HA490

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Comprehensive Project –InterContinental Hotel & Resort
Internship Course HA490
Nicolas Winitzky
Professor: David Schapiro

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Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Page 3-5
Management and
Organization………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……..Page 5-6
Organizational
Culture……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….Page 7-8
Social Responsibility and Managerial
Ethics…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….Page 9-11
Organizational Structure and
Design………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………Page 12-13
Communication and Information
Technology……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………Page 14-15
Accounting and
Finance……………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………Page 16-17
Human Resource
Management……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Page 18-19
Marketing………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Page 20
Operations and Value Chain
Management……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Page 21-22
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..……………….……….Page 23

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Introduction
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is a brand of luxury hotels. It was founded in 1946 by Pan
American World Airways, and the Property is now owned by the InterContinental Hotels Group.
The chain operates over a hundred and eighty-three hotels and resorts in more than sixty
nations.
InterContinental Hotel started on April 4th of 1946, when the first hotel unwrapped in Belem,
Brazil, in order to accommodate Pan American World Airways crew and passenger in
destinations where five-star hotels were absent. The quantity of Hotels grew over time with the
development of the airline’s routes. It started with South American and the Caribbean first,
then reaching towards Europe, the Middle-East and finally Asia. As it followed the strategy of its
parent company, whose development was mainly based upon its international flights,
InterContinental Hotels opened little by little outside of the United States before penetrating
the country, which it finally did in 1975 with the landmark InterContinental Mark Hopkins
Hotel.
In 1981, the holding company InterContinental Hotels Corporation was sold to the United
Kingdoms-based company Grand Metropolitan. As GrandMet centered its attention in its core
business, ICH was sold in 1988 to Japanese based group. Ten years later it would be acquired by
Bass Brewery in 1998.
Eventually, Bass was itself split in two halves, its brewing assets being sold to Interbrew while
the remainder of the company became Six Continents PLC, which focused on hotels,
restaurants, and the beverage business. When the company split in two, IHG was created in
2003 to become what it is today. IHG Retains the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand as a
part of its portfolio, along with midscale Holiday Inn and the more upscale Crowne Plaza.
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts currently operates with a quite evenly located portfolio: with
thirty-seven properties in north America, thirty-one in Europe, Twenty-nine in the Middle East,
nine-teen in Latin America, and fifty-one in Asia Pacific.
My internship took place in InterContinental Hotel situated in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of
the seven Hotels located in South America.
As for their mission statement, IHG is a global hotel company whose goal is to create Great
Hotels Guests Love. Their Goal is to grow by making their brands the first choice for guests and
hotel owners alike.
Their main competitors for InterContinental Hotel in Buenos Aires are predominantly the other
5-star luxury hotels situated in the Port City.

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Those hotels which share their market segment are the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel and
Sheraton Libertador, The Buenos Aires Grand Hotel, The Alvear Art Hotel, The Plaza Hotel
Buenos Aires, and Caesar Park Hotel.
I had the pleasure to be accepted as an intern in ICH Buenos Aires, and the great opportunity of
doing a cross-training Internship.
As an Intern, I would go through Front Desk, Back, Food and Beverage (F&B) and Housing
during my many weeks stay at the InterContinental Hotel in Buenos Aires. It was an enriching
experience with a great variety of responsibilities to absorb experience from.

