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Analysis Of Hotel Department Management
Arjita Patta (125985218)
Ayrton Marquez (151009214)
Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
Seneca College
Operations Management
OPM220 NGC
Wendy Kadlovski
June 15, 2022
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Table Of Contents
Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………………3
Interview Questions…………………………………………………………………………………..4
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..….5
Location and Type…………………………………………………………………………………….5
Size……………………………………………………………………………………………………5
Market Segment………………………………………………………………………………………5
Chain Of Command……………………………………………………………………………………6
Food and Beverage Department………………………………………………………………….…..6
Functional Relationships and Tasks………………………………………………………………….7
Departments contribution to marketing………………………………………………………….……8
Mission Of the Department………………………………………………………………………..…8
People Of the Department…………………………………………………………………………….9
Interactions Of the Department……………………………………………………………..………..9
Management Of the Department…………………………………………………………………….10
Issues Of the Department……………………………………………………………………….……11
Budget Of the Department…………………………………………………………………..…..…..11
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………..12
References……………………………………………………………………………………………13
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Appendix
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Interview Questions
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Source: Dylan Ledoux, Assistant Manager of Room Service and Steward
Q1. How many restaurants does the hotel have?
Q2. Do you have enough staff for all the outlets for smooth functioning?
Q3. How important do you think the Food & Beverage department is in the functioning of the hotel?
Q4. What do you think are the challenges of working in this department at every level?
Q5. With which department does Food & Beverage interact the most and the least?
Q6. Who are the managers currently?
Q7. Do you think they have a typical career track?
Q8. At what position and when will these managers be promoted?
Q9. How is the budget prepared?
Q10. What are the major budget variables?
Q11. Does the budget vary a lot? If it does, what is done to manage the variation?
Q12. How much authority does the manager have on the budget?
Q13. What are the issues that are mostly faced by this department?
Q14. Does the department face any problems due to the shortage of hospitality sector staff globally?
Q15. What are your roles and responsibility at the hotel?
Q16. In the next 5 years, where do you see yourself in this hotel?
Q17. According to you, does all the staff only perform the duties which are stated in their job
description?
Q18. Do you think the hotel needs more food and beverage outlets?
Q19. Do you think the management in the training program was helpful to you?
Q20. How do you deal with guest complaints?
Introduction
Location & Type – The Four Seasons Hotel Toronto is located at 60 Yorkville Avenue. It is the
flagship property of the brand as it was founded in Toronto in 1961. The current hotel opened its
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doors in October 2012. It has 259 hotel rooms (including 42 suites) and 210 residential units. This
luxury 5 stars hotel also features a spa with 16 treatment rooms, salon services, a yoga studio, and an
indoor pool. This spa facility is a popular place for guests of the hotel, as well as Torontonians. On the
Food and Beverage side, there are several dining outlets. Café Boulud is the most famous one. It is a
modern French brasserie, serving dishes created by Chef Daniel Boulud and inspired by his
hometown close to Lyon, France. D|bar is the street-level lounge bar. It offers afternoon teas, as well
as creative food and cocktail menus. The banquets department offers unique meeting and event
facilities with its glass-enclosed meeting spaces, with a capacity of 400 people. Lastly, Room Service,
also known as In-Room Dining, gives the guests the opportunity to enjoy high-quality dishes and
drinks in the comfort of their room.
(Toronto Luxury Hotel | Downtown Yorkville 5-Star Hotel | Four Seasons, 2021)
Market Segments – Four Seasons Hotel targets holidaymakers who are interested in extra luxury. Its
target market segments are affluent holidaymakers who are newlywed couples, corporate
businessmen, and families with children. The company positioning promotes the loyalty of guests to
the FS brand, particularly the top-rich holidaymakers seeking hyper-luxury. (Digital and Social Media
Marketing by Four Seasons Hotel: Report and Campaign, 2021)
Chain of Command – The chain of command at the Four Seasons Toronto is straightforward, as seen
in the organizational chart. Everything starts with the general manager, who focuses more on the
shareholders and the communication between them and the hotel. Then we have the Hotel Manager,
who focuses more on the hotel. Following the Food and Beverage department, we have a Director of
Food and Beverage who is the department’s lead—followed by the department heads of the different
areas and their staff members.
