors, who can do turnovers. All of the employees working for AM should be highly motivated, have excellent time management and communication skills, they should be team workers and all in all multi skilled. BIBLIOGRAPHY ARAMARK (n. d.). ARAMARK History, Retrieved November 29, 2009, from ARAMARK`s website: aramark.com/AboutARAMARK/History/ ARAMARK (n. d.). Nutrition and Healthy Menus, Retrieved November 29, 2009, from ARAMARK`s website: aramark.com/AboutARAMARK/ARAMARKOn/NutritionandHealthyMenus.aspx Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest (n. d.). New Forest hotels- Careys Manor luxury Hotel and Spa, Retrieved November 29, 2009, from Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest website: careysmanor.com/ Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest (n. d.). 1-4_XMAS_AT_CAREYS, p. 3,4, Retrieved November 29, 2009, from Careys Manor Christmas Brochure: careysmanor.com/my_documents/File/1-4_XMAS_AT_CAREYS.pdf Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest (n. d.). Wellcome to Blaireaus Brasserie and Bar, Retrieved November 30, 2009, from Blaireaus website: blaireaus.com/ Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest (n. d.). The Zen Garden Thai Restaurant, Retrieved November 30,2009, from The Zen Garden Thai Restaurant website: thezengarden.co.uk/index.htm Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest (n. d.). New Forest hotels- Careys Manor luxury Hotel and Spa, Retrieved November 30, 2009, from Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest website: careysmanor.com/category.asp?p=Manor+Restaurant Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest (n. d.). New Forest hotels- Careys Manor luxury Hotel and Spa, Retrieved November16, 2009, from Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest website: careysmanor.com/category.asp?p=Tariff Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest (n. d.). Wellcome to Blaireaus Brasserie and Bar- Menu, Retrieved November 30, 2009, from Blaireaus website: blaireaus.com/MenuList.asp?Lang=ENM_ID=1 Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest (n. d.). The Zen Garden Thai Restaurant- Menu, Retrieved November 30,2009, from The Zen Garden Thai Restaurant website: thezengarden.co.uk/menu.htm Careys Manor SenSpa New Forest (n. d.). 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