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Management and Organization
The Omnipotent view is the traditional view of managers which states they have virtually
unlimited control over the organization and its purpose, functions and operation. Thus, they
are alone responsible for all its success and failures. This is the Omnipotent View of
Management.
The Second, the Symbolic View, states that management is the view which managers have only
limited effect on substantive organizational outcomes because of large amount of factors
outside of their control.
The first view is effective when the manager is able to act, as the view is called, Omni-potently,
and the performance can be dependent on the ability and quality of the manager. IN this view,
the manager shoulders a bigger responsibility and is held accountable for an organization’s
performance, their influence being primordial.
As for the second view, the Symbolic perspective states much of the organization’s success or
failure is also due to external forces outside of the manager’s control, and takes into
consideration other factors besides the manager shouldering all responsibility. The ability of
managers to affect the outcome is also influenced (and constrained) by external factors. This
view takes into account other factors which also affect the outcome, in addition to the ability of
the manager commanding the company. Factors such as the economy, customers,
governmental policies, competitors, industry conditions, technology and the actions of even
previous managers are taken into consideration. This second view is more down to earth than
the first. However, the first view is also very empowering. The Omnipotent view could be very
effective when external forces are not very hazardous and are tame, where full control can be
malleable and fluent.
In regards to the Intercontinental Hotel in Buenos Aires, the head managers of their respective
division each have a different style when interacting with their department’s co-workers.
Celina Vesprini, to start with, does little supervision to the Front Desk. This is because most of
the duties of front desk are a perpetual standard: They know what they have to do every day,
and what is expected of them as employees. In addition, there is little need for Celina’s
intrusion, since the concierges handle operations and commands to bellboys and doormen, so
the manager may focus on office work. It’s important to mention there is an immense trust
with the workers of their respective division.
Celina does supervise her co-workers though: supervision is done casually as managers come
and go in and out of Front Desk. The office is right behind the front.
Marcos Alonso, on the other hand, tends to be very interactive with his co-workers and
personnel. He likes to personally tell them what to do every time when issuing orders

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periodically. This is because the Banquets (F&B) sector offers more particular cases every week.
One week they might have to bake a wedding cake and attend over two-hundred invitees,
another they might have a convention were many of the same dishes have to be prepared in a
different convention room. The Manager of Banquets has to manage his staff ahead of time
and command them differently every time as the guest activity floods on his schedule.
As for Constanza Bernal, she does act more similar to Celina, where her staff already has a set
of tasks and duties to perform every day according to schedule, and little intrusion is required.
Even less if anything: When there are scheduled events, where there will be a big flood of
check-ins, Celina does warn her staff and let them know of the forecast. In Housing, house-
maids simply follow orders written every day for rooms to get ready according to orders for
each day mechanically.
The Head Manager, Mr. Drenth, does enjoy patrolling the front desk from time to time, to see
how everything is going, or if anything is missing. He likes to catch his employees off-guard.
According to the Scientific Management approach the best system of management in current
use is the system of "initiative and incentive." In this system, management gives incentives for
better work, and workers give their best effort.
In the InterContinental Hotel in Buenos Aires, many incentives are given to their employees in
order for them to aim higher in their performance. These are offered by the premises to all
employees. The project goes more into detail about the incentives offered in Page 16, where
this project elaborates on the Human Resources Management.

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Organizational Culture
At the Intercontinental Hotel of Buenos Aires, during my stay as an intern I had the chance to
mesh with the culture of the work environment inside the workplace.
One key ritual which all Front Desk employees share every day is to shave every morning before
entering front. Shaving foam is given free to male employees in the changing rooms, and it is a
ritual to shave together if possible.
As for the employee behavior, the camaraderie inside the hotel, in all areas, is superb.
Everybody takes care of each other. Due to the nature of the Hotel Business, which also
operates on weekends, workers have assigned days off, which vary every week. They call these
“Franks”. Co-workers show great camaraderie at the InterContinental, by always covering each
other when needed to use the restroom or similar breaks. Most people have no trouble
covering others in their frank days. A great virtue of their relationship is also that they even
give up their franks so others may enjoy that day free. The hotel is very flexible with the days
off: As long as somebody is covering the post of work, they allow others of the same
department to cover for others. Sometimes, when a worker cannot go to work that day (i.e. a
wedding, a family matter, among other reasons), they are allowed to use their Frank earlier, as
long as somebody can cover them. Workers also offer to cover their friends if needed so that
they may enjoy their frank. In addition, there is also the flexibility to use their days off sooner
or in conjunction, as long as they are willing to skip them the next week.
There is also a rule among the workers, where being able to interact with one another is fine, as
long as it does not disrupt interaction between the customers. This is usually only allowed
when they are on stand-by (Concierges, Doormen, Bellboys). It is not to be taken rude if they
suddenly stop speaking to you or if they were not listening to you, but it is simply the culture of
the job to give priority to the customer or the job itself. I realized this on my first days in my
internship.
There are also rules that are not written down, such as postures and mannerisms not permitted
when exposed to the front, and encouraged not to do outside either to keep the habit. During
lunch breaks, when not exposed to customer or guest atmosphere, employees tend to relax
and colloquial speak and slang is seen.
“An hour a day of informality keeps you healthy, so you won’t need to do it later!” my young
Front Desk cashier friend jokes with me. It’s normal to see them unwind when resting, so it
was soothing to see they weren’t autopilot-smiling robots outside of the Front Desk.
All personnel at the ICH are encouraged to work-out their legs. Most of the front employees are
not allowed to sit during their full-time hours of work. This includes the Doormen, Bellboys,