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Food & Beverage Department
The Food & Beverage department is a profit center for the hotel as the hotel delivers its food and
beverage service through six outlets. The main attraction of the hotel is its fine dining French
restaurant named Cafe Boulud it also has a private dining room called Cafe Boulud Private Dining. D|
Bar, D|Azur are the famous cocktail bars of the hotel, and there is an in-room dining service for the
guests who dine in the luxurious rooms. (Toronto Restaurants | Fine Dining Downtown | Four
Seasons Hotel, 2022)
Functional Relationships and tasks of F&B Service
1. Director of Food & Beverage: He/She plans, organizes, directs, controls, and evaluates the
operations of Cafe Boulud, D|Bar, and Banquet. He/She coordinates these activities on a daily
basis; assists clients in program planning and menu selection.
General
Manager
Hotel Manager
Director of
Food and
Beverage
Assistant
Manager
Assistant
Manager
Assistant
Manager
Room Service
and Steward
Manager
Banquet
Manager
Restaurant
Manager (D|
bar)
Assistant
Manager
Restaurant
Manager
(Cafe
Boulud)
Servers
Bartenders
Food Runners
Server Assistants
Banquet
Servers
Bartenders
Executive
Chefs (different
outlets)
Sous chefs
(different
outlets)
Servers
Servers Stewards Cooks
Bartenders
Food RunnersServer
Assistants
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2. Restaurant Manager (Cafe Boulud and D|Bar): He/She is in charge of the whole functioning
of the cafe and bar. He/She must be well-versed in the current trends in catering, as well as
guest psychology, and establish a positive connection with them. They should be aware of any
VIP reservations or if any important function is being held.
3. Banquet Manager: He/She is in charge of all the functions of the banquet department which
include discussing the function arrangements with guests, preparing the budget, briefing the
head waiter, planning the menu, and procuring equipment.
4. Assistant Manager (Cafe Boulud, D|Bar, and Banquet): He/She is responsible to organize,
monitor, and educate all cafe and bar service workers in order to provide visitors with
efficient and personalized food and beverage service.
5. Servers: He is in charge of a certain restaurant sector with four to six tables seating up to 20
people and is responsible for providing rapid and customized food and beverage service to
visitors at designated tables in accordance with established service standards and to ensure
guest satisfaction.
6. Bartenders: They work directly with the guests by mixing and serving drink orders. Their
main responsibilities are to verify age requirements, know alcohol pairing and tastes, know
how to make traditional and classy drinks, process payments, manage inventory, and clean bar
supplies.
7. Food Runners: Their primary duty is to deliver food to guests, and they work alongside
Servers and Bartenders to ensure customer satisfaction.
8. Banquet Servers: Serves patrons with food and beverages in a positive and friendly manner.
9. Server Assistants: They are students who mostly assist the server with table setup and
clearance. They may also be tasked with removing and wiping off servicing equipment, as
well as setting up the scene. Because they are new to the job, they will not be requested to
visit any of the guests’ tables.
10. Stewards: They are hired for certain functions. They are in charge of completing any
banqueting or function work that has been entrusted to them. When engaging them,
considerable care must be made since their honesty, demeanor, and service skills, among
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other things, will have a significant influence on the hotel’s goodwill. They are paid and
discharged after the function.
F&B Service department’s contribution to Marketing Strategies
1. They have a dedicated website (www. Cafeboulud.com) for their French Restaurant Cafe
Boulud, which offers the customers to easily order take-outs, book an event at the private
dining lounge, look at the menu and inform the customers about their upcoming events.
2. They have also partnered with apps like OpenTable and Zomato for easy access to the
restaurant’s services for the guests.
3. They actively post about the D|Bar on Pinterest and their social media platforms like Twitter,
Instagram, and Facebook.
4. They have a dedicated page named @cafebouludto on Instagram where they post daily to
promote their signature dishes and dish of the day.
5. They also use the hotel guest data to inform about the latest upcoming offers and events at
the restaurant or bar.
6. They also offer Daniel Boulud Dining Gift Card to promote their restaurant services and
name.
The Mission of the Department
● Prepare and deliver food and beverage to guest rooms or residences, any time of the day or
night.
● Create, arrange, organize and deliver amenities to the rooms, prior to the arrival of the guests
or for a special occasion
● Ensure the minibar products are stocked in the pantries and attractive to the guests.
● Manage the Cloud 9 terrace. It is located on the patio of the Spa and offers a special food and
drinks menu to Spa guests. The food is prepared by the room service kitchen and brought up
to Cloud 9.
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● The room service department is key in a 5-star hotel as it is mandatory in order to receive this
high rating attributed to Forbes.
People
● The personnel of the Room service department consists of ten servers with rotating roles. The
different roles are the following: setter, server, and busser. The setter sets up the trolley
according to the guest’s order and picks up the food from the kitchen and the drinks. The
server then brings the trolley to the room, sets up the table according to the guest’s preference,
and makes sure the order is complete. The server, when back in-room service, closes the
check to the guest’s room or to another payment type requested by the guest. One hour after
the delivery or within ten minutes of the guest’s request, the busser goes to pick up the trolley
and dirty dishes from the room.
● At the Four Seasons Toronto, the room service department does not include an order taker as
this task is completed by another department named Core. They receive all the calls from
inside and outside the hotel and also take room service orders and punch them into the
system. The order is then automatically sent to the room service setter and the kitchen to be
prepared.
● As a room service server, the growth opportunity within the brand is to become an MIT
(manager in training), a one-year program during which the line staff is trained to become a
manager and rotates between different departments related to Food and beverage. The next
step is to become an assistant manager of room service and oversee the management part of
the department.
● The good points of working in this department are being part of a diverse and motivated team,
providing the best service to hotel guests, connecting with them, and making their stay
unforgettable. As servers, the staff also receives tips which make the position more attractive
and encourages the team to provide the best service.
● The challenges of this department are various. First of all, timeliness is key as guests expect
their delivery at an exact time. The food and drinks need to be fresh and brought from the
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kitchen or bar as soon as they are ready. This can become stressful during busy shifts. Another
challenge is the physical aspect of this job. It requires lifting, pushing, and pulling hotboxes
and trolleys.
Interactions
● The room service department is deeply connected to other departments in the hotel in order to
function correctly.
● Of course, it works closely with the kitchen in order to have the food prepared in a timely
manner and to elaborate the different menus and update changes, if needed. The room service
department also communicated with the Core department on a daily basis as it is this
department that takes the guest’s orders and organizes the amenities.
● Also interacting with room service is the Front desk department. In fact, they are in charge of
the check-in of the guests and this is directly linked to the delivery of amenities to the rooms.
The amenity needs to be ready upon the guest’s arrival in the room so it is important that the
Front desk communicates any changes in room allocation rapidly to the room service team,
for example.
● Regarding amenities, but also clearance of room service trolleys, the housekeeping
department communicates on a daily basis with room service. It is only in clean rooms that
the amenities can be delivered to the housekeeping team to communicate updates regarding
room status to the room service department. Also, when servicing a room, a room attendant
may notice a room service trolley that needs to be picked up and will inform room service.
● As the Four Seasons property in Toronto also includes residences, there is daily
communication with the residence concierges to make sure the orders are delivered and
picked up.