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Front Desk, Concierge, Barman and Stewards. It was quite hard the first week, but you quickly
get used to it.
What makes my co-workers special? If I had to summarize it in a few words: Their amazing
fortitude, drive to continue forward and their smiling camaraderie amongst both the guests and
each other. I had the pleasure to make both great acquaintances and friends during my stay.
I may even add I kept some mannerisms with myself, such as the ridiculous smiling to strangers.

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Social Responsibility and Managerial Ethics
The InterContinental Hotel is engaged in various socially responsible activities, of many which
the premises are proud to be part of for the benefit of both the community and the ecosystem.
Pablo Agosti, Concierge of the Hotel, shared some of his time to answer my questions in
regards to the firm’s activities.
The Hotel is affiliated with the GreenGlobe program, where the hotel follows the proper
processes and methods that are green. Greenglobe is a company which offers a program to
follow. After request, it proposes an external audit which recognizes that the premises follow a
green program inside their hotel. Greenglobe measures sustainability and the reutilization of
resources, as well as defining if the facilities are not harmful to the environment.
“We are very proud of being part of the GreenGlobe Program “- says Pablo. “The certificate is
on display in the main lobby, right in front of our desk for guests to watch. As you can see, we
are proud of being socially responsible”.
Other major activities which the hotel is part of, which are also encouraged by the GreenGlobe
program are their recycling program. “We have in every division, next to the garbage bin,
different containers for recycling and separation of residues. We recycle paper, aluminium,
glass, cardboard and metal. We separate them from each other and organic residues, the latter
present in our F&B back kitchens”.
The InterContinental Hotel also partakes in activities which are beneficial to the local
communities. According to Pablo Agosti, the hotel is also proud to be part of the recuperation
and maintenance of the local church San Juan Bautista, which is in front of the hotel premises.
In addition, the hotel also is enrolled in both economic aid and volunteer help with the foster
home Chiquititos.
“We’re proud to be able to serve the community” – Pablo states – “as well being able to be
environmentally-friendly company”.
Pablo Agosti has worked for the hotel for more than ten years as its Concierge. He is a very
stress-free person, and enjoys helping the hotel’s guests.
In the Finances section of this project, the paper elaborates more in regards to how the
GreenGlobe program has affected the premises positively economically and how it aided
reducing costs.