● When there are groups checking in, the sales department will usually arrange amenities to be
delivered with cards for each guest. The room service department will then communicate with
the sales team in order to make the delivery and preparation of these special amenities as
smooth as possible.
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● Room service does not interact with the following departments on a daily basis: Concierge,
engineering, security, marketing, finance, and purchasing.
Management
● The managers of the room service department are the following: one department head and
two assistant managers. They oversee the In-Room Dining department as well as Stewarding.
● The typical career track for these people is usually a degree in hospitality or management,
serving experience in a high-end restaurant or hotel, supervisor or MIT experience in a similar
setting.
● From being managers in Room service, the next step is either to become a manager in another
department of the hotel to gain experience or to become Food and Beverage assistant director
or director, depending on the hotel’s organization.
Issues
● Guest complaints: Understand the complaint, apologize, offer a quick resolution, show that
we care, and follow up with the guest.
● Missing an item from the order: Make sure the order is complete before leaving room service.
The server needs to double-check the order and may request the manager’s help to triplecheck the order anytime.
● Miscommunications between room service and core departments >> Being clearer on orders
when punched in to avoid confusion, do not hesitate to call Room service managers or servers
with any questions.
● Last-minute room block changes and too little time to move the amenity before guests checkin. Having the Front desk department call the room service department directly when a room
change happens in order to give more time for the server to make the changes and move
amenities.
● Delays from the kitchen when it becomes busy: Having one extra cook on busy days, more
training, and making sure enough time is given to the kitchen to cook (20 minutes for
breakfast and 30 minutes for dinner is the standard).
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● Staff shortage: Hire more staff but it takes time as there is a global shortage of hospitality staff
in Toronto.
All these issues are common in all these types of hotels. You are following high standards and
meeting the guest’s needs. Working in a luxury brand is looking to do all the processes with
perfection. Paying attention to the details is an important rule to avoid different issues.
Budget
● The three main budget variables are wage, food and beverage cost, and operating supplies.
● The budget is fixed by the planning committee monthly and is then followed by the
department head and assistant managers that make sure to spend according to the budget. The
department head can ask for an increase in the budget but it needs to be well explained and
with well-founded reasons.
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Conclusion
After having a brief conversation with the Assistant Manager, we discovered that the Food and
Beverage Department is one of the backbones of the smooth functioning of the hotel. This department
also generates a huge share of the revenue by providing luxurious services to the guests. We
discovered how all the staff work in harmony to create the best luxurious experience possible for the
guests. Every position in this department is extremely important starting from server assistants to the
director of the food and beverage department for the proper functioning of the hotel. From setting up
the server’s station to serving a meal to the guest at the table, each and every individual plays an
important role.
We also discovered that every staff member performs various duties. They are not mandated to stick
to their roles and responsibilities as stated in the job description or a textbook, because this is how
they learn and grow, by working in new areas and engaging themselves in work. All the employees in
Four Seasons Toronto are recognized and rewarded for their hard work quite often.
The assistant manager also told us about the professional growth in this department, it is not always
compulsory that a person needs to work 5 years to become a Food & Beverage Manager, it all
depends on the learnings and caliber of the person if the management finds the person fit for the role,
then that individual can become a manager in 2 years as well.
Therefore, we came to a conclusion that there is a lot of difference between practical and textbook
knowledge. A person learns more by doing a task rather than just watching or reading about it.
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References
Toronto Luxury Hotel | Downtown Yorkville 5-Star Hotel | Four Seasons. (2021). Four Seasons.
https://www.fourseasons.com/toronto/
Digital and Social Media Marketing by Four Seasons Hotel: Report and Campaign. (2021).
Homework-Lab. https://homework-lab.com/examples/digital-and-social-media-marketing-by-fourseasons-hotel-report-and-campaign-5917/
Toronto Restaurants | Fine Dining Downtown | Four Seasons Hotel. (2022). Four Seasons.
https://www.fourseasons.com/toronto/dining/