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In regards to the Code of Ethics of the Hotel, it shares the same code with the entirety of the
Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG). Their code of ethics’ main points can be mainly identified
by the following main topics, all which are crucial for an effective Corporate Code of Ethics.
 Responsibility for Compliance with the Code
 Health and Safety - Maintaining a safe and healthy working environment with local laws
and regulations in accordance to their internal standards.
 Equal Opportunities – To recruit and promote individuals based solely on their suitability
for the job without discriminating on the grounds of race, color, ethnic or national
origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, marital status or disability unrelated to
the role.
 Harassment – Zero Tolerance policy towards harassment of any employee by any
person, for any reason.
 The Environment - committed to preserving and protecting the environment and to
economic growth and prosperity. These goals are not only consistent but mutually
reinforcing.
 Conflicts of Interest: Always act in the best interests of IHG and avoid any personal
preference or advantage.
 Relationships with Business Partners: It is in IHG’s best interests to establish mutually
beneficial commercial relationships with our guests, suppliers and business partners.
 Competition - The Group is committed to open, free and fair competition in all our
markets. Competing vigorously but honestly, observing all competition and anti-trust
laws.
 Fraud- Fraud of any description will not be tolerated. You have an obligation to report
any suspicions of fraud.

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 Property, Assets and Resources - IHG resources must be protected and must not be
used for personal gain.
 Political Activity and Contributions – Employees are all free to take part personally in
political activities in their own time. However, they must not create the impression that
they represent the Group in these matters.
 Records, Disclosure and Communications - As a publicly listed Group, IHG is required to
comply with the rules relating to disclosure of material and price-sensitive information
under the relevant UK and US legislation, and the rules and guidance of the United
Kingdom Listing Authority and the New York Stock Exchange.
 Insider Information- If you are in possession of confidential price-sensitive information
which has not been made public and could affect our share price you may not buy or sell
shares in IHG, or provide such information to third parties for that purpose.
 Legal Compliance – To be committed to compliance with the laws and regulations of the
countries and jurisdictions in which the Hotel Group operates.

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Organizational Structure and Design
The four reporting regions of the InterContinental Hotels throughout the world are Americas,
Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), and Greater China.
As for the InterContinental Hotel situated in Buenos Aires, where I realized my internship, the
Organization is as follows. The Head Manager of the Hotel, Maarten P. Drenth, is head of
operations of the ICH in the city. He lives in the hotel itself, in the second floor. The different
divisions of the Hotel encompass the organism: Front Desk, Housing, Food & beverage (called
as Banquets internally as well), and Back Offices.
Front Desk is led by the Front Desk Manager Celina Vesprini, who is the Manager of my Site
Supervisor. Front Desk engulfs the doormen, bellboys, cashiers and check-in assistants, VIP

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Check-in, Concierges, boutique shop, as well as, in the case of this InterContinental Hotel, The
Hotel Telephone assistants and operators, who happen to be next to Vesprini’s office, whom
she supervises.
Housing is another division, led by Constanza Bernal. Housing takes care of the maids and
cleaning personnel who ready rooms for check-in, the tailors who ready employee clothing (as
well as guest clothing if requested), Personnel which Cleans Towels among other products for
room use, and flower and decoration arrangements. Housing also takes care of purchasing
flowers for the rooms, for instance, or costs for amenities and VIP gifts.
Lastly, the third biggest division is F&B, let by F&B head Manager Marcos Alonso. This
department encompasses Banquets (used for Convention Centers), Room Service, the Hotel’s
main restaurant, Plaza del Virrey, its coffee lounge and its main bar. It also encompasses the
Weekends restaurant where Argentine Steak and wine is the main theme next to the big
colloquial grill.
The Head Managers of each division report and meet when necessary to Maarten Drenth, the
Head Manager of the hotel.
The premises, albeit being connected and communicating with each other when needed, are
mostly part of a mechanistic organization. There is individual specialization among the
employees at the hotel, which specialize in their individual tasks. The exception was the
bellboys and the doormen, which had no trouble switching roles when necessary. I wished
there were more cases were employees could share their roles, especially considering the great
camaraderie employees have at the ICH of Buenos Aires.
The integrating mechanisms among divisions are very simple, and the hierarchy of authority is
well defined. It is evident the ICH portrays a stance of a Mechanistic organization. Most
communication is vertical, where the head makes a decision along with the managers, and the
managers lead the other members to operate according to the plan.
Lastly, at the hotel, there is an extensive use made of rules and standards which follow
operating procedures to serve the guests according to the recipe. There is a Standard to follow
for both customer and keeping the hotel going as per the rules indicate how the hotel should
continue operating, like a well-oiled machine.
In conclusion, the InterContinental Hotel of Buenos Aires is a mechanistic organization,
although it could benefit from being more flexible when possible.

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Communication and Information Technology
There are a variety of communication channels utilized at InterContinental Hotel in Buenos
Aires which the employees use to not only communicate with each other but also stay
connected as divisions.
For starters, the hotel utilizes Opera as their Property Management System. The interface is
utilized all around the hotel, especially by Front Desk for check-in registrations. Front Desk
cashiers are obligated to also use it every day to close cashier and register earnings.
As for communication between departments, internal telephone service is utilized. There are
also phones set in every floor, including guest rooms in front of elevators. These are used for
both guests and bellboys to communicate with Front Desk, the Concierge. Personally, I believe
this is a bit outdated, since the flux of information is not as smooth as bellboys utilizing wireless
earphones. For instance, in my internship, I had to make a wake-up call. After the wake-up call,
I went all the way down back to Front, only to be sent again to the same floor to deliver a
letter. If I had wireless earphones, I would have simply been informed without the need to
return to station, saving both time and effort.
Back and housing do use Motorola Radio-communication. They seemed a little outdated, like
those Walkie Talkies from the nineties, but the use of it was efficient. The Head Supervisor of
Housing told me in an interview that they were to receive new versions in the following month.
Nevertheless, albeit the radio-communication not being the newest model, it served a practical
purpose, allowing communication for all house-maids and housing personnel. I believe the
same should be added to front desk, bellboys and doormen.
It’s also important to mention the InterContinental Hotel also utilizes an intranet (Inside Net)
for employees to communicate with each other via mail, instant, voice and video message. This
intranet works with all ICHs worldwide, although each hotel primordially uses it to
communicate with the team of each hotel.
In regards to communication, employees are trained since day 1, just like myself was personally
trained during my stay, to avoid certain mannerisms when addressing guests. Some good
examples would be no hands in your pockets, no leaning on the counter, always smile, keep a
proper posture if possible. Addressing guests and employees when exposed to guest

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atmosphere should always be done in an educated manner which represents the five-star
luxury hotel. Guest attention is priority when working. As stated before Speaking among co-
workers is fine as long as it is on standby, but guest interaction is the priority.
The concierges at the ICH know at least three languages each, English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Some had expertise in Japanese and German too.
In regards to the difference between male and female workers, there is pretty much none
when interacting with customers. As for employees interacting with each other during breaks,
everybody is equally friendly and playful.

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Accounting and Finance
I sat down with Celina Vesprini, Main Manager of Front Desk, to discuss about the finance
performance and expenses of the InterContinental Hotel. Luckily, Celina shared some of her
time with me, and happily was able to answer my questions.
To start with, I asked Celina of the Hotel’s Performance, and how much revenue was it
producing these days. “The Hotel is doing amazingly great for many years now “Celina stated.
“Even though we have a few number of competitors in the city for our target market, the
reputation the Hotel Name’s upholds, and the loyalty of our important customers have been
important factors in maintaining steady growth”
Celina was kind enough to share some information with me. The RevPar of the hotel stood at a
Seventy-five percent total steady for many seasons. The Hotel also counts with many important
clients, which utilize the Hotel for conventions, meetings, regular stay, among other uses. “The
President and the previous one, among many politicians, like to stay in the Hotel” – Celina
Adds. “We have many famous guests who come regularly, like Los Pumas, the National
Argentina Rugby team, as well as the National Football team among many other main Clubs like
Boca Juniors, River Plate and San Lorenzo. We also get many Important Clubs from other
countries in South America, who stay when they come to play in Argentina”. The
Intercontinental Hotel is considered as the most expensive hotel to stay at in Buenos Argentina.
In this way, it gives the hotel a great amount of branding.
However, Celina stated that the most important and perhaps most profitable client they
possess is their guests from American Airlines. “American airlines are perhaps the most regular
of our customers. Many different flight teams of personnel come and go literally every week.
They all stay like any other guest, and they love to eat and drink, and even use the spa” – Celina
states smiling. “They have been our most consistent customer for quite a long while. They are
one of our important clients. All of their crew stay at the Intercontinental when resting in
Buenos Aires. The hotel staff has done many friends with the different crew members. They see
each other over the week for many years now. And they really like to party.” – Celina adds.
In regards to expenses the hotel has to tackle, Celina quickly mentioned them to me: “Sure.
Our main biggest costs have been Staffing and Cost of Goods. Electricity uses to be a
considerable cost as well, and still is, but it has been reduced immensely thanks to our
Greenglobe program” – Celina comments me. The Manager told me about their Greenglobe
program, and how they had reduced the cost of many electrical usage thanks to many examples
of energy saving. “For instance, we utilize phosphorescent light bulbs for our Parking Basement

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Lots now since last year, which consume way less in that area alone since the change. This is
because the Lights of the basement have to always be on, twenty-four seven” – Celina explains.
The light-usage on our three sub-floors for back-office also utilize Phosphorescent light-bulbs
and they are also on throughout the entire day.
“Other changes to the costs being reduced thanks to Greenglobe is in the office as well. We
utilize recycled paper for internal printing, as well as no more use of plastic cups. These are just
a few examples.. It may not sound much, but over the last year, and for our many offices
throughout the entire hotel, it’s made it considerably cheaper overall”
In regards to the Cost of Goods, Celina mentioned how they have proudly reduced their costs
without affecting the quality delivered to the costumers consuming them. “We Save a lot of
costs by purchasing Argentine goods. Argentina has great milk, wines, meat. We also tend to
purchase from small, family businesses that produce and sell their wines and farm goods. Our
restaurant’s theme is argentine cuisine. It’s both cheap and excellent. Our most popular order
is the wine at the bar for only around twenty-five pesos (2.5 Us Dollars) for the average glass.
That’s how cheap we can sell it.” Celina says excitedly. “We even get customers only staying to
lunch at the bar and coffee lounge. Our Bar is very popular in the happy hour”
Lastly and as for their Personnel Costs, Celina explained how they tackled that issue without
lowering personnel income: “Argentina has very strong syndicates, as you may know. We
cannot simply try and lower personnel cost. However, one way we did tackle lowering human
capital cost was to turn our ballet parking into third-party Company which charges us a monthly
fee instead of having to pay for each employee. “– The manager explains. “This not only saves
us paying a set amount of employees, but also paying for their raises, their bonuses, and their
benefits and all eventual extra costs that comes with personnel”.
This same principle applies to the InterContinental Hotel’s security staff, which is owned by a
good friend of the Manager and charges a very reasonable amount, according to Celina
Vesprini.
Celina has been working for the Hotel for seven years now. She met her husband working for
the hotel, who works in Office premises of the Hotel. Celina is always very relaxed and in good
mood, despite the stressful nature of her workload.

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Human Resource Management
I sat down with Yamila Rodriguez, main assistant of Human Resources department of
Intercontinental Hotel of Buenos Aires to ask her about the different incentives and employee
benefits workers of the company encompassed. Yamila was kind enough to reply to my
questions.
In regards to the incentives offered by ICH, Yamila stated three main incentives utilized to
reward hard-working employee performance.
“We have two different monthly awards and a yearly award for workers who perform
admirably” said Yamila. “First we have the Employee of the month, which is used for whoever
stood in the span of the four weeks. And then we have the colleague of the month, which is
used to reward the camaraderie of our workers every month too”.
Yamila made sure to mention how these incentives were linked with employee benefits: “Every
time someone earns the monthly award, we make sure to record it. According to their
performance, we can judge and be aware of who deserves a raise”.
Yamila stated InterContinental Hotels makes sure to give raises to all employees at least every 2
years of work completion working satisfactorily. “Customer Retention is important, but the
retention of our Employees is as important”.
As for the last big incentive, the premises offer the Leon de Oro (Golden Lion) Awards, which
are given yearly. This award is given every year to commemorate the achievement of years
worked at the InterContinental Hotel.
Medals of Honor are given for the respective year completions: One-year, Three-years, Five-
years, Ten and lastly Fifteen years of completion. The ceremony takes place every year and
varies in month depending in the ICH. In ICH of Buenos Aires, I had the pleasure to be present
during their Awards, which happen in October.
As for other employee benefits, Yamila made sure to mention the flexibility of the workers’
days off:
“As you may know, we have strong syndicate presence here in Argentina since a few years
back. Gladly, we never had any troubles since way before the Kirchner presidency came to
power; we’ve always been very flexible with our workers’ day off”. In effect, workers in IHC
may choose how to utilize their days off as long as they are covered the day they are resting.
“We Know it’s hard to work in a job atmosphere were you do not have stable days off.
Sometimes workers get only one day off for a week instead of two. We make sure to
accommodate them as much as possible and be able to be flexible to make sure employees are
comfortable with what we can offer them”.

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“One important benefit to mention is the birthday-gift” told Yamila. “Whenever our employees
reach their birthday date, they are given a free stay for one night in one of our rooms of the
Hotel. They are treated like any other guest” – states Rodriguez.
I also remember being present when Luciana, the telephonist of the mornings, received her
birthday gift. I myself checked her in and accompanied her with her luggage.
Other benefits the employees of ICH possess is free meals offered by the Hotel for their lunch
break, though they are free to lunch wherever they please as long as they are back in due time.
And no, they don’t offer leftovers of F&B. They do give them leftovers of banquet desserts if
there are any from events though.
The hotel also has a partnership with the Hair Saloon in-front of the hotel. Hotel Workers get a
really big discount for not only haircuts, but other amenities as well.
Yamila is the main secretary and assistant of the Human Resources Director of the Hotel,
Miguel Cecaloni. She has enjoyed working for the hotel for more than five years now.

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Marketing
The InterContinental Hotel & Resorts Chain is predominantly known for being five-star luxury
hotels, the high upscale segment of the Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG). As a result, the
market segment they aim to attract and retain is people willing to stay in a luxurious hotel.
According to Axel Riavec, who works at Front Desk at the premises, the daily tariff varies
according to two main factors: The season and the occupancy rate.
“Today’s daily price, for instance” – States Axel- “is a hundred and ninety-four dollars plus tax
and breakfast included. This price is with seventy-percent occupancy. The price varies
depending on the daily demand. If we have a lot of occupancy, the price will go up. If we have
many vacancies, it will go down”.
Axel continued by highlighting the Hotel’s promotions and prizes to its customer base.
“There are three different types of memberships, which recurring can either purchase
whenever they wish to, or can automatically slow ascend as they continue their business with
the hotel” – Axel shares.
The three different memberships are base, gold and platinum. The first is the initial and most
affordable membership, with a fifteen percent discount on all food purchases, ranging from the
restaurant, coffee lounge, bar to room service. The second, gold membership includes benefits
from the first, as well as free business internet. “Normal internet is free to all our guests.
However business internet costs a fee per hour” – Alex highlights.
Lastly, the platinum membership encompasses all benefits from prior involvements, as well as
always an upgrade to the purchase of room they make in any ICH they stay, and access to the
floor seventeen, the VIP floor.
“You may also purchase access to floor seventeen; even if you are not a member” – Alex
remarks -“We offer that option as well for others to enjoy it too. Many business travelers are
not platinum, yet they wish to enjoy the amenities of floor seventeen, such as the lounge,
buffet, business center, and recreational center” –Alex says
These incentives are utilized in all ICH hotels in order to promote retaining their regular
customers. Membership is also attainable with a large discount eventually in time to customers
who make repeated visits. “We want to promote our amenities to both new and repeating
customers, so they may all eventually enjoy them fully”
Axel Riavec, among the crew at Front Desk has shared their time with me during my internship,
always responding to my questions whenever I wished to learn more about the premises. Axel
studies Chinese in his free time, and enjoys the company of his co-workers.

21
Operations and Value Chain Management
Operations management is the area of management responsible for overseeing, designing and
controlling the methods of production and reshaping business operations in the production of
goods and services.
This area involves the responsibility of making sure that business operations are efficient in
terms of utilizing as few resources as required, and effective in regards of meeting customer
requirements.
This division takes charge of managing the process that turns inputs (material, labor and
energy) into outputs (goods and services).
The highest-level operatives mold the strategy and revise it over time, as the other operatives
take tactical decisions which support to carry out the strategy.
The basic objectives of employing value chain management in a business is
to integrate communication and
increase cooperation between production chain members in order to decrease delivery times,
reduce inventories and increase customer satisfaction.
The late Walter Deming composed a list of techniques that the Japanese used to industrialize
their nation in the 20th century; these lists are still used today to facilitate managers in their
quest to create efficient businesses.
One of the points Deming makes is that companies should focus on a single supplier at a time.
The effect of this is to reduce variation, which Deming considered to be deleterious to the
production of goods. In my case, the “supplier” would have been the customers who choose
our service. Instead of trying to split resources among many angles, it is more prudent to simply
do as Deming says and focus on one person at a time. The business I worked at did this well and
made a deliberate attempt to treat customers as individuals.
Deming addresses the need for consistency in training; I learned at the Intercontinental Hotel
that it is important to be consistent in the context of your environment so that your customers
receive a similar product regardless of time.
Deming argues that one should institute leadership over mere supervision; the latter
stresses quotas and numbers, which Deming considers to be ineffective. At the ICH in Buenos
Aires, I learned first-hand what it means to lead a business and how to treat not only
customers, but also employees in a polite and servile manner. It’s also important to address
that both can be utilized without the latter being always detrimental. Supervision can also be
simply checking on your workers and teammates without depowering them or causing

22
pressure.
Deming also argues that using fear as a tactic to control your workers is a venture that will
collapse on itself and lead to poor product. Instead of the employees being ruled by the fear of
failing and being punished, the hotel hands out incentives and promotes effort: a mentality of
working until work is done properly instead. At my internship, my supervisors promoted
harmony among workers to create a setting that is conducive to collaboration and fulfillment.
I found the internship I worked at to be in alignment with the directives of Walter Deming.

23
Bibliography
1.- IHG Group Main Website
http://www.ihgplc.com
2.- Managing Organizations Stephen P. Robbins, Mary K. Coulter
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007 - Business & Economics
3.- W. Edwards Deming’s 14 Points for Improving Management’s Productivity (interplay
between people and operations)
Article on Fourteen Points: http://www.hci.com.au/hcisite2/articles/deming.htm
4.- The Principles of Scientific Management Frederick Winslow Taylor
Harper & Brothers, 1911 – (Digital Version)
5.- Interview with Maarten P. Drenth – Head Manager of ICH Buenos Aires
http://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/p?orig=TSEO_SN&firstName=Maarten&lastName=Drenth&f
_G=ar%3A0&trk=TSEO_SN
6.- Interview with Celina Vesprini- Head Manager of Front Desk
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/celina-vesprini/5a/487/b2b
7.- Interview With Pablo Agosti - Concierge
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/pablo-agosti/3b/964/4bb
8.- Interview with Yamila Rodriguez – Head assistant of Human Resources
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/yamila-alejandra-rodriguez/b/804/764
9.- Interview with Axel Riavec – Front Desk
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/axel-riavec/15/34/830